ONE MORE RIDE

by Sophia Gray

  “Stephy!” Alexa, one of the longtime members, cried. “Come have a beer with us!”

  Grinning, I swaggered over to the corner of the room and grabbed a beer. We all toasted, threw our heads back and drank. This was the start of good times, and it felt so good to be celebrating. For once, I didn’t have a care in the world. I wasn’t worried about what would happen in the future; I knew that we’d be fine. I just knew it.

  “Steph,” Val said, low in my ear. “Look who just walked in.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Great,” I muttered. “Assholes.”

  There was a group of guys walking in. I recognized them immediately: Jungle’s Thorns. Jungle’s Thorns was one of our rival MCs in the city; they were up to the same business that we were, and we often fought for suppliers’ rights. I didn’t trust them further than I could throw them, and it was just like them to crash our party.

  “Hey, assholes,” I said in a sarcastic tone. “No men allowed, didn’t you see the sign?”

  I didn’t recognize any of the men and I thought they must be new members. They were all youngish, with scruff on their chins and cocky grins plastered on their faces. A rumble of anxiety went through my stomach as one of them reached his hand into the plastic bucket and pulled out a beer.

  “I’m entitled to a drink,” the man sneered. “I’m Nick, by the way.”

  I bristled. “And you’re leaving, by the way,” I snapped. “Out! Go!”

  “Stephy,” Jessica said in a whining tone. She ran up to me and grabbed my arm with both hands. “Come on, don’t be so hard. Can’t they stay?” She batted her eyelashes at one of the men and I rolled my eyes. “They’re just guys, they want to celebrate with us.”

  “Yeah,” Nick echoed. “We just wanna party with some cute girls for the night, why isn’t that okay with you, Boss Lady?”

  The other girls were looking at me hopefully. I could tell the only one on my side was Val.

  “Fine,” I snapped. “But don’t even think about doing something in the parking lot. Everything stays in here, not outside. No guns, no fireworks. You got that?”

  Nick grinned wolfishly. He pulled his gun out of his waistband and tossed it on the floor. “Sure thing,” he said with a smirk. “I’m gonna go talk to some of your fine ladies.”

  I watched as the other men helped themselves to beer and spread out, chatting up my fellow Succubi. A ripple of discontent went through me. It wasn’t fair! If my girls and I broke up a Jungle’s Thorns event, we’d be out the door before we could even exhale. But as women, we were just supposed to be thrilled when the men showed up to party with us?

  “Ugh,” I muttered quietly to Val. “I’m so fucking sick of men.”

  She laughed loudly. Val was a lesbian, and she shared my opinions of the men of LA. Even though I was straight, I didn’t think the men around were good for anything. They were all useless assholes that loved showing off. I knew that I could take better care of myself than anyone else could, and that was the most important thing in the world. I wasn’t going to lose my head over some asshole just because he looked good in a pair of leather chaps. I was done with that part of my life; it was over. Now I was responsible for a group of women and I wasn’t going to let them down, no matter what.

  “Me, too,” Val said slyly. She clinked the neck of her beer bottle against mine and looked deeply into my eyes. I shivered; even though I knew Val better than any of the other girls, she still had a way of unnerving me. We used to joke that if I was gay, I’d be head over heels in love with her. But I wasn’t, so sometimes she just made me vaguely uncomfortable.

  For the next couple of hours, I kept a wary eye over my flock as they drank and caroused with the Jungle’s Thorns members. Part of me—a very, very small part of me—was nervous that their leader would show up. Isaac Miller had been in charge of Jungle’s Thorns for years. Isaac Miller, that rat faced fuck. Isaac Miller, my first love.

  The two of us had been together as kids. We'd practically grown up in each other's backyard, and for a long time, I thought we were going to get married. But things hadn't worked out like that, and now I spent most of my time avoiding him. I wasn't even sure that he knew I was still in town. Things were different than they had been back in the day, much different. I was a different woman, with no time for flirtation or love.

  “Hey,” Alexa said to Val and me. She came up with a drunken smile on her face. “This is a great party, you guys.” She wrapped an arm around each of us and pulled us close. “I can’t believe we made it.” Alexa threw her head back and looked around the room, her smile growing wider by the second. “This is incredible.”

  “And it’s all thanks to Stephy,” Val said. She poked me in the ribs and I let loose laughing. It came out louder than I expected, and that was when I realized just how much I’d had to drink. More than I’d planned on having, that was for sure. I was going to have to spend the night at the clubhouse unless I wanted to wind up in the drunk tank.

  Nick walked up and put an arm around Alexa. He was already hammered—his eyes were barely open and his face was flushed bright red. “Hey,” he slurred in Alexa’s ear. “Whaddya say we go back to one of those bedrooms?”

  “Forget it, pig,” Alexa said. She lightly punched him on the shoulder. “I ain’t doing nothing with you, you gate-crasher.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous,” Nick slurred. “I was invited; I swear I was.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh yeah? By whom?”

  Nick looked right at Val. “Her,” he said, pointing at her broad chest. “This girl. She invited all of us, even Isaac.”

  I cringed. Even the sound of his name was too much for me to handle. "I doubt it," I said, dryly. "Val wouldn't want a bunch of men hanging around."

  “Oh yeah,” Nick said. He poured the rest of his beer down his throat. “She’s a dyke, I forgot.”

  The sound of Val punching Nick in the face was louder than it should have been. She moved so quickly that I barely noticed her powerful left hook connecting right with Nick’s jawline. Nick was on the ground in a matter of seconds, moaning and clutching his bloody face.

  “What the fuck did you do that for?” Nick whined, rolling around in a pathetic pile of limbs. “I didn’t say nothin’ to you!”

  Val spat on his prone figure. “Fuck you,” she said in a sotto voice. “I don’t have time for this shit. Stephy, I’m getting another drink.”

  Alexa looked at me with her eyes wide. “Wow,” she said. “I didn’t know this would be such a big mess.”

  I shrugged. “Forget it,” I said. “They’re not going to fuck with us. They know that they’re on our turf now.”

  “Hey,” one of the other Jungle’s Thorns guys said. He walked over and looked down at Nick. “What the fuck happened here?”

  I stood defensively, bracing with my legs shoulder-width apart. “Nothing you need to worry about,” I said as sharply as I could. “One of your men got a little fresh.”

  The guy laughed. When I glared, he almost looked guilty. “Sorry,” he said. He held out his hand. “I’m TJ,” he added. “VP of the club. Nice to meet you.”

  "Pleasure," I said sourly. We shook and then I pulled my hand back, stuffing it in my pocket. “So, what really brought you men here?”

  TJ shrugged. “We didn’t have shit to do tonight,” he replied. “And Nick told us about some chick biker party, we thought it would be fun.”

  I pursed my lips. “How did he find out?”

  TJ shrugged again. “I dunno,” he said, glancing down at Nick’s prone figure. “He said he was invited by one of the members.” When he saw the expression on my face, TJ rolled his eyes. “Don’t be such a bitch,” he said. “Some of your girls must like having men around sometimes.”

  “Right,” I said slowly. “I just don’t think any of the girls would have invited y’all here, you know? This was a celebration of us, of our MC. It wasn’t supposed to be some free-for-all fuck fest.”

  TJ laughed. “You’ve got a hell of a m
outh on you,” he said, almost admiringly. “Should I leave you alone?”

  I hated to admit it, but I wasn’t exactly in pain while talking to this guy. He was cuter than Nick, with dirty blond hair. He reminded me of Isaac, in a way that both thrilled and horrified me. I could see him and Isaac riding together, leading the Jungle’s Thorns into all sorts of trouble together.

  “You still running guns?” I asked softly.

  TJ looked surprised for a moment but then he nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s our main source of income.”

  “And everyone in the club is fine with it?”

  TJ looked uncomfortable. “I can’t really talk about this right now,” he said. Suddenly, his jaw dropped and he looked alarmed. “Hey,” he said, grabbing my arm. “One of your girls just fell down.”

  Chapter Two

  That night, I could barely sleep. Everyone except for Jessica and Val had gone back home, and we were all in the tiny bedrooms at the back of the clubhouse. Jessica had gotten so drunk that I feared she might actually have alcohol poisoning—she’d collapsed after a round of tequila shots and beer. She’d just dropped to the ground and passed out, and Val and I had wrestled her into one of the back rooms. Jessica hadn’t even known where she was; she was rolling her head around and babbling incoherently as Val and I tucked her into bed. Even after she’d thrown up a couple of times, I knew she wasn’t going to be enjoying herself much in the morning.

  There was a knock on the door. “Yeah?” I called.

  Val stepped in. Her dark skin looked almost black in the low light of the room. “Hey,” she said softly. “Have time for a talk?”

  I nodded. That bad feeling was coming back stronger than before, but I still couldn’t place it. “Yeah,” I said. I patted the bed next to me and Val sat down.

  “Those guys were here for some reason,” she said darkly, staring straight ahead at the wall. It was covered with photos of us Succubi in our gear, posing with our bikes. “They didn’t just show up for the free booze.”

  I bit my lip. I wanted to agree with her, but it seemed a little hyperbolic. After all, Nick and TJ hadn’t been bad guys. Just cocky ones with big mouths.

  “I don’t know,” I said finally. “Maybe they did just show up. Jessica has a big mouth, you know, she could have told one of them.”

  Val sucked her teeth. “I didn’t say shit,” she said defensively.

  I stared at her. “Never said you did,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “So what’s this about?”

  “You ever think about moving the club in another direction?”

  I shook my head. “We’re doing fine,” I replied. “Better than fine, actually. You know how hard we’ve worked to really bring ourselves back from the dead. And here we are better than ever.”

  Val looked at me and I shivered again. Her dark eyes had a way of making me feel hypnotized, like she and I were the only two people in the world. “That ain’t what I’m talking about,” she said in a low voice. “I’m talking about really thinking about who belongs here and who doesn’t.”

  My mind immediately went to Jessica. I knew that Val didn’t like her, didn’t trust her, and didn’t want her around. But I couldn’t just kick someone out of the MC for no reason, especially someone like Jessica. She’d been on probation for a year and she had recently been patched in as a full member. Ditziness aside, I liked her. I thought she was going to prove to be a really valuable member of the MC, and I thought she was probably a lot sharper than she looked.

  “I know you don’t like Jessica,” I said, “but I want to evaluate her and see how she performs. Now that she’s no longer on probation, I expect pretty great things from her. And she’s never done us wrong, Val. She knows how politics in an MC work. She grew up around one, for fuck’s sake.”

  Val shook her head. “I ain’t talking about Jessica,” she said. “I’m talking about Alexa.”

  “What?” I frowned. “Alexa’s been here for ages, and she’s a good member.”

  Val laughed. “No she ain’t,” she replied. “She invited those assholes here tonight. I just know she did. And you’re really gonna stand for that? I thought you didn’t want those guys here.”

  “I didn’t,” I said. “But they didn’t do anything wrong. They were fine. Everything was fine, and I don’t think Alexa invited them. Hell, that one said it was you.”

  “Stephy,” Val said. “Come on, you really think I’d do that?”

  I glanced away. I didn’t think she would—at least, I didn’t want to. But Val could be manipulative, and I knew that she didn’t think she was getting her way as often as she wanted it.

  “I don’t know,” I said finally. “I need to sleep. You mind?”

  Val got up and left in a huff. She could be like this sometimes, more dramatic than three women put together. I didn’t like her bitchiness, but I knew she was probably just trying to help.

  It took me a long time to fall asleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Val had said. I couldn’t stop thinking about Jessica either. Maybe Val had been right, maybe we never should have patched her in. Maybe I should completely redesign the MC.

  “Candace,” Isaac said in a sharp, soft voice. “Wake up!”

  I opened my eyes slowly. Isaac was on his knees, kneeling by the side of my bed. “What are you doing here?” I asked softly. “It’s late.”

  Isaac grinned a heartbreaking smile. His green eyes sparkled in the dim light of my room. “It’s early, more like,” Isaac said with a grin. “It’s a little before five.”

  I groaned audibly, forgetting that my parents were in the next room. I was seventeen years old again, and Isaac had snuck into my room. My parents, in a spectacular feat of oversight, had put a rose trellis right underneath my bedroom window. Ever since Isaac and I had started dating at the age of fourteen, he’d snuck into my room almost nightly. Part of me didn’t think I could sleep without his comforting gaze, without his soft touch and his perfect green eyes. I didn’t even worry about getting caught any longer—we’d been doing this for years.

  “Come on,” Isaac urged. “Get up.”

  As I sat up and climbed out of bed, I blushed. It was the middle of summer and I’d taken to sleeping in a thong. Isaac’s eyes glanced over my body appreciatively. I felt a tingle of arousal pulse between my legs. Isaac and I had been sleeping together for two years, and I was absolutely crazy about him. If my parents hadn’t been asleep down the hall, I probably would have pulled him right back into bed with me.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Isaac said softly. “But it’s too close to when their alarm goes off.”

  I grinned. Isaac and I could almost always read each other’s minds. It was a product of growing up as siblings, closer than two human beings were supposed to be. It was our way of staying as close as we could.

  I dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a light tank top. Isaac handed me a lightweight jacket as I swung my body over the window frame and nimbly climbed down the rose trellis. The roses were just beginning to bloom and the fragrance was heavenly. I felt like I was in a beautiful, wonderful dream.

  “I want to take you somewhere special,” Isaac said into my ear. I shivered as his breath tickled my skin. Just being this close to him was giving me shivers all over my body and I didn’t want him to stop touching me. When Isaac moved away, I felt my heart thump against my ribs.

  “Okay,” I said softly. “Where are we going?”

  “Close your eyes,” Isaac said. “I have a surprise for you.” He took me by the hand and led me through the yard. I could feel the grass turn into asphalt, and then I knew we were by the road.

  “What is it?” Isaac’s hand was over my eyes but I was dying to see.

  Finally, he removed his hand. “You can open your eyes now,” Isaac said with a flourish. When I looked at what was sitting in the driveway, I gasped. It was the most beautiful motorcycle I’d ever seen—shiny black and chrome with new tires.

  “Oh my god,” I squealed. �
�This is incredible! Did you buy this?”

  Isaac grinned. He wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close and nuzzling into my hair. “I did,” he said softly. “But I didn’t buy it for me.”

  His words didn’t sink in for a second; my eyes were closed and my face was buried in his neck. “Oh, my god,” I repeated. “Is this for me?”

  Isaac nodded. “It’s your birthday present,” he said. “I know you turn eighteen in a couple of weeks, and this was the only thing that I could think of getting you.”

  I gasped and shrieked before my legs kicked into gear and I ran over to the bike, hugging it tightly and running my hands over the fenders and wheels. “This is incredible,” I said again. “Isaac, this is too much! I don’t deserve this!”