Riding the Night

by Jaci Burton

Page 27

  Author: Jaci Burton

  She wanted more. More of them, more of that magic they’d wound around her last night. She knew they’d held back, and next time she didn’t want them to.

  Next time. Her flesh heated at the thought of next time, her pussy dampening as she conjured up visuals of what they’d do to her. So much potential, an endless variety of scenarios and positions.

  And thinking about sex with AJ and Pax was not helping to keep her mind on her job, or giving her a keen eye to watch all the bikers filing in and out. She forced her attention into filling drink requests, grabbing a tall glass of water for herself, hoping it would quench the heat she’d conjured up with her fantasies.

  Yeah, that damn had sure burst, hadn’t it? For someone who’d been repressed for so long, one night of great sex had sure sprung open the well of her imagination.

  She’d been so lost in thoughts of AJ and Pax she almost missed him. But a flash of something familiar on the back of a guy’s vest caught her eye. She served up a few more beers to patrons hanging at the bar, her gaze following a biker who quickly blended into the thick crowd.

  Dammit. Had she imagined seeing the Fists logo on that vest?

  She tried to train her vision on where she’d last seen him, but he’d been swallowed up by the throng of people and she had customers clamoring for drinks. So she turned her attention back to the bar, and that’s when she saw them come through the front door.

  Fists. A dozen of them at least, pushing through with a group of other bikers, their insignias easy to spot on the backs of their leather vests.

  They were here! Her heart climbed up into her throat and her palms began to sweat as she struggled to fill drink orders and keep her eye on the group of Fists at the same time.

  They didn’t stop at her bar, which was probably a good thing because she didn’t want to risk being recognized. It was also a bad thing because they’d moved clear to the other side of the room, where there was an exit door. What if they just came in and left right away?

  She leaned over and whispered to Claudia, the woman tending bar next to her, “I’ll be back in a sec. ”

  Claudia nodded and didn’t even look up from her task of popping the tops off four bottles of beer. Teresa bowed up from behind the bar as unobtrusively as possible and made a circle around the dance floor. She knew the Fists—they wouldn’t be out on the dance floor. They’d be belly up where the beer and whiskey were plentiful, so she wound her way to the bar at the back of the club. No sign of them there, so she had to fight her way through the crowd to reach the bar located opposite the one she worked and near the other door.

  That’s when she spotted them, all huddled together like a group of cattle, throwing back shots like they were dying of thirst, and following those up by guzzling down their beers.

  She stayed in the background and studied their faces, tattoos and necks. Dammit, none of them was the guy she was looking for. But wherever the Fists were, she knew he’d be close by. He had to be.

  So when they started to head out the door, panic set in. She waited until the last one was out and the door closed, then rushed to the bar where Sandy was working.

  “I have an emergency. I need to head out. ”

  “One of your fellas?” Sandy asked, clearly concerned.

  Teresa hated lying to her, but she nodded. “Yeah. ”

  Sandy laid her hand on top of Teresa’s. “I hope he’s okay. You go on. We’ll manage. ”

  Guilt slammed into her stomach, but she pushed it aside, sprang through the door and headed for her bike. Fortunately she had a good spot, and she climbed on, jumped on the throttle and headed out into the street in search of the Fists. They could still be on foot, or maybe they’d wandered into another bar. In this crowd of bikers she might not—

  There they were, pulling out from one of the side streets and heading out of town. Grateful to have spotted them, she inhaled a deep breath and willed herself to relax. Now all she had to do was lay back a little, let a few bikers get between them and her, see if they picked up more Fists and figure out where they were going. She thanked the half million bikers at this event because it made it easier for her to blend in as she followed.

  After about twenty minutes of heading up into the hills, the Fists pulled into what looked like a small, well-hidden campground in the middle of forest. Teresa stayed back at the entrance since you had to pay to enter. Instead, she rode just ahead, where she pulled into a lot—more of a scenic overview, really—that overlooked the camping area and the hills. She climbed off her bike and wandered around, trying to look like a tourist, even took out her cell phone and pretended to be taking night shots—of what, she had no idea since her cell would take crappy shots at night, but the overview was well lit and the craggy rocks rising up on the other side were spectacular for photos, so it would appear like she had a good reason for being there. And she wasn’t alone, lots of other people were enjoying the view despite the late hour. She meandered over to the edge of the lot and peered down at the campsite.

  Unfortunately, it was dark and she couldn’t see a damn thing other than a few campfires and some lanterns. She had no way of knowing where the Fists had set up camp or even if they were actually camped there.

  She blew out a breath of frustration and resigned herself to the fact she was going to have to call in reinforcements. Pax and AJ weren’t going to be happy that she hadn’t stayed put at the bar, but what was she supposed to have done? Let the Fists walk out of there and chance never figuring out where they’d gone?

  She punched in AJ’s number.

  “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN, SHE ISN’T IN THERE?” PAX SHOT a glare at AJ as he exited the bar and rounded toward his bike.

  “She’s not at the bar. The owner said she took off because one of us had an emergency of some sort. ”

  Pax crossed his arms. “That makes no fucking sense. So why the hell did she leave the bar?”

  AJ shook his head. “No clue. Her bike isn’t parked where she left it when we were here earlier, so she’s obviously taken off. ”

  “Son of a bitch. ”

  AJ knew exactly how Pax felt. He was worried about Teresa. She should have known better than to leave by herself. And what reason could she have had for doing that? “You don’t suppose the Fists found her and hauled her out of there, do you?” he asked.

  “No. She’d have put up a fight in front of a lot of witnesses. There’s no way she’d have let that happen without causing enough of a fuss that others would have put a stop to it. ”

  AJ nodded. “You’re right. So why else would she leave?”

  His phone vibrated and he pulled it out of his chaps, relieved when he saw Teresa’s number come up. “Where the hell are you?”

  “I knew you were going to be mad at me. I found the Fists. ”

  He wasn’t mad. He was relieved she was okay. “Where are you? Where are they?”

  She told him what had happened and her location.

  “Don’t move, and for God’s sake, don’t attempt to contact them until we get there. ”

  AJ closed the phone and shoved it back into his jacket pocket.

  “What?” Pax asked. “She okay?”

  “Yeah. She’s fine. A dozen or so Fists showed up in the bar. When they left, she followed them to a campground about thirty minutes from here. ”

  “Oh. ”

  “That’s all you have to say is oh?”

  “Well, I don’t really like her going off on her own, but it was a smart move on her part. ”

  AJ dragged his hands through his hair. “I don’t like it. What if the guy who killed Larks spotted her?”

  “Obviously he didn’t, so give her some credit for thinking on her feet. ”

  “And going off by herself is what got her . . . hurt . . . before. ”

  Pax climbed onto his bike and turned to look at AJ. “What do you want to do, man? Build a bubble
around her or put a bodyguard on her who’ll be with her forever? You have to let her have her independence. ”

  “Independence is fine. This is different. She should have called us. ”

  “They’d have been gone by the time we got here. And we’d have lost a chance to find them. And Teresa isn’t stupid. She isn’t going to walk into a trap. ”

  AJ sighed. “I know. I just . . . worry about her. ”

  “So do I, but if you start pushing her into a corner and telling her the world isn’t safe, all you’re going to do is scare her. And then everything we’ve tried to do for her these past few days will be for nothing, because she’ll never get over what those assholes did to her. Women get raped in their own homes when their doors and windows are locked tight, AJ. What happened to Teresa had nothing to do with circumstance or location and you and I both know it. It was a calculated move by the Fists to get Joey’s attention and make him cave. It doesn’t mean she can never ride anywhere alone anymore. You have to give her some space. ”

  AJ stared at him for a few seconds. “You’re right. I do. But I won’t stop worrying about her. ”

  “I know, man. I know. ” Pax started up his bike. “Now let’s go find her. ”

  It was a long ride and it gave AJ entirely too much time to think about things, especially things related to Teresa. Like why he was so protective of her. Yeah, he understood he maybe felt responsible for what had happened to her five years ago. If he’d stayed put, if he hadn’t left, things might have been different. They might have stayed together, and he might have been with her that night. Maybe she would have never had to go through that trauma.

  And maybe the universe just didn’t work that way. But he couldn’t help feeling like he needed to be by her side now. Whether that had anything to do with him abruptly leaving all those years ago, he had no idea. All he knew was he craved being near her right now. And right now was pretty much where AJ’s world existed.

  They pulled into the lot and found Teresa’s bike tucked behind a motor home. She wasn’t near her bike though, so they had to hunt for her in the dark. AJ’s phone buzzed with a text message from Teresa that said she was near the ledge on the northeast side of the lot, by the trees leading down to the campground. He signaled Pax and they moved toward the front of the lot, spotting Teresa crouched down in the dirt.

  She was safe. That’s all that mattered.

  For now.

  SIXTEEN

  TERESA WAS GLAD TO SEE THE GUYS. IT WAS COLD AND DARK

  and she wasn’t afraid to admit??at least to herself—that she preferred their company to skulking alone in the darkness.

  “See them?” AJ asked as he got in position next to her, Pax next to him.

  Fighting back another shiver, she shook her head. “Too damn dark to see other than random shapes and campfires. I hear lots of partying going on, but I didn’t want to go into the campgrounds and risk being recognized. ”

  “Good call. ”

  “I’ll get the binoculars,” Pax said, pushing off and heading for his bike.

  “Tell me those are night vision,” Teresa said to AJ, watching Pax disappear into the darkness.

  “You know about night vision stuff?”

  She rolled her eyes. “I know some things. I do read and watch crime shows. ”

  AJ snickered. “Not quite the same thing as what you see on TV and read in books, but yeah, they’re night vision. ”

  Pax returned a few minutes later and nestled into a crouch next to Teresa.

  “I saw them drive down the main dirt road and dip over a hill. I didn’t see them turn so maybe they stayed straight on. ”

  Pax nodded, adjusting the binoculars to the left where the entrance to the grounds was. He swept them slowly over the camp. Teresa waited, biting her lower lip, not wanting to disrupt him, but oh she really wanted to take a look.

  “Here. ” Pax handed them to her.