by V. Theia
Rider could smell when someone had a hard-on for the Souls.
And this woman reeked of brewing trouble.
“You can’t congregate here.”
Rider arched his eyebrow while Texas chuckled at his side. “A new law we’re not aware of, Officer Fielding?”
“Don’t get smart with me, Marinos.”
Amused, Rider kept his face straight as he watched her, losing her cool so quickly.
“We’re shopping for Valentine’s Day.” Piped Capone, thickening his accent. His Sergeant at Arms was barking up the wrong tree if he thought his smolder shit would help. The female looked like she wanted to throw the cuffs on them all.
Glancing behind her, Rider locked a stare with the sheriff. Timmons had always been a fair cop, fairer than the last sheriff who’d been a crooked cunt. They’d worked together to rid their city of the Bratva invasion, but Rider was in no doubt that Timmons wasn’t a cop who would turn a blind eye. Mostly, he left the Souls alone because Charlie knew Rider took care of the town. He watched the other man sigh, switched the engine off, and he climbed from the vehicle.
“You know, the day of amor.” Capone winked at her.
“You got something to say, Officer?” Rider asked.
“There’s been a spree of car thefts in the area.”
“And? You want my help? I retired my Batman cape.”
She turned red in the face, both hands resting on her gun belt.
Rider wondered if Timmons knew he had a loose cannon on his team. One who was taking backhanders from the crooked mayor. The betting was he didn’t. Unless Rider and his gut instincts were wrong, Charlie had no idea. If her petty bullshit continued, he would have to drop that piece of info into the right ears.
“I wanna know if you had anything to do with it.”
All three men laughed.
“Damn, Prez. Can’t even buy a box of chocolates without being accused of crimes.” Texas said. “What next? Waterboarded for buying flowers?”
“Someone saw your boys hanging around a dealership right before it got hit.”
Rider smirked at her accusation. Lying bitch. He knew she was lying because stealing cars wasn’t his deal. It was Luxe’s. And she was smart enough never to get caught.
“That’s enough, Fielding.” Timmon’s spoke as he approached, irritation in his tone. She spun around to face her superior. “But…”
“I said e-fucking-nough. Get back in the car.”
“This is shit.” She spat, facing Rider. “You won’t always have people to hide behind.”
“I don’t hide,” he supplied, tonelessly. “I don’t steal cars either.”
She stormed off and slammed the car door after climbing inside.
Rider lifted a brow to Timmons, who sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t take kindly to being fuckin’ accosted on the street when we’re doing shit but standing here, Charlie.” And went on. “We know nothing about car thefts.”
“I know,” Charlie replied.
“She’s got it in for us.”
“I know that too.” Timmons proved his salt when he added with an intelligent, unwavering stare. “Long as you’re not doing shit you’re not supposed to, and you’ll be fine.”
Texas laughed, amused, and then sobered. “Maybe you need to put leashes on your kids, Sheriff. Officer Eager there has pulled my wife over more than once this month for bullshit reasons. It happens again; I’ll put in a complaint to your department.”
The irritation was apparent on the sheriff’s face. Was he fed up with her crap too? Interesting. It was something for Rider to think about later. Sofia wasn’t the top priority for him unless she got in his way.
When the sheriff took off, they watched them pull away before Capone asked, “do we need to put someone on her?”
“Not yet. She’s not that important.”
“She’s taking the woman scorned bit all the way, isn’t she?” The cultured voice came from Texas. “Maybe Arson’s dick wasn’t as magical as he thought.”
All three men laughed.
They split off and climbed onto their Harley’s.
Rider had a wedding this month. Finally, he’d get a ring on his Zara’s hand.
And he was dealing with his uncle too.
He didn’t have the time or effort to add a third fucking spoke into his plans.
The petty cop would wait.
And she’d find it was a stupid blunder if she continued to mess with the Souls.
THREE
“What bride doesn’t have a secret?” - Gia
Wedding: T-minus 18 days.
“If you don’t keep still, she’s going to stick you in the ass.” Warned Gia.
Standing on a podium, Zara turned a withering glance over her shoulder to her sister-in-law and closest friend. The dressmaker was busily pinning her wedding dress around the waist. She’d lost weight in the last few months, so now had to have the dress taken in again.
Who would have known wedding nerves would make the festive pounds melt off her?
She wasn’t scared of marriage.
The moment she proposed to Rider, she’d wanted it more than anything else. But over the last year of preparations, it seemed to grow and grow. Even though they’d decided on a small intimate ceremony, only inviting their closest family and friends, they now had bikers and their old ladies coming in from all around the country.
It was understandably big news about Rider getting hitched, and all his chapters wanted to be there. He not only ran the mother chapter of the Renegade Souls, but he was also the central man of the entire MC; of course, they’d want to come to see him taking an old lady.
But she wouldn’t be lying if she admitted to feeling a little overwhelmed as it grew daily.
“You looks beautiful.” Gia beamed before Zara climbed down and stepped out of the dress. The seamstress would make adjustments again, for the last time, Zara hoped.
Slipping into jeans and an off-the-shoulder cashmere sweater, Zara took a seat next to Gia on a puffy pink bench to buckle her black booties.
“Were you nervous when you married Hawk?” She asked once they were bundled up in warm coats and out on the street again. Gia’s car was parked three blocks away, but the women planned to have lunch in Denver before heading home.
As always, Zara knew somewhere, Mace, better known as Pretty-Boy, was close by. Wisely, he’d chosen to give them space. She didn’t think the guy could take much more wedding talk without going mad. Some days she felt terrible he was stuck bodyguarding her, but he was like a giant baby brother she’d never had. Glancing over her shoulder, sure enough, there was his blond head striding four people behind them. He smirked to let her know everything was fine.
“The only thing I was worried about was if Hawk took off. He was a flight risk.” Gia chuckled. Zara thought differently. Hawk was obsessed with Gia back then. He still was. She figured he would have tied Gia to him in any way he could. “Are you having wedding wobbles? Should we book you a ticket to Mexico?”
Laughing, Zara slid her arm through Gia’s. The busy streets meant they weaved in and out of people as they made their way to the eatery on the corner. She had such a craving for pastry, but she’d be good and have a grilled chicken salad. Boo.
“You know I love Rider.”
“I walked in on you two making out last week. I think I got how you feel about him, babe.”
“I feel stupid I waited this long to say yes to his proposal.”
Gia hip-checked her. “It happened when it was meant to. Don’t you think I had those thoughts about Hawk and me? All that time wasted, but you know, if you focus on the what if’s and regrets, you miss the perfect moments that are happening right now.”
“Yes, Mrs. Psychologist.” Amused Zara.
“Sorry,” laughed her friend, “force of habit, but it’s still true. You didn’t answer. Do you have wedding wobbles?”
“Not about marrying him. The wedding seems to have swelled large
r than we wanted. Mom has gone crazy organizing it all. She calls almost hourly with new ideas for flowers or the seating plan. Like, I don’t give a crap where everyone sits, why is that important?”
“That’s what moms do.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
And because Zara carried remorse from the worry she caused her parents; she’d allowed her mom to have full control of the planning.
Now her wedding was a monster.
Having called Little Rome’s ahead of time, they didn’t have to wait. Slipping out of their coats, they were shown to a table in the center of the room. “We should invite Mace inside; it’s freezing out there.”
“He’s fine,” said Gia, “you need to realize he wouldn’t be your bodyguard if he didn’t want to be. Ambrosio doesn’t force the men into anything they don’t want to do.”
“Maybe,” she wasn’t sure. She’d order him a fat sandwich for when they left. Oh, and cake. Mace was a cake fiend.
“Believe it. Think of how guilty he’d feel if something happened and he was in here stuffing his face.”
“So we’re leaving him out in the cold for his own sake?” Lips twitched as Gia’s smile grew. “Exactly. Now getting back to what we were talking about. I’m sure mom is bossy too.”
The mom’s had got together long ago. They even had a roster for babysitting between them.
“Do you want me to run interference?”
“Nah, it’s good. I’m just panicking a bit.”
“Because you can’t delegate for shit.”
Zara huffed. Such a freaking lie.
Okay, maybe not so much.
“I’m marrying the biggest biker-man in the States. People are coming from all over. I have to make sure it’s perfect.”
“It will be perfect because you’re marrying the love of your life, Zara. That’s what is most important. Rider would marry you in the backyard dressed in a cowboy outfit.”
Zara almost choked on her virgin long island iced tea. “Your mind is wild.”
But she wasn’t wrong.
Rider wanted to marry Zara the day after the proposal, even though he’d been in the hospital with a gunshot wound.
God, that day still put ice in her blood. She almost lost him. Vowing from that moment on, she would never waste another second of their lives together.
Gia was right.
The party was the icing on what was already a perfect cake.
She and Rider were on the pinnacle of happiness. Panicking over silly details was only going to mean she wouldn’t enjoy the moments leading to the big day.
And while she ate lunch and talked about anything but weddings and kids, Zara got an idea.
It was an utterly delicious idea.
When she shared it with Gia, she too smiled. “Ohhh, secrets. I love it.”
“Not a word to Hawk.”
“Girl squad promise,” Gia said, holding up the peace sign.
Zara rolled her eyes, entertained. The old ladies always joked about Zara’s “girl squad,” which was almost topping the MC boys in numbers. Let them laugh when she had matching cuts made for next Christmas. Luxe would go wild before she eventually gave in. Big softie. Not that Zara shared that fact with anyone.
Once lunch was over, the pair headed outside. Zara handed the sandwich to Pretty-Boy, his blue eyes lighting up. “Damn, thanks, Z-girl. Ready to head home, or is there more shopping to do?”
“Home, please.”
Gia’s car was parked nearby. They watched her pull away before Pretty-Boy told Zara to hang fire and he’d bring the truck to her.
On the street, snow fell slowly, and she turned a smiling face up to the sky. Rider would grumble about it, as always. He was a notorious snow-hater.
Her wedding day would be perfect if it was a snowy morning.
Being childlike, she stuck her tongue out and caught some fresh flakes. It was when she lowered her head her heart almost stopped in her chest.
It thumped hard, rolled over, and raced as a swell of sudden nausea gained momentum.
Across the street, through the sheets of snow, bustling people, and idling traffic, she saw a familiar leather jacket.
No, it couldn’t be.
She blinked, and the image disappeared behind a large school bus. When it moved by, the leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. And oh, Zara looked hard. Her feet carried her up and down the street until she was panting breathlessly.
Searching. Searching.
Old, yet familiar anxiety started to claw through her intestines.
No, it wasn’t, she told herself.
It wasn’t possible.
It was a trick of her eyes.
A horn honked, and she swerved to see Pretty-Boy stopped in the middle of the road with a trail of cars behind him. He didn’t give a fuck about stopping in traffic to pick her up.
She hurried across and climbed in.
Whatever he saw on her face made his brows bunch in the middle. “You okay, Z-girl? Saw you heading down the street.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” she replied, rushed, belting herself in.
She was cold all over, and it had nothing to do with the weather. It was down to the marrow, cold with fear.
Mace pulled away, the angrily blaring horns behind him stopping after he’d flipped the bird out of the window.
Her fun day melted away.
Trying to maintain a composed conversation on the ride home while Mace ate the sandwich, regaling her with a story of his nana and her current boyfriend.
She should have told him, so he could look around and put her rampant imagination to rest.
What could she say anyway?
It was not possible.
She knew this.
Rider and the boys killed them years ago.
But Zara, with her thumping heart and jangling nerves, would swear she saw a man wearing a Raging Rebels jacket.
The men who tortured her for three years.
The men who the Souls firebombed on the night of her rescue.
It was so fleeting, and she hadn’t recognized the man’s face. But she’d worked hard to push every face from her mind.
It wasn’t conceivable.
It was her wedding brain trying to self-sabotage her happiness, as her therapist would tell her.
Wasn’t it?
FOUR
“Breaking bread with the enemy.” – Rider
Wedding: T-minus 17 days.
Watching his father interact with Rex, it was easy for Rider to see how close the brothers used to be. And plausible enough to have a flicker of wonder about Ajax siding with Rex.
Ajax knew what was coming. He had his faults, Rider more than most knew that. But it seemed the family was Ajax’s hard limit. And trying to oust his son meant Rex severed their loyalty.
Eyeing them across the bar, Rider would be forgiven to think they were as thick as thieves. Ajax had his instructions. Play nice with big bro while he was in town, don’t let him believe anything was wrong.
Rider’s kids had Ajax around their little fingers. He’d been different in the last few years. Not the same man Rider grew up with, that was for damn sure. So it was a hard pill to swallow to have an ounce of doubt that his dad might turn at the last second.
He took the back entrance out of the bar the Souls were thinking of buying. Rider climbed on his bike to head back to Armado Springs.
Heavy was the head that wears the crown so the saying goes. Nothing was truer lately.
Now all he had to do was put faith in his father to do the right thing.
Not so easy to do.
Ajax walked into Rider’s house that night behind Annie. He hugged his mom and caught the familiar pissed off look from his father. Rider left Annie with the kids in front of the box while Zara was getting ready, and he jutted his chin. Ajax followed him out to the garage.
“Problem?”
“Don’t appreciate you puttin’ one of your boys on me.”
Ah. Rider didn’t grin. He was i
mpressed the old man clocked onto Coop, that prospect could hide in plain sight.
“Told ya to trust me.”
He could have said all number of shit to Ajax. Like it takes time to earn trust back. Instead, he went with. “I’m making sure Rex stays where he’s supposed to.”
“Bullshit. You had your boy on me, making sure I wasn’t feeding Rex nothing.”
Fine. It was true anyway. His silence told Ajax the same.
His father glowered and then ran a weathered hand over his face, his boots scuffed on the cement floor of the garage. “I wanted to plug him there and then. Gloatin’ bastard.”
“Is that so?”
“Only stopped myself when he started yapping about how much he’s gonna make on Tag’s next fight.”
“He’s your brother,” Rider tested.
“Not no more, he’s not.” The growled response. And then. “You don’t believe me.”
They shared the same color eyes, mannerisms and size, and because this man had raised Rider with an iron fist to take over the club, there had been little affection between them. When Ajax laid his hand on Rider’s shoulder, it was a toss-up who was more shocked about the gesture. “Rex is no longer my brother. He stopped being blood the second he conspired against you. You don’t have to trust me. I’ve given you no reason to. But try to believe I won’t ever side with that man again.”
Rider believed him.
Time would only show if he were right in placing that belief.
“He’s runnin’ out of options.” Ajax shared. “Remember, Son; a drowning man will hold on to his own hair.” Rider snorted, the old man loved to throw out his Greek wisdom, which made no fucking sense. Only this one might. He knew already how much he’d drained Rex’s funds. The aged goat was floundering.
Afterward, the men went inside, and Ajax morphed into pop-pop when Harper came barreling down the hallway. Blonde hair flying behind her, a smile a mile wide on her face as she went straight into his legs. “Hriso mou.” My golden. Ajax went down to his haunches, and Rider watched his daughter cup her grandfather’s face. Their relationship was extraordinary. It was like looking at a new man. A man Rider didn’t know. “We gonna have fun tonight?”