by V. Theia
“So, is your boss around?”
Chains looked at him through a plume of smoke coming off the cigarette hanging from between his lips. He was pretty young for a VP, most probably Texas’ age of nearly thirty. Talk was he was tight with his own secrets.
“You looking to switch clubs?” He cackled.
Ah, so they hadn’t heard he was no longer a Souls.
That made sense now why Lawless emailed him.
“I got word you have something belonging to me.”
To an outsider it would be slightly deranged to lay claim to a woman, and a woman he hadn’t clapped eyes on since she had tiny teen tits and a crush in her eyes.
But this was a whole other world where if you didn’t lay claim to something, it could be easily taken and Texas wasn’t about to get walked all over by these misfits.
He might not be a fighter like Tag or a brawler like Snake and Preacher. And hell no he was not a down and vicious killer like Hawk or Lawless, but he’d learned some things over the years from his club brothers.
About intimidation and power.
As far as this club knew, he was still a Renegade Souls member and that title alone carried weight.
He arched an eyebrow at their VP as to if to say he was tired of waiting.
“The fuck? You’re the Tait guy?”
“Yeah. Now can I fucking see Axel, or do we have a problem?”
Chains cackled again and stubbed out his cig. “Nah, bro. We good. Come on, he’ll be glad to see you. Didn’t have a fucking clue it was you though.” Then he added. “Your girl is something else…”
Not easily provoked to violence, there were certain aspects that would have Texas throwing out fists and one of those reasons was the harm of any woman.
“She better be untouched.” He warned in a low shuddering voice.
As if by fate, chance or even kismet, right as he rounded a corner into their main area, full of men, booze, a loud TV and a lot of voices, he caught a glimpse of brown hair and then startled green eyes.
There was no way that arresting woman was the same Penelope Astor he’d once known.
Absolutely no fucking way.
But the way she rounded her wide eyes to resemble a stunned rabbit and then unfolded her legs from the couch and almost tripped over her own feet to race across the floor, he had a feeling he was looking at the newly grown up Penelope who he always called Poppy.
Something low in his gut tightened as he scraped his eyes over the too tight jeans, accentuating how full and rounded her hips were and the tank top fitted to her upper body like a second skin, showing her nipples through the white material. Her tits firm and high, also braless. She had her brown hair loose around her shoulders, flawless skin lightly dusted in a tan. And a giant diamond rock dangled off her left hand.
That explained the wedding gown.
Well, not fucking really, but it showed she was at least engaged.
Where the fuck was her man then?
Where were the Astor’s? They had more money than sense.
The last he knew; her father’s hedge fund was thriving.
He never wanted to keep up with gossip from back home, but somehow he always found himself looking up his old town sometimes online.
“Tait,” she whispered reverently just a few feet away from him, “you came…”
That same tugging burned in his belly the longer their gazes locked and Texas had to harden his stare as well as his jaw.
His first instinct was to grab her up and protect her with his body from all the deviants in this place, and he didn’t understand it whatsoever because for all intents and purposes he was a stranger to her. Though she didn’t look at him like a stranger.
She looked at him like he was a hero.
Far from it, little girl.
From behind her, he saw Axel’s daughter watching them with intrigue.
He wondered in his absence had the Butcher claimed the woman yet, he’d sulked over her for far too long already.
Switching his gaze back to Penelope he held out a warning hand before she did something stupid by throwing herself at him and he did something far worse by catching her. “Stay here,” he growled, darker than intended and she came to a sudden halt, hurt in her eyes.
And then he turned his back on her and continued to follow Chains to get this shit over with so he could pack her ass back on a plane and send her to her fiancé or husband, whatever.
This wasn’t his circus, nor his clown but he’d fix this mess for her.
Because at one time in their life, both him and Poppy were lonely kids who shared a loathing of all things Harrison society.
He let a thought build in his mind right before he walked into Axel’s office.
Had he not put his emotions into a viper of another girl, would he have fallen for a girl like Penelope? A sweet, loyal girl who looked at him like a hero and not a piece of scum.
He’d never know.
Life had taken Texas to a direction of his own making.
He didn’t shake Axel’s hand.
The man was about to shake him down for money, Texas wasn’t inclined to feel friendly one bit.
Luckily for Penelope, he had the means to set her free.
FOUR
“I didn’t know you could buy a socialite with Amazon Prime.” – Texas
“Texas is Tait? Why didn’t you say so before?”
Penelope heard Roux ask from behind her.
She was too busy dealing with her pumping heart to answer right away.
Her eyes still focused on the dimly lit hallway Tait disappeared down.
He looked different.
Less soft in his face.
All cut lines and sharp lips.
She knew he’d grow from cute to manly…rough. Somehow she’d known he’d age so well.
Locked around one single breath in her throat, her eyes still seeing his edgy walk even though he was no longer in sight.
He’d looked at her, not with a smile of recognition, but one of emptiness.
The stare robbed her breath because she somehow over the days, weaved a story in her head of how he’d play white knight and he’d be so happy to see her.
Stay here.
Even his voice sounded rougher than the one in her memories.
“I didn’t… I didn’t know his biker name. He’s always just been Tait to me.”
“You didn’t know his name? How long has it been since you’ve seen him?”
She turned then to find Roux watching her, nursing a bowl of half-eaten popcorn. The movie all but forgotten for Penelope.
She’d been so thrilled to see Tait; she about fell off the couch in her haste to hug him and thank God someone finally turned up for her.
Axel wanted her father’s contact information; she’d let him know with some trepidation how he wouldn’t get a penny from her family.
“I think I was seventeen the last real time, right before he left. I’ve seen him a few times since, but only fleeting from a distance.”
“Well it looks like you’ll be getting out of here, Cinderella.”
She whirled around. Her eyes unblinking, her chest thumping with the number of beats. “You think he’ll pay your dad?”
“Why else would Texas be here? The Renegade Souls aren’t really welcome, you get me?” Roux grimaced. “That guy is here for you.”
Without reserve, Penelope’s heart started an almighty racket inside her rib cage, until she couldn’t keep her feet still. She didn’t stay here as he growled, instead, she traced his steps, down the hallway.
What she heard outside of the biker leader’s office nearly had her falling down in a dead faint.
* * *
“Fuck, man. Didn’t know you were the guy we were looking for.” Laughed Axel, relaxed in the big leather chair he dwarfed with his size.
Texas didn’t laugh along with him. The guy was comfortable because he knew he was about to have a payday.
Not like Texas could leave h
er here.
Not as though he had the backing of the Souls to weigh in and use as a threat.
Far as he could see, he had only one choice and that was to buy her freedom.
“Look, I want you to know, this isn’t personal. She wandered in here like a damn prima ballerina, Texas. Big fucking wedding gown, shouting her mouth off about wanting to see who we now know is you.”
Texas thinned out his lips. His eyes unwavering.
Had this been the Raging Rebels, before the Renegade Souls disbanded them in the most violent of ways, he would have been worried about Penelope’s well-being.
Zara had been the unfortunate one to be enslaved by them for years, so yeah… he would have worried. Axel’s daughter was practically a female biker, though the Diablos didn’t take women members, so factoring that in, he had to figure they wouldn’t be raping women in front of her.
He still asked. He had no reason to use his manners, not when he was about to get extorted of a lot of fucking money. “I can take it she’s been looked after and not one of your boys has laid a finger on her.”
Axel smirked. “She’s as pure and as bratty as the day she tripped her princess ass in, brother.”
I’m not your brother, he wanted to say.
He didn’t have any personal beef with Axel.
Not like the Butcher did.
Didn’t mean he liked this.
It wasn’t right. He’d never use a woman, not even if he didn’t have a dollar to his name. Renegade Souls would never use a woman either.
But then, the Diablos were a different breed.
When Texas was deep in the lifestyle and watching this club fold under one member at a time, as they got collared for crimes he was telling his brother about, he knew Axel’s MC was losing money hand over fist.
Did it make it right now? Hell no.
But he’d pay for her.
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
Axel’s face sobered. “We don’t hurt baby girls. My goddamn daughter has been watching her for a week, Texas. She’s fine. It’s not personal, you get me? We seized an opportunity that came to us.”
Texas hardly showed a flicker of emotion, sitting with a desk between them.
“How much do you want?”
“100 G.”
Time was, he might have bartered, joked about the price being too rich for a Souls palette. But he wasn’t Souls anymore and he needed to accept that.
“You got bank details? I’ll make a straight transaction.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket.
“Gotta love the modern era, brother.”
It was then he heard a loud gasp and Texas turned his head to see Penelope in the crack through the doorway.
Pale and shock on her face.
Yeah, little girl, you’re costing me a pretty penny.
It took no time at all for Axel to see the money in his account and Texas climbed to his feet. “I won’t be happy if this happens again, do you understand, Axel?”
“Hey, man. Not looking to screw over the Souls. She didn’t want to give her daddy a call, said he wouldn’t care if she was here or not.”
He didn’t let his shock show, but he felt it inside.
The Astor’s always kept Penelope cocooned in a bubble.
Why would she tell Axel they wouldn’t care?
“So, what’s the connection there? She wouldn’t tell my girl how she knew you.”
“No offense.” Actually, a lot of offense, “but you just fleeced me for a hundred grand. I’m not giving you anything else.”
At this Axel laughed, rose to his feet with a nod. “No problem, Texas. I’d be the same. But gotta say, my little girl was in a place like this, as much of a pain in the ass she is, I’d break the fucking world to get her back. Gotta wonder why her daddy didn’t.”
It was something to think about, but Texas just wanted to get out of there.
He gave the other man a chin lift and walked to the door.
Penelope was no longer standing there but he found her in the main room with Axel’s kid.
She had a purse slung over her arm and a white garment bag in the other.
Her eyes were so expressive, it was impossible not to read what she was thinking.
She’d stumbled her princess ass into a world that could have easily chewed her up and spat her out and she would never have been the same again.
This thought alone made Texas’ jaw tighter than usual and his eyes turned flat at her stupidity.
Why come looking for him?
It wasn’t as though they were even Facebook friends.
He cut off ties with anyone from his old life and liked it that way.
“Let’s go, little girl.” He gruffed and proceeded to walk to the door.
He heard her gasp and then a fast goodbye with Roux and then the slap of tennis shoes behind him.
“Oh my God, can you just wait a second? I can’t walk as fast as you.”
He didn’t stop.
“Tait, hold up. What happened? Did you really pay to get me released?”
He turned suddenly and she almost smacked into his chest, if not for his quick reflexes catching the top of her arms, she would have broken her pert nose.
Electricity shot down both his own arms and he had to reason it was static energy.
“Get on my bike, Poppy. I’m taking you to the nearest train station or airport. Your choice.”
She visibly paled.
“What?”
“You’re going home. This is no place for you.”
“I … Tait. I can’t go home. I won’t go home.” She reaffirmed and shot her chin stubbornly in the air so she could look him in the eyes. And then didn’t she just put the cap on the bottle of fucked up juice by adding. “I came for a reason…well not here-here, but here. I want to claim asylum with you. You have to take me in.”
What.
The.
Mother.
Fuck?
FIVE
“Is there room at the Tait inn for a clumsy socialite?” – Penelope
“You want what now?”
“Asylum. It means to ask for shelter because you have nowhere else to go.”
“I know what it means. I want to know why you’re talking nonsense.”
Poppy’s shoulders rose almost to her ears at the tenor in his voice.
This was definitely not the boy she remembered.
He was sweet and kind and always laughing at something, mostly when he was showing off. She hadn’t seen this Tait smile once yet, and he wore deep lines etched into his forehead.
Not to mention the way he was looking at her like she’d grown horns or something.
She was sick of people making her feel pathetic. “It’s not nonsense, but thanks for making me feel like an idiot. You know what, you can drop me off at a bus station.”
As for colossal mistakes, Penelope was batting 2 for 2 so far this week.
Turning her back on him so he wouldn’t see her eyes mist over, she clutched her medium sized purse to her chest and took a few deep breaths she’d learned from all those stupid yoga classes her friends dragged her to.
“Where the hell is your stuff?”
She whirled around. That damn tone of his again.
She might be causing him untold aggravation, she might be a nuisance—God, she recognized it clearly, but she didn’t warrant that tone at all.
“This is my stuff, Tait. I didn’t stop to pack.”
The purse was useless seeing as she had no cash inside and she wanted to ditch the wedding gown but thought better of it when Roux told her to sell it.
He made a groaning noise; his hands went to his hips and he pointed his face to the sky before pinning her with his intense gaze.
How had he become more handsome?
He was taller than she remembered and his shoulders wider and his long torso tapered off to a trim waistline. He’d really grown up nicely.
She liked the banged up clothes on him. The leather and
denim made him seem like a badass. Nothing at all like those men inside. Sure, some were okay to look at, but none made her heart roll over with fast beats like Tait did.
His face was carved and so striking, he was perhaps six weeks past needing a shave, but it suited him somehow. The dark hair circling his thinned out lips and his vivid blue eyes that looked more navy in certain angles.
Yeah, he’d aged real nice had Tait.
She didn’t have that stupid crush any more, thank God.
Getting to Colorado and to Tait’s help had been her only thought for hours that day.
Looking at him now, with his sour expression and his thick eyebrows drawn down into a scowl and piercing eyes, she knew she’d made a mistake.
“You can take me to a bus station, thank you, I would appreciate it.”
She watched him swing his leg over the huge bike and belatedly realized he wasn’t here in a car with a roof and lockable doors she couldn’t fall out of.
He was riding a beast of a motorcycle.
“You got cash on you?”
Her chin went up. “I’ll manage.”
His sigh was a giant, put upon gust. “You don’t have your credit cards?”
“You mean daddy’s credit cards? No, he canceled them. Probably before I even got to the airport.”
“Jesus, Poppy. What the hell kind of trouble have you gotten yourself into?”
She shrugged, avoiding his eyes because she felt stupid under his scrutiny.
“It’s what happens when you go against an Astor, they outcast quicker than a blink.”
He wouldn’t understand how stifled she’d felt.
How she couldn’t breathe another moment in that charade.
“Climb on.”
She blinked. “Climb on that?”
“Yeah.”
She didn’t have control of her nervous stomach having never ridden a motorcycle before. Tait’s bike looked lethal and she didn’t run out on a two hundred thousand dollar wedding to be killed skidding across the road face first.
“Can’t we catch a cab?”
“Poppy, climb on, it’s safe.”
“Where do I put my stuff?”
He sighed, exasperated. “Keep it tucked on your lap and wrap your arms tight around my waist.”