Nicky (Fallen Gliders MC Book 1) Read online

  I’d packed some sandwiches, so once we hit the crest of the mountains, we pulled into the overlook and enjoyed a picnic in the grass.

  “Best day ever,” I said, once full and lying on my back to soak up some spring rays of sun shining down on us. “I forgot what it was like to have freedom.” Nicky lounged on his side facing me, and I turned my head. “Thank you for this.”

  Badass tatts covered his muscular arms, but gentleness poured from his small smile. “Thank you for sharing the day with me.”

  We stared at each other in comfortable silence as we often did, my mind enjoying a daydream in la la land where happily-ever-afters existed and true love conquered all.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked, having to know what darkened the blue shade of his eyes.

  “I’m thinking that I want you.”

  Arousal sprang to life between my thighs, and I smiled. “You seem to think that a lot.”

  “Yes, but I’m thinking about having you bare. No condom, nothing between us.”

  “I’ve never been with someone like that.”

  “Ever?”

  I shook my head.

  “Are you on birth control?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’m clean, too.”

  “So am I.”

  My smile widened at the idea of his cock sliding into me unsheathed, skin on skin. “Want to take a little walk in the woods? Get lost for an hour or two?”

  Nicky’s lips twitched as one eyebrow raised.

  My cell vibrated in my back pocket.

  “Shit.” I rolled and pulled it out, hoping the new girl wasn’t having any trouble.

  Kelly’s name showed up onscreen.

  “Everything okay?” I asked, sitting up.

  “No.” She sounded panicked. “Is Nicky right there?”

  My heart thumped heavy in my chest. “Yes. What’s wrong?”

  “I need to talk to him.”

  Frowning, I handed the phone to Nicky. “It’s Kelly.”

  He sat up and took the phone. “Hey, Kelly.” His brow furrowed. Eyes closed. “Fuck.” He rubbed a hand down over his face and nodded. “Yeah, I do. I’ll head straight there.” He offered me the phone with a harsh “Fuck!” and hopped to his feet.

  “Kelly,” I said while standing, my attention on Nicky as he strode away.

  “His niece overdosed.”

  “Shit.”

  “She’s alive, but that’s all I know.”

  “Shit,” I said again, grabbing our picnic stuff and scrambling after Nicky as he made for the Harley. “Can you shut down the bar after dinner for me?”

  “Sure thing. Hope everything is okay.”

  I muttered an agreement and hit the “end” button.

  Seconds later, the Harley roared to life, and I held on tight as Nicky tore off back the way we’d come.

  I couldn’t begin to imagine what ran through his head as we sped back down the highway. Arms wrapped around his waist and cheek pressed against his back, I tried to send him all of my positive energy. Like an immovable rock, he focused on the road.

  Nicky pulled off the highway into town, and I sat up straight, my heart falling. I’d expected him to head straight to the hospital, where I could be by his side and support him. He stopped in front of the bar, feet down on the ground on either side of the bike, engine still running.

  A heaviness settled over me and tears pricked my eyes, but I took the hint and climbed off, grabbing our picnic stuff from the saddlebags. “I hope everything is okay,” I said, catching his gaze. “Good luck.”

  Eyes shuttered and lips pursed, he nodded once and took off again, leaving me alone.

  The early birds had shown up for dinner, I noted through the front windows. Old Toothless and Mrs. Hanks both peered through the glass at me. Forcing a smile, I went in and greeted everyone by name before disappearing into the office. I dropped my stuff on the desk and flopped into the chair.

  Kelly swept in, eyes wide and full of concern.

  “Guess he doesn’t want me with him,” I said at the obvious question etched on her face.

  My hurt must have shown, because she came over and hugged me. “God, I hope she’s okay.”

  “Me, too.” My throat ached, but I refused to cry. Nicky faced heartache from almost losing his last family member as he had his sister. “I can’t imagine how he’s feeling right now. Dammit.” I swiped an escaped tear from my cheek as Kelly backed away.

  “You really care about him, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” I pulled my phone from my pocket and put it on the desk. It would be another half hour or so until he got to the hospital. I hoped he would call with an update quickly.

  Nicky

  I reverted to my old ways and broke every law getting to the hospital. My mind raced as fast as my Harley, but numbness grasped my body, and the second I caught sight of Suzie in the hospital bed, the world crashed in on me. I clenched my jaw against the sudden tightness in my throat.

  Ashen, gaunt face, pale lips parted … she lay unmoving, eyes closed. Lank hair lay under her head. Her hand was hooked up to an IV, and tubes and wires stretched all over the place. I hesitated to approach, not sure where to sit or what part of her I could touch.

  I stood and stared, relief Suzie lived and anger over the drugs wasting her life warring for first spot in my head. My eyes burned and hands itched to squeeze the life out of her dealer—whoever the fucker was. Never mind the fact the Gliders were probably his supplier.

  A lavender, lemony scent similar to Mel’s shampoo slipped past my nose, and longing for her slammed into me like a fucking cement truck barreling through the other emotions clogging my brain.

  I should have brought her with me, I realized, slumping onto the chair beside Suzie. Her presence alone would have offered comfort and calmed me the fuck down. Her inner joy—even in the time ahead I faced—would have given me something to hold on to so I wouldn’t lose my fucking mind in its war.

  I scrubbed a hand over my face and along my beard while heaving a breath.

  Mel had responsibilities, a business she couldn’t just up and leave because my niece made a stupid-ass choice.

  Did she do it intentionally?

  “Dammit, Suzaroo.” I picked up her hand and clasped it between mine. Cold and clammy. She didn’t respond. “The fuck were you thinking?”

  She missed Ellen—more than I did. Losing the only person you have is tough enough to face sober, let alone as an addict. Had she felt she had nothing to live for? No sense of purpose? Or was she just trying to escape the sorrow, the pain of a broken heart?

  Sitting in the beep-filled, bleach-scented room, I considered the lives lost to me. Grandparents and parents, my only sister, and a couple of old brothers from the Gliders I used to kill for. The only ones I should have defended in such a way had been taken from me—all except one.

  Suzie let out a sigh, and her eyelids fluttered open.

  “Suzaroo.” Throat still tight, I somehow managed a smile.

  Her gaze landed on me, her eyes glassy. She blinked twice and licked her lips. “I’m either alive or in hell,” she said, her voice raspy and slurred, “’cuz God knows you’ll never get into heaven.”

  My huff of laughter lightened the load on my shoulders enough I felt I could breathe again.

  “The fuck happened?” she asked, glancing around the curtained area and blinking slowly.

  I squeezed her hand. “You overdosed.”

  “Oh, fuck.” She closed her eyes again, and a tear slipped down her cheek.

  I wanted to ask if she’d meant to do it, but bit my tongue, allowing her to wake up a little more.

  “Am I okay?” she asked a few minutes later, eyes still shut, words still slurred.

  “Yes.”

  “Thank God.”

  Accidental. The rest of the weight fell off my shoulders, and I heaved a huge breath.

  “Sorry, Uncle.”

  A sob ripped from her, and I leaned over, hugging her frail body the bes
t I could. “It’s gonna be all right, Suzaroo,” I whispered. “I’m going to get you the best care. Get you clean. I promise I’ll do whatever you need to get healthy again.”

  Suzie continued to cry, and I only sat back when a nurse pushed past the curtain.

  “You’re awake,” the nurse said with a smile. “How are you doing, Suzanne?”

  “It’s Suzie, and I feel like shit,” my niece muttered as she slow-blinked again.

  The nurse checked vitals while asking a few more questions and making notes on Suzie’s chart.

  “We’re going to get you upstairs in a room soon, okay?” the nurse said, her hand on Suzie’s shoulder.

  “’K.”

  The nurse scurried away on squeaky shoes.

  “I didn’t mean to do it,” Suzie said, her shaky hand reaching for me.

  I leaned forward and folded her bony hand in mine.

  “I-I got some drugs from a new guy. The second I injected it, I knew something wasn’t right.”

  My gut twisted. “Who was the guy?”

  “Goes by Pauly … Delgado, I think.” Suzie sighed and closed her eyes again. “Lives in Rochester near my dealer. Since Mikey Mac was out of town, he hooked me up.”

  “Mikey’s your usual dealer?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Mikey’s last name is Mac?”

  Suzie cracked her eyelids open and peered at me with hazed-over, watery eyes. “Why you asking?”

  Because I want to put a bullet through his fucking brain. “Just curious. Is that who your mom got her drugs through, too?”

  “Yeah. Mac stands for MacDonald or MacDougal … something like that. Can’t remember. We went to high school together.”

  I made some mental notes while she chatted, her words starting to bleed into one another after yawning a dozen or so times.

  “Why don’t you sleep for a while,” I said, patting her hand. “I’ll be here all night and make sure you’re taken care of.”

  “Thanks, Uncle.”

  “You’re getting a second chance to start over, Suzaroo. You don’t know how happy that makes me.”

  A small smile lifted her pale lips as her eyes rolled back into her head. “We’re both getting a new beginning, aren’t we?” she murmured.

  Her question echoed in my head long after I found a quiet, private spot and pulled out my cell phone. While I wanted to put a bullet through Mikey Mac and Pauly Delgado’s skulls, I’d left that kind of life behind forever.

  Trusting the law to deal with the two men wouldn’t come easy, but I could at least ensure the two men found their asses in jail before Suzie made her way through rehab.

  Passing on the names to Sheriff Elliott was the best I could do. The rest would be up to the cops.

  If, however, either fucker got away with their crimes and came anywhere near Suzie again, ending their shit-lives would come damn easy. Hell, I wished they’d come sniffing around hoping for a sale, just so I could see justice served for myself.

  Mel

  I finally crawled into bed at one—without having heard from Nicky. I had locked up and scrubbed down the bar, my stomach in knots. The not knowing, the being out of his life when I could have helped, hurt like a bitch. Showed me exactly how much I meant to him beyond a freebie place to crash and a pussy or ass to fuck whenever the mood struck.

  My ears strained for the rumble of his bike. The creak of the exterior stairs leading to my apartment. Every passing car roused me from the shitty sleep I managed to grasp.

  A chill swept through me while I lay in my bed, the sheets beside me cold when they should be wrapped around the best thing to ever happen to me. If only he felt the same.

  I gave up at six and crawled from bed. Slumped in uncomfortable silence at my kitchen table, I sucked down two cups of coffee, wishing for a shot or two of something a little stronger to go with it.

  The temptation to call the hospital came on strong, but Suzie wasn’t my family. The chance of me getting any info was close to none. I considered asking for her room, but if Nicky had wanted me there or wished to talk to me, he’d have called.

  Kelly texted me at eight asking how Suzie was. Replying that I didn’t know sucked ass.

  I hopped in the shower, my aching chest to the hot spray while scrubbing my hair. A few tears mixed in with the water droplets on my face as longing for Nicky rolled over me again.

  How had I become so wrapped up in him so quickly? Imagining the next day—the next year—without him in my bed, behind the bar with me, had me praying to a god I didn’t believe in. My stomach churned, and no amount of swallowing eased the pain in the back of my throat.

  The bathroom door squeaked open, and I paused in squirting conditioner into my hand to peer through the fogged shower door.

  Nicky.

  My knees weakened as sudden lightness filled my heart.

  He tugged his shirt off overhead, drying out my mouth, and when he pushed down his leather pants, my breath caught in my throat. My mind raced over the need for answers—what he felt, if he wanted more than just the physical with me—but the dark circles lining his bleak eyes kept my mouth shut.

  Stomach fluttering, I put the conditioner bottle back down and wiped water from my face as he stepped into the shower with me.

  “Suzie?” I whispered.

  “Gonna be okay.” He crowded against me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

  I melted into him and he took my mouth with a ferocity I matched, pouring out my hurt and frustration with every swipe of my tongue and nip of my teeth.

  His cock swelled, pressing against my belly, and I moaned while rubbing myself against him.

  Nicky grasped my ass and lifted me like I weighed nothing, holding me tight against him.

  I wrapped my legs around his waist, locking my ankles.

  “I need you,” he groaned, sliding his cock along my pussy lips.

  “Yes,” I said and captured his mouth again, uncaring that in the moment he only needed me in a physical sense.

  He lined up and thrust in with no resistance—skin on skin. I groaned into his mouth as his arms tightened around me, holding me in a vise grip.

  I’d never had a man without a condom before. Exquisite torture—knowing nothing separated us and that Nicky was inside of me as deep as he could get flooded me with unexplainable emotion. My heart hammered in my chest and tears pricked my eyes, but not from hurt or sadness.

  I tried to wiggle, and he began to move his hips, holding my ass with one hand, the other around my waist.

  Fingers in his hair and legs squeezing, I took all he gave, my climax rising to the surface faster than I thought possible. His strength, raw power, and hard muscles filled me with lust, soaked my pussy around his thrusting cock.

  I panted for breath against his mouth, and he pulled his head back. Blue eyes, lust-hazed beyond the exhaustion, peered at me. Water drops clung to his long lashes and beard.

  “I need you to come around my cock, Mel. I need you to make me forget all the fucking shit in my brain.”

  My body obeyed, my climax sweeping around from my toes and shattering over me. I cried out his name while convulsing in his arms.

  He bit my collarbone, muffling his shout, and his cum shot hot, deep inside of me. Every spurt sent a wave of euphoria over me, and I clung to his wet skin, anchoring myself to reality.

  Eyes closed, I soaked in the tingles racing through me as he calmed, still buried inside of me. He rained kisses on my neck and jaw, eventually taking my mouth in a gentle kiss.

  I slid my legs down, and he backed away, leaving me empty, our combined cum dripping between my thighs. Shoulder slumped, he stood like a defeated man.

  “Here.” I turned him into the spray, grabbed the soap, and began washing him.

  Head tilted back into the water, arms at his side, he slouched and allowed me to attend to him. His cock stirred in my soapy hands, but I continued down his thighs and turned him to work my way up his backside.

  I washed him, ca
ring for him the best way I could, even though he didn’t want me emotionally or mentally.

  “Do you want coffee?” I asked while putting the soap back in the dish, a slight tremor in my voice.

  “Just a bed.” His low voice rasped, probably from being up all night.

  I climbed out of the shower and grabbed an extra towel, fighting off the tears stinging my eyelids and the desire to discuss what was going on between us. Nicky was obviously in no state to have a serious conversation, let alone deal with a woman’s tears.

  Without a word, we dried off, and I tucked my towel around my chest while Nicky hung his on the hook on the back of the bathroom door. Naked, he staggered across my bedroom, pulled back the blankets, and collapsed like a drunk man.

  I pulled the covers up over him, and he rubbed his face against my pillow, breathing deeply. That sweet ache swept through me but didn’t bring a smile to my face as it usually did. I grabbed some clothes, shut off the light, and left him to sleep, wishing my mind would shut off as easily.

  Nicky

  The subtle scent of Mel’s lavender, lemony shampoo surrounded me, and I hugged her closer, my cock swelling.

  Damn pillow, I grumbled to myself as the fluffy down squished against my chest. I cracked an eyelid open to find the clock reading almost two thirty.

  I’d spent the night in the ER by Suzie’s side, my heart torn. Suzie had been in and out, half-asleep and groggy as hell. As her next of kin, I’d taken charge and lined up the best care available for her, including a nice long stay at a nearby rehab clinic once she detoxed.

  Thankful didn’t begin to explain how I felt over the fact the drugs Suzie shot up hadn’t taken her life. Losing my sister and my niece within a few weeks of each other from the same fucking drugs my old brothers dealt would have done me in.

  I should have asked Mel to go to the hospital with me, I thought again while squeezing her pillow and breathing her in. I had missed her every second while sitting on that damn hard-backed chair, beeps and murmurings of others in the ER filling my ears.