Not Attainable (Red Eyes MC Romance)

by Blair Grey

  To my surprise, she called me right after the meeting was over, as I walked out of Ray’s house with a couple of the guys. I paused, waving them on. I let them get a good distance away from me before I answered. “Hey,” I said, unable to keep concern out of my voice. Yet again, I was worried that the only reason she was calling me was because something was wrong. After all, hadn’t we agreed, the previous day, that we were going to take a rest until things calmed down a little?

  “I have some things I need to talk to you about,” Belle said in a rush. “I know you said you needed to think some things over, but I can’t wait.”

  “Okay,” I said slowly. I had some things I needed to talk to her about, too, after all. “Where are you?” I glanced toward the mother-in-law house, half-expecting to see her looking out one of the windows. Not that I could meet her there, under the watchful eye of her father.

  “I’m at the diner,” Belle said. “It’s pretty dead in here if you wanted to talk.”

  I thought about that for a minute. If we kept meeting at the diner, people were sure to start raising some eyebrows at it. But then again, if we were going to get married, even if it was just for the sake of getting our hands on that money, better start getting people used to the idea of it now.

  Besides, I didn’t want to wait on this. Every second we wasted was another second for Ray to plan some attack on the Unknowns or whoever else may have raided us. If it went on for too long, I was bound to get caught up in it.

  I nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “All right, I’m on my way,” I told her.

  I felt strange, trying to convince her to marry me. I had just told her that I thought we needed to pause. Even if Ray couldn’t see any other way to get his hands on $400,000, there was no reason to think that he’d agree to let me marry his daughter. He’d see it as blackmail, probably, of the highest order.

  But I had to try at least. For my own sake, and for Ray and everyone else in Red Eyes. Otherwise, I was going to hate myself for having squandered my chance to fix things without anyone getting hurt.

  I headed to the diner.

  24

  Belle

  I felt breathless as I waited for Will to come into the diner. “Can you keep an eye on things?” I asked Nicole as I spotted him coming down the block.

  Nicole followed my gaze and then gave me a knowing smirk. “Yeah, of course,” she said. She winked at me. “I’ll keep everyone out of the back if you want a little privacy to, you know.”

  I hit her lightly on the arm. “It’s not like that,” I said sternly. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

  Nicole laughed. “Hey, I wasn’t judging!” she said.

  I rolled my eyes and pretended to focus as I waited for Will to come in and have a seat. Instead of sitting at the counter like he usually did, he chose a booth in the corner. Quieter, more secluded. It would raise eyebrows if anyone noticed us back there, but then again, people were bound to start raising eyebrows if we kept chatting at the counter, too.

  I watched as he flipped through the menu for a moment. Then, I took a deep breath and went over to him, sitting down across from him and pushing a white envelope toward him.

  Will frowned down at it. “What’s this?” he asked. “What’s going on?”

  “I know you said you didn’t have time to do your research about college,” I told him. “So I stopped by the college for you this morning during my break. That’s all the information there. And an application, already mostly filled out. It’s going to cost you about fifty thousand, which seems pretty absurd, but with your inheritance, I’m sure that’s not a problem, right?”

  I didn’t know why I had done it. It had just occurred to me that morning that I had a little bit of free time and that the walk to the college campus wouldn’t take that long. It was a nice walk, anyway. And then I had started asking questions, and the lady at the registrar’s office had been super helpful, and the next thing I knew, we were going through all the paperwork together and figuring out what scholarships Will might qualify for.

  And once I had all that information, it seemed silly to waste it all.

  Will stared at me for a moment and then looked down at the packet of brochures, putting a hand over it. “Thanks,” he said, but he was frowning. “There’s just one small problem: I don’t have the inheritance money. I have to get married first, remember?"

  “I remember,” I said. I bit my lower lip and then blew out a noisy breath. “We talked about scholarship options as well, and there’s a bunch of information on that in there. But I think there’s another way.” This was the part where I expected him to flip out. It was one thing to stick my nose in his business by going over to the college and getting all the information he needed about the place. But it was another thing to suggest what Nicole had suggested.

  I couldn’t help myself, though. “Remember, I said that I wanted to help out. I’ll stand in as your wife if that’s what you need. We can get the license and get married at the courthouse. No one has to know.” I paused. “I know it would just be a fake wedding. That we don’t really know one another well enough, but it just needs to be enough to convince the lawyer, right? Just enough to get the certificate. I looked into everything online, and they don’t really require much to get married over at the courthouse. It’s not like we have to prove anything.”

  I had spent all night thinking about Nicole’s idea. It wasn’t the way I wanted to do things. If I was getting married, I wanted Dad to be there and all my friends. I wanted a beautiful ceremony. But this was just a fake wedding. A favor to a friend. Eventually, I could have the real wedding.

  But the only way I was going to ever have that real wedding was if I had the chance to meet guys, and the only way I was going to do that was to get out of the mother-in-law house. We wouldn’t tell Dad about it until after we were married. The marriage itself, we’d do that in secret.

  Dad didn’t have to know about it. We could take a few pictures, arrange whatever we needed. Help Will get his hands on that money. If the lawyer came out from Texas to see if we were really a couple, well, we’d cross that bridge when we got to it. But for now, maybe it would be enough for us to get the certificate. The sooner we did this, the sooner Will could start applying for schools and the sooner he could get his life on track the way he wanted to.

  And maybe then, I could convince Dad that he was the perfect guy for me to date, that I wasn’t going to screw up my whole life by dating him.

  I didn’t have a choice anyway. The more I thought it, the more certain I was that I had to help him. If he needed a fake bride, I had to help him with that.

  Will was staring at me, though. “What did you say?” he asked, sounding shocked.

  I ducked my head, knowing full well that this stupid suggestion might have just screwed up everything between the two of us. “Look, I know we don’t know one another well enough to get married,” I said hurriedly. "I’m not saying I love you or anything like that. But if you need someone to marry you just so that you can get this money and go back to school, I can help you out. It was Nicole’s suggestion.”

  Will still looked surprised. “You told Nicole about it?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “She’s my best friend,” I said, hoping he wouldn’t get mad about that. “I tell her everything. She knows better than to spread it around.” I paused and then laughed bitterly. “Anyway, it’s not like being married to you is going to cause any problems with my future love life. My father’s never going to let me date anyone, ever. He hired you to stop that, didn’t he?”

  “Yeah, but…” Will trailed off, shaking his head. Then, slowly, he said, “We might not have to keep it a secret, though. Unless you wanted to.”

  I laughed. “What do you mean?” I asked. “Have you forgotten about my father? He’d kill us both, even if this was just to get you your inheritance.” I paused. “I’m not sure he would believe that, even.”

  “He might not,” Will agreed, inclining his head. “But
he might not have any say in the matter.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  Will sighed. “Actually, I came here to suggest the exact same thing as you did,” he said. “I wanted to ask if you would consider being fake married to me so that I could get my hands on the inheritance. I thought about it before, just in passing, when I first heard from the lawyer. But it seemed too selfish to ask you then. Even if I gave you a cut of the fortune, it still felt wrong.”

  “What changed?” I was touched by the fact that he didn’t want to marry me out of selfish reasons, just to get his hands on the money. He really was a good guy. But I wanted to help.

  Will shook his head. “Remember everything I told you yesterday? About the clubhouse and the Unknowns?”

  “Yeah,” I said slowly, wondering what all of that could have to do with our sham of a marriage.

  “Apparently, the MC is out something like four hundred grand,” Will said. “Between the cash that was in the safe and the damages to the building and everything else. Not to mention, it was just poor timing. I think most of the money we took in this month was in there. Not that I keep the books or anything like that. Regardless, it was a lot of money.”

  “Oh no,” I groaned, sensing where he was heading with this. “You’re going to take all the money from your inheritance and use it to pay back the club, aren’t you?” I asked. “Even if it means that you never get to go to college.”

  “They’re like my family,” Will said immediately. “I can’t just turn my back on them.”

  “You can’t turn your back on your future, either,” I pointed out.

  “I’m not,” Will said. “It’ll be like a loan. The club was doing so good before all this shit started happening. Once everything clears, it’ll start to make money again. I’m sure Ray will pay me back.” He shrugged. “And besides, there might just be enough left over for me to go to college. At least to see if I want to go to college. I’m still not sure if that’s the right path for me.”

  “Dad will probably pay you back, sure. Unless he’s still pissed at you for marrying me,” I sighed. “And what’s this about not being sure if it’s the right path? You seemed so sure about it the other night. If you didn’t have to bail out the MC, you’d be on board, wouldn’t you?”

  “I can’t turn my back on them,” Will said stubbornly. “Besides, Ray will have time to get used to the idea of us, and he’ll owe me one for bailing us out. It’s the only way to get the money we need. You should have heard the things people were coming up with during our meeting today. None of them were any good.”

  I sighed. “Look, Will, when it was about helping you, that was one thing. But I’m not sure I can marry you just so that you can help out the MC.” I felt horrible saying it, but it was the truth. It felt like he was selling himself short, and that wasn’t the man that I wanted to help. Maybe I had built things up too much in my mind, but I couldn’t help feeling cheated now that he was talking about using the money to help Red Eyes.

  Will stared at me for a moment and then shook his head, disgust clear on his face. “Not even when it’s helping your father?" he asked. “Do you realize what’ll happen to him if word gets out that we’re that deep in the hole? Businesses will stop paying. It’ll be the end of Red Eyes. Some other MC, maybe the Unknowns or maybe someone even stronger, will move in and take over. And they won’t let your father live here, a constant threat to their ability to hold their territory. They’ll have him killed, or at very least driven out of New Mexico.”

  I swallowed hard. “Dad won’t want me to be involved in anything to do with the MC,” I reminded Will quietly. “He hasn’t even told me about the Unknowns or about the clubhouse.”

  “He won’t like it, no,” Will agreed. “He won’t like the idea of you marrying me, either. But there’s no one else we could trust like we trust you. And I’ll make it clear that it’s just for the sake of convenience. He doesn’t need to know that we’ve already started something.” He paused. “In fact, this could be a good thing, as far as he’s concerned. He’s all worried that you’re seeing someone. This would nip that in the bud if you really were seeing someone else.”

  I gnawed at my lower lip. I’d been so excited about this plan when it meant that Will could go to college. Now, it was like he didn’t even care about that. I remembered what Nicole had said, about how it sounded like one of those relationships with a married guy. Maybe Will was all talk; maybe he wasn’t really going to leave the MC. Maybe he just thought that was what I wanted to hear. He certainly hadn’t seemed interested in the information I’d brought him.

  But if this was the only way to help out Dad, I had to do it. I couldn’t let him be driven out of the area, and I definitely couldn’t let him be killed. If this was the only way to make sure he was safe, then so be it.

  I nodded. “I’ll talk to Dad,” I said. “I’ll do it.”

  “No,” Will said sharply. “Let me.” He paused. “Remember, you’re not really supposed to know about any of this. The MC stuff. Better if I talk to him.”

  I stared at him for a long moment, wanting to protest. But I knew, deep down, that Will was right. As much as I hated the way Dad kept me out of all MC business, even when it might affect me, I knew better than to cause an even bigger stir now. If I suggested this as a way to get back all the money the club had lost, Dad would want to know how I knew about it, and I’d have to admit that Will had told me. I had never been able to lie to him. The last thing I needed was for him to come down hard on Will over that, with everything else we were dealing with.

  Besides, when it really came down to it, the inheritance was Will’s. He was the one who needed to get married to someone. I had to let him propose his idea to Dad, even if I doubted that Dad would agree with him. No, Dad would probably try to come up with someone else that Will could marry. Someone like Nicole, someone who would bounce back from a whirlwind marriage and divorce as though it were nothing.

  Dad would think I would get too involved with Will. And he was probably right. I already felt like I was in over my head with him. But for now, there was no use worrying about that.

  “All right,” I said, “you’ll talk to him.” I paused, reaching out a hand to lightly trace Will’s knuckles. “Can I see you tonight, though?” Even though we had just agreed to get married, albeit solely for convenience’s sake, it felt like there was more distance between us than ever before. I knew that talking over this further wasn’t going to change anything; Will had clearly made up his mind about what he wanted to do, but I couldn’t help wanting to see him.

  Will shook his head, though. “That’s not a good idea,” he said. “Your dad already suspects that you’re seeing someone. The last thing we need is to piss him off right now.” He paused. “Let me talk to him first. Once he’s agreed to the marriage, we can go from there. But until then, we should probably keep our distance from one another.”

  I frowned and looked away from him. Even though I knew he was right, I felt disappointment well up inside of me. Just because I knew that this was the way things had to be, it didn’t mean that I liked it. Not for the first time, I felt a longing for a normal relationship. But unfortunately, I couldn’t have that.

  I tried to smile as I watched Will leave.

  “Well?” Nicole asked.

  I sighed and glanced over at her. “I’m getting married, I guess. If Dad approves of it.”

  Nicole stared at me for a moment and then laughed incredulously. “If your dad approves of it?” she asked. “Fat chance!”

  I knew that marrying Will was the right thing to do. Either way, whether it was so that he could get the inheritance and go to college or so that he could save Red Eyes and protect all the rest of us. But I couldn’t help feeling like now I was just some bargaining chip. Will had made it all sound so logical, like I was the only person he could ask. What had he said—that I was the only person who could be trusted with this?

  I understood where he was coming from, but
he made it sound like he had no desire to pick me at all. Like he didn’t want to marry me. Which was hard to swallow, as I was starting to realize that I wanted him. I was starting to realize I had feelings for him.

  I wanted him to feel like he had a future beyond the MC. I wanted him to feel like this marriage was about more than just convenience. I wanted him to want me.

  I sighed and shook my head. I should have known better than to let my feelings get tied up in this. It was a sham marriage, nothing else. And once Will had his hands on the money, we’d get divorced, and it would be over. I had to remember that.

  25

  Will

  I waited until Tuesday to go to Ray’s house, hoping that a little more time would give him a chance to calm down and figure out a plan of his own. Maybe a better one than the one I had come up with, because the more I thought about it, the more the idea of marrying Belle—even if it was just a fake marriage so that we could wave a piece of paper in front of the lawyer—seemed absurd. There was no way Ray was going to agree to that. I was surprised Belle had agreed to it, even. Although she had said it was Nicole’s idea, so who knew, maybe the other girl was pressuring her somehow.

  But when I got to Ray’s house shortly after lunchtime, Marcus and Cameron were also there, and all three of them looked agitated. “Ah, good,” Ray said, leading me into the living room. “You must have a sixth sense; we were just about to call you. We need your muscle, I think. We have a plan.”

  I tried not to grimace at that. Who did he need me to beat up now? If Marcus was there, it was probably one of the Unknowns. Ray must have decided there was no other way to do this than the violent one.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “We’ve decided on our reaction to the clubhouse ransacking. We’re going to kidnap one of the Unknowns. Get them to tell us if they’re the ones who took the money and ransacked the clubhouse,” Ray told me. “Marcus’s contacts have a pretty good idea of who’s likely to talk, and once we know for sure if they have the money, we can go about getting it back. It’s not the best plan, but it’s really the only thing we can do.”