Crank's Rescue (Hell Raiders MC Book 6), page 4
I ignored the questions, and turned my full attention to utterly consuming Sarah. Desperate to have her, I fumbled my jeans open and freed my hard-on, with her cries spurring me on.
Fffuucccckkkkk! No condom! As much as I was dying to have her, I couldn't bring myself to do her raw. I hadn't exactly always been safe, and I refused to take that risk with her.
So I spread her further, ate her like a starving man at a buffet, and made her come until she writhed on the bed and begged me to stop. Drawing back, I surveyed my work with satisfaction. Fuck, I could do that every single day, and never come myself, and it would be enough, just to see her have that much pleasure.
She caught her breath, and tugged at my arms, trying to pull me over her.
"Can't, baby. I don't have any condoms right now." God, it killed me to say that. Any other chick, and I'd have gone right the fuck ahead.
Sarah looked up at me, pleading, needing more. "It's okay. I'm on the pill."
How the fuck was I supposed to tell her something like this? "No, it's not okay. I can't be sure I'm clean, and I won't put you in danger, no matter how much I'm dying to have you right now."
The bed creaked a little as she rose onto her elbow. "Thank you for caring that much." She leaned in to kiss me, and just like that, I was lost all over again.
Small hands pressed against my chest, and I didn't resist, letting her push me onto my back. Goosebumps broke across my belly as she lifted the hem of my shirt. "Sarah…" I couldn't say the words.
"Shh. Stop worrying." She leaned down and brushed damp lips over my ribs.
Beyond any ability to reason, I dragged my shirt off, and when I would have flipped her under me, she took my hands in hers. I froze, waiting to see what she would do. No matter how fucking much I wanted her, I couldn't force her.
Sheets rustled as she moved, but disbelief kept me still. She rose from the bed, then stopped long enough to pull my boots off. Strong tugs slid my jeans down and off, change and keys jingling in my pockets. Sarah pushed between my ankles and climbed on the bed.
My vision swam as she settled onto her knees and leaned down to take me into her mouth. I was already too fucking far gone, so I threaded my fingers through her hair, and let her magic take over. I barely managed to pull her away before I came. About the time my lungs stopped heaving for air, I wrapped her into my arms and pulled her close.
"I'm glad you're here." She relaxed against my chest.
"Yeah, me too. I don't know what took me so fucking long to get my ass back here." The admission came unexpectedly. I took a deep breath as I realized it was true. I should have come back to her long ago, or never even fucking left.
The way she rested her head on my chest felt like the most natural thing in the world. "I almost called you, dozens of times every day, to ask you to come back for me."
Fuck. I wished she had. The issues with her boss had to wait until tomorrow. For the moment, I wanted nothing more than to hold my sweet Sarah in my arms and sleep with her. I shifted away from her. "Hang on a second, let me get rid of the rest of these fucking clothes. I don't want anything between us while we sleep." I kicked off my boxer briefs and dropped them on my jeans, along with my socks. I should at least grab the little .22 semi-automatic I picked up on the way from the airport, and keep it handy, but at the moment, I didn't give a fuck. The only thing that mattered was getting back in that bed with Sarah, and just soaking her up.
It only took us a moment to get settled, and although desire for her still burned through my veins, I held off. Right now, she needed comfort more than sex, even mind-blowing sex. And I needed her safe from whatever nastiness might be flowing through my veins. So I pulled her in close, so her hair tickled my jaw, and traced my fingers up and down her spine. The texture of her skin felt like some exotic silk, or some impossibly fine weave of fabric. I could stroke her forever and never tire of it.
Sarah drifted off to sleep, but I lay awake for what seemed a long time. Having her in my arms again felt like some vital part of my body had returned after a long absence. Fuck me, what the hell was I going to do when it was time to go home?
That question brought me right back to the same one I had wrestled with for weeks. Could I ask her to come back to Stags Leap with me? Not really, since she had a life here. But now that trouble seemed to be breathing down her neck with her job, would all that change? If her boss was the sort of low, dirty bastard I figured him for, she would never be safe again while he walked free. Especially not in the same town.
So would she consider relocating for that reason? Or maybe I could talk to Kellen and see about patching to one of the clubs in this area, so I could be close enough to protect her. I could work from anywhere, as long as I had an internet connection. But could I really leave my Brothers, my heritage, and what was left of my family? For a woman?
I wished I knew the answer to that one. My first reaction, the one from my gut, was Fuck yeah, for Sarah, I could. But then logic took over, and I just couldn't be so sure.
Sarah:
The sensation of an extremely full bladder woke me. As I started to roll from the bed, I realized I wasn't alone. A strong arm tightened around me when I moved a little. Crank.
He really came for me. A lump formed in my throat. Part of me couldn't believe he actually came. Yes, he'd said to just text or call if I needed him, but people said stuff like that all the time. Especially after he ignored my text at first, and the way I spoke to him when I called that day I was so upset and disappointed. I'd barely allowed myself to hope he might help from a distance. I couldn't blame him if he told me to get lost.
I wriggled away, careful not to wake him, and padded quietly to the bathroom. When I returned and climbed back into the bed, he opened his arms for me to slip back into them. Was he awake? Or just accustomed to having a woman in his bed?
An unexpected spear of jealously hit the vicinity of my heart. I should know better. Crank was hardly the kind of man to settle down to one woman. The way he looked alone would have women crawling all over him, even without that bad boy edge. He probably never slept alone. Tension knotted my muscles and stiffened my body. I didn't want to be just another in a long line of conquests, even though it was too late for that.
"What's wrong, Sarah?" The sleepy rumble of his voice made my stomach do somersaults.
"Nothing. I'm sorry to wake you."
"Bull-fucking-shit. Your stiff as a board. What is it?" He no longer sounded sleepy at all.
I couldn't let him know what I'd been thinking. "Really, nothing is wrong."
He raised onto his elbow and looked down at me. "Do you regret what we did?"
Nothing could be further from the truth. "No, I don't. I'm glad." God, I was a coward. I should just tell him, let him laugh at me and tell me to suck it up. I took a deep breath for courage. "Crank, I'm sorry. I just don't want to be another notch on your belt, and I let myself become exactly that." I started to roll away. He wouldn't want anything more to do with me now. Men like him always ran at the first sign of a woman getting attached.
He pulled me back. "Is that what you think, Sarah? That you're just another fuck to me?" The dim light coming in from the bathroom revealed his frown. "Because I don't know what you did to me, but I haven't been able to get you out of my head since I went back home. All I've been able to do is stare at your picture and dream of you. So, no, you're not another fucking notch on my fucking belt."
His words made my pulse race. Could it be true? Could he actually feel the same attraction, the same need? No, of course not. He probably told all the girls he was with something along the same lines. I searched his face, looking for some hint, anything to tell me if he were sincere.
His lips found my forehead. "Rest for now, Sarah. Tomorrow, we start bringing your boss down. And when that's taken care of, we'll figure this shit between us out. Even though I should get back home as fast as I can, save you the trouble of all the baggage I bring with me, I don't think I can go back without you."
When I started to reply, he shushed me and cradled me close to his chest. The words replayed over and over in my head, long after his breathing evened out with sleep. Did he really mean it? Finally, I dozed off, only to dream of a life far different from the one I led now. One that included Crank.
***
I woke to the sound of my alarm buzzing, and automatically reached to hit snooze. As I snuggled deeper into the bed, memory hit and I scooted over, seeking Crank. He wasn't there. Afraid of the worst, I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes just in time for the door to open. Crank came in carrying two steaming cups of coffee, and a paper bag.
"Is one of those for me?"
He grinned. "Of course. I thought you might need some fuel." The side of the bed dipped a little as he sat and passed me one of the cups. "I brought you breakfast, too. Just glazed donuts, since I wasn't sure what you liked, so I hope that's okay." He dropped the bag at my side and reached for me with his now free hand, brushing his fingers over my nipple.
Heat shot straight to my core, but he pulled back far too soon.
"We have things to do. First, you call off work. Then we'll go over all the details of what you've found, and figure out what to do from here." He opened the bag of donuts. "Here, eat. It's a long fucking day ahead of us."
I sort of expected Crank to be all affectionate after we ate, and I certainly wouldn't have objected, but he just told me to get dressed. As soon as I did, he pulled a laptop from his bag and logged onto the hotel's wi-fi.
Did he regret last night? Was that why he didn't want to make love again? Well, I had to admit, it was hardly fair to him. He made the earth rock for me, and I gave him the same thing he could get for a few bucks on any street corner. Of course he would rather wait. So I took a deep breath, determined to be a big girl, and get on with business.
Before he could get started on anything else, I told him about Sennit visiting my parents last night. "I have to get them out of town. They're going to be at the airport at noon, so I need to get with a travel agent and book them on a cruise, beyond his reach."
"We can take care of that right now." He asked me a few questions, got their info, and before I knew it, he had them booked on a cruise that would keep them away for a week. "Okay, now tell me everything you know about your boss. Names, dates, everything." While I talked, he typed, clicked, and typed some more. Then he read a while. The longer he read, the deeper his frown became. "Did you know Jared Sennit has a juvie record for sexual assault? Well, charged, but not convicted. The girl recanted. Can't believe I missed this shit when I started looking into him for Fabio."
"Are you serious? How could that happen? They run all sorts of background checks before we're hired." My mind raced with the implications. If he assaulted someone as a teenager, who knew what he was capable of now? Well, the girls in his case files knew. "Are you sure it was him? How did you find out?"
Crank looked up at me and gave me a devilish smile. "Let's just say I have ways. There's nothing you can't find on the Dark Web."
"Dark Web?" That sounded ominous.
"It's an unregulated part of the internet, basically. Anything can be had, including drugs, sex, and information. So even a sealed Juvie record can be had."
I considered that information. I'd heard of people getting drugs on the internet, so that must be how they did it. "So what's our next move?" The question assumed he would choose to go ahead with helping me, yet I couldn't be sure when he might decide he'd done enough, and just leave.
His shoulders lifted in a small shrug. "That depends what you want to do."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, I can make him back off and leave you alone, for one. Or we can make him choose to resign, and go elsewhere. Want to ruin him professionally? Or see him brought up on charges?" He grinned. "Or he could just…disappear."
"Why would he disappear?"
That grin came again. "He might decide he likes the weather in Alaska better than here. Or maybe he has a friend in South America he wants to visit. Or maybe he'll just walk away one day, and never be seen or heard from again."
"Oh." Or maybe Crank would kill him. For me. The thought didn't curdle my blood the way it should have. In fact, it gave me an odd sense of comfort. Was that how Tanya felt with Trip's protective nature? "I definitely want his ability to hurt kids taken away, so he needs to be ruined professionally, in a way that means he never works with kids again, not in any capacity, anywhere." I thought for another moment. "And he needs to pay for what he's done, so he needs to face charges."
"Okay, then. That's a starting point." He started to come up with specifics on how we could handle Sennit, without involving any children, and still avoid bringing in any direct supervisors.
I had to admit, the plan covered all the bases, and left no space for Sennit to wiggle free. We had him. "I love it!"
"Okay, I need to make a couple calls, and later we'll probably have to go talk to some people face to face. Once we have everything ready to go, we'll have to contact someone much higher up in your agency, someone with no reason to coddle Sennit." He leaned back and stretched, making his muscles stand out against the thin fabric of his t-shirt. My mouth practically watered with the desire to taste him, but at the moment, he seemed interested only in business.
I sighed. Okay, I could do that for a little while longer. "That someone will be hard to find. He's a good politician, and he goes to all the conferences and meetings. He's been invited to the Governor's mansion for events several times, too. I'm just not sure who we could go to."
A speculative look crossed his face. "I guess we could go straight to the Governor, then. That'll take a little time to arrange."
That made no sense. "Why would the Governor help us?"
He shrugged. "He might not. But those invitations probably came from staffers, not the Governor himself, but it still associates him with Sennit. And most politicians at that level have higher ambitions. A hint of scandal like that in his state agencies, especially involving someone he's been in direct contact with socially, would kill any prospects he might have. So he can help us, or we can take it directly to the news media."
"That might work." It seemed like he had everything planned out. It all made sense when he explained it. Yet I couldn't help the sense of foreboding that prickled my spine. What were we missing?
He stood, towering over me, and gave me that devilish smile of his again. "Don't worry. It'll work." One fingertip stroked over my cheekbone. "Sit with me while I make my calls?"
He didn't need to ask twice. The craving to be near him startled me with its intensity. Before, when we first met, I thought the strong attraction I felt for him came from his bad boy edge. He was nothing like the men I normally found appealing, so it made an odd kind of sense. This time, though, I had no excuse. Crank made me feel things I always discounted as fiction, made up to sell books and movies, and whatever those things were, I found myself needing them desperately on some basic, essential level.
He sat on the bed, his back up against the headboard, long legs sprawled before him, and drew me to sit between his thighs, leaning against his chest. He dialed his cell from memory, rather than selecting a contact, and waited for someone to answer the call.
"Yeah, man, it's me. All good back there?" After a short pause, he went on. "Yeah, I'm good. Enjoying the vacay. Hey, you know that ol' boy we ran into out west a few weeks back?" Another pause. "I'd like to touch base with him. Think you can make that happen?" After another moment, the call apparently ended.
Crank threaded his fingers through my hair, and dialed someone else. "Hey man, I'm in our book cover Brother's old stomping grounds. Need some negotiation tools. Set it up." He dropped the phone onto the bed. "Now we wait."
How were those calls supposed to help? They sounded more social than anything. Had I made a mistake in calling Crank? "What are we waiting for?"
"Call backs. One of the Hell Raiders will set up a meet with a club we know in this area. Hopefully, when they hear what's happening here, they'll agree to help us. Another Raider is setting up a deal for some weapons. I couldn't bring much of anything on the plane." He chuckled, his breath tickling my neck.
"Weapons? Why?" Surely he couldn't mean guns? I mean, I knew he often carried one, and probably knew how to use it. But this was hardly the kind of situation that led to shootouts. Was it?
"Darlin', your boss won't give up his little money machine easily. You take into account he's low enough to rape kids, and all bets are off. There's no telling what he'll bring at us." He seemed to sense how tight my shoulders had become with the tension and worry, because he started working the knots loose with his thumbs. "Don't worry, though. This ain't my first rodeo. No matter what he does, I'll find a way to counter it, and keep you safe."
A chill settled into my spine. Was Sennit really capable of killing to protect his criminal acts? I hardly knew Crank, so could I really trust him with something this big and important? Sure, my life could be endangered, but all those girls Sennit victimized meant far more to me. If my life became the cost of keeping them, and others like them, safe, then so be it.
Crank:
Even lying safe in a bed, wrapped in my arms, Sarah was fucking scared, and she should be. She might not have put this thing into terms of life and death before, but she sure had now. Fear tightened every muscle of her lithe body, and as much as I wanted to reassure and comfort her, I fucking refused to lie to her. By choosing to go after her crooked boss, Sarah put herself into a world of danger, and the only way out was to bring his ass down hard.
With a little luck, my plan would work out in spades. Unlike Sarah, I seriously doubted if Sennit acted alone in his activities, so I already had my sights set on any associates. He already proved himself willing to barter a child's innocence for his precious kickback by ordering Fabio's niece and nephew placed with what we now knew was a pedophile. In my experience, sick fucks like that usually sought safety in numbers.
