Long Ride (Riding with Honor)

by Avery, Rebecca

  Long Ride

  Other Books in this Series

  Rough Ride

  Slow Ride

  Wild Ride

  Long Ride

  Riding with Honor series book 4

  Rebecca M. Avery

  This is an original publication of Rebecca M. Avery

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are being used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2012

  Rebecca M. Avery

  Cover Design by George Guignet (Miserable George)

  miserableg@mindspring.com

  All Rights Reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.

  Library of Congress Catalog

  ISBN- 978-1484173695

  Long Ride

  Rebecca M. Avery

  To Amanda whose enthusiasm inspired me to continue this series through to the end and to Derek for encouraging me to follow a dream. This series has been one rough, slow, wild and long ride and I thank you both for joining me on the journey.

  Chapter One

  “We are not going to wreck and die,” Rebecca Waters said, letting off the gas pedal just a bit.

  The man could push her buttons like no one else. What it was about him that made her bristly, argumentative and hateful she couldn’t exactly say, but something about him sparked those reactions in her. Was it the way he teased her? The way he stood too close? Or his constant jokes about letting her have her way with him? She couldn’t say for sure, but at this rate she’d be brought up on murder charges by the time they made it to Florida.

  “Last I checked you’re supposed to look before you change lanes,” Richard Long, or ‘Dickie’ as he was known to his friends, said to her with that stupid grin on his face that made her weak in the knees.

  He was by far the most attractive man she’d seen in twenty years with dark hair that had a little salt and pepper look to it and the most amazing blue eyes. Tall and broad shouldered, Dickie towered over her and was in really good shape for his age that was for sure. You just couldn’t help but take a second or even third look at him. If she could just look but not have to listen to him talk she’d be all set.

  Listening to him talk was enough to make her want to hold him down and force him to quit saying the things he said. As much as that thought sent a small shiver through her, it also garnered images better left alone. Now she was stuck in a car with him for a day or more as they made their way from New York, where her life was, to Florida, where he was from. Then she would be stuck with him for the remainder of the weekend upon their arrival.

  “Why don’t you read or sleep. You forget I’m used to New York City traffic. I think I can handle driving on the highway,” she frowned at him.

  “You ever tried to read on a rollercoaster ride? Because that would be the equivalent to this right here,” he said, pointing at his seat and grinning again. Leaning back, he stretched his long legs as best he could and looked out the passenger window for a few minutes before looking back to her.

  Why did he stare at her? Anytime he was around she could feel his blue eyes burning her skin, leaving it flushed and fevered.

  “I’m ignoring you then,” she replied smartly

  “You can’t ignore me… and that makes you crazy,” he said with his lopsided grin that drew her gaze to it no matter how much she tried to ignore it. Damn him for being right!

  Don’t argue…don’t argue. “You’re right… it is hard to ignore you because you are so intellectually stimulating and witty,” she said with equal parts of sweetness and sarcasm.

  “Nah… that’s not it... you like the way I look and you’re wondering how much this moustache of mine would tickle in certain places. That’s why you can’t ignore me,” he said with a smug smile.

  “Oh yes, that’s exactly why,” she replied sarcastically, nodding her head to confirm.

  “I’m at your service… you’ve only to ask, babe,” he laughed with a twinkle in his eye. “Imagine feeling this on those creamy thighs of yours,” he finished, stroking his mustache and chin with one hand.

  “Don’t call me babe,” she said hotly. She was going to end up with a headache from biting her tongue and grinding her teeth. It was hard to tell if he was kidding or not sometimes. He said things that sounded like a come-on but then he smiled the mischievous smile of the devil and it was hard to tell.

  “You’re thinking about that very thing right now aren’t you?” he asked with a sexy grin and then leaned forward to get a better look at her face.

  Actually that thought ran second place only to wondering if he was really as deadly as her brother had indicated he was. Would he keep her safe or turn out to be more of a danger than the man who was stalking her?

  Dickie seemed like nothing more than a rebel… with his nice fitting jeans, work boots, a T-shirt that hugged his chest and the chain he attached to his wallet and brought around to a front belt loop. Crap! She was staring again and had to force her eyes back on the road.

  His hair was too long and appeared as though the unruliness that surrounded him extended to that as well. Half the time she wanted to run her fingers through it to see if it felt as silky soft as it looked and the other half of the time she wanted to try and tame it. As if taming him was possible. He had the market on the image of a rebel bad boy and surprisingly she could hardly keep from looking at him. A moth to a flame.

  God this was going to be a long trip. Her brother Greg Sanders was a Detective with the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and had investigated Dickie’s friend Lilly Jackson’s late husband. The illegal activities Lilly’s dead husband had been involved in included a corrupt FBI agent.

  The agent had followed Lilly to Florida to keep her from testifying in the criminal case. Lilly’s new husband Bobby Jackson and his employee Chuck Reynolds beat the guy within an inch of his life. So Greg called in a favor to her, asking for her to keep Bobby and Chuck from being charged with assault… and that’s how she’d met Dickie.

  While she’d been helping Bobby and Chuck with their legal troubles from that incident, their friend Tommy McMurray had asked for her help with gaining custody of his youngest daughter Melody.

  Then when the group had come to New York for the criminal trial of the FBI Agent, she’d been talked into working to find Chuck’s real parents as he’d just landed a very lucrative painting contract with one of the premiere art galleries in New York

  Helping this group of rowdy men didn’t bother her really… in fact it was an eye opener into the life of an unruly biker. When it was all said and done, she liked Dickie… and his friends… and found that it was a great insight into the way the other half lived… those people who didn’t have an image to uphold or people to impress. Like her.

  She particularly liked the women from this group of misfits. Lilly was silly and her laugh could make anyone and everyone else join in. Dana Atkinson was Tommy’s girlfriend and she had a big heart and was one of the sweetest people you would ever meet.

  Meredith Johnson was Chuck’s girlfriend and she was smart, witty and just perfect for the young man. Lilly’s sister Sherri was the no nonsense sort who told it like it was every time. Bobby’s grandmother Edna was a wise old woman who somehow managed to keep all of them in line.

  Her life had been endless days of court cases, charity events and high class parties. She’d spent the past twenty years building her legal practice into one of the best in the country. Then with one call from Greg she’d been thrown in
with Dickie and his friends.

  They were more like some big extended family that all centered on the motorcycle repair shop that Bobby owned and the guys all worked at, along with Lilly. Meredith was now helping out part time as well and they were trying to hire more help and expand. For some reason they had all taken a liking to her, especially Chuck.

  Her brother Greg was saving to purchase a custom built bike from their shop. He was almost eligible to retire from law enforcement having worked at the Sheriff’s department since he’d graduated from the academy in his early twenties.

  Being three years younger than her at forty-five, Greg seemed to be experiencing a mid-life crisis or something. A motorcycle… really?

  Though she appreciated Greg’s concern for keeping her safe from a man who was stalking her and making threats against her life, choosing Richard Long had been very hard for her to accept.

  Though it was obvious that the man stalking her was the same man who had spent the past twenty five years behind bars for murder, right now law enforcement only had circumstantial evidence. Therefore, Greg was hell bent on ensuring her safety until they had enough to charge the man with something that would stick.

  In her twenties Becca had come straight out of college after passing the bar exam and landed her first job as a public defender. Back then she’d been fresh faced and ready to make a difference for those less fortunate or those who had simply made a mistake… people like Chuck.

  That hadn’t been reality though and she’d been completely unprepared for Roger Schmidt’s case. The evidence was stacked against him and she’d had nothing to contribute to his defense. He’d done it and wasn’t the least bit remorseful.

  It had been a slam dunk for the prosecution but Roger had told her that when he got out he’d make her sorry for letting them send him away for half of his life. That day of reckoning had come when Roger was released from prison a couple of weeks ago.

  Now the only thing standing between her and Roger was the man who sat to her right with his window rolled all the way down. He reminded her of a dog with its head hanging out to enjoy the wind.

  He’d drove the first six hours until she’d insisted that he allow her to do her fair share of the driving since he’d refused to fly down… she’d even offered to pay his airfare. He’d tuned into a Motown radio station and appeared settled in for the long ride ahead.

  “Talk to me, woman, or I’m going to start singing,” he threatened.

  “Excuse me?” she asked in disbelief. Woman?

  “Talk…” he said drawing out the word, “tell me why a sweet little piece like you isn’t married?”

  She felt her mouth hang open at his terminology and she hadn’t even quite recovered from his ‘woman’ comment yet. Forcing her eyes back on the road she said, “That is none of your business, Mr. Long.”

  “Divorced, huh?” he said matter of fact. “Bet you ripped that bastard a new one in court.”

  How could she answer that? It really wasn’t his business but actually her divorce had been more painful for her…mentally and physically. She’d walked out of her marriage with nothing but the clothes on her back and never looked back.

  It had taken her nearly eight years to get up the nerve to file for divorce, then another two years for it to be finalized and that was after spending ten years in hell.

  Her ex-husband Brian was the sole reason she didn’t defend abusers of any kind. It seemed strange to sit in her office with people charged with fraud or even murder and not be the slightest bit concerned, but the mention of a domestic violence case and she was a mess…just that easy.

  That was probably why Greg was so hell bent on keeping her safe from Roger. He felt responsible for not forcing her to do something about Brian the first time he’d slapped her. She’d thought when her divorce was finalized last year that the past was finally behind her, only for Roger to then get released from prison. Would it never end?

  “You’re a petite little thing…what are you about 5’3”… size ten?” he asked.

  “How could you possibly know that? Did you go through my things?” she asked before she could stop herself.

  Laughing he said, “No, I worked as a bouncer in a strip joint back in my early twenties and those girls taught me a lot.”

  “Am I supposed to be impressed?” she asked angrily.

  “Nope, you’re just supposed to talk. I must confess though, I don’t much hear what comes out of that sexy mouth of yours but I sure do like to look at it while those lips are moving… mmm,” he replied. “Kind of feel like a teenager on the cusp of manhood… randy even.”

  That was it! He was being ridiculous and it was going to stop now. They weren’t even half way to Florida and she wasn’t going to listen to his sexy talk for the rest of the trip. She managed to get over two lanes and still hit the exit ramp and then paused briefly for the stoplight at the end. Randy indeed!

  A small part of her thrilled at the fact that this sexy, good looking man was willing to admit that he wanted her, if he was being serious, but she smacked that thought back down. It had been a very long time since she’d had any interest… a physical reaction to someone other than fear or anger, but she could swear his words were doing just that… making her react... physically.

  “Slow down, babe… I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I want you too but damn… I don’t want to die!”

  Whipping the car into a gas station she stopped and put the car into park. Her knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tightly. Part of her wanted to wrap her fingers around his neck, but a bigger part of her wondered if she did… would she choke him or kiss him. Damn him!

  Glancing over she saw he was looking in the passenger side mirror. What was he looking at?

  “Not to worry, I think you lost them with your reckless exit ramp stunt,” he said, glancing over at her. “But I will be doing the driving for the rest of the trip since I have no desire to die. Not to mention playing bump and grind with another car on the highway is not acceptable, especially with you in the car.”

  Just when she had settled on being angry at him he did this sort of thing. Dropping yet another bombshell, indicating they were being followed. Having lived alone for so long it was hard to switch gears that fast. Had he said all those things just to get her to pull off the highway? If so, why hadn’t he just told her they were being followed?

  He got out of the car, made his way around the front and over to her side to open the door. He was an imposing man and if not for his breathtaking eyes and sexy grin he’d be downright scary.

  “Slide on over or get out and go around… we need to go… now,” he said.

  Stunned, she maneuvered herself ungracefully over the console and into the passenger seat. She watched as he slid behind the wheel. After buckling up he exited the gas station and drove out of town rather than getting back on the highway. He was serious… someone had been following them and he was even now looking for an alternate route. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she couldn’t breathe.

  “Breathe, darlin’… you’re safe with me,” he said, glancing at her quickly and then reaching over he linked his fingers with hers.

  He hated the look of fear that was now painted across her pretty face. He hadn’t wanted to tell her at all but she needed to be aware. If she was going to fall apart he’d rather it be now than when he was face to face with the man responsible for putting that look on her face. He held her trembling hand in his own and she allowed it. She must be truly afraid…either that or hell had finally frozen over.

  After several minutes of silence she said, “Was it…?”

  “Not sure but whoever it was had a nice ride and an even better tint job on the windows,” he said, glancing in the rearview mirror again.

  “Are you sure… I mean… that someone was following us?” she asked.

  “Yea, the driver exited the highway right behind us when we stopped for gas and to trade off driving,” he said. “Then he
parked down the street and waited for us to get back on the highway before filling his own tank and then driving like a bat out of hell to catch back up to us.”

  “How long had the car been following us?” she asked quietly.

  “Not sure, only noticed it after crossing into Virginia,” he said and then looked over at her and grinned. “That’s the only reason I finally obeyed your demands to drive. Then when the car pulled that stunt and caught back up to us way too quickly, I was sure of it.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me when you first knew?” she asked after a few more minutes of silence.

  “Because your anger excites me, where your fear does not,” he said grinning. God teasing her was fun!

  A look passed her hazel eyes for a moment and rather than the piercing disapproval she normally blessed him with, a softened glow reflected there. This new look of hers warmed his insides just as much as her stern, disapproving ones did.

  His body reminded him that at fifty he was still a very virile man and appreciated a pretty, well-built woman. Her body was made for loving… not a bunch of bones with skin stretched across. She had curves meant to turn a man’s head.

  “Can’t you be serious for a minute?” she asked, rolling her eyes. “Or better yet, act your age?”

  She was back with him again, having returned from her thoughts and fears.

  “I am serious,” he said, giving her a serious look. “When you’re mad at me and all that fiery passion you keep a tight rein on gets unleashed, it excites me and makes me want to keep doing whatever it is that has you all hot and bothered. When you’re scared it just makes me want to hurt something… badly.”

  He didn’t miss the smile that she tried to hide behind her hand. She was beautiful with blond, shoulder length hair and hazel eyes that sometimes looked orange or light brown and sometimes green, depending on her mood. He noticed that compared to the last time he’d seen her at the custody hearing for Tommy’s daughter Melody, she looked tired…really tired.