by Hazel Parker
“Damn,” Aces cursed, “yeah, that’s no good. Can’t have that. I guess we’re just gonna have to bite the bullet and have the guys drive in a few times a week to sell.”
Vance nodded. “It sucks, but it’s the only way to keep both the Disciples and the cops out of our business.”
Aces seemed to accept that, moving forward with more specificity in who they’d send where and on what days, but Vance tuned out the conversation a little bit since it didn’t directly pertain to him. His thoughts had, once more, been brought back to Nina, and once he was focused on thinking about her, it was hard to stop. He wondered what she was doing right now, whether she was staying strong and keeping Adam out of her life or if she was allowing him to come back to her. He hoped it was the first one, but that was partially selfish.
He understood why she and him wouldn’t work; he really did. She wanted nothing to do with all this: the club full of bikers who were currently in his bar, all brandishing guns and most of them directly involved in either growing or selling illegal marijuana. Since the Kings weren’t a part of his life that he was willing to give up, not for anybody, he couldn’t ask her to consider dating him, even if he thought that she was really something special and didn’t want to let her go. He’d have to be strong and let her choose a life that would give her all the things she deserved, and that meant letting her move on with whichever guy would offer her a shot at happiness.
He forced himself to refocus on what was important: The Rebel Kings and his duties within.
Chapter 15: Nina
Late the next night, Nina ran into Vance for the first time since she’d gotten back together with Adam. It was late in the evening and Nina was busy finishing up that week’s paperwork. She and Adam hadn’t seen one another since they’d made up on the phone, but she no longer really had a desire to talk about it with Vance. He’d missed his opportunity, and that was the problem with someone like him: he was never there. She couldn’t rely on him to be present for her, and even though Adam might be distant emotionally, at least he was always around.
Vance was leaning on the doorframe, wearing nice enough clothes that she could tell that he’d been at the bar to work a shift already rather than just coming straight from the road.
“Miss me?” he drawled, a cocky smirk playing at his lips. Nina couldn’t help but smile.
“Oh, you were gone?” she teased. “I hadn’t noticed.”
Vance rolled his eyes. “That’s cold, Red,” he shook his head. “Admit it, things are a lot more boring around here when I’m not around.”
“You say ‘boring,’ I say ‘easy.’” That much was true, and she knew he knew it. Vance complicated everything. He pushed off the doorway and took a step into the office.
“Well, are you done with your work for the night?” he asked, a look on his face that implied that the only correct answer was “yes.”
“I am,” she admitted, putting her hands on his chest to push him away when he leaned in to kiss her, “but wait.”
Vance looked confused for only a moment before realization crossed over his features and he stood down. “So, you and Adam worked things out, huh?” he guessed, and she nodded. “Can’t say I’m surprised.”
She shrugged. “He’s a good guy,” she defended, not knowing why she felt the need to explain herself to him.
“I’m sure he is,” Vance nodded. Nina didn’t have to ask what the smug look on his face was about—she already knew that he thought he had her figured out based solely on her choice in men. She didn’t need his validation or his approval, though, she reminded herself. Easily, without even a second thought, without a shred of regret, she could tell him to go back to his room and to leave her alone for the night.
“He is,” Nina reiterated, “and you’re…”
“Not,” Vance finished for her. “You don’t have to skate around it. It’s not like it’s a shock.”
“Vance, I—we’ve had a lot of fun,” she decided upon. She couldn't quite tell him how she really felt, not anymore, though she sort of wished that she had before her conversation with Adam, when it had still been free game. The problem was that she didn’t think it would change anything. Vance led the kind of life he led and that wasn’t going to change, not for anyone and certainly not for her. He wasn’t going to settle down here with her. Even if he did feel the same way she did, there was no future, and she always had to be thinking about the future. If it meant less happiness in the moment, she’d have to be okay with that, because she needed security. Vance was anything but a safe bet.
“Save me the speech, Red,” Vance said. There was no bite to his tone, no anger or bitterness. He sounded disappointed, but unsurprised. “It’s fine, really. You need the white picket fence life, and I knew that. I’m not mad about it.”
Nina felt her stomach drop as he spoke. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, though she wasn’t sure what for. “I didn’t mean to string you along or anything, I just—”
“You didn’t,” Vance reassured her. “I get it; you’re going through a lot right now. We had fun, but it’s over.”
Nina nodded, forcing herself to keep her face straight because she didn’t want him to feel like he had to comfort her. He was already being so nice about the whole thing; what else could she possibly ask from him? As much as she didn’t want to end things with Vance, she’d been offered a choice between him and Adam, and she’d had to take the option that made sense. A secure future over a burning hot present had to be the proper thing to do. If it hurt this much, it had to mean that she was making the decision that would be the best for herself long-term, right?
“It’s over,” she repeated quietly. She watched him leave her office and didn’t stop him even though she wanted nothing more than to have him back.
Above everything else, she wished that she could be the kind of person that could be with Vance the way that he was. She didn’t want to change him—to have him be the kind of guy that would be fine settling down and giving up the club would be to take away the things she loved about him. The passion that he had for his bike and his dedication to his brothers were a fundamental part of who he was, and therefore the reason that she’d fallen so hard for him in the first place. She loved his wild spirit; she just couldn’t find it in herself to be brave enough to run away with him.
Chapter 16: Vance
Vance didn’t miss people, not ever. It wasn’t really his MO. Life on the road meant that all his relationships were transient, fleeting, and there was always a chance that the last time he’d spoken to a person would be the last time he ever saw them again. The only people who’d ever been consistent in his life had been his brothers in the Rebel Kings, because everyone else got left behind every time he hopped on his bike and headed to a new city.
He’d been the treasurer for the Kings for about two years, and it meant that he followed the money wherever it went. Their turf had expanded over the years, adding more and more surface area to populate and necessitating more laundering operations to keep the money flowing. The bar had been the first place that the Kings had purchased when they’d first banded together, but now they had a body shop a city over and a car wash on the other side of the desert. Vance had always been pretty mobile, never staying long in one place or another. Of course he made friends where he stayed—there were always people that it was sad to say goodbye to when he had to move, even if it was just the coffee shop employees who sold him his morning cup of joe or the nice ladies who ran the laundromat or his favorite pizza delivery people. However, it was always made easier by the thought that he was doing it for the Kings. Once he reminded himself of everything that Aces and Flip had done for him personally, it was never even a decision; it was always obvious: he would go wherever he was needed to keep the club afloat.
Nina was different. He hadn’t meant to fall for her as hard as he had. Though from the first moment that he’d laid eyes on her, he’d known that he wanted to sleep with her, she’d shown him compassion and kind
ness that had caught him off guard and made the little fling that they’d started up so much more complicated. He hated to admit to himself that he’d broken his unspoken first rule and gotten attached to something that the club might need him to give up: his affection for Nina.
Her breaking off their… whatever it was that they were doing, had stung. The worst part about it was knowing that Flip would have told him from the get-go that it was a stupid idea to spend so much time with her, enough to get attached and to like her for more than just her body. He hadn’t thought that it would go that far, but there was something so magnetic about her that he found his thoughts constantly drawn to her, wishing that he could hold her again, kiss her again, take her on the back of his bike and listen to her hoot and holler in excitement, feel her body pressed up against his and to really show her how he felt in ways that he would never do with his words…
After four days of not even really seeing her outside of passing one another around the motel, Nina surprised Vance by showing up to the bar unexpectedly, looking furious and determined. From the doorway, she shot him a look that implied that if he didn’t come and speak with her, that she’d make a scene and give him no other choice. Acting quickly, Vance tapped Sheila on the shoulder and told her that he’d be back in a few minutes before hopping over the bar and following Nina outside.
“What the hell did you do, Vance?” she asked, her eyes wide and, up close, more terrified than mad. He frowned, looking around to make sure that no one was around to overhear them.
“You’re going to have to be more specific,” he said, and she crossed her arms.
“There’s bikes going by the motel.”
Vance blinked. “Yeah, so? It’s right off the highway.”
“No, I mean through the parking lot,” she explained irritably. They come in, they circle, and they leave. It’s always just one at a time. If this is some kind of joke your friends are playing on you, then you need to tell them to knock it off, because it’s freaking me out.”
At that, Vance felt his blood run cold. “It’s not the Kings,” he dismissed. “If they wanted me, they’d come to the bar, not go around scaring your customers off. I’ve told them to steer clear of the motel already.”
That clearly surprised Nina, who was probably assuming the worst of him. She tended to do that, but wasn’t it fair? After all, he’d been nothing but a danger, a menace, a liability to her, and still she’d allowed him to remain in her motel for a very reasonable rate. Nina allowed him into her life day after day even when he did nothing to deserve it. He had a responsibility to, at the very least, protect her from himself.
“Then who?” she asked, and he shook his head. If he couldn’t leave her out of their dealings entirely, then he wanted to be able to keep her from panicking, which he could tell she’d do if she knew that he suspected that the Devil’s Disciples were potentially patrolling the motel, trying to send a warning to both Vance and Nina, even if she had nothing to do with anything.
“Don’t worry about it,” he shrugged her off. “I’ll handle things.”
“Wait,” she argued. “I want to know. I have a right to know what’s going on.”
“It’s not something you should concern yourself with.”
“I don’t like being left in the dark,” she told him. “I can handle it, whatever’s going on.”
“I believe you,” he admitted. “I’d tell you if it were serious, I promise. But I’ve got things handled.”
Nina frowned. “You wouldn’t tell me if you didn’t,” she doubted. “You’d protect me from it.” He glanced at his cell phone, noting the time, then back at the bar.
“I’ve got to get back to work,” he said. It didn’t do anything to unknit Nina’s tense expression, so he pressed his thumb to the center of her drawn-in eyebrows and smoothed the tension that was there. Her expression softened but he knew that the anxiety behind it didn’t lessen.
“You promise that you’ve got this handled?” she questioned, and he could read between the lines well enough that he knew that meant that she was asking him whether or not she had to tell Adam.
“If you’ll feel safer with police patrolling the place, have at it,” he said. “But I swear that I’d never let you go back there if I weren’t sure you’d be safe. I might have a fucked up past and some… weird connections, but I’m not going to put you in any danger, Red.”
Nina nodded. That was all he needed to know that she wasn’t going to say a word to Adam or anyone else in the police department. If there was one thing that Vance knew, it was that Nina’s loyalties didn’t lie with Adam or with Vance, but with her own motel. She’d do whatever she had to in order to keep herself and her guests safe, to keep her father’s business afloat. It was Vance’s responsibility to show her that he wanted nothing more than that same goal, too.
“I trust you,” she said. Hearing that, Vance couldn’t possibly let her down now.
“You take the day off, alright? Go into the city or something, give yourself a break. Go shopping or something.” He reached into his pocket and fished out two hundred dollar bills and handed them to her discreetly. She frowned indignantly when she opened her palm and saw them, trying immediately to shove them back at him.
“I don’t need your money,” she argued. “I’ve got my own.”
“This is my treat,” he said. “For all the trouble I’ve caused.” He tried to use the kind of no-nonsense tone that would explain to her that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and apparently it either worked, or she decided that she deserved reparations, because she pocketed the money.
“Only because I have a feeling I’m not going to want to be near the motel today,” she muttered. “What time should I get back?”
He shook his head. “Shouldn’t take too long,” he promised, “but I’ll text you when I’m sure.” He didn’t want to scare her, but the Devil’s Disciples weren’t good guys and they made no effort to act like they were. The Kings, though they did some illegal shit, only did what they had to do to survive, and they never got people involved that weren’t asking for it. For the Disciples, it didn’t matter whether somebody was a bystander or not—you get in their way, you get taken out. It was what made Vance hate them so much. He could care less about the territories or the money or the rivalry, just that they didn’t seem to have a moral code. Sometimes, that was all the Rebel Kings had, but they never abandoned it, not for anything.
Nina looked worried, and Vance couldn’t really blame her. If she lost the motel, she lost everything. Just like Vance, Nina was living right on the edge of disaster, managing a motel that was barely keeping her in the white financially, from the looks of it, and with no backup plan. Not to mention, the motel meant everything to her, since it had been her dad’s place.
“Listen, I know what you’re scared of,” he tried to soothe her, “and it’s not going to happen. Your motel is going to be just fine, and nothing bad’s gonna happen to you, not ever.” At that, Nina glared.
“That’s not all I’m worried about, you ass,” she snapped. “I’m worried about you, too.”
Vance frowned slightly in confusion. Why would she be worried about him?
“I’ll be fine,” he promised. “Don’t waste your time thinking about that. I know how to handle myself.”
She shook her head. “I know you do,” she said, “but I can’t help it. I don’t like knowing that you’re in danger, especially for my sake. I just want you to be careful.”
“Get going, now,” he instructed gently. “I’m going to head straight over to the motel.”
“What about the bar?”
He shrugged. “Sheila can handle this place,” he reassured. “I promise that I won’t be long.”
She nodded. “You think they’ll listen to you?”
“If they don’t, they’ll have the rest of the Kings to answer to,” he said. “You’re part of the family, now. Like it or not, I got you involved, even if it wasn’t intentional. We’re going to pr
otect you.”
He couldn’t tell whether or not she believed him, but if she didn’t, she didn’t betray that doubt on her face. However, he got the impression that Nina would hide her real feelings even if she were nervous or panicked about it. There was nothing that he could say that would put her mind at ease, so he’d just have to show her that he had things handled by handling them.
Chapter 17: Nina
In her heart, Nina knew that she should tell her boyfriend that Vance was helping her. Because she’d known that she was going to go to Vance rather than Adam for help in the first place, she hadn’t mentioned the bikers near the motel. She only hoped that no one else had called the cops on them. Since nothing had ever become of that first robbery, the police patrolling had eventually tapered off so that cop cars were only stopping by on their usual scheduled rounds, which worked in her favor today. The less that Adam knew about this, the better. He’d be upset that she hadn’t wanted to ask him for help, but she didn’t think that there was anything that he could do. He’d be even more upset that Vance was the one, once again, to swoop in and save her. It wasn’t that she wanted to rely on Vance for her protection or that she didn’t trust Adam to do it—it was just easier with Vance. He knew what he was doing and he didn’t ask questions. He didn’t have to wait until after it was too late to act; he could get involved just because he was suspicious and she was scared. It was equal parts comforting and terrifying to her, which somehow made her feel safer than she’d ever felt, at home and protected in the danger of it all because Vance had sworn not to let anything happen to her.
Because he’d asked her to go into the city and spend the day, she now found herself in a coffee shop that had been her favorite spot when she was growing up but now she rarely, if ever, found the time to visit. She didn’t plan on spending any of the money that Vance had given her, even though he’d insisted and she was sure that he could afford it, so instead of going into the strip mall next door, she’d just come in here to order a vanilla latte (with extra whipped cream, since she was told to treat herself, after all) and sat down at a table by the window. She’d planned on reading a book on her phone, but she found herself too distracted to focus on the words, her thoughts constantly drifting back to her motel and to Vance and, lastly, to Adam. Part of her really wished that she’d just forced him to take her with him, but she knew that if he were telling her that she didn’t want to be anywhere near that action, that he was probably right. Above anything else, she trusted him.