Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3)

by Betham, Michelle

  Walking into the office she was surprised to find it empty. The garage was business as usual, so where was Angie? She was usually the one taking charge in here, and Mia thought she might have been able to lend a hand, do something, anything to help out; to take her mind off things.

  ‘They’ve gone out.’

  She swung around to see Coby standing in the doorway, his tall, imposing frame almost filling the space. ‘Oh. Right. Wedding stuff?’

  Coby shrugged. ‘Who knows? I just saw Lexi heading off with Angie a few minutes ago. You could have gone with them. I can call them back if you like…’

  ‘No.’ Mia shook her head, folding her arms against herself. ‘I’m not really in the mood for shopping.’ That wasn’t completely true. She’d have gone, if she’d been asked. It could’ve been that distraction she was looking for.

  ‘OK. Well…’ He closed the door, quickly peering out of the window.

  ‘I was just wondering if there was anything I could help out with,’ Mia said, stopping him from finishing his own sentence. ‘Y’know, if there’s, maybe, something that needs doing around here…’

  ‘I’m sure everything’s fine. Angie wouldn’t leave this place otherwise.’ He dug his hands into his pockets, walking over to her. ‘You know how she is.’

  ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do. I’ll… I’ll go find something else to do, then. See if any of the other old ladies are around.’

  She started to walk towards the door, stopping only when she felt his hand rest lightly on her hip, but she didn’t turn around. She couldn’t. Once more, that feeling of her feet being glued to the ground returned, rendering her unable to move.

  Closing her eyes she breathed in deep, making no attempt to shake him off.

  ‘Lexi’s giving me shit,’ Coby whispered, his mouth close to her neck, his breath warm on her skin, the faint smell of cigarettes and engine oil making her feel strangely comforted, ‘Ben’s giving you a headache I’m sure you could well do without…’

  She took another deep breath, keeping her eyes closed as his hand pressed harder against her, his other one gently pushing her hair away from the back of her neck.

  ‘We could both do with a distraction. What d’you say, darlin’?’

  She felt her stomach give a sudden jolt. The last thing she should be doing was letting the club president touch her like this. It was wrong. Oh, she wasn’t stupid. She knew monogamy was a dirty word around these places; she’d grown up surrounded by the cold, hard facts so she wasn’t that naïve to think it didn’t go on. But this – he was the president, her sister’s fiancé. Was she really so messed-up right now that she was even considering going there?

  ‘I’m leaving,’ she whispered, taking his hand and gently removing it from her hip.

  ‘Mia.’

  She stood still, closing her eyes. ‘Lexi’s my sister, Coby. So, whatever you’re looking for here, I can’t give you that. I won’t…’

  ‘I love your sister, Mia. Don’t get me wrong; don’t think I don’t love her because I do. She’s my fucking world. Her and Ozzie, they’re my whole fucking world.’

  She slowly turned around, backing up against the wall as he moved closer; stepping into her space, but it was OK. It was fine. She could handle it. ‘So why this, huh? If you love her so much, why this?’

  ‘Sometimes you just need to take a step back, that’s all. A little escape never hurt anybody.’

  She couldn’t help laughing. The irony was just too much. ‘Like the “escape” Lexi took when she started fucking you? Is that what we’re talking about? Because that hurt nobody, right?’

  His mouth twisted up into a smirk, his hand resting just a touch too hard against the side of her neck, his thumb stroking her cheek. ‘That mouth of yours is gonna get you into trouble, darlin’.’

  She reached up and pulled his hand away, but he grabbed her wrist, holding it tight, his eyes boring into hers. But gone were the days when this man had intimidated her. After everything that had happened with Lennie, no man would ever intimidate her again. ‘Fuck you, Coby.’ She wrenched her arm free of his grip and made to go, but he was too quick for her, pushing her back against the wall, his mouth on hers before she had time to catch her breath. It was only when she kneed him hard in the balls that he pulled back.

  ‘Jesus fucking Christ!’

  ‘What is this, huh? You’re the club president, so that gives you the right to fuck any woman you want, regardless of who they are?’

  He looked at her, his eyes blazing, but still she felt nothing but contempt for a man she’d thought was different. Who was she kidding? They were all the fucking same. Every single one of them.

  ‘You want to fuck me so bad you’d betray Lexi?’ Her voice was quieter now. Calmer. ‘After everything you’ve been through to get to where you are, you’d really do that to her?’

  He stood up straight, pushing a hand through his hair, his dark eyes still boring deep into hers. ‘Lexi knows the score.’

  ‘She deserves better.’

  He moved another step closer, but Mia stood her ground, not flinching when he reached out to cup her cheek. ‘You want this too, Mia. I can see it, right there in your eyes, darlin’. You need that escape just as much as I do.’

  ‘You don’t know what I need. You have no fucking idea.’

  He smiled; a slow, slightly sinister smile and Mia felt her stomach give another unexpected jolt as he leaned in towards her, his mouth almost touching hers, his voice low and gruff. ‘You want this too.’

  ‘I want you to go.’

  ‘I’m not going anywhere, darlin’.’

  That feeling of becoming detached from a situation was once more washing over her, and she was only vaguely aware of him sliding a hand up under her denim skirt, hooking his fingers into the sides of her panties. OK. She was becoming more lucid now, aware that she needed to get a grip of what was going on here. He wanted to play. That was fine. She could play just as hard. She could play real hard.

  ‘Just relax, and let it happen, Mia,’ he whispered, his fingers gently stroking her thigh, his eyes staring deep into hers.

  She waited a second or two; waited until he started to slowly slip her panties down before she slammed her hand over his, her expression hardening.

  ‘You really think this is gonna happen, huh? President?’

  He looked at her, chuckling quietly. ‘If I slide my hand between those beautiful legs of yours are you gonna tell me you aren’t wet?’

  It was her turn to laugh, her eyes never leaving his. ‘You really think I want this.’ It wasn’t a question.

  ‘I know you do,’ he murmured, his mouth almost touching hers.

  ‘And you’re fucking wrong.’ She yanked his hand away, her grip on him strong because this was a game she was going to win. ‘You’re so fucking wrong.’

  His eyes dipped to her hand gripping his wrist, and she wasn’t letting go of him, not yet. She wasn’t done. And she was pushing him, she knew that, but all of a sudden she needed someone to blame, and he was here – the man who’d put Ben in danger. And she blamed him. For everything. ‘Get the hell out of my face,’ she hissed, pushing him back so hard he had to grab on to the desk behind him to steady himself. ‘Lexi is my sister.’ She walked over to him, making sure her eyes locked with his as she spoke. ‘And I am not gonna do this to her. So whatever game you’re trying to play here, Coby, don’t play it with me. Don’t play it so close to fucking home, you know better than that.’

  She made to back away but he grabbed her arm, his grip tight, his fingers digging into her skin, his eyes dark and dangerous. ‘If anyone’s playing games, darlin’, it’s you. And I really wouldn’t advise that.’

  She stared up at him, feeling not one flicker of fear. She was done with the bastards; the guys who thought they could have anyone they wanted just because of who they were. She’d really thought Coby was past all that. She’d thought he was different. She’d been wrong. ‘If you love Lexi, you wouldn’t need this.’

/>   ‘Don’t tell me what the fuck I need, sweetheart. Don’t fucking do that.’

  ‘Like I said, she deserves better. She adores the ground you walk on, and you were willing to fuck her sister?’

  He yanked her closer, pulling her against him. ‘That’s the element of danger that makes my dick hard, darlin’.’ He almost rasped the words out, and Mia felt sick to her stomach as a warped excitement flooded through her. And she hated the feeling. It made her seem weak, something she sensed could be dangerous, as far as this man was concerned.

  ‘You wish. Soldier.’

  His eyes burned into hers, a stare so intense Mia could actually feel the heat, but this was over now. It was finished.

  ‘You don’t get to do this shit with me, Coby.’ She wrestled free of his grip, straightening her skirt and pushing both hands through her hair. ‘I love my sister. And this – this isn’t happening.’

  He leaned back against the desk, folding his arms, his eyes still on her, she could feel them, burning into the back of her neck as she headed for the door. And it wasn’t until she was outside in the yard that she felt she could breathe again.

  Twelve

  ‘Are you OK with this, Sol?’

  Sol shrugged, lifting his feet up on to the table. ‘You believe him?’

  Hector leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers over his stomach. ‘I’d rather he was here, with us, where we can keep a closer eye on him.’

  ‘You trust him?’

  ‘I trust no one.’ Hector leaned forward, his eyes fixed on Sol. ‘We had a long chat, me and your brother. He shows genuine remorse for everything he’s done. Everything that betrayed this club. Everything that betrayed us, his family.’

  ‘Any other club member would have been exiled, or killed by now. It looks like we’re showing him some kind of special treatment.’

  ‘Were you not listening in church just now? He can help us bring the Lone Riders down, Sol. That’s our aim, right? To bring them down, to claim their territory; to make our club one of the biggest, most feared MCs in the country. We get their patch, we gain a power that was almost unthinkable before.’

  ‘And then we take our own revenge, right? I mean, surely you haven’t gone back on everything we decided? The whole point of this was to finally make my brother pay for what he did, not accept him back into the fold like nothing happened.’

  ‘We need to be patient, OK? We keep him close, let him think everything’s fine, and when the time is right… it’ll happen, Sol. I promise you that.’

  Sol sighed, raking his hands through his hair.

  ‘I’m sorry this has dredged up memories you’d rather forget,’ Hector continued, ‘but it needs to be this way. I wasn’t expecting Benjamin to come back to us quite so easily, I have to admit. But his doing so has only made our job easier. We can start putting plans into action much sooner than I’d anticipated.’

  ‘You know they probably sent him here as bait, don’t you?’ Sol said. ‘As some kind of spy.’

  ‘And I find it hard to believe that Coby Walker thinks I wouldn’t realize that. But, if he really believes I’m that stupid, then all the better. Let them think we’re being played. Because, all he’s really done is hand us everything we were looking for on a plate. And having Benjamin right under our noses will make it a whole lot easier for us to dispense of him once we’re done with their club.’

  Sol frowned slightly. ‘Aren’t you worried he’s gonna tell them about Shane? That we’re the ones hiding him? I mean, that’s what they sent him here for, isn’t it? To find out where he is, what he’s got planned.’

  Hector shrugged. ‘Shane doesn’t concern me right now. He isn’t important. I agreed to keep him safe because, when all’s said and done, we’re on the same side here. We both want the same thing – to destroy Coby Walker. To see his club brought to its knees. But if anything was to happen to him before he manages to carry out his own revenge? Shit happens, Sol. He knows his stay with us is conditional. He knows he has to do as we say, or we just throw him out there to the lions and let him get ripped apart. But, for now, he can still be useful to us. He can tell us things that might aid our endgame.’

  Sol’s eyes narrowed. ‘I don’t see him being of any more use to us now. He’s told us everything he knows, so I don’t…’

  ‘We let him go, he gets to Coby first. You need to concentrate here, Sol. I want to be the one to bring Coby Walker down, not watch as someone else does it, least of all some fucked-up redneck with a messed-up obsession. His reasons are weak and pathetic. They’re irrational. What we’re doing, that’s going to have repercussions that will only benefit our club.’

  ‘So we continue to keep him prisoner?’

  ‘We keep him out of the way until we’re done. After that, he can do what the hell he likes. Shane Randell is not and never will be a problem.’

  Sol picked up a random coaster that was lying on the table, flicking it deftly between his fingers. ‘Coby and Lexi’s wedding day, huh?’

  ‘Coby and Lexi’s wedding day. So you don’t have too long to wait. Once we’ve done what we need to do, we end it. OK? We end it. Once and for all.’

  Sol looked up at his father, still artfully twisting the coaster between his fingers. But he stayed silent.

  The slight agitation Hector had felt before was suddenly back. Sol seemed edgy, and that concerned him.

  ‘Things are only going to get better around here, Sol. We’re going to become more powerful, more feared. We’re going to rule this fucking part of town and let nobody forget that. We’re going to be fucking kings!’

  Sol smiled, his father’s enthusiasm contagious.

  ‘Think of the future.’ Hector stood up, walking over to his eldest son, sliding his hand around the back of Sol’s neck as he leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on his forehead. ‘You are going to take over this club one day, son, and I want to be able to leave you a legacy to be proud of.’

  ‘You will.’ Sol smiled again, a wave of calm flooding over him. He was ready for this now. He was so ready, to do what was right. ‘I know you will.’

  Hector returned the smile, patting Sol’s shoulder. ‘Then let’s get to work. Let’s make this shit happen.’

  ***

  ‘If he’s been working both clubs, for all that time, how do we know we can trust him?’ Luca asked, absent-mindedly stabbing the tip of his knife into the table top.

  Coby looked at him, raising both eyebrows. ‘You paying for that fucking damage?’

  Luca slid the knife back into his cut pocket.

  ‘I don’t know if we can trust him now,’ Coby sighed, leaning forward, clasping his hands together. ‘I had no fucking idea Michael and the Dark Angels went that far back. No idea he was in their fucking pockets, too. Not to this extent.’

  ‘He gave himself no choice,’ Kip said, swigging from a bottle of beer. It was just past breakfast, but he was in desperate need of some hair-of-the-dog. His hangover was banging! ‘He knows too much. Dug himself a hole he can’t fucking get out of now.’

  Michael Bailey’s involvement with the Dark Angels was still something Coby was trying to get his head around. He’d thought the Sheriff had been a loyal friend to the Lone Riders for decades, but now he could only question that loyalty. ‘He’s either a brave man, or a stupid one. But we need to be careful around him now, everyone got that? We have no idea how deep he’s in with the Dark Angels’ plan to take us down. We have no idea if he’s feeding them information, we have no fucking clue what he knows, or how much they’re telling him. But we tell him nothing. OK? Treat him like the person he is – a lawman. We all clear?’

  Everyone was ready for the fight now, whenever it may come.

  ‘So, Ben managed to pull it off, then?’ Luca said. ‘He’s back as a Dark Angel. Shit! I don’t envy him that task. Man, if they find out he’s double-crossing them… Hector Almeda ain’t that stupid, surely.’

  ‘He’ll be fine.’ Coby wished he could feel as confident as he
sounded. But Luca was right – Hector Almeda wasn’t a stupid man. The game they were playing was a dangerous one, and Coby couldn’t be sure if Hector had taken Ben back because he believed the story he’d spun him, or because he had a feeling he was being played. And Coby’s gut was telling him it was the latter. Either way, it put Ben in a position no brother wanted to be in. But this was the nature of the life – sometimes bad shit happened to men who tried to become good.

  ‘Coby?’

  Luca’s voice pulled him back to reality, and he looked at them all, these men he had a duty to protect; the club he was desperate to save. ‘Sorry… Ozzie had a bad night last night. I guess the lack of sleep’s getting to me, huh?’

  ‘And he’s gonna let us know, is he? Ben, I mean. When there’s something he needs to tell us, he’ll let us know?’

  Coby sighed, sitting back in his chair. ‘He’s got this. OK?’

  ‘Mia aware of how everything’s moved on, is she?’

  Coby’s glance over at Kip was full of warning. ‘We’ll look after Mia. She’ll be fine.’

  ‘So, what do we now?’ Luca asked.

  ‘We wait,’ Coby replied. ‘Until Ben gets in touch. Meanwhile, there’s work to be done down at the boxing club, and Kel needs some things taking over to the Candy Cave.’

  ‘I’ll do that.’ Luca grinned.

  Kip smirked. ‘So fucking shallow.’

  ‘Says the man who’s boning one of the studio’s most agile actresses.’

  ‘And don’t you fucking wish you were me.’

  ‘Hey, come on, kids. Grow up, the pair of you.’ Coby pushed his chair back, standing up and making his way over to the door. ‘Eyes and ears open, remember? This is happening now, and we can’t afford to be caught napping.’

  Kip watched him leave, and then stood up himself, checking his watch.

  ‘You not coming with me to the Candy Cave?’ Luca asked.

  ‘Got somewhere else I have to be,’ Kip replied, quickly checking his phone.

  ‘You’re giving up an afternoon of watching your freakin’ hot-as-hell girlfriend finger-fuck another woman to do, what?’