Page 16 of Saved By the Rogue

I leaned on the counter, scanning the road outside the shop. I wasn’t sure why, but something felt...off. Something was about to happen; I was sure of it.

And I was sure I wasn’t going to like it when it did.

I had felt it from the moment I’d gotten out of bed this morning, slipping out from under the covers next to Star and leaving her to rest – though, fuck, it had been tough convincing myself not to just stay there with her all day long. Hooking up with her last night, it had way exceeded my expectations – maybe it was knowing it was her first time, maybe it was seeing the look on her face as she went over the edge and into her release for the first time with me inside her, but I knew I would be going back for more soon. Her slim, naked form in the bed beside me had been hard enough to deny, but I knew I had to get down to the tattoo shop or one of the guys would notice I was missing. And I didn’t much feel like explaining what was going on between Star and me to anyone.

The place was quiet – Chuck and Lee had been talking with a few of their men next door, and I had heard the low conversation before it had died out, followed by the roar of engines. Off to deal with whatever shit had been put in their path, I figured. And I was alone, at the store once more, with no back-up if something went wrong...

Not that I had any reason to think it would, of course. I was likely just on edge because I knew that something had changed between Star and me, and the thought of letting that slip through my fingers – yeah, that wasn’t something I could handle, not a chance in hell.

She had slept with her arm above her head last night, and I had watched the slow rise and fall of her chest, wondering what the hell I was doing – what the hell was going on here, what I was allowing myself to get drawn into. Because there was something about her, fuck, something about her that I couldn’t come close to denying. I hadn’t let someone get this near to me in a long time, and I knew it was a risk, but I didn’t give a single damn. Because she was dealing with shit, too – she was handling a past she obviously didn’t want anyone to know about, and the impact it had taken on her. I wasn’t going to let myself get spooked away from that, no matter how strange it felt to let someone come close to me, no matter how discomforting it seemed...

I heard a voice, outside, on the street, and my head snapped up. I couldn’t stop wondering if the guys who had been after her had seen me in the bar the night before, and if they had, if they were coming to track me down – it wouldn’t have surprised me. They would have strung the pieces together, figured out that there was more going on here than met the eye. We’d barely got rid of them the first time they’d come snooping around here, and I knew we wouldn’t pull it off a second time without a fight.

I reached beneath the counter, touching the pistol we kept beneath the desk. I hoped I wasn’t going to have to use it. But if I did...

I was ready.

Two figures passed in front of the store window – and one of them glanced in at me. I froze. It was him, the man who had been at the bar last night. His eyes locked on to mine for a long moment, and he jerked his head towards the door, leading his companion inside.

I rolled my shoulders back, not planning to make this easy for them.

"What’s up?” I called to them, as they headed through the door.

"You remember us?" The man I had seen at the bar asked. I shook my head, frowning like I didn’t know what they were getting at.

"Nope."

"You sure about that?" He asked me. All at once, his hand flew to his side – and he drew a gun.

I stared down the cold, hard barrel, my head spinning. It wasn’t the first time I had been confronted with a weapon like this, but it never exactly got easier with time. I lifted my gaze to meet him.

"Put that away," I told him. "And we can talk."

"We tried talking the first time, remember?" he told me, cocking the gun. "Now, you tell us where that bitch is, or-"

"Don’t talk about her like that," I told him, voice dripping with anger.

"Speak up," he snapped at me, gesturing to me with the gun. His companion was behind him, blocking the door.

"I said, don’t talk about her like that," I growled. And, before I could think twice, I snatched the gun out from under the counter, and fired off a shot.

It slammed into his right shoulder, sending his arm flying back, the gun he had been holding landing with a crash on the floor below – blood spattered the wall behind him, and his howl of pain filled the small space around us. I turned the gun on the other man, but he was already making a break for it. So much for loyalty...

The man keeled over in pain, falling to his knees, and I vaulted the counter and took his gun before he could get his hands on it again. I didn’t know what they had expected when they had walked into a Dark Dogs compound brandishing a weapon, but they should have known better. After this, I hoped they would.

Tossing his gun aside, I planted my weapon to the man’s temple. He didn’t look at me, pressing his hand instead to the wound that was spurting blood on his right shoulder.

"What’s your name?" I demanded. He didn’t answer, his teeth gritted as he tried to navigate the agony coursing through his system. I cocked the gun, making sure he knew I was serious.

"Your name," I ordered him. "Now."

"Bailey," he snarled back at me finally, spittle flying out of his mouth. I dropped the gun.

"On your feet," I told him. "Now."

He rose to his feet reluctantly, and I steered him through to the back office – I wasn’t going to let him sit around attracting attention, not when someone would have heard that gunshot, and might have called the cops. I’d already been through enough as it was today, and I didn’t want to deal with any more bullshit if I could avoid it.

With the gun pressed to the small of his back, I guided him to the office, and locked the door behind us. Chuck would forgive me for using the space like this. I needed somewhere I could make good use of, somewhere I could get the information I needed out of him. Who had sent him, how many others there were out there searching for Star – exactly who I needed to look out for.

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