Greatest MC Romance Box Set

by Blair Grey

  She pushed me back to look at me. “Hey, listen to me. I’m not the only one who cares about you. We all do. Even before those thugs came looking for you, people were asking if anyone had heard if you would be coming to any of the reunion functions. And everyone was disappointed that no one had heard a thing from you.”

  Gulping back sobs that threatened to burst from my mouth, I tried to pull myself together. I had help now. Lots of help too. Not only did I have the Iron Cobras behind me, but I also had two -thousand classmates too. “Okay, so here’s what the plan is.” I pulled the rubber band out of my hair and shook it out. “I’ve already cut and dyed my hair, so I won’t look the same.”

  She ran her hand through it. “I love it! I wish my curly hair could look like yours.”

  “I love your curls. I would give my right arm to have them, instead of straight hair.” I’d always envied her dark curls. “Anyway, so I’ve come up with a new name and Lyle’s guys are getting me the identification to go along with that. I am now Amanda Renee Riley.”

  “I like that name. Amanda. Yeah, you look like an Amanda.” Peering into my eyes, she made another remark. “Your eyes give you away.”

  “Yeah, I know. The plan was to wear dark sunglasses anytime I’m out in public. Only I ran off and didn’t even think about putting any on. Plus, with my hair back in a ponytail, the new cut and color did nothing to hide my identity. So, I’ve been seen by the people who can’t know that I’m walking around and not tied up somewhere by another group.”

  “I’ve got purely aesthetic contacts. I’ve got golden brown ones and ice-blue ones. Take your pick.” She got up and headed to get them.

  “Brown,” I made the quick decision.

  “With that hair, I’d say the blue ones would look better,” she commented.

  “Yeah, but they’ll make me stick out. I want to blend in.” I got up to follow her. “I’ll come with you. I’ve never put on contacts before. I’m going to need a training session.”

  “Well, come on. And after I teach you how to put them in, then I’ll put some curls in your hair. And my oldest daughter has fair skin, so I can do your makeup with her stuff too. We’ll get you unrecognizable. And in the meantime, I’m going to text Artie, our old senior president. Without giving up too much info on you, I’m going to tell him that you need our help. Everyone is to call you Amanda Riley from now on.”

  “Do you honestly think this will work?” I did want to be able to stay in Baltimore.

  “I know it will work. We’ll make it work. I don’t want you to worry about a damn thing. We’ve got you, girl.” She pulled open a drawer then took out a package of contacts. “So, dry those eyes so I can show you what the new you will look like.”

  “I’m glad I jumped your fence, Roe.” I took a tissue she offered me and wiped my eyes. “And met up with Freckles. If she hadn’t been there to stop me, I would’ve kept right on running.”

  “Yeah, she’s a real sweetheart.” She laughed and I joined in.

  It felt good to have people on my side. And it felt awesome to know that I could come back home too. I might be losing some of the person I’d been. But I’d be finding the person I’d been as well.

  “Lucy is gonna be psyched to see you. She’s really missed you. She lost her mother last year to breast cancer. She asked if anyone knew how to get in touch with you, she really needed to talk to you since you’d lost your mom too.”

  I felt bad about not being there for one of my dearest friends. “Damn. I really isolated myself, didn’t I?”

  “You sure did. But that’s over now.” She hesitated before asking, “Right?”

  “That’s most definitely over now. I’m back and since you guys want to help me make my life mine again, then I am staying for the long haul.” I hugged her tightly. “I’m thankful for you, Roe. So damn thankful. You’ll never understand what this means to me.”

  “I’ve got a pretty good idea, Amanda.” She laughed. “Yeah, I can do this. I can call you another name – no problem.”

  Letting her go, I thought about Lyle. “Yeah, we should hurry up. Lyle is probably freaking out.”

  “How come he doesn’t have your phone number?” she asked with a curious expression.

  “Because I tossed my cell phone into the East River.”

  “I see.” Her lips pulled up to one side. “You must have some story as to why you left New York and have mafia men after you. One day, when this is all behind you, you will have to tell me everything.”

  “I will.” I trusted Roe and with more time, I knew I would be able to tell her what I’d done without her judging me or thinking of me as a murderer.

  A short while later, we were in her car, driving to Lyle’s. Twice, I saw the Cadillacs. “There seem to be two of them.”

  “There were three at the picnic,” Roe said. “I wonder where the third one is.”

  As we turned the corner to drive down the street Lyle’s house was on, we saw the third car. Lyle stood at the driver’s window, holding the man by the collar, pulling him halfway out of the window as he balled his fist up.

  “Honk at him, Roe.” My stomach churned. “I hope like hell he recognizes me when we pass him.”

  She gave three quick honks of the horn. “Let’s not give the other guy a peek at you, shall we. I’ve got an idea.” She rolled her window down as we passed him, while I laid my seat back. “Tag, you’re it, Lyle.”

  “What’s he doing?” I asked as I stayed down.

  “Looking confused, but he let the man go and he’s going to get on his bike now.” She looked at me with a grin. “He’s following us.”

  Where will we go from here?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Lyle

  What the fuck is Roesha Jones doing?

  I hadn’t spoken to her in years. But I recognized her right away. And I knew she had to have something she needed to tell me when she said, tag, you’re it.

  “Just get the fuck out of my town, you low-life motherfucker. Or my MC will deal with you. And that won’t be pretty.” I let the driver of the black Cadillac go then got on my bike and went after Roesha.

  Lucius needed to give the Italians the news of Avia and Conti’s death already. This was ridiculous. We couldn’t have these goons running all over town, seeking Avia.

  It was almost as if they thought the Irish mob was lying about having their boss and Avia. But why?

  Of course, I had no idea what wording Lucius’s people had used when letting the Italians know they had the couple. But how hard could it be to communicate that they had them?

  I followed Roesha’s car up until she pulled into a driveway and then into a garage. Getting out of the car, she waved me to come inside the garage too.

  At first, I wasn’t sure but then I pulled in and she closed the door behind us. As I pulled off my helmet, I found Avia hopping out of the car. “Lyle!”

  “Thank God,” I whispered as I tossed my helmet aside and got off my bike to pick her up and hold her in my arms. “You little shit, running off like that. You scared me to fucking death.”

  “I’m sorry.” She pulled back to look at me with brown eyes shimmering.

  “Your eyes are brown.” I looked at Roesha. “Your handy work?”

  “It is.” She unlocked the door that led out of the garage and into her home. “You two come inside. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”

  Whispering in Avia’s ear, I had to ask, “What have you told her?”

  She whispered back, “Everything, except that I killed Jerome.”

  “Did you allude to it?” I thought she must’ve had to if she’d told her everything else.

  Nodding, she took my hand as we went inside. “Yeah. So, why are his men still in Baltimore looking for me?”

  “I really don’t know. I’m about to call Carl to see if he can find out why that is.” I ran my hand over her cheek. “It’s so good to see you. You have no idea all the terrible thoughts that have been going through my head. I was ab
out to rip that guy’s throat out when he kept saying that they didn’t have you. But he said one of the guys saw you and they were sure you were here and that I was covering for you.”

  “They’re smart like that. It’s like they’ve got this sixth-sense or something. Plus, his driver did spot me. I took off running and that’s how I ended up meeting Roe’s German Shepherd, Freckles, in the backyard here.” She led me to take a seat on the sofa then went to help Roesha who was putting on a kettle of water. “Green tea, Lyle?”

  Roesha looked at me. “Yes, he needs some. Look at that worried expression that won’t leave his face. This will help with that.”

  “Um, thanks.” I tried to relax so I didn’t look so worried. “I’m gonna make that call while you two do that then.”

  “Please do.” Avia popped some bread into the toaster. “And some toast will be good for you too. You look so stressed out.”

  Yeah, thanks to your little disappearing act.

  Carl answered my call, “Yes?”

  “So, the mafia still rides, boss. What gives?”

  “It could be the way the Irish put things, I suppose,” came his answer. “I forgot to tell you how they did that. See, they didn’t want to come right out and say that they had Conti and Avia. So, they sent this little riddle of sorts to the head guy for the Italians.”

  “How’d this little riddle go?” I knew they had to have done something like that. The Irish loved to tease the mind, those guys.

  “Lucius told me it was something like, you’re missing one noodle and one meatball from your spaghetti bowl, seek them in the bowels of the lamb.” He paused, taking a hit off a cigar most likely. “It refers to haggis, one of the Irish meals they’re famous for. You know the one where they cook something in an animal’s stomach?”

  “Gross,” I said as the thought of that alone made my stomach flip. “Yeah, I’ve heard of it. But that’s a thin statement, boss. I don’t think they understood it well at all. Can’t we do something to help Lucius and his men get the point across a hell of a lot faster?”

  “Give me an idea to shoot to them,” he said. “I’m game.”

  “We can take a picture of Avia that makes it look at if she’s been shot in the head and is laid out, dead. And we can put a piece of paper on her stomach that says if you don’t want your boss to end up like his fiancé, then let The Pearl go. They should know what that means. And the Irish can send them the message the same way they sent the other one.” I thought it was a brilliant idea. “What do you think about that?”

  Avia came up behind me. “I think it’s an excellent idea.”

  Carl agreed, “Me too. I’ll pitch it to them, then get back to you.”

  Avia looked at Roesha. “Think you can figure out how to make me look dead?”

  “I can’t.” Roesha looked excited. “But Lacey Hodges from our class can. She’s a makeup artist for Center Stage here in Baltimore. She could help you with this.”

  Avia clapped her hands then looked at me. “Will that be okay?”

  “I think so.” I wasn’t sure what was going on with her. “Are you sure you want more people to know about this?”

  “Only my former classmates. Roe told me how people have been wondering about me all these years. And how these people are family to me in many ways. I can trust them.” She took my hand, holding it up to her heart. “I need more people in my life. I’ve got them, I just need to let them in.”

  I wasn’t sure if I agreed with letting so many people know about what kind of trouble Avia had gotten herself into. But I had to give her the space to do what she felt right. “Okay, so what sort of things were you thinking about doing?”

  Roesha walked out of the room to make the phone call to the makeup artist as Avia tugged at me to sit back down with her. “Roe talked to Artie while ago. She said that I needed everyone to call me Amanda Riley and not to ask why that is. So, there’s that. I can be me, but not me as well.”

  “So, you can have your Baltimore friends back, but you’ll be Amanda to them.” I smiled as my heart swelled. “We do come from a town full of good people, don’t we?”

  “I didn’t know just how good they were until now. I had no idea anyone even thought about me anymore. But I have to tell you that it feels amazing to know that so many people did. I feel like I’m home, finally.” She frowned then shook her head. “I don’t mean to belittle how you’ve treated me. You have gone above and beyond for me. And you have made me feel as comfortable as I could feel. But having people back in my life that I thought were gone for good is a blessing I had no idea how badly I needed.”

  “You know, with so many people to help you now, you might not even need me that much – if at all.” The idea kind of bothered me. But then again, it made me feel a lot better about building a healthy relationship with her. “That’s okay. I don’t want you to be with me only because you need my help. I’d like you to be with me because you want to.”

  “I’d like that too.” Wrapping her arm around mine, she laid her head on my shoulder. “It will be nice to know that you’re with me because you want to and not out of some sense of obligation.”

  Just as Roesha came back into the room, my cell rang. I looked at her for an answer before I took Carl’s call. She nodded. “She’ll do it. She can come here or wherever we need her to. She’s available right now too.”

  Swiping my phone, I asked, “Do you have good news?”

  “I do. Get them the picture you’re talking about and they will move in the direction I asked them to,” he said.

  “Good deal. I’ll get on that and get that picture to you in just a few hours.” I looked at Roesha. “Can you get her to meet us at my place?”

  She nodded as she pulled Avia with her. “Come on, you can give me his address.”

  Although it was a sight I had never wanted to see, a few short hours later Avia lay on top of a plastic drop cloth, thick red Karo syrup dyed red pooled around her head. A long, black wig hid her now silver hair and it was draped over her face in a way that made it look as if she’d fallen down from the gunshot.”

  Roesha had found one more of our classmates from high school who had a professional camera. Clay took a few pictures until he was satisfied with one. “I like this one.” He showed me the pic through the screen. “See, you can read to letter on her stomach and see the blood well too. How about you, Lyle? Do you like this one?”

  “It will do the job. I can’t say I like any of them. I don’t like seeing her like this.” I reached out to take Avia’s hand. “Come on, baby. Time for you to take a shower and get all this gunk off you while I print the picture out then I’ll take it to Carl.”

  As I lifted her, I saw a tear move down one cheek. “You guys, I want to thank all of you for helping me with this. You’ve given me my life back.”

  Roesha nodded. “Group hug. Come on, guys.”

  We all huddled around Avia, and the served to make her cry some more. “I love you all. I really do.”

  “We love you too,” we all said at one time.

  I’d never been one to be so lovey-dovey. And being that way with a group was foreign to me. But it felt right. We’d all helped one of our own get back something she’d lost a long time ago.

  It might have been me who stole graduation and her friends from our class from her. But, in a way, she’d gotten it all back. “Things will be better from here on out, Amada Riley. I promise you that.”

  After I gave Carl the picture, I had my MC brothers cruise town, looking for the black Cadillacs. Not two hours after Carl told me he’d sent it to Lucius, it was reported to me that all three cars had been seen on the interstate, heading in the direction of New York.

  It seemed that the plan had worked. Now I could tell Avia the good news.

  Everyone else had gone home. Avia sat on my sofa, messing with the new cell phone one of our former classmates who worked at a cellphone store had brought over to her. Kyle had set up the account under Amanda Riley with the help of
the new identification I’d picked up from my guy who’d been working on making it for her.

  She was getting on her way to making that name a reality for her. And she was setting up her social media, accepting friend requests from lots of her old friends who now knew her as Amanda. “This is cool.”

  I took a seat next to her. “Want to hear more cool stuff, Amanda?”

  “Always.” She put the phone down. “What have you found out now?”

  “The cars have left Baltimore. It’s a given that the Irish have sent them our picture. You’re free. How does it feel to be free?”

  Closing her eyes, she smiled. “I see my mother, Lyle. She’s glowing. And she’s smiling. She’s happy for me.” Opening her eyes, I saw them shimmering. “I’m happy for me too.”

  The sound of a car stopping in front of the house, had me getting up to go see who it was. What I saw filled me with something I’d never felt before. Surprise, gratitude, and pride. It made me proud to be a citizen of Baltimore. “I think this is for you, Amanda.”

  She got up and came to stand beside me, looking out the window as Roesha and Sandra – another old schoolmate – came to the door. But she looked passed them. A new car, a pink bow on top of it, took her attention. “No way.”

  I opened the door before the rang the bell. “Would you like to come in? Or would you like Amanda to come out?”

  “Can she come out?” Sandra asked. “I’ve got a present for her from the car lot I own.”

  Rushing passed me, Avia hugged Sandra. “Oh, my God, Sandra. You’ve got to be kidding me! I can’t. I mean, I – no, I can’t believe this.”

  “Well, you better believe it, Amanda Riley. I’ve put this little beauty in your new name. And I’ve even secured insurance under your new name too. I’ve also reported this purchase to the credit bureau. This means that in no time at all, you’ll have a credit report that will allow you to become a full-fledged citizen of Baltimore – and the world.” Sandra handed her the keys. “Welcome home, Amanda Riley. It’s been far too long. We’re happy to have you back. This is right where you belong.”