by KJ Dahlen
The Morgans all snickered.
“I’ll get some of the brothers to keep any eye on the players,” Deke went back to business instantly. “While Zipper checks them out. You and your brothers stay safe and on the down low until we have something we can use against Jed.”
“Yeah well, I have a race coming up in two weeks,” Dante said. “And I’ll be head to head with him. I’m not afraid to face him but I don’t want his men to get to my car before the race. I don’t want to go through the wall like his dad did.”
“You really think he killed his old man?” Sam asked.
“It makes sense you know.” Dante nodded. “Liam was all that stood between him and the fucking trophy. Plus, with him out of the way, there was nothing more to hold him back, so yeah why not?”
“That’s pretty cold. The man is insane or he doesn’t have a soul.” Deke sighed heavily. “We’ll get eyes on them and you guys all lay low for a while, until we can come up with something to stop them. Give us some time to find a way to stop them.”
Dante glanced over at the clock and noted the time. “I got to go. I have a date tonight with Andi Reed.”
Deke frowned. “The Chocolate shop girl? Since when do you go out with girls like Andi? She’s not your usual type.”
“Hey...I’m learning.” Dante shook his head. “I didn’t know everyone thought I was such a bad deal. It’s nice to know I got real friends.” With that, he got up and walked out of the shop. Even Deke thought so little of his reputation. This hit him harder than it had yesterday. Fuck, he always thought he was a decent guy...until the last couple of days, that is.
Deke looked over at Mountain and shrugged. “What crawled up his ass?”
“A little thing called reality, my friend.” Mountain chuckled.
Deke nodded but said no more about it. Then he spoke quietly, “This all reminds me a little too much like what had been happening to Byron. Only that had been sabotage by sniper hit. The end results are the same though, whether a tire blows out or an engine when going 180, it still means mayhem.”
Byron raised his head. “Then we’d better move fast and quiet,” he stated. “I want him to be surprised, not us. Dante will not back down off this race.”
“Plus, we cannot have the cars we work on ending up in a crash heap. We have had too many close calls for it to be coincidence,” Chance added.
“Hell, yeah.” Mountain snarled. “We do quality work and take pride in giving the people we do business with quality products. We’ve never had three products go back before. Well hell, we’ve never had one of our cars fail before.”
“Well check it out.” Deke nodded. “Watch your engines and crews... you boys keep your heads down and mind your p’s and q’s.”
Mountain watched as Deke and his dad left the shop. He looked over at his remaining brothers and shrugged. “We’ve done all we can now. Lord help Jed now, if he tries anything. The MC will stomp his little ass right into the ground.”
Bowie groaned. “Oh brother, don’t tempt me like that.”
Byron nodded. “I worry that Dante may pay with his life for the little romp he had.”
“Fuck no!” Mountain yelled and it echoed in the shop. “If my plans don’t work out, I will kill this man myself.”
Chapter Four
Half an hour later, Dante pulled up in front of Andi’s shop. She’d told him yesterday she lived with her grandfather in the house in the back of the shop. In fact, the shop was attached to the house by a breezeway between the two buildings.
When he got there, he noted the shop was closed so he walked around the side of the building and found the path to the house beyond. He rapped on the front door and a few minutes later, it was opened by an older man.
“What the hell do you want?” the older man growled as he glared at Dante.
“I’m here to pick up your granddaughter, Andi.” Dante smiled.
The old man snorted. “What the hell does a pretty boy like you want with Andi? She ain’t no good time girl.”
“Grandpa,” an embarrassed but soft sounding voice called out from behind them.
Bass didn’t bother looking back but Dante looked over the old man shoulders and caught his breath when he saw her standing there.
She was a vision in her light colored summer dress. Her eyes sparkled and that creamy complexion was pink now, due to her father’s words. Dante again, thought she was even more adorable than the day before. The sweet looking dress fit her curves and highlighted her entire figure. Her red hair was braided in a loose braid and it shone in the light.
“Hi,” she whispered as she joined them at the door.
“Hi yourself.” Dante smiled. “You look beautiful. Are you ready to go?”
Andi nodded but Bass stood there between them and seemed unwilling to move out of the way. “You’re wasting your time and energy boy, she ain’t going out with the likes of you.” He growled.
“Grandpa, I can go out with whoever I want to. I’m old enough to make up my own mind,” Andi grumbled.
Bass snarled and turned to look at her. “You will not go out with a biker. They are nothing but trouble and you don’t need that.”
“Sir, I’m more than just a biker. Sure, that’s a part of who I am but my brothers and I have a garage on the edge of town. We build custom hot rods and I’m also a racer.”
“I know who you are Dante Morgan.” The old man glared at him. “Everyone in town knows you and your brothers and the MC you ride with. I never thought my Andi would catch your eyes and now, I’m sorry she did.”
Dante crossed his arms over his chest and stared at the old man. “Oh, and why is that?”
“You ain’t nothing but trouble, that’s why.”
“Grandpa.” Andi pulled the old man away from the door. “Please stop this.” She begged him. “It’s my choice who I go out with, not yours. I think you’ve embarrassed me enough for one day, don’t you? I am twenty six you know, not sixteen.” With that, she walked to the front door and looked at Dante. “If you’d rather not go out with me, I can understand why.” She held her head high with bright color staining her cheeks.
“I’m still standing here,” Dante told her. “It would be my pleasure to take you out for the evening.” He held out his arm and when she tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, he led her out to his vehicle. Tonight, he was driving his own vehicle, a 1938 model T he had souped up into a hot rod. It was a shiny blue color and he loved to open it up on the highway. He loved to hear the rumble of the motor.
But tonight he just wanted to show her off. “I thought we’d start out with dinner and then maybe hit up a club or two. Is that all right with you?”
Andi flushed. “Well I’ve never been clubbing before but I’m willing to try new things.”
Dante frowned as he stared at her. “Never been clubbing before? Why not?”
Andi flushed a bright red now. “I mean I’ve dated sure, everyone has, but no one has ever wanted to be seen in public with me before.”
“Why not?” he asked her quietly. “You’re a beautiful woman.”
She sighed and looked out the window. “You aren’t blind.”
“No I’m not.”
“Then you can see me. I’m not exactly pinup material. I like the product I create all too well and it shows. I mean I’ve never been a socially accepted girl, I’ve always been shy. But my grandpa raised me after my parents died. I spent more time in his garage than I did anywhere else. I can take apart any engine better than I can make small talk. I haven’t been on too many dates as you can imagine. So no Mr. Morgan, I haven’t been clubbing before.”
Dante listened to her little rant then exhaled softly. Then he slowly reached for her chin and turned her toward him. When she was looking into his eyes, he smiled and told her gently, “First of all, you are a beautiful woman. I love your curves. Most women nowadays think skinny is in but there are a lot of men out there that appreciate a fuller woman. I just discovered I am one of those men. Second of all,
I love the fact that you’ve never been clubbing before. It’s not all its cracked up to be and you haven’t missed a thing. Since we came here to Troy, I’ve been enjoying life a little too much it seems. My brothers told me to grow up. Of course, they want me to find the happiness they found and get married but I haven’t met the right woman yet for that.” He hesitated and smiled, “Well I didn’t think I had but I might be changing my mind about that soon. I just want the chance to get to know you, not the you, that you put out there for your customers, but the real you. You interest me Andi.”
“Why is that?” she whispered. “I’m not different than any other girl.”
Dante chuckled, “Oh I have a feeling you’re very different from the girls I usually hang out with.”
She smiled. “Then you’ve been hanging out with the wrong girls Mr. Morgan.”
Dante smiled back. “I have indeed, according to my brothers.”
She tipped her head and stared at him. “And that’s why you came looking for me I suppose.”
“Part of it, yeah. I’m not going to lie to you. That’s no way to start a relationship.”
“Is that what you’re looking for here? A relationship?”
“I don’t know yet, do I?” Dante replied.
“Fair enough, but no one we meet will believe you’re serious about me, just warning you.” Andi turned toward the window again. “Either that or they’ll make fun of you for even being with me. That happens a lot. It is why nobody bothers to ask me out anymore.”
“Well, shame on them then.” Dante grinned. “I plan on enjoying tonight and hopefully this will be the first of many dates with you.”
Andi smiled slightly not daring to believe him for a moment. She couldn’t help but wonder what his game really was.
When they entered the restaurant, it was busy and noisy.
When Dante reached the hostess station, he narrowed his eyes at the rage in Lillian’s eyes. “I need a table for two.”
Lillian was Abigail Stroker’s best friend and the fact that Dante was out without her friend made her a little mad but when she saw who Dante was with Lillian saw red.
“For you and the heifer?” Lillian asked snidely.
“For me and my guest,” he corrected her with narrowed eyes.
Lillian turned to Andi and looked her from head to toe then lifted her nose high in the air. She grabbed a couple of menus and led them all the way to the back of the room. She stopped at the last table. It was next to the swinging doors to the kitchen and from where they were standing, they could hear the calls of the cook, along with the sounds of dishes and silverware dropping into the sink.
Dante wasn’t fooled one bit. As much as he wanted to cause a scene or have Lillian fired for impertinence, she simply wasn’t worth it. “I think I’ve changed my mind,” he said a little louder than he should have. “I will no longer eat here. I don’t care for the staff and when my brothers hear about how we were treated, they will no longer eat here either. Because of you, this restaurant is done here.”
The entire room was silent and when Dante was done, he turned to cup Andi’s elbow and he walked back the way they came in. He didn’t even stop to talk to anyone.
Andi’s eyes filled with tears as she walked beside him but she held her head high and the tears never dropped. When he shut the door behind him, he looked down at her. “I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s ok,” she whispered. “I told you I was socially awkward.”
“That’s not why she did that,” he grumbled. “It was because you weren’t Abby Stroker. That bitch still thinks she owns me.”
“Oh, dear,” Andi whispered. “I hate to tell you this but Abigail Stroker hates me with a passion and the thing is I have never known why.”
Dante turned to her and frowned. “What do you mean you don’t know why?”
Andi shrugged. “They moved here maybe ten years ago? I know we were in high school yet and the very first day she looked at me like I was dirt on the bottom of her shoe. There wasn’t a day that passed when she didn’t do her best to embarrass me or put me down. It got to the point where I hated school. I begged my grandpa to let me drop out but he wouldn’t do that. But the bullying got to be too much for me and... well he found online classes and I got to homeschool my last year. While I was online for school, I ran across an article about the art of making chocolate.”
Dante grinned. “And thus, your business was born.”
Andi nodded. “So you see Abigail and I go way back but because of her hatred for me, I found my passion.” She chuckled a bit. “Believe me, if she knew that she’d have a complete fit.”
Dante smiled. “I believe that. She is not a nice person.” He looked back at the restaurant and shook his head. “I can’t believe Lillian just did that.”
“Are you really not going to eat here again?”
Dante nodded. “No one has the right to treat anyone that way. She just cost her bosses a great deal of business. They aren’t going to be happy about it either. The MC has a lot of sway in this town.”
Andi nodded. “I know. But Abigail and her brother think they have a lot of pull as well.”
Dante snorted. “That’s only a pipe dream on their part.”
Suddenly, a car put on its brakes loudly and screeched to a halt beside them.
Dante looked over at it and frowned.
Abby Stroker got out of the driver’s side. She was decked out to the nines as usual, wearing a slit up the side silk dress and high heels. She stomped all the way to where they were standing.
Dante pushed Andi behind him and stared at her.
“What the fuck are you doing here with the likes of her?” Abby stormed at him.
“Well, that’s none of your business now is it?” Dante pointed out.
“You should have come back to me already.” She glared.
“I told you a month ago, I wasn’t coming back. We didn’t even have a relationship to come back to. I told you then I was done with you.”
“No one dumps me!” she screamed, not caring who was watching her make a fool of herself.
“I did and I meant it. I am not coming back to you. We were never really going out to begin with.”
“No you were just fucking me for fun huh?” She sneered.
“I think we’re done here.” Dante nodded at her and reached around behind him to grab Andi’s hand and pulled her along with him.
“We are not finished by a long shot bucko!” Abby screamed. “Not by a long shot. I’ll see you and your brothers ruined, then I’ll be the one who walks away from you asshole.”
Dante paused then let Andi’s hand drop as he turned around and walked back to Abby. “You need to stop Abby. Making those kind of threats in public at the top of your lungs puts you in first place if anything happens. Anything at all. That’s not smart. I hear jail doesn’t have hair or nail salons, you know.” Then he turned and went back to where Andi was waiting for him. Grabbing her hand, he kept walking to his truck. Settling her inside, he went to the driver’s door and got in.
Driving down the road, he took Andi to the diner for dinner.
They sat and talked for hours. Dante was surprised by her wit, her humor and her insight. He grew comfortable being around her. They talked about places around town. They both loved certain areas too. Then they talked cars and he was so impressed. The woman knew what a hemi was! Most women he knew stayed away from the inner workings of anything mechanical. They didn’t want to get grease on their clothes or hands or chip a nail. Well, with the exception of Byron’s girl.
However, Andi was a surprise as she explained the true workings of the new electric age of cars. “The Tesla Roadster started the whole thing in 2008 and will be returning in 2020. The aim of that company is to be the fastest electric car on the road. And get this... it can go zero to 60 in 1.9 seconds and a top speed over 250mph. It seats four and has a removable glass roof. I mean we were supposed to have flying cars you know? By 2019, but where are they
? This is the start and I hate to say this to a race driver but the goal is to have Auto pilot.”
Dante shook his head. “Them’s fightin’ words, little lady,” he stated in a southern drawl.
Andi laughed. “It’s true though, this is the start of driverless cars. Oh yes, you can sit behind the wheel, but already, it uses cameras that are strategically placed, allowing the car to do things like keep in the center of a road lane, change lanes, and be more adaptive while in cruise control. The car can even park itself or be summoned. To your damn front door! Just drive up and pick you up. Then drive you wherever you tell it to.” Andi went on about Tesla cars, how they were the true future and how they weren’t tinker cars or golf carts like when electric cars first came out way back in the 70’s by any means. Yes, she herself loved the classics, but for the future, she told him there would be many of these electric cars.
Dante watched her excitement and he enjoyed listening to her. her knowledge of cars made him truly think he was in love. Yes, he knew all about this new technology and had been watching it himself, as had his brothers for several years now. No car buff could miss it in fact. Though, he hardly felt there was any fun in letting your car drive you everywhere. He himself still thought nothing could beat an oil based engine.
He was astonished that a woman could hold his interest this long just by the subject and her knowledge. He was so invested that he had relaxed to the point of not being too alert.
As they were leaving the diner, two men came up and hit him from behind with a lug wrench.
Chapter Five
Andi screamed as she was pushed to the ground and just before they ran away, Luke bent closer to her and whispered something in her ear. Then he pushed her head to the ground and just left her laying there in a heap with a bleeding Dante.
Everyone ran out of the diner when they heard Andi screaming for help and someone called the police.
Moments later, Mountain and Chance arrived on their bikes and they found their brother in Andi’s lap.