Chapter Six

Givon rolled his neck, wincing when pain flared up from sleeping in a damn chair. He wasn’t twenty anymore, a fact that his body was shouting at him right now. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Allis watching him. The second thing was that North was gone, leaving behind an empty chair on the other side of the bed.

“He got a text message and left,” she said. “About fifteen minutes ago.”

“I guess I should be going too.” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to ease the knot.

“You both stayed with me—through the night.”

“We wanted you to feel safe.”

“Thank you.” She cocked her head. “I’ve been awake for an hour or so, studying both of you. How is it a cop and a biker seem to be working together?”

“Actually, he’s my best friend. We’ve known each other our whole lives.”

“And you’ve never had to arrest him?”

Givon shrugged. “His club isn’t in my jurisdiction.”

“Well, that’s convenient.”

“The Red Wolves made peace with Destiny a long time ago,” Givon said. “Before I was sheriff. It’s a symbiotic relationship.”

She was silent for a moment, questions in her dark gaze. He waited, knowing they were coming. People looked at North and saw tats, attitude and a motorcycle. They saw someone dangerous, yet they rarely chose to look under the surface.

“So you’ve lived here all your life?”

He blinked. That wasn’t the question he was expecting.

“Yes. Except for the time I went away to college. I should be the one asking you questions.”

Wariness instantly settled over her features. “Like what?”

“North told me about your stalker.”

Her chin quivered. “That’s not a question,” she whispered.

“I’ll keep your last name as Smith in my reports,” he assured her. “But I have to know your real name, Allis, and I also have to know where you’re from so I can find the bastard who shot you.”

“How does knowing where I’m from help you with that? I told you, I was working in Durango. My boss can verify everything.”

“I believe you, honey. But there are some things I can’t let rest. What if he tracked you from Durango? What if he was part of your stalker’s plan?”

Her eyes went wide and it was obvious that she hadn’t considered that.

“I’ll have a harder time keeping you safe if I don’t have all the facts.”

She reached out and he took her hand, holding it tightly. The stark fear that blanketed her face tugged at his heartstrings. He wanted to wrap her up in cotton wool to make sure nothing hurt her, but the logical side of his brain told him to be practical. Still, his heart leaped at her touch and that…that…thing happened again—the awareness. It was as if everything became a bit sharper, a bit brighter, all because she was near him, and damned if that didn’t scare him just a bit.

“My name is Allison Evening,” she said. “I’m twenty-four and I’m from a small town near Black Mountain.”

“Okay. That’s not too far away,” he said. “Why Durango?”

“It’s as far as I got before my car died. I had to find work to build up some money. I was heading out of Wyoming.”

“Well, I can do a little digging into your stalker,” he said. “Find out—”

“You won’t be able to touch him,” she said softly.

“Why not?”

“Not only is he tribal police, but he’s chief of the town too. And he has his own club. They call themselves the Tribe.”

“Shit,” he said with a frown. “I’ve heard of the Tribe.”

“They believe they uphold Native beliefs, trying to keep the Shoshone blood strong and pure. Anyone not adhering to their policies are…ostracized. They hold no love for anyone not of Shoshone blood, including other Native American tribes.”

This had just become a lot more complicated. At that moment, his cell phone rang, making him jump a little. He extracted his hand from hers, immediately shaking off the sense of loss from letting go, and answered the call. “Hello? Yes. Yes. Okay. I’m on my way.”

When he hung up, he gave her an apologetic look. “I have to go. But there are two men outside ordered to guard you—one of mine and one of North’s. No one’s going to hurt you.”

“Okay,” she said.

He stood, leaned over then kissed her forehead before spinning and leaving the room. He tried very hard to ignore the tingle on his lips from the kiss.

Allis watched him leave then took a shuddering breath. What the hell? She’d had two men kiss her on the forehead and both times, she wanted more. Was it a type of lingering hero worship? Both men had saved her from death, so it was normal to feel certain needy emotions. However, it didn’t explain why her heart raced and fire danced in her blood whenever both men were near.

Well, whichever the case, it was best that she forget about them. As soon as she could move around without pain, she would run. Daniel Two Feathers wasn’t the type of man who gave up, and she’d hurt him too much for him to allow her to get away. Allis knew he’d never press charges against her, because what she did to him had almost unmanned him, but he’d want revenge.

Oh, yes. He’d definitely want revenge.

* * * *

“Hey, Boss,” Charlie greeted.

Givon stepped from his truck. It was still his personal vehicle since he hadn’t been home to swap out his sheriff’s truck—or shower. And he was beginning to feel very grimy.

Charlie had called him to report a homicide and as soon as Givon saw the SUV, his stomach dropped. He recognized it from last night.

“These are the tags you had me run last night,” Charlie reported needlessly.

“I see that.” Givon stepped to the driver’s side where Allis’s would-be killer lay with a bullet buried in his temple. “You touch the crime scene?”

“Nope,” Charlie said. “Truck is registered to a Michael Hiller, but I haven’t checked if this man’s ID confirms that’s who he is. I’ve also lifted a shit load of prints from the outside of this vehicle.”

Givon raised his phone and took a quick picture of the victim. Even though the tags were the same, he was going to need Allis to identify that this man was, in fact, her abductor.

And if he was, then who the hell had killed him?

Revenge, maybe? Her stalker hired a man to find her, but the abductor decided to kill her, so the stalker kills him instead, to protect her? It sounded lame even just thinking it. Could Allis just have a serious case of bad luck?

“No defensive marks,” he observed. “Window rolled down. Head is tilted back, not slumped forward. He either knew his killer or he was caught completely by surprise.”

“You don’t think this was random?”

Givon shook his head. “Things are becoming a little too coincidental.”

He spent the rest of the morning with Charlie waiting for the medical examiner to show up. Usually he’d just take the body to the hospital himself, but he wanted to go by the book, just in case he had to go talk to tribal police.

When the ME finally arrived, he quickly confirmed from the driver’s license in the man’s wallet that this was, indeed, Michael Hiller. Charlie snapped pictures and they both went over the crime scene with a fine-tooth comb, collecting more prints on the inside as well as various receipts and items, before the ME took the body. Then Givon helped hook the SUV to Charlie’s truck before taking off.

He drove to his home and sat for a moment, staring at his huge, empty house. It was a two-story farmhouse with a wrap-around porch, a sunroom and a balcony off the main bedroom. He didn’t know why he’d bought the damn thing but he’d had some vague notion of having a family, although being forty without even a prospect of a girlfriend had begun to make his decision seem almost laughable. Allis popped into his head and he let the fantasy run for a moment.

He saw himself coming home after a long shift. The lights would be on. Dinner would be waiting. He’d walk in and she’d hug him, kiss him, run her hands up and down his chest. He’d return the kiss, sink his tongue into her mouth as he’d run his hands over her back to her perfect little ass and pull her into his hard cock. Her moan would wash over him, tempting him to lift her so she could wrap her legs around his waist. It would be so easy to unzip his jeans then push her panties aside so he could slide into her warmth. Then, North would come from behind to finger her clit, making her squirm as Givon pounded into her.

Givon blinked, coming out of his trance. What the fuck? North had been there. Fuck. When did he start subconsciously intertwining his future with North’s? Sure, he often teased his friend about taking care of him in their old age, but it had been just that—teasing.

But the more he thought about it, the more the thought of sharing his home with his friend made sense. North lived at the MC clubhouse, in a very small efficiency room that held a double bed, a bathroom and a television. Comfortable maybe, but private? Most definitely not. His house was big enough for both of them to have their space.

Although now that he thought about Allis between them, it was hard not to think of anything else. He was hard as a brick. Shit. Maybe Braden and Leo had had the best idea when they decided to share Merrie.

He got out of his truck and headed up to his house. The sound of the door closing echoed in the scarcely decorated house. He’d put in just the bare minimum of furniture and there wasn’t any art on the walls—hell, not even a photograph. As he stood in the foyer, he realized how much he really craved his vision. He wondered what North would say about it or the part of living here.

As he took a shower and let the hot water soothe his aching muscles, he really thought about what it would mean to have a roommate. To have North here. And the more he thought about it, the more it felt right.