Cat rested her forehead against his, and Kip felt his stomach do a full 360 degree flip, something he hadn’t felt since – well, since before he’d found out Mia was his sister. He’d felt it for her, but all of that – it could never happen now. And he was feeling it again, here, with Cat. Which was just what he needed – to feel something real again, with a woman he could have. But that didn’t mean to say he was done caring about what happened to Mia. Those feelings he still had for her, they were all kinds of wrong, but he was fast getting used to the fact that life could sometimes throw you some shitty curve balls, and you just had to deal with them. He couldn’t change the fact Mia was his sister, but he could do everything in his power to make sure she didn’t get hurt. She was in love with Ben Salter, and that bothered Kip. Ben Salter bothered Kip. Ben Salter had secrets and a past Mia should know about, Kip was certain of that. But he also knew he’d only scratched the surface when it came to the true extent of Ben’s past. And before he did anything, before he said anything he had to be certain he knew it all; why he’d left the Dark Angels; what had really gone on with his father. And once Kip had everything he needed, he’d make sure Mia finally knew the truth.
Three
‘You’re making me real nervous here, Coby, I have to tell you.’ Michael Bailey shook his head, turning down the tumbler of Scotch Coby offered him.
‘Nervous?’ Coby raised an eyebrow, eyeing the sheriff over the rim of his glass.
Michael leaned across the bar, lowering his voice slightly. ‘I tell you Shane Randell is more than likely the one responsible for what happened here less than a month ago, and you haven’t gone out all guns blazing looking for him?’
Coby poured himself another drink. ‘Neither have you.’
‘Oh, we’re looking for him, Coby, believe me. But I thought our biggest problem was gonna be getting to him before you, so do you want to let me know why you seem to be ignoring the fact this man tried to kill you?’
‘I’m not ignoring anything, Michael.’ Coby downed his drink before looking straight at the sheriff. ‘I guess I’ve just got more important things to think about right now.’
Michael frowned, a look of confusion taking over. ‘Is there something going on here I should know about? Jesus, what am I saying? There’s always something going on around here I should know about.’
‘I’ve got a family now, Sheriff.’
Michael shrugged. He was still confused. ‘And? You had a family before, what the hell’s changed?’
‘Maybe I’m just mellowing out, huh? You ever thought about that?’
Michael laughed. He couldn’t help it. ‘You? Mellowing out? I’ve got more chance of becoming Leader of the Free World than of that happening.’
Coby slowly shook his head. ‘So cynical, Sheriff. So cynical.’
‘And how do the rest of them feel, huh? All your other brothers. How do they feel about you sitting back and letting Shane get away with torching your clubhouse, putting their president’s life at risk; betraying them all, letting them think they could trust him? How do they feel, Coby?’
An uneasy couple of beats passed before Coby spoke again. ‘Like I said, we’ve got more important things to be focusing on.’
‘Like what?’
‘Do you want me to hunt him down, Michael? Because I’m telling you, I find him and I’ll hack his balls off with a rusty blade and watch him die slowly without one hint of remorse, but, do you know what? I’m just not fucking interested. He means shit to me now. This club, it doesn’t remember a Shane Randell. He never existed. He’s gone.’
‘And if he shows his face again?’
‘You’re gonna get to him first, aren’t you? Before he even has a chance to get anywhere near here.’
Michael trailed a hand through his hair. ‘In an ideal world, yes. But the world you lot live in is one I still can’t get my head around. And I think even you know that if Shane still wanted to get to you, he’ll find a way. I mean, doesn’t that bother you? Doesn’t that…? Jesus! The way you do things…’ He let out a long, heavy sigh. ‘None of this has helped ease my nerves, Coby.’
‘I’m not trying to ease any nerves, Sheriff. I’m just telling it like it is.’
‘And you do realize that he did what he did because he wants Lexi? You know that, don’t you? You realize he isn’t a rational man, he isn’t thinking straight. He tried to kill you because he’s got some crazy, irrational obsession with your old lady. And that doesn’t bother you?’
Coby looked up sharply. ‘I know why he did it, Michael.’
‘And Lexi – she’s aware of everything, is she?’
‘Everyone’s up to speed, aye,’ Coby sighed. ‘Which means everyone’s looking out for each other, but what we aren’t doing is looking for some kind of vigilante shit, you got that? Revenge, retribution, all of that, it’s over. This club is done with that crap. We’re starting again, moving forward. For real this time.’
‘So, what are we talking about here? Some kind of pseudo resurrection? You comparing this club to a phoenix rising from the ashes, is that it?’
Coby fixed Michael with a look, but didn’t offer any kind of reply.
‘You’re really telling me you’re gonna let this lie?’ Michael persisted.
‘Everyone here co-operated. We did our bit, did what we needed to do. We told the police everything we knew, and that was enough. We promised we wouldn’t be seeking out our own justice, and I meant that. Look, Sheriff, I just want to marry my girl, look after my kid, and keep this club safe. OK? You want to tell me what’s wrong with that?’
‘Nothing. There’s nothing wrong with that, and believe me, there’s a part of me that’s kinda relieved you’re talking like this. But there’s another part of me – the bigger part, I might add – that can’t help being worried, because this… this isn’t you, Coby. It isn’t you.’
‘People change, Michael. Especially when they’ve got reason to. And after what happened to me, I got reason to.’
Michael held up his hands in surrender. He was done banging his head off a wall. It wasn’t getting him anywhere. ‘OK. OK, I’m done here. But just tell me one thing – if we find him; if we find Shane…’
Coby raised his eyebrows in question. ‘What do you want me to say? I’m assuming you’ll deal with him, make sure he gets what he deserves. It’s in your hands now. But my guess is he’ll be long gone from California. He’s a man who knows how to cover his tracks, remember?’
‘Jesus Christ,’ Michael sighed. ‘I think I preferred it when this place gave me sleepless nights… Shit! I’m doing it again. This place will always give me sleepless nights.’
Coby smiled, raking both hands through his messed-up, gray-streaked hair. ‘I told you I was gonna turn this club around, Michael. And I meant that. What happened with Shane – what happened with Lennie; all that stuff with Mia, they were just shit storms we had to deal with. And now I want to get back to the way we were, before any of that happened. We were on the right track. We can get there again.’
Michael returned Coby’s smile. ‘Y’know, I’m gonna let myself believe that. Because any other option is in danger of setting my ulcer off.’
Coby threw back his head and laughed. ‘Giving me the benefit of the doubt, huh?’
‘Something like that, yeah.’ Michael’s attention was distracted by the sight of Ben pulling up outside the clubhouse. ‘Anyway, I’d better get out of here. Got things to be doing, bad guys to catch.’ He threw Coby one last smile. ‘You know how it is…’ He started for the door, but then stopped, turning back around. ‘Look, before I go…’ He took another quick glance outside. Ben was talking to Jesse, leaning back against his bike, arms folded, every inch the biker Michael thought he’d left behind. And it killed him to think he’d reverted back to that life; that he’d made a decision to join an MC that neighbored his father’s. A dangerous move he may yet live to regret. And he may not be the only one. ‘About Ben.’
Coby raised an eyebrow.
‘What about him?’
‘Was it wise, to bring him into this club? Knowing his past, knowing who he’s connected to?’
‘He’s a good kid. And if he says he’s changed, then I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I think I know him well enough by now to have a handle on him. I can trust him, OK? The shit he’s had to deal with as our lawyer, if he’d wanted to pass any information on to anyone else he’s had plenty of chances to do so. And he hasn’t done that. So I can trust him.’
Michael frowned, not entirely sure he was believing this. ‘And… you’re aware that Hector Almeda wants to see Ben, aren’t you? After all this time… He’s one of you now. That won’t sit well with the Dark Angels.’
‘That the only reason?’ Coby fixed Michael with a questioning look, and Michael swallowed hard. ‘Tell me, Sheriff. How much do you know about the reason why Ben left the Dark Angels? I mean, when Lexi was hounded out of Paradise you knew every reason why that had happened. So, how much do you know about Ben’s reasons for being exiled?’
‘I’m not close to the Dark Angels, Coby. You know that.’
Coby raised another eyebrow, but he left it at that.
Michael swallowed down another knot of nerves, his frown deepening. ‘You are aware that this could kick-start something… Jesus, Coby…’
‘Whatever’s going on with his father, Michael, it has nothing to do with the Lone Riders. We’ve had no beef with the Dark Angels for years now, and even then it was nothing serious. No lives were lost, no guns were fired.’
‘Guns were involved, Coby, but I’m not even gonna go there.’ He took a long, deep breath, followed by a heavy sigh of resignation. ‘OK. I’m gonna have to trust you on this one. But I can’t promise… Just be careful. All right?’
‘You know me, Sheriff.’
‘Yeah. I do. That’s the problem.’ Heading outside, Michael waited until Ben had finished his conversation with Jesse before he approached him. ‘A word.’
Ben turned to look at him. ‘Something up?’
‘Yeah, something’s up. And you burying your head in the fucking sand isn’t gonna change any of it.’
Ben’s expression hardened, his eyes growing darker. ‘You really want to do this here?’
‘You’re not giving me all that much choice, son, seeing as you’re doing all you can to avoid any of it. Your father…’
‘I’m not doing this, Michael.’
‘You don’t have that many options now, believe me.’
‘All that crap – it’s behind me, it’s over…’
‘There’s talk, Ben. Rumors.’
Ben’s eyes narrowed, but there was a darkness behind them that caused Michael to shiver slightly, despite the warmth of the afternoon sun. ‘Rumors?’
‘Christ, is everyone playing dumb today? You know what’s going on, Ben. You’re not some wet-behind-the-ears prospect; you know how this shit goes down. You’ve become a member of an MC that neighbors your father’s. You didn’t even have the fucking decency to find somewhere far away from here, if this is what you really had to go back to…’
‘You know why I had to be here, Michael. For Mia. I fell in love, and she’s a part of this club, I can’t change that.’
‘You could have both made a fresh start somewhere new, if this is what you really needed to do…’
‘And after everything she’s been through, you think it would’ve been fair of me to tear her away from a family she’s only just realized she has?’
‘But that’s it, Ben. She’s only just realized they are her family.’
Ben stared at the sheriff, his only response to that a short, humorless laugh.
‘You think it’s fair to put her in yet more danger, huh?’ Michael’s eyes bored deep into Ben’s. ‘Because you aren’t the safest person to be around right now. You really aren’t.’
‘Look, I assumed they’d learned to live with what had happened.’ Ben’s voice was calm and controlled, an almost cold edge to it. ‘I thought they’d accepted that…’ He shook his head, his eyes dipping to the ground, his voice softening slightly. ‘It was all such a mess, Michael, you know that, you know… I mean, what they did…’ He pushed a hand through his hair, his eyes darting this way and that as they scoured the compound, making sure nobody was witnessing this exchange. ‘I got the message. I gave in to them, did what they wanted. So I assumed that was it.’
‘You’re really that naive?’
‘I just wanted to put all that shit behind me.’
‘You should never have come back here. I told you… You knew coming back here was going to open that can of worms right back up and…’
‘Quit with the crap, OK? I came back, I can’t change that. I came back, I got on with my life, shit happened…’
‘You put your head above the parapet, Ben. You made yourself visible.’
‘They knew, when I came back here, that I was working for the Lone Riders. They knew that.’
‘Working for them and becoming one of them are two completely different things, Jesus Christ, Ben, come on!’
‘They won’t do anything.’
‘Are you really that deluded? I’ve known what Hector Almeda is capable of long before you were even born, and I know how everything he stood for rubbed off on you, on Sol and Livvy… Your sister, she was the sensible one. She got out, got herself a life outside of all this crap and she’s happy, isn’t she? She’s safe and she’s happy. And you could’ve been that, too, Ben. You could’ve been safe and happy, in L.A. – anywhere. You could’ve been happy, anywhere but here.’
‘I am happy.’
‘You’re in denial. Your father, he doesn’t forget. He isn’t that kind of man. For some reason he saw fit to let it go once, and I can only assume that’s because, somewhere, deep inside his fucked-up soul, he dredged up some kind of fatherly feelings that saved your fucking ass…’
‘He tried to have me killed.’
‘And he didn’t try again, did he? He let it go. Because he didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to come back. And for five years, somehow – I have no idea what the hell was going on in his head for five years, I can only assume it was your brother’s influence, but now… He’ll be out for revenge this time, Ben. You know that. Hector Almeda, he bears grudges, and you joining the Lone Riders, all you’ve done there is give him more ammo; another reason to chase you down, make you pay…’
‘He won’t do anything, because he has secrets, Michael. And you know what those secrets are. You know what he did…’
‘And I kept my side of the bargain. I kept my head down, said nothing; stayed out of his way. And now this. You coming back here, you started this. You set those wheels in motion… Jesus! I should have been stronger. Should have done more to stop you… Look, you really need to talk to him, Ben.’
‘You think my father responds to talking? Sorry… if we’re talking about being deluded, I think you may have just stolen my crown there, Sheriff.’
‘Talk to him, Ben.’
Ben’s gaze took on an even steelier glare, causing Michael to take a step back.
‘I don’t have a father anymore. OK?’
‘And if that were true, then we’d all be sleeping safer in our beds. But you know it isn’t. And you’ve got to do something about that.’
‘For your benefit, Sheriff? Because it sure as hell ain’t gonna help me. And while we’re on this subject, does Coby – do any of the Lone Riders know just how close to the Dark Angels you really are? Do they have any idea of the hold my fucking father has over you?’
Michael took a step forward, his own expression hardening now, an anger he’d really wanted to keep down doing its best to push forward. ‘Do something about it, Ben. And do it soon. Because, if what I’m hearing is true, you really haven’t got that much time.’
Four
‘You all right?’ Kip sat down on the wall next to Coby, offering him a cigarette.
‘Your sister sees me smoking, she’ll string me up.’
‘Jesus, Coby, she got you by the frigging balls or something? This is Lexi we’re talking about.’
Coby pulled a cigarette from the packet and lit up, taking a long, deep drag. ‘She can be terrifying at times, y’know.’
‘Yeah.’ Kip smirked. ‘I’m not gonna argue with you on that one.’
‘I promised her, OK?’
‘Promised her what? That you’d renounce your manhood just to keep her happy?’
Coby looked down, smiling slightly. ‘She’s just worried about me, after everything that happened. I’m trying my best to humor her… Look, Kip…’ He raised his gaze, his expression suddenly serious. ‘I need to talk to you.’ He took another long drag. ‘Now you’re my V.P., there are things we need to get moving on. And there are things – there are things I haven’t told you. Because I needed to be – well, not sure, exactly, because I can’t be certain of anything just yet, but there are things…’ He trailed off, lowering his gaze for a beat or two before he raised his head, his eyes meeting Kip’s. ‘I think Shane’s still here. In Paradise. I think he’s somewhere close by, and I think someone’s harboring him. Keeping him hidden.’
Kip frowned. ‘Who told you this?’
‘Nomad Jake.’
‘And where’d he get his information?’
‘You know we never ask him that. Best not to. But he’s rarely wrong.’
‘Jesus…’ Kip whistled, taking off his cap and raking a hand through his dirty-blonde hair. ‘Hidden by who, exactly?’
‘That’s something we still need to find out. But there are rumors.’
‘Rumors?’
‘The Dark Angels – it’s possible they’re the ones hiding him.’
‘Shit! Coby… Shit! Does Michael know any of this?’
Coby shook his head, taking one last drag on his cigarette before tossing it to the ground, stamping down on it hard and heavy. ‘Best to let him think we really are leaving it to the lawmen.’
‘He fell for that crap, huh?’
Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3) Page 2