by Jayne Blue
Gina put a hand up. “Don’t. And I mean ... I know. It was a terrible idea. You realize how many pieces my brothers would cut you into if they knew you so much as looked at me?”
Every muscle in my body went stiff. She had no idea that my crew were the ones the DiSalvos sent in when they wanted people taken care of.
“Right,” I said, arching a brow. “Will you just do me a damn favor and stay put tonight? There’s something wild in the air on campus. Somebody’s going to get hurt.”
Gina bit her lip. Shit. There sure as hell was something wild in the air between us. Even now that I’d cleared my head a little, I still wanted to touch her again.
“Thanks. I can take care of myself, Zig.”
It was in me to argue with her. She didn’t get it. If somebody was trying to pick off DiSalvos, she’d never see it coming. She’d need someone like me to watch her back. The trouble was, it was getting too damn hard not to watch her front, her ass, and everything in between. Maybe it was better Toby and some of the other prospects spelled me for a day or two.
“I’m sure you can,” I said. “But you needed my help tonight whether you want to admit it or not. I’m not going to be around for a day or two.”
Gina’s shoulders dropped and her lips parted. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she seemed disappointed. Fuck. It made me glad.
“Look,” I said. “You might see a couple of my guys hanging around. They won’t get in your way. You’ll barely know they’re there. Just do me a favor and let ’em do their job. You have a problem with any of it, take it up with your family, okay?”
Gina smiled and nodded. She put a hand up in surrender. “Got it. No ball busting. Zig, I swear. Right now I’m too tired to even think. As much fun as it is to give you a hard time, I really am just going to crash tonight. I’ve had enough excitement.”
I didn’t believe her. Not for one damn second. Desire still made her eyes glint as she looked up at me. I knew what I was to her. I was a bad idea. The kind of thing that would piss her daddy and her brothers off something good. She seemed like just the kind of girl who’d get off on that. Normally, that would be enough for me. Hell, it was now. But I knew damn well what Bear and the rest of the club would say about it. The girl was way more trouble than she was worth.
“Good,” I said. “Sleep tight, Gina.” Fuck. It was too tempting not to stir her up again. I wanted to see that little hitch in her breath that made her tits jiggle. I leaned in close, letting my hot breath caress her ear. “Sweet dreams.”
She blinked wildly and took a little step backward. Oh yeah. I knew what she’d be dreaming about tonight. My dick stirred imagining it. What I wouldn’t give to watch her. I’d slip my hand under the covers and feel her slick opening as she moaned in her sleep. I wanted to be there to fill the need I just knew she’d have.
Dammit. I needed to get back to the clubhouse and fast. Maybe I could blow off some of this steam with one of the banger chicks that were always in ample supply. They wouldn’t hold a candle to Gina, but I needed something to take the edge off or I’d lose my damn mind.
A car engine roared behind us. My hands flew instinctively to my hip holster. Gina’s eyes went wide as she saw me do it. Then she crossed her arms and looked over my shoulder.
“I think they’re here for you, Zig.” Sure enough. Toby and Moose pulled up in a black club van. Toby got out and raised his chin toward me while Moose waited behind the wheel to take me back.
I looked back at Gina. She’d already given me her back and was headed toward the front doors of her dorm. Good girl, I thought. I gave Toby his marching orders.
“Just keep an eye on her,” I said. “I don’t think she’ll give you any trouble, but don’t be surprised if she tries to shake you.”
Toby nodded. He was a good kid. Skinny, blond. Just like every other one of my crew, hanging around the Dark Saints had saved him from a life behind bars so far. He had a good chance of patching in soon. I slapped him on the back and headed for the van, certain Gina was in capable hands. Still, I had Moose wait. I stared up at that third-floor window until I saw Gina’s shadow. She pulled the blinds and turned out the light.
Chapter 6
Zig
Bear called church at first light. I was still bleary-eyed and disheveled when I got to the clubhouse, operating on no more than three hours of sleep.
“You look like dog shit.” The sharp greeting came from Mama Bear, Bear’s wife. She was a tiny little thing with a shock of spiky white hair and a hard gaze. Mama took care of us and tried to keep us in line. I kind of figured that’s what turned her hair white in the first place. As I passed her, I put a gentle hand on her shoulder and kissed her cheek. She melted beneath my touch and pressed her palm to my face.
“When’s the last time you got a shower, baby?” she asked.
I lifted my arm and stuck a nose near my armpit. She slapped my chest and rolled her eyes at me.
“If you have to check, it’s been too long,” she said.
“Sorry, Mama. Blame your old man. He’s the one who called a meeting at the crack of dawn.”
Mama stood with her hands on her hips. She wore a black tank top and faded blue jeans. In her mid-fifties, she was still built tight as a drum with hard biceps and a flat stomach. She’d been an army medic in her former life and still kept up the same fitness training.
Her son Shep walked in. He’d patched in around the same time I had. Shep gave me a nod as he leaned down to kiss his mother. She gave him similar shit about the way he smelled so I didn’t feel as bad.
“You got any clue what this one’s about?” Shep asked.
I lifted my palm. “Sheeit. If you’re in the dark too, how the hell should I know?”
“Right,” Shep said. “How’s your little field trip to Lake Meredith going?”
He had a shit-eating grin on his face and I had the urge to wipe it off. What the fuck was wrong with me? This girl had me turned around in all sorts of ways. Now I was ready to pick a fight with one of my club brothers over it.
I hadn’t said a word, but drew a laser stare from Mama Bear. Damn, she knew us all so well. A crease formed between her eyes and she reached up to smooth a lock of hair from my eyes.
“You feelin’ okay, Zig?” she asked. “You look a little flushed.”
I didn’t get the chance to answer. The door to the back room opened and Bear Bullock filled the doorframe. He was a true silverback with salt-and-pepper gray hair clubbed in the back. At fifty-five, he could still tear things up just as well as the rest of us.
“You done hen-pecking, woman?” he bellowed, his voice booming across the floor. We knew it was all for show where Mama Bear was concerned. She shot him a wicked smirk and flipped him off. Then she turned back to me and pinched my cheeks.
“Don’t mind him,” she said. “He’s old and cranky!” She emphasized the word old, garnering snickers from the rest of the guys who were already back in the conference room. Bear grumbled, sounding exactly like the grizzly bear he’d been nicknamed after.
“Get your asses in here,” he said. Mama Bear could joke off his orders, the rest of us sure as hell couldn’t.
Mama slapped Shep on the back and tousled his hair. The two of us walked into the conference room together.
Just like Bear promised, he had the whole membership assembled except for one. There was Bear and E.Z. at the head of the table as prez and V.P. Benz, our sergeant-at-arms, sat beside them. Axle, our most fearsome enforcer, stood behind his chair, gripping the back of it. He looked even more keyed up than usual. Maddox, our club treasurer, sat across from Axle. He steepled his hands beneath his chin and let out a breath as he waited for Shep and me to take our places. Shep served as road captain. I was club secretary. It was my job to record anything we wanted to stay on book for our meetings. This wasn’t a regular meeting so nothing would get written down. Deacon, our club chaplain, sat to my right. Rounding out the rest of the crew was Chase, our tail gunner, Domino, and Kade.
The only one missing was Bo. He’d taken off a few weeks ago. Bear still hadn’t told us why. These men were my brothers. My family. We had all sworn the same blood oath to each other. I’d lay down my life for any one of them and knew they would for me.
Bear sat down hard and scraped his chair legs across the floor. He balled his fists and looked around the table. “You wanna fill ’em in, Kade?”
Kade had a scowl on his face that didn’t sit well with me. He was dark-haired with a deadly stare that usually earned him as much respect as the patch he wore.
“We got some more intel on what happened with Gino Sr.,” Kade said. “It wasn’t easy to parcel it out. The DiSalvo brothers are closing ranks around their mother. The damn fools think they’re protecting the old man by pretending everything’s business as usual.”
“Right,” Axle said. “And we all know how well that worked out.”
Axle’s woman had been in the crosshairs of the DiSalvo brothers earlier in the year. So far, Christine DiSalvo was having a bitch of a time keeping her sons from ruining everything Gino Sr. had built.
“He’s brain dead,” Kade said. Ice ran straight through my heart.
“Fuck,” I said. “You sure it’s that bad?”
“It wasn’t,” Kade said. “The stroke he had last year took away his speech and he couldn’t walk. But the docs thought he was still in there at least partway. But this latest thing ... it looks like somebody stuffed a pillow over his face long enough to keep him from breathing for a while. He’s never gonna wake up now.”
“Jesus,” Deacon said. “How the fuck long do they think they can keep that from getting out?”
“It’s already out,” Bear said. “That’s the problem. Christine DiSalvo’s got a real cluster fuck on her hands. Somebody’s trying to pick off the rest of her kids to shake her up. Gino’s businesses are ripe for the plucking. She can’t get a handle on this soon, it’s going to be too late.”
“Anything unusual going on down in Lake Meredith?” E.Z. leveled a stare at me. It sent a chill down my back and the reaction must have shown on my face. Deacon’s eyes widened and he mouthed something to me, asking me what was wrong.
“No,” I said; my voice came out a little too clipped. Fuck. Again with this girl. I’d been sent down there to protect her. For the moment, that seemed to carry over to the men at this table.
“Nothing unusual.” I tried again. “She’s stubborn as shit, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“See that you do,” Bear said. “I mean it. No slip-ups on this one, Zig. We can’t afford it. Our business with the DiSalvos dies if Christine gets overthrown. She’s strong enough to keep her sons under control, I think. But she’s not strong enough to fight off the rest of her husband’s family if they catch wind of how bad off he is. We need the DiSalvo kids healthy and breathing for the time being.”
“Got it,” I said. “Nobody will touch a hair on that girl’s head under my watch. You got any idea how long you’re gonna need me up in Lake Meredith?”
“Fuck.” Bear shook his head. “I sure as shit hope it won’t be much longer. We’ve got shipments of our own coming in and I can’t afford to be shorthanded. Zig, I mean it. I’m sorry to have to send you up there for this shit. I can maybe talk to Christine and convince her to let me send a few of the prospects.”
“No!” Shit. I damn near shouted it. It earned me a hard stare from Shep. I put a hand up to placate him. “No,” I said, softer. “I mean, I’ve got it handled. Plus, the girl knows me now. I won’t go so far as to say she trusts me, but I think she’s at least resigned to the idea of me. She might get spooked if we send down a new crew. She wasn’t happy about Toby filling in for me as it was.”
“Fair enough,” Bear said. “And I promise, Zig. I’ll make it up to you for this.”
I nodded at his offer and the conversation turned away from the DiSalvos. Church ended an hour after. If you’d have told me a month ago I’d find myself itching to get back to Lake Meredith to follow a spoiled college girl around, I’d have chopped your ear off. Now, sheeit. The taste of Gina’s sweet lips and her hot breath against my skin had me wired. It wasn’t good. I knew it. But I couldn’t help it. Gina was too damn easy of a target and I had a bad feeling about what could go down.
“You sure you’re okay?” Shep found me after the meeting. He squeezed my shoulder and got right in my face. I felt my jaw harden as I tried to keep him from reading anything from my expression.
“Just antsy to get back to Lake Meredith. I think your old man’s right. If something’s going to happen, it’s going to happen fast. The sooner we root out who tried to ice Gino Sr., the sooner we can get back to business as usual.”
Shep let go of me, but his eyes narrowed to slits. I wasn’t fooling him for a goddamn minute. But he respected me enough not to get on my case any harder. We walked out of the back room together. My plan was to head straight for Moose and tell him to get the plane ready. I wanted to be back in Lake Meredith as soon as possible. But Moose was already heading for me, his face white and his expression grave as he held his phone to his ear.
“We gotta motor,” Moose said, clicking off with whoever was on the other end of the line. Shit. He didn’t have to tell me. I already knew.
“Toby,” I said. “What the hell happened?”
“The girl ditched him,” Moose said. “He’s half out of his mind.”
I shot a hard look to Shep. He straightened his shoulders and muttered an obscenity under his breath. “I’ll tell Bear,” he said. “Just get up there.”
Nodding, I slapped Shep on the back and shot a look to Moose. “Let’s roll.”
Chapter 7
Gina
Gelatin shots were a bad idea. Horrible. After the third one, my vision began to kaleidoscope and I grabbed on to the stair railing to keep from falling.
“Come on, Gina!” Rory Martin, senior Homecoming Queen and Gamma Zeta Gamma chapter president waved to me from the bottom of the stairs. Her own eyes were hooded as she held onto the tray of amber-colored plastic shot glasses. I had her to blame for my current state of mental fog. Rory wore her blonde hair piled high in a top knot and the Greek letters emblazoned across her chest stuck far out. Earlier, I’d heard Gareth and the others comment on how it was her best asset. I’m pretty sure I dumped a full pitcher of draft beer on his head a second after that.
I held up a finger. “On my way, Prez.” I called out. This earned me a chorus of laughter for some reason. God, those things hit me hard and fast.
It was good though. I needed to let loose for once. I’d fielded a million questions over the past three days about the hulking biker dudes that seemed to follow me wherever I went.
Zig.
I gripped the railing harder as I made my way downstairs. Zig’s face swam in front of me. My belly heated at the thought of his strong hands working their way down my waist, his hot kisses blazing a trail along the column of my throat. I shook my head to clear the memory. Zig was gone. I was just some job to him. Some side piece to make it all bearable. He didn’t live in my world and I would never live in his.
Owen Janney, captain of the L.M.C. intramural rugby team, caught my elbow just before I stumbled over the last step. I fell against his broad chest. He smelled good. Clean. There was no hint of leather and not a trace of ink anywhere on his body. He majored in finance and had a Wall Street job lined up right after graduation. He was exactly the kind of guy my parents expected me to end up with.
“Whoa,” Owen said. “Take it easy there. You’re looking a little green around the gills.”
I put a hand up. “I’m fine,” I said, though my voice pounded inside my head. Had I shouted? Had I spoken too soft?
Owen just stared down at me, his blue eyes shining. He slipped a hand around my waist and guided me toward the front door.
“Come on, Gina,” he said. “You look like you could use a little air.”
When we passed by Rory, she tried to hand me another gelatin shot. I reache
d for it, but Owen waved her off. Rory’s smile brightened as she reacted to some expression on Owen’s face as he led me out the front door.
It turned out, Owen had a point. A slight autumn breeze hit me in the face. I felt instantly clearer, though my stomach flipped in protest.
“Come on,” Owen said. “Let me get you to the bench over there. You think you can make it on your own steam?”
I gave him a thumbs up and smiled. Owen was cute. He was straight out of surfer boy central casting, born and raised in Santa Monica. Last summer, a few of my sorority sisters and I had stayed at his family’s beach house for a few days. While everyone paired off, I had kept mostly to myself. I’d left two days after my father’s stroke and hadn’t wanted to go. My mother insisted. She wanted everyone to think things were perfectly normal. Pretend. Don’t let on that things were dire. I’d played along.
Owen let go of me and I walked to the stone bench beneath a hundred-year-old elm tree right in front of the GZG house. Its foliage formed a wide canopy, shading almost the entire front lawn in the daytime. At night, the leaves rustled in the breeze and goosebumps covered my arms. I must have shivered. Owen sat next to me and put an arm around me.
“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, peering down into my face.
I put a hand up. “I’m fine. That last shot just hit me kind of hard. I’ll be okay in a second.”
“Hmm.” Owen didn’t look convinced. “You should drink some water. Did you eat anything before you came over?”
The truth was, I hadn’t. It was taco night at the dorm. I’d stayed just long enough to let Zig’s minion think I was there for the duration. Then I’d slipped out a service entrance and headed straight for the GZG house. I wanted one night without the constant reminder of whatever bullshit my family was trying to pull.
A twinge of guilt passed through me, though it might just have been the alcohol. Still, I figured Zig wouldn’t be too happy with his lackey’s inability to keep me under his thumb. On the other hand, fuck him. What little I knew about biker culture, the kid had to prove himself to earn his way into the Dark Saints. Maybe he just wasn’t cut out for it and I’d helped hasten the inevitable.