by S. Nelson
“The typical shit. That the Knights won’t rule this area forever and that the Reapers are gonna take over soon. Same bullshit as every other encounter with them.”
“What does that even mean?” Ace asked, leaning back in his seat while paying close attention. Hell, all of us were hangin’ on every word our leader spoke, although the older guys seemed more tense, their shoulders raised, and their brows drawn inward. “We don’t rule anything. We just have the strip joints and the bar. We’re far from monopolizing shit.”
“That club should’ve died with Psych a long time ago, but like cockroaches, they keep coming back,” Trigger said, slapping the table in irritation. Ryder, Jagger, Cutter, and Tripp all nodded; their understanding of the way things used to be unified among them.
Looking around at all the members, I noticed a disconnect of concern between the older members and the younger ones. My curiosity wasn’t enough for me to question why because I was already aware that any question I posed would either be ignored or shut down.
“While shit between our clubs isn’t what it used to be, we’ve still had dealings with them. So, just be careful. We’ve worked hard to get this club on the right path, and even though I’ll always do what it takes to keep everyone safe, warring with the Reapers again is the last thing I wanna do.” He pointed toward Brick. “That being said, since you worked there before, I want you to talk to the guys at Indulge. See if anything else happened. Then talk to some of the girls. Make sure those bastards aren’t threatening any of them. Be thorough.”
“Will do, Prez,” Brick responded, his eyes lighting up with the task. Brick had initially been hired on at Indulge as one of the bouncers, and while I’d never tell anyone this, I was man enough to admit the guy was intimidating. Most of us had tattoos, but the one in the center of his neck was borderline ominous. Maybe it was the skull design, the face of the image looking like it was lit on fire from the inside, or maybe it was because he was huge, even bigger than Tripp, who stood at six foot four. And if I had to wager, I’d bet Brick weighed anywhere between two sixty and two eighty, all of it muscle. By no means was I a lightweight, standing at six foot even. I worked out every day, and while I’d had many a woman compliment me on my physique, he was in a whole other category. Let’s just say, I was happy the man was one of us.
Brick had struck up a rapport with several of the members of our club and after two years had inquired about joining the Knights. Because of his loyalty, Marek approved him to be a prospect, and after a year, he was patched in as a full member. As it turned out, that day coincided with his twenty-fifth birthday. That was five years ago.
“If anyone doesn’t have anything else,” Marek said, looking around the room and waiting for a moment, “then I got some shit I gotta take care of.” The boom of the gavel sounded, excusing us from the meeting.
“Hey, you comin’ over?” Linc asked, walking next to me as we exited Chambers.
Grabbing my phone from off the table, I swiped the screen to see if I had any missed calls or texts. Nothing. But what was I expecting? That after just one time of seeing and talking to her, albeit not very productive, that she would light up my phone? No such luck. Riley was even more stubborn than I was.
“For what?”
“Swimmin’. It’s hot as balls out there. I’m gonna invite a few people.”
While the weather in California was pleasant, some days it became unbearable. Then again, I supposed if anyone walked around in a heavy leather cut, they’d get hot, too.
“Is your sister gonna be there?” I hadn’t so much as mentioned Riley to Linc in I didn’t know how long, so when he looked confused, I wasn’t surprised. Although, he didn’t say anything about my inquiry.
“I dunno. Maybe.”
“Wait, don’t you have a fight later?”
“Nope. Got pushed back till tomorrow night,” he replied, walking ahead of me to talk to Jagger.
“Hey?” I called after him. He turned around. “I’m leavin’ my bike here so I can work on it later. Can I catch a ride? Did you bring your truck?” Linc loved to ride, but sometimes, depending on what he had going on, he drove his SUV instead.
“What if I said bike? Then you’d have to ride bitch.” He smirked and I couldn’t tell if he was fucking with me or not.
“I’d rather walk.” I headed toward the garage to tinker around with one of the plugs on my ride before we left.
“I got the truck. Leavin’ in ten,” Linc shouted before he disappeared with Jagger.
My phone vibrated in my pocket and I fumbled to retrieve it, hoping it was from the one person I couldn’t get out of my head. Again, I wasn’t sure why because hell would freeze over before Riley reached out to me. Opening the screen, I saw a text.
Tripp: It’s a no go for Linc’s fight tonight
Me: Just heard
Tripp: *middle finger emoji*
Well then… I supposed that’s that.
7
“Do you think we should tell Prez about the run-in after your fight the other night?”
“No,” Linc answered, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. “It won’t do nothin’ but worry him. Besides, nothing happened.”
“Not yet.” My tone gave everything away. While no one came to blows, or worse, during the encounter, that was only because we convinced Linc to leave shortly after he approached those guys. If we weren’t there, I’d hate to think what would’ve happened if the guy beside me was left to his own devices. There was a possibility he would’ve bested all of them, but then what? Even though he hadn’t been wearing his cut, those Reapers knew exactly who Lincoln Crosswell was, and to what club he belonged.
“What does that mean?”
“You know damn well what that means. I don’t know why you have an interest in that girl, but know this, if you interfere….” I trailed off, not wanting to even think about the possibilities of what would happen.
“I can’t not do anything.”
“Yes, you can.”
He opened his mouth to argue but then must’ve thought better of it, turning on the radio instead. Some country song was on, and instead of changing the station, I sat in silence next to him. I understood his need to help someone he knew to be in harm’s way, but it was way too fucking risky, especially after the meeting we just had. The reaction from the club would be dire if Linc invited those Reapers back into our life full force. I think my dad would probably blow a gasket, or worse, have a heart attack. His doctor warned him that his blood pressure was getting a little high; this kind of news would only serve to make things worse for him.
“That sucks,” I said, pointing toward the broke-down truck up ahead, the driver bent under the hood fiddling with something. As we passed, Linc did a double take before slowing down until he came to a stop two car lengths ahead of the stranded vehicle.
“I think I know that guy,” he blurted before he hopped out, slamming the door behind him.
Seeing as I was a mechanic, I supposed I could lend a hand. I walked back toward the two of them and stood next to Linc.
“Do you remember me telling you about the fight at Indulge last week? The one where the frat-looking douchebags thought they were tough and tried to take on Guy and Hendrix?”
“Uh… no.”
“One of them threw their drink on one of the dancers, then took a swing at Hendrix?”
“Linc, I have no idea what you’re talkin’ about. You must’ve told someone else. Although it sounds kind of amusing. If I know Hendrix, he probably broke the guy’s nose before tossin’ his ass out of the club.” Hendrix and Guy were two of our bouncers at Indulge, both good buddies of Brick, who was probably the person Linc told this story to.
“Huh. Yeah, must’ve been one of the other guys.” He scratched his head before coming back around to the story. “Anyway, this guy here—”
“Tag,” the guy said, nodding in my direction.
“Tag,” Linc repeated, “he helped us get rid of the rest of their assh
ole buddies. There was like ten of them I think.”
“Yeah, but most of them were drunk, so it was kinda easy.” Tag laughed and there was something about him that seemed genuine, which wasn’t how I viewed any stranger. I didn’t trust people easily. Normally, I thought everyone had an agenda, so for me not to be suspicious of him, was odd.
“What seems to be the problem with your truck?”
“It’s seen better days.” He wiped his hands with the rag he’d been using before leaning against his Chevy S-10.
“What year is it? A two thousand?” I asked, looking over the body of the truck. The vehicle looked to be in decent shape for its age and I had to hand it to the guy, he looked like he took care of his shit, and if anyone could appreciate that, it was me.
He nodded. “I should trade her in for a new one, but I can’t afford to do that right now.” He swung his arm wide. “Which is why I’m stranded on the side of the road.”
“Mind if I take a look?”
“He does this shit for a living,” Linc added when I stepped toward the hood.
“Be my guest,” Tag replied, moving a step to the side to allow me room to check out the situation. “I feel like it’s the head gasket, which sucks ’cause that shit ain’t cheap.”
“What happened right before you broke down?”
“When I tried to accelerate, there wasn’t much power to the engine, then it overheated.”
“Any smoke?”
“Yeah, uh… kinda like a blue tint to it.”
“It’s your head gasket for sure,” I said, checking a few more things before closing the hood. Tag handed me the rag so I could wipe off some of the grease.
“Fuck.” Tag raked his hand through his short dark hair, slumping his shoulders in utter defeat. “You guys know of a good garage? Maybe someone who’s reasonable, maybe work out some sort of deal with? I’ve only just moved back here to be with my mom. She’s not doing so great. And on top of that, I haven’t been able to find a job yet. So this”—he pointed toward his truck—“is comin’ at a bad time.”
The guy looked like his vehicle breaking down might be the thing that unraveled him, and I felt bad for him. “You have any other family here that might be able to help you out?”
“Nah. It’s just me and my mom, and the way things are going for her, it might just be me soon.” He closed his eyes briefly, then lowered his head, squeezing the back of his neck before looking back up at me and Linc.
I didn’t know Tag. He was a stranger, and even though he’d helped with a situation at Indulge, I didn’t know a thing about him, and I couldn’t understand why I felt the need to help him.
“Listen, how ’bout we call a tow for your truck? We’ll take it back to the garage and I’ll work on it for ya. The only thing I ask is that you help me out with a few projects I have goin’ on. Some shit this guy can’t help with.” I nudged Linc’s shoulder with mine, but he only smiled at the insult. His focus was on fighting and nothin’ else. I tried to show him a thing or two about working on cars and bikes, but he couldn’t care less.
“Are you sure?” Tag asked, his eyes wide and his mouth parted.
“Yeah.” Turning my attention to Linc, I asked, “Who’s still at the garage?”
“I think John and Terry.” They were both part-time mechanics who’d been working for us for the past four years. John worked on older vehicles while Terry specialized in all things electrical. After I placed the call and gave John our location, I told Tag to leave the keys on the visor and that we’d give him a ride.
Back in the truck, Linc and Tag rehashed the event that happened at Indulge, and before I knew it, Linc had invited the guy back to his house with us for the impromptu get-together. And since it was hot as hell out, Tag readily accepted.
I was usually a good judge of character and I didn’t see a problem with having Tag join us, but the closer we got to Linc’s house, the more my thoughts switched from the guy we picked up on the side of the road and toward the woman I hoped to see soon enough. Maybe with other people around, she’d be more relaxed and would allow me some time to talk to her.
Now I just had to figure out what to say.
8
Today was my first day off all week and I planned on relaxing by the pool for once. The weather was ideal, although a touch too hot. Dad and Linc were at the club, Mom was at work, and Zander was out and about somewhere. I had the entire place to myself, which meant peace and quiet.
Grabbing the book I was currently reading, I snatched a towel and some sunscreen from the closet before heading outside. Even though I had a nice base tan, I lathered on protection before reclining in my seat, shielding my eyes with some shades before reaching for my book. I wasn’t five pages in when I heard a car pull into the driveaway, then another, and another. Instead of relaxation, intuition told me annoyance was going to take center stage very soon. Before I could get out of my lounge chair, the gate to the backyard opened and at first the only person I saw was Lincoln. But then Kaden strolled in right behind him and then someone I’d never seen before. This guy was tall, dark-haired, and very handsome.
He laughed at something my brother said, and while I wanted to avert my eyes to Kaden, to see his expression, I kept my eyes on the cute stranger.
“Hey, sis. Hope you don’t mind, but I invited a few people over. It’s fuckin’ hot out here.” Linc strolled toward the house with the stranger following, but Kaden lingered behind. I’d never been so thankful to be wearing shades before, hiding my eyes from the one guy who could read me well, even though he always complained he couldn’t. I just never let on that he was right about my moods most of the time.
“Hi, Riley.”
“Kaden,” I curtly replied, picking up my book to continue reading. Problem was, there was no way I’d be able to concentrate on a single word with him standing so close to me, even if I’d just come upon the hot sex scene in the story. No amount of clothes-tearing, hard-bodied goodness would hold my attention long enough while Kaden’s focus was on me.
“I didn’t know if you’d be here,” he said, shifting from one foot to the other, his shades hiding his blue eyes from me, which was probably for the best. Ever since he’d shown up at the salon and then cornered me outside afterward, I couldn’t get him out of my head. Then again, I didn’t believe Kaden had ever completely left my thoughts, even after he appeared done with our relationship.
“I was hoping for some peace and quiet on my day off, but that looks like it’s not gonna happen.”
“How have you —”
“What the hell?” Chelsea shouted as soon as she entered the backyard, interrupting whatever it was that Kaden tried to ask me. “I’ve been texting you for like an hour, woman.” She strolled toward me in her cream-striped bathing suit, her oversized tote thrown over her shoulder. My bestie wasn’t shy in the least when it came to her body, a confidence I sometimes envied. While she was small in stature, she had an amazing figure. I, on the other hand, had struggled with maintaining a steady weight, having gained a few extra pounds over the last two years. Whenever I voiced this to my mom, she’d tell me I was crazy, that I looked fantastic and one day I’d look back on these years and wonder why I’d complained at all.
“I left my phone in the house.”
She was next to me in seconds. “What if there was an emergency?” With her hands on her hips, she squinted down at me before looking over at Kaden. “Is Ace here yet?” she asked him, trying to appear casual with her question, but I saw the glimmer of excitement in her eyes. I supposed she wasn’t so concerned about there being an emergency after all.
“Not yet. I think he’s on his way.”
“Wait.” I gently tapped Chelsea’s leg with my own. “How did you know people were coming over?”
“Ace texted me. That’s why I was callin’ ya. To make sure you were home.”
“Looks like you were comin’ here regardless.” I smirked, but I was happy she was here. I might need her to distract me in c
ase something happened.
“I wanted to test out my new bathing suit.” She twirled around before striking a comical pose, her right arm extended toward the sky with her hip popped out.
“You look great.”
“Thanks.” She glanced toward the house. “You got anything to drink?”
“Yeah, check the fridge.”
“Want anything?”
I pointed to my ice tea. “All good.” She looked to Kaden, but all he did was shake his head.
Chelsea disappeared, leaving Kaden and me all alone once again. Refusing to engage him in conversation, I picked back up my book and turned the page, silently yelling at him to leave me alone. He took the hint soon afterward, mumbling something about going to get changed.
Watching him walk away was good and bad. I always thought he had a sexy gait, one filled with confidence, bordering on cocky. So, to be able to witness that after this long made my insides turn gooey, but the second he was gone, I was reminded that I had no claim over Kaden. Not anymore. Even when we were together, we had to keep our relationship a secret, which was probably one of the reasons I’d taken it so badly when we were no longer in each other’s lives. Because I couldn’t tell anyone about us, I had no one to lean on for support, no one to dissect why things didn’t work out between us. I had to deal with it all on my own, which was hard.
And just when I’d gotten used to the numbness encasing me on a daily basis, the bastard had to go ahead and start fucking with my head again.
Why was he attempting to talk to me after all this time?
9
The last thing I wanted to do was be privy to other guys looking at Riley half-naked. That thing she called a bikini barely covered anything, and that wasn’t me being jealous or any of that shit. Plain and simple, the sight of her both aroused and pissed me off. There’d been plenty of times I’d been jealous and had acted on those tendencies, but right now, I’d turn homicidal if any of these guys looked at her a second too long.