by Jaci Burton
Ava lifted her chin. “I am not. I just like . . . order in my life.”
Lacey laughed. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about. A biker lifestyle is anything but orderly. Are you sure this is what you want?”
Lacey used to like things orderly and neat, too. Ava went and sat next to Lacey on the bed, surprised that the leather she wore was soft enough to give when she sat. “Yes. It’s what I want. I’ll give it a try, anyway. I think it’ll be fun.”
Lacey grabbed her hands. “Oh, I’m so glad you’re going to be riding with us. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you, too. We don’t see each other enough.”
“I was afraid we’d drift apart. But you’ve been busy with school, and that’s just not my life anymore.”
Ava wanted to ask her why it wasn’t, but Lacey had made it clear she didn’t want to talk about school anymore, so she let it pass. “Where’s your boyfriend?”
Lacey grinned. “He’s on the Strip now. Probably getting drunk with all his friends.”
She said it with such pride. Ava resisted wrinkling her nose. “Uh, great.”
Lacey looked at her watch. “We should get going. We’re meeting them at eight.”
“Okay.” Despite only being here for Lacey, Ava ran into the bathroom to take one last look. She had no idea if she looked appropriate or like a fish out of water. She supposed she’d have to take Lacey’s word for it.
Finally she’d get a chance to see Lacey’s world. Spend more time with Lacey’s boyfriend.
Then she’d find out if she had anything to worry about.
* * *
* * *
Riding again with Bo and the Hellraisers was a lot like old times, and then again not. Last time Rick had ridden with Bo and the gang, they’d been kids and low on the totem pole. Ten years later and Bo was in the upper echelons of the organization, riding lead in this particular group.
That said a lot about what Bo had been doing for the past ten years. And that meant whatever the Hellraisers had been doing, Bo was really good at it. They rode the Strip for a while, and Rick realized it really had been ten years since he’d been there. A lot had changed. Growth had exploded the Strip. There were more casinos, hotels, and a lot more to do than just gambling now. He gawked while he rode, barely noticing the throng of Hellraisers adding to their numbers until the congested group pulled to a stop in the older part of town. Bike upon bike pulled into the parking area. It looked like a freakin’ parade. There must have been a hundred Hellraisers by the time the last one parked.
“Damn. The Hellraisers have expanded.”
Bo nodded as they walked from the parking area to the street. “Membership grows by about ten to fifteen every year. We’ve gotten really popular.”
“Yeah? What do you attribute that to?”
Bo grinned. “We get laid a lot. Guys notice all the chicks that have joined the club.”
Rick laughed. “I guess I came back at just the right time.”
Bo slung his arm around Rick’s shoulder. “Yeah, you did.”
They got to the corner and a flash shot by Rick. A skinny female leaped onto Bo, wrapped her legs around him, and planted one hot, tongue-involved kiss on his lips. Bo grabbed the woman by the ass and held on to her, returning the kiss.
When he broke the kiss, the woman squealed, “I missed you today, baby!”
“Missed you, too,” Bo said, letting the woman slide to the ground. He wound an arm around her waist. “Lacey, this is my cousin, Rick Benetti. Rick, my girlfriend, Lacey.”
So Bo had a girlfriend, huh? Interesting. And a pretty one at that. Not at all like the skanky girls he used to hang out with. This one had straight brown hair, a nice body, and pretty blue eyes.
“Your cousin? Wow. I didn’t know you had a cousin.” Lacey held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Rick.”
Rick shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, too, Lacey. And I’ve been out of town the past few years, so that’s why you didn’t know about me.”
“Really. Are you joining the Hellraisers for bike week?”
“I am.”
“Have a girl with you?”
“No. I ride solo.”
She grinned. “That’s perfect. My best friend is here and she doesn’t have anyone to ride with.”
“Uh, I don’t think—”
The woman had been standing behind Bo. With all of Lacey’s flash and exuberance, he hadn’t even seen her. He did now as Lacey pulled her in front.
Wow. To Rick, one woman was just as good as another.
This one was different. She was stunning, with rich black hair, silvery gray eyes, and a lush body that rocked his dick into shocked awareness.
And she looked damned familiar.
“Rick, this is my very best friend, Ava.”
This was Ava Vargas? It had to be. She looked a lot like the picture he’d been given, only the picture must have been a few years old. This Ava was a hell of a lot sexier now that she was gift wrapped in leather.
And she’d just been dropped right into his lap.
Two
Ava sized up the biker she’d just been introduced to. Tall, damn fine-looking, with dark hair, dark eyes, in need of a shave, and looking all too dangerous. Classic biker look in jeans, chaps, and leather jacket.
Wow. Just . . . wow.
“Hey, Ava.” Rick held out his hand.
Polite, too. She hadn’t expected that. She slid her hand in his and felt the sizzle of . . . something electric and very warm.
“Nice to meet you, Rick.”
“This is just perfect, isn’t it?” Lacey said, bouncing on the balls of her feet. “I was hoping you would find someone to ride with. With Bo’s cousin here, you have a seat now.”
“Yes. Perfect.” Ava couldn’t help staring at Rick. She supposed she had these preconceived notions of bikers. Dirty, scruffy, mean, and scary looking. None of those characteristics fit Rick. Or, for that matter, Lacey’s boyfriend, Bo, who was tall, lean, and very attractive. He resembled his cousin in many ways.
“Hi, Bo,” she said.
“Howdy, Ava. You look great in leather. Glad you decided to join up with us for bike week.”
Bo was friendly, too, had been since she’d first met him at one of the bars. Maybe she’d expected something different.
“Let’s take a walk, see what’s up around here tonight,” Bo said.
He slung his arm around Lacey’s shoulder and off they went, leaving Ava alone with Rick. And about a hundred other bikers, who started brushing by them.
Ava had no choice but to slide her gaze over at Rick.
He smirked at her. Could he see right through her as the fraud she was?
“You look lost.”
She lifted her head, her pulse skittering just looking at him. “No, really, I’m fine. I’m sorry about Lacey dumping me on you. Really, you’re free to go. You don’t have to babysit me.”
“I’m a lot of things, darlin’, but a babysitter isn’t one of them. Come on.” He grabbed her hand and they started walking. Slow.
“Should we catch up to Bo and Lacey?”
“I’m not attached at the hip to my cousin. I’m fine right where we are.”
Ava supposed she was going to have to be, since Lacey didn’t seem to be concerned about leaving her with some guy neither of them knew. And she and Rick had fallen farther back in the crowd of Hellraisers, so now they were bringing up the rear. This guy could drag her into an alley and murder her, ravage her. She could disappear. Would anyone even notice? Or care?
Yeah, her imagination was definitely in overdrive, wasn’t it?
Nice.
“You’re sweating.”
She jerked her gaze to him. “What?”
He lifted his arm, showing her where their hands were linked. “Your
palm is sweating.”
She pulled her hand away and wiped it on her jeans. “Oh. Sorry.”
Again, that smile of his. The one that said he knew why.
“Are you nervous? I won’t bite, ya know.”
And wasn’t this just the perfect time for her imagination to conjure him doing just that. Right on the nape of her neck. While they were in bed. Honestly. She didn’t have vivid fantasies of men doing wicked things to her. Especially men she’d just met. Men she didn’t know at all. That wasn’t where her mind went. Usually. But he had that sexy, bad boy look about him that made her shiver all over. And apparently sweat.
“No, I’m not nervous at all.”
“You’re a terrible liar.”
“Spoken by someone who’s so good at it?”
He winked. “Yes ma’am.”
She laughed, and felt the tension in her body begin to dissolve.
“So how long have you been with the Hellraisers?”
How was she supposed to answer that? She didn’t want to appear as if she had no idea what she was doing, even though she had no idea what she was doing. “Not long.”
“How long have you been riding?”
She looked down the street to see if she could spot Bo and Lacey. “Oh, not very long.”
“Do you like bikes?”
“I find them fascinating. How long have you been riding?”
“Since I got my driver’s license at sixteen. Before that, actually. I rode a bike before I drove a car. I’ve always loved them.”
Now she focused on Rick. “Really. Why?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Motorcycles were just a part of what we did back then.”
“We?”
“Bo and me.”
“A family thing, huh?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”
“So everyone in your family had bikes?”
He let out a soft laugh. “No. Just Bo and me.”
“Oh, I see. You two must be close.”
“We were. We got separated for a while.”
“How so?”
“I was out of town the past ten years.”
“Doing what?”
“This and that.”
Vague answers. Things he didn’t want to say. It made her curious, made her want to know more about him. “You grew up here?”
“Yes.”
“So you’ve just come back home.”
“Yeah.”
“Welcome home then, Rick.”
He smiled. “Thanks.”
“I’m sure it’s nice to reconnect with your family again.”
“I don’t have family. There’s just Bo.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
She heard the venom in his short, clipped words, wished she could ask more, but there was a finality in his statement that told her he wasn’t going to explain further. Any time the topic of family arose, his chin came up and something in his eyes went . . . cold. If there was one thing she’d learned in her studies it was how to read body language.
The Strip was alive tonight, people crowding the sidewalks on both sides, wanting to see and be seen. She’d heard about bike week, but never took part, never cared. It wasn’t her lifestyle. She was always in school, always studying, had gone from getting her undergraduate degree to her master’s in social work. And next up would be her doctorate.
But through all of it, there had been Lacey. At least until a year ago. And without her support system, her best friend, the last year had been difficult, nearly unbearable.
She hadn’t realized how isolated she’d become until Lacey was no longer there.
How pathetic. Where had her life gone?
She knew—she didn’t have one. Everything had been about school for so long she couldn’t remember when it wasn’t. But now that she had her master’s, she was taking some time off before she went for her doctorate. What better time to reconnect with her best friend and make sure all was right with her?
“So are you from around here, Ava?”
“Yes, I am. I’ve been here my whole life.”
“What do you do?”
And wasn’t that the question of the hour? What did she do, besides spend her life with her nose buried in a textbook or her mind engrossed in a lecture? “I just finished up my master’s in social work.”
Rick stopped, half turned, stared at her. “Social work?”
“Yes. Why?”
He shook his head and started walking again. She ran to catch up, grabbing his arm to stop him again. “Why did you give me that look?”
“What look?”
“The one that made me feel like a leper.”
“Did I? Sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
“Do you have a problem with social workers?”
His smirk was his answer. He jammed his hands in his pockets and started to walk away.
“Rick. Seriously.”
He stopped and turned to her. “Let’s just say that social workers haven’t always been my allies.”
“Why?”
He looked up and down the street. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s something.”
He let out a short laugh and his step quickened. “Look, you don’t know me. I don’t know you. Let’s just have some fun, okay?”
She linked her arm in his. “Then get to know me. I want to know more about you.”
He looked down where her hand was resting on his arm.
Yes, it was a pretty bold move. She had no right to ask him to trust her. He was right. He didn’t know her. And she was just a recent graduate. What could she do to help him? She didn’t know his story or what he’d been through.
But she knew pain and resentment when she heard it. She’d been through plenty of cases in the past few years to understand how families fell apart, and how children were often the biggest casualties.
Is that what had happened to Rick? Is that why he’d called Bo his only family?
She suddenly wanted to know a lot more about Rick Benetti, and not just because he was a biker, part of this gang, and a link to some knowledge about Lacey’s current lifestyle.
* * *
* * *
Rick didn’t know what to make of Ava. What was her purpose in the Hellraisers? She acted like some shy mouse one minute, then was bold and confident the next.
And he needed to figure her out, find out the extent of her involvement with the Hellraisers—who she knew and what she knew. None of that included her finding out a goddamned thing about him. That wasn’t part of his assignment.
She was a social worker. Jesus. From the time he was six years old until the cops arrested him when he was seventeen, he’d seen plenty of social workers. And not a single damn one of them had helped him, had cared enough about him to actually listen to what he was saying. He was just another number, another file to pass from one side of their desk to another, to funnel through the system. They wore this façade of caring on their faces, but their only function was to operate like robots and get as many files off their desks as possible. Not people—not kids who were actual human beings—just files. Case numbers.
Ava was young and fresh and beautiful. In a few years she was going to think differently, would be worn out, wrung dry and numb from a system that would suck the very life out of her. He’d bet that right now she thought she was going to single-handedly save the world.
She could keep thinking that. But it was way too damn late to save him.
He quickened his pace, forcing her to keep up. They finally caught up with Bo and Lacey at the head of the pack.
“Hey, there you are,” Bo said. “Thought maybe you two had hit it off and found some dark alley to get it on.”
“Well, the night’s still young.” Rick
put his arm around Ava. Ava gave a nervous smile. Rick grinned. For some reason he liked making her uncomfortable. Maybe it would take her mind off wanting to delve too deeply into his past. Maybe it would send her running home to her daddy. He liked that idea even better. It would shorten his assignment so he could get onto a real case.
“Not much action going on here. I thought we’d take a desert ride tonight. Maybe have a bonfire over at Joey’s place.”
Rick nodded at Bo. “Sounds good.” He turned to Ava. “Ready to ride?”
“Uh, sure.”
They circled around the block and made their way back to their bikes. Rick pulled a helmet out of his saddlebag for Ava and handed it to her. He put his helmet on, climbed on his Harley, and waited for her.
She stood next to the bike and stared at it, helmet in hand.
“Is there a problem?”
“Uh, no.” She fiddled with the straps of the helmet.
“Ava.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever ridden before?”
“Sure. Lots of times.”
“Remember when I told you earlier that you were a terrible liar?”
“Yes.”
“You’re still a terrible liar.”
She cocked her head to the side. “How did you know?”
“You don’t know how to put a helmet on.” He got off the bike and put the helmet on her head and helped her fasten the strap so it was tight, but not too tight. Then he opened up the saddlebags and pulled out an extra pair of gloves and some goggles. “Here, you’ll need these, too.”
“Thanks.” She put on the goggles and the gloves.
He grabbed the zipper of her leather jacket and started to pull it up, pausing when his knuckles brushed against her breasts. She inhaled with a sharp gasp.
“A little tight here.”
“Um. Yes.”
She seemed to try to make herself smaller, as if pushing her shoulders forward could make her breasts smaller.
“Honey, you can’t downsize them. They are what they are.” He pulled the jacket edges closer, then finished zipping her up. “They’re really nice, by the way.”