by Sophia Gray
Ethan clocked out and pulled his phone out of his pocket. Maybe he could start tracking her down. Then he noticed the time. He’d worked through lunch and now he had to get to HQ or William would have his balls on a plate. He’d have to do it when he got home. Swearing, he shoved the phone back into his pocket and headed to his meeting.
Everyone else was already there when he walked in. He’d known Kenny could handle the typical scheduling issues without breaking a sweat.
“’Bout time,” William said, exhaling smoke.
“There was a pileup at the four way stop,” Ethan replied, going to the mini fridge and pulling out a beer. He didn’t speak again until he’d downed a few cold swigs. “Slowed things down more than usual. God, it’s hot as fuck out there.”
“So, what’s the big plan?” Kenny asked over the general chatter that rose about the heat. He was always the one to shepherd them back to the business at hand.
Ethan put his beer down and leaned back against the desk. “Charity. Charity is the big plan.”
“Charity?” Ryan repeated with a grin. “You mean like that girl who took you home last night? That kind of charity?”
Ethan reached over and smacked the road captain in the back of the head. “Actually it’s more like the poor girl who had to spend the night talking to you.”
“Settle it down and get to the point,” William said evenly. “What kinda charity?”
“We’ve got a few good options,” Ethan said. “But I thought we could do--”
He was interrupted when the door banged open, the glass pane shivering as the frame smacked against the inner wall. Ethan thought for a second it was going to shatter. They didn’t have the money to deal with repairs right then.
Then his attention was drawn to the person who’d flung the door open in the first place. He didn’t look at all like the kind of man to come bursting into a motorcycle club. His suit was charcoal gray and tailored to a perfect fit and everything about him screamed money.
“Ethan Billings!”
Ethan raised his eyebrows. Holy shit, the guy was looking for him? He doubted he’d won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes. The trouble was, he had no idea what he’d done to piss someone off that badly either.
“Yeah?” he asked, keeping his voice low and his tone neutral. The guy’s face was red with anger and Ethan wasn’t looking to add fuel to the fire until he knew exactly what the man’s problem was.
“Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” the man demanded, his strong voice shaking with fury.
“I do a lot,” Ethan answered, not about to admit to anything that vague. “I’m gonna need some specifics.”
“Fuck, you’re Gregory Stratton, aren’t you?” Kenny suddenly blurted out.
“What?” the man demanded, turning to look at Kenny who had gotten to his feet. “Yes, I am.”
Kenny just looked at Ethan, who felt a little stunned. He’d spent all day thinking of how to show this guy up, to prove that not all motorcycle clubs were biker gangs...and now he was here? Here and more than a little pissed off. The trouble was, Ethan still had no idea why. He’d never had anything to do with the man before. Unless the guy was a mind reader, he had no reason to be so pissed off with Ethan.
“You took my daughter home last night,” Stratton shouted.
William snorted. “Yeah, right. I’m sure your little princess is hangin’ out in every biker bar from here to the strip.”
“I didn’t ask you!” Stratton informed the Sergeant at Arms.
Ethan had a sinking feeling in his gut. There was no way. It couldn’t be. Right? She had looked like she had money. But why in God’s name would Stratton’s daughter be looking for a biker? Unless she really wanted to piss her father off. Shit.
“Look, I don’t even know your daughter,” he said, trying to sound firm and praying like hell that he wasn’t lying.
Stratton pulled a photo from his pocket and the beautiful strawberry blonde from last night smiled out at him. “Amelia Stratton! Or have you already forgotten her?”
William stared at the picture for a second and, when he recognized the woman in it, he turned to Ethan with a dumbfounded look on his face.
“Holy shit,” he breathed. “You didn’t think that maybe--” he cut himself off, clearly furious, but knowing damn good and well that they didn’t need to be discussing this in front of an outsider. Even if he was the State Rep. He stood up and walked over toward the door.
“You need to get going,” William informed Gregory Stratton.
Stratton stood his ground, giving William a disgusted look. “I’ll leave when he’s answered my questions. What did you...what did you do with her?”
Ethan crossed his arms, amazed that the guy thought he had the right to ask that. What the hell kind of question was it anyway? Did he want Ethan to name positions? Or was there a reason Amelia had been a virgin up until last night? Maybe her father saw her as more valuable that way. The thought made him feel sick. “She’s a grown woman and that’s none of your damn business.”
Stratton looked like he was choking on things he wanted to say. He settled for an ultimatum. “You won’t ever see my daughter again. Do you understand me? If I get so much of a hint of you going anywhere near her, I’ll use the full extent of my authority to--”
“To do what?” Ryan cut in, his voice dry. “Shut us down? I’m pretty sure you’re already doing your damnedest to do that, aren’t you?”
Stratton looked around, seeming to finally see the group of men in the room and realize he was outnumbered. Outnumbered by a group of men he’d vilified to anyone who would listen. William was still standing, looking more furious by the minute. Ryan and Taylor had stepped up to flank the older man. Kenny and Jimmy stayed where they were, but they were watching the drama unfold with narrow gazes, clearly ready to step in if they saw the need. Stratton stepped back, wrenching open the door once more.
“I’m warning you,” he hissed. “Stay away from her, or this will get much worse.”
The door slammed and after a few moments they heard a car pull away. Ethan forced his body to relax. He’d gone so tense that every muscle hurt now. William stared at him.
“Are youkidding me? Fucking the State Representative’s daughter? What in God’s name were you thinking?”
Ethan’s temper, already pushed to the limits by a long day and then strained even more by Stratton, boiled over. “What the fuck do you want me to do?” he demanded. “Start checking I.D.? How was I supposed to know she was his daughter?”
“Maybe by her goddamned name?” William yelled. “Or did you not pay attention when we were talking to you about it yesterday?”
“Obviously, I did! I didn’t get her last name, okay? I didn’t ask!”
William snorted derisively. “Good plan.”
“Like you’ve never had a one night stand,” Ethan growled.
“Hell yeah I have! I can tell you this, though, none of ‘em looked that much like money!” William shouted. “You didn’t think something was a little off about her? Swaggering in like she owned the goddamn place? Fucking us over like any rich bitch--”
Ethan took a quick step forward. “Don’t call her that.”
“Jesus,” William snarled. “What are you gonna tell me now? That you’re gonna see her again?”
“No, I’m not going to see her again!” Ethan said, every word a pain in his chest. “I’m gonna do what’s best for this place and let her go.”
“Be the first time you have.”
“That’s enough,” Kenny said when Ethan’s fists clenched again. “This isn’t doing anybody any good. Let it go, William”
William rounded on the vice president, but Kenny didn’t back down. He didn’t even look confrontational.
“Ethan?” Jimmy asked and his voice also calm, cutting through the tension in the room and letting it dissipate into the air. “You were saying something before?”
“What?” Ethan demanded, pushing his hands throug
h his hair and trying to breathe properly. For some reason, all he could think of at the moment was that he finally knew her full name. What the hell was wrong with him?
“Your charity thing?” Jimmy went on smoothly. “Looks like we’re really going to need it now. Clue us in, tell us the big plan.”
Ethan glanced around. William had pulled out a new pack of cigarettes and he still looked furious, but everyone else was listening. He shoved Amelia Stratton’s memory out of his mind with an effort and said, “I was thinking a drive to raise money for a good cause.”
“And how the hell is that gonna help us?” William demanded.
“It’ll make us look good,” Ethan snapped back at him. “Change our reputation, prove to people that we aren’t lawbreaking assholes. I guess you can just stay home.”
Ryan laughed, easing the tension in the room even more. “Yeah, that’d probably be for the best, man. We don’t want your face to scare anyone off.”
William flipped the road captain off and Jimmy reached over and pulled a legal pad off of the cluttered desk. “Okay, tell me what you’re thinking,” he said, pen poised over a clean sheet of paper.
“We need a charity that actually donates everything to the people who need it,” Ethan said. “None of this 5% bullshit.”
Jimmy nodded and made a note. “I’ll do some fact checking tonight. What kind of charities are we thinking?”
“Women’s shelters,” Taylor suggested.
“Or we could do something with a soup kitchen,” Ryan added.
“I was thinking something for veterans,” Ethan said. “Start with those three and see what we can do. It’s short notice, so it might limit things.”
“I can do that. Might be good to have some stuff for kids to do,” the secretary added. “I could bring the rugrats if we pick one of my weekends.” As it always did, his businesslike expression softened just slightly when he talked about his daughters.
“Good idea,” Taylor said. “Part of that ‘we’re not monsters’ thing.”
“Maybe some of those things kids can jump in,” William said gruffly, lighting another cigarette. “Kids fuckin’ love those.”
Ethan nodded at William, feeling a little more civil to the Sergeant at Arms now. “That’s a good idea.”
Jimmy continued to scribble ideas hurriedly as the rest of the officers tossed them out. “Okay,” he said when the spate of ideas ran dry and he had two and a half pages of notes. “The gist is that we want food trucks, somebody who can do balloon animals or face painting, bounce houses, and games. Anybody got anything else?”
“A membership booth,” Ethan said.
“Good idea,” Ryan agreed. “Get ‘em interested and then get ‘em signed up on the spot.”
“No,” Ethan corrected and the rest of the group looked at him in surprise. “Get them interested, yeah. But the thing is, we want ‘em to come to us after the drive is over. This can’t look like we’re trying to add members. It needs to look like what it is. A nice, non-criminal thing to do to help people who need it.”
“Yeah, needy people like us,” Taylor said with a grin. “I like the sound of all of it.” He stood up. “I gotta hit the road. Told Penelope I’d be home for supper.” He smacked Jimmy on the back. “Just let me know when you get some decent numbers and I’ll figure out the money.”
Ethan watched his treasurer walk away. William followed him out without speaking and Ethan knew that, even though he’d contributed some ideas and was willing to play along with the charity thing, the other man was still angry with him. He also knew there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He wasn’t feeling cheery with William either, but he figured it would smooth itself out. It always did when they butted heads.
After he’d wrapped up a few loose ends, Ethan gave Jimmy, Ryan, and Kenny a distracted goodbye and left them drinking and planning. All he really wanted was food and the coldest shower he could stand. And Amelia.
Had she done it on purpose? To make her father even angrier with bikers? If so, it was completely unnecessary, but apparently damn effective. Or had she done it to get back at her father? That seemed more likely, given how determined she’d been. And given how her father barged into The Angel’s Keepers demanding the details of his daughter’s sex life. Ethan might not have checked her I.D., but he knew damn good and well that she’d been above the age of consent, which was a big part of why he’d refused to answer. It was, plain and simple, none of Gregory Stratton’s business who or what his daughter did in bed.
Ethan sighed in frustration. All he had were more questions and no possible way of finding answers. Not with such a tight timeline to try and save his motorcycle club. Or, if he couldn’t save it, at least repair the damage he’d done by taking Amelia Stratton to bed with him.
Chapter 8
Amelia
Amelia looked up from the television show that she wasn’t paying any attention to when she heard the front door slam closed. Her heart began to pound with fear. She was supposed to be the only one home. She wondered if she could get to her phone quickly enough if it turned out to be a homicidal maniac.
When her father appeared in the living room, she was relieved, but only for a moment. His face was red with anger and his usually immaculate hair was disarranged. His suit was wrinkled and his hands were clenched.
“Dad, what’s--”
“Where were you last night?” he demanded, cutting her off.
Amelia felt the blood drain from her head. How could he have known? It just wasn’t possible! “What do you mean?” she asked, her voice wavering. “I was right here.”
“Don’t lie to me!”
Her father walked into the room and threw a picture down. Amelia saw herself in the parking lot of The Hole, her arms around Ethan. He was holding her tightly, one hand clasping the back of her neck and the other at the small of her back. Seeing it again made her whole body respond to the memory of the heat of his mouth and the firm muscles of his chest.
We look like we fit. Amelia shook the thought from her head. It wasn’t exactly the most important part. Suddenly she realized exactly what it meant for her father to have this picture. “Did you have me followed?”
“You promised me you were going to shape up,” Gregory said, his voice ragged with anger. “You said you--”
“Did you have me followed?” she asked again, her voice rising frantically, trying to hide the fact that she was shaking. This was the first time she’d been honestly afraid since the issues between her and her father had begun.
“Yes!” He spat out “I did. To keep you safe!”
“Taking dirty pictures of me is keeping mesafe?” Her stomach turned. Had she ever felt so completely violated before? “How could you do this?”
“How could you?” Gregory demanded, looking back at the picture with derision. “Do you know who he is?What he is?”
“I...”No. The look her father fixed on her made her feel very dirty all of a sudden. She resented the feeling. What she’d done with Ethan wasn’t wrong. Her body was hers, damn it, and she could do what she wanted with it. At least for one night. She forced a laugh. “What are you talking about?”
“He’s the leader of a biker gang,” Gregory said. “It’s called The Angel’s Keepers. Don’t you know what biker gangs do, Amelia?”
She shook her head. She hadn’t thought to ask him what he did. She hadn’t cared as long as one of the things was her.
“They run drugs! They hurt people! They’re responsible for over half of the sex trafficking in Nevada!”
Amelia stared at her father. None of that even made sense. “That’s a lot of stuff for one group,” she said, trying to sound sarcastic. “The Angel’s Keepers must be a busy place.”
“Don’t be deliberately stupid!” he ordered, pointing his index finger in her face. “They’re all in it together. What do you think those rides are for? Why do you think they have meetings and headquarters?”
“Where did you even hear this?” she
asked, shaken by his anger, but not cowed by what seemed to be insanely biased statistics.
“I heard it from people who give a damn about my campaign,” Gregory snarled. “The only serious financial backers I have!”
“What about Lauren Dorfman’s father? What about the Governor? What about-”
“Don’t contradict me, Amelia May!”