That had been weird. Oddly painful. The sex afterward had been their most quiet so far. That whole night had made him feel a little disoriented.
But he guessed they never had talked that much about Lilli. Huh. Clearly, though, it was going better in Signal Bend for Riley than it had been for Tanner.
Isaac put his hand on Bart’s shoulder. “I need you, Bartholomew. Office.”
Before he turned from Riley, he asked, “I’ll see you out there?”
She nodded, and he followed Isaac to the office.
As soon as the office door was closed, Isaac turned and said. “It’s C.J. It’s gotta be.” He sat at his desk. Bart sat in the chair next to the desk.
“What?”
“He’s got Sam worked up somehow.”
“Ceej doesn’t have any special relationship with Sam, boss. Even if he was trying to fuck us, why would Sam listen to him?”
Isaac raked his hands through his hair, pulling his braid loose. “I have known Sam Carpenter for a decade. We’ve been friends. Allies. He’s always taken my word as truth, and I’ve done the same for him. Now he’s got to see with his own two eyes that what I say is true? No. Ceej is the only variable we haven’t considered. He’s now missed the Keep three fucking times. He doesn’t give a shit about that patch on his back. He’s muddying the waters with Sam.”
Bart hated to push Isaac back in the best of times. This was not the best of times. Swallowing hard to force his heart back where it belonged, he pushed the point. “Boss. What you’re saying makes sense, except there’s no reason Sam would trust Ceej over you.” Isaac gave him the look that said he wanted to do bodily harm. Next would be the very vivid and colorful threat against his person.
But Bart took a breath and carried on. “What does Show say?” This must have been why Isaac held Show back after the meeting. Generally speaking, Isaac, knowing his own weaknesses, bounced everything off his VP and got some feedback before he proceeded.
“He pointed out the same shit. But we’re in agreement that what’s going on with Ceej is more that just a world-class drunk. Figure out what it is. Trace his calls or whatever you do. I need it before Sam is in this clubhouse, with his fucking freaks.” He slammed his fist down on his desk. “Goddamn Howler. Bringing that psycho here means he expects to do damage.”
“Yeah. Okay.” So much for spending the night with Riley. He was on the job.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Riley came out of the bathroom with her gym bag over her shoulder. She was still a little sweaty, her hair was damp with it, but she’d washed up as well as she could, changed into street clothes, and had redone her ponytail, and she figured, for the clubhouse, she looked fine. She didn’t want to look too good, anyway. Apparently, that was dangerous. Though the clubhouse tonight had almost as many of her people as club people. She was surprised by how surreal it felt to be surrounded again by Hollywood types. She hadn’t even been away for a week.
When she got to the Hall, Bart was still nowhere to be seen. Lilli was standing near the television, though, talking to Show and Shannon. She was wearing workout pants and a zippered hoodie, probably over the clothes she’d worked out in. Her brow was furrowed, like something was going on. None of Riley’s business.
She’d had a good week, with Lilli, finally. The dinner at their house with Tanner had gone okay. Tanner had behaved himself, though he was still acting strangely. But Riley had enjoyed it. The food had been delicious (she knew she was gaining weight this week and couldn’t be bothered to care), and their little girl was adorable. Strong willed, and bossy for a toddler, but really cute. Both Isaac and Lilli had been warm and friendly, though neither had talked much about the movie or the events depicted in it.
Riley’s favorite part of that night was watching Lilli and Isaac interact. It wasn’t only her favorite part; it was also the most significant part. By the time Isaac dropped her and Tanner off at the hotel, Riley didn’t need to know more about Lilli or about what had happened two years ago. She felt like she had everything she needed simply in the way Lilli and Isaac loved each other. Everything about Lilli made sense after that.
And nothing about herself.
She’d gone up to her room and cried. Tanner had wanted to come into her room and “debrief,” but she’d put him off, claiming a headache. What she’d needed was to release the tight hold she’d had on her emotions and just have a good cry. What Lilli and Isaac had? She’d never had that. Devon was her great love, but they hadn’t had anything like that—that ease, that sense of completeness that came off Isaac and Lilli in waves. Every time they touched each other was like a little love note.
She’d sensed something similar when she’d seen Shannon and Showdown together at the clubhouse that first night. It was like she was surrounded in this podunk town by true love, and she’d never even seen it before. It kinda sucked.
When she’d finished sobbing, she’d gone into the bathroom to wash up, and then started to knock on Pru’s door. But she could hear that Pru wasn’t alone, and she was definitely not going to want to answer the door. So Riley had slunk back to her room and texted Bart. He’d come right over and made her feel miles better. Then he’d tucked her close, and she’d slept feeling warm and safe and content.
She really liked him. Really, really. She was trying to keep her head straight and realize that what she was feeling for Bart was complicated by what was going on with her feelings about Devon, her lingering sense of grief and loss, and the way it had been corrupted by his betrayal—betrayals. Plural. Because the overdose was as much of a betrayal as the cheating. Or maybe that wasn’t true. Maybe she wasn’t being fair. Probably she wasn’t. But it felt true.
See? She couldn’t think of how much she liked Bart without thinking about how much Devon had hurt her. And God, last night she’d told him all about Devon, and she’d cried on his shoulder. About another guy. She was mortified about that, although he’d been sweet and patient, and then had been gentle with her when they’d had sex. Everything was all knotted up in her head, and that was dangerous. Her heart was going places her head didn’t have a map for.
Not to mention that they lived two thousand miles apart and he was an outlaw biker in a tiny country town. Talk about star-crossed. She kept thinking that she should stop texting him and get some distance, especially since she really had no reason to stay in Signal Bend much longer. But she missed him when he wasn’t around, and left to her own devices, her willpower sucked.
Pru was no help. She was working, doing everything she needed to do and staying on top of the tabloid thing, but otherwise, she was involved with Omen. Riley wasn’t even sure Pru had noticed how much time she was spending with Bart. She was taking a vacation from paying attention to Riley.
She was still standing in the middle of the Hall, trying to decide whether to just drop her gym bag somewhere or go interrupt Lilli to ask where she should put it, when she felt a towering presence behind her. She turned around with a smile.
“You must suck at stealth, Isaac.”
He shrugged, grinning. “I have people for that. Sorry to say, sweetheart, I’m gonna have your guy busy all night. How ‘bout I have Lilli take you back to the B&B?”
Surprised, at first she just gaped at him, as she sorted out the information. No Bart tonight. That disappointed her a lot. Too much. But okay. Isaac wanted her to leave, but she liked it here. It was pretty mellow tonight, as many actors as bikers, and mostly people talking, drinking and eating. It was practically a cocktail party. She didn’t want to go back to the hotel and be alone.
“Can I stay? Is that a problem?”
He considered her for a moment before he answered. “He really is gonna be busy. But sure, tonight’s a quiet one. Stay s’long as you want.”
She thought about making a snarky comment that her life didn’t revolve around Bart, but she found that she liked it a little, the way everybody thought of them as a couple. That was dangerous, too.
“Is there someplace I can
put this?” She lifted the gym bag’s strap off her shoulder.
Isaac’s eyebrow went up. “My office. Which happens to be where Bart is. Behave yourself.”
She nodded, batting her eyes innocently, and walked around him, headed down the side hallway to Isaac’s office.
The door was closed, so she knocked, and Bart opened it. His scowl eased into a smile when he saw her. Whatever he was working on, she guessed it was serious. She decided he needed some fortification.
“Hey, princess. I’m sorry. I’m slammed with work now. You need me to ask somebody to take you home?”
He was leaning on the door jamb with his right hand. She put her hand over his forearm and stepped in, basically walking into his arms. He took a step back and let go of the door frame, bringing that arm around her waist.
“I really do have to work.”
“I thought being Horde wasn’t your job.”
“It’s not. But it is my life. Life is work, babe.”
“Ah. Well, I’m just here to put my gym bag down. I’m not ready to leave yet.” She took another step into the room, and he stepped back again, this time letting go of the door. She kicked it closed with her foot. Then she let the bag fall from her shoulder and drop to the floor. Another step; now her body was right up against his.
“Riley…”
She rose up on her tiptoes, put her arms around his neck, her hands in his hair, and pulled him down for a kiss. He didn’t resist at all. In fact, he wrapped her up tight and squeezed her close, his tongue pushing deep into her mouth. Kissing him was just amazing. Made her tingle everywhere, every time.
After several seconds, he groaned and let her go. She wasn’t done, however. They had a streak going. Every night. Just because Isaac had co-opted him didn’t mean they had to break their streak. She grabbed for his belt buckle and pulled it loose.
He wrapped a hand around hers. “I’m not gonna fuck you in the boss’s office, babe.”
With her other hand, she went for his belt again, and he grabbed that one, too. She could see how hard he was. She pouted. “Why not? I thought you were a rebel. A renegade. An outlaw.”
“Reformed. More or less.” He yanked her close and kissed her. With his lips still on hers, he whispered, “Don’t you like my pretty face? All the parts right where they are?”
“Are you saying Isaac would rearrange your face?”
“I believe that’s the way it’s put, yeah.”
“You chicken?”
God, his smile was so sexy. “I’m not chicken. I’m smart. I believe that’s the way that’s put.”
She huffed. He really was putting her off. She considered letting her feelings be hurt, but decided against it. There was cause to be disappointed, but not hurt. “Well, that sucks.”
“Sorry, princess.” He took her hand and put it on his swollen crotch. “Trust me, I’m very sorry. If you hang around, I’ll come out in a little while and get something to eat with you. I need to get some things started first.”
“Fine.” She sighed, putting lots of Sarah Bernhardt into it. “Your loss.”
“Oh, I know.” He turned her around and ushered her to the door. When he opened it, he gave her ass a swat. “Now git.”
When he closed the door behind her, she had to admit she was a little bit hurt. But she tried to shake that off, and she went back to the Hall to find something to do until Bart came out for food.
She asked Dom for a glass of wine, and he poured her a red. Omen and Mark were playing pool. Pru was watching, so Riley walked over and leaned against a support post near the pool table. Pru smiled and walked over.
“Hi. You having an okay night?”
Riley shrugged. “I guess. You?”
“Yeah. I like it here.”
“I noticed. You’re getting attached, aren’t you?”
Pru gave her a sharp look at that. “And you’re not?”
Riley was surprised. She didn’t think she’d said anything that would piss Pru off. “I don’t know.”
Omen came over then and took the beer from Pru’s hands, and they didn’t pursue it further. As Riley was relaxing on the post again, thinking over the exchange she’d just had with her cousin, a low voice whispered in her ear.
“Hey, Sport.”
Tanner had decided that his Isaac would call her Lilli ‘Sport.’ It wasn’t in the script, and Lilli thought it was a huge intrusion into something that was private between the real Isaac and Lilli. But he’d gotten it into his head that it would ‘capture’ their love. She turned around. “Tanner, don’t. That’s way creepy.”
He smiled, his eyes crinkling. “It’s not, love.” He’d called her Sport in a rural Midwestern drawl, but now he’d reverted to his natural accent. “It’s Lilli and Isaac, and we need to capture that chemistry. You know it as well as I. The film rises or falls on our love.” He put his hand on her hip.
“This is Method bullshit. That’s not how I work. You and I don’t have a romance. When the cameras are rolling, we’ll pretend that we do. That’s it. And you understand that all the big bikers in this room think that I belong to Bart, right?” She looked over his shoulder and saw that Havoc and Len, at least, were watching them. Havoc had already laid him out once.
But Tanner didn’t seem to care. Was he drunk? He must be drunk. “Ah. Perhaps. But the greater question is: do you?”
“Do I what?”
“Belong to the biker?” Now his other hand was on her face.
Trying not to make a scene, afraid that might get something bigger started, she didn’t react except to hiss, “More than I belong to you. Now back off.”
“I don’t think the lady likes you, asshole.” That was Havoc. Oh, shit. He slammed his hand around Tanner’s neck—even though Tanner was a couple of inches taller than he was—and yanked him away from her. “You don’t listen, dude. We already had a talk like this, you and me.”
“Hav.” Isaac hadn’t yelled, in fact he hadn’t raised his voice at all, but Havoc stopped, his fist cocked back. “No, brother.”
Isaac turned to Tanner. “Time for you to go back to the B&B, my friend. What you’re doin’ is nothin’ but trouble. It’s time for you to get on home to L.A., too. This is you overstayin’ your welcome.”
Tanner shrugged Havoc off and straightened his shirt. “I thought tomorrow’s terrifying new guests would like to speak with me.”
Riley had no idea what he was talking about, but Isaac’s expression got positively stormy. That was terrifying enough. Cripes. He got up close to Tanner, chest to chest. He was a lot taller, though, and Tanner had to crane his neck.
“Man, you got no clue what kind of minefield you are stompin’ on. So let me do you a solid and clue you in. You find some respect in that bloated, self-important head of yours, and now. For me. For my people. And for my guests. If you can’t find some respect, then find some self-preservation and fuckin’ fake it. Because when I say that there’s no guarantee you’ll make it back home, I am not fuckin’ playin’ make-believe. You catch me?”
Tanner blinked and paled. He wasn’t so self-involved that he didn’t understand that Isaac was deadly serious and had just, in all deadly seriousness, threatened his life. Riley’s breath stopped. This was not their world, and they’d only been visiting for a few days, but already Riley knew enough to know that the very worst thing Tanner could do right now is make a fuss about being threatened. It occurred to her that she actually believed Isaac might kill him if he did.
That realization made her stomach roll. She liked Isaac. She liked all these guys. Or, those she’d gotten to know a little. She’d had a great week for the most part, and had been lamenting having to leave—and not just because of Bart. But were these guys capable of murder? No. No way.
Yeah, they’d killed a lot of people in the Ellis drama, but that was all self-defense. Isaac looked terrifying right now, but he wouldn’t kill Tanner. Beat him, maybe. But he’d called Havoc off from doing just that. Riley was very confused. She felt like
there were pieces missing from the picture.
She spoke up. “Tanner, just go back to the hotel. Don’t make it worse.”
It was like her voice broke the tension somehow. Isaac stepped back, Tanner took a breath, and the moment was over.
“Yes, I believe I shall. Omen, would you help a bloke out? Mark, it’s time to go, mate.”
Lilli stepped forward. “I’ll take you. Omen needs the night off.”
“No.” Isaac pulled Lilli back. “No. I’ll go.”
Tanner looked deeply unhappy at that but didn’t protest. Riley breathed a sigh of relief. He’d found some self-preservation.
Isaac kissed Lilli on the forehead. The gesture gave Riley a little pang. She wanted someone to love her like that. And Isaac was a mass of contradictions, sweet and brutal, friendly and fierce, loving and terrifying. “I got this, Sport. Won’t be long.”
Lilli looked pissed, or at least aggravated, but she nodded. Isaac went to the door and waited with his arms crossed over his broad chest as Tanner collected his jacket and his assistant.
When they were gone, Lilli came up to Riley.
“Isaac didn’t want you riding with Tanner just then. I can take you, but I need to be moving in about half an hour, so I can get back to Gia. That good with you?”
Bart hadn’t come out yet. Not that he could spare the time to take her back tonight. She wasn’t going to ask Isaac to make another trip when he got back. Her only other real option for a ride was Omen, and he and Pru were pretty involved. They were standing together, watching all this, and she knew they’d take her back, but she felt bad about getting in the middle of their night. Not too many nights left in Signal Bend.
Yeah. And she was going to spend this one alone.
“Okay. Half an hour.” Lilli nodded, and Riley went back to the office. She was going to spend the time she could with Bart. It was time for him to take his break.
~oOo~
It was still fairly early when Lilli pulled up at the hotel—not even ten o’clock. But it was dark and quiet. Lilli put her old car in park, and Riley put her hand on the door handle.
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