“What’re you doing here?” I asked softly.
Loki’s eyes softened at the hitch in my voice. “You scared about ten years off everyone’s life. When Kettle called to tell us what happened, and that Sebastian may need some help, we followed. Caught up to him at the Texas border when your man nearly got himself killed the first time. A car pulled out in front of him and he nearly t-boned it. Then he nearly got sideswiped when he tried to get in front of someone going to slow for his liking. And then he nearly had to lay the bike down when a deer ran out of the woods and crossed the street right in front of him. The man’s lucky as fuck, if you ask me. Driving reckless isn’t the thing to do on a motorcycle.”
My heart stopped in my chest when I thought about all the things that could’ve happened to him on his mad dash over to me.
He could’ve been gone and I never would’ve known it.
“Can you take me to him?” I pleaded.
“Don’t know where he is, darlin’. But there’s no way I’m taking you on the back of my bike. Not after what we heard. He’d probably kill the one that tried. You’ll have to catch a ride home, and then I’ll drive your car if you still want me to. But there’s nowhere I can take you other than the clubhouse or his place. I don’t know where he went. If you want honesty, though, I think you should give him a few days to cool off. Let him come to you.”
Feeling defeated, I nodded my head at him before turning around. “Thank you, Loki. If he asks, I’ll be at home.”
Chapter 20
You flipped the bitch switch, so buckle up and enjoy the ride, asshole!
-text from Baylee to Sebastian
Baylee
“Hey, it’s me. Uhh, I have an appointment in about an hour. It’s in Shreveport. I wanted to make sure it was close to you so you didn’t have to drive so far. It’s at The Women’s Clinic on Center Street. I...” I hesitated. “bye.”
My hand fell heavily against my leg like it weighed a million pounds.
I’d called Sebastian numerous times in the past three days, and he hadn’t answered once.
Deciding I needed to stop denying the truth, I set up an appointment with a doctor that was recommended by Winter for his expertise in high risk pregnancies.
I’d spent the last three days scouring the internet on pregnancies of women who have von Wheelbrand’s disease, and what I’d found scared me to death.
The first time I’d broken down and called Sebastian was after I’d read those articles. When he hadn’t answered, I’d contacted Winter who’d given me the number of Doctor Abrahams.
They’d worked me in the next day, and now it was nearly time for me to go.
I walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed when I contemplated what to wear.
My eyes fell on the leather vest, and the property patch that I’d been so excited to wear the first time I’d laid eyes on it.
I hadn’t worn it in three days, scared shitless that Sebastian might not want me to anymore.
That would certainly explain why he hadn’t even bothered to call me in three days.
Finally, I decided not to wear it, but to take it with me just in case he did decide to show.
I slipped into a pair of yoga pants, a tight black t-shirt that said ‘I <3 a Marine,’ and my oldest pair of tennis shoes, before heading out to the living room.
Glancing at the clock, since I was finished, I decided to go ahead and leave now. Maybe Sebastian would actually come, and I’d get a little extra time with him. He was always early.
I knew he wasn’t working. I also knew he was getting his messages. He wasn’t the type of person to totally ignore me. He’d probably read them, but was still too mad at me to respond.
Which was to be expected. In the three days I’d had to contemplate the act, I knew I shouldn’t have done it. I should have trusted my brother and not done it. Should have listened to my gut instinct. But I didn’t, and I very well might have paid for it.
I contemplated my stupidity halfway to Shreveport.
What snapped me out of the funk, rather abruptly, was the sound of my motor coughing and sputtering.
Then I watched in fascination as the little red needle that measured the RPMs on my dash go from white two to the red eight, make quite a spectacular boom, as something under my hood blew, followed quickly by the billowing of smoke from underneath the hood.
“Oh, shit.” I whispered heartbrokenly.
Managing to maneuver my old car to the side of the road and into the emergency lane, I turned the key to the off position, despite the motor no longer running and watched the cars pass me by for nearly five minutes.
In those five minutes, I contemplated my options.
There weren’t many.
Luke was in Canton with the rest of the SWAT team for a team exercise.
Winter was visiting with her sister that was down from up north.
And I didn’t even bother calling Sebastian. He wouldn’t answer, so why bother?
Since I was more than half way there, I decided the best idea would be just to walk to the doctors
I wouldn’t make it in time, but I hoped I’d be able to be seen regardless.
After the appointment, I’d figure something out.
Sighing loudly, I stepped out of the car and was immediately regretted stepping out on this side when an eighteen-wheeler blew past. The wind that came off the truck blew my door closed, slamming my legs between the door and the bottom of the car.
I cried out in pain at the jolt, knowing that tomorrow morning I’d be sporting some pretty lovely bruises.
I walked quickly around the car, grabbed my bag, locked it, and then slammed the door.
Then I thought of something genius and reopened the door; excited for the first time in two days.
The little velvet Crown Royal bag Sebastian had given me rested between the seats of my car.
The chips that I’d won that night at the boats clinked and clanked together as I snatched them up and then shoved them deep into the depths of my purse. Luckily, it was one of those across the chest ones, or I wouldn’t have even bothered bringing it.
I made it about three quarters of a mile before the first person stopped. Once I got rid of him, I moved to the feeder road that ran along the side of the interstate. That saved me for another mile before the next stopped.
After the fourth person stopped, I wasn’t so sure this was the best idea.
I was about to call Sebastian and leave him a begging voicemail when I remembered the leather vest tucked securely into my purse.
Dropping my purse from around my shoulders, I pulled out the vest, fed one arm in, then the other. I didn’t know what it was, but the moment I settled the vest around my shoulders, I felt relief. Like that was where it was supposed to be.
After that, not one single person stopped.
At one point, a man on a motorcycle had started to stop, but as I’d turned to tell him I wasn’t interested, he’d taken off quickly, not even coming to a complete stop.
I’d only seen the dark black helmet and Arkansas license plates before he’d taken off again. He did wave as he left, though.
By the fifth mile, I decided I couldn’t do it anymore. My feet were tired, and I was nowhere near close. I must’ve been crazy if I thought I would be able to get all the way to my doctor’s appointment.
When the gas station with the Arby’s came into view, I took the exit and walked straight to the bathroom.
Once I was finished, I sat down on the bench that faced the gas pumps and watched for a good twenty minutes as person after person, truck after car, passed through the station.
The phone in my pocket started vibrating just as I heard what sounded like hundreds of motorcycles pull into the parking lot.
Scooting to the very corner, I raised my knees until it covered the front of my vest, and watched, wide eyed, as bike after bike pulled up and parked in three of the spots that were reserved for an eighteen-wheeler.
“Motherfucker.�
�� I breathed.
I’d never seen that many bikes in one place besides The Harley Shop’s parking lot.
Jesus, but there had to be at least fifty of them, if not more.
The first wave of men to pass me didn’t even spare me a glance.
Not all of them got off their bikes though. Most of them stayed right where they were while others came in two and three at a time, returning moments later with a drink or a bag of chips.
One had come out with a hotdog while another came out with a plate of the nasty nachos that frequented most gas stations. It wasn’t until they left that I realized that the group that every single one of them that I’d seen were Dixie Wardens.
There was a difference between these Dixie Wardens and my own, though.
According to their jackets and cuts, they came from a different chapter. Where Sebastian’s said ‘Louisiana,’ the others said ‘Alabama.’
I’d thought I’d been pretty inconspicuous as I sat there, but after about twenty minutes I realized I hadn’t been at all.
At first, I hadn’t noticed that they were watching me.
But as the minutes ticked by, I started noticing that they weren’t leaving. They were all just sitting there. Every single one of them. And they were staring in my direction.
***
Sebastian
“Where are you?” I grumbled.
I’d gotten Baylee’s message after we’d attended church.
The annual barbeque was this weekend, and everyone was scheduled to arrive within the next few days.
Every year we chose a different chapter’s location to meet and reconnect.
Although most of the Dixie Wardens saw each other periodically throughout the year, we’d made it a habit to have a scheduled time and place to meet and discuss anything new that had happened over the past year.
This year it was the Louisiana chapter’s turn to host.
I’d been lucky to get Baylee’s call. Normally, when I was at the clubhouse, I didn’t get messages because there was no cell coverage. We had a landline, but stupidly I’d forgotten to give it to Baylee.
She probably thought I was still upset with her, but the events of her fucking up royally and me trying to get everything together for our annual barbeque and getting all our ducks in a row coincided, making it incredibly hard to even talk to her in the last three days.
I was lucky to fall into bed and sleep for four hours.
Sure, I could’ve made some time to call her, but, to be honest, I was still pretty upset.
However when I’d gotten the message of her asking me in a pleading voice to go to her doctor’s appointment, I’d dropped everything, much to my father’s consternation.
Then there was the escalating arson fires. I barely had time to take a breath. But I’d do anything for my old lady. Even face my father’s wrath.
The old man was still getting used to the fact that he wasn’t number one in my life anymore.
My phone vibrated in his pocket, and I answered it quickly without even looking at the readout. “Baylee?” I asked quickly.
“Nope. This is Stone. So, you got yourself a little woman?”
Stone was the president of the Alabama chapter. He was supposed to be at the boats letting off steam, so why exactly was he asking about my woman when he’d never even seen her?
“Yeah,” I answered cautiously.
“She looks kind of upset. What’d you do to get yourself in the doghouse already?”
I sat up from my sprawl, gripping the seat so hard that I heard the leather creak with the force.
“What do you mean? Where are you? How do you know it’s my woman?” I asked quickly.
“Gas station at the Louisiana/Texas border. She’s leaning against a plate glass window with your property patch plastered between her back and the window curled into a ball.” he replied just as quickly.
“Don’t let her leave. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
I didn’t waste any time getting my bike started and flooring it out of the parking lot. The ride there felt a lot like déjà vu. Only this time I knew she’d be safe; but she didn’t.
She was probably scared shitless. Stone’s men were somewhat rough around the edges.
Sure enough, when I pulled into the parking lot and parked my bike next to Stone’s, I could see Baylee curled tightly into a ball on the bench in the front of the store.
Her eyes were looking anywhere but at Stone’s men.
Sighing, I swung my leg over my bike, nodded thankfully at Stone, and headed in my wayward woman’s direction.
The closer I got to her, the more she shrunk into herself. She had no idea it was me, but it still hurt. My heart wasn’t as intelligent as my mind.
Another weird thing happened once I was within ten feet or so of her. My anger evaporated.
I could make out the telltale signs of exhaustion. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Deep bags hung under each eye, and her skin was pale, as if she hadn’t been feeling well.
Which she very well might have. I didn’t know shit since I’d avoided her calls, whether it was intentional or unintentional on my part.
For the most part, though, she looked...defeated.
Then she finally turned her face towards me, and every single sign of defeat vanished, and she launched herself at me.
My ribs smarted from the impact of our bodies colliding with each other, but I relished the bite of pain. It was a good feeling to have her in my arms again.
My nose found its way to the crook of her neck and I smelled the distinct sweetness that was her. The rightness. The primal part of me basked in the feeling of home.
Then her nose buried into the crook of my neck making me shiver.
“You’re freezing.” I said, wrapping my arms a little tighter around her.
“I was feeling pretty good with just the long sleeved shirt and the pants when I got out of the car. Then I started sitting here, and all of those bikers showed up. I was too worried to move after that.” She explained
“Why didn’t you make the appointment?” I asked her.
Baylee started laughing humorlessly. “It died about five miles that way.” She said pointing West with her finger.
I stilled when I realized she’d walked the entire way.
Pushing her back slightly so I could see her face, I scowled at her. “Why didn’t you call me?”
She produced her own scowl. “Would you have answered?”
Touché.
“It’s been a busy three days. I haven’t purposely avoided you. I’ve been getting tons of shit taken care of that comes with 500 bikers from our club entering into town at one time. I’m sorry, baby.” I explained.
“You couldn’t spare one single phone call?” She asked skeptically.
I grimaced, holding on to her a tad tighter. “I should have. There’s no excuse. I was just so fucking mad. You could have died, Baylee.”
“I know. I was monumentally stupid.” She whispered forlornly.
Turning with her in my arms, I led her over to where Stone was still leaning casually against his bike.
I had to laugh at the expression on Baylee’s face the closer we got to Stone and the other members of the club. They were all a little rougher than the Louisiana chapter. A little more into the hardcore side of the biker life. They lived a little bit rougher, and played a little bit harder.
But they were a great bunch of men who’d lay down their life for anybody worthy just like the rest of them. Man, woman or child.
“Baylee, this is Stone. He’s the president of the Alabama chapter of the Dixie Wardens. Stone, this is my old lady, Baylee.”
Stone held out his hand and Baylee reluctantly held out hers. When Stone had Baylee’s hand in his, he brought it to his mouth and gave it a kiss. Even though it was an innocent gesture to most, it was a test for me. Stone was doing it to see what I would do. Stone knew it’d piss me off, and he wanted to see if I’d actually say anything, or play daddy’s little diplo
mat like I’d always done.
Well, he was in for a rude awakening. Baylee came second only to my son, no matter what. My father was nowhere near first in line anymore. My duties were important to me but I wasn’t going to take anybody, even the president of another chapter, disrespecting me.
“Stone.” I warned through clenched teeth.
He chuckled. “Good to see you found one that means something to you boy.” he said as he dropped Baylee’s hand and stepped back.
Baylee was confused by the interaction, I could tell, but I wouldn’t explain it to her now. Not in front of all of them.
“Alright, well we’ve got a doctor’s appointment to get to. Check you guys later. You know where I’ve got y’all booked, right?” I asked as I got Baylee settled on the back of my bike.
While waiting for him to reply, I extricated myself from my cut and handed it to Baylee.
She clutched it tightly to her chest like I’d just given her a lifeline and watched as I stripped out of my sweatshirt, and then gave that to her as well.
“Put that on.” I demanded as I took my cut back.
“Thank you.” She whispered.
“Yeah, at the Horseshoe. Thanks. That’s one of our favorites.” Stone said dryly.
Stone didn’t gamble. He said it was a waste of money. But there were really no other places other than the flea bag hotels in downtown that didn’t have any gambling at them.
“I could’ve booked you at the Budget Inn.” I offered wryly.
Stone waved me off and mounted his bike.
With a signal of his hand, the other men with him started their bikes, and one by one, they left the parking lot and headed for the interstate.
“You ready?” I asked once the last one had left the parking lot.
She nodded, spread her legs a little wider, and patted the seat between them. “Always.”
***
Baylee
I felt better than I had in days.
Sebastian was asleep on his stomach in bed next to me, dead to the world. After escorting me to my doctor’s appointment, we went to the warehouse where his office was located, and he continued to make arrangements for some annual party they had every year.
He’d been on the phone from the time we’d entered his office to the time we’d left, four hours, later to go pick Johnny up from daycare.
Lights to My Siren Page 21