Page 24 of Double the Dilemma

Once she was in the tree, she found a couple of thick branches and made a nice enough seat that she could put her back against the trunk and still see below her. She was glad that she wore dark colors today, because she could blend in with the shadows.

She didn’t have long to wait before Razor and Savage came into view, with Tom coming from the opposite side. “Prospect,” Savage barked.

“I lost her once she cleared the fence,” Tom said as he reached them. “I looked down the road but nothing. No sign of her.”

“Guess she could have run across already,” Savage said with a sigh. “I’ll call Code and see if he can see her on any of the cameras. Prospect, you head to the gate and let the brothers know to start searching.” Tom nodded and headed off as ordered.

That only left Razor, who was still standing in the same spot, looking at the road with a pissed off expression. She stared down at him, feeling his chain against her skin, and wondering if he would just walk away. She needed him to so she could get out of here.

He slowly turned, looking all around, and she held her breath. Could he hear her? Sense her? Then, he stopped and looked up. Right at her. She didn’t move a muscle. Could he see her? She hoped not. Except luck was not on her side.

He arched a brow at her and said, “Don’t make me come up there and get you, Rissa. Get your ass down here.”

CHAPTERTHIRTEEN

KARISSA

She had half a mind to ignore him and stay where she was. Or jump into another tree, but from the look on Razor’s face, he would follow her. Or he’d climb up the tree himself and yank her down. Either way, she’d have to face him. Damn it. She looked down at him and said in annoyance, “You know, I’m starting to think you have a problem, Razor. Holding women against their will plays into the biker stereotype you’re trying to get away from.”

Razor just glared at her. “I already told you I’m done playing this game with you, Karissa. You’re not running any more, and we’re going to figure this shit out. Which is exactly what we were doing before you pulled this little stunt.”

“Ah, yes, the boys club met to figure out how to save the poor, defenseless woman,” she sneered, angry all over again. “All over a problem you don’t need to be involved with. No, let me rephrase that. That I don’twantyou to be involved in. You can take your macho, chauvinistic club and fuck off, Razor. I don’t need you or any man to fight my battles. I can take care of myself. You know that more than anyone. Or would you like another demonstration?”

“How about you stop being a brat and get down from there before I reach up and grab you?” Savage suggested, coming to glare at her from beside Razor, arms crossed over his massive chest.

She was a good few feet above him in this position, but she didn’t doubt he could figure out a way to make it work. “Do that, and Royal is going to be nursing you back to health until the babies come,” she told him with a toothy smile.

“Get down, Karissa,” Razor snapped, his patience clearly running thin.

“Going to lock me up?” she returned.

“I have half a mind to,” Savage replied before Razor could answer. “Kill two birds with one stone. Keep that bitch from killing you, and keep you out of my hair for a while.” He looked at Razor. “I still think you should have picked a Suzy homemaker for your Old Lady. We need some calm women around here. I’ve had a gun pointed in my face far too many times lately.”

“Stop being an asshole and it probably wouldn’t keep happening,” Karissa admonished, slowly moving out of her sitting position. “Ever think that maybe the problem is you, Mr. President?”

Savage scowled at her. “Just get down here. I have shit to do, and standing here and arguing with you isn’t one of them.”

Karissa inched forward, but didn’t climb down. She ignored Savage and stared down at Razor. “I don’t need or want you to fight my battles for me,” she told him fiercely. “And I’m not climbing down and going with you just so you can lock me away and play the hero. I’m my own damn hero.”

Razor let out an aggravated sound and growled, “Karissa, I’m not going over this again. You are fucking strong and tough, but you don’t always have to be. It’s okay to rely on someone else, and we can keep Sena from taking you out. Now get down here so we can talk like civilized people, and so I don’t get a permanent crick in my neck from looking up at you.”

Karissa had half a mind to refuse and stay right where she was, but instead, she swung herself over to the tree next to her and then climbed down. She turned and stared at Razor when he stepped toward her. She held up her hand. “I got down here, I never said a word about going with you. What’s going to happen is you are going to turn around, head back into your clubhouse, and I’m going to continue on my way. The only other option is I go back with you, you fix whatever you did to my car, and then you let me leave without trying to stop me. That includes putting some kind of tracker on me or my car.”

“Damn stubborn woman,” Razor muttered under his breath and Karissa glared at him. “The only thing I’m willing to do is take you back into the clubhouse, spank your ass for pulling this stunt, and then figure out a plan we can both live with.” He started toward her again.

“Umm, no, that’s not an option,” Karissa said mildly. She side stepped him before he could reach her. “What the fuck is so hard for you bikers to understand? It’s like your brains are connected to your dick instead of your ears, because you don’t hear worth shit. You hear a woman having a problem and think fucking her will make it all better. Why can’t you understand that we live in this decade, hell, this century, not back in the fifties. It’s bullshit.”

“You weren’t complaining about my dick an hour ago,” Razor tossed back as he stalked her. “In fact, you were begging for it. And I’ll be happy to remind you all about it as soon as we get back inside. This time, though, I won’t be as nice.”

“You can take your dick and—”

A shot rang out and Karissa felt the heat of the bullet along her temple just as she hit the ground. Her vision darkened and spots swam in front of her eyes; her ears rang, even as she was rolling and ducking behind the tree for cover. Razor was right behind her, covering her body with his as another shot rang out, this time hitting the tree near his head.

“Next one will be going into his brain, Krissy,” Sena’s voice called out, echoing through the forest.

Karissa shook her head to clear it, and forced her pounding heart to slow so she could think. She felt blood dripping down her face, but she didn’t pay any attention to it. She shoved Razor aside and focused on trying to figure out where Sena was hiding. Damn it, she wished she had her gun. She was going to kick Razor’s ass for taking it away from her. “You really think that hiding in the trees and shooting at me is going to scare me, Sena?” she called out, taunting. “You still can’t aim for shit. That’s, what, the fifth time you’ve missed me?”

There was silence as Karissa waited. She knew Sena would be seething with rage that she dared to bring up how many times she’d failed. Hopefully it would draw her out enough that Karissa could spot her. She heard a low voice from the other side of the tree and realized it was Savage talking to someone on the phone. The last thing she needed was Savage calling them in and someone getting shot because Sena was cornered.

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