Serving the Bad Boy: War Hawks MC Page 2

  A doorman, even this late at night, opened the door and gave a firm nod to Tarek. He eyed me cautiously as I followed Tarek inside.

  “I don’t get the impression he likes me,” I continued. “Uh, even the help to the rich and snooty acts rich and snooty.”

  “It’s not even like that,” Tarek laughed, walking past a girl at the front desk to an elevator just past her.

  She gave him a friendly smile, and he gave her a halfhearted nod in return. Then she proceeded to scowl at me.

  “Okay, well, she clearly doesn’t like me either,” I huffed.

  “They both just know that it’s not often anyone comes to the penthouse, especially with a guest,” he replied casually.

  He was relaxed and calm as if ritzy and luxury meant nothing to him. Appearances meant nothing to him.

  “You are friends with someone living in the penthouse of a place like this?” I asked a little incredulously.

  “Not exactly would be the best answer to both of your questions,” he replied, pressing a button above all the numbers.

  “Well, what is it? What’s going on? How does everyone here know you, hate me, and you don’t even live here or visit all the time?” I asked, beginning to feel a touch of fear again.

  He didn’t respond. The elevator went up a few more floors. I sighed loudly and folded my arms.

  “I didn’t have to come with you, you know. I didn’t have to save you in the kitchen,” I chided.

  “No, you didn’t,” he said, making eye contact with me again for the first time since I got on his bike. “You didn’t, but you did. That tells me that whatever comes next, you are already along for the ride.”

  At that moment, the elevator dinged and came to a stop. The doors opened to an area that resembled the lobby we passed through earlier, but larger. Tarek reached into his inner coat pocket and pulled out a ring with only a handful of keys on it. He fiddled with them for a moment before stepping up to the door with a selected key in hand.

  As the door swung open, he stepped aside and made a grand gesture of bowing and extending his hand for me to enter before him. Without a word, I looked at him. Then I slowly made my way into the apartment. I was met with a large spiral staircase followed by a large kitchen, a dining room, and a living area. It was open-spaced with very few personal touches that would otherwise make it feel homier.

  “It’s beautiful, but it looks like a showroom,” I said absent-mindedly.

  “Well, however you want to think of it, no one is staying here right now,” Tarek replied. “We will be okay to stay here for a few days until I can sort a few things out.”

  “A few days?” I asked, nearly shouting. “I can’t stay here with you a few days. I have a job and a life. Despite tonight’s events, I don’t go home or anywhere else with men that I have just met.”

  “I’m sure under normal humdrum circumstances you’re a perfectly humdrum girl, but tonight has possibly changed all that for you,” he replied, also nearly yelling.

  I stepped back. I was uncertain where to look or what to do. Was he really telling me the crazy night that I thought was coming to an end was actually a stepping stone to my life becoming so dramatic?

  “You said before that being around you had put a target on my back,” I said, wrapping myself up in my own arms as if I felt a chill. “I trusted you to get me to safety since I looked out for you. Now, you pick back up on this danger talk. Don’t be cryptic with me. If I’m really still in danger, I deserve to know what’s going on. It seems like my only danger is coming from being around you, despite current appearances.”

  “I really can’t tell you anything. If you want to go, I have kept my word about getting you away from the gala safely,” he replied.

  “Am I still in danger?” I asked.

  He sighed and walked over to the fridge. There was nothing inside but a few cases of beer and water. He stood, looking inside. He didn’t seem to have any intention of answering me.

  “Am I in danger because I helped you?” I asked, continuing my questioning.

  He looked in my direction. Then he grabbed two beers and sat them on the counter. He closed the fridge and picked up the first beer. He popped the top and slid it across the counter in my direction. He opened the second bottle and drank half of it before taking a breath.

  “Say something!” I yelled with no concern for his neighbors or anyone else who could have been in the rooms I had not explored in the suite.

  He finished his beer and placed the bottle in the trashcan.

  “Yes,” he said, looking at me.

  Then he opened the fridge and grabbed another bottle.

  That one word fell on my ears and settled on me like a weight on my shoulders. I stepped over to the counter and took a long swallow from the beer that he had opened for me. I sat it down and immediately picked it up again. He leaned against the fridge and watched as I continued to guzzle my beer until nothing remained. I sat the empty bottle down and stared at it as if the solution to my sudden problems would be somewhere on the label.

  “Another?” he asked.

  “No, thanks,” I replied. “I don’t actually like beer, but I needed a little liquid courage to balance out what you just told me.”

  He nodded and sipped his second bottle in a much more relaxed way.

  “Well, the only thing left to offer in the fridge is water,” he said, gesturing with his bottle and then shrugging.

  “That’s probably for the best. I need to keep my head about me,” I replied. “I made rash decisions in a crisis situation and those decisions appear to be biting me in the ass. I got on your bike because I thought maybe the job I hated was about to be my gateway to something else.”

  “After what happened, what were you expecting?” he asked, taking another sip of his beer.

  I thought about it. Everything had happened so quickly. I saved his life in the kitchen, but I would like to think that I would have helped anyone in that situation if I had the opportunity. I didn’t help anyone else at the gala, but I didn’t really have an opportunity.

  “Tonight, I got trampled. Then I saw a young couple trying to get their grandmother to safety,” I said, not sure where I was going.

  I knew silence wasn’t the answer if I wanted him to open up to me.

  I continued, “Then, you could have ratted me out in the kitchen, but you didn’t.”

  “You could have left me to die, but you didn’t,” Tarek replied. “Maybe I saved your life twice tonight, and you still owe me one.”

  He smiled as he finished the rest of his current beer and gathered up the three bottles. He opened a cabinet under the sink and tossed them into the trash below. Then he leaned against the counter in front of the sink. He folded his arms, giving his smile to me now.

  “Maybe,” I replied, shaking my head and looking away. “I’m just saying that tonight is one of those crazy life stories people get. It’s my traumatic life moment. Everything that happened, after all, seems tied to a choice I made in the kitchen with you.”

  “Okay, Annie. So are you saying that I’m to blame for all this?” Tarek asked, his smile replaced with a frown.

  “That’s not what I’m saying at all,” I replied, shaking my head and waving my hands in front of me. “I’m saying that, for whatever reason, I have decided to trust you. I have left my comfort zone, and now it’s not just because of a clear, present danger. I am where I am because I chose to believe you. I chose to get on the back of your bike. If you really think I’m in some kind of danger, you at least owe it to me to let me in on what you know.”

  ***

  Tarek

  “For your own safety, the less you know, the better,” I replied, hoping Annie would heed my words.

  “It’s not the heat of the moment. I don’t see or feel any imminent danger,” she replied, folding her hands in front of herself. “If you don’t want to tell me what’s going on, then get me a cab. I want to go home because now you just seem like a creep taking advantage
of a bad situation. It’s like you’re going to tell me you’re a spy or something, and I don’t have time for BS. I should be home, calling my loved ones, and letting the few people who care about me know that I’m okay.”

  She began pacing, and her face was becoming more and more visibly red. Her arms were still folded across her chest, but now she was clenching her fists tightly instead of gripping her elbows.

  I couldn’t explain why, but at that moment I felt bad for her. She was alone in a strange place with a guy she met during a crisis. I probably didn’t come across any better than the goons she escaped from. I may even come across worse once she got to know me, but I couldn’t let her risk going it alone.

  “I own a night spot in town,” I said, deciding to tell her as much as I thought she needed to know just to keep her at the penthouse and safe for the time being. “Well, I’m working on becoming full owner. Right now, I sort of have a wealthy benefactor, a sponsor. When I pay him back his cut for helping me get the place off the ground, I’ll be able to avoid some of the trouble I seem to find myself in. You sure you don’t want another beer?”

  She shook her head and spun on her heels slowly. She kept her arms folded but relaxed enough to move to the living area and sit down.

  “If your business partner is the cause of you being in situations like this, I think you would be better off buying them out sooner rather than later. Can’t you take out a loan or something?” Annie asked.

  “A guy like me would be rejected before I could ask. I don’t usually make a good first impression,” I replied. “Besides, it’s not really like that. Sometimes business isn’t just business. The initial loan was personal, and these little matters are part of my debt repayment until other arrangements can be made.”

  I made my way from the kitchen and joined her in the living room. I sat on the opposite end of the couch and propped my feet on the coffee table as I relaxed. I sat back and stretched my arms out wide across the back of the sofa. Even though I was at the opposite end from her, Annie sat more erect and tugged the bottom of her skirt down. It only covered an additional inch or so.

  “Well, it doesn’t sound like you borrowed from someone who cares about you very much,” she noted. “I imagine you had to be reasonably close to this person to ask at all since it was a personal loan. It’s sad to think the people you are closest to would expect you to put your life in danger over borrowed money, no matter how much.”

  “Are you getting upset on my behalf?” I asked.

  Annie blushed and put her hands in her lap.

  “I just think it’s a shame when people don’t appreciate the people in their lives,” she said softly.

  “I guess someone like you probably doesn’t have to worry about people like that in their lives,” I said, shrugging off her words. “I don’t have a lot of personal people in my life, but I like to tell myself that when it really comes to it, they would do as much or more for me.”

  “I guess the question is would you ask them to?” Annie said simply without missing a beat.

  “Well, there is also the question of should I have to and would I be willing?” I said. “I bet for someone like you, who saves random strangers in a crisis, your life is full of people who would kill or die for you without hesitation.”

  This girl didn’t know me or where I came from. She didn’t know about the people in my life and all they had survived. She didn’t know what I had survived with and without them.

  “Well, you don’t strike me as the type to ask for much. I’ll bet asking help to start your business was probably an exception to the rule,” she said, looking down the couch at me. “As for me, I was lying earlier. I don’t have anyone. There is no one to call, no one to worry. They probably won’t even miss me at work until it is time to discuss service for the next catered event. Even then, after a call or two, they will just assume I have quit. Turnover among servers and the food industry as a whole is pretty high.”

  Her gaze trailed off me and moved around the room without stopping on anything in particular. Her hands relaxed in her lap, and she sat back, more relaxed on the couch. Finally, Annie looked back at me and continued.

  “I haven’t heard from my mom in years, my dad is dead, and I have no siblings or extended family. I was never someone who got close to other kids in school or people at my job so I really have no one to go home to. I don’t have anyone somewhere worrying about me, and I have no one to wonder about in dangerous situations. Sometimes, there is just a right and wrong thing to do. Saving you seemed right. Getting on your bike seemed right.”

  I didn’t really have much to say and would have hated to admit that I had been judging her in my own way. I’m not typically an affectionate man, but knowing how alone she was and seeing how she had come to accept it made me want to be with her. I wanted to keep sitting on the couch with her, talking and spending time together.

  “Well, it seems like the luxury of someone to come home to, and people who care about us may be something you and I both lack,” I replied. “You are right, the people I’m close to don’t necessarily view me in the best light.”

  “Well, no one who truly cares would really want you to put yourself in danger. Not even to spare them,” she replied, shrugging slightly.

  We sat silently on the couch for a few more seconds. Neither of us really knew where to pick up the conversation from there. When she yawned and rubbed her neck, I realized I hadn’t shown her where anything was in the house.

  “You probably want to freshen up and get to bed or something. I’ll keep the tour short and simple, but feel free to wander around. I wouldn’t recommend you go anywhere outside the penthouse without me,” I said, standing to give her a quick tour. “Downstairs, you can see, is one big open space. There is a half bath in the foyer area and a full bath and restroom around the corner of the kitchen. The sliding doors in the living area lead to a private balcony. “

  “So, whose place is this?” Annie asked. “You said earlier it wasn’t yours. Does it belong to the same person who gave you the loan for your business?”

  “Not exactly,” I replied.

  “Then what exactly?” she asked.

  “It’s sort of a family house,” I replied.

  “Whose family?” she continued questioning.

  We reached the top of the stairs so I resumed the tour to avoid her questions. There were three bedrooms, and each had its own bath. The master bedroom was clearly distinguished by size and bathroom design. It had a large Jacuzzi tub and separate walk-in shower, whereas the other bedrooms were smaller with shower-tub combinations.

  “You can take the master, and I will sleep downstairs on the couch for tonight,” I said, ending our walk around the apartment.

  “Why would you sleep on the couch when there are two other perfectly good bedrooms?” Annie asked.

  “Do you need an explanation for everything? I’m going to drink a few more beers, and I just prefer that than being up here. Do I need a reason?” I asked nearly barking and spitting the words.

  She stepped out of my way to let me pass and didn’t look me in the face.

  “I didn’t mean to upset you. It just seemed strange, but I get that you might need to unwind. Clearly, tonight had more going on for you than the rest of us,” she said. “I won’t ask right now, but I’m still wondering why people were being rounded up as hostages. I still want to know why they were picking and choosing who to hold, who to spare, and for some reason, one guy was ready to kill you, but I guess some questions can wait.”

  I immediately felt a little guilty about snapping at her, but I didn’t want to apologize. I still wanted to make my point. For tonight I wanted to be done with questions. I wanted to relax.

  “We can talk more in the morning. Things should be clearer then, and I will have a better idea what to do next,” I replied with my back to her.

  I had started to make my way back down the hall to the stairs when I heard her voice again. I paused momentarily before conti
nuing on my way.

  “Sure, in the morning,” she said. “Sleep well, I guess. Sweet dreams.”

  Chapter 3

  Annie

  “I can’t sleep,” I said, as I made my way back downstairs.

  I had found a variety of menswear in the bedroom I was in, so I felt reasonably covered in a button down that was a fairly large size. The shirttail nearly touched my knees. It was a dark plum color, so I didn’t have to worry whether Tarek would be able to see through it.

  “Tarek!” I called when I reached the landing, but I didn’t see him anywhere.

  I repeated his name a few more times without a response. For the first time since the initial explosion, I felt scared. I had hopped on the back of some guy’s motorcycle and ended up in a strange, fancy penthouse. Now, I was alone. Who knew when or if he would be back? Or if I hadn’t been brought somewhere for something worse than I cared to imagine.