Timber's Fairy

by Marissa Ann

  ****

  Timber

  I left out for an early morning ride. The fresh air and open road always helped to clear my head. We hadn’t yet gotten a lead on who had broken into the bike shop or what they may have been looking for. As I was coming through town I noticed Blade’s bike parked outside of Bella’s Brew and decided I’d stop to grab my own cup of coffee this morning. I could see him through the window at the counter talking to Bella as I parked. I never did get a chance to ask him what he was talking to Bella about the other night so intensely. The bell above the door announced my entrance and they both turned towards the door.

  “Good morning Bella.” I said as I gave Blade a chin lift.

  “Morning.” She said softly looking at Blade before looking back at me. “What can I get for you Timber?”

  “Just a black coffee will do.” I head towards a table in the back. As I take a seat, Blade sits at the chair across from me. “What exactly are you up to Blade?”

  “Nothing, Don’t worry about it.”

  “Are you sure? You and Bella seemed really close on Friday night and now I find you in here on a Sunday. You can’t claim you are here for coffees for all the guys since the shop is closed today.”

  “I said its nothing. Just leave it alone.” He’s my best friend and I can tell he’s bothered by something but I don’t push the issue. He’ll talk when he’s ready to but not before. So I change the subject.

  “Has Snake been able to find anything else on the security feed?”

  “Not yet. He said soon as he did he’d give us both a call.”

  “Hope he finds something soon. I hate all this damn waiting around. If trouble is coming our way, I’d damn sure like to know ahead of time.”

  “You got that right.” He says as Bella sets our coffees in front of us.

  Before she can walk away I ask, “Your friend, Mina, seems like a pretty great girl. Do you know anything about her life before she moved here?”

  “Timber, she is my best friend and I will not give away all her secrets to you. If you want to know about her, you will have to ask. I will tell you though that she has major trust issues, especially when it comes to guys. I’m not even sure why. I suspect she has kept a lot more to herself than she’s even told me. She doesn’t talk about her family much or about her life before she moved here. I can give you her phone number before you leave if you want.”

  “That would be great Bella, thank you.” I say as she walks back towards the counter as another customer comes in.

  Blade and I stayed a while longer talking about the custom bike jobs we had coming up. As the lunch crowd started to trickle in, we left. We tried not to mingle too often with the people around town. Most were afraid and would cross a street just so they wouldn’t have to walk close to any of us. There were a few like Bella that treated us like we were normal citizens. She had handed me a piece of paper with Mina’s number on it as I was leaving.

  When I got back to the club house, I grabbed a beer from the bar and headed to my room. I lay back on my bed and grabbed my phone to send Mina a text. I wanted to see her again although I knew I probably shouldn’t. I could tell during our kiss that she was innocent. Those types of women had never attracted me before. I could also tell she was full of secrets and probably hiding something. But I didn’t care. I had decided Friday night that I wanted this girl and I was definitely going to have her.

  ****

  Mina

  Around lunch time I decided to take a break and eat something. I was stuck on a specific love scene for my book that had kept my mind thinking about Timber. Lord, that man had my mind so preoccupied. I was coming up on my deadline and needed to get this book finished. Instead I was driving myself crazy thinking about a pair of calloused hands attached to thick tattooed arms and a pair of silver colored eyes.

  I was on the porch eating a sandwich when I heard my phone ping with a text message. I picked it up noticing it was from an unknown number but figured I’d better check it just in case it was from my editor. She had a habit of texting me from any phone she could get her hands on. When I opened it, there was a picture of me from Friday night when Timber was holding me on the dance floor. You could tell it was taken from a good distance but it was definitely me. The text with the picture just said “I see you.” This made me scan my surroundings and get an uneasy feeling as if someone was watching me.

  Inside the house I quickly locked all the doors and checked my windows. As I moved a curtain aside in the living room to look back outside my phone pinged again. It was another unknown number. When I opened it I could tell it was from Timber and quickly forgot about the weird text message with the picture.

  Timber

  “I enjoyed Friday night and want to see you again.”

  Mina

  “What did you have in mind?’

  Timber

  “Go for a ride with me. I can pick you up around 5?”

  Mina

  “I’ll be ready at 5 ;)”

  Timber

  “I’ll see ya soon.”

  The clock on the wall said it was 2:00 so that gave me three hours to pick out an outfit and get ready for my date with Timber. Was it a date? If it was a date, why did I so readily say yes when I hadn’t given any other man the time of day in years? This man really did have my brain running in circles. Just what are you thinking Mina? I asked myself as I went towards my bedroom to start getting ready.

  I had just gotten out of the shower when I heard my phone ringing with the tone specifically for Bella and I ran to the other room to grab it before she could hang up.

  “Hello chica! Whatcha know good?”

  “Seriously Mina, I am going to need you to write a book just so I know all these crazy sayings of yours. I am calling to let you know that I gave Timber your phone number today. He and Blade were here for coffee this morning. I got swamped with the lunch crowd and wasn’t able to call you earlier.”

  “I figured you were the one to give it to him. He sent me a text a little while ago to see if I wanted to go out for a ride with him.”

  “Did you say yes?” she asks with a giggle.

  “Yes, I did. He’s supposed to be here at 5 to pick me up. I just got out of the shower and I have no idea what I am going to wear. Did he say anything else when he got my phone number from you?”

  “Not really. He just asked about your life before you moved here. I told him that if he wanted to know anything that he’d best ask you. Anything that I personally know, I wouldn’t tell if he paid me to. You are my best friend and I wouldn’t betray you.”

  “Okay. Thanks Bella. I guess I should finish getting ready. I’ll call you later.”

  “Have fun tonight Mina!” I hang up and head towards my closet hoping I can find something worth wearing.

  ****

  Timber

  As I was headed out of the clubhouse at 4:30, Snake was crossing our parking lot towards me. “Hey, I wanted to let you know that I found something on the video footage from Friday night. I was able to clear up the picture and get a partial of a tattoo on the guy’s neck.”

  “Do you know what it is yet?”

  “Not yet but I made some calls to some tattoo artists we know and sent them a picture to see if any of them has ever seen one. Hopefully they will get back in touch with me soon.”

  “Just let me know when they do. I am headed out for a while but I will be back later for church. We have to make sure we are on schedule for everything coming up this week.”

  “Are you going to see that hot little piece from Friday night?” He asks causing me to fight to control my anger.

  “Watch it Snake, her name is Mina. I will be bringing her with me later and I suggest every one of the brothers keep a civil tongue or I will cut it out.” I growl out giving a reminder of just what I am really capable of.

  He throws his hands up and starts backing away from me. “I didn’t mean any disrespect, Prez.” His eyes wide and watching me closely.

&
nbsp; I breathe slowly, relaxing my hands where they curled into fists, trying to let all the anger completely go that rushed over me so quickly. Jealousy was a bitch and I absolutely hated that it caused me to overreact to one of my brothers. These men were my only family. I trusted them with my life and knew that they would never step out of line where Mina was concerned.

  “Sorry man, I’m just under a lot of pressure right now with everything.” I say as a way of easing the tension.

  “Yeah, we can blame it on everything going on if you want, but only if that pressure is ugly, green and in your jeans!” He laughs as he turns towards the door.

  Chapter 4

  Mina

  I was ready to go way earlier than I needed to be. My nervousness was off the charts so I decided to work some more on my book. I was so lost in my work I jumped almost out of my skin when there was a loud knock at my door. I swung the door open to see Timber leaning on the door frame. He was in fitted blue jeans that had rips at the knees and a black t-shirt that his muscles made look like the shirt was entirely too small for him along with his leather cutt. He looked delicious.

  “Hey, are you ready?” He said. I looked towards the clock on the wall and realized it was 5 already.

  “I didn’t even realize it was close to time. I get so caught up in my writing that time seems to pass me by without even realizing. Let me grab a jacket and we can go.” I grabbed my jacket off the back of my couch and we walk out to his bike.

  “Have you ever ridden before?” he asks.

  “I used to ride with my brothers every chance I got.” I immediately stop talking as soon as I realize what I said.

  “Oh, so your brothers ride?” he says while looking at me. I shake my head. I know he expects more of an answer but I am not ready to spill that can of worms just yet. No one back home really understands why I left or why I cut them almost completely from my life. Even I’m starting to question why I did it. It’s not like they were mean to me or anything. All the guys in the club treated me like a sister. They weren’t the ones that broke me.

  “So where are we going?” I ask as I climb onto the back of the bike and put the helmet he hands me on.

  “I thought we’d drive the mountain roads for a bit. I got to meet with my guys around 7 at the clubhouse but figured you could come with me. We can have a few drinks in the bar there while we talk.”

  “Sounds good to me.” I say as he starts up the bike and we head out.

  To finally get to see these beautiful mountains I fell in love with from the back of a bike was better than I ever imagined. I had always loved the way it felt to ride the open road. The wind blowing through my hair and the growl of the bike is like nothing you can ever truly describe.

  I had my own bike back home. Its one of the things I missed the most besides my family. The day Matt and Rafe surprised me with it was one of the best and worst days of my life. My 21st birthday should have been one of my best memories. They had surprised me with it when I first got up that morning. I spent most of the day riding, but after that night, I never could get on my bike without thinking about Josh holding me down on the floor of that shed.

  After riding for a bit, we slowed down and pulled through a gate. We parked in front of a plain building and I knew it was his clubhouse. It wasn’t much different from the one I was used to back home.

  We climbed off the bike and Timber threaded his hand through mine. It made me feel good. I still couldn’t figure out why or how being with this man made me feel so safe. I felt like I could breathe again after feeling like I had been holding my breath for the past 4 years.

  We walked into the main room which was also a bar. There were several members sitting around tables, some were playing pool in the back. They all looked up as we walked in. And the one I recognized as Blade walked towards us.

  “Nice to see ya again, Mina.” He said giving me a smile and turning towards Timber. “All the guys are here.”

  “Okay, everyone head on back to the meeting room. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’m going to get Mina comfortable at the bar first.” Timber says as he leads me towards one of the bar stools.

  “Hey Fang, get Mina here whatever she wants. We are going into church so we’ll be a little while. Keep an eye on her.”

  “No problem Prez.” Fang says and then turns and asks me, “What will you drink pretty lady.”

  “A beer will do Fang. Thank you.” I answer. I look back at Timber, “Do you think it’ll take a while?” I ask.

  “Hopefully, it won’t take too long. Just stay right here and don’t wonder off until I come to get you.” He says smiling at me.

  “Okay.” And he kisses the top of my head before walking towards the hallway most of the other guys went down. I turn back to the bar and start drinking my beer.

  I had been sitting at the bar for about 30 minutes when one of the biker bunnies sat on the stool next to me. Fang looked over at her and gave her a hard stare.

  “What do you want Vivi?” He asks her.

  “I’ll have a beer.” She says in the most annoying voice I think I have ever heard. It’s almost like she’s talking through her nose. After Fang turns to get her a beer, she turns on her stool toward me. “I saw you walk in with Timber. What? Looking for a walk on the wrong side of town? From the look of your expensive clothes you are clearly in the wrong place.” She says with a curl to her lip.

  “Vivi, I’d suggest you get your skank ass back across the room and wait for Bear. Mina belongs to the Prez. You go fucking with her and he’s likely to throw your ass out.” Fang says while leaning close across the bar.

  “Whatever, we know her type can’t hold a man like Timber. She’ll be old news next week.” She huffs as she gets off the stool and walks away. I raise my eyebrow and look to Fang.

  “Should I be worried about anything?” I ask him.

  “Nah, she’s just another yote that’s been after Timber since she showed up 6 months ago. The Prez has never touched her no matter how hard she’s tried. Bear seems to be the only one to play with that merry go round.” He says causing me to laugh out loud. “Want another beer while you wait?”

  “Another beer would be good. What exactly is a yote?” I ask while taking a sip of my beer.

  “That’s what we call the hang-arounds like Vivi. It’s short for coyote.” His explanation causing me to suck beer down the wrong way and I start coughing while laughing as well.

  “Seriously? Is that supposed to be some sort of “Coyote Ugly” reference?”, still laughing hysterically. Fang starts laughing with me.

  “You have to admit that shit is pretty fucking funny.” He says when we both calm down enough from laughing so hard.

  My phone goes off with another text message. I dig it out of my pocket and notice it’s from the same unknown number from this morning. My heart starts racing as I open up the message and read the text. “You are still just as beautiful as I remember. Soon we will be together again.” The text gave me the chills. It also worried me. I didn’t know who the hell could be doing this. I looked around the club but know whoever it is can’t be here. I don’t really know any of these people.

  “Are you okay Mina?” Fang asks me.

  “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.” I answer as I lift my beer and finish it off.

  ****

  Timber

  We all get settled around the table in the meeting room and I wait for my men to settle down before I start.

  “We have that new shipment of weed that needs to go out on Thursday. The trucks need to be loaded and on the road by 3am.”

  “I have already made all the arrangements. Our guys should meet up with our contact 2 hours south of us at the warehouse on time.” asks Butcher, our Road Captain.

  “Good, on to other business. Where are we at on the custom that’s supposed to be picked up on Tuesday? Will it be ready to go or do I need to see about buying us a day or two?” I ask while still feeling frustrated with the fact someone came into our shop and tried
to destroy thousands of dollars worth of bikes, parts, and tools.

  “Since we didn’t take the weekend off because of the damage from the break-in, we should be able to finish it up just before time for the guy to pick it up. I’d like to know who the mother fucker is and take my time drawing out some medieval torture practices.” says Blood, our sergeant at arms. We all knew he was into the more gruesome aspects when it came to getting rid of those that would cause issues for our club. We all may have cleaned up our image as best we could but none of us forgot who we were deep inside.

  “Snake, you want to share with the brothers what you found?”

  “I was able to go through all the video feeds slowly and finally got a picture that may can help us with identifying who he is.” he says as he passes out pictures for the other brothers to see. “I also sent copies of these to all the tattoo shops where we have connections. I am hoping one of them may have seen this tattoo before and can give us more to go on.”

  “Snake you continue to see what you can find. Let us know soon as you do. Blade, contact the guy about the custom and let him know it can be picked up at 7pm Tuesday night. Butcher, you and Blood, make sure everything is ready for the weed shipment on Thursday.” I say as I end our meeting.

  I leave the room going back into the bar and spot Mina where I had left her on the stool. As I walk up I hear Fang ask her if she is okay and her saying yeah but she then picks up her beer and chugs it back like someone finding water in the desert. As I come up behind her, I slip my arm around her.

  “Hey. Did you finish your meeting?” she asks.

  “Yeah, all finished for the night. You ready to go?”

  “Yes but I need to use the restroom first.”

  “It’s just down the hall on the right.” I answer, pointing her in the right direction. I take a seat on the stool she just vacated and watch her walk down the hall.