Cold Foot Komodo (Wreck’s Mountains Book 2)

Reed had changed his shirt in the truck, but he could feel the wounds still seeping. Gah, it hurt, but that old familiar feeling was upon him—this was normal. This was what happened. Scars were a byproduct of survival.

He’d been a fighter before Cold Foot, but in prison he’d worked hard to shed his old skin and be the man he wanted to be. He’d had the opportunity for growth when Farrah couldn’t get to him.

He didn’t know if he could stay here. It felt like Farrah was inside of the Crew somehow, and it made him want to put distance between himself and Wreck’s people.

What if the kid was his?

Reed took another sip of his whiskey and looked over at the door, noting the exit as he rested his chin on his shoulder. It was torture being in his mind right now.

The door to the 406 Saloon opened, and he sat up straighter at the realization of who had just blown in here.

Sasha stomped off a pair of charcoal-gray ankle boots on the mat just inside the door. Shiny black leggings clung to the graceful shape of her legs like a second skin, accentuating every curve. She wore a see-through, thin black sweater over a lace crop top., and her jacket folded over her arm. Her hair was cascading in relaxed curls down her shoulders, and her makeup was all done up. She wore an oversized black purse with long fringe that slapped the side of her leg as she made her way to a table on the other side of the bar.

Holy shit, she was gorgeous in relaxed clothes, but she was an absolute stunner when she did herself up like this.

She smiled at a couple of guys at the table next to her who were telling her hi, and then she swung her gaze to him and offered the same polite smile. Oh, it was like that, huh?

He’d stopped things with her, and now she would make him regret it? Fair. He had regretted it since the moment he’d done it, with or without the sexy clothes she was wearing.

He could still remember the way her lips tasted.

Reed lifted his drink to her and did a silent cheers. Sasha nodded, and then smiled up at the bartender who approached her table.

He couldn’t take his eyes away from her as she ordered. Sasha had one of those smiles that lit up an entire room.

“She’s a looker,” someone said from down the bar.

Reed swung his gaze to the man in the backwards baseball cap and the Carhartt jacket. The animal in him perked up, but he was over fighting tonight. She wasn’t his. He had no right to be territorial. “She sure is.”

“She must be new in town. I would remember a lady like that. I’ve never seen her.”

Reed angled his face and cracked his neck to ease the tension building in his shoulders. “Maybe so.”

The man leaned over the bar and called the bartender over. “Can you send that pretty lady over there a beer. Tell her it’s from me?”

“She likes cosmos,” Reed advised him.

The man tossed his hands up in surrender. “Maybe you should be the one buying her a drink then.”

Reed nodded to the bartender.

“She was in here earlier with her mom,” the bartender enlightened him. “She likes a splash of lime.”

“That’ll be fine, thank you.” It wasn’t her mother she was with. It was Beth, but Beth was probably kinder than her real parental unit. He could see how the bartender would’ve assumed.

She took it over to her, and Sasha looked truly surprised. The bartender pointed back to him, explaining, and she grinned big. God, she was a beauty.

He lifted his drink again in a toast, and this time she lifted hers too. Her smile went soft, and she took a sip.

Inhaling deeply, Reed stood and grabbed his jacket off the back of the chair, then strode toward her.

“Fancy meeting you here,” she said in a chipper tone.

Reed looked around, and everyone in this joint was watching them. He gestured to the seat across from her. “Can I sit?”

“Sure, but there are ground rules.”

He sank down into the chair and set his jacket on the seat next to him, then draped his arm over the back of it. “What are your rules?”

“First, I’m taken, so I’m not looking for a man to take home.”

“You’re taken, huh?”

“Yep. I’m looking for friendship only tonight.”

He nodded. “Sounds good. What’s the next rule?”

“I don’t know you.”

He frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I think you need someone you don’t know. I think you need someone who doesn’t scare you. A stranger, maybe.” She stuck her hand out for a shake. “I’m Sasha.”

He dipped his gaze to her hand, and then back up to her pretty brown eyes. Then he leaned forward and slid his hand against hers. Her hand was so petite in his. “I’m Reed. Any more rules?”

“Just one.”

“Name it.”

“Be honest.”

He shook her hand and nodded. “That sounds fine. Rules accepted.”

“What kind of music do you like?” she asked.

“Texas country.”

“Mmm. Interesting. Are you originally from Texas?”

“Florida originally, though I’ve done jobs in Texas. I thrive in the sunshine.”

“I am from Wyoming, so I’m completely used to this weather. I wouldn’t mind living somewhere warmer though, someday.”

“What about you? What kind of music do you like?”

“Oh, rap. Definitely rap. I love the beats, and I love dancing to it, but I can’t keep up with the lyrics. It takes me a really long time to memorize songs. Which is kind of weird since I can remember a dozen patient’s charts at a time, but my brain just doesn’t absorb fast lyrics.”

“Then why do you like it so much?”

“I like a challenge, I guess. I appreciate the things I’m not naturally good at.”

Already the tension was fading from him completely.

“There’s a jukebox over there. I can see if they have rap songs.”

She grinned and looked around the bar. There was a couple dancing slow in the corner, and her attention stayed on them for a few seconds. “Let’s let them have their songs. That’s a special moment. I hope they remember it for always.”

“You’re a romantic?”

“Probably. I love it for other people. I dream of it for myself someday. I don’t get jealous when I see people enjoying each other like that.” She took a sip of her drink. “There should be love like that in the world.”

He liked that. Reed studied her face, and she had no negativity in her gaze. He could feel her good intentions. “Why did you come here tonight?”

“Just in case you need a friend.”

God, this woman was something else.

“I was a little bummed today,” she admitted, “but I had dinner with a nice lady who just listened, and then I felt a hundred pounds lighter.”

He knew what she was saying. She wanted him to talk to her about what was happening.

“If I tell you a story as a friend, can you go easy on me?”

“Absolutely. I have no eggs in this basket. You can tell me anything. One, two, three, go.”

He draped his arm over the back of the chair next to him again, and considered it. Maybe it would feel good to get it off his chest. It wasn’t his way—he’d never done that before. He’d always handled everything alone, but maybe if he told her what was happening, she wouldn’t hate him in the quiet moments when she remembered his rejection.

He cleared his throat. “I was in a relationship for a long time, but it was on-and-off. It revolved around a power struggle. Not for me, but for her. She was my Alpha. I was her Second.”

Sasha’s eyes went wide, and she took another sip of her drink. “Interesting dynamic.”

“It was good at first, but that part was short-lived. It was bad for much longer. I kept trying to leave, and move on, but she had her claws in deep, and she had a bond with the entire Bank, me included. Banks are what all-Komodo Crews are called. Alphas can make their people do what they want with an order. She abused that power more and more over time until I was just…stuck. She would have moments of clarity that she was on the wrong path, but the clarity wouldn’t hit her until after we’d been to war with other Banks, or had lost members due to her negligence. She got it in her head that having kids would make her a better leader, or maybe make her softer, I don’t know. She wanted to start trying, but I didn’t want that with her. Not by that time. There was a lot of pressure and eventually I gave in, but we weren’t at a good place with us. It wasn’t happening for her, and she wanted someone to blame, and so she got really vocal that it was me. I wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t man enough. I was the problem. It was my fault she wasn’t getting pregnant. Every time we were with anyone in our Bank, it was brought up and thrown in my face, and I know this is bad, but I was secretly happy it wasn’t happening. I wanted to be a dad someday, but not like that. Not with her.” He inhaled deeply and tossed back the remainder of his whiskey, then turned and gestured to the bartender for one more. “I was getting too used to the shame, and I couldn’t keep living like that, so I started planning a way out. I was going to leave. Just abandon the Bank, abandon my role as Second, and go do anything else with my life. And then she ended up pregnant. That’s what she said. So I stayed and I tried, but a few weeks later, she said she lost it, and I was gutted. But then she got drunk one night at a Bank party and told everyone it was my friend’s baby. I just…found out in front of everyone. There was a huge fight, and the Bank was at war with each other, and then came the shaming that I couldn’t get the job done again, and I felt betrayed by everyone because it came out that everyone knew she was trying with other males, except for me. I was the only one who didn’t know. The Second. Everyone was keeping secrets and covering for her. It fucked with my animal so bad, I didn’t have much control. The next round of trying, she was open that she would be trying with multiple people. I was fucking done. I felt stuck, and grossed out, and cheated, and used, and like I couldn’t do anything right but fighting, and that’s what I did. That’s what I was good at. Farrah wanted a new Second, and there was a plan to overthrow me. No one could take me one-on-one, so she orchestrated the lower-ranking males to strip my rank as a group. They were supposed to kill me.”

“Oh my gosh,” she whispered in a horrified tone.

He shrugged. “The fight happened. I was hurt, but not dead. I had taken some of the Bank down with pretty severe injuries, and one of them died, and then a few days later the police showed up at my doorstep to arrest me for murder. That’s what the humans call it, but to my people, it was defending rank. I went through the trial and it dragged on because I was defending myself, but I did end up getting six years.”

“Was Farrah the one who called the cops on you?”

“I’m guessing. I never really found out. None of them explained. I went to Cold Foot and got stuck in the system, and didn’t hear shit about fuck from any of them until yesterday.”

Her cheeks were turning red, and she stirred her drink. “Who called you?”

“Farrah. She said I can’t escape her, because we have a kid together. A son.”

Sasha dragged a long, ragged breath in, and got up in a rush. “I need to use the restroom. I’m sorry. I’m coming right back, I just…need a minute.”

And he understood. Fuck, he hated this. They’d been cut off before they’d even stood a chance, and it wasn’t fair. This was too much too early.

He waited a couple of minutes, but he couldn’t physically stay way over here, so far away from her, so he stood and made his way to the bathroom hallway. It was the sound of crying that had him pushing off the wall and opening the bathroom door. “Sasha?” he asked softly.

She was leaned against the counter, head hung low. He could see a tear fall in the mirror’s reflection. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Why are you sorry? None of this is your fault.” She turned around, and the look on her face tugged at his heart. “The walls are really close.”

“Do you want to go outside?”

She nodded. “Just for a minute. I need some fresh air.”

“Come on,” he murmured, offering his hand.

She slipped her palm against his, and he led her to the back door with the glowing exit sign over it. He pushed open the door and led her down the back stairs, then released her and backed off a couple feet.

Sasha sat almost immediately on a curb by the bar and wrapped her arms around herself. Crap. She was probably freezing, and Reed had left his jacket inside. “Do you want my shirt?”

“Oh, the one covering your gorilla bite-wounds that I’m assuming you got from spiraling?”

He pursed his lips. “Yes.”

“And furthermore,” she said, “how old will your son be? You were in prison for ten years. So he would be at least ten. Or nine? And no one bothered to tell you until now?”

“Yeah, it’s weird.”

“I’m calling bullshit. Not that having a son is a bad thing! You would make a great dad! I’m not saying the child would curse your life or anything, I’m just saying this is a strange birth announcement. A decade in. What does she want?”

“Umm, she wants me to drop you.”

“Ooooh, so she found out we were talking for like one point five days? And now she’s back to what, manipulate you some more? The game is back on? She can do whatever the hell she wants, but when you start to enjoy your life one percent, her little spidey-senses tingle and she needs to come back and what? Wreck the smile on your face? Fuck that.”

Okay, this wasn’t how he had expected her to react. This was kind of awesome. She could see it for what it was.

“I called an old friend, and he’s looking into the boy.”

“And if he exists…if…you need to do a paternity test. I’m not trying to be mean or interfere, but we aren’t taking her word for it. All right?”

He cleared his throat and shifted his weight. “You just said we.”

“I’m sorry. We, as friends. Is that better?”

He actually really liked that her mind worked like this. She wasn’t crying in a corner and ignoring him for a week. She was already forming a game plan that was logical and sound. He’d seen this side of her when she’d gone into nurse-mode with King, and he had been awed by her knowledge and how intelligent she was. Now she was showing him another layer that he appreciated more than he could ever express.

“I don’t…” He frowned, searching for the right words. “I’ve never had anyone on my side.”

The anger that had knitted her eyebrows into a frown lessened, and she shocked him by closing the distance between them, and wrapping her arms around him.

His heart had to be hammering against her cheek right now, as he slid his arms around her too.

“You aren’t alone.” Her words settled something inside of his soul.

“It feels like it. Farrah said the Crew gave her information.”

She eased back to look up to him. “Bullshit. They wouldn’t do that.”

“It’s what Banks do. It’s what Crews do too.”

“Not this one. Women who control like that have to cut off your support, so they can get you back in line easier.”

Ooooh. He understood now. It wasn’t just intelligence that had Sasha calling out everything about Farrah. It was life experience. She’d been raised by a manipulative, controlling woman.

And it hit him. Maybe he was supposed to meet Sasha. Perhaps the timing wasn’t bad at all. Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to meet her right when his world was getting flipped upside down, so he wouldn’t be alone with it. So that he would have this beautiful little voice of reason telling him he didn’t have to go back to his old life, his old ways, his old habits.

“You’re going to be fine,” she said, and her words held such confidence, he felt it too. He was going to be fucking fine.

She stepped back, her boots crunching in the snow. “The yesterday me would’ve cupped the boner you created while you were just hugging me, but since we are friends now, I will high-five you.” She lifted her hand up in the air for a high-five and waited.

Biting back a smile, Reed sidled up to her and grabbed her hand, dragged it down to the zipper of his pants, and pressed her palm against his erection. Felt so good having her hand right there, so close. He wished he could take her back into that bathroom, bend her over the counter, pull her leggings down, and slide into her—make her come a couple times as an apology for the mess of the last couple of days—but he wasn’t about to ask her for a bathroom quickie after the seriousness of their conversation tonight. She deserved better.

So instead, he pulled her close and slid his hand around her throat, squeezed it gently as he settled his lips on hers. He drank her in with such a sense of relief. It hadn’t been their last kiss the other night, like he’d feared. She was still here. Still responding to his touch.

This woman in his arms was amazing. Did he deserve her? Not yet. But he would. He would do the work and make sure she was taken care of as long as she wanted to be around him.

And from here on, now that he knew she was bombproof, he would work at being upfront with her when life went sideways.

She could handle it.

Sasha was proving that to him tonight.