Heathen (Cerberus MC Las Vegas Chapter #1)

Chapter 17

Heathen

I know without a doubt that Kaylee Rhodes won't be in my life forever. I know there are things that I will do and experience that I can't discuss with her because of that fact, but the Cerberus Villa is the only place in town where I know without a doubt that she'll be safe.

I probably should've asked if it was okay for her to come here, but Cerberus is all about helping people in her exact position in life. I can't see it being that big of a deal. It's not like Rooster leaves confidential paperwork lying around for people to read.

"You can't be serious," Kaylee says, her face nearly touching the front windshield of the SUV, as she looks at the property when we pull up to the private gate.

I don't bother shielding my keycode as I type it in because she isn't paying me any attention.

The gate swings open, and I drive further onto the property, waiting just inside for the gate to secure itself again, before pulling into the garage.

Despite her complaining about the things I packed for her, she brought all of them with us, and more than once that lingerie I brought as a hopeful joke slithered into my mind like a snake looking for prey. I found it impossible to think of anything else unless I focused on that bastard who had the damn nerve to knock on her door and scare the shit out of her earlier. I'll deal with Edmon at a later time. I just need her safe and comfortable before I track him down and teach him some fucking manners.

"Let me take that for you," I say when she climbs out of the passenger seat with the bag clutched in her hand.

Thankfully, she hands it over without argument.

"You live here?"

"I do," I answer, before we leave the detached garage. "My team lives here."

"Team?" she whispers, but I don't know how to answer that without giving her too much.

I stop just outside of the garage, the heat from the day swirling all around us, despite the sun having set half an hour ago.

"I'm not keeping things from you because I want to, but there are some things I can't discuss. I don't want you to think that it's anything personal."

I watch as she chews the inside of her right cheek, as if she's mulling over the information and trying to decide if she's going to accept it or not.

"Okay," she says after a long pause.

"Okay," I repeat, turning around and pressing my hand to her lower back to urge her forward. "There are a lot of public spaces around the house, and instead of giving you a two-hour tour, I'll say that if the door is locked, you probably shouldn't try to find a way inside."

"Should I be worried about anyone else who lives here?"

I turn to face her, bending my head down until her eyes lock onto mine.

"You are a thousand percent safe here. The men inside these walls would die before they ever hurt you in any way. I swear."

She dips her head, accepting me at my word, and it makes a spark of something flare inside my chest. It's as if her trusting me means more somehow.

"What happens if Dima or his men show up here?" she whispers, and this tone comes laced with the fear she had earlier before we left the hotel.

"There's nothing that Dima can find that would lead his men back here, and I took all those turns in order to make sure that no one was following us. I promise, Kaylee. As long as you're on this property, you're safe."

Her eyes search mine for just a moment longer, but then I see acceptance in her eyes, and her body loses some of the tension she's been holding between her shoulder blades.

"Safe," she whispers, her eyes searching mine. "Mostly."

I almost open my mouth and ask her if she's worried about her heart, but the woman doesn't want to be tangled up in any of this. There's no threat to her heart. I don't register with her in that way, and I need to accept it and let go of whatever this little obsession is that's been building inside of me since I met her at the grocery store.

"Want me to show you around?" I ask, taking a step back. "There are a couple pools, a bowling alley, a small arcade. There's a sauna, and a couple of hot tubs. I think there's more, but I haven't spent a lot of time looking around the place yet. Like I said before, we haven't been here very long. There's also a—"

My words die off when a door on the far side of the room opens.

"Hi," Rooster says as he walks out of the conference room we plan to use for team meetings. "I'm Robert but you can call me Rooster."

I narrow my eyes at the man as he quickly approaches with a wide smile, his hand out to her.

"You must be Kaylee."

"I am," she says, her relaxed demeanor making me wonder what it was about me that made her so surly at the store that first night we met, and how easily it contrasts her attitude in meeting him. "Lovely to meet you."

"I have to say," Rooster says while still holding her hand. "I can see why Heathen married you the first chance he got."

Her chuckle is the only sign that she's uncomfortable.

"Heathen?" she says, releasing his hand so she can turn back to face me.

"It's a nickname."

"I'd love to hear the story."

"There's no story," I argue.

"There's a story," Rooster adds. "But maybe at a later time."

I glare at the man, but I shouldn't be surprised that he's well aware of how the name stuck so long ago. I have no doubt he knows more about me than I know about myself. If I had any skeletons in my closet, I might be a little worried about that, but mostly, I'm an open book, so it doesn't instill fear in me like it might others.

"Let me show you to our room," I mutter and step closer to her. "It's upstairs."

"It was nice to meet you, Rooster," Kaylee says, giving him an easy smile, the complete opposite of how she acted the first time we met.

She doesn't speak again until he closes himself back into the conference room that also serves as his office, since all of his computer equipment is in there.

"He seems nice," she says.

"He's a peach," I murmur, doing my best to keep the irritation out of my tone and failing miserably."The room is this way."

I wonder as we climb the stairs, with her right behind me, if I should've asked if it was okay to bring her here, but even the conversation with Kincaid earlier didn’t leave me feeling like I made a mistake in how I handled things. With the way the clubhouse gets sometimes back in New Mexico and all the people there, I don't know why I was worried about it in the first place.

"This is us," I tell her, stopping in front of my bedroom door.

I feel instant regret for not making my bed the last time I was here because her first impression of my personal space was a little messy and out of order.

"I should've made the bed," I mutter as I flip on the light.

"Why?" she asks as she steps inside and looks around. "You'll just mess it up when you get back into it."

I give her a quick easy smile because that's always been my reasoning and not making my bed has always felt like that minor pushback to authority after my eight years in the military.

"We have to share a room," I explain as I walk further into the room and drop off her bag of things near the closet. "The others are spoken for."

"No big deal. It's not like it'll be for very long," she says, stepping closer to the window and pulling back the curtain to peer outside. "This place is unreal."

"Pretty impressive," I say, my tone soft as I focus on the back of her head.

She throws me a smile over her shoulder, and I feel like a man standing in front of a huge crowd, holding one of those massive checks after winning the lottery. I'm a fool for her attention, and I know just how dangerous that makes this situation.

"Is that a golf course?"

"Putt-putt," I say, crossing the room just to be closer to her. "Nine or ten holes, I think."

"I haven't played putt-putt in so long," she says, as if she's reaching way back into her past for the memory.

"I'd offer to take you down, but I have a little work I need to get done," I tell her.

It's more lies than truth. There's always something that can be done around here, but I really need some distance, despite my eagerness to be right beside her. It's like facing an addiction and testing my resiliency, something I get the feeling I'll be unsuccessful at if I try it too many times.

"Feel free to roam the property, just don't try to get in any places that are locked. This floor is all bedrooms, so I wouldn't go turning any doorknobs up here. I can introduce you to the guys as they trickle in," I say, taking a big enough step back that I can't smell the hotel bodywash on her skin.

It leaves my flesh feeling a little itchy, but instead of scratching or feeding the need to step in closer again, I turn toward the door, pausing with my hand on the knob when she calls my name.

I turn back to face her, hating that she was traumatized this evening and had to sneak out of her house like a criminal in order to stay safe.

"Hey," I whisper, giving in to that urge to be near her again.

I curl a finger under her chin when she attempts to break eye contact with me.

"You're safe here," I assure her. "Rooster knows the second someone crosses the perimeter. No one here will touch you."

"Promise?" she whispers, her eyes locked on my mouth.

I lick my dry lips, noticing the way her pupils dilate, but knowing it must be the fear she felt earlier rearing its ugly head. Although she's okay with me protecting her, she isn't interested in me past that.

"Promise," I vow, pressing my lips to her forehead before making my escape from the room.