Dangerous Secrets (Knights of War MC Book 2) Read online

  Hunter was behind the wheel and had put a call into the club doctor. Sheila would be waiting for them back at the clubhouse.

  The Great Dane was lying next to Callie and had her head on Callie’s thigh. There was no way Hem could leave the dog behind. He’d figure out what do with her after the dust settled.

  Callie opened her eyes then closed them again. She was dressed in only her underwear. Dark red bruises circled her wrists, and her lip and eye were swollen and bruised. Hem shuddered at the thought of what had happened to her. He didn’t want to assume the worst, but his mind went there. He was glad he’d killed that motherfucker. If it started a war, so be it. But there shouldn’t be any way for anyone to trace the Knights of War to the bloodbath someone would find eventually.

  While they waited for Hunter to go get the van, Hem had found Holly’s phone, badge, radio, and car keys inside the sedan in front of the warehouse. He hadn’t found her clothes, though.

  It didn’t take long for the crew to arrive back at the clubhouse. Sheila’s car was parked on the side. She climbed out when she saw them arrive. Her signature black leather medical bag was slung over her shoulder.

  “What do we have?” she asked Hunter. The doctor had helped Holly last year after she’d been injured.

  “Maddox took a pistol round in the shoulder. He said it was a through-and-through, but he’s bleeding pretty heavily. The girl we found unconscious. Not sure what happened to her. She wakes up for a few seconds, then goes back under.”

  “Okay.” Sheila was pulling on purple latex gloves as they all filed into the clubhouse. She pulled out a wad of gauze from her bag and handed it to Kol. “Press that against Maddox’s wound. Front and back.” Sheila turned to Hem. “Take her to a room. I’m right behind you.”

  Hem laid Callie on the same bed Sheila had treated Holly in. Sheila took a penlight and opened Callie’s eyelids with her fingers. She shined the light into both. “She’s high. Some kind of opiate.” Next, Sheila listened to Callie’s chest. “Her heart and lungs sound good.” She looked at her wrists. “These look like handcuff marks. Bruises on her face are superficial.”

  Sheila pushed Callie’s hair away from her forehead. “That’s a nasty little gash there. But I don’t think it needs stitches. I think she’ll be okay. She just needs to sleep off the narcotics.” Sheila stepped toward the door and motioned for Hem to come closer.

  “You think she’s all right then?” he asked.

  “Yeah. I mean, she doesn’t seem to be in any distress. She’s just high as balls. Do you know what she took?”

  “No. I found her like this.”

  “Who is she?”

  “She’s a friend of mine.”

  Sheila nodded. “Was she raped?”

  Hem swallowed. “I don’t know.”

  “Okay. Well, I’m not going to violate her bodily autonomy by checking without her consent. Keep an eye on her. It’ll probably take a few hours for the effect of the drugs to wear off. If she has a convulsion or she’s not awake in the next couple of hours, let me know.”

  “I will. Thanks, Sheila.”

  She touched Hem’s shoulder. “Of course. And if she was sexually assaulted, I can come back and treat her, but I can’t do a rape kit, obviously. She’d have to go to an ER for that.”

  “Yeah. I get that. I’ll speak to her when she wakes up. If she wants to go to the hospital, I’ll take her.”

  Sheila left the room to go attend to Maddox, and Hem pulled a blanket out of the closet to cover Callie. There was nothing to do now but wait. The dog stood in the doorway.

  Hem patted the bed. “Come here, girl.” The dog came forward and stepped up on to the bed. She made a circle then laid down at the foot of the bed.

  Chapter Twenty

  Calliope

  “Welcome back, sleeping beauty.” That was Hem’s voice. Calliope touched her forehead. She had a headache. It took an effort to open her eyes.

  “Hey,” she said. Her mind was fuzzy. How had she gotten here? “Where am I?”

  “You’re in my room at the clubhouse. You’re safe now.”

  She tried to sit up, but her head spun. “Whoa.”

  Hem gently pushed her back down. “No need to get up, just rest.”

  As the mental fog dissipated more, she remembered where she’d been. “Did you find me? How?”

  “I hacked your phone. It led me to that warehouse.”

  “What happened?”

  “Well, there’s a warehouse full of dead bodies and no evidence that any of us or you were ever there.”

  “Did you find my phone?”

  “Yeah. Got that and your car keys and radio. But I don’t know where your car is. I’ll send someone to get it.”

  Miraculously, she remembered the address and gave it to Hem.

  “I’ll be right back.” He got up and strode out of the room.

  That was when she saw the dog. Callie smiled. “Hey, girl.”

  The dog lifted her head and looked at Callie with big, brown eyes.

  “You look as tired as I feel,” Callie said. The dog put her head back down and closed her eyes.

  Callie sat up and propped a pillow behind her back. She was still wearing just her underwear. She pulled the blanket up to her neck. The nausea was back but much milder. It felt like she had a hangover.

  Hem came back in with a can of Sprite. “Here. Have some of this.”

  It was like he’d read her mind about the upset stomach.

  “Do you want something to eat?”

  “Not yet.” She sipped the soda. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Hem sat on the edge of the bed. “Are you okay?”

  “I think so. I just feel like I’m coming off a weekend bender.”

  “You were drugged.”

  “They injected me with something after I kicked some dude’s ass.”

  Hem laughed. “For real?”

  “Yeah. I wasn’t going out with a fight.”

  “That’s my girl.” Hem’s expression sobered. “We had a doctor come by to check on you. She said you’d be okay. But …”

  “But what?”

  “She asked if you’d been raped.”

  Callie set the Sprite on the end table and rubbed the marks on her wrists. “No. These marks are from handcuffs. The other injuries were from fighting. But nobody raped me.”

  Hem sighed. “Thank God. I’m glad you’re okay. I was pretty worried when Holly called and said you didn’t show up for your lunch date.”

  “It’s been a hell of a day.”

  “How did you end up there? There was a dead cop outside that warehouse. Did he try to help you?”

  Callie laughed. “No. That son of a bitch set me up.” She related the story of how Jordan had called her and asked to meet a tipster and how he’d knocked her out and delivered her to black suit guy.

  “That motherfucker. I should go back and set his corpse on fire.”

  “He basically sold me to the black suit guy.”

  “That black suit guy is a high ranking member of the Colombian cartel. I think we probably found our human trafficking ring with him.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I killed him.”

  Callie’s heartbeat sped up. “You did?”

  “Yeah. When I found you in that box, I just snapped. Polite society won’t miss him.”

  “No doubt.” She took Hem’s hand. “That’s twice now that you’ve saved me.”

  “Don’t mention it.” He planted a kiss on her forehead. “That’s what friends are for.”

  “You know, that night that you caught Commander Stephens groping me, that wasn’t the first time.”

  Hem rubbed her knuckles. “I figured that. He looked a little too comfortable with what he was doing. How did it start?”

  Callie looked down at their joined hands. “I went to him because one of the drill sergeants attacked me.”

  “What? Who?” Hem moved closer and put his arm around her.

&
nbsp; “It was DS Langdon. I don’t think you knew him. He was transferred after what happened.”

  “He raped you?”

  “No. But he came on to me, strong. He called me into his office one night after chow. He locked the door and pushed me against the wall. He kissed me and grabbed my breast. I told him to stop, or I’d report him. He laughed at me and told me he’d get me court martialed if I tried to fuck with his career. He was so god damned cocky. I mean, he was good looking, and other girls may have conceded, but I didn’t want that kind of relationship with him.”

  “Then what happened?”

  “That was it. He never tried anything again. The next day I went to Commander Stephens, and he basically did the same thing to me. That’s why I didn’t bother trying to tell anyone else. I’d lost faith in the chain of command.” Callie looked up at Hem. “Until you came along. And I know other people saw what you did to him. None of them reported it. I realized that Stephens and Langdon were just two bad apples in a barrel of good people.”

  “If I had known, I would’ve kicked Langdon’s ass too.”

  Callie laughed. “You became my hero.”

  Hem touched her chin to tip her face up to his. “I’m no hero.” He kissed her. “But I won’t ever let anyone hurt you.”

  She snuggled up against him. “I know that. Thanks again.”

  “Anytime. My ass-kicking skills are at your disposal whenever needed.”

  “I’m glad you rescued the dog.” Callie used her foot to rub the dog’s back.

  “There was no way I was leaving her there. I found out that the cartel has been using dogs to traffic dope.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yep. They starve them then feed them balloons of heroin or blow. Nobody stops a dog at the border.”

  “That’s just evil.”

  “I know. So maybe when you get back to work, you can put that word out to the right people to stop that shit.”

  “For sure.”

  * * *

  Calliope had called in sick for the last few days to give herself a chance to heal. The massacre at the warehouse made the news. Leah had called her to tell her that they’d found the girl in the video and that Detective Jordan had been involved in the girl’s kidnapping. Rubio had been taken back into custody.

  None of that was news to Callie, but she pretended that it was. She was able to explain away the Knights of War cut that was found in the video. There was a missing persons report filed by the mother of the Little Rock member who’d disappeared in Mexico. His body hadn’t surfaced, so he was just a person of interest in their files.

  Once it was discovered that Sergio Restrepo was in that warehouse among the dead, the gang task force found that the trucks on the premises had been used to traffic people across the border both ways. The girl from the video ID’d Restrepo as the man who’d sold her. Leah was arranging of the girl to get into therapy.

  Calliope was glad that it was all wrapped up, and she could get back to her cybercrimes tasks. Nobody knew that she’d nearly been a victim herself or that Detective Jordan had sold her to Restrepo.

  Callie put in a vacation request for the next two weeks. Holly and Hunter’s wedding was coming up. Spending time at the clubhouse had brought Callie and Holly closer together. Holly told Callie about her abusive father, and Callie told Holly about what happened to her in the service. They both agreed that Hem was one of the good guys.

  She felt really bad when she found out that Maddox had been shot during Operation Save Calliope. But he was recovering nicely. Callie trusted the men in the club more than her fellow cops at that point. One of her own had betrayed her in the worst way. And she was glad Jordan was dead. The world was safer without him in it.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Hem

  Hem stared at his phone. Callie was in the kitchen of the clubhouse, making them sandwiches. He dialed the number and waited.

  It rang twice. “Hello.”

  “Hey, Mom.”

  The line was silent. Then he heard a sob, and his own eyes stung.

  “Hemene? Is that you, baby?”

  “Yes.”

  “Oh, Hem. How are you? Where are you?”

  “I’m okay. I’m in Dallas, Texas.”

  “Is Kol with you? Why did you both disappear? I thought maybe you’d died in Afghanistan.”

  “He’s here with me. I mean, not at this minute, but he’s in Dallas with me. He’s good.”

  “I have so many questions for you, but I can’t think of them right now.”

  “We have plenty of time, Mom. How’s Dad?”

  “He’s a cranky old fart.” She laughed, and the sound pulled at Hem’s heartstrings. It reminded him of being a child again.

  “Sounds about right. And Rose? How’s she?”

  “Oh, Hemene. You’d be so proud of your little sister. She’s going to graduate from college next month. She’s so smart and beautiful. Maybe you and Kol could come out and surprise her?”

  “I’ll definitely try. You have my cell phone number now. Can you text me some pictures?”

  “I will, son. And I’d love some pictures of my boys.”

  “You got it, Mom.”

  “Hem?”

  “Yeah?”

  “I love you. I hope whatever kept you away so long won’t keep you away any longer.”

  “It won’t. I’ll gather up Kol and see about coming back to Idaho. Text me the details for Rose’s graduation, okay?”

  “I will.”

  “Look, I have to run, but I’ll call you back soon.”

  “Okay, baby. I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear from you. My heart is full.”

  “Mine too, Mom. Talk soon.”

  “Goodbye.”

  He ended the call and texted his mom a picture Hunter had taken of Hem braiding Kol’s hair. He waited for a picture of Rose to come through.

  Callie came in with two paper plates. She set one in front of Hem. “Sounds like that went well.”

  He smiled at her. “It did. I didn’t realize how much I missed my mom.”

  “I’m glad you made that call.”

  “I am too.” Hem got up and rounded the bar. “What do you want to drink?”

  “A coke would be great.”

  “But a Roy Rogers would be better.” Hem winked at her and made her drink. He opened a beer for himself. They ate in silence. The club was empty that afternoon. The only one there was Maggie. That’s what they’d named the gray Great Dane that was currently stretched out on the couch. The Knights of War had adopted her, and the clubhouse was her home.

  Callie carried their paper plates to the trash, and when she came back, Hem intercepted her next to the pool table. He pulled her into his arms.

  She laughed and snaked her arms around his neck. “Kiss me.”

  Her request reminded him of that first night back in her apartment when they’d made love for the first time. Callie’s kisses were magic, and her body was a wicked pleasure. “I’ll do more than kiss you, little lady.”

  Hem cupped her ass with both hands and lifted her off her feet. She wrapped her legs around his waist. Their mouths crashed together as he carried her back to his room. He kicked the door shut and deposited her on the bed.

  She smiled while she pulled her top over her head. There was no pretense about what they were going to do. Hem peeled his T-shirt off and tossed it on the bed. Callie grabbed his belt buckle and pulled him to her.

  She stared up at him while she unbuckled his belt and tugged down the zipper to his jeans.

  Hem tucked her hair behind her ear and stroked her cheek. He sucked in his breath when she tugged his boxers down and fisted his cock. He stepped out of his pants and grabbed a handful of her hair.

  Callie stroked him slowly before she closed her warm pink lips around the head of his cock. Her mouth was wet and hot. She started moving her head in sync with her hand. She scratched the nails of her other hand down the front of his thigh, and he got goosebumps.

>   “Jesus Christ,” he muttered. His body was tense and growing tenser with every stroke of her mouth. His balls tightened and pulled up close to his body. Her kisses were truly magic, especially on his dick.

  He let go of her hair and pushed her back on the bed. “I want to be inside you when I come.”

  “I approve.” She wiggled out of her jeans and panties and unhooked her bra.

  Hem reached for a condom in the nightstand. He had it between his teeth when he took a moment to appreciate how perfect she was.

  “You’re so beautiful, Calliope. How did I get this lucky?”

  “You flatter me, Hemene Silvereagle.” She opened her arms. “Come down here.”

  Hem ripped open the condom wrapper and rolled it on. Then he climbed onto the bed and nudged her legs farther apart. He leaned forward and flicked the tip of one of her nipples with his tongue. He kneaded her other breast and raked his thumb over that nipple.

  Callie sighed and lifted her legs up so that his cock was pressed against her opening.

  Hem slipped one hand between them and pushed a finger inside her. She was already wet and hot, just like her mouth. He added a second finger and slowly moved them in and out, in and out. He pressed his thumb to her clit and made soft circles around it.

  She lifted her hips in response and moaned loud. He recognized that sound, and it made his dick even harder. There was nothing better than hearing her gasps and cries when she was coming.

  He scooted down and buried his face in her pussy. It only took a couple of minutes of licking and sucking her sweet spot before her legs closed on his head like a vise, and she was writhing on the bed.

  He licked her soft and slow while she rode out the orgasm. When she released her leg lock, Hem climbed back up over her. He kissed her and hooked his hand behind her knee. With one hard rock of his hips, he buried his cock deep inside her.

  Callie cried out and dug her nails into his shoulders. Hem was pretty sure he’d just lost some flesh to that, and he was okay with it. He liked a little pain mixed in with his pleasure. She was so tight that he had to fight to not come right then.

  “I love how you feel inside,” he said.