“Let’s go, it’s gettin’ late,” Liam said low in her ear.
They got up and left the club, walking into the warm, muggy night. Once at his bike, he handed her the helmet she had worn on the way over. Before putting it on, she leaned into his body, wrapping her arms around his waist.
“Thanks for this. You’re right, I’ve never done anything like this before, and I had a great time.”
He brought his hand up to her cheek and brushed her hair out of her face. “You’re welcome. Next time, we’ll go a little bit lighter on the booze huh?”
She giggled, still feeling a little loopy from it. She blamed that for what she did next. Standing on tiptoe, she crushed her lips to his, sweeping her tongue against the opening of his mouth. When his hands tucked into her hair, she pulled away and got on the back of his bike.
Getting on the front, he felt her arms wrap around his waist, and he took a moment to put his hands on her thighs and squeeze. It was a comforting gesture and she loved it. Turning his head over his shoulder, he kissed her once more before starting the bike and heading off into the night.
Chapter Seventeen
Two days later, Liam sat at the clubhouse while the group tried to figure out what exactly Richard Joyce had to do with their rival’s business. They had brainstormed since Denise had provided them with the intel. Deciding to take a few days to do some reconnaissance, they were now back to speculating about Joyce’s involvement.
“What the fuck does he even do now?” Tyler asked, cracking his knuckles and frowning as he thought about the man that had once been their brother.
“Good question,’ Liam praised him. “Steele, work your magic.”
The group sat back for a few minutes, allowing the computer expert to do what he did best. If there was anything in the world that could be found out about another person, Travis Steele would find it.
“Huh, what the fuck do you know?”
“Do share with the rest of the class,” William said as he walked into the clubhouse and had a seat next to his son. He had been scarce since the evening he spent with Lauren, knowing that Liam would be uneasy about it.
“He’s in the banking industry.”
“What the fuck, someone gave him access to money?” William laughed. “He had a gambling problem when he was a member. Wonder how he passed that background check?”
“This is even more interesting. He’s got calls placed to someone we all have in common. Meredith Rager.”
The group groaned. “I am so sick of her,” Liam complained, running a hand through his hair. “If I never hear that name again it will be way too fucking soon. Speaking of which, Tyler don’t forget, we got to go sign off on that class so that we don’t have to go to court on those bullshit charges.”
“I’ll go do it tomorrow. So what’s the connection?” Tyler asked, trying to take the heat off of Meredith. For some reason he liked the nosey reporter, but he didn’t need to tell everyone his feelings.
Travis raised an eyebrow. “It’s also the same bank that Denise uses. I’m beginning to think he’s watching deposits and alerting the reporter as to who we may have working for us. Didn’t you say that reporter paid Denise a visit after we gave her the money for helping us out?”
“But what would that do for him?” Liam asked. “Let’s talk this out. What’s he doing this for? What’s his motivation?”
“Trying to play both sides of the coin? He’s involved with us since he’s watching deposits at Denise’s bank and presumably feeding Meredith info. He’s involved with the Vojnik because he purchased land for them, then quit claimed the properties to them.” Tyler tried working it out.
“Good question, maybe Ms. Rager knows,” William interjected.
“Let me go talk to her,” Tyler said, looking at the group as a whole.
Everyone looked at him uncomfortably. Tyler was a force to be reckoned with and one of the most physically dominating members of the club. No one wanted to cross him or piss him of. Liam could see the looks on the faces of the other members.
“Why don’t you and I take a walk Ty?”
Tyler nodded, and the two of them got up, walking outside for some privacy.
“I don’t want to hear whatever shit you’re gonna spew at me,” Tyler threatened.
“I am your vice president. You will speak to me with respect or so help me God, Blackfoot, I’ll knock your motherfuckin’ teeth out. Best friend or not. You be careful with this woman. I know you’ve got some sort of misguided hard-on for her, and I’m not sure why. You make her understand that working against us will cause her nothing but trouble. Do you understand?”
The Native American ground his teeth together. He hated being reprimanded, especially by his best friend. “I got it.”
“Make her understand, because neither you nor I can protect her if she goes down. You know that as well as I do. If she’s fucking around with us, she’s fucking around with them. I think we’re the least of her worries, but at the same time, I don’t want her blood on our hands.”
Tyler nodded and headed for his bike. He knew what his VP said was true, not only speaking as the VP but as his friend. He just wasn’t sure he could make her understand. She was hungry for the attention and recognition that exposing the two clubs would bring her, and that was dangerous.
Meredith sat in front of her laptop, pencil in her mouth as she wrote her script for that night’s newscast. This one was pivotal. She would be exposing secrets of the two clubs, and this was sure not only to put her on the map but to put a bounty on her head. She thought she was ready for whatever it brought her – even if it meant the end of her friendship with Denise or a bullet to the head. A knock on her door sounded, and she cursed loudly, locking the laptop before getting up and answering it.
“What the hell do you want?” she asked Tyler as he pushed his way inside.
“This is the last time I’m gonna be able to warn you, and you better take it fuckin’ seriously. Whatever you have on us and the Vojnik, you forget. You are going to get yourself on the bad side of a lot of people. I’m telling you now, you are going to get hurt.”
Her heart pounded in her throat, but she couldn’t let him see her sweat. “Why are you warning me?”
His dark eyes flashed as his mouth sat in a grim line. It was obvious even to her that he had feelings for her, she just wasn’t sure what they were. “For some reason, I feel responsible for you. I feel like maybe I shouldn’t have used the information you gave us. I think you’re a beautiful woman who has a head for what you love to do, but you’re walking a dangerous line, Meredith. Some of these men are cold-blooded killers, and they will snap you in half if you so much as look at them wrong. You have no idea who you’re messing with here.”
She appreciated his warning and she even appreciated him looking out for her, but she had to do this. It was not only her job, it was her pride in that job being done well.
“It’s my job to report the truth.”
“Who told you it’s the truth? How do you know? Tell me what information you have, and I’ll tell you if it’s the truth.” He was very close to begging, something he never did.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’d like me to tell you everything I know so that you can use it to your advantage. I’m not whoring myself out for your club, Tyler Blackfoot. You want to know exactly what I have? Watch the 6 o’clock news. I’ll be reporting it then.”
He closed his eyes and fisted his hands. He wanted to shake her and scream at her to think. These were men who had served hard time. They wouldn’t think twice about hurting or killing a woman. Throwing his hands up in the air, he turned around because he couldn’t bear to face her anymore.
“I can’t protect you once this news hits, I’m warning you of that right now. I have to do what my club tells me to.”
She wanted so badly to tell him the secrets she knew. He really was a good guy, and in another life they may have dated. He, with his larger than life personality and mov
ie star good looks. They appealed to her, and if she wasn’t who she was and he wasn’t who he was, they really may have made a go of it.
“I’m not asking you to protect me, but I appreciate the sentiment.”
“Then so be it. I’ve done everything I can think of to warn you off of this. I’ve done my duty. When you get scared, don’t call me and sure as hell don’t ask for my help.”
Those words made her want to cry. He really was writing her off. He was giving up on her. “I won’t.”
The two of them gazed at each other for long moments before he grabbed her hand, bringing the back of it up to his lips for a soft kiss.
“Be careful,” he warned.
“You too.”
She stood at the door, watching him leave. It felt final, and that scared her. Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life? Shaking her head, she went back to her story. It no longer held the promise of her fame. It now seemed like it would be the gunshot that would take her to her grave.
Chapter Eighteen
“Breaking news tonight at 6. Investigative reporter Meredith Rager exposes outlaw biker gangs in and around South Central Kentucky.”
Denise felt sick to her stomach as she sat with the group of bikers, and probably over half the town, ready to tune in for what was promising to be a big announcement. Tyler had let her know that he’d gone earlier to warn Meredith, to let the woman know that whatever she thought she knew was probably not the truth. Denise’s heart sank when he told her that Meredith had blown him off. They hadn’t been great friends, but Meredith had been a neighbor, and she genuinely liked the younger woman. This had bad written all over it.
“Doesn’t seem like you did your job too well, brother,” William reprimanded as he glared at Tyler.
“That woman is a bulldog. I did what I could. She’s bound and determined to have her body sliced apart and stuffed in different dumpsters around the county. Who are we to stop her?”
Liam knew by looking at his friend that not being able to talk her out of this had upset him. It had cut deeper than the big man let on. Tyler kept his feelings very close and hardly ever let anyone in. As well as they knew each other, there were still some times that Liam didn’t really have a good bead on him.
“You know where this is headed.”
The woman’s face they were talking about appeared on the television screen. Tyler could tell she was nervous. It was evident as he looked in her eyes. She bit her bottom lip as she waited for the cue that would let her know it was her turn to begin speaking. He could see the fear in her eyes, the uneasy way they darted back and forth between the teleprompters.
“Thanks, Brent,” she smiled shakily at the co-anchor for the night. “A year-long investigation into local outlaw motorcycle gangs – the Vojnik and the Heaven Hill MC – has revealed many shocking secrets.”
Collectively, the group watching the newscast leaned forward, almost as if they could hurry her along. They were just as eager as the general public to learn the info she had.
“Many will remember the body of a man that was found by a natural gas crew laying new pipeline earlier this year. News Center can exclusively reveal that man’s name and who is taking credit for the murder.”
On screen, Meredith stalled and took a deep breath. This had all seemed so easy when she was researching and writing it. Now, she felt as if her heart was about to beat out of her chest, and she had a bull’s-eye painted in the middle of her forehead. Her hands shook as she shuffled her paperwork, and it was on the tip of her tongue to lie about the information she had sitting in front of her. No one would really know, she argued with herself. But it was her job to be truthful and to report the news.
“The body was that of prominent Bowling Green businessman and city councilman Jeffrey Norris who went missing fifteen years ago amidst reports he was taking bribes from the Heaven Hill MC.”
As those words left her mouth, there was a loud explosion, and the screen went black.
Silence reigned over the group for a full minute as they processed what they had seen before they all jumped up and began talking at once. Over the excited chatter, William’s authorative voice rose.
“Turn that goddamn police scanner on.”
Fumbling to do as he said, Steele turned it up so that they could all hear.
“Dispatch to all essential personnel, there has been an explosion at News Center studios. I repeat, an explosion at News Center studios. Injuries are unknown, fatalities are unknown, damage is unknown. Everyone must report. Local hospital is on alert!”
The enormity of what had just happened sank into the group and Liam looked at Denise. “We have club business to discuss, you gotta go.”
Tears clogged her throat. This was scary business, and she had no idea what was going on. She wasn’t sure who she was more worried for, Meredith or Liam. “Do I go home or wait for you outside?” she asked, her speech thick with fear.
“You can go wait for me at home. Call Roni and get her to come keep you company. I’ll walk you out,” he said softly, trying to soften this turn of events.
He wanted to punch someone, he was so pissed. She had just told him that she felt safe, and they had just had a good night out. And now this shit? He prayed this wasn’t a deal breaker for her.
“I’ll be right back,” he told the club as he took her hand and walked them out to where his truck sat.
She cursed herself because she still relished the feel of his hand on the small of her back. In reality, she knew she should be scared to death. These men had just been revealed to her as killers. It was weird, she still felt safe in this setting. She wasn’t sure if that would ever change.
“This wasn’t us,” he whispered softly as he turned her around to face him. She leaned against the driver’s side door of his truck and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Really? Because right now, it seems like it is.” Her eyes searched his blue ones, hoping to find the man she knew, not the one who needed to go deal with a bombing. She knew he was in there, and she wanted him to take her into his arms and assure her that everything would be okay.
“I can’t explain this to you right now, but I will when I get home. I promise you that.” He was making promises and almost begging – this woman had him by the balls.
Denise kicked herself mentally because she knew she sounded like a petulant housewife. “And when will that be?”
A heart stopping grin plastered itself on his face. “Do you realize just how much you sound like an old lady right now?”
That pissed her off. Was he inside her head now? “The hell I am.”
“The hell you aren’t. Get used to it.”
A million horses couldn’t stop the smile that spread across his face as he put her in the truck after kissing her on the forehead. Tapping the hood, he sent her on her way before going back inside to deal with the shit storm that had just landed at their feet.
Minutes later, Denise pulled up to the house. For the first time, she felt fear. They had left a light on, and she glanced up the porch through the front door to make sure it was still shining brightly. Noting that it was, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Jogging up the stairs, she checked in on the kids who were both asleep in their beds. That was a huge weight off her shoulders, to know that they were safe.
On her way home, she’d placed a call to Roni, and the other woman was coming over. It was late, but she knew with all the excitement of the day there was no way she’d be able to sleep. Grabbing a book she had been reading, she took herself to the screened-in porch and had a seat. All she had to do now was wait.
A lit cigarette in his mouth, Liam made his way back to the clubhouse, sighing as he realized they faced a complete fuck fest.
“So who fed her the bad info?” he asked as he took his VP spot at the table.
“My money points to ol’ Dicky boy. He must have a back end deal with the Vojnik. He’s trying to get us out of the way.”
It was well known
between both clubs that none of them had killed Jeffrey Norris. His wife had caught him with his pants down one time too many. She had come home early from a vacation with their children, and she’d caught him banging his new secretary. A woman scorned, she’d had enough, and after the mistress had left she’d shot him in cold blood. For a hefty fee, Heaven Hill had helped her dispose of the body, but they sure as hell hadn’t killed him.
“I say we go down to the station and see what’s going on. With it exploding right as she revealed our ‘huge secret’, heat is gonna be on us,” William groaned. “Which is exactly what we fucking do not need, but exactly what they want.”
Chaos reigned around her as Meredith fought to climb out of the black hole she’d fallen into. Her head hurt, and her tongue felt heavy. In the distance she could hear police sirens and people screaming. It took a great deal of strength, but she fought to yell at them, to let them know she was there and that she was okay. In the end the climb was too hard, too long, and she just gave up. Tyler had warned her this would be the end of her, and maybe he had been right.
Chapter Nineteen
“So, how’s it going with my brother?”
Denise’s head snapped up from where she lay lounging on the screened-in porch with Roni. Since Denise had already been out there, that’s where they had decided to stay.
“Good,” she answered a little too quickly, her voice a little too high pitched.
Like a hound dog on the scent of a kill, Roni sat up straighter, grinning wildly. “He’s gotten to you, hasn’t he?”
She did not under any circumstances want to talk about this. Telling him that she hadn’t had sex in thirteen years was embarrassing enough, but to tell his sister…she wasn’t really down for all of that.
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