It was Tuesday. I’d been staying with him for three days now, and he was going back to work. Normally, he would have worked on Monday, but he’d taken the day off to meet up with my brother halfway between here and Barstow. And, he had a court date.
The very first thing I did was try to get out of him what he’d done to have to go to court, and I felt like an idiot when he told me he was standing by a woman who was trying to get a restraining order against her abusive ex-husband. At first, I thought he might be lying to me, but he got dressed up, the woman showed up at the apartment, and the two of them left together.
That night, he’d explained to me that he and several of the other members of his club would accompany women who were going to court against their abusers, offering them support and protection against the men who had been hurting them.
He had several stories of when he or other men under him had to step in before the meeting as men tried to threaten their ex’s in the parking lot at the courthouse. Through the months, many of the men who were taken to court – or who took their ex’s to court – had learned when they saw the Avenging Angels in the parking lot, they had to back off and behave.
“How’d it go?” I’d asked when he got back from court.
“Good. He’s got to stay pretty damn far away from her, pay her alimony, and stop with any and all forms of contact starting immediately. If he violates any of those orders, he’s facing a lot of jail time,” he said as he took off his vest.
“And then do you, what? Do you ride around and make sure he’s staying away from her?” I asked. I didn’t want it to come off as condescending as it had, and I knew from the look that he gave me he was rather offended at my choice of words. I winced but didn’t apologize.
“We can’t. She’s not local. She just found out about us from a friend and she wanted me to be there for her,” he said.
“You left town to do it?” I asked. My eyes widened, and I knew the surprise showed through my tone.
“Yeah,” he said. He gave me another look, and I decided to drop it. But, he didn’t. “That’s one of the reasons Satan’s Souls has had such a problem with us. Many of those guys don’t treat women right, and we’ve been there to stand up against them in court.”
I winced again. Though I wasn’t involved with the Souls myself, there had been times when I was at my brother’s house, and I’d heard one of his men complaining about having to go to court over his ex, and how she was bringing a body guard with her.
At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it. I thought that they were referring to a brother or perhaps a parent, but I never thought these women were reaching out to members of the Avenging Angels.
“That’s noble of you,” I said. He’d just shrugged, clearly not needing my approval over what he did in life to know he was doing a good job.
“You hungry?” he changed the subject.
“Yeah,” I said. “What for?”
“I was thinking something fast and easy. You bought breakfast the other day, so I’ll get pizza,” Trip replied. “Pick out what you want and order. I’ll pay in cash when they get here.”
I pulled up the menu on my laptop, choosing a couple different flavors I thought he’d like. But it was hard for me to concentrate as I put in the order. It seemed so strange to me, thinking of these guys going to court for women they didn’t even know, standing up to men they didn’t know just because it was the right thing to do.
They stood against violence toward women, and they put themselves in potentially dangerous situations to make sure the women could get out. It was a turn on, that was for damn sure. I was starting to see Trip in a whole new light the longer I was around him. My brother had scared me a time or two with his temper. Granted, he had never hit me, and I didn’t think he ever would. I was one of the only people on the planet who could appeal to his better side. But that didn’t change the fact that he was aggressive by nature.
I couldn’t see Trip doing that to anyone. He had pissed me off when I first arrived, and he made it clear I wasn’t going to call the shots. But he had never been intimidating, and he hadn’t thrown his weight or his power around in my face.
Hell, he had put up with a lot from me during the first few days that I’d been around, even to the point where he risked his life for me in the parking lot of that diner.
We’d had a good evening. I asked him to stay in the living room and watch a movie with me, and I could almost admit that it was fun. He had a sense of humor I hadn’t noticed before, and we clicked on a different level than just the physical.
I couldn’t deny the sexual tension that electrified the room, but at the same time, we didn’t need it. I didn’t feel like I had to do anything, and I didn’t think he was expecting anything of me, either. We were just two people having a good time with some pizza and a movie.
And I could have melted into the floor with contentment.
Now, as I stood in the empty apartment, a strange feeling washed over me.
Did I actually fucking miss him? He had given me the option to go with him to work today, but I wanted to prove a point. I didn’t want him to think that I wanted to hang out with him, so I chose to be here alone.
Now, I had the entire day to do anything I wanted. I could watch tv, I could work as much as I wanted. Hell, he wasn’t there, I could go through the apartment and snoop through all his things.
I could find out what kind of man this really was. But no, I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to invade his privacy like that. Hell, I didn’t want to do anything but hang out – with him.
I walked back to the couch and sat down. I didn’t know what was going on with me, so I decided to call Kate. I’d not gotten the chance to talk to her much since coming to Ridgecrest, and I hoped to be able to catch her.
“Megan! I thought you fell off the face of the planet!” her voice was like a breath of fresh air.
“Oh my God! I’ve got so much to tell you!” I said.
“I heard about the attack in the parking lot, you had to have been terrified!” she said. “Were you scared?”
“You bet your ass I was scared!” I said. “The guy had a gun pointed right at my face. I thought he was going to kill me!”
“What happened?” she gasped. I suddenly realized she probably didn’t know the details, only that it had happened.
“Well, we were jumped when we left the diner after dinner. We had to run through the parking lot and when one of the guys caught up with us, Trip shot the gun out of his hand and we were able to escape,” I said breathlessly. “I was terrified.”
“Diner? Just the two of you?” I could hear the intrigue in her voice.
“Um hello? That’s the part you’re going to focus on? I was shot at for Christ sake Kate!” I shook my head.
“Sorry, sorry. That’s horrible. But you’re ok right? You’re good?”
“Yeah, thanks to Trip, I’m fine,” I said.
“Ok good. So, dinner?”
“Jesus Kate, you’re relentless,” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, he felt bad that I’d been cooped up all week, so he offered to take me out to get something to eat and a change of scenery.”
“I bet him taking you on dates wasn’t exactly what Cutter had in mind when he asked this guy to watch over you,” she giggled. “It wasn’t a date! He was just trying to me a nice human being,” I argued. But I was glad she couldn’t see my face. I could see my beet red reflection in the mirror on the wall across from me.
“You were going to tell me about your last date the last time we talked,” I quickly changed the subject. “What happened there?”
“Oh Brad? He’s long gone,” Kate’s voice let me know she was rolling her eyes. “I’m with Trey now.”
“Who’s Trey?” I asked. I settled into the couch. Once I asked her about a guy she was seeing, I knew it was going to turn into an hour-long conversation, and I wasn’t going to have to do a thing but listen and assure her I was still there with the occasional ‘u
h huh’. I’d long since learned the appropriate questions to ask, how to ask them, and when.
She loved talking about who she was currently sleeping with and why they were or weren’t going to last for a while. The ironic thing was, she really stuck with them about the same length of time regardless of the potential she saw in the relationship.
I couldn’t blame her, though. I hadn’t the best track record when it came to men either, which was part of the reason it terrified me to think of how I felt about Trip. He made me think and feel things that I hadn’t in as long as I could remember; if I’d ever felt them before. What if there is more to this than just what you’re trying to convince yourself? What would happen if you stopped pretending and started letting yourself feel things for him? He’s a good man, he’s proving that to you time and time again, you just don’t want to see it.
“Meg? You still there?” Kate asked.
“Yeah, sorry,” I said. “I guess I wasn’t holding my phone close enough to my mouth.”
“Oh, dummy,” she laughed. “Anyway, as I was saying--”
Her voice drawled on, but my mind slowly drifted back to thinking about Trip. Hell, I was independent, but I’d never been much of a risk taker.
He was full of risk, and he clearly didn’t mind taking them. It was one of the many things I found irresistible about him, and the thought of me going along for the ride sent shivers down my spine.
What if I were to just go for it? What was the worst that could happen? What if for the first time in my life I let go?
What if I’m falling for him?
15
Trip
“Is everything alright, Prez?” Odie asked. “You don’t seem to be yourself.”
“Yeah, sorry,” I said. “I’ve just got a lot on my mind after talking to Cutter earlier this week. Things aren’t going so hot down there, and I’m thinking about calling Church again with the boys to make sure we are all on high alert.”
“You don’t think they’re going to come all the way up to Ridgecrest, do you?” Odie asked. It was rare for me to be so candid with the kid, or anyone else who was new in the club. I would often wait until a man showed his merit before I would be so open with him about the concerns I had, but today, my mind was on other things.
“Look, Kid,” I said. “I was an Army Ranger. I learned that you can’t really pinpoint where the enemy is going to stop, or where they are going to stay. When it comes to those who really don’t give a damn about the law, we need to be really careful. You should know this from your time in too.”
He nodded. “They’re clearly making their way up from Barstow,” Odie said.
“And I doubt they’re going to stop there,” Axle and Brutus walked in through the door, but Brutus was the one who spoke. “Javi let me know this morning he thought he saw a truck with a few men he recognized in it around the diner where you and the girl were shot at.”
“When?” I asked quickly.
“Early this morning. I came up here as soon as I could get away from my dad to let you know,” he said.
“There’s such a thing as cell phones,” I said with an exasperated shake of my head.
“Except there are some of us who don’t have them,” Brutus replied dryly.
“How do you not have a cell phone in the twenty-first century?” Axle asked as he looked at his comrade with wide eyes.
“I don’t need all you assholes being able to find me whenever the hell you feel like it,” he replied. “How’s that?”
“I know you have a phone, or I wouldn’t be able to get a hold of you,” I said. “You’ve answered it more than once.”
“Alright, let me rephrase. I don’t have it on me when I’m at work, because who the fuck else is calling me? When I got back to my place, I figured I may as well get up here and tell you in person, happy?” Brutus snapped.
“Aw, he just wanted to see your pretty face,” Axle said, pressing Brutus’s buttons.
“Your face isn’t going to be half so pretty if you want to keep it up, flyboy!” he snapped.
“Easy, easy, break it up,” I said as I looked from one to the other. “If that’s the case, then we’re going to have to really buckle down and make sure this town stays tight.”
“Where’s Megan now?” Axle asked. “If they’re going to be in town, I’d hate to think of what would happen if they found her alone.”
“She’s at my place. I moved her there the other night after the attack. I had a feeling they were going to keep on the move, and I thought the same thing,” I nodded toward Axle, but the look that he gave Brutus didn’t escape me.
“Alright, it’s not like that,” I said. “This is Cutter’s sister we’re talking about.”
“So? You see those tits! Damn, I’d hit that in a heartbeat if I could get away with it,” Brutus said. “Wouldn’t you?”
Axle chuckled, but the look on his face reminded me that he knew exactly what had happened between Megan and I that night. I wanted to punch them both in the face, but I had to keep my cool. I didn’t want it getting out into the rest of the club that we’d slept together. Not with everything else that was going on. I knew Axle would keep his mouth shut until I gave him the go ahead not to.
It wasn’t that I didn’t trust my guys. Hell, they were my brothers, I’d trust them with anything and everything, but I didn’t want that to circulate through them. Not to mention, if word were to get back to Meg that I’d told what we’d done, I knew it would ruin my chances of ever having anything real with her.
Wait a fucking second. Did you just consider having something more with Megan? That is the worst thought you’ve ever had, and you better never let your brain go that way again. This is Cutter’s sister!
“Brutus, I want you and Javi to keep a close eye on what goes on in your neck of the woods. If one of the cartel members so much as sneezes, I want to know about it, okay?” I said, bringing my mind back to the present. He nodded.
“I’ll let him know as soon as I get back,” he replied.
“Good, and I want you, Axle, to take Gunner and do a patrol around the south side of town both in the morning and in late afternoon. I’m sure if they were going to strike, they would wait for the cover of darkness, but they’d have to be scoping out the area first. I want to catch them in the act if they end up trying to be that stupid,” I said.
“Texting Gunner now,” he replied.
“What do you want me to do?” Odie asked. He was used to being left out of these kinds of orders, and he had been pressing to be included more and more. I didn’t mind his help, but there were some things I still hesitated to give him. We couldn’t afford any mistakes, here, and even if he didn’t mean to make one, a mistake was a mistake, and it could be deadly. Military man or not, Odie was still new to club business.
“I want you to get in touch with as many of the men as you can through text. Put them all on high alert, not just in Ridgecrest, but all over our turf. If there is any activity, I want to know about it as soon as it happens. Fuck, I want to know about it before it happens!” I said.
Odie nodded. I knew he’d take the job seriously, though it wasn’t one that I couldn’t do myself. Then again, giving it to him to do enabled me to focus on other things that I’d rather be thinking about.
Like Megan.
“Okay, Boys. I’m going to keep the doors open a while longer, but right now, this is priority. Forget about working for the rest of the day and get to it. This is our fucking town, and no one is going to bring their shit back to our streets,” I said.
They were pumped up and excited as they headed through the door with enthusiasm. I was glad to see such vigor to carry out the assignments I gave them. I knew they were glad for the peace that we had in town, but they were ex-military, and they liked the tactical side of what we did as well.
Hell, there was a part of me that hoped the war would come close enough for us to join. I didn’t want Megan to be in any kind of danger, and I would do everything in my p
ower to make sure she was safe. But I also didn’t mind getting my hands dirty if I needed to.
I drummed my fingers on the desk. I had every intention of shutting down the shop and heading back to the apartment as soon as I could, but I knew I wasn’t being entirely honest with myself in the process.
For as much as I wanted to tell myself that I had no feelings for Meg, I knew that wasn’t true. The longer she lived in my apartment, and the more time she and I spent together, the more I was falling for her.
Hell, I knew from the moment I first saw her that I liked her. The fact she hit me over the head with that bottle in the bar told me all I needed to know about her personality, and I wanted to know her more. I’d been disappointed that I hadn’t had the chance to talk with her then, but I was making up for that now.
I pulled out my phone, all the common sense in my body screaming at me to put it back in my pocket. There was no reason to text her. She hadn’t contacted me, and I told her to if she needed anything.
Then again, we hadn’t texted each other at all, and I wondered if she was waiting for me to break the ice. I thought back and forth for a moment when suddenly someone pulled up out front. I was going to be stuck at the shop for a while longer now, and I didn’t want to wait until I got home to talk to her.
On a sudden impulse, I shot her a text, hitting send before I allowed myself to talk me out of it.
Just checking in, hoping you’re doing okay on your own
I put the phone on the counter and helped check in the man’s vehicle. Most of the people participating in the upcoming car show had come and gone, and we were getting back to normal services. I saw the screen of my phone light up out of the corner of my eye, and I couldn’t get through the transaction fast enough.
It’s fine but boring. I’m actually looking forward to you getting back so I have someone to talk to
Men in Charge: A Contemporary Romance Box Set Page 53