by Zoey Derrick
Loki opens the door as I climb the steps. “Back to bust my ass again?”
“She rides.”
“Who?” He narrows his eyes at me.
“Skit, that’s who. She rides, man.”
“No shit?” he says skeptically. “What’s Rooster gonna do?”
I shrug. “I’m not telling him. But to be fair, she’s riding to work, so it’s her ass if anyone sees it and you know damn well Loni will.”
“Then let her deal with it,” he grumbles.
“What’s your beef?”
He shakes his head. “I can’t stop comparing her to Kiwi.”
I stiffen at the name. “Why would you be comparing her to Kiwi?” I say through gritted teeth.
“Don’t fucking start with me, dick,” Loki snaps.
I debate on telling him about the little girl’s bicycle I saw in the front yard of her house, but I let it go.
Then again, if he knew she had a kid? He’d never have taken her to bed. That’s his number one rule. Maybe if I tell him, he’ll leave her the hell alone. “She’s got a kid, dude.”
He freezes and turns back toward me. “What?” he says harshly. “How the fuck you know this?”
“The same way I know she rides. When I was coming up here this afternoon to get your shit, there was a new bike on the street, well, in the driveway, and I stopped to check it out. Didn’t want anyone riding in on us unannounced. So, I went back and watched, waiting for it to leave.”
“Where?”
“The old Mason place.” I jerk my head north.
“How old’s the kid?” he asks.
“You’re asking a lot of fucking questions,” I snap at him.
“How old?” he growls
“Fuck if I know. I didn’t see her.”
“How do you know it’s a girl?” He widens his eyes at me.
“The bicycle, moron. It’s a girl’s bicycle,” I snap back at him. “Why the fuck you care, asswipe?”
“I don’t” he answers quickly.
“And your shit don’t stink either,” I counter.
He glares at me and shakes his head.
“What are we doing tonight?” I ask.
“I’m going to I.W.”
“What in the fuck for?”
“I think I owe her an apology,” he says.
It’s my turn to narrow my eyes. “I say again, what the fuck for?”
He sighs, “Forget it.”
I roll my eyes. “Grab your shit. Let’s bounce.”
He nods and heads into his bedroom. I want to punch his fucking lights out. What in the fuck is his deal with this chick?
I admit she has some familiar qualities about her, but there are a lot of Beaumonts around these parts, so for all I know, she’s a family kid. She certainly doesn’t look like her. I don’t say the name, I can’t.
“Hey, you talked to Pixie lately?” I call down the hall.
“Nah, why?”
I shrug, even though he can’t see me. “No reason,” I tell him.
He comes back into the living room, his cut on, his boots half-zipped. “Bullshit, why?” He narrows his eyes at me.
“Forget it.”
He shakes his head. “She’s fine,” he tells me.
I nod before we take off.
LILY
I park around the back of the bar, like I did last night when I got here. There are several cars and several more bikes in the lot, considering it's just before six. The backdoor to Iron Wings swings open just as I’m throwing my leg over. “Girl, you got brass balls in there I don’t know about?” Loni, my new boss, asks.
I narrow my eyes at her. “No, why?”
She shakes her head. “Take that shit home and get your car,” she snaps.
“What the hell for?” I ask.
“Rooster or anyone else sees you riding that, you’re gonna have hell to pay. Girls don’t ride in these parts unless they riding bitch on their old man’s bike.”
“I rode in Colorado, what’s the big deal?” I ask. Though I get the impression I already have the answer.
“Sticks let you ride?”
Oh shit. “Yeah,” I tell her hesitantly.
“Well, Rooster ain’t gonna let it fly here. So, get it home before he sees you.”
“Loni, I can…”
“No, Skit, you can’t. Trust me on this one, please. You can ride that shit anywhere you want, just not on MC property. Get me?”
I nod. “I get you.”
“Take it home, come back, and get to work, yeah?” she says, though I can tell she’s really not mad at me, just giving me a heads up.
I flip my shades back on, sling my leg over and turn over the engine. I’m thankful for the bandana covering my hair, at least if someone sees me, they’ll know it’s a girl, but not necessarily me.
Within ten minutes, I’m pulling back in front of the house when I hear the roar of bikes, two to be exact, coming from the direction of Loki’s house. “Shit,” I sputter as I run for the door, but I’m not fast enough.
The next thing I know, two bikes are pulling onto my lawn and their engines cut out.
I pull the bandana from my head before I freeze when I hear their stands go down. “Brave, bitch.” It’s Pyro’s gravelly voice.
“Excuse me?” My heartbeat is racing a million miles a minute and fear grips at me when I realize that Piper is inside.
“Brave bitch riding in Roswell,” Pyro says and I turn toward him.
“I take it someone tipped you off?” Loki asks. His hair is pulled back into a…I have no idea what he’s doing with his hair and Pyro’s is braided down his back.
“Loni, when I pulled in,” I share with narrowed eyes.
“Good,” Loki says. For some strange reason, Pyro is staring daggers at me and Loki looks like he’s ready to tackle me to the ground and fuck me.
“Message received, boys, no riding to Angels’ territory. Got it. Now I need to go change.” I turn toward the door.
“Where’d you learn to ride?” Pyro asks me. My heart stills again before I turn back around.
“Someone who could kick both your asses. He told me if I could learn to ride a bike and drive a stick, I’d never be stranded.”
Pyro freezes in his tracks. His eyes turn from daggers to murderous in a matter of seconds.
“Mommy…” Piper’s voice reaches my ears as the screen door slams shut.
Fuck.
“Hey baby, can you go back inside? I’ll be there in a minute.” She looks from me to Pyro, then to Loki and then back to me.
“Okay,” she says, slowly backing away toward the door. No one says anything until she’s inside.
“Skit, who is that?” It’s Loki’s voice, but it sounds, I don’t even know, freaked out?
“My daughter.”
“How old is she?” Loki asks.
“Five,” I answer automatically and he relaxes. I don’t tack on that she’ll be six in a couple months.
Pyro on the other hand looks like he’s about to spit nails. “Message received?” he says through gritted teeth.
“Yes, Pyro, I got it from Loni,” I tell him. My heart still hasn’t found a normal rhythm in my chest.
I don’t say anymore, I just walk into the house and close the front door. “You alright, Lily?” Emily asks me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
I suck in a deep breath but I don’t move. I wait patiently for the sound of Harleys kicking over. It takes a few moments before the bikes roar to life outside. “I’m fine, I just need to change and swap my rides.”
“Something wrong with the bike?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Nope, not at all.” I leave it at that and I head for my room, Piper follows behind me.
“Mommy, who those guys?” she asks.
“They’re just friends, baby.”
“Oh, okay,” she says before heading into her room. I sit down on the bed waiting for my heart to return to normal. Once steady, I exchange my pants for a
short skirt and black fuck-me heels before saying my good-byes again and leaving for Iron Wings.
Chapter Seven
LOKI
Pyro and I pull up to the clubhouse and my mind is consumed with the little blonde girl with curly hair at Skit’s house. Something about her looks ridiculously familiar and all I want to do is drink it away. Who knows? Maybe fuck it away, too.
Pyro is in a mood when we step inside.
“What’s your beef?” I ask him.
He shakes his head and doesn’t answer me.
“What the fuck, man?” I growl at him and he turns on me, getting in my face.
“Are you so fucking stupid or just blind?”
I shove him off me. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I snap and my eyes narrow at him.
“Pyro, Loki, get in here,” Rooster snaps from down the hall interrupting us and whatever scuff we’re about to get into.
“This isn’t over,” I tell Pyro as we both walk down the hall toward Rooster’s office.
“Need you guys to ride,” Rooster says as we enter his shitty office. He doesn’t bother to clean up after himself, ever. “I don’t give a damn what your beef with each other is, get the fuck over it,” he snaps.
“Where we goin’?” Pyro asks.
“Boulder.”
My heart sinks into my stomach and Pyro glares at me through narrowed eyes.
We finished our business with Rooster and returned to the clubhouse common room. We’re taking off early tomorrow morning. Sticks wants us in Boulder by tomorrow night. According to Rooster, something’s going down up there and Sticks needs some muscle, which usually comes from Arizona, but they’re having their annual ride this week and can’t spare anyone.
I had to fight rolling my eyes during our meeting. I know it’s all bullshit. Sticks needs us in Boulder for other reasons, but they’re using it as cover for what’s really going down.
We were in the front of the clubhouse all of fifteen minutes before Pyro disappears to stuff his dick into Taffy. He knows as well as I do that the Boulder girls aren’t the best, so he’s gonna get his while he can.
Taz comes down the stairs looking freshly fucked and she smiles at me in invitation, but I shake my head. I have other ideas. The prospect behind the car slides me another whiskey and I slam it back before leaving out the front door of the clubhouse.
I should go home, do some laundry or some bullshit like that, but instead, my bike heads opposite my house and before I know it, I’m pulling up in front of Iron Wings. I didn’t consciously decide to come here, but apparently, I need to be here.
I climb off my bike and head for the door.
The Angels have prospects here too, watching over bikes and the doors. Anyone who’s not MC has to pay a cover to get in so I bypass the line and instead of a prospect, I see Rack standing at the door. He nods as he lets me inside and the place is packed. Every seat full except for one of the two tables Wicked usually occupies, so I head there. My eyes roaming around the room until I find her.
My heart stops in my chest as I take in her backside.
She’s not wearing a bra and some backless number, showing off her ink. I’d seen it last night but was too drunk to really look at it. Though I can’t fully see it from here, it’s glowing slightly under some of the black lights of the bar. But that’s not the only thing I see glowing. On her left shoulder, she has something else tattooed, but I’d not noticed it the night before and now I understand why. It’s been done in white. Nearly invisible, unless you’re looking for it or standing under black lights.
My eyes roam down to the small of her back, graciously free of ink. The first thought that comes to mind is how great my ink would look dipping into the crack of her ass. I shake my head. Where in the fuck did that come from?
She turns back around, headed for the bar, and her eyes immediately land on mine. In the light, she looks younger, years younger, and a memory slides into place that won’t leave as I remember the soft features of the one I drove away all those years ago.
I try and shake it off as I head to the table and grab a seat. The only reason I’m thinking about her is because I’m headed back to Boulder for the first time in six years. My cock hardens at the prospect of seeing her again. Will she want to see me? Is she still there?
I shudder and ignore my thoughts. It’s fucking ridiculous that I would want to see her again. She’s ancient history.
Skit dutifully comes over, leaning on the table like she did last night. Her left shoulder is closest to me and I’m disappointed at the lack of black light over my table. I want to see her tattoo. “Back for more?” she asks. Her tone a little harsher, more pissed off, and I like it. My cock stirs in my jeans.
“The same,” I tell her, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Where’s your friend?” she asks referring to Pyro.
I lean forward. “Why? You interested in a tag team?”
“You couldn’t handle this last night. What makes you think the two of you can handle it?” There’s a wicked smirk playing at her lips.
“Oh, trust me, sugar tits, we could take you.”
“Sure, you can.” She wiggles her eyebrows in invitation before she saunters off toward the bar. I debate briefly on texting P, asking him to come help me put her in her place.
The ass chewing he gave me earlier about taking her home sends ice through my veins and I keep my phone tucked away.
The night progresses and I take it much slower on the whiskey so that I can get my own ass home tonight. Besides, riding hungover isn’t good for anyone.
Around eleven the bar starts dying down, earlier than normal, so I take the cue and leave. I don’t see Skit before I go and I’m disappointed. I wanted to see her one more time before I bail. I won’t be back ‘til early next week.
Pussy ass.
I roll my eyes at myself before leaving through the front door. Rack is still there and I nod to him before climbing on my bike and taking off for home.
Chapter Eight
LILY
“You okay to work tomorrow and Saturday?” Loni asks me.
“Absolutely,” I tell her.
“We don’t open 'til six on Sunday and shut up around eleven. It’s usually dead in here and we’re closed on Monday. So, would Wednesday through Saturday be alright for you?”
I smile. “Absolutely, Loni, whenever you need me.”
She smiles back. “Get out of here. See you tomorrow night.”
“G’night,” I tell her before I go out the back door to my car. I look around, seeing no one. Loki left a couple hours ago. I don’t imagine he’s hanging around out here hoping for another chance.
I’m leaning down to unlock my car when a hand covers my mouth and I’m pressed against my car. I breathe through my nose and smell stale cigarettes and alcohol, maybe even some chick’s pussy. I shudder. “Loki,” I growl. Then again, Loki doesn’t smoke.
“Guess again.” Pyro’s gravelly voice of Pyro meets my ears. “You gonna scream?”
I shake my head and he releases my mouth. “You don’t have to assault me to get laid, you know,” I tell him without turning around.
“I don’t want you,” he growls at me.
I try and turn around but he stops me. “Then what’s the point?” I snap.
He whips me around and leans down so he’s inches from my face. “You were told never to come back here.”
My heart freezes in my chest as Pyro’s voice no longer sounds gravelly and vaguely familiar. “How’d you?” I narrow my eyes at him, but the darkness back here makes it impossible to really look at him.
“Why are you here?” he asks.
“That’s none of your fucking business. Now, if you’ll…”
“It is my business,” he murmurs close to my lips. There’s absolutely no sexual tension between us and I find that rather odd. Again, I try and look into those familiar eyes and I can’t seem to focus on anything. “Tryke made it my business.” His voice has turned arc
tic on me and I shiver at the mention of my brother’s name.
“I have shit I need to take care of,” I mumble.
“It’s being handled, go home.”
With that, he pushes away from me and disappears into the darkness surrounding the bar.
I let out a rush of breath that I didn’t know was stuck in my lungs.
He’s seriously scary as fuck.
Why in the hell would Tryke bring anyone else into his little secret besides Loki? Big Daddy and Sticks know because I brought it to their attention and I never had to ask for them to keep it a secret. It’s what they do and no one, outside of them, needed to know. The guys that were with Big Daddy that day were just collateral. None of them seemed to even have any recognition about who Kiwi was, so I let it go.
I shake my head. It’s been six years. Who the fuck cares anymore?
Wicked Angels think Lily Beaumont died ten years ago. Anyone who looks into my property agreement for my house will see that it’s registered to Reggie Beaumont, also known as Uncle Sticks. Worse case, they’d assume I was his kid or some shit like that. That was the one concession I’d let Sticks have about us moving back here.
My mind wanders over all the different reasons why Pyro is so pissed off at me as I drive home. It’s just before one in the morning and I’m exhausted when I pull in my driveway and stumble my way to my front door.
Emily and Piper are asleep when I get in the house so I try to be quiet as I go into the kitchen looking for something to munch on.
I hear the roar of a motorcycle coming down the street. From back here I can’t tell what direction its going so I hurry to the window and peel back the curtain a little bit to see. It’s coming from Loki’s house and it stops in front of mine. I watch intently, waiting to see who it is, or for them to decide what they’re doing. The bike shuts off. The rider kicks his leg over and then stands. I know immediately it’s Loki, even before he passes under the light of the street lamp.
“Fuck,” I sputter.
I go to the door and open it, stepping outside before he reaches it. “What are you doing here?” I ask, my tone sharp and pissed off.