by KB Winters
“I don’t think so. Fuck that.”
“Aw, c’mon sugar. I thought we were gettin’ along,” Lasso said.
I groaned. “You’re fine, cowboy. But you have a pregnant wife at home and I have people trying to kill me. Do I really need to do the math for you?”
He frowned and stepped into the camper to scowl at me, shrinking the space even further. “You sayin’ I can’t take care of you and my wife?”
“I’m saying the people who are after me won’t give a shit if she’s pregnant and has nothing to do with this.” I turned away and grabbed another pair of jeans and stuffed some other junk into a bag. “I’ll stay someplace else but not with you and not with anyone else. Enough people are in danger already.”
Jag butted in about then. “Dammit, Vivi, don’t make this difficult. Just go with Lasso. He’ll keep you safe. Hang out with Rocky and let her feed you. It’s one fuckin’ night.”
“Don’t use reason to sway me, damn you.”
He laughed and I rolled my eyes. “If anything happens, you protect her first. I can handle myself, contrary to what some people around here think.” I aimed that barb at Jag.
He stepped forward. “Vivi, I know you can handle yourself.”
I turned to Lasso. “Give us a minute.”
He nodded and stepped out, saying, “Grab your helmet ‘cause I didn’t bring an extra one.”
Jag pulled the door shut. “Vivi, I know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself but if you think for one second these guys will come at you one at a time, you’re wrong. Plus I won’t be any good to my club, or my brothers knowing you’re here on your own.”
“You don’t fight fair.”
He flashed his beautiful smile again. It always made my tongue tingle with a desire to get a taste of it.
“No, I don’t. But I need to be able to focus. I need you to go with Lasso.”
“Fine. I’ll go.” I didn’t want Jag or any of his friends getting hurt because he was worried about me. “Don’t do anything stupid.”
“We won’t. This is just a pickup but we’re going through some unfriendly areas. I’ll be back tomorrow in time for a late dinner.” Jag hesitated for a second, but his mouth was on mine again and all I could think about was this man. Everything about him was good and I wondered if I could ever live in his world.
Plus he was sexy as hell, and those taut muscles were a personal weakness of mine. Just like the man, his kisses electrified my senses like they were being caressed by live wire.
“I already said I’d go, but I’m not above a little bribery now and again.”
He smirked. “Good to know.” When he stepped back my body rejected the cool air and the distance now between us. “See you soon, Vivi. Be good.”
“Why would I when it’s so much fun being bad?”
***
“It’s official,” Rocky said giving me one of her infectious laughs. “Any woman who can scare that big cowboy into hiding is my new favorite person.”
Rocky was a sassy redhead who talked like a cheerleader and dressed like a hippie. When I arrived last night she refused to let me wallow in my sullen mood, using compliments and then insults to get me to talk to her. She hadn’t stopped talking since.
“He’s not scared of me, just tired of my bitching. Not that I’m not appreciative of your hospitality or anything because I am. It’s just that, I don’t really stay at people’s houses.”
She blinked big green eyes and sat back, rubbing her belly. “Never? Not even a girlfriend or anything?”
“Nope. I left home when I was a kid and used my computer skills to get an apartment and pay my bills, which meant I didn’t have time for things like girlfriends and sleepovers.” I was glad Rocky didn’t look at me with pity because I hated that.
“So how’d you meet Jag? Lasso said you were his online girlfriend.”
That pulled a laugh out of me. “That’s how he would put it but we were just friends. We met online and talked and chatted. Only online. I met him for the first time now, when I got to Vegas.”
“That’s so cool. I don’t have any friends from Florida. I was too busy helping my dad plan bank robberies.”
Even though I could hear the pain in her voice, the wistfulness for a different, more idyllic childhood, I didn’t pity her. She’d moved past it and made a life for herself.
“Not as cool as it sounds, right?”
“Too right.” She stood and rubbed her belly. “Hungry?”
“Uh yeah, but I’m pretty sure you should be lying in a bed surrounded by pillows. Sit down, I can do it.”
“You cook too?” she said, heading for the kitchen and unloading the refrigerator.
I frowned at the disbelief in her voice. “I can’t cook? I can read instructions and follow them better than anyone. Besides I used to dabble in a bit of chemistry.”
“Just remember I got a pregnant nose.”
I didn’t know what the hell that meant but I stood and stared at all the things Rocky had lined up on the counter. “I take it that you can have all of these things on the counter?”
“Yep.”
I diced mushrooms and onions and peppers, whipped up eggs and slid bacon into the oven. It was a mechanical sort of activity, cooking. The perfect thing to do when I needed to stop thinking and just let my mind work in the background on a solution. “Sorry, I’m not a chatty cooker.”
“That’s okay. Are you really a badass hacker babe? Lasso’s words, not mine.”
Lasso was such a guy’s guy, so alpha yet so well-meaning it was hard to take offense. “I wouldn’t say I’m any of those things. But I do have mad computer skills that I use for good and for evil, but not too evil and only if the price is right.” I shook my head as an ironic laugh bubbled out of me. “And to think, it’s not the shady jobs that sent me on the run. How’d you end up with a cowboy biker?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Actually, it was a one night stand. He was in San Diego for a wedding and I was catering the reception. He was charming and stepped in when a few of my ex’s goons got a bit too handsy. One thing led to another and we had the most amazing night together. Like you, I ran to him when trouble fell in my lap.”
Damn. That was kind of cool but when I thought about what that could possibly mean for me, I froze. “Good for you,” I said uncomfortably.
Like she’d read my mind she breezed on. “It might not happen, but I’m pretty sure it will,” she said with a smug smile. “Lasso’s never seen Jag serious about a girl. A woman, sorry.”
“Jag isn’t serious about me, Rocky. We’re old friends and he’s a good guy who wants to help me out. If anything, he probably feels bad that he ghosted me.” Which was something I needed to keep in mind whenever my thoughts became a little too fanciful.
Rocky gave me a side-eye and said, “I don’t think so, but I can see you’re hardheaded. Plus I’m hardly going to lecture someone who took my weak ass breakfast and turned it into a feast. Me and baby thank you.” She dug in before I could even grab a chair, but I wasn’t judging. Sharing meals with another person was a rarity, so I tried to enjoy it.
“Not a feast. Eat up.”
She picked up her phone, typed a message and put it down before picking up her fork. “Your eggs are way fluffier than mine. What did you add?”
“Salt and pepper. I just cooked them on a lower heat so they get fluffy as they cook instead of flat.”
The bedroom door opened down the hall and Lasso’s heavy footsteps sounded on the floor. “Somebody said breakfast?”
“Have a seat. Look at all this food Vivi made for us! The baby is super happy!” Rocky even did a little dance as she ate, wiggling her hips with each bite.
“Thanks. You didn’t poison mine did you?”
“I didn’t have time to pack it on such short notice.”
He stared at me and then burst out laughing. “Yeah, you’re exactly what a serious dude like Jag needs.”
“I’m not what a
nybody needs.” I stabbed my eggs and ignored the stares between him and Rocky. “We used to be friends, that’s it.”
“Bullshit. But you’re scared, I get it. I was too, that’s why I married my baby before she could run away. Didn’t fall for her until later.”
Rocky frowned. “I thought you said you fell in love with me in San Diego?” Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
“Of course I did, babe. But later, when we were running for our lives that love changed. Grew up. Matured. My point, Vivi, is that you should be scared. Love is serious business.”
“Who the hell said anything about love?” I stood and got more coffee. “Just because you’re all coupled up and happy doesn’t mean everyone is headed that way. I have work to do.” With that, I stormed into the guest room feeling like a fucking child.
A petulant child.
Chapter Seventeen
Jag
The ride up to Tahoe had been uneventful and the transaction with our weapons guy was just how I liked these things to go, quick and easy. There was no drama, no changing of terms and no attempts at bullshit. He got our money and we got our guns loaded up in the van and were on our way in less than an hour.
But Cross wanted to talk strategy so we stopped for dinner at an all-night diner somewhere in Reno instead of driving straight back. I could admit that I was eager to get back to Vivi because I wanted to see her and no other reason, which made me sound like a fucking lovesick teenager.
“So we know what our options are,” Cross began when the adolescent waitress brought our burgers and fries. “The question is, do we want war?”
Savior snorted. “Sorry Prez but the question isn’t do we want it, it’s can we afford it? We have businesses to worry about, women and some of us have families to think about, too. We’re not kids anymore, Cross.”
The expression that flashed on Cross’s face was deadly, but it was gone as fast as it had appeared. “Yeah, that’s how time works, Savior. But this is about the club, not what we all have to lose personally.” It was a shitty thing that people didn’t want to hear, but Cross was the President and it was his job to think about the club. Not just our club but the whole Reckless Bastards Organization, which would all be threatened by war.
“I hear ya, but the facts are facts.” Savior, once the biggest dog of all of us, had softened when he’d fallen for a fallen brother’s younger sister. “I’ll do what I have to do but we need to make sure this is the best option.”
“I agree with Savior,” Max said. His deep gruff voice always sounded a little rusty because he was so damn quiet. “Do we have any other options?”
We had a few options but before we could discuss them any further, a table full of frat boys settled in next to us. It was one thing to discuss club business inside a public, but deserted, restaurant but it was unheard of to do it where anyone might overhear. Especially this kind of information.
“I could use a smoke,” Savior said. The rest of us got up from the table with him, dropping a few bills on the table before we filed out. By the time we caught up with him, Savior had a half finished cigarette hanging between his lips. “Come on, Jag. Let’s hear it.”
“Cross could slip these photos to the Roadkill Prez and let them deal with him.”
“But we run the risk that they already know what he’s doing to cover their asses and we tip our hand,” Max said, shocking the shit out of all of us. Not with his idea but with his use of all the words.
“Exactly,” I told him. “Though that’s unlikely since the meetings and communication have all been clandestine. Or we can prod them into doing some shit the feds won’t be able to ignore. Get rid of them for good.” That was my preference but Vivi’s shimmering gray eyes kept playing behind in my mind. The tortured sound of her voice as she talked about the costs of war stayed with me. Maybe it would be better to let Roadkill handle their own shit.
“I suppose you have a plan for that?” Cross sounded more amused than annoyed but there was definitely some annoyance there.
“Not yet but give me a few days and I might.” A short nod was about as good as it would get from Cross right now and I didn’t need his validation. Not on this.
“When you do, I’ll be ready to listen.” Cross stood tall among us, carrying himself apart from us. Not on purpose but as the leader he was responsible for everything and everyone. The burden hung heaviest on him but he never complained.
We spent a few hours dicking around at a casino while a couple prospects watched the van filled with guns and after a few cups of coffee, we were all back on the road. The drive wasn’t long, about six hours and it was nice to just let my bike go for a while. Not that my mind was clear at all, it wasn’t. I couldn’t stop thinking of all the things that could go wrong for me. The Club. Vivi.
Even as the road became a blur as I rode behind Cross and right beside Max, my mind wouldn’t shut the fuck up. Vivi was in real danger and there was a good chance I’d be too deep in club shit to protect her. I hoped it didn’t come to that. I really fucking did.
But we were close to home which meant I would soon have Vivi in my arms. In my bed.
Lights flashed behind us, drawing my attention. In the mirror I could only see Savior’s lights flashing, a sign that something was wrong. I raised a hand to let him know I saw him and then I moved closer to Max to get his attention. “Something’s up!”
He nodded and fell back, leaving me to pull up beside Cross to let him know we had trouble. But the moment our front wheels aligned a bullet whizzed by my head. The sound was unmistakable, even through the muffled noise of my helmet and the engine revving at close to eighty miles an hour. “Shots?”
I nodded and pulled back again, reaching for my own firearm. It could be dangerous, carrying a firearm over state lines but we had an out of the way spot where we met with our contact so if cops came sniffing around it would be because someone had dropped the dime on us. And that only made me think about Rizzoli and those feds. Something still didn’t feel right about that but now wasn’t the time to wonder.
Another bullet flew by but this time the source was clear. The shooter was behind us. There was a curve up ahead which could give us time to put some distance between us, or it could slow us down and sign our death warrants.
“Gun it,” I yelled to Cross while I pulled off the to the side of the road and dismounted. Max stayed right with me, finding cover behind a boulder as Savior hung back and positioned himself behind the fucking lowrider and the two bikes behind it, which put him between the van with our shipment of guns and those assholes.
“Ready?” Max’s deadly serious expression lit with awareness, with that focus all former servicemembers got when the game was back on. Shoulders squared, Max pulled a handgun from his holster and dropped down on knee.
“Fuck yeah.” I leaned on the other side of my bike, using the seat to line up my shots as I heard the bikes approaching. “You take the first fucker and I’ll handle the second.”
Max nodded and turned his focus to the road. I hated to say it, but this reminded me of my days in the military in the best way possible. Honing in on a target with razor sharp focus, letting nothing else distract you. Not thoughts of home nor gray-eyed girls. Not the fly buzzing around your ear nor the glint of sun doing its best to blind you. The only thing that mattered was the target. Whether ten feet or a thousand feet, the target was the priority.
The roar of the bike engine purred and whined as they rounded the bend, gunning it to catch up with the bikes they expected to see. The sound of Max’s shot pierced the air, followed seconds later by mine. Both bikes went down, sending the riders skidding across the pavement.
Savior pulled up the rear, making room for our guys to pass unharmed before doubling back to the assholes laid out on the asphalt. Max stood and drew closer to the other one and I had his six, sweeping the landscape in search of more shooters while keeping an eye on the felled drivers.
“What do you see?”
“Roadkill p
ieces of shit,” Savior said, spitting on the one closest to him. “What were you hoping to accomplish asshole?”
“Max?” I shouted.
“Same,” he called out with a grunt and a second later a shot rang out. “Son of a bitch! That fucker shot me.”
My feet were on the move, drawing closer to Max who stood with one hand cupping his shoulder. “Talk to me, Max.”
“I’m fine, the fucking thing just grazed me. Surprised me is all.”
Savior rushed over and kicked the guy’s handgun off into the weeds by the side of the road and then kicked the asshole in the gut for good measure.
I pulled up the sleeve of Max’s shirt just to be sure it was just a flesh wound and it was, but that was too close. Too fucking close. Kneeling down by the dick licker, I stared at him, my gun pointed to his head. “What the fuck is this about?”
The jackass grinned. “Payback’s a bitch.”
“That would be you, pussy. Are you going to make me ask you again or are we gonna be adults about this?”
“Fuck. You.” He laughed and I joined in, realizing the absurdity of the moment while I was in it. I stuck my finger behind his ear, a move I learned in the military.
“Ow, you motherfucker! Goddamn piece of shit!”
“That pain you feel right now, that’s my finger.” He panted and squirmed but the pain was too intense for him to truly fight back. “But you see when I do that,” I applied more pressure and his body sagged in relief. “The pain goes away but just imagine how it’ll feel when I release that spot.”
His eyes went wide, his breaths were even shallower. “Fuck, man! I don’t know.”
“That’s not good enough.” I let the pressure go and he howled in pain. “See? Now tell me why the fuck you’re shooting at us.”
“We don’t know, okay? Boss man said—”
“Boss man, who? White Boy Craig?”
“No, Vigo sent us.”
I looked up and both Max and Savior were scowling. “To kill us?”
“No. To make a grab for whatever’s in the van.”
“Piece of shit!” Savior yelled at the kid, who I could see now was just that, a kid. Probably not even a full fucking club member yet. I stood and held Savior back. “What the fuck Jag, he just—”