Text Copyrighted © 2015 Fiona Garland
Cover Design © Fiona Garland
Cover Image © Deposit Photos
All Rights Reserved
The characters featured in this story are fictional with no relation with any persons alive or dead. All events depicted in this story are fictional and any similarities to the real world are purely coincidental. Any and all references to trademarks are covered under fair use.
This book is intended for adults. It contains mature depictions of violence, sex, and profanity. Please avoid reading further if you are not eighteen years of age or find this type of work uncomfortable.
Table of Contents
What the hell was I thinking?
This wasn’t a night to be driving in my ramshackle sedan. The sleet had blotted out half of my windshield. Heavy snowfall obstructed what little vision remained. I had expected several inches of snow but this was a never-ending avalanche of ice.
After hearing about the snow warning, I had packed up my bags and headed straight towards an emergency shelter in the city. The news had made it out to be the last bastion of defense against the incoming blizzard. There would be food, medicine, and everything else needed to survive such a force of nature.
The small town I lived in just wasn’t prepared for a snowstorm of that magnitude. I’d probably end up snowed in at my apartment. My roommate had left for her parents’ place a week ago.
However, the state government had closed down half the highways and declared a state of emergency. The other half were snowed-in. I cautiously drove through one of the few remaining highways that could still support traffic.
As luck would have it, I drove straight into a ditch on the side of the road. I was lucky that my car didn’t flip over. After minutes of fruitlessly hitting the acceleration, I turned on the flashers.
To make matters worse, I wouldn’t be able to get the car back on the road. I had battery power but even that wouldn’t last for much longer. I would have to put the car in neutral, get out, and push it with onto the asphalt. I looked outside the side window and saw snow falling like machinegun fire. Even if I had the strength of a professional weightlifter, the heavy snowfall would make pushing the car a difficult and dangerous task.
I wasn’t stupid enough to wander off into the cold in a desperate bid to get help. Nevertheless, I was on a ticking clock. The heating in the car could only last for so long. My smart phone didn’t get a single bar of reception in this mountainous highway. I didn’t know if I could even last a single day here.
The heavy jacket I had worn earlier seemed like overkill. Now, it didn’t help much against the cold that crept into my car. I needed someone to save me or else I was as good as dead. Unfortunately, I don’t think AAA roamed these parts.
That’s when I heard a tap on the door.
A tall man in a leather jacket stood outside my window. His scarf and the collar of his leather jacket obstructed much of his face. I could only make out his sea-grey eyes. They were alert and intelligent which managed to calm me. For a second, I thought the man was a statue since the cold barely affect him.
He tapped again in impatience. It took me a second to realize he wanted me to lower the side window and talk to me. I took it down just enough for us to speak without the cold getting in.
His voice was deep yet clear as he spoke. “Are you hurt?”
“No, I’m okay,” I replied, my teeth clattering. I didn’t realize just how chilly it was. “I just need to call a tow truck. Do you have a phone I can use?”
“Trust me, no tow truck is going to make it here within our lifetimes,” he said plainly, dashing my hopes. Considering the circumstances, I didn’t know how long I’d live without help. “Between the snow and bends in the road, they’ll have to drive like snails to get here. That’s assuming any emergency vehicles are willing to make the trip.”
I cursed under my breath. “Just my luck.”
“However, I do have landline phone you can use at my place,” he offered. I instantly lit up like a Christmas tree. “The reception here is terrible so it pays to have a direct connection. Where are you heading?”
I leaned in to get a better look at him. His leather jacket had a silvery eagle emblem on it. Metal studs lined its shoulders and gave it an intimidating presence.
He looked like one of those obnoxious bad boys I hated being around back in my hometown. But in the biggest snowstorm of the year, I’d take my chances with him. I needed someone to save me.
“The center,” I replied, my teeth rattling. “Could you drop me at the emergency center in the city? It was all over the news-”
He pointed off into the distance. “The emergency center in thirty-five miles off in that direction. They closed down half the entrances to the city. Assuming we find a decent detour, the traffic alone would keep us from entering it before the day is over.”
“Oh…,” I groaned, my day going bad to worse. “Is there some place nearby I can hole up for the night? Like a motel?”
The man shook his head. “Nothing but cabins and the odd bothy around these parts.”
“A what?”
“A storm shelter but meant for loggers,” he explained, still standing tall in the horrid weather. I don’t think I saw him even flinch when a gust of chilly wind hit him. “However, you’ll need a key to get into one of them.”
I sighed in defeat. “I see…”
The man scanned the interior of my car with his grey eyes. He seemed reluctant to leave me twisting in the cold. “I can offer you a room at my place, assuming you’re interested.”
Normally, I wasn’t as keen on accepting an offer from a stranger, especially one that looked dangerous. However, there was something comforting about the man. Something in his eyes made me trust him.
And it was cold as hell in my car. “Oh, thank you so much!”
“I can’t leave you here… to freeze,” his voice trailed off, almost sounding pained. It didn’t seem like it was from the cold. “I also have a phone you can use to call anyone who is worried about you.”
“Thanks,” I smiled, the warmth returning to my cheeks. “I just need to call my roommate and tell her I’m still with the living.”
I leaned on one of his broad shoulders as he carefully guided me to his jeep. His footing was confident and solid as mine was shaky and unsecure. With him by my side, this powerful blizzard didn’t seem all that bad. When we reached the door of his jeep, I rushed into the comfortably heated passenger’s seat.
The man chuckled at my mad dash into his jeep. I didn’t even know his name but I had just trusted my life to him. There would be time for introductions when we were out of the cold. “I’ll take care of your car. Grab that heated blanket on the dashboard and warm yourself up. If you have any wet clothes from the snow, take them off and put on one the jackets behind your seat.”
He went to my car and turned the flashers off. It gave me a moment to look around his jeep. It was surprisingly clean and well-organized. There were groceries and a first-aid kit in the back seat. There was even a tool kit with some logo on it. It looked like an eagle flying over a motorcycle.
Looking further in the back, I saw something attached to the rear of the jeep. The man had covered it in tarp and secured it to the frame of the jeep with chains and ropes. Squinting my eyes, I made out the outline of a large motorcycle. Putting two and two together, I guessed that he was a motorcycle enthusiast.
Or an outlaw biker.
Taking the driver’s seat, the man returned and took off his scarf. I nearly gasped when I saw his handsome, chiseled features. His lips curved just shy of a heart-rending smile. His dark hair had become messy from the weather but s
uited him all the same.
The man’s jacket conformed well to his athletic body. He had the look of a rugged outdoorsman who was no stranger to the elements. It was an effortless look for him but one that no men’s model had any hope of replicating.
However, his grey eyes had this strange look of longing. They looked like they hadn’t seen another soul in years. For a moment, I just sat and gawked at him like a schoolgirl.
He got my attention by jingling my car keys. “I brought back your keys but I’ll keep them with me for now. I’ll drop you off at my place and come back for your car later. I’ll see if I can get it out of the ditch.”
“Thank you,” I replied breathlessly, clutching the heated blanket even tighter. It helped cover my blushing. “What’s with the bike?”
“I’m a biker,” he answered, hitting the ignition for the jeep. It sounded like he belonged to some motorcycle gang. I didn’t know whether to be filled with dread or curiosity. “That baby’s fitted and rigged for off-road biking but it’s not meant for riding in this weather. Anyway, it’s just five miles to my house.”
The man steadily but surely drove the jeep across the snowy highway. I looked back at the supplies in the back of the jeep. “You look like you were prepared for the snow-apocalypse.”
He chuckled. “Is that what the news is calling it?”
“It’s either that or the Ice-Armageddon. In any case, you seem to be ready for anything.”
“It pays to be prepared for even the rapture in these parts. It only takes a storm a few hours to cut off the power and block all the exits. I’ve stocked up on two weeks’ worth of groceries. I also have enough wood stockpiled to last a month.”
“I’m sorry if I’m inconveniencing you-“
“You’re quite the handful in the middle of the worst storm in years,” the biker grinned. “Why doesn’t a girl like you have a boyfriend to help you out in a pinch?”
Even though it brought back painful memories, I could not help but blushed at the question. “Sorry, I’m single now and couldn’t-“
He shot me a half smile. “Relax, I’m just teasing you.”
“Oh!”
“It’s no trouble… it’s basic human decency,” the man replied. “If you don’t mind me asking, what brings you to these parts? This road doesn’t get too many visitors. You’re lucky I drove here when I did.”
“With half the exits closed, I got lost after taking the wrong turn,” I sighed. “I planned on going to the emergency center in the city. It was either that or risk getting snowed in at my apartment.”
“I guess it’s a good thing you got stuck in that ditch,” the man replied, glancing into the side mirror. “Just this morning, I heard on the radio that interstate high was closed down.”
“The weather was already that bad in the morning?”
“No, there was a six car collision,” he answered. “No was seriously hurt but the pile-up closed down the highway.”
“By the way,” I began, feeling the ice break between us. Pun not intended. “What’s your name? My name is Emily.”
“It’s Max,” he answered after a moment of hesitancy. “Max Faulkner. The last name actually came from my wife. I grew up as sort of an orphan… never had a real name or birth certificate to myself.”
“You took your last name from your wife?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “That must be some story. I’d like to hear it from her.”
For a moment, Max was silent as if evaluating what to say. “She died I’m afraid.”
I cursed at myself for my faux pas. “Sorry…”
“Don’t worry, Emily,” he replied, shaking his head. “It was a long time ago. I’ve mostly been living by myself.”
I decided to change the subject. “How far away is your house?”
“A couple more miles,” he answered, still driving cautiously. The snowfall had cleared up a little bit but not enough to make traveling a pleasure cruise. We couldn’t see too far ahead but at least we weren’t completely blind. “It’s hard to find if you don’t know where to look. Maria, that’s my wife’s name, and I wanted a place away from the city. So we found a plot of land in the wilderness and built a home there.”
I whistled in amazement. “You built your own home?”
“I may have done the heavy lifting but it was my wife who designed it,” he answered, pride evident in his voice. His grey eyes glistened as if recalling bittersweet memories. “She had a plan for every block of brick and every plank of wood. Maria got her degree in architecture but never got a chance to put it to good use. She made for lost time with our house.”
“I didn’t think there was a real estate market for these types of places.”
“I got it as a parting gift from the president from my old motorcycle club,” Max explained. The snowstorm still raged on but we were comfortable inside the jeep. “The land was a retirement gift for my years of service. He had won it off a card game but never found a use for it. I worked as sergeant-at-arms for the Steel Eagles before I could legally order a drink. That was back when I was working as a gunrunner down South near the border.”
“That’s right, you said you were a biker,” I replied, curious about the man’s seemingly checkered past. “Did you get into trouble?”
He gave a teasing smile. “Are you asking how much stuff I needed to smuggle across the border before I got on the FBI’s most wanted list?”
I blushed. “Sorry, I shouldn’t probe so much, especially after how much you’ve helped me.”
“Relax, I get that question a lot,” Max chuckled, easing the tension. “I used to deal in trafficking weapons.”
“Sounds dangerous.”
“I can’t say I didn’t have a few run-ins with the law or some other gangs,” he said with a mischievous grin. “Yes, the work was dangerous but the pay was good. We could’ve lived as kings if the IRS wouldn’t ask where we got the money. Now, I’m on the straight and narrow. Then again, once a Steel Eagle, always a Steel Eagle.”
“Why’d you leave?” I asked. “It sounded like a cushy gig… if you had the stomach for that kind of work.”
Max’s forehead furrowed. “It’s no place to start a family…”
“No need to explain, I understand,” I said, placing my hand on the warm dashboard. “Your wife was a lucky woman to have you.”
“No, I lucked out by falling in love with her,” he said with a laugh. It sounded more exhausted than cynical. “You should hear about how we met.”
It didn’t seem like we were getting to our destination any time soon. “Actually, I’d like to hear it. I love a good story.”
As we talked, the two of us became more comfortable in each other’s presence. I learned that Max had worked as a weapons smuggler for the Steel Eagles. He purchased surplus military goods from the black market or their usual contacts and got them to people who were willing to pay for them. His motorcycle club pocketed the difference. They made sure that no one got hurt if they could help it. It wasn’t entirely due to any sense of pacifism.
A dead body attracted the feds.
Other rival clubs, however, didn’t have the same standards. They smuggled everything from drugs to European paintings. They even smuggled people.
After one rival, the Black Cobras, hijacked one of their shipments, the Steel Eagles launched a raid on them. It was both a retaliation and a surgical strike in one dangerous package. An intense firefight followed but the Steel Eagles eventually won the day.
During the raid, they discovered that the Black Cobras were in the middle of trafficking people. Maria was amongst them. In the middle of the deadly firefight, Max had brought her to safety and defended her from the Cobras.
SAVIOR: A Motorcycle Club Romance Page 1