Vanda took a little long to answer. “Nobody important. I’m going to start cooking the noodles and getting the cheese melted. The food should be ready soon.”
“Okay,” I answered, leaving the kitchen. I ran upstairs and grabbed my phone.
“Kitten, is everything okay?” asked Trevor, when I called him.
“I don’t know, you tell me,” I said and then explained what I’d seen on the news.
“It might be nothing but then again, it could be them,” said Trevor, sounding a little worried himself.
“The Devil’s Rangers?”
“Yes.”
I let out a ragged breath. “Are they going to come looking for me?”
“They might try and that’s why I want you to move in with me. Now, instead of later. I don’t want to give them another chance to snatch you from your home, like they did last time.”
“Yeah, but they snatched Brandy from your home,” I protested. “What makes you think that they won’t go looking for me there as well?”
“I won’t let you out of my sight,” he said. “If they show up, they’ll meet me and their maker.”
I smiled at his words. “That won’t work. You can’t watch over me every second of the day and I have school. You can’t follow me to my classes.”
He was silent.
“Trevor?”
“Okay, fine. I’ll hire a bodyguard to watch over you when I’m not able to.”
“I can’t live like that. Being followed all the time. I’ll feel foolish.”
“Better to feel something than get killed.”
I gasped. “Do you really think they’re planning on killing me?”
“I think they’re looking for revenge and coming after us is the only way they’ll get it.”
“What about that guy? The one who killed Skull? Can he help us?”
“We don’t need his help, Kitten. I just need you to move in here with me. I’ll put in a security system and you can learn how to use a gun.”
“I already know how to use a gun,” I said, feeling frustrated. “But, the hell if I really want to carry one around. I don’t even have a Carry-and-Conceal permit.” I doubted he had one either, but this was me and I wasn’t interested in taking chances. Not when it came to the law and handguns.
“Then let me find someone to watch over you when I can’t.”
I touched my stomach, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. I loved Trevor with all of my heart, but now I was bringing another life into the world and its life was already in danger. “Why does this stuff keep happening? Can’t you just call your other Chapters and come down on these guys all together?”
“Actually, I think Slammer is heading in that direction.”
“God, I hope so.”
“Until then, you’re moving in,” he said firmly.
“What about my mother? Will she be in danger?”
“I think she’ll be fine.”
“I don’t know. Look at what happened to April’s brother,” I protested. “If anything happens to her I’d never be able to live with myself.”
“We don’t know if April’s brother’s death was even related to the Devil’s Rangers. It’s just speculation.”
“I wish I knew how to get ahold of her,” I said, chewing on my lip. “Then we’d know for sure.”
My mother knocked on the door and then stuck her head into my room. “Your food is done.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to sound more chipper than how I felt. “I’ll be right down.”
Nodding, she left.
“I have to go and eat lunch,” I told him.
“Okay. Remember, I’m going to meet you at Dazzle tonight. We’ll talk to your mother together. About you moving in.”
“She’s going to freak out, you know. This is so much to lay on her.” Too much.
“We don’t have any other choice. She needs to know the truth. It’s for her safety, too.”
“I know.”
“Did you tell her about the baby yet?”
“No. I wanted to wait until after the holidays.”
“How are you handling it today? Better than yesterday?”
“I was feeling much better until I saw the news,” I mumbled. “What about you?”
“I’m stoked about the baby. I could barely sleep.”
“Stoked?” I replied, picturing his smiling face.
“Yes and not just about our child. I’m happy about us getting married and living together. Aren’t you excited?”
“Yes,” I replied with not quite as much enthusiasm. “I am.”
He sighed. “Relax and don’t let this shit worry you, Kitten. I’ll keep you safe, this time. I promise.”
I know you’ll at least give it your best shot.
Chapter Thirty-seven
“How’d she find out?” asked Tank after I hung up with Adriana. It was just after twelve and he’d asked if I wanted to drive out to Prairie Lake to do some snowmobiling before our meeting at three. He owned two Polaris Indy Eight-hundreds and the weather was now perfect for sledding, especially with the fresh snow.
I grabbed my leather jacket and pulled it on. “The morning news.”
“Oh. I was hoping she’d miss it.”
“Me, too.”
Tank put his gloves on and flexed his hands. He was wearing a snowmobile jacket, bibs, and Sorel winter boots. “You ready to go and have some fun?”
“Hell yeah,” I said, now following him out the front door of the clubhouse. “Although, I’m not really dressed for it.”
He shrugged. “I’ve got an extra jacket, if your leather isn’t warm enough.”
“As long as you have a helmet, I’m good,” I answered.
“Suit yourself.”
As we walked toward his trailer, I could tell that the wind had picked up. I decided to take him up on the offer of the jacket when we got to the lake.
“Guess who shocked the fuck out of me this morning?” I said as we drove away.
“Who?”
“My mother.”
“No shit? Mavis? What did she want?”
“She came to warn me about the Devil’s Rangers. Apparently, they’ve ordered a hit on my head. Mine and The Judge’s.”
Tank laughed. “Really?”
“Maybe I should warn him,” I said, now smiling myself.
“It might solve all of our problems,” said Tank. “Especially if he takes out their entire Chapter. If anyone can do it without breaking a sweat, it’s him.”
I nodded and pulled out my phone.
“What are you doing?” asked Tank.
“I’m going to send him a text. To let him know,” I said, typing.
“Good idea. I can’t wait to see his response.”
I’d never sent Jordan a text message before, but I didn’t feel like disturbing him with a phone call, especially in his line of work.
The lake was deserted when we arrived, which wasn’t any surprise, considering the fact that it was a Tuesday and most people were at work. After we unloaded the sleds and started them up, Tank threw me his other Colombia jacket.
“Thanks,” I said, removing my leather. “It’s colder than I thought.”
“It’s only about twenty-five degrees,” he said. “No sense in freezing your ass off.”
Agreeing, I zipped up the jacket and grabbed a helmet. “Where do you want to ride?”
“Just around the lake,” he said, locking up the truck after I shoved my leather inside the cab. “Let’s go riding, brother.”
We jumped onto the sleds and it only took me a few seconds to get acclimated to mine. After a while, we began racing toward the other end of the lake, both of us trying outride each other. Eventually, I pulled ahead, being the smaller driver, and we turned around and went back the same way. We spent the next hour-and-a-half exploring the lake, chasing each other, and laughing our asses off. When it was time to load the sleds back onto the trailer and head back to the clubhouse, neither of us could stop grinnin
g. The winters in Jensen were long and I was already missing my bike, but being on that sled had felt real fucking good.
“I needed that. Thanks for inviting me,” I told him.
“No problem, brother. We both needed that. It was a good time.”
“It was,” I said as we strapped the sleds back onto the trailer. “Next time we should hit the trails up north.”
“That’s what I was thinking. Like last year. Make it an all-day run.”
“Hell, yeah.”
“You need to do as much as you can before that kid of yours comes into the world. Once Adriana pops it out, you won’t have much spare time.”
“Good point.”
When the sleds were secure, I changed back into my leather jacket, and we hopped back into the truck. Hearing my cell phone go off, I pulled it out.
“Who is it?”
“The Judge left me a text,” I said, checking the message.
“What did he say?”
I smiled. “You called it. He said he’d take care of it.”
“I told you,” said Tank, with a shit-eating grin. “What else did he say?”
“That’s it.”
“Huh.”
I sent him another message, asking him that meant.
He called me.
“It means don’t worry, I’m handling the situation,” he said.
“Did you see the news report, about that guy in Hayward? The one that was murdered? It was April’s brother.”
“Who’s April?” he asked.
I told him.
He was silent for a few seconds. “Where is she now?”
“We have no idea.”
“You got a last name for her?”
“No.”
“She mean anything to you?”
“Other than that she helped save my girl, not much. I’d just hate to see her murdered.”
“Same with me,” said Tank loudly. “The woman is too hot to die.”
“I’ll look into her brother’s murder and see what I can find out. As far as the rest of those fuck-heads in Hayward, you’ll be reading their obituaries in another week.”
“I’m glad we’re kin. I’d hate to have you on my enemy list.”
“Acid was kin.”
There it was. He’d just admitted to killing his old man.
“Speaking of kin, Mavis showed up on my doorstep this morning. She wanted me to tell you that she was sorry for being a lousy mother and abandoning the both of us. Acid scared the fuck out of her.”
“I’m sure he did. I don’t have any sympathy for her, though. She made her choices and most of them were selfish.”
“I agree.”
“I have to go. I’m in the middle of something.”
“An assignment?”
“I’ll let you know when the Hayward Chapter of the Devil’s Rangers isn’t a problem anymore,” he said, ignoring my question.
“You sure you don’t want to get together for Christmas?” I joked, waiting for a cocky comeback. Instead of delivering, he simply hung up.
I looked at Tank as I put my phone away. “I think I’m growing on him.”
Tank grunted.
Chapter Thirty-eight
After Vanda left for work, I called my Gynecologist and made an appointment for the following week. I spoke to a nurse and told her that I thought I was pregnant.
“Did you take a home pregnancy test?” she asked.
“Yes. Two of them.”
“What did the test results show?”
“That I was pregnant.”
“Then you probably are. They’re pretty accurate, especially if you get a positive test result. Okay, we’ll see you next week, then?”
“Yes.”
After hanging up, I took a shower and then grabbed a pair of black slacks and a green turtleneck sweater. The pants, which used to be loose-fitting, were hard to button and I made a mental note to go shopping for new ones while I was searching for gifts the following day. I then took out my suitcase and began filling it with clothes. Although I’d stayed at Trevor’s place before, this time I was packing for a stay that would become permanent. I felt excited, and yet the thought of leaving my mother all alone made me anxious and a little sad. Trevor had said that she’d be fine, but I wasn’t so sure. The only thing that comforted me was that she had Jim.
Maybe it would be the push she needed to marry the man?
He was certainly good to her and now both of them were in love. They deserved to be together and I hoped that she’d change her mind.
When I packed as much as I could into my suitcase, I grabbed a duffel bag and started stuffing my toiletries into it. When I’d gotten what I could into the bag, I looked around my bedroom, knowing that there were still quite a few things that I’d need to come back for. As I carried the luggage downstairs, my cell phone rang.
“How was your trip?” asked Tiffany, when I answered it.
“It was amazing,” I smiled. “The best time of my life, actually.” I told her about some of the excursions we had done.
“I’m so jealous. I haven’t been on a trip in so long and I’ve always wanted to visit Hawaii. I wonder if I can talk Jeremy into going…”
“You two are still dating?” I asked, surprised.
“Yes.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah, I know. We finally had sex, too.”
“Oh? And how was that?”
“Nice. Very nice. He certainly knows how to use his gun.”
I laughed. “And he let you play with it? Isn’t that dangerous?”
She laughed, too. “Probably. Maybe that’s why he handcuffed me to the bed.”
“Oh, my. I’m never going to look at Detective Stone the same way again.”
“You and me both. Anyway, what are you doing for New Year’s Eve?”
“I’m not sure. We haven’t made any plans yet. What about you?”
“Jeremy is having a party and told me to invite you.”
“Really? I’ll have to talk it over with Trevor. Those two don’t really get along, you know?”
“They can get over themselves and push aside their differences for a few hours. Anyway, I have to get back to work. I’m on my lunch break.”
“Well, thanks for inviting us. I’ll talk to him and find out if he’s already made plans. I have a feeling that he celebrates New Years with his biker friends.”
“You’re probably right. Maybe you can just stop in for a drink?”
I wanted to tell her that I couldn’t have alcohol, not while I was pregnant, but I just couldn’t get myself to bring it up. I wanted my mother to hear about it before my friends.
“Maybe,” I said. “I’ll call you.”
“Sounds good.”
After we hung up, I packed my stuff into the trunk of my car and headed out to Dazzle early. When I arrived, they were busy with customers.
“Hi there,” said Jim, who was at his usual post, which was near the door. Tim was also in the shop, helping a customer at one of the counters. Other than that, the place looked pretty bare.
“Hi, Jim,” I said, smiling at him.
He folded his newspaper and set it down. “How was your trip?”
“We had so much fun. With this crappy weather we’re having, I wish I was back there. Have you ever been to Hawaii?”
“No, but I’d love to take a trip there some day.”
“You and my mother should go,” I said, lowering my voice. “You’d have so much fun. I know she’d love it.”
He winked. “I was thinking the same thing.”
Winking back, I headed toward the back of the store.
“Hi, Mom,” I said, as she walked out of the break room.
“Oh, you’re here early,” she answered. “Good, we can use the help.”
“Are you okay?” I asked, noticing that she was pasty looking.
She waved her hand. “Don’t worry about me, I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine. Why don’t you go back a
nd relax?” I said, worried about her.
“I was just doing that,” she said. “Like I said, don’t worry about me. I’m just a little tired.”
“Do you want me to go and buy you one of those lattes that you like so much? From the coffee shop?”
“Maybe later.”
“Okay,” I said, still unsure. “I’ll go put my jacket in back.”
“Thanks for coming in early, by the way. Gerald is at lunch right now and I have a feeling we’re going to get hit any minute with a slew of customers.”
“Yeah, I’m sure. I’ll be back in a second,” I replied, heading toward the back room.
“Nice tan,” said Tim, looking at me over his shoulder when I returned. “With this weather, you must miss being back in Maui.”
“It was beautiful,” I admitted. “Have you been there before?”
“Yes. I love it. I’m trying to talk Juan into going. He’s afraid of flying, though.”
“They have prescriptions for that,” said Tim’s customer, a middle-aged man who was looking at bracelets. “Sedatives. My wife hates flying, too. If it wasn’t for the pills, she’d never get on a plane.”
“That’s good to know,” said Tim. “We’ll have to look into it. I need a vacation.”
“To tell you the truth, I was a little nervous during our flight,” I said, chuckling. “I could have used something myself.”
“Vanda, are you okay?” asked Tim, staring over my head.
I turned to look at my mother, who was now standing next to the register and swaying slightly. I frowned. “Mom, what’s wrong?”
“I… I don’t feel well,” she said in a breathy voice.
“Maybe you should sit down,” I told her.
Instead of answering, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she fainted.
“Oh, my God!” I cried, dropping down to my knees next to her. “Mom!?”
Jim rushed over. “Vanda,” he said, kneeling down. He felt for a pulse and looked at me, his eyes wide with fear. “We’d better call an ambulance.”
Chapter Thirty-nine
When we arrived back at the clubhouse, Slammer was sitting at the bar talking to someone I didn’t recognize.
“Who’s that?” I said to Tank, noticing the familiar patches. “Talking to your old man?”
Surviving The Biker (Motorcyle Club Romance) Page 16