by Nicole Fox
“I don’t want you going to war over me, Trip,” I said softly.
He pressed his lips to mine. “We’re already there, Misha.” He drew a breath through his nose. “We’ve always been there.”
“You never stopped.” He didn’t need to tell me. I knew. I knew. It was just different now than it was then. Because Trip was smarter. Wiser. He didn’t act rashly.
Still, the thought was terrifying.
“The boys weren’t celebrating a charity run, were they?” I asked. “When you guys rode on in.”
“We’d just finished dumping about a quarter mil of coke off into a ravine.”
“Trip—”
“My duty, and everyone’s duty here, is to protect this town. Misha—when we were young, it was all about the glory. Partying, fucking, showing off the bikes, showing how bad you were to anyone that was around. We were dumb back in the day. But after … after you left … I was so fucking angry, Misha. Angry because I couldn’t protect you. Was too busy getting into bar fights and drinking and being a stupid little shit that I didn’t know my head from my ass. It opened my eyes and made me realize that if I was going to be doing all of this, I needed to be doing it with some sort of purpose, you know? Protecting those that can’t be protected otherwise. It might be poking the Jackals in the ass, but it’s keeping drugs that made this town a shit hole out of it. it’s the kind of shit we do, Misha. I told you when you came back, didn’t I? Things had changed.”
“You knew I wouldn’t like this. You kept it from me.”
“You’re not a member of the club, so, yeah, kept it from you.” He must have caught the flash of hurt that went across my face. “You know I don’t mean it like that, Misha. But you’re not a club member, and you didn’t want Rose mixed in this, and I knew that if you knew everything that was going on, you would worry. That wouldn’t be good for you.”
“You kept it from me to protect me?” I asked, almost sarcastic. “Or yourself?”
“I kept it from you because you’d already been through enough and if that meant you thought we were going on a charity run rather than handling drugs, then I was gonna do it. Why do you want them bringing in that shit here? Do you want them fucking up this town after we’ve spent years fixing it? Do you care about them—”
“I don’t give a shit about them!” I shouted, not realizing that my voice had gotten so loud. I bit my lip, though, remembering that Rose was in the other room. “I don’t care if their drugs are taken. I hope all their shit suffers, Trip. But he—he was here. He knows we’re here. And now apparently, you’re messing with their stuff like that. It was one thing keeping them out of the territory—I know all about that little squabble and deal a few years back. One of Holland’s boys stepped over a line with a girl, Big Mama’s niece, wasn’t it? She told me about it. Shit that could have given you every right to retaliate like the old days, but you knew that would mean war. Holland told me that it took a fair bit of negotiating but there was always rumor of skirmishes one way or another—”
“We never instigated those—”
“But always were a part of them.”
“What do you want me to say, Misha? I’m doing and have been doing the best that I damn well can.”
The silence lingered over us. I didn’t realize that there were tears falling until Trip reached out and brushed one from my cheek.
“I don’t want this to be the reason that I lose you again, Misha. Say something.”
It took me a moment. Everything seemed to be crashing down around all at once, and I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to or even could make of it.
“I—I’m scared, Trip,” I admitted. I looked at him. “You’re more involved than I thought—”
“I’m only involved when it comes across the border, Misha. I don’t poke the bear, and I don’t make rash decisions that will hurt people.” He took my face in his hands. “I promise you. I will protect you and Rose. I swear. Don’t think I won’t, because I fucking will.”
It would have been so easy to tell him no. that I wouldn’t trust him. I hadn’t trusted anyone in years.
There was a fierceness in his eyes though. An intent there—I saw myself in those eyes. A parent willing to do what it took to protect their child.
I said nothing. I leaned forward, kissed him, and knew things would be all right.
Chapter Eleven
Trip
“You excited, sweetie?”
“Mmhm! I’ve never been to a school before!”
I had Rose’s little hand slipped into mine. I was walking her to her classroom—her first classroom. It was her first day of school after a hell of a lot of hoop jumping getting her registered. But she would be almost a year behind if we put it off, and Misha and I knew that she couldn’t just hang around the house or the bar for the rest of forever.
Oddly enough, it was kind of scary. I was leaving my daughter with strangers after I’d just started getting to know her.
However, I couldn’t let that get in the way of what was best for her. It was all a part of this parent thing that I was doing. Parent, family man, kind of thing. We got some odd stares, probably from people who weren’t expecting some biker guy to be dropping off a little girl, but I didn’t care. I only wished that Misha hadn’t had to pull a double at the diner and had been here to see her off, too; seemed like a thing a mom should be able to do.
“Mr. Trip.” I hadn’t realized Rose was tugging on my arm. I looked down.
“Yeah, sweetie?”
“Do you think I’ll make friends? I’ve never had a friend, except for Mr. Holland, but he was an adult.”
I frowned and stopped with her, standing off beside one of the walls.
“You were never around other kids with the Jackals?”
“All the kids were older … and mean,” she said softly. “And Mama said she didn’t want me getting involved with them, either. so I stuck with Mama and with Mr. Holland. He used to give me sweets and help me color.”
I pursed my lips. I still hadn’t gotten over the fact that the bastard had basically been allowed to act as a surrogate father to Rose all these years, but that was neither here nor there, and I couldn’t change it, anyway. I squatted down in front of her.
“You’re such a sweet girl, Rose,” I told her. “I’m sure you’ll make a lot of friends, and they’ll all be very, very nice to you, too.” Her eyes lit up.
“You think so?”
“I know so. Besides, you’re cool and smart, too, and people will want to be your friend because you’re so cool and smart.”
She smiled brightly, and flung herself on me, wrapping her arms around me as she did so.
“Come on, Mr. Trip. It’s almost time for class!”
I laughed and stood up, taking her by the hand to walk her to her class. There was a small line as parents dropped off their kids. Apparently, there was stuff that we had to take. When it was my turn, I knelt down and kissed Rose on the head, letting her sprint into the room with the other couple dozen tiny Gremlins too. The teacher, a short, younger woman, smiled up at me and I caught the way her eyes lingered.
“Hello there,” she said, holding out a folder for me. “This is all the class information that you’ll need to help everything run smooth and easy this year. All my contact information is in there as well, in case you have any questions for me personally, Mr …?”
“Trip,” I said, taking the folder, making a mental note as the teacher continued to stare to bring Misha with me next time so that maybe I wouldn’t get the creepy, unnecessary bedroom eyes.
Hell.
When had I become the man that didn’t like the creepy, unnecessary bedroom eyes?
Pondering this, I made my way back out into the parking lot. I’d borrowed Travis’ truck, and knew that if this was going to be a regular thing, I might need to invest in an actual vehicle to take Rose to and from school, not to mention to and from other places. I still wasn’t very comfortable having her on the bike just yet.
<
br /> Look at me, being responsible.
I walked out to Travis’ truck, and paused. Amid the realization that I was maturing a little faster than planned, I got that feeling you only get when you’re used to watching your back.
Like someone was following me.
I played it cool, though. Worst thing to do in such a situation was to tip off the person that was following you, that you knew that they were following you. It made them act rash, and I wasn’t about rash anymore. I got in the truck, turned it on, and pulled out. A few moments later, there was a beat up two-door pick-up behind me. The windows were grimy and I couldn’t get a good look at who the person was, but they were definitely tailing.
“Well, fuck.”
I pulled out my phone and rang up Brig. He answered on the second ring.
“What’s up? You piss yourself trying to figure out how to navigate an elementary school—”
“Someone’s tailing me?”
“What?” I heard some rustling. “Who? You get a face?”
“Nah, they’re in some shitty ass truck though, nasty windows.”
“That’s not a lot to go on when everyone in town has a shitty truck, Trip.”
“Suck a dick. I’m gonna ride around and see if I shake ’em. Expect me at the bar in twenty if not. Also—send someone over to the diner. Don’t tell Misha, just make it seem like a friendly visit. Rose will be safe in school and it’s only me, Misha, and you that can pull her out of school and they ask for I.D.”
“You got it, boss. See ya soon.”
I hung up and kept an eye on whoever the hell it was that was following me. I knew they were following, because they still hadn’t ditched me in all my random driving through town, and kept following me until I pulled up to Ace of Pride. Of course, they were greeted by about a dozen or so Pride boys hanging out front. I didn’t have a problem in stepping out of Travis’ truck and joining them.
“Who the fuck is that?” Travis asked, leaning over. I shrugged. The person hadn’t yet come out.
“Fuck if I know. They trailed me from the school.”
“Did you notice them following you to the school?”
“Don’t think so, but I could be wrong if they were all over my ass after leaving. Maybe they didn’t want me seeing them on the way to school …”
I kept my eyes on the car, and the person inside still hadn’t come out. I squinted, trying to make sure that it really was just one person, before the side door opened. Everyone stood straighter, at attention, and a man came out.
He was kind of small. Like, wimpy kid that gets shoved into lockers in crappy high school movies kind of small. He didn’t seem like much, and I relaxed.
“H-hi …” My brows furrowed as he stepped closer.
“The fuck do you want?” I asked. “And how about you just stay right over there, yeah? I don’t think you need to come any closer than this.”
The man stopped. He looked at each of my boys and gulped.
“I didn’t think you’d drive over here.”
“Yeah, well, you thought wrong, didn’t you? The fuck do you want, before we decide it’s time to get a little rough with you?”
“Listen, I wouldn’t have, all right? But I need to talk to Misha. She doesn’t know—”
I strode forward, backing the guy against his truck.
“You need to talk to Misha about what?”
He swallowed.
“Rigger,” he said. “He’s looking for her.”
It took about two seconds for me to have the man’s shirt in my hands.
“You’re not talking fast enough for my tastes,” I said. “So you better start making some chatter—”
“Listen, I’ll tell you, I’ll tell you! I just don’t want her hurt!”
“Come on, Trip. Let’s take him inside and see what he’s got to say.”
Chapter Twelve
Misha
“Johnny, you’ve been here for three hours.”
“Is there a reason you’ve been here for three hours?”
“I like the diner.”
“Mmhm.”
The long-haired DeVos twin sat at one of my tables, eating through a second plate of the breakfast sampler. Where he was putting it, I had no idea, but I knew that he was stalling something fierce. At first I had just thought that he was in for breakfast and had come by to say hi. But then he’d lingered.
I didn’t have time to babysit him, however. We were slammed. I was pulling a double, and I was tired and a little down from not being able to see Rose off to her first day of school. There was something that was up, however, and I knew something was up with the way that Johnny kept checking his phone, as if he were waiting for some kind of signal.
I wasn’t going to kick him out, either way. I worked through my first shift, took a five-minute break to shove food in my mouth, and then worked through about thirty minutes of my second shift before I saw Johnny take Big Mama into the back office. They were gone for a time, and I was able to take two more orders and clear out a table before he came back around.
“Hey, Misha, we need to go.”
I looked at him incredulously, carrying a tray of dirty dishes in my hands.
“What do you mean, we need to go? You sit here all day and you don’t tell me what’s going on, and you expect me to leave in the middle of a double shift rush?” I scoffed. “Johnny, I don’t know what’s going on, but if Tripp is keeping me out of things, you guys need to settle on in or out and—”
“It’s about Jared Longman.”
The tray dropped from my hands.
“Shit!”
I scrambled to pick up the mess, but my mind was racing. Jared Longman … why was he here? What the hell did he think he was doing? Had he talked to Trip?
Trip.
Shit!
“Listen, Johnny—”
“Misha, we need to go and we need to go now.”
I frowned. “Big Mama—”
“Already knows. Come on.”
I didn’t bother clocking out. I just knew that if Jared was in town, then there was nothing good that was coming from it. I just hoped that he hadn’t caused some sort of irreparable damage by opening up his mouth.
# # #
Johnny rode me to the bar. Checking my phone when I got off, it was only a couple of hours until it would be time for Rose to come home. I wondered what she would be coming home to.
The bar was shockingly deserted, save for just the boys. All their eyes turned on me, and I had the intense sense of deja vu, as if it was the day that I had come back, rather than a few months into all of this. They were all up front, and in the center closest to the bar were Trip, Brig, and Jared. He looked worse than he usually did. He had always been a thin man, and small, and not much of a biker boy in reality, but he’d been roped into some shit with the Jackals, and they were all too big on letting go of assets.
“Misha,” he said, breathing out a very large sigh of relief as he saw me.
“Hey, Jared,” I said warily. “What are you doing here?”
“Apparently, he came to warn you,” Trip spoke up. My eyes flicked to him, and his were controlled … but I could see that something was wrong. My stomach sank at the possibilities.
“Warn me?”
Jared’s eyes flicked over to Trip, and Trip nodded.
“Tell her.”
Jared swallowed.
“Ah, yeah, well. Rigger’s put out a bounty on you. Holland’s not looking too good, and he’s been putting pressure on Holland’s old lady to pull the plug, you see. Either she does it officially, or he’ll do it unofficially.”
“He’s going to kill Holland?”
“In one way or another, yeah. Get him out of the way, solidify his hold. After your boys took his shipment of drugs—” Jared’s eyes flicked over to Trip “—people started saying that maybe they should start doing shit like Holland said they should. You remember what it was like before you left. Rigger letting all sorts of crazy shit slide—”<
br />
“What does this have to do with the bounty on me, Jared?”
“It has to do with it because with Holland legitimately out of the way and no one willing to challenge Rigger without someone that they know can handle him, people are more than willing to fall in line with what he wants—which is you back with the Jackals. You didn’t actually think he’d just forget about you? Especially if you came back here?”