Stripped Bounty (11 page)

T
wo days later
, Badger sat on the far end of the couch, one arm slung up on the back, the other on the armrest in Deuce’s office at the club. It was time to let his boss know Rosie was going to be gone longer than a week. “She’s got some shit going on and won’t be back until I get it dealt with.”

Deuce stroked over his long beard, concern and confusion alive in his eyes. “What? I thought her grandmother died. I take it that was all bullshit then? Come on, Badger. Rosie has to come to work. We already took a hit without her here this weekend. Do you have any idea how much business has gone up since that little lady started dancing for us? Regulars already started whining they miss her.”

“Yeah, boss. I get it. And I’m real sorry, but…” Badger leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees. Over the past couple of days he still hadn’t settled on how much of Rosie’s “shit” he should tell Deuce. But at the same time, the last thing he wanted was this mess spilling out all over the club in the form of Alvaro making his presence known. In an ugly way.

If Deuce knew, he’d be prepared and Badger could be sure to have extra eyes out on the floor keeping things cool. He’d already given his boys a picture of Alvaro when he got there that night, letting them know they needed to contact Badger right away if the guy showed up. So far, one of the bouncers remembered seeing Alvaro at least one time over the weekend. He hadn’t made any trouble, but that didn’t mean he’d keep behaving himself.

“But what? Please don’t tell me she’s all jacked on drugs. From what I’ve seen of that girl and what Evie tells me, she’s clean. Doesn’t mess with none of that shit. So, whatever this stuff is she’s got going, should be pretty simple and I’m guessing you’ll deal with it fast, but she has to come to work while you do that.”

“She’s not into drugs.” Badger blew out a harsh breath and dragged his hand over his beard. “Look, just take my word that it’s serious shit, Deuce. The kind of shit we don’t need or want in the bar. She’s not safe here. Actually, she’s not safe anywhere until I get it handled.”

“Well, what the fuck? You know Evie’s gotten damn attached to that girl. That means she’s gonna worry, and then ask me a million fucking questions if she’s not back in a week. Ones I won’t be able to answer. So spit it the fuck out, all right? What is it? She got a pissed off boyfriend or worse, a pimp?”

Badger shook his head and leaned back. No way Deuce was going to let it rest. “Fine. I hear you. But I’m telling you right now, no way in hell I’m gonna jeopardize the bar.” Badger let out a growly sigh. “Here’s the deal: due to her moron of a dead husband, she’s now got a drug dealer after her from back east. He’s looking for his money that her husband took from him, and likely plans to put Rosie in a body bag like he did her husband. Fucker showed up here Friday night when she was on stage.”

Deuce leaned back in his desk chair, linked his hands behind his head and stared up at the ceiling. “So that’s why you took off and she was no where to be found. Jesus. Fuck, that ain’t good.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“How much money we talking?”

“She says she doesn’t know.” Badger rubbed the back of his neck.

“How does she not know? Little lady got a dealer after her for it and she don’t know?” Deuce shook his head and blew out an exasperated growl. “All right. Where’s the money?”

Badger grunted. “She says she doesn’t know that, either. Apparently she went and looked where her husband said he hid it but it wasn’t there.”

“You believe her?”

“I want to believe her. But I don’t think she’s being straight up.” Badger crossed his arms. “If she’s lying, I’m betting it’s because she’s scared. In her shoes, if I had the money, I don’t know if I’d be so quick to just offer up where it was, either.”

“This ain’t good, Badger. Not good at all. No way this won’t touch the club, but I got you. We’ll handle it. You know that. We’re family and like I said, Evie’s taken a liking to Rosie. That makes her family, too—” Deuce pressed his lips together, regarding Badger in a way that only years of knowing one another would allow, “—if I’m not mistaken, seems like you’ve taken a liking to her also.”

There it was. For fuck’s sake. Old-ass, tough-as-nails biker on the outside. All heart and hopeless romantic on the inside. Goddamn marshmallow puff. It’s why Evie put up with his ornery-as-hell bulky ass. But at the same time, Deuce was good to his old lady. Plain and simple. And he never let her forget how much he loved her, how beautiful she was. He’d open a damn vein for that woman, and Evie knew it. It was admirable, and not the kind of love most people ever got a chance at.

The boss had already grilled Badger during Turkey Day dinner about Rosie, and now he was gonna approach that particular road again. Badger didn’t feel much like going there. But there wouldn’t be much choice. Yeah, he’d taken a liking to Rosie. Fuck him, how could he not? She had a sweet ass and an even sweeter pussy. Nipples he’d dreamed of…but more than that, she was beautiful.

Different. Perfect.

But she was also drama and complication. He regarded his boss, and long-time friend, determining how to respond. “Not sure we need to get into the details of that right now. But look, she’s all heart, and she’s in trouble. So yeah, I’m gonna help her. What happens after? I don’t know. Just don’t let Evie start planning a wedding or some crazy shit like that, we clear?” Deuce let out a loud chuckle and Badger rolled his eyes. “No shit. Between the two of you? I swear, coupla hopeless romantics.”

“All right, we’re clear, my man.” Deuce chuckled again but then sobered. “So, what’s the plan? How you want to work it?”

“Still mapping that out. So far, all I know is the dude’s out on bail and he ain’t skipped yet. Yet…” Badger leaned forward again. “I got feelers out. It could be months before he’s scheduled in court. You know how that shit goes. I’m guessing he’s got himself a good blood sucker who’ll get it postponed as long as possible. But you know as well as I do, if that fucker traveled clear across the country just to hunt down our girl, he ain’t got no plans to stand before the judge.”

“A dealer with a vendetta, facing a murder charge? Hell, that’s the definition of dangerous.”

Badger nodded. “Exactly. Which is why I’m still mapping shit out. It’d make it real easy if he’d already skipped. I could just take him in then.”

“What if you just make an anonymous call to the law where she’s from and get him taken in that way?”

“Rosie was dead set on me not calling the cops.” Badger rubbed the back of his neck. “But even if I did, you know as well as I do they ain’t gonna just piss out a warrant for one murdering drug dealer who may or may not have left the state. The state of Connecticut likely has bigger fish to worry about until he
actually
misses his court date. I doubt the bondsman would jump at it, either.”

“You’re probably right.” Deuce let out a sigh. “Brother, I gotta say, even if you send him back to jail, with the ego bruise he’s carrying, he won’t stop hunting her.”

“Let’s not go there yet.” Badger sat back and pushed the underlying implications in the warning Deuce was giving him to the back of his mind. He was one hundred percent right, though. Alvaro wouldn’t stop. Guys like that had no problem issuing a hit from behind bars.

“All right, fine. You gonna bring Wolf in?”

Badger shrugged. “Haven’t decided.”

“Telling you now, you need anything from the brothers, you let me know. I’ll call ’em in. But I suggest you bring in Wolf now. My gut says you’re gonna need him.”

“Noted.” Badger got to his feet. “I’ll be here as much as possible, but I’m gonna need a little leeway from you on that, too.”

“Do what you need to do.” Deuce stood and extended his palm.

Badger linked forearms with his boss and Deuce pulled him into an embrace. He clapped Badger on the back before pulling away. Badger cleared his throat at the unexpected emotion welling up inside him. “Thanks, boss. ’Preciate it. I’ll check back in tomorrow.”

Deuce nodded as he resumed his seat at his desk and Badger stepped out of the office, closing the door behind him. He hated having to lay all that mess out to the old man. But it wasn’t like he’d had much choice. Sure, Badger had a colorful past, which had likely earned him files in the many alphabet soup agency databases, and his bounty-hunting tactics teetered over the legal line on occasion, but he was still, for the most part, an honest man. Based on his biker lifestyle and his choice of work, some people might call bullshit on his claim of honor. But that didn’t make them right.

Regardless, there was no way in hell he’d lie to Deuce. Badger had way too much respect for the man.

R
osie looked
up from the e-book she was reading when she heard the Harley pull into the driveway. Badger had left hours ago for the club, which was after she’d convinced him to let her borrow his tablet so she could download some books to read. He’d grumbled and growled the whole time, downloading the app for her, and continued after he’d handed over the device so she could log into her Amazon account and grab the unread books sitting in the cloud.

Rosie still didn’t know how to read
him
but tried her best not to let all his sound effects deter her. She’d fallen behind on her TBR list and, considering she was bored out of her friggin’ skull and had been for the better part of the week being stuck in his house, this was about the best solution she could come up with. She looked to the kitchen, listening close for the sounds of the garage door opening, expecting to see him walk through the door at any moment.

After another minute, when he didn’t appear, Rosie stood—

The doorbell rang.
Weird.
She headed for the front door. Unlocking it, she swung the door open. “What? Your garage door opener quit worki— Oh!” From what she could see through the metal security doorframe, the strange man standing there was tall, a little scary and very much a biker. But also very,
very
good looking. Rosie swallowed her shock and got her mouth back online. “Umm. Can I help you?”

The guy pushed his clear night-riding shades up onto his head. “Who might you be?”

“Dude. Really? You’re standing at
my
door. How ’bout you tell me who you are.” Since she was behind the locked metal door, she figured she was relatively safe, though considering the guy’s size, maybe not.

“Your door, huh?”

“Yeah. My door.” She put her hand on her hip.

He cleared his throat as he pulled off his fingerless leather gloves. “Where’s Badger?”

“And again, you’re the one at the door. Who’s asking?” Rosie crossed her arms and raised one eyebrow.

Mr. Scary smiled, exposing his perfectly straight white teeth before throwing his head back and bursting into a fit of laughter. The guy laughed so hard, his whole body shook with it. It was a sight to behold for sure.

Rosie pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side, watching him in a sort of twisted awe. Wonders never ceased. Biker dude just blew hot right off the Richter scale with his little display. Granted, Badger was still hotter, but this guy? He was an altogether different kind of good looking.

Just as Rosie was about to ask him if he was done, Badger rolled up on his bike.

The dude stopped laughing and glanced over his shoulder. “Saved by the pipes, darlin’.” He grinned and stepped away, presumably toward the driveway.

Oh, Christ.
Rosie fumbled with the deadbolt, finally getting the damn thing unlocked and the door open by the time Badger parked his motorcycle, shut down the engine and got off. In a huff, she hurried her ass down the walk to the driveway but stopped short when she reached them.

“Glad you made it, brother.” Badger eyed her as he clasped the other guy’s forearm and pulled him into a biker bro-hug. “I see you met Rosie.”

The stranger glanced over his shoulder at her before turning back to Badger. “We were working our way there. Bit of a feisty one you got on your hands.”

Badger looked at her over the guy’s shoulder, his gaze moving down her body before coming back to her face. “What’d you do now?”

“Now? What? Wait… He… Ugh! Whatever.” Rosie threw her hands up in the air before crossing her arms in a huff. Agitation coursed through her blood with every beat of her heart. What had she done now? Not a fucking thing! Jesus, he was a dick. Apparently, they both were. And why the hell had Badger looked her up and down like that? Did he not approve of her outfit?

He had no issue with how she’d dressed any other time in the last six days. So she’d taken off her makeup and changed her clothes. Big deal. What was wrong with fitted black yoga pants and a tank top? Rosie was going for comfort, not sexy. Badger needed to get a damn grip if he thought she was going to just stay all made up twenty-four seven, or worse, look like she did on stage. That just wasn’t her. That was Arianna. Her stage persona.

Rosie was just Rosie. Normal. Natural. Makeup-free and in fucking yoga pants!

B
adger had
to suppress a laugh at Rosie’s reaction to his question. “Don’t go gettin’ yourself all in a lather. I was teasing, woman.” He moved to the garage door keypad and punched in the code. “You want a beer, Wolf?”

“When don’t I want a beer?”

“True story.” Badger pushed his cycle into the garage and Wolf followed. After leaning the Dyna back on its kickstand, he glanced back to Rosie. She was still standing in the driveway. Arms crossed under her pert little tits. No bra under that fitted tank top either, and her nipples drawn into hard points—from either her agitation or the cool night air—poking through the thin fabric. Narrow hips shifted to one side.

For fuck’s sake, those damn pants she had on were like a second skin, emphasizing her long legs and slender curves. His dick practically shot rod-hard as soon as he’d gotten a good look at her in the outdoor lights. Plus, her face was bare of all makeup, her hair piled high on top of her head.

The woman was straight up killing him.

Her choice of attire, level of face paint, and hairstyle had varied all week. Some days she’d done her hair all curly and full, makeup all done up to perfection and dressed as if she was heading out on a date. Other days, she’d come out, hair pulled up high, barely any makeup and clad in basic jeans and sneakers. She was beautiful. He liked seeing her all ways, especially naked ones, but the casual, no-makeup look got to him every time.

He liked it. A little too much.

Badger pulled his bandana off his head and let out a grumbly sigh. “You comin’?”

She dropped her arms and placed her hands on her hips. Then looked away from his gaze. All drama. He hadn’t seen too much of it this week, but now it was in full swing. He waited, curious to see what she might do next. He heard Wolf’s low chuckle behind him. Yeah, his best friend had gotten it right, she was definitely feisty. Badger liked that a little too much, too.

When she didn’t move, Badger decided to give her a nudge—in the form of a one-word statement—to get her ass in gear. “Woman…”

She blew out a harsh breath, her chest rising and falling with it, before moving toward him. “Fine.”

Drama still on high volume, Rosie brushed past him. Again, Badger had to suppress a laugh. For sure after he was done briefing Wolf on their situation, he’d enjoy paddling her ass ’til it glowed pink for this little particular fit. “You get it all out your system?”

“Whatever. Leave me alone.” She continued into the house.

“She like this all the time?” Wolf took off his leather jacket.

Badger followed suit, removing his leather as well. “Only been a week. Too soon to tell. Let’s grab that beer. Got shit to tell you.”

“Right behind you, brother.”

After grabbing a couple bottles from the fridge, Badger settled on his back patio with Wolf and lit his first cigarette. Like earlier that week at the bar, he didn’t want to involve anyone else in Rosie’s mess, but his boss was right. Based on the intel he was digging up on Alvaro, he was going to need the backup. He’d be stupid not to let a trusted few in on what was going down. Deuce and Wolf were the only two men in that category.

Badger had a lot of acquaintances, some he might even refer to as friends…but few were actual, true friends. Deuce and Wolf were pretty much it. His relations with them dated back to his old MC days. Bonds were formed during those years between the three. Strong ones that would never be broken. Of that, Badger was certain.

“Planning on sittin’ there all night, sucking on that cancer stick and barley and hops, or you gonna spit out what’s going on?”

Badger chuckled before taking another swig of beer. “Yeah. Getting there.”

“You in some sort of trouble?”

“Not sure. Might be.” He glanced over his shoulder into the house through the sliding glass door. Rosie was on the couch, blanket on her lap, tablet on top of that. Christ, she was adorable. “She’s got some shit swirling around her.”

“Hold on a sec. You brought trouble into your world over some pussy? Brother, that ain’t like you. The fuck is that about?”

A growl rumbled out of Badger and he snapped his gaze back to Wolf. “Let’s get something straight real fucking fast. I love you, you’re my brother, but that woman in there, she ain’t
just
pussy. So watch it.”

Wolf raised his hands in defense. “Whoa, go easy. But hey, you know as well as I do, there’s never been anything for you but ‘just pussy,’ so forgive my mistake. Then if you don’t mind, to ease my shock, what’s so different about this one?”

“Fucking. Everything.” He lit another cigarette. “Truth be told, I don’t know what Rosie is yet, but she’s definitely more than just pussy.”

“All right then. How ’bout you tell me what you do know.”

“I know she’s full of drama and prone to little temper tantrums. I got my ways of handling that.” Badger shook his head, pushing away the images of exactly how much he liked “handling” Rosie and how much she liked being “handled,” and took a draw of his smoke. “I also know she’s in a fuckton of trouble. And I’m gonna get her out of it.”

“Define trouble?”

“There’s a dealer from her past, more specific, her dead husband’s past, in town looking to make an example of her by way of putting her in the morgue.”

“No bueno.”

“Exactly.” Badger stared out into the dark expanse of his backyard. There was no other way to describe this sitch than to say it sucked. Plain and fucking simple.

As he laid everything out for Wolf, Badger knew his friend would have his back. Deuce would, too. Together they’d get Rosie through the shit-storm that’d come calling. One way or another, Badger would make sure of it.

R
osie’s ass
was planted on the couch, reading—or trying to read—while Badger kept his ass outside with that Wolf guy. On occasion one of them would come in, grab another beer or hit the bathroom, only to disappear through the sliding glass door again. Both moved around her like she was invisible or something. She hated it. It was annoying beyond belief. And really, what kind of woman named their child “Wolf?” “Same kind of woman who names their child, Badger,” she mumbled. “Weirdos.”

They were likely just nicknames, ones they’d earned like real bikers in an MC often did, but it was still weird. Never mind the fact that Badger would probably never tell her his real name. It kind of sucked not knowing, but whatever. He didn’t want her to know, so she wasn’t going to ask again. With another huff, Rosie adjusted the blanket and focused on the screen of the tablet again. And read…the same line for about the fiftieth time. Ugh! So stupid. What the hell were they doing out there for so long? What on earth could they be talking about? Her? Her mess? A bolt of concern shot through her. Jesus, she hoped not. Rosie didn’t know Wolf, but she sure didn’t want him involved.

Badger was already at risk, she felt bad enough about that. And she knew he’d filled Deuce in, too. Guilt marked her insides like a black stain. God, the last thing she wanted was something to happen to Deuce and Evie. They were good people.

She stared out the glass door again, biting her nails. In an effort to distract herself, she focused on Wolf. His hair was blonde with highlights throughout, likely from the sun. And it was long. Really fucking long. He wore it pulled into a low ponytail at the nape of his neck, which hung all the way down to his lower back, touching his belt. There were black elastic hair ties every couple inches down the length of the tail to secure it.

Odd it wasn’t braided, but then she remembered. No braid in long hair on a biker pretty much signified the dude was single. If Wolf had a woman, she’d have no doubt braided it for him. It served as a signal to all other chicks that a man was off limits. Surprising he didn’t have a girlfriend, though. The guy was gorgeous, in a totally anti-biker way and more of a rugged romance cover-model way. Big muscles, sparkling clear blue eyes, (maybe that’s where the name came from), and a long blonde goatee. The mustache part was grown in a Fu Manchu style, longer than the chin hairs.

Guys with long hair weren’t her thing. Blondes weren’t, either. But on Wolf, with the blue eyes and genuine smile, it was a lethal combo. Plus, he had two guns holstered and mounted upside down on his lower back. Rosie had never seen anything like it before. And he had a huge freaking knife in a leather sheath strapped to his right thigh. Because one weapon wasn’t enough apparently. Three were far better. Rosie snorted. Talk about a biker’s version of the wild, wild west. Translation: The dude might be hot, but he also looked lethal as hell.

Rosie blinked, glancing away as both men were suddenly heading for the door. Badger had caught her staring at his friend.
Shit.
He was going to be so pissed. Except, what the fuck? It wasn’t like they had some sort of commitment or something. They were fucking. That was it. And she was only looking. A girl could look at the menu as long as she didn’t order off it.

They both moved past her toward the formal living room and Badger clapped his friend on the back. “’Preciate you comin’ by, brother.”

“Anytime, man. You know that.” Wolf looked back toward the couch, his gaze locked on Rosie. She bit her thumbnail and shifted under his penetrating gaze. “It was nice almost meeting you. Maybe we’ll get to chat next time, darlin’.” He smiled that killer smile of his before turning away, and Rosie felt her cheeks get warm.

For the love of all things! She fanned herself. He was steamy hot, but Badger was still hotter. Most definitely. Badger was breathtaking. And Badger was fan-fucking-tastic in bed. He was a grumpy asshole, too, but, yeah. Whatever. So far the sex rocked. Rosie closed her eyes and let her head fall back on the arm of the couch as she felt the rest of her body get warm; a craving for Badger she’d become accustomed to feeling swirled through her system.