by J. L. Leslie
“Don’t get upset about it. They don’t let any female in there anymore,” she comments, dropping to her knees and pulling on a pair of gardening gloves.
I plop down beside her. “Anymore?”
“Hmm, you caught that huh?” she laughs. “Yes, anymore. There was one old lady that was allowed in their meetings, but she’s no longer part of the club.”
“Spencer.”
“Yep, she was…” her voice trails as she glances up at me, seemingly unsure of what she should tell me, but then she continues, “she was Lucien’s old lady a few years back. Then he was thought to be dead, and she became Ford’s old lady. He was our last president, and he let her stay for the meetings, trusted her with the books and shit. She was pretty kick ass if you ask me. She helped keep the club together. She taught the old ladies how to be old ladies and was fair to the club whores. Then Ford went on this vendetta against the Ravens, a club over in Verdana, and she met someone else. The District Attorney over there, and anyway, she’s with him now.”
“Did she find out Lucien was still alive?” I ask her, shifting onto my knees to help her plant the flowers.
“She did, but they didn’t get back together. She was in love with the other guy. Anyway, I wouldn’t worry too much about her. She isn’t coming back, and it’s very obvious Lucien cares about you,” she tells me. “I may be outside when church happens, but I can hear pretty well. You don’t look like Spencer.”
I smile at Leann, feeling only slightly comforted by her comment. “So, if she wasn’t with this other guy, then she would be back with Lucien? I mean, he wanted to be with her?”
Leann shrugs, “I can’t say for sure. I mean, he had three years to tell her he was alive, and he didn’t. That was his choice.”
She leans forward, smelling a few of the flowers and then she gags. I watch her take a deep breath in through her nose and then exhale out of her mouth. Her hand is on her stomach.
“She’s in his past, Harper. I wouldn’t dwell on her or on Reid’s comment. He was just being an ass,” she says, continuing on as though she didn’t just about vomit. “He has a habit of acting that way. I tell Soco he’ll grow up soon enough.”
“You’re pregnant,” I state, eyes wide.
She stares at me and then smiles. “Don’t say anything. I haven’t told Soco yet. I have been hounding him, not even knowing that I was, but he’s not ready. He’s made that clear. So, I need to figure out a way to tell him. The right time.”
“Well, he’ll be ready when you tell him,” I say, hoping that I’m right. I don’t really know him at all, but I want to make her feel good about it.
“I hope so. I’m really excited, and we’ve been together for almost eight years. It’s time,” she smiles wistfully.
“At least I get to be the first to tell you congratulations,” I smile at her, truly happy for her.
“And I’m happy for you. You make Lucien happy, and after all he’s been through, he damn well deserves it.”
Now if I could only shake the uneasiness I feel and be happy for myself.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Lucien
I find Harper outside helping Leann in her garden. I can’t for the life of me figure out why she started this little venture, but if it makes her happy, more power to her. I’m pretty sure she has roped Trista and Fiona, Rich and Wiggie’s old ladies’ into helping her. I have no doubt Harper is on board since she has gloves on and is digging into the soil as I’m walking up.
She looks pretty damn cute, dirt smudged on her cheek and sweat on her brow. She leans over, and her ass goes in the air as she grunts, digging her tiny shovel into the ground.
She loves me. At least she told me she did. When I heard her say it, I wanted to believe it. Damn it, I still want to believe it. But she also stole my fucking truck. She’s in a rival club that wants my fucking head on a platter. She plotted to kill me.
All of these thoughts ran through my mind last night while I sat at her table, gun in hand, waiting for her to come home. I knew she had to be with whoever she was working with. I knew she was telling them that she was compromised. I wondered what their reaction would be. I had no idea it would be a club comprised of the Riders’ families.
When I arrived at her house, Mackenzie was there with Layla. She did a good job pretending that Harper had only gone grocery shopping, but we both knew that wasn’t the case. She didn’t push when I asked her to take Layla to her house, but I can guarantee she watched Harper’s like a hawk, probably calling for help. I wouldn’t have expected less from her best friend.
I should have killed Harper the moment she walked in the door. Should have ended all of this. Got my trucks back and walked away, like she told me to.
But I couldn’t.
Does that make me weak? Make me a changed man? No. If her president doesn’t give me my trucks and product back, I will kill every member of her club, fuck the consequences.
But Harper is mine.
“Hey, you come to help us?” Leann smiles up at me. “We don’t mind putting you to work.”
“I’m sure you don’t,” I grin down at them. “Looks like you two have been busy. Sorry the meeting took longer than planned. Harper, I can take you to get Layla if you want.”
She sits back with her feet tucked underneath her butt and shrugs. “Yeah, just let me get cleaned up. I have to work tonight, so me and Layla need to go home.”
I give her a nod, letting her know that I’ll have someone with her tonight, and she takes the gloves off without questioning me on who. She knows it’s important to me that she’s protected while we take care of Jiminez.
I hear her thank Leann as she stands up. Together we head back inside and to my room. I watch her walk into my bathroom and turn the sink on as though she’s made to be in there.
“How come you don’t have your own place?” she asks me, and I lean against the doorframe with my arms crossed. “I mean, Leann and Soco have their own place, so I was curious. Did you and Spencer stay here at the clubhouse?”
I arch my eyebrow at her, not answering her question. She washes her hands and then bends over so she can wash her face, patiently waiting on me. When she stands upright, she dries her hands and then faces me.
“Or did the two of you have a place together?”
I step away from the door frame, leaving her alone in the bathroom. “I don’t want to talk about Spencer.”
Now, she crosses her arms. “Well, I have a right to know about the woman I’m a dead ringer for.”
I sigh. Fucking Reid. “You’re not a dead ringer for her, so drop it.”
“Really? What color hair does she have? Let me guess, it’s red. Mine isn’t really red, but it’s close,” she says. “I mean, if you won’t talk about her, I’ll keep pushing.”
“If you keep pushing, I will push right the fuck back!” I raise my voice, frustrated that she isn’t dropping it like I told her to. “You are nothing like Spencer, so let it go!”
“Are the similarities only in our features or in our behavior as well? Just tell me, Lucien,” she pleads. “Leann says she’s in your past and I should let her stay there, but I need to know if you’re just trying to replace her with me.”
“I’m not talking about her,” I say, firmly.
Honestly, I’m not sure why I’m being such a dick. I could easily tell Harper that I’m not replacing Spencer with her. It’s what she wants to hear. That Leann is right, Spencer is the past, and she isn’t coming back. Harper has nothing to worry about.
But I don’t do this.
I told her to drop it, and she should fucking drop it. I can’t deal with this conversation right now. I have too much shit going on to hash this out with her. Fuck, my club is on edge because of this woman right now. Tonight is too damn important for my club for me to be worried about her and her fucking feelings.
“Okay,” she says, softly. “Then you can come find me when you are ready to talk. I’ll have Ian take me home.”
> I stand here and watch Harper walk out of my room. I don’t say anything to stop her. I don’t chase after her. I tell myself that I should. That I need to tell her that she’s not Spencer and that I won’t lose her the way I did Spencer. That I can’t lose her.
I just stand here though, allowing myself to be the worst enemy I could ever have.
Harper
Of all nights for the diner to be packed, it has to be packed when I’m in a pissy mood. I really don’t like arguing with Lucien, and I really don’t like it when he behaves as though he doesn’t care about my feelings.
I told the man I love him for fuck’s sake and he acts like he can’t tell me anything in return. I don’t believe I’m asking for too much. I just want to know about his ex. Not all the details, just a few of them.
But no. He shut me out and closed himself off. So, I had Ian take me to pick up Layla and bring me to work. Mackenzie is watching her now, and I have no idea who will be guarding my house when I get home, if Lucien even decides to still send someone.
I thought he may stop by before the attack on Jiminez, but I haven’t seen or heard from him. I’ve contemplated telling Donia about their attack, but I haven’t. I know that would be a betrayal that Lucien can’t move past and I’m not willing to do that to him. Lucien is supposed to meet with her tomorrow morning. Of course, if he’s still alive.
The thought of losing him tonight nearly takes my breath away. I have no idea how I came to care about him so much. When I fell in love with him, but I have, and I can’t bear the thought that he may not return to me. I’ve lost so much already. It honestly makes my argument with him seem so fucking stupid.
“If it isn’t my favorite waitress.”
I stifle a groan and manage not to roll my eyes when I hear Jiminez’s voice. He’s sitting in his usual spot and smiles at me, his hand reaching out to grasp my wrist when I walk over. I didn’t even realize he’d come in.
“How are you tonight?” I ask him, plastering on a smile.
“I told myself I could wait, stay away like you asked me to, but I couldn’t. I had to see you,” he says, his thumb rubbing my hand, and I furrow my brow in confusion.
“I…um‒”
“Harper, order up!” Donnie calls from the kitchen, and I ease my hand away from Jiminez’s grasp.
“I’ll be right back to take your order,” I let him know, and he’s staring at me with his lips pursed.
He looks slightly annoyed, but surely, he can understand that he took the last empty table in this place. I have other customers to tend to. I quickly deliver the food and return to his table only to find him gone. Perhaps he decided to eat somewhere else tonight.
I glance toward the door, but someone else is already coming in. I ignore the uneasy feeling I have about Jiminez and keep working. The rush doesn’t die down until around nine o’clock, an hour before I’m scheduled to get off work.
I check my phone and tell myself not to be disappointed that Lucien hasn’t contacted me. I get my tables cleaned up and refill the ketchup bottles before I clock out.
When I walk outside, I spot Ian parked at the edge of the lot, his back to me. I don’t waste any time rushing over to him and climbing on behind him. The sooner we get to my house, the sooner I can see if he knows anything about the attack. If he knows if Lucien is okay. He pulls off, and I hold on tight, anxiously waiting to know something.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Lucien
It’s difficult to stay focused when Harper and I left things the way we did. Shit, when I let her leave the way I did. I keep standing in my own way. Right when things start to go right, I fuck them up.
She may have made mistakes, but I will fix this with Harper. I tell myself this over and over while I wait for Jiminez to show up. He should be here any minute. I haven’t heard from Ian yet though. He took Harper to work and was supposed to report to me.
As for Jiminez, I know he’ll be on time. I’m certain of that. Men are predictable when it comes to pussy and I just so happen to know a certain pussy he wants.
He wants Harper.
The last time he was at the diner, Ian slipped him a little note. Gave him a phone number. Pretended to be Harper. It was too fucking easy to write it on his ticket. She didn’t even notice and handed it right to him.
I laughed at some of the texts he was sending Jiminez. The catfish game he played on him was priceless. He told him to lay low, stay away from the diner because I was a dangerous and jealous man.
After a few texts, told him where to meet and here I am. It just so happens to be Gavin’s favorite spot, just in case Jiminez checked into Harper. The closed down pier at Destin Bay is the perfect spot to end him.
It’s a beautiful spot despite the rundown pier. No one in sight because the place has been closed for years. The city really should’ve spent the money to repair it, but it works in my favor tonight.
You can hear the waves crashing against the rocks below, and the darkness conceals me from being seen. I lean against a column underneath the pier, waiting for any sign of Jiminez, the water coming close enough to touch my shitkickers.
Part of me wanted to fill Harper in on my plan, possibly even use her as bait, but I could never do that. I could never put her in harm’s way in case something went wrong. No plan is foolproof.
At this moment, my men are setting up to attack the locations we cased on Jiminez. We won’t be communicating until all this is over. I have no way of knowing if they are successful or not. I simply have to trust that they get the job done just as they have to trust that I will.
I hear a car in the distance, and my heartrate picks up. I stay back in the shadows, comfortable in the dark. Shortly after the car door shuts, the distinct sound of footsteps echoes above me. He’s not alone. He never is.
I look through the slats of the pier, and I can see him with two men following close behind him. He stops several feet away from the roped off section where the pier was washed away. He’s in his usual suit, his hands in his pockets. He pulls one out long enough to check his phone.
I raise my gun, training it on him without him even being aware that I’m beneath him. Without him knowing that death is knocking on his door. I debate on pulling the trigger right now, but that would be the coward’s way out. I want him to know who takes his life.
I step out from the shadows, my aim never wavering, and make my way up to the pier. Jiminez stands with his back to me, still gazing out at the ocean. His hands are still in his pockets. His men are flanked at his side, their attention sharp and they notice me the moment I step foot onto the pier. The immediately draw their guns.
“Coming alone was a risk, Mr. Revenant,” he says, his voice thick with disdain.
“I’ve already died once, Jiminez, I’m not afraid of these two men you have with you.”
He doesn’t face me as he answers, “If you think they’re the only protection I have, then you should know better than that.”
The roar of a motorcycle engine draws my attention away from them. There are two bodies on this bike. One I recognize almost instantly.
My heart falls.
Harper
It didn’t take me long to realize that we weren’t going to my house. I yelled and screamed for Ian to give me answers about where we were going, but he ignored me. Hell, if Lucien ordered him to take me somewhere, I deserve to know. I need to let Mackenzie know.
When he pulls to a stop at Destin Bay, I scramble off his bike, jerking the helmet off my head. I sling it at him, and he rises off the bike, laughing. I furrow my brow as he removes his helmet.
“Suggs?”
He looks toward the pier, and I follow his gaze. Lucien stands there with his gun aimed at Jiminez and his eyes on me. Two men have their guns trained on him and I start to run to him, but Suggs catches me around the waist.
“Sorry, Luc, it’s just a job!” he calls out, but he doesn’t sound apologetic.
He sounds cold and detached. Maybe that’s the
way you have to be to do these types of jobs. To turn on a friend. Of course, Lucien never said they were friends.
I struggle against him, and he takes one hand and closes it around my throat. Lucien takes two steps toward him, and Jiminez chuckles, drawing his attention back to him.
“Did you really think I would let you beat me, Mr. Revenant?” Jiminez asks him. “Did you think you could trick me? I will say, you almost had me. I wanted her enough that I was believing the little game you were playing. You should’ve told Ms. Ryland about your plan. Then, she wouldn’t have given you away.”
My heart sinks. When he was at the diner, I knew something wasn’t right. I knew I never told him to stay away from the diner. I didn’t know why he said that. If I wasn’t distracted, I would’ve put it together that Lucien had set something up.
“So, you turn your back on your friend for a paycheck?” I ask Suggs as he drags me closer to the pier. “Jiminez will kill you when this is over. You’re not one of his guys. He won’t keep you around.”
“You don’t know anything,” he hisses. “Lucien is only loyal to himself and to the Sinners, sweetheart.”
“Is that what this is about? Did you want in and he wouldn’t let you?”
He laughs at this, squeezing my throat a little tighter. “I don’t want anything to do with those fuckers, but it doesn’t stop your boy from coming to me for jobs just like this one.”
“He’s nothing like you,” I argue with him, still struggling against him.
“That’s for damn sure,” he agrees and pulls a gun from his waist.
I cringe, expecting him to put a bullet in my skull but instead, he fires at the two men guarding Jiminez. I stop struggling, shocked as I watch them fall off the pier and down to the water.
Lucien turns back to face Jiminez. “If you think I came alone, Jiminez, then you should know better than that.”
Jiminez’s eyes go wide just before Lucien pulls the trigger. His mouth goes slack as he drops to his knees, a small trickle of blood oozing from the hole in his forehead. Lucien kicks his body over the edge.