Branded Read online

  “It’s more effective than you think,” he said. “Lowlifes don’t protect kin and country, they protect themselves. I don’t have to exert much pressure to find out what I need to know.”

  “Is that why you have all those knives?”

  He cleaned her wound with a wipe, then blew on it to dry it, making her shiver. This was the first time that when she pulled away he let her free herself, proving that he wasn’t holding her tight.

  “We’ll leave it uncovered today,” he said, putting some ointment on it after bringing her limb to his lap. “Where will I find Taggert?”

  The question made her draw back. “Tag?” So much for building trust. Was this a change in tactics? Torturing her didn’t work, so he tried seducing her instead?

  “I’m not telling you that,” she said. “Haven’t you listened to what I’ve said?”

  “You said you couldn’t give me what you didn’t have, you’ve got it now, right? He gave you his address on the phone.”

  Turning her hand to curl her fingers on his thigh, she shuffled closer. “I meant what I said about him digging in if he thinks you’re threatening me. You can’t go to his alone, he’s expecting me and if you tell him that I gave you his address—”

  “He’ll hurt you?”

  Suppressing her instinct to roll her eyes, she shook her head instead. “He’ll hurt you because he’ll assume you’ve hurt me.” Which he had, so Archer couldn’t deny it if Tag asked. “And if you think about it, you have hurt me. This only got easier because of last night when I saw something in the way you protected me. And you’ve promised to help me punish Jamie’s killers too. I need you and we’ll be allied as long as we have to be.” Which could be a while depending on how long it took them to track down the men responsible for killing Jamie.

  “What are you trying to say, Squirm?”

  “I’ll take you to Tag. I’ll talk to him for you. We’ll get your money. But, you have to trust me and stop thinking of me as your prisoner. I’m here by choice; I want to help you so that you’ll help me. You have to give up the tough guy act, Archer. You don’t have to threaten me or hurt me. You’ll get what’s rightfully yours. Relax, and show me that you trust me.”

  “I loosened your chain and fed you, didn’t I?”

  Was that his proof of trust? Taking a deep breath, Nya didn’t want there to be any misunderstanding between them. “Why did you take me from Sizzle and hurt me?”

  “Taggert has enemies. More than I think you know.”

  She’d seen the men in Sizzle. Those who hadn’t been preoccupied with Jamie were focused on one thing: locating Tag. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

  “Jonno told me you were the link to finding your boy Tag. I don’t know how Jonno figured it out.”

  As she’d told him before, Tag had set her up in Sizzle when he found out she was stripping. He’d stormed the place to pull her out. Plenty of staff and patrons had seen them together both in that strip joint and in Sizzle. Their association went back years. It didn’t surprise her that they’d been connected.

  “So you sauntered in to corner me?”

  He didn’t bullshit her with evasive answers, which was a point in his favor. “I didn’t know Jonno was gonna leave dead bodies in the street, he’s an idiot. We should’ve had all the time we needed in the club. It was closed, and there was no one in the street. He should’ve got the bouncers inside, cornered them and Jamie, and used them to manipulate you into giving Tag up,” he said, providing evidence of his experience.

  That night would’ve gone differently if Archer had been driving the ship. “How would you have done that?” she asked because forewarned was forearmed.

  He ran a fingertip down her arm then got up to go to the dresser on the wall by the door. “I’d have hurt them,” he said, without compunction.

  Startled, it took her a second to appreciate his honesty. “What is it that you do?” she asked. Experience in delivering pain and extracting details didn’t tell her how he made a living.

  “I deal in information,” he said, closing a drawer and turning around to hold up a tee shirt.

  “White?” she asked and shook her head. “Not when I don’t have any underwear. Anything darker?” He went back to the drawers. “How does someone deal in information?”

  Pushing back on her hands, she slid herself into the middle of the bed. Maybe it was because she hadn’t been on one for a while, but this felt like the most comfortable mattress she’d ever been on and that made her relax onto her back. Closing her eyes on her view of the ceiling, she stretched out her toes to discover that she fitted the width of the bed.

  “Sometimes I find out what people want to know and track that information down for them. Sometimes I hear something I know is of value and hock it to the highest bidder.”

  “So you’re an investigator?”

  He scoffed and the bed shifted. “Not even close,” he said. Opening her eyes, she found him lying on his side next to her, his head propped on a hand. “I’m direct. Very direct.”

  “I noticed,” she said, glancing at her wrist.

  He didn’t hand over the grey tee shirt bunched in his hand, he dropped it onto his hip and curled his thumb inside the tucked-in part of her towel.

  “What are you doing?” she asked when he pulled it out.

  “I want to see if those bastards hurt you.”

  Opportunistic pig, she thought, but relaxed, he’d seen her chest last night and modesty was the first thing a stripper had to cast off. With meticulous care, he peeled her towel away and reached over to lay it flat on the bed.

  Allowing his open palm to trace the high peak of the breast he’d exposed, Archer picked up the other edge of the towel and rose up to lay it flat in the space he’d vacated.

  Naked, lying on the open towel in the middle of the bed, Nya scrutinized his expression as he examined her figure.

  The thickening of his member was obvious in his jeans and she was proud of provoking that reaction. So proud that she arched her waist to better present her body for his hungry gaze.

  “Are you playing with me, Squirm?”

  “Are you playing with me?”

  If she’d had the thought that their flirtation could be manipulation then his keen mind would’ve considered the possibility for sure.

  “Women and games don’t go together. I get bored of bullshit,” he said. “I’m a straight shooter.”

  “But a bad aim,” she said. His fingertips touched the inside of her knee, but paused without making progress when his questioning frown emerged. “In the bathroom, you threw that knife at my head and missed.”

  “I hit what I aim at,” he said. “If I’d have meant to hit you, you’d be dead already.”

  And with what she’d seen of him in action, she wouldn’t underestimate that. “I’ve never been very good at games,” she said. “I can have a bit of a temper. My poker face sucks.”

  “You’re stubborn and emotional. I noticed.”

  Not much of a surprise. Those fingertips of his began to skim up and she clamped her thighs together to block him. “I don’t think there are any bruises up there… he didn’t get that far.”

  Looking over her again, he pulled his hand from between her thighs. “I don’t know which bruises were him and which were me.”

  There were various blotches and bruises on her body, she’d checked them out in the shower, and she couldn’t identify the source of them all either.

  “Would you feel better if I said all was forgiven,” she said, and it was clear he hadn’t expected her to say that. “We’re allies now, equals. If you help me like you said you would, all this, the bruises, the scars, it’s meaningless.”

  “So if I slice every man who touched your friend, you’ll forgive my sins?”

  “Yep,” she said because she needed his strength. “After.”

  Lunging down, he touched her ear with his lips. “Fuck your forgiveness,” he breathed. “I like my sins.”

  Sho
ving off the bed, he tossed the tee shirt onto her body and left the room.

  Nya thought they were making friends, she didn’t expect him to be antagonistic. After yanking the tee shirt on over her head, she dashed out of the room to follow him. “The only way Tag lets you go without hurting you is if I’m on your side,” she said when she entered the kitchen to see him cleaning the coffee machine.

  “Your buddy can’t hurt me, Squirm.”

  It amazed her how confident Archer could be. “He won’t be alone, he’ll have guys with him.”

  He always did, Tag’s charisma attracted an entourage, but he was loyal to the men who were loyal to him and that core group would go to any lengths to protect each other. Archer was one man; Tag could have anywhere from three to thirty men with him.

  “What are you going to tell him about us?” Archer asked, wiping his hands on a kitchen towel.

  Sparks bounced between them, sure, but one kiss hardly constituted an ‘us’ in her opinion. “Us?” she asked.

  “We rock up there together and your boy will think I’m fucking your pussy or fucking you over. We’re not friends. I’m not there to protect your ass. Why else would we go there together?”

  He had a point. Tag knew who her friends were and she didn’t need anyone to protect her from Tag. “Let me go in there alone,” she said. “I’ll go to him, find out about your money.”

  The slant of his mouth was almost a smile. “Don’t think so, Squirm.”

  “You don’t trust me?”

  “I don’t trust you,” he said. Nya couldn’t be offended by his honesty; their alliance was still in its infancy. “We’re going to your boy’s tonight, you and me, we’re getting my money.”

  Tag would be suspicious of Archer. He’d never been known for cutting anyone a break, especially someone who might be considered an adversary. Reasoning with her oldest friend would be difficult. But if anyone could persuade him to make peace with Archer, it was her.

  Protecting Archer felt right because he’d protected her. The only reason she survived in Sizzle was because he’d pulled her out. He’d protected her from Bryant and his friends. And, he hadn’t let Jonno get his hands on her last night.

  Nya would have to play mediator. “I will help you, Archer. I’ll do everything I can to make sure Tag doesn’t hurt you, but… I need assurance that you won’t hurt him.”

  The new set of his brow didn’t inspire her with confidence about his intentions. “If he comes for me, I won’t hesitate to take him down.”

  She wouldn’t ask him not to defend himself; she wouldn’t ask that of anyone. But if she asked Tag not to hurt Archer, he wouldn’t, so she didn’t have to worry about that. “Is it your plan to go in there and…”

  “Kill him? How would I get my money if he was dead? I guess I could extort it out of you… You’re so close to him, you must be in his will, right?”

  Could that be humor or was this an example of his information extraction skills? “I don’t know,” she answered. “We’ve never talked about it.”

  His eyes travelled down to her legs. “We’ve got a few hours until we go over there,” he said, though she didn’t know the relevance of delaying the trip until later. “I could do you a favor.”

  That sounded suspiciously like another line. Cocking a hip, she drew her hand up to rest on it. “Meaning?” she asked, expecting a lewd answer.

  “I’ll take you to your apartment, you can pack whatever shit you need. Women are weird about needing their own crap, right? And I ain’t having you walk into a room full of guys dressed like that neither… I don’t think wearing my shirt is better than wearing nothing ‘cause all I’ve thought about since I seen you in it is sex.”

  seven

  Wearing her own clean and undamaged clothes was a treat. Nya had never thought of herself as someone who placed much premium on material possessions, but it was nice to be comfortable.

  Archer had worn his frown as he went around her studio apartment, opening drawers and doors like he wanted to learn more about her. Except she didn’t like his prying, so went around after him, closing them in his wake. He’d respected her privacy to this point, now that they were becoming associates, it seemed that chapter was over.

  So they squabbled about his nosiness, and she found out that he hadn’t explored her purse because he had some kind of aversion to the mystery of women’s things, like their purses and medicine cabinets. But he had no problem sitting on her bed and checking out her underwear. He even switched on her vibrator.

  They’d eaten at hers and stayed there until he stood and declared they were leaving. Much as she’d assumed it would be, Archer confirmed that their destination was Tag’s place when he asked for directions as soon as they got into his car.

  Leading him to Tag might be a mistake, but it was the only way to make progress. It was this or live the rest of her life on Archer’s bathroom floor. The men would come face to face eventually, either when Tag came looking for her or when Archer tracked Tag down. This just sped things along.

  Archer could be playing her; he was dangerous and could be ruthless. But he was a guy on his own and Tag was tenacious. Her friend would be able to take on Archer while surrounded by his guys if he had to protect himself or her. In the opposite respect, Nya was confident that she could talk Tag out of hurting Archer. Meaning that all being well, this situation should be defused soon.

  During their journey to Tag’s new apartment, Nya checked the map on her phone several times. The address wasn’t in an area typical of the type Tag would choose to live in. Instead of the usual affluent districts of the city he liked, this was in a student haunt.

  The building they parked outside was twenty stories high. She checked it out while waiting for Archer to come around the car to let her out. When they were on the sidewalk, he curled a finger around the metal loop on the cuff she’d chosen to wear over her brand. Archer had advised her to let the wound breath for a day, but turning up at Tag’s wearing evidence of Archer’s abuse wouldn’t be a good kick-off point.

  “Before we go in, I have to tell you,” she said, pausing outside the revolving door that would lead to the lobby. “Once you get your money from Tag, just leave.”

  “Leave?”

  She should’ve said this in the car, but she’d been too busy thinking about why Tag might be staying in this weird area. “You won’t need me anymore after you’ve been paid, right?” she said. “Take the money and walk.”

  His sharp tug on her cuff made her stumble against him. “We walk in together, we walk out together.”

  She shook her head. “I’ve stayed with Tag a bunch of times. Maybe I’ll walk out tonight, maybe we’ll have a drink and a meal… I don’t need a chaperone with my oldest friend.”

  “And your other friend at Sizzle, what about her?”

  Nya wasn’t letting him out of their deal, maybe he didn’t remember that she knew where he lived. “I haven’t forgotten our agreement. When I want to call it in, I’ll find you.”

  With that decided, they shared a final look before he turned her body and patted her ass to urge her into the revolving door. He wasn’t gentleman enough to give her space in her own segment, he crowded in behind her, entering the lobby with his strength grasping her shoulders.

  “What apartment is it?” he asked when they got into the elevator.

  “Twenty-two,” she said.

  The placement of the apartment inside the building was another surprise. Tag liked to live on higher levels as those with better views tended to be more expensive. But this apartment was on the second floor. They could’ve taken the stairs, but they were already in the elevator, so travelled the short journey up the single floor.

  The apartment door was in view of the elevator when they stepped out. As soon as they moved toward it, Archer hooked her cuff again and she didn’t object. Technically, this was her territory, she could walk in and demand Tag skin Archer alive, and he would, so it made sense for Archer to be nervous.
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br />   Except when she glimpsed his profile, she saw no hint of anxiety. In fact, after she knocked on the apartment door, Archer actually yawned before he put her between him and the door and rested his forearm on the door frame.

  The door opened and she was relieved to see Gio, one of Tag’s closest associates. “Nya!” Gio said, welcoming her with a hug. “Where have you been?”

  Withdrawing from his arms, she noticed that Gio’s glare was focused behind her. Archer shoved her forward into the apartment, and her body acted like a shield as he granted himself permission to come inside.

  Gio, Tag, none of the people here would appreciate a stranger being brought into their ranks, so she’d have to talk fast to explain who Archer was and why she’d brought him here. At least, she assumed she did until…

  “Archer,” Gio said. “Going after Nya, risky.”

  “It worked,” Archer said while she stood gaping. “You and Tag have been dancing in the shadows too long. It’s time to pay your debts.”

  “You two know each other?” she asked, sidestepping so that she could quarter-turn to bring both men into view.

  “Sure,” Gio said and she didn’t trust the flat smile of the man she knew as easy going but who now seemed defensive. “There isn’t a guy on the planet Archer doesn’t know… Though not many can say they know him.”

  Archer kind of nodded but was no more relaxed than Gio. Alone in this square hallway, she wouldn’t have a chance of separating these guys if a fight broke out. The hostility crackling between them suggested that might be an imminent possibility, so she had to get them out of these close quarters.

  “Where’s Tag?” she asked.

  There were two doors on either side of the empty hall with one at the head, and it was this one that Gio headed for. The living space they entered was wider than it was long. A kitchen/dining area to the right was occupied by three men she recognized as working for Tag, but she didn’t know them as friends.

  Tag was sitting in the middle of a couch on the far left wall with a colleague in each of the flanking arm chairs and he immediately lit up when he registered her entrance.