Page 20 of Rattlin' Bones

“My dad told you to leave, didn’t he?” I spat, shaking off his hand and rising to my feet in frustration. “You should have spoken to me, Skel. Walking away without hearing what I felt or wanted first wasn’t okay.”

“You were so young, Lacey. Still in college.”

“So? I still know my mind and heart, Bran. I’m not a child.”

To get the point across, I used his real name instead of the alias he’d been given as a Marine. The same road name he adopted when he became a biker. I saw the patches on his leather vest and knew what they meant. He was a member of a motorcycle club.

“No, you’re not.” Skel lifted his hands, resting his palms against my cheeks. “Sweet Girl, you’re my pleasure and my pain. There’s not a day I don’t wake up thinking of you.”

“Is that why you came back to Las Vegas?”

No. I could see it in his eyes—the pain of the truth. I had nothing to do with the reason he returned.

Shit. “I see.”

“I came back for Maddog, my new president. The club needed me.” He stared into my eyes, clearly tortured. “I didn’t want to hope that you would still care for me, Lacey. Time forced a wedge between us, and that’s my fault.”

But he was wrong about my feelings. My heart ached for him as intently now as it did three years ago. I still wanted to be with him. Didn’t he feel it when we had sex in the storage room?

“You were crying back there,” he continued, guessing where my thoughts had taken me, “Tell me why.”

“Because it doesn’t matter how much I care about you, Skel. You still won’t stay with me.”

He closed his eyes, breathing a heavy sigh. They slowly opened as he shook his head. “I fucked this all up.”

I stepped back, and his hands fell away. “There’s not much point in continuing this conversation. I need to go home.”

“Lacey,” he began to argue as the power shut off, and we plunged into darkness. Only the fireplace provided enough light to keep us from a total blackout.

“Skel?”

He glanced out the windows. “Fuck.”

“What’s happening?”

“It’s only us.” Skel grabbed my hand and led me to the hallway, rushing into his office. “I’ve got a panic room behind the bookshelves. Stay in there, lock it from the inside, and don’t open the door for anyone other than me. Promise me, Lacey.”

“Okay,” I whispered, blinking as he pulled out a book and flipped a switch in the vacant spot.

The bookcase separated from the wall, and he shoved it open, gesturing for me to duck down. “You have to climb in. There are monitors to see what’s happening. Stay quiet. If someone finds you, use one of the guns. Don’t hesitate.”

“I’m scared,” I admitted as I heard a window break. The glass shattered, and I knew we weren’t alone.

Skel smashed his mouth to mine, giving me a kiss before pushing me into the panic room. “You’re safe,” he whispered as he closed the door behind me, and I heard it locking into place. I saw additional security latches and used them, hoping that meant that I prevented someone from opening the secret door.

The room was small. Four walls, a carpeted floor, and a few crates of supplies. There was a desk with several monitors that blipped between images, all showing different angles of Skel’s house.

Spinning in a circle, I noticed the room had been well stocked. Keeping quiet, I searched through everything. A mini fridge provided cold drinks. One of the crates held dry goods and snacks like trail mix, protein bars, and peanut butter.

The furniture consisted of the desk with monitors, an office chair, a small couch, the crates, and a table with two folding chairs. Searching through the remaining crates, I found blankets, pillows, and extra clothing. Underneath the desk, I spotted a safe and a thick wooden case. I opened it, finding a handgun and ammo. Wow. This just got real.

The dark room was cool, and I took one of the blankets, wrapping myself up before I sat in the office chair, staring at the monitors. I shouldn’t have looked. Three men wearing black clothes had entered the house. One stood inside Skel’s office, just feet from where I hid behind the bookcase.

Terrified, I began to tremble, slowly rising to my feet. I pushed the chair away from me and sat on the floor, keeping the monitor in view as I reached for the gun case.

The criminal wore a hoodie pulled low to disguise his features. He circled the room, searching for something as he tossed chairs around and sent the contents of Skel’s desk to the floor. I heard something break.

Where was Skel? I looked through each of the monitors but didn’t see him. Was he hurt?

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