by Rachel Cade
Noa let go of the bars and took her hands, wrapping them tighter around his chest.
Lyndie couldn’t deny her nervousness, but anticipation bordered on the edge of it. The unpredictability of an afternoon that had nothing to do with the diner or catering to anyone but herself. She forgot what that was like, and just wanted to steal the moment.
Noa hit the gas on the motorcycle and they sped down the road, leaving Amber Falls fading in the horizon.
Lyndie tried to get used to the idea that she wasn’t going to blow off the bike. They were the only ones on the road and for a while, she didn’t know much except her closed eyelids and the feel of his muscles under the thin t-shirt as gusts of air blew over them.
Once she opened her eyes, the valley they were in revealed itself. Huge rock formations formed on both sides, the sun was bright, and the sky was a clear robin’s egg blue.
Lyndie had travelled through here before, but never paid attention to the beauty.
The Ferris wheel was the first thing she saw as they arrived closer to Gold Peak.
Noa pulled his bike to a stop next to a pickup truck near the entrance.
He pulled his helmet off. “Did you like it?”
At the same time, she pulled her arms away from him.
“I did,” she answered honestly. “Once I got used to it.”
Noa dismounted easily, managing again to not hit her with his boot and she realized she wasn’t going to have as easy of a time.
Gently, he pulled the helmet off her head and smoothed a curl from her eye.
“Still perfect,” he said with a smile.
Lyndie had no mirror, so she had to take his word for it.
The next thing she knew, she felt a strong arm wrapping around her back before lifting her up and depositing her on the ground.
“You can pull it down.” Electric blue eyes were a couple inches from hers. And it took a few breaths to realize he was talking about her dress.
He didn’t immediately take his hand away, even while she shimmied to smooth down her dress.
Her action was reflexive, but the way he looked at her made her breath catch mid-exhale. Noa was wickedly handsome. His eyes were clear but carried secrets at the same time. But at that moment, he wasn’t hiding anything from her.
“You never worry about anyone stealing your bike?” she asked after he purchased their tickets.
There was a decent crowd because it was the last day, but there was space for them to walk around without being uncomfortable.
“No.”
“Why not? It’s beautiful and must have been expensive.”
“I’ve got security on it.”
Lyndie decided to leave it at that. “Games or food first?”
Noa scanned the vendors on either side of them. “Food, babygirl; you should know that by now.”
“Why do you keep calling me that?”
“Babygirl?” He raised a brow and she wished his didn’t. “You need a nickname and you already rejected desert rose.”
“Desert rose was supposed to be my nickname?”
“Yeah, but you shot it like a sick dog. I liked it anyway.”
Lyndie started laughing and Noa took her hand as they walked around.
“I don’t know if we should get on any of the rides.” Lyndie shook her head in warning. “I heard they half put them together. We could be having a good time one minute in then a bolt pops off, next thing to know we’re tossed fifty feet in the air in a teacup.”
“That sounds fucked up.”
Lyndie could only shrug. Then it was Noa’s turn to laugh.
After they had a quick snack of fried chicken and French fries, they wandered around a bit watching people lose their money at the rigged games.
“Hey, cherry girl, you want to dunk me?” Lyndie turned to her left to see the taunt coming from a clown in a blue and white striped suit. His yellow shoes grazed the air as he swung them back and forth. “Bet you can’t.”
Lyndie knew what the guy was up to, but his nasally voice annoyed the shit out of her anyway.
Noa stared at her.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s a clown.”
“And dry as fuck.” His hand caressed the inside of hers. “I bet you could take him down.”
Three balls.
Noa bought her three chances to drop Bozo.
“Should have bought six, Metallica,” he spat. “She’s gonna miss each one.”
“We’re getting scammed.” Lyndie squeezed the ball in her hand.
The clown laughed hard at his own joke, causing a few people to stop in the roaming crowd.
The first ball missed. Right under the red button.
“Not too late, Slash. Get her some more balls.”
Noa wound his jaw. “Just concentrate, babygirl. Come on.”
The second hit was worse.
The clown howled with laughter. “What the hell is it with you Nevada folks?” He squeezed his nose, making it honk. “Let the man try it, honey! It’s not-”
Square in the middle. Lyndie threw the ball with everything she had. The buzzer hit and the clown’s thick brows almost jumped off his face as he collapsed into the water.
Lyndie screamed, throwing her hands up. At least ten people around them started clapping.
Noa smirked beside her and she grabbed him into a hug before she could think.
“I knew you had him,” he said next to her ear.
When Lyndie spotted a green scorpion on a sign above a shooting game, she immediately said, “This one’s yours.”
He glanced over at her. The sun was setting, and the wind was picking up, catching in her hair.
“You’re beautiful, Lyndie,” he said simply. “I meant to tell you when I first saw you, but I got a little tongue tied.”
Her smile grew as he spoke. “Thank you.”
After the kid in front of him left the booth empty handed, Noa picked up the gun.
Immediately, Noa noticed the vendor’s dark eyes lingering on Lyndie.
“How much?” he asked sharply, snatching the man’s attention.
The guy pointed at the sign and Noa plopped a few bills down.
“That’s just for one shot.”
Noa held up the gun and fired, hitting the bullseye as the man barely got the sentence out.
“Shit,” the vendor said staring at the wall. His sigh was long. “Which one do you want?”
Noa glanced over at Lyndie. “Pick.”
She stared at him, sharing the vendor’s surprise.
After a moment, she looked over the bears. “The brown one, with the heart on the stomach.”
Noa eyed the man as he handed the bear to Lyndie. “Thank you,” she said softly, hugging it to her body.
“Cotton candy or candy apple?” she asked.
As dusk began to settle in, the lighted rides began glowing in the night around them.
“Candy apple. And we have to do one ride, Lyndie.”
“Noa.” Her voice carried that warning again. He smiled thinking of the other ways she was going to say his name.
“One ride, Lyndie. We have to.” He bought to candy apples from the vendor. “I don’t make the rules.”
“You don’t make the-” She cut herself off as he handed her the stick. “I’ve never had one of these before. Can you just bite it, or do you have to lick it?”
“Surprise me,” he said.
Lyndie licked at the apple. “That’s extra sweet.” Then she opened her mouth, biting into it, making a face as her teeth closed.
Noa stood there, watching intently.
“It’s so sweet. But it’s good.”
Noa agreed.
“This one, Lyndie.”
“The Ferris wheel?” He had to pull on her arm a bit to move her toward the line. “Noa. I don’t really like heights.”
“And I’m sure you didn’t like motorcycles either, but you rode one today, and you enjoyed it. You also dunked a bastard clown with an MLB throw. Face one mor
e fear for the day, hmm?”
He took her hand again. “You don’t have to be scared. Just stay close to me.”
The ride worker closed the gate on them, leaving them on a small bench.
Once it started to move, Lyndie lurched, crowding him.
“Was this the plan? Get me scared so I have to stay close to you?”
“Kinda,” Noa admitted. “But if anything happens, at least it’s not a teacup.”
She smacked his chest and it made him laugh harder.
The higher up they went, the more the horizon expanded.
“I can’t believe you talked me into this,” she said, burying her face against his chest.
His arm wrapped around her shoulders, hugging her to him.
“You’ll be okay, I promise.”
They sat in silence for a while as the wheel slowly turned.
“Where does your cross-country trip end?”
He wasn’t expecting that question.
“I don’t know.” All at once he was reminded why he was in Amber Falls. Then he felt like shit about what he was hiding from her.
His brows crunched low over at the bridge of his nose as he wondered if he was fucking up their night. “Lyndie… I need to tell you something about me.”
She didn’t move. “Okay.”
“I’m in an MC.” It would probably be good to clarify. “A motorcycle club.”
“Isn’t that a gang?” she questioned.
“No. No. It’s not a gang.” It was strange as hell trying to explain this to someone. It made him realize how little he interacted with people that weren’t members. “Technically, I’m in a club, but I’m a nomad.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I don’t belong to a particular chapter – a certain city. So I travel… a lot.”
“That sounds kind of lonely.”
Noa didn’t respond.
Lyndie sat up, but when she tried to look at him, the horizon caught her attention.
“Wow. You can see cities from up here.”
Noa was only looking at her. “Yeah.”
A few minutes went by before she spoke again. “I keep trying to figure out why you’re in Amber Falls. Is something you want there?”
He continued to stare at her. “Yes.”
She turned to him.
“There’s something I want very much in Amber Falls.” He kept his gaze steady and direct.
Noa leaned into her, feeling her breath against his nose right before he captured her mouth. Sweet, lush, and warm was all he could think as his lips pressed against hers. Their teeth clashed softly and he wanted to taste her tongue, but sucked on her lips in the meantime, holding up her chin with his finger.
Lyndie leaned toward him and he wrapped his arm around her waist, tugging her so she left the bench to sit in her lap.
“Noa,” she breathed against his mouth. His lower lip grazed her chin as he tried to answer and not break the kiss.
Whatever she was going to say was lost and she leaned into him.
This time, she opened her mouth and Noa was more than ready to for her tongue.
Lyndie pressed forward against him.
Once she felt something metal in his mouth, a tiny ball her tongue ran over, she felt her back stiffen.
A tongue ring.
Noa’s hand was on her exposed thigh, holding it in a firm grip.
His other hand held the back of her neck.
He was in a motorcycle gang. She might have been a small-town girl, but she understood that. It made sense.
A nomad.
His tongue swirled in her mouth and it might as well have been on every part of her body the way it reacted. His firm hold on her neck didn’t offer much give and it made her breathless and numb at once.
Beneath her, the muscles in his legs were like steel. Being pressed against them made her feel softer. His hand tightened against her thigh and she whimpered in his mouth before grabbing the side of his face.
The stubble on his cheeks pricked her fingers as she held him. The feeling of his strong jaw moving under her hand while his lips slipped over and between hers filled her with a heated excitement that squeezed her thighs together.
She wanted him…
And she needed his touch.
It was reckless and likely to bite her on the ass later, but high above everyone in Nevada, on this last day of the carnival, she made out with him on a Ferris wheel, oblivious to everyone else on the ride.
Chapter Seven:
If There’s A Will…
“Hey, pipsqueak.” The motel door crashed behind Will as he entered Lil’ Apple.
Scott Langley was nineteen but looked fifteen; sounded like it too. As expected, he was barely paying attention to anything outside of the video game he was playing behind the counter.
He’d rather waste hours in an alternate reality instead of dealing with the real one.
When his old man finally croaked off, he’d get a third of his estate along with Craig and Ashley. The thought irritated the shit out of Will: this little waste of space getting his hands on all that cash without having to do a thing for it.
But it didn’t come close to pissing him off as much as what brought him here.
Scott looked up from the monitor finally.
His usual disinterested expression shifted to alarm and he pulled the headphones off.
“Good afternoon, sheriff.”
Will took measured steps to the desk over the worn carpet.
With both hands on his hips, he stared down at the young man.
Will’s voice was tight. “I heard you have a new guest. Well, not so new. He’s been here a week.”
“Yeah. A guy came in.”
“With tattoos. And a motorcycle?” Will folded his hands on top of the desk.
“Yeah, man.” His face picked up. “Dude is shredded, like he stepped out of MK11.”
Will’s annoyance jumped again. “What the hell is that?”
Scott took a short breath. “Mortal Kombat?”
“So you didn’t think that was some information to share with your sheriff?”
Scott sat back in his seat, his slack jaw a little more pronounced.
“I’m just here, man. I don’t ask any questions.”
“But you went to your dad and let him know.”
Scott threw his hands up. “That was Craig, not me.”
“But you told Craig.”
Scott sighed. “Craig was talking about a guy that came into his gas station a week ago. I just put two and two together.”
Put Craig and Scott in a room and they might come up with a half a god damn thought.
Still, Will spoke. “And it also didn’t occur to you that a man like that might be in town to cause trouble?”
“Trouble?” Scott winced. “Dude, it’s Amber Falls. Most of the time you don’t have anything better to do than bust kids for skating on the sidewalk.”
Will straightened before he grabbed him.
“What room is he staying in?”
Scott’s brows lowered. “Four.”
“Give me the key.”
“Isn’t that uh, breaking and entering?”
“If I walk down there and kick in the door, that would be breaking and entering.”
“If you go in there and fuck with his shit, he’s going to think I did it. I don’t need those kind of problems.”
Will peered at the pipsqueak. “You mean you think that cool motorcycle enthusiast would kick your ass? Sounds like trouble.” At Scott’s deflated expression, he said, “Get the damn key.”
Will walked down to the room and used the spare key to open the door.
He flipped on the light to find a clean room with a made bed.
Will searched the bathroom and checked under the bed and all the drawers.
The place was clean.
His annoyance had risen to the point a headache was pulsing between his eyes.
It was possible he was gone. He could h
ave just been passing through and needed somewhere to lay his head before he got the hell on.
Will didn’t like the feeling that he got around the man. And he never went against his instinct when it came to reading a person.
Lil’ Apple was so close to the edge of town, it had never been an area he typically patrolled. Most of the time it was deserted.
He took a deep breath, counting down silently from ten.
Nothing was out of control.
His town was fine.
There was nowhere left to search. But he glanced around the room one more time. This time, he spotted something on the nightstand. He walked over to it and picked it up.
It was a paper rose.
Frowning, Will turned it over in his hand. Then he sniffed it for any marijuana or illegal substance. Nothing.
He scoffed, tempted to crush it in his hand but set it back, on the off chance Guns N Roses came back.
Henry’s squad car pulled up as he was leaving the room.
“Deputy.” He tipped his hat.
Henry lifted his shades as Will walked up to the side of the car.
“Bad news, Chief.”
“What?”
“I didn’t really know how to come to you with this but, a little while ago I caught Ashley showing the warehouse property to someone.”
“The warehouse?”
“Some guy I’ve never seen before. A biker.”
“You’re shittin’ me.”
Henry quickly shook his head. “I intervened and told him the property was contaminated and couldn’t be sold.”
Will shook his head, lifting his face toward the sky.
“Did you arrest him?”
“What the hell could I do that for?”
“Where did he go?”
“I didn’t follow him. He left the scene when Ashley started arguing with me.”
Will pressed his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “This guy’s been out here for a week under my nose and now he’s looking at property?”
What the hell else?