Tomas’s Trials Read online

  “No, it was meant to be a surprise.” He chuckled. He looked at the table, then rubbed his stomach. “It smells like we made it just in time for dinner.”

  “Of course.” Amber quickly motioned toward the table. But they had garnered a lot of interest, which was expected, because she had drawn a lot of attention as a single female. Unwanted attention. Yet that didn’t matter to these guys. She would need to do an awful lot to get that calmed down because this stake-a-claim-for-the-single-gal frenzy wouldn’t end anytime soon.

  She quickly pulled out a chair beside hers and parked Tomas at her side. She picked up the platters and started moving them quickly around the table. It was a jovial atmosphere, as people asked questions, and Mary even looked over at Amber with a bright smile. “So he was real.”

  “He always was,” she stated, with a beaming smile, trying to make it obvious to everyone that she was thrilled. But she also knew that some of these guys weren’t so happy. They looked over at Tomas, having noticed a limp as he walked across the room.

  She wondered about that too, not sure how that would help her chances. She knew too well that anybody who was even one percent less physically dominating in a place like this would end up in trouble. She thought about it for a quick moment, then dismissed it. She couldn’t deal with it all right now, so she’d deal with what she could, and hopefully they would find another way around the rest. And, regardless of his limp, he looked like he could hold his own. He was big, like Dezi, but harder-looking, like Saul.

  He didn’t look like the kind who couldn’t hold his own, but, at the same time, Amber didn’t know what he was really like because she hadn’t had the chance to get to know him yet. When she looked over at him, she leaned forward and whispered, “Glad to have you here.”

  He turned his head, caught her quickly, and gave her a gentle kiss. “Glad to be here,” he murmured, as if trying to put everybody’s mind at ease.

  She also knew this relationship would likely start problems.

  Wolf laughed. “Interesting timing for you to show up. We thought it would take a flip of a coin to get her laid.”

  At that, Dezi stared at Wolf, looking quite threatening. “Seriously?”

  Wolf shrugged, with a look. “Hey, you know people take their women pretty serious here, and she’s been unattached for quite a while.”

  “Does it look to you like I’m unattached?” Amber snapped. “I told you that I had somebody. You just weren’t listening.”

  “We were listening, but, without anybody physically here, nobody would give a shit.” Wolf smirked. “Single women don’t stay single for long.”

  She shrugged. “I wasn’t single,” she replied bluntly. “Believe me. I’m happy Tomas is here too. After this many months apart, I am really glad to see you.” She turned to look at Tomas. “It’s been brutal.”

  Wolf turned toward Tomas suspiciously. “Why the hell did you leave her alone for so long?”

  “Didn’t intend on that,” Tomas replied, “but sometimes family stuff has to be dealt with. I wanted her to come with me, but it wasn’t to be.”

  “Yeah, and how’s the family now?” Cal asked belligerently. “Maybe you should take a hike and go back and deal with them again.”

  At that, one of the other men laughed, then called him out. “Hey, Cal, you had your chance, and she wasn’t willing to be with you. Maybe you should just butt out.”

  Cal shot him an ugly look. “You butt out, Steel. I don’t even know who this guy is. How come you guys just let him into our group like this?”

  “What did you say?” Steel shot Cal a scathing look and asked, “Are you doubting my judgment?”

  All of a sudden, silence fell over the room. Cal shrugged. “Just saying. I don’t know anything about this guy. For all I know, he’s some spy or something.”

  “A spy?” Steel shot Cal a hard look. “That kind of projection just means you have something to hide.”

  “You know what? … We don’t discuss any business crap like this out in the open,” Tomas snapped, with a hard look at Cal, and then turned to face Steel, the leader it seemed, “unless that’s different here than it is back at my place.”

  “No, that’s exactly how it is here.” Steel was super pissed, and it showed. “Knock it off now, Cal!”

  “Fine. Whatever then,” Cal muttered.

  “No whatever here.” Steel glared at him. “Unless you want to have a little talk with me later.”

  “No, it’s fine,” Cal agreed quickly, swallowing a mouthful, as if to keep himself quiet and to not respond to the antagonism.

  Still, it was obvious Cal wasn’t happy, and that this discussion wasn’t over yet.

  Amber settled at Tomas’s side and whispered, “Well, that’s a great start.”

  “Not really,” he murmured. Then he spied a currant on her plate. Stabbing it, he quickly popped it into his mouth.

  She looked at him, her jaw-dropping act making him chuckle. “Nice,” she teased, “really nice.”

  “Hey,” he replied, “you didn’t use to mind it at all.”

  “I still don’t,” she admitted. “It was just funny to have you do that.” Then she reached over and hugged him tightly. “It’s really good to see you.”

  “All right, knock it off, you two,” one of the women said, adding an eye roll. “I get that you’re happy to see him but enough already.”

  And, with that, Amber subsided, chuckling. “Got it.”

  As a tool to convince people that they really cared and missed each other, it seemed to be effective. She settled in her chair, then smiled at Tomas and proceeded to eat the rest of her dinner.

  She couldn’t help but think that this would be interesting.

  *

  Dinner was pretty much how Tomas had expected. A little jarring, with those few shots lobbed, as the men assessed him. Amber kept up with a bumbling commentary beside him, and he sensed the unrest in her movements.

  He wasn’t sure if anything had happened since he’d seen her at the hotel or not, but she was definitely nervous right now. She should have just stayed in town while she could. Maybe that would have made a difference, but, then again, if she was trying to help somebody else she obviously cared for, that attachment could get her killed, and that just wasn’t an option.

  It was funny that he already had a good idea of who Amber was. Even though he didn’t know her, he definitely knew her type. And they were the ones looking out for the underdogs of the world. He casually glanced around at all the others, trying to pick up on the innuendos of who had gelled together, who stuck with who, and picking up on the body tells. There would be little time to get out if things went sideways, so he needed to know as much as he could. His first priority was the exit doors.

  It was easy to see that several of the women were quite adjusted in their own happy-place, talking cheerfully, apparently without a care in the world. But some of the women were silent, too silent for him, and a few looked like they were frigging statues. Nobody was talking to him now. That made things a little bit awkward.

  As he watched the room, one of the guys who had caused the ruckus—when Tomas had kissed their supposed prized possession—got up and left without another word.

  As soon as he did, the atmosphere relaxed slightly. It was almost like that guy was the fucking executioner. Someone who did his job, then removed the body, so it was all good now.

  One of the guys laughed, then looked over at Tomas. “You watch out for that one,” he stated. “Cal’s been after her for a long time.”

  “Nah, he hasn’t been a bother at all.” Amber laughed.

  He just looked at her, then shook his head. “You know he is.”

  She shrugged. “I never gave him any reason to think I was interested.”

  “Guys like that don’t need a reason, honey.” His voice slurred at honey. He finished his meal and headed out too.

  Tomas looked over at her. “Problems?”

  “Nope,” she replied, trying fo
r a bright smile. “Just somebody showing a whole lot more interest than I could dissuade him from.”

  At that, Tomas raised an eyebrow, knowing he was playing a set part. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, it didn’t come to that,” she stated, jumping in to try to make him feel better. “He was just persistent.”

  At that, Tomas turned and stared at the doorway through which the guy had gone because Tomas knew everybody else was watching him. “I can have a talk with him, when he comes back again,” he said, as he looked at her. “And you stay away from him.”

  “Obviously,” she noted. And then she tucked up close to him again and asked, “Did I tell you how happy I am to see you?”

  “You did,” he said, with a bright smile. “And I’m glad to hear it. Sounds like I wasn’t a moment too soon.”

  “No,” she agreed, “you weren’t. And I’m still happy to see you.”

  He chuckled. “Good! Nutcase then. … We cannot count him as a problem.”

  “No, I don’t think so,” she replied lightly but with a forced joviality in her tone. Then she whispered to him, “I’m not sure.”

  He nodded and swept a look around, just to see how everybody else was reacting to their interactions.

  They were all seemingly just paying attention to what was going on but not in a way that concerned him, more like interest in seeing what he would do. He suspected he would have a fight on his hands the minute he let down his guard.

  Something that he would do well to remember, though letting down his guard wasn’t exactly an option. Not in a place like this. Too many people were always a little too eager to jump in and to take what he was leaving behind.

  In this case it would be Amber.

  It wasn’t the same as most biker gangs, but definitely a code was here. She could say no, and most of the guys would respect that, but always one or two didn’t give a shit what she said. It sounded like Tomas had literally shown up at the perfect time for her.

  With that in mind, he quickly finished his meal, then looked over at her and asked, “So where are we staying?”

  “If you had told me that you were coming,” she said, with an eye roll, “I could have made things better.”

  “Doesn’t matter anymore. It’s all good,” he replied.

  “Of course it is, and we’ll make the most of it. I do need to help with the dishes though,” she added.

  That note of anxiety in her voice made him wonder. He nodded. “I can give you a hand.”

  At that, she shook her head. “Great. Nobody would let me live that down.”

  He just smiled and carried the dishes into the kitchen, then very quickly they made short work of the dishes. Several other women walked around and helped out.

  Finally one of them nudged her gently. “Leave it. Go, go on, and be with him. You haven’t seen him in forever.”

  “I know.” Amber gave her friend a grateful look. “Thanks, Peaches.” As she quickly stepped away from the kitchen, she grabbed Tomas’s arm. “Come on! Let’s go.”

  “I’m not sure where we’re going.”

  “To our place,” she murmured.

  He hid his startled surprise at that. “Sounds good to me.” He called out, “Good night,” to the others, as they exited the kitchen.

  Just out the connecting doorway, they passed Dezi, still in the dining room, who grinned from ear to ear.

  “Good night,” Dezi said, with a smile. “Talk to you in the morning.”

  Tomas nodded and let Amber lead him. As soon as they were outside, she kept pushing him forward. “I’m going. I’m going,” he said, laughing. “Are we in that much of a hurry?”

  “Maybe not,” she replied, but then he realized that she really didn’t feel comfortable with what was going on—or at least being around all these people.

  When they made it farther away, she relaxed and whispered, “I’ll show you where you’re sleeping first.” At a distance from the prying eyes, she stopped, looked up at him, and added, “We do have to keep up pretenses.”

  He shrugged and nodded. “I just need a place to lay my head.”

  She led him into what looked like a basement suite of one of the houses. “This is mine,” she murmured.

  “Good,” he noted. “It looks decent.”

  “It is,” she agreed. “This house is where Peaches lives, and they’ve given me this space.”

  “Nice.” He asked, “So you and Peaches? Everything okay there?”

  “Well, yes and no,” she replied, in an almost nonexistent whisper, coming close to him to avoid the potential for eavesdropping. “She’s the one trying to get out.”

  At that, he went still and thought about it. “Interesting.”

  Amber nodded. “Peaches has been here a long time.”

  Tomas noted something familiar in her eyes that he had also seen in Peaches’s gaze.

  “I’m not exactly sure how she’ll handle things, when she gets out of here, but she’s looking to get out. She just doesn’t have the financial means and has no friends on the outside. At least, not like I have Saul and Dezi and now you.”

  “And she has a partner?”

  “She did, but he was killed,” Amber murmured. “She’s still adjusting to life as a single woman, and they won’t let her be that way for much longer.”

  “She doesn’t have a choice?” he asked, his voice taking on a hard tone.

  “She does in a way. As long as she makes a choice that everyone around her approves of, she’ll be okay, but she doesn’t want anyone. She wants to get out before someone forces another relationship on her.”

  “I can understand that,” he murmured. “Nice people, yet nicer digs here.”

  “Very close-knit too. You need to know that these guys are tight. They are very strongly united in what they think is right and wrong,” she murmured. “Most of them are good and just looking for a place to belong. They want to live alone and off the grid, away from everybody.”

  “And yet they still want everything that society has to offer, I presume.”

  “Yep, you better believe it, but still, I don’t have a gripe with many of them, and a few of them are tolerable,” she nodded. “But there are others, … and I’ll give you some names.” She took a deep breath before continuing again. “A few of them are bad news, and they prance around like they own you,” she murmured. “Those are the ones you need to stay clear of,” she warned Tomas.

  “Those are the few who will be gunning for me after this,” he noted. “I assume they’ll test me.”

  “Probably,” she murmured, “and all I can tell you is that most of them are not very fair. They say they have this code that they live by, but honestly it seems like whoever is the strongest can decide whatever rules they choose.”

  “A lot of people in this world live that way,” he noted, with a smile. “And no need to worry. I get that the limp may be a concern, but I’m still plenty capable, physically speaking.”

  She hesitated, then nodded. “Thank you, I did wonder,” she confessed. “Sorry.”

  “It’s all right,” he said, “consider it though. I’ll be fighting for your safety after all. And Peaches too.” He smiled. “You have every reason to be worried.”

  “Not really.” She shrugged. “If you’re part of Levi’s team, I’m fully prepared to believe you can do everything you need to do.”

  “Good, because I can.” If his tone seemed short, maybe she would forgive him. He was struggling with enough self-doubt in some areas of his life to begin with, but he knew that this was something he could handle. Guys were the same no matter where they were, and always somebody would push it. He’d had to prove himself time and time again, so all of this wouldn’t be any different.

  “I really can’t guarantee that they won’t jump you in the dark,” she noted apologetically.

  “Got it,” he replied. “Really nice people.”

  “No, not really. I do like some things about them, but there’s an awful lot about them t
hat I don’t,” she murmured. “And the fact that I can’t trust them is a big one.”

  “But, looking at it from their point of view,” he added, “they can’t trust you either.”

  She nodded, giving him an odd look. “Exactly, and, because of that, it’s hard to make friends.”

  “Yeah, it absolutely would be. I think, … hopefully you won’t be here long enough to worry about it.”

  “God, I hope not,” she replied, “but it’s really disconcerting not knowing what’s coming.”

  “So how do you plan to get your friend out?”

  “I don’t know. They don’t really want to let her leave.”

  “Interesting, and why is that?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I think because she’s alone.”

  “Are they afraid she’ll leave?”

  “Possibly,” she guessed. “I mean, why wouldn’t she? It’s not as if this is home for her anymore, not without a partner.”

  “Could part of it be that they don’t have many women and that they want to keep what they’ve got?” he asked, checking her face for visible clues.

  “That’s quite possible,” she admitted. “I hate to think that they would force her to stay, but, when she did try to talk to them about leaving, she got a flat-out response. ‘No, and don’t even think about it or talk about it ever again.’ She wasn’t leaving because that’s just the way it was here. She is part of the group, and they would keep her safe and keep her to themselves as part of the group, … whether she liked it or not.”

  “In that case, it sounds more like she’s a prisoner, and that’s a problem,” he murmured.

  “It absolutely is a problem,” Amber agreed, “and Peaches is also terrified to leave or to even bring it up again.”

  “Right, so it looks like we’ve got a couple things to deal with. One, she doesn’t have the confidence to make that decision on her own and to step out and to make it look real. I also get the sense that, two, we’ve got some dealings going on, where somebody specific doesn’t want to let her go.”

  “I think the somebody who doesn’t want to let her go is the one who wants to keep her for himself, and, if he can force that to happen, she’ll never get out.”