“It’s all right,” I assured her.
She nodded, her attention diverting to Ace. “Drive safely.”
He jerked his chin before his eyes landed on me. “Ready?”
“Yep.” I turned and gave Gypsy a little wave. “See you soon.”
“WHERE’S THE HARLEY?” BIRDIE ASKED.
My eyes moved to her ass as she hoisted herself into the seat of my Ford Raptor, and I stayed to make sure she buckled in. She sounded disappointed, and I wasn’t surprised. Women liked the bike. And Birdie might not know it, but she was the only woman who had ever been on the back of my FXD Dyna Super Glide. I didn’t make a habit of taking anyone for a ride. But when the situation warranted it and I had no choice, I’d taken her.
“It’s at home.” I shut the door and walked around to the driver’s side. She was quiet for all of two seconds as I fired up the engine and pulled out of the lot.
“What’s with the nurse?”
My fingers constricted around the steering wheel. I didn’t like that she’d met Kylie, but I couldn’t really figure out why. And despite my resolve not to give a shit, I was curious what was going through her mind.
Birdie was a beautiful woman. So beautiful it hurt to look at her sometimes. With electric blue eyes and long blond hair, she could turn heads on her worst day. It was difficult not to notice the curves of her body. She was sleek, powerful, and built for speed. The kind of feminine that lured you in and held you captive. She didn’t seem like a woman who would need to harbor jealousy, but as my eyes moved over the fingers twisted in her lap, I wondered if that was what this was.
My cock bulged uncomfortably against the seam of my jeans, a response I had difficulty controlling around Birdie. Why she provoked that reaction in me, I couldn’t say. She was a brat. A misguided, spoiled, entitled brat. But beneath her high-maintenance exterior was a tragedy. There were legitimate reasons for her behavior, and what she showed the world was only the tip of the iceberg. The truth was, she reminded me of my past. A past I’d tried hard to forget over the years.
“Is she your girlfriend?” Birdie pressed.
“Why do you care?” I eased the truck onto the interstate, heading for the compound out in Moapa Valley.
“I don’t.” Birdie blew a bubble with the gum in her mouth, her Adidas shoe bobbing up and down in irritation. “I just think it’s weird you’ve never brought her over to Lucian’s.”
I didn’t respond. Trying to explain the agreement I had with Kylie would give me a headache, and it was none of her business anyway. I had to remember that. If this situation was going to work, there needed to be clear boundaries.
“Where are we going?” Birdie studied me, her eyes burning into the side of my face. I had hoped she wouldn’t notice for a while longer, but now that she had, I could tell she was on edge.
“Out to the compound.”
“What compound?” Her voice dipped. “We’re supposed to meet Lucian and Gypsy back at the apartment.”
I reached for the volume button on the radio and cranked it up in an effort to drown her out. I hadn’t given a whole lot of thought to exactly how this would go down. There was only one certainty. Birdie was coming with me, and that was it. She’d probably try to fight. She’d pout and throw a fit and become even more of a pain in the ass than she already was. But at the end of the day, I hoped she’d save the efforts because it wouldn’t change anything.
She reached for the radio with a pink-tipped fingernail, cranking it all the way back down to a deafening silence. Then she turned in her seat, eyes boring into me. “What the hell is going on, Ace? Are you kidnapping me again?”
My knuckles went white, and it must have given me away.
“Oh my God, you are.” Her voice rose. I didn’t know what she was going to do. I hoped she’d at least wait until we were at the compound to have her toddler-sized meltdown, but logic wasn’t one of Birdie’s qualities. Her heart and soul were ruled by fire.
“Goddammit.” She unlocked the door and tried to yank it open. “Let me out. Let me out right now!”
I swerved onto the side of the freeway, horns blaring behind me as the truck came to a screeching halt. Birdie was already unbuckling, door flung wide open as she tried to make her getaway. Having zero desire to chase her down the road on foot, I had to act fast. I unbuckled myself and caught her around the waist, dragging her backward with one arm. She wiggled and fought in my grasp, kicking and slapping every which way she could come at me. When she got me in the throat, it hurt like a motherfucker, and on impulse, my grip around her faltered enough for her to squeeze out of my grasp. She was crawling across the seat again, desperate to make her grand escape. This time, I grabbed her by the arm and held her firmly in place while I jerked a zip tie from my pocket. Her eyes widened when I slapped it around her wrist, and she tried to yank back, but she might as well have been trying to fight a Clydesdale.