Both of them lay there, breathing heavily. Never had Stunner known such inner peace. His mind was silent of all the demons inside him, telling him he could never be good enough for any woman, let alone one so dear to him. For those precious moments, he was completely and utterly at peace with himself. Happy, even.
After several minutes, just before Stunner knew he was going to doze off, Suzie giggled. Her breathing had settled somewhat but she made no effort to move.
“I think I might have broken something.” She didn’t sound in pain, but Stunner loosened his hold on her.
“Did I hurt you, baby?” He noticed his voice was no longer that pleasing timbre he’d worked so hard to perfect. It was back to the gruff and growly one that was more natural to him.
“Goodness, no! That was the most wonderful thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m just not sure I can move now.”
“No need for you to, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
“Yeah? Well, I’d love to say I’d take care of you, too, but I’m serious when I say I can’t move. My body feels like jelly.”
Stunner rolled gently. When she was on her back looking up at him, he brushed damp tendrils of hair off her forehead. “Don’t worry. I’ll get you cleaned up, then we’ll rest for a while.” She looked at him for a moment, a calculating look in her eyes. He stilled. “Uh, oh. I know that look.”
She blinked, looking startled. “What look?”
“That look,” he said. “You’re about to get me into trouble. Aren’t you?”
“You mean more trouble than you’re already in?” She giggled. “Pretty sure your president would take exception to what we just did together.” His president. Her dad.
Stunner winced, though he knew he had Cain’s blessing to be with his daughter or he wouldn’t have been there in the first place. “Don’t remind me.”
“I wasn’t wanting to use super glue to make you a glitter beard. I was just wondering if you had your bike with you.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Just so happens it’s in a trailer parked in the driveway of the house I’m renting. What did you have in mind?”
She ran her palms over the smattering of hair across his chest. “I just thought you might take me on a ride. The nights here are cool but refreshing this time of year. Besides, I think I’d like to show Rebecca and Georgina I’m not a wuss.”
Stunner went still. “They called you a wuss?”
“Well, in their defense, I kind of am. At least in some areas. I don’t like scary men. They think that makes me weak.”
He frowned. “I’m a scary man.”
“You are not.” She laughed. “You’re Stunner. My very own badass biker.”
With a sigh, he rolled off her, sitting beside her on the edge of the bed. “You know I’ll do whatever you want, baby. But I’m telling you right now, if they call you names again, I won’t be responsible for what happens next.”
“Yeah,” she said, sitting up. “Dad told me about the fight. He said you were pretty angry.”
He snorted. “Not sure angry’s the word I’d use.”
“Homicidal?”
“Probably.”
To his surprise, she grinned. “Can’t say I’d be sorry. But I don’t want you in trouble. Though if you did kill him, I’m sure Daddy would take care of it. He says killing isn’t an easy thing, but sometimes it has to happen.”
“Your dad’s a smart man.”
“I think so.” She smiled brightly. “You gonna go get your bike or what?”
He grinned. “As you wish, Buttercup. Meet me outside in half an hour.”
Chapter Five
On the way to the rent house, Stunner stopped by a local drug store. One thing he’d learned to always have around was a burner phone he could use with no notice if he had to keep off the grid. It was a simple model with only the basics. Call. Text. No GPS or Internet. The phone could still be pinged on a cell tower, but it was in no way linked with him. If he used it, all he had to do was make sure his regular cell was off. He usually removed the battery from his regular phone, if possible, as an added precaution.
Dialing the Boneyard number, he waited for Pops to pick up. He did so on the third ring. “Stunner,” was all he said before hanging up. Pops would get the caller ID and pass it on to Data. With Bones notified, he also shot off a one-word text to a different number. Raylan went out to the current burner cell of El Diablo. He wanted to cut ties with the man completely, but just couldn’t. Two things kept him from doing so. First, El Diablo didn’t let anyone cut ties unless he killed them, and Stunner wasn’t dead yet. Second, the man had helped Stunner when he was at the lowest point in his life. He couldn’t simply break away completely.
Sure enough, a few seconds after sending off the text, a one-letter response came.
K
Raylan was a code. Any time Stunner had to give out his identity over El Diablo’s phone, he changed the name he was using. His code names went by alphabet. It was simply R’s turn, and Stunner loved the series “Justified,” so that was the name he chose. Stunner didn’t pretend to know how the other man kept up with it all, but he did.
With that done, he headed to his house to change clothes from the stuffy suit into jeans and a black T-shirt. His tats showed, but he figured Suzie wouldn’t be too put off. He put the truck in the garage and rolled his bike from the trailer. The Fat Boy Harley was his favorite of anything he’d ever ridden.
Taking out the second helmet he’d brought with him on the off-chance Suzie wanted to ride with him, he grinned. Pink. She’d picked it out and decorated it herself. Pink. With a Bones MC rocker on the back. Everyone in Bones
