He didn't drive as fast as possible to try and impress me. I didn't want speed. I wanted to enjoy the ride.
Now Ivan had ditched me even though he knew that I didn't have a way to get to work. What a dick.
I resorted to an Uber. I was already late for my shift so an extra ten minutes wouldn't make much of a difference. Gary was going to bitch at me either way when I got there.
Twenty minutes later and I walked into the bar. Gary was nowhere to be found. I went to the bar and immediately started cleaning. If I was lucky, he was too busy to notice what time I came in.
Mornings at Chef's Corner were always dead. Most customers didn't mosey in until after lunch. I spent most of my time wiping down tables and counters. I couldn't help but grin every time I thought about last night.
That was the best sex of my life.
Chapter Six
Ivan
I had done a good job of keeping busy and forgetting all about Riley and her sweet lips. It had been a week since our night together and I was satisfied with it being only one night. I wasn't going to be down here for very long so it didn't make much sense to get mixed up with a chick.
Today, the Shadow Spirits were finally putting me to work. They had the address of a safe house that was supposedly used by the man who assassinated their vice president. He wasn't there any longer and my job was to break in and find out any clues on where he was now.
The rival club wasn't supposed to know that we were on their tail. I needed to make sure that I didn't leave any evidence of my presence there.
The house was a single-story, no garage, and one window next to the front door. A security screen sat on the door and would be pretty difficult to get through without breaking it completely. That would surely tip them off that someone had been there.
The neighborhood was pretty rundown. A lot of empty houses and others that had sale signs. It might've been nice twenty years ago but it seemed like drug dealers and bikers had driven the property values down.
A street like this was great because I could break in during broad daylight and nobody would be calling the police on me. I'd never been caught before and that's because I followed a strict set of rules.
Rule number one and the most important one: Never enter when someone is home.
Since I'm dealing with murderers and thugs. Breaking into one of their places would always turn into a gunfight if they were home.
That leads to rule number two: Always carry a weapon.
I always had a Glock in my waistband if I ever failed at rule number one. Sometimes you can't always know with certainty that the premises are empty.
I looked up and down the street to make sure that nobody was watching me. I walked across the lawn that was covered in weeds. I went up to the front window and looked inside. A white sheet was covering the window but it was a little see-through. I could make out a couch and some other furniture but no people.
I walked the perimeter of the house but the other windows were boarded up. I checked my entry points and all I had so far were the front door and window.
The backyard was in even more disrepair than the front yard. Black tires were stacked in one corner and two lawn chairs stood in the middle of the dirt. Broken beer bottles littered the ground everywhere I stepped.
The back door had a similar security gate on it. They definitely didn't want anyone getting inside that they weren't expecting. The boarded windows were a no go. With my limited options, I decided to start with the back door.
I checked the knob first. It was unlocked.
Rule number three: Only use brute force if it's absolutely necessary.
With the security gate out of the way, it would be pretty easy to pick the locks. I took out a small bag out of my back pocket and took out my favorite lock pick. It was the one that I had grown up using when I was younger.
The bottom lock was easy. The deadbolt took a little more finesse. I took out my flat-head screwdriver and shoved it in the lock. I put my pick in and jiggled it around until I could feel it give way. I turned until the dead bolt receded.
I turned the knob and the door opened. Bingo!
I was stopped by a door chain. This was their last line of defense and took a little ingenuity to get past. I went back to my bike and pulled up the seat to reveal some more tools. I took the wire hanger out and brought it back to the door. I worked the wire with my black gloves until I made it into a long pole with a hook on the end.
The key was to pick a strong wire hanger. You didn't want one that could bend too easily. I closed the door until it was almost shut. The chain needed slack. I slipped the wire hanger through the small slit of the door and jerked it back and forth until it caught the end of the chain.
I pushed the wire to the side, forcing the chain across the rail until it popped out and the door was released. I had been pretty quiet so far. If somebody was home, they probably wouldn't be able to hear me.
I opened the door wide and sat crouched in the doorway. I listened hard for any type of movement or sound of any kind. It was all clear.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me. I didn't lock it at all just in case I needed to make a quick escape.
The kitchen was a complete shithole. Dirty dishes were piled to the ceiling. Flies buzzed around. This wasn't a sign that anybody was around. Most bikers kept their places in this condition. I still had to be alert.
I crept quietly through the house, looking for any clues where this bastard might be. I didn't even know his name. I found a stack of mail on the kitchen counter and flicked through the letters. Mostly past due bills but the name on them was a place to start.
Conan.
It didn't ring a bell but with a name like that, I was sure that he was the one I was looking for. Now I just needed to find out where he was. I went into the living room and noticed some cocaine on the coffee table.
Next to the drugs was a picture of a woman. My heart stopped beating. I held my breath in my chest.
I was staring at Riley. It was a shot of her taking out the trash behind Chef's Corner. Why did this guy have a picture of her?
Riley didn't tell me everything. Why was she caught up in all this?
Chapter Seven
Riley
“I swear to God! I didn't mess up this time, Gary.”
Gary sat in his chair in his crappy office. The place he took his sluts to blow him. They thought he was all that because he owned a bar. Anybody could do his job. He wasn't special at all. Just another asshole.
“They told me you were a bitch to them and wanted a refund. They were regulars and I had to comp their meals. I'm going to have to take it out of your paycheck now, Riley. Unless we can come to some other agreement.” Gary turned his chair to me and exposed his lap.
I was used to his advances but this was more than that. He was finally threatening me unless I did a favor for him.
“You're a fucking pig, Gary. I quit.”
I turned around and left. Gary chased after me. “I was just kidding, baby. I won't take it out of your paycheck.”
“I'm done here,” I replied, walking straight outside. Gary called me some nasty names but I didn't really hear them as the door slammed behind me.
I took in a nice big breath of fresh air and felt a big weight off my shoulders. I was no longer tied down to this hellhole. I could go where ever I wanted.
Then I realized that I didn't have enough money. There weren't any other jobs for me here. I'd be stuck in that trailer with my mom for the rest of my life.
I pulled out my phone and thought about calling Ivan. I knew he would be able to make me forget all about this terrible day. I hadn't spoken to him in over a week and I had given up the idea of him calling me first. Most of those types of guys weren't like that. They liked their women to come to them.
But I didn't want to play that game. If he wanted me, he would have to come to me.
A bike roared into the parking lot, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. I coughed
and waved my hand in front of my face.
A man jumped off and ran at me. I backed away until I realized it was Ivan coming to me. “What are you doing here?” I asked.
Ivan hugged me immediately. He pushed me away and checked me all over. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?”
“I'm unemployed now but other than that I'm just peaches.” I didn't know why Ivan was acting so crazy.
“Do you know the name, Conan?”
My blood froze in my veins. Sweat appeared on my brow. How did Ivan know about him? “Yeah I know the name. Why do you ask?”
“Who is he?” Ivan asked, his face stuck in a grimace.
“Just an ex-boyfriend. I haven't seen him in two years. He left me one day and I never heard from him again.”
“Well he's back now.”
I still didn't know why this concerned Ivan so much. We'd only spent one night together. I wasn't his girl yet. “I don't care if he's back. I've been done with him for a long time.”
Ivan was visibly frustrated. “Well I think he's come back for you. I was in his house and I found a picture of you.”
The first thought that ran through my head was that Ivan found a dirty picture of me. Then I realized that I had never done anything like that with Conan. “I'm sure he has dozens of pictures of me from our relationship. What were you doing in his house anyways? Were you trying to spy on my former boyfriends?”
Ivan shook his head. “No. Of course not. I was there on club business. I think this Conan guy assassinated the vice president of the Shadow Spirits. I thought I might be able to find some clues on where he's gone.”
My head was a mess of confusion. I couldn't follow everything that Ivan was trying to tell me. The image of Conan kept popping back up in my head.
Ivan continued, “Instead I found a picture of you. And it wasn't just any picture. This was one taken from long range while you were taking out the trash at the bar.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“I think you're in trouble. Conan must have an obsession with you and he's going to come and take you.”
I took a step backwards. I didn't like where this was going. “So what am I supposed to do? Run away?”
“I won't let anything happen to you. I want to take you to a safe house where I can make sure he can't get to you.”
Adrenaline was surging through me. I was pretty scared but a little excited at the same time. Having Ivan as my protector felt like I was a princess in a fairy tale. “Well I just quit my job so I have nothing better to do.”
Ivan threw me the extra motorcycle helmet that covered my entire head. I didn't like my hair getting messed up but there were more important things to worry about.
Ivan's motorcycle peeled out of the parking lot of Chef's Corner. I hugged him closely and pressed my chest against his back. I looked behind me one last time at the dive bar that had been my home for so long. I was never going back there as long as I lived.
Chapter Eight
Ivan
Riley's safety was my first priority. I needed to get her to a safe place so I could think straight and plan my next move. I was new to the area and didn't know a single place I could take her except for the Shadow Spirits club.
If Conan really had been watching Riley, he'd already know about the two of us. The club would be the first place Conan would look for when he decided to take Riley. I had to call Kaiden to set up a safe house. He would know of a place.
I pulled off the road at the nearest gas station. The pumps were all empty and I stopped at the first one. I handed Riley a wad of cash and pointed to the convenience store. “Go get some snacks. I don't know when the next time we'll able to eat. I'm going to make a couple calls and figure out where to go next.”
Riley smiled at me and counted the money in her hands. She didn't seem frightened in the slightest. I hoped that it had partly to do with being around me. I was telling her the truth before when I said that I would do anything to protect her.
I pulled out my phone and dialed the only man I could trust down here. “Kaiden, I need some help. I found out who the assassin is.”
“Don't keep me in suspense, Ivan,” he replied.
“It was Conan.”
“I know him. He hasn't been around for years though. So you think he came back to do that job?”
“Not just that job. There was a picture of a girl in his house. A picture that you take when you're scoping someone out. It's a chick that I've been involved with. I needed a safe house to take her to. Can you help me out?”
“I have a place that should work. It's in the woods. Pretty secluded. I'm the only one that knows about it.”
I didn't have any other options. I needed a place quick so Riley could be protected and Conan could be found. “How do I get there?” I asked.
“Do you have a pen? There's no address but I can give you the directions to it.”
“Don't need one. I have a pretty good memory.”
Kaiden recited a long list of directions and I committed them to memory. “I'll meet you at the safe house in a couple hours with some supplies.”
“Thanks, Kaiden. Don't let anyone else know about the safe house. Tell them about Conan and get them out there looking for him.”
“Of course, Ivan. Good luck.”
I hung up as Riley returned with a armful of chips. “I hope you like potato chips because that's pretty much the only thing they had in there.”
“That should be fine until Kaiden can bring us some food.”
“How long are we going to have to stay there?” she asked, stuffing the bags of chips into the seat of my bike.
“As long as it takes to know that Conan is gone and can't hurt you. I have the Shadow Spirits out looking for him now. I don't think it will be that long.”
“I guess it doesn't really matter anyways. I don't really know what I'm going to do now that I quit Chef's Corner. I don't have enough money to leave this place. I guess I'll have to find a new job somewhere.”
“Let's get going. I want to get there before the sun sets.”
We rode through the streets and I could feel Riley's hands wrapped around my waist. It was something I could definitely get used to. I'd never experienced this feeling before. I'd always been driven by lust for a woman.
That's how it was for my first night with Riley. At least that's what I thought. There was a deeper connection between us than I wanted to admit. Riley was different than any woman I'd ever known. She was strong and independent. She wasn't impressed with patches and leather cuts. I didn't want to fuck things up.
I took the bike off the main road and onto a dirt path. I held onto the bars tighter as we drove over bumps and dips. We came to the entrance to the forest that was lush and green. A stark contrast to the desert scenery around it.
I went through the directions in my head to make sure that I was going the right way. Getting lost in the woods could be disastrous. We barely had any food and no water. I needed to get us there no matter what.
Riley took her hand off my chest and pointed straight ahead. The cabin was set in a clearing deep in the forest. Nobody was around for miles.
This would be perfect.
I parked the bike out in the front but knew that I would have to hide it. I wanted this place to look like it was abandoned.
The cabin was fairly small with two small square windows in the front. I would have to block those to keep light from seeping out. It wouldn't be good to have bright lights in the windows leading the way to us.
“Nice place,” Riley said, grabbing the food from the bike.
The wood on the outside looked old and rotten. I wondered when the last time Kaiden had stayed here.
It was the best we could do though. If anything, it meant that nobody knew about this place.
Chapter Nine
Riley
The cabin door was locked when Ivan tried it. “Didn't they tell you where the key was?” I asked.
Ivan looked under the doormat
and under nearby rocks. He came back empty-handed. “There might not be a key. Don't worry, I got this.”
He pulled out a small bag from his back pocket and took out some tools. I watched him go to work on the lock, sticking a long metal object inside and fiddling with it. The lock was open within seconds.
“See. Piece of cake.” Ivan smiled as he opened the door to the cabin.
Biker's Heir Series Box Set Page 43