Not Attainable (Red Eyes MC Romance)

by Blair Grey

  “But you like him, don’t you?” Nicole asked, smirking at me.

  “Of course I like him,” I mumbled, blushing. “He’s a good guy. I’ve always liked him.”

  “What about him?” Nicole asked. “Do you think he wants something more than just a couple random fucks?”

  “How am I supposed to know that?” I asked, rolling my eyes. When Nicole continued to stare at me, I finally sighed. “He said something about how we couldn’t ever sleep together again. But then he started talking about how he wants to do something more with his life. How he doesn’t want to be in the MC forever. And I just started thinking about how if he wasn’t in Red Eyes anymore, my dad couldn’t hold anything against him. Maybe it would be okay for us.”

  “Uh-oh,” Nicole said, shaking her head. “I mean, I like that he’s talking about the future with you and whatever—that shows promise. But at the same time, I can’t help thinking that it kind of sounds like one of those relationships with the married dude, where he promises that of course he’s going to leave his wife for you, but then he never does.”

  “Yeah, I guess so,” I sighed, hating that she was right. I wanted to protest that he had been nice, that he had cooked me dinner and everything, but I knew that wasn’t the point.

  “And I mean, what would he even do if he wasn’t part of the MC?” Nicole continued.

  I grinned. “There’s this thing, some inheritance,” I told her. “His grandmother left it to him when she died. But he needs to get married by the end of the month in order to actually get his hands on it.”

  Nicole stared at me for a moment and then threw a rag at me. “Get out of here,” she said, laughing. “That’s a movie plot if I ever heard one.”

  “I’m serious!” I said, but I couldn’t help laughing as well. I shook my head. “I don’t know where she came up with that as her terms, but yeah, that’s what he said.”

  “Huh,” Nicole said, looking thoughtful. Then, a mischievous gleam came into her eyes. “So he’s looking for a wife, then.”

  “I don’t know. It kind of sounded like he had given up on the whole idea of it,” I sighed. “And I can’t really blame him. How is he going to plan a whole wedding to someone in a month? That’s crazy.”

  Nicole frowned, and I could practically see the gears turning in her head. But I wasn’t expecting what she came out with: “Did you volunteer to stand in as his wife?”

  “What?” I sputtered. “That’s even crazier!”

  Nicole shrugged. “Not really,” she said. “You wouldn’t have to have an actual wedding or anything. Just go down to the courthouse.”

  “And get married? Have you lost your mind? My father would kill us both.”

  “Would he, if you explained why you were doing it?” Nicole asked. “It’s not like the two of you have to stay married forever if things don’t work out. Or if your dad is super against it. You just have to be married long enough to get the money.” She paused. “And maybe, once your dad got over the initial shock of all of it, he would see how good the two of you are together, and he might be okay with you deciding to…delay your divorce.”

  I shook my head. “No way,” I said firmly.

  But I couldn’t help thinking about it. I had seen a show once that in order to get a citizenship card in the US for the woman, this couple had to prove they had been together for a while and were committed to each other and all of that. They’d had to live together, take pictures with one another, and basically act like they were a couple.

  I couldn’t deny how much I would like doing that sort of thing with Will if that was what we needed to do to get him his fortune. Living with him, having dinner with him every night and waking up next to him the following morning, sharing every intimate part of my body with him, helping him realize a better life for himself. There was definitely an appeal to it.

  An appeal that was only sweetened by the fact that it would give me just what I wanted as well. I had been looking for a way to get out of the mother-in-law house next to my father’s house. This could be it. And even if Will and I eventually broke off the marriage, I would have already set that precedent. I wouldn’t have to move right back in; I could find my own place. I could continue to live my own life however I wanted to.

  No matter how much I wanted to do it, though, I knew I couldn’t. Dad would never support it, even if it was only a sham marriage. He would never come around to it, not like Nicole thought he might. Even if that fortune led to Will’s leaving Red Eyes for good.

  Maybe especially not if it led to Will’s leaving Red Eyes for good. I knew just how much Dad appreciated Will’s services in the club. If he found out that the reason Will wanted this money was so that he could quit, he’d never go for it.

  I groaned and rubbed at my temples. No matter how much I wanted things with Will to work out, they were so complicated, more than I could ever have imagined they would be.

  “Hey,” Nicole said, nudging me with her hip. “Speak of the devil.”

  I looked toward the door and blushed when I saw Will was there. But he couldn’t know that we’d been talking about him. “You help him,” I said to Nicole, but she just laughed and disappeared into the backroom.

  I bit my lower lip and then headed over to where Will was sitting at the end of the counter. “Hey, what’s up?” I asked, thrusting a menu at him. Then, I paused, frowning as I took a closer look at him. “What’s wrong?”

  Will grinned crookedly at me. “How do you know something’s wrong?”

  I shrugged. “But something is wrong, right?”

  “I probably shouldn’t tell you about it.”

  “Right,” I said sourly. “Club business?”

  “Yeah,” Will said slowly. Then, he shook his head. “What the hell. It’s not going to stay a secret for long. The Red Eyes clubhouse was broken into. Place is an absolute mess—everything’s either broken or gone.”

  “Shit,” I said in disbelief. “Police?”

  “Could be,” Will said, evading my searching gaze.

  “Or?”

  “I shouldn’t be telling you this,” Will said, but he looked seriously at me and then shrugged. “Your father said that for the time being, we’re going to be holding our club meetings at his house, so I assume you’re going to find out about a lot of this stuff anyway. That’s the only reason I’m telling you.”

  “Right,” I said, twirling a straw around my fingers. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s nothing to be worried about, but there’s a rival MC trying to get in on some of our territory. They seem pretty inept, and your dad and I were able to handle their guys easily at our first meeting. I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about. But Marcus thinks that’s who ransacked the clubhouse.”

  “And Dad?” I asked.

  Will grinned. “Who knows what he thinks,” he said. “He keeps his cards close to his vest.”

  “Right.”

  “You know, he knows you’re dating someone,” Will said slowly.

  I groaned and put my hands over my face. “Really?” I asked. “Did he blab that to the whole clubhouse?”

  “No, of course not.” Will shrugged. “He’s just looking out for you. He asked me if I knew who you were dating and asked me to keep an eye on you.” He frowned, shaking his head. “I feel bad, knowing that he trusts me that much when I’ve been messing around with you.”

  I grimaced, knowing that was probably eating him from the inside out. I could never really understand the kind of camaraderie that came from being in the motorcycle club together, but I knew that Will respected Dad and that he would never want to do something to diminish the trust Dad had in him.

  Still, I just hoped he hadn’t told Dad the truth. I wasn’t sure I was ready for that yet. “What did you tell him?”

  “Of course I told him I was going to keep an eye on you,” Will said. He rolled his eyes. “Your dad isn’t exactly the kind of guy that you say no to.”

  “Right.” I swallowed hard. �
�So what does this mean for us?”

  “I don’t know,” Will said, looking down at his hands. “I’ve never had as much on my plate as I do right now.”

  “Everything is going to be okay,” I said, reaching out briefly to squeeze his hand. Will looked up at me for a moment before carefully withdrawing his hand.

  “I know it is,” he said softly. “But I’m going to have to figure some things out before you and I can see each other again. You have to understand that.”

  “I do,” I said. I swallowed hard, half-tempted to blurt out Nicole’s idea, about how we should get married and how maybe that would solve both of our problems. But I didn’t have the guts to do that.

  What if he thought I was already that crazy about him and he didn’t feel the same way? I mean, sure, I liked him, but I wasn’t really ready to pledge forever to him, not yet. I just thought this would be a way to solve some of our issues. To get him his fortune and to get me out from my father’s thumb.

  The timing wasn’t right, though. I let the moment pass.

  Instead, I nodded at him, trying to act professionally. “When you sort things out, let me know,” I said quietly.

  “I will,” he promised, getting up and leaving the diner.

  I sighed as I watched his retreating form. I was frustrated as all get-out, but I understood what he meant when he said he had too much on his plate right now. And I appreciated that he had at least told me some of what was going on. It was more than anyone else had ever done.

  Things would work out; I had to believe that.

  I jumped as Nicole put her hands on my shoulders from behind. “So?” she asked. “Are you getting hitched?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “I was serious,” I said. “You know Dad would kill me.”

  Nicole sighed, looking disappointed. “So how is the sex, anyway?”

  I snorted. “I’m not telling you that!” I protested, but when she continued to look pleadingly at me, I blushed and shrugged. “I don’t have anything to compare it to, but it’s really good,” I admitted. “Like, really good. I’ve gotten myself off before, but nothing like this.”

  Nicole looked pleased. “Well, as long as he’s keeping you happy,” she said. I could sense there was something more that she wanted to say, no doubt something to do with weddings, but fortunately, she let the matter drop.

  23

  Will

  When we got to Ray’s house for Monday’s club meeting, Ray looked agitated, to say the least. It was understandable, given everything that had happened lately, but it made me feel a little more stressed to see how agitated the normally unflappable Ray was. He scowled at all of us as we came into the room, and everyone got the message: this was not the time for pleasant chitchat and teasing.

  Not that anyone really felt like chatting anyway. Looking around the circle, I could tell exactly what everyone was feeling: who was pissed off, who was more curious than anything else. It was a pretty even split. I had a feeling there was about to be a bit of an argument about how to proceed. Marcus wouldn’t be the only one who wanted to go after the Unknowns with his fists.

  But ultimately, it was going to be up to Ray, whatever our course of action was. He’d let us all have our say, but that didn’t mean he had to listen to us.

  “We have to go after them,” Marcus said.

  Ray silenced him with a look. “Cameron,” he said, nodding at the MC’s treasurer.

  Cameron got to his feet, looking for all the world like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him. “As everyone’s seen, or at least heard, by now, the Red Eyes’ clubhouse was broken into the other night. There’s pretty much nothing left. Including whatever money was in the safe in Ray’s office.”

  There was silence in the room.

  “Go on,” Ray growled.

  Cameron adjusted his glasses, looking down at the notes in his hands. “What that means is, including the damages to the building itself, plus all of the things that were stolen or broken from inside, we’re out $400,000 as a club.”

  “Fuck,” Braxton muttered, and there were murmurs of agreement around the room.

  “You had $400,000 just sitting in a safe?” Marcus asked incredulously. I had to admit, I was pretty shocked, too. I would have at least thought Ray would keep that sort of money here in his house, even if it was club money.

  But then, I started thinking about it. Who knew how much money Ray already had here in the house? No one knew exactly what the club holdings looked like except for Ray and Cameron since they were the ones who kept the books. The rest of us just knew that we were making money, overall, and that we each got paid.

  Besides, it was a bad time of the month for the theft to occur. Probably all the money we’d gathered up from the local businesses had still been sitting there at the clubhouse, waiting to be divvied up.

  Anyway, Ray clearly wasn’t impressed with the way Marcus made that comment. He gave him a warning look. “Where the fuck was I supposed to keep it? The bank?” he sneered. But I could tell he was quietly pissed, too, just like everyone else. Maybe he had reconsidered his position on violence now that he knew just how much we were out.

  That would mean I would be getting involved; I would have no choice. Marcus and I were Ray’s first choices when it came to fist power, and with Marcus not thinking entirely rationally, that meant Ray would likely be relying on me.

  I didn’t particularly like that, but there was nothing I could do. You were a member of the club in bad times as well as good.

  Cameron held up a hand. “It wasn’t all cash,” he repeated. “There’s the TV from the main room, the audio system, all those things as well.”

  “Still a lot of fucking cash,” Braxton said. “But understandable,” he added hurriedly, shooting an apologetic look at Ray.

  “The main problem,” Cameron said, a little louder this time, “is that once it gets around that we were robbed and ransacked, it’s going to be pretty difficult to maintain our hold on the local businesses. If we can’t protect ourselves, how can we possibly protect them?”

  It was silent for a moment while everyone thought about that. It was exactly what I’d been thinking when we had first toured the destroyed clubhouse, and I was glad to hear someone else voice the same concerns, to see everyone else thinking along the same lines.

  But we didn’t all have the same conclusions, still.

  “So we have to go after them,” Marcus said decisively. “Those fucking Unknowns. We all know they’re the ones behind this.”

  “We don’t know that,” Ray snapped, scowling at Marcus. Marcus met his eyes for a moment in a stare-down, but he was the one to look away first. “What we need to do,” Ray continued, “is figure out a way to get our money back. We can pretend that we’re renovating headquarters, at least for a little while, but we have to get that money back.”

  Everyone started brainstorming plans for getting the money back, but no one could really come up with anything other than just working hard for the coming month. That wasn’t going to cut it. Another option would be to take over some other MC, to steal money from them, but no one liked that plan with the Unknowns already trying to move in on our territory. Whether or not they were the ones behind the initial attack on our headquarters, we didn’t know what they might be planning, and the last thing we needed was to stretch ourselves too thin and give them an easy opening.

  I could think of one way to get my hands on that much money, but I definitely wasn’t about to bring it up in the middle of the meeting.

  If I could get married within the month, my inheritance would cover the MC’s losses. As before, the only person I could think of who might possibly marry me within the month, even as a sham marriage, was Belle. When it was for my own selfish reasons, because I wanted to leave the MC and better myself, I knew that neither she or Ray could ever go along with it.

  But what if I wasn’t asking out of selfish motives? What if marrying Belle could save the MC, thereby helping Ray? He couldn�
�t be mad at us for the fake marriage if it was the only way we could get our hands on enough money to save Red Eyes. And what’s more, I knew that Belle would do anything to save her father.

  Sure, it would mean that yet again, I couldn’t get myself out of this life. That maybe I would end up tied to the MC forever. But Ray would owe me something. And anyway, wouldn’t it be better to end up in the MC but married to Belle than having nothing and no one?

  I’d have to talk to Belle about it, though. I wouldn’t do anything against her will. I had told her about the inheritance and the marriage I needed to have, but I had stopped short before suggesting that she marry me for the sake of it. I had maybe thought, in some wild part of my mind, that she might suggest it. Even though I could never really hope for that.

  Now, I had reason to bring it up.

  “Do we have a contingency plan if we can’t manage to come up with the money?” Braxton asked.

  But we all knew what the contingency plan was. If we couldn’t come up with the money, we would have no choice but to resort to violence. If we couldn’t stake our claim on the area using money, we would need to stake it using force.

  And I knew I was going to be very involved in this, no matter how loath I was of it. I was going to have to be some of the main muscle, alongside Marcus and Ray no doubt. Not only that, but I knew Ray was going to want to make a move on this soon. He couldn’t let it go unanswered for too long; every day, our claim here got weaker and weaker. We had to do something.

  I still didn’t want to have any part of it. I didn’t want to go around beating people up, and especially not over something stupid like money. I didn’t want to be some average thug. I wanted something more with my life. Sure, whoever it was had stolen a lot of money from the club, but I didn’t want to kill a man over that.

  I had to talk to Belle. There had to be another way we could fix this.