They passed the neighborhood where Diesel used to live as he rounded a corner onto a tiny, slow street. It was noisy one where lots of people were sitting outside and smoking; playing cards or soccer. There were even a few children playing chase in the street. It was nice to see that the place was still a little alive. Diesel pulled his bike into a small park that backed up against the middle school he once attended. There weren’t many people there, and it was definitely run down with graffiti on the play equipment and a very sad basketball court, but it felt like home.
He pulled up to the edge of the grass and turned off the bike. Kim’s arms slipped from around him, making him feel just a little cold without her there. They both climbed off the bike, and she looked around. Diesel watched her nervously as he walked side-by-side with her out into the park. Suddenly, she started laughing. “I guess my shoes may be a little much for this date,” she joked, and Diesel smiled, glad that she had sense of humor about it instead of flipping out about where they were.
“Nah, they look good on you. In fact, everything you’re wearing does.” Diesel winked at her, letting her in on his slightly impure thoughts. They were impossible not to have looking at her slender curves on display in those clothes. Kim shot him a look, and he dared to grab her hand and lead her towards the slightly pitiful basketball court. Like he hoped, there was a faded basketball rolling around on the concrete square. The neighborhood kids always kept one around for when they felt like a game. Diesel let go of Kim’s hand and picked it up, bouncing it to her. Kim looked surprised, but she was able to catch it.
“Yeah, I don’t think I’m going to be able to play basketball in these,” she said, kicking the shoes off and pushing them to the side. “And I have to say, this is the most interesting first date I’ve ever had so far.” Kim began dribbling the ball playfully. She clearly wasn’t an athlete, but she wasn’t horrible at it either. Then, she crouched down, showing a little more of her cleavage over the top of her shirt and grinned. “So, I guess it’s one-on-one, then?”
Diesel nodded and crouched down in front of the hoop, waiting for her next move. She began to dribble around him, trying to dodge him and get to the basket. He went a little easy on her and let her waste slip through his hands as he grabbed at her, and she jumped up and flung the ball at the hoop. It bounced off and came crashing over the side where he caught it. “Better luck next time,” he said with a grin before getting ready to knock her socks off. He doubted she was expecting him to be any better than she was.
He threw his jacket to the ground and began to dribble as she got into position. It had been awhile since he had played, and his adrenaline was pumping through him with excitement. He felt like a kid again as he came towards her, swinging the ball under his legs and faking to the left before going right around her body. He made an easy two-pointer without effort, barely breaking a sweat and smiled smugly.
“Wow,” Kim started casually. “I didn’t know motorcycle club members were so into sports. You’re pretty good. Where did you pick it up?” she asked as she began to dribble again, getting ready to give it another shot.
“I was on the team in school, actually,” Diesel admitted with a crooked smile as she came at him. He could see that she was already panting from the effort, but it was kind of sexy. “I was a regular jock. Does that surprise you?”
“A little,” she admitted as she attempted another shot at the basket, hitting above and having the ball drop down to the hoop. It danced around the rim for several seconds before finally falling through. Kim raised her arms in victory and he laughed. “Watching you play, though, I can kind of picture it.” Their eyes met as he turned around to dribble the ball again, and he felt more like himself than he had in a while with her looking at him. It was the way she was seeing him as a real person; as more than some convict with tattoos and muscles. He was more than what he did for the MC; he just forgot about it sometimes.
Kim didn’t even fight him this time as he dribbled to victory, pulling a three-pointer this time. She clapped for him and cheered him on looking rather impressed. It had become the Diesel show, and as nice as it felt, he knew it was supposed to be about them. After a few more shots, he let the ball bounce until it rolled across the concrete and became idle. “Well, I’m pretty impressed so far. What’s next on the agenda, Diesel?” Kim looked at him from under hooded eyes, and he could feel the attraction bouncing back and forth between them. It took every bit of willpower he had not to just slide his hands all over her body right then and there. He had promised himself he would strive the best he could to deserve her even if he failed.
“How about a drive in movie?” he asked slyly, making her shoot him a confused look as she walked up to him. Diesel reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone which was more like a small tablet. He motioned for her to follow him over to a patch of grass near the bike, and she did, bringing her shoes along in her hand. The curious look on her face was quite cute to look at.
They sat down next to each other, and he turned on his phone, pulling up his movie files. “So, do you want to watch Repo, Breakfast Club or Carrie?” he asked, giving her options.
“Those are actually some pretty awesome choices, but I think I’ll go with Breakfast Club. I’m not into the whole scary movie on the first date thing; no offense.” He pressed the file for the movie to start and placed the phone where they could both see and hear it.
“Trust me, I’m not offended. It actually tells me a lot about you,” he said looking over at her as the opening credits began to play. Kim began to sing along to the opening song, and he was both thrilled and surprised to hear that she had an amazing voice. He looked over at her for a moment but said nothing just yet, not wanting to make her self-conscious. “You have a beautiful voice,” he told her eventually, saying it softly.
“Yeah, I used to be the lead singer of a band,” she told him with a shrug, but something in the look on her face told him there was a story behind that.
“What happened to the band?” he dared to ask, hoping she wouldn’t get mad.
“Things didn’t work out. They kind of betrayed me actually. We had gotten an offer for a deal in Seattle, but the contract was really bad. The company wanted to change everything about us and total control. The band turned on me including the guy I was with and signed without me. They sent me packing back here.” Diesel could tell by the tone of her voice that the wound was a recent one.
“Well, I think it was their loss. Maybe you could go solo,” he suggested, winking at her.
“Maybe I will.”
Chapter 5
Kim drifted into her grandfather’s house with a smile on her face. She had just come back from her fourth date with Diesel and felt great. They had been dating for a little over two weeks, and they had just eaten take out and watched movies at his place. She wasn’t sure why she had been so worried about their ability to just hang out. It had gone so well without putting him into the friend zone. In fact, she had felt the sexual tension between them, though all he’d tried to get out of her was a passionate kiss that brought her to her proverbial knees.
Feeling too exhausted to go straight to bed, she made her way to the kitchen to make herself some tea to calm down before she snuggled into her pajamas and flipped it on Netflix. But as she set the kettle on the burner, she could hear the shuffling of feet coming from the living room, and one of the lights flipped on. Kim turned around to see her grandfather there, looking at her like he had something to say. “I didn’t realize you had gotten back,” Kim said quietly, wondering what she was in for. He had been gone for a while, supposedly on business, but Kim had suspected he was just staying away from her and their tension-filled relationship. She knew he was disappointed in her choices.
“I just got here about an hour ago,” he responded, sounding more tired than she expected form such a tough man. His wrinkles were very pronounced around his eyes, and for the first time in a while, he looked his age. It made her heart drop to her stomach. “Might I
have a word with you?” he asked sounding cautious. It seemed serious but like he wasn’t in the mood to fight at all. So, she trusted her instinct and went to sit with him on the couch while she waited to hear that familiar squeal letting her know the water was ready.
"What is it Papa?" she said, feeling a little like a child again as she was sitting next to the old man. It began to all hit her at once how she had missed the way things used to be, and she hoped whatever conversation they were about to have would lead them back to that.
"I don’t know if I've been totally fair about the way I've handled everything with you since you've been back. Firstly, I'm sorry to both you and Spencer for the way I tried to push you two together. I only thought that it would keep you from getting hurt again like you had been in Seattle. I thought it was what you would have wanted for yourself if you had been feeling like yourself." Kim only nodded. She had understood that better than he had imagined. She should have wanted Spencer too, but it just wasn't meant to be.
"I want to be clear here. I still do not think that Diesel is a good man for you to be with, but I do realize that you cannot help how you feel about a person. I also know that I have not fully explained why I don't want you involved with The Shadows at all. I have been thinking about what you said the other day about the fact that both Spencer and I are involved as well so that it shouldn’t make much of a difference."
The tea kettle began to whistle its high pitched sound through the house, startling them both. Kim had been so entranced in what he might say that she had totally forgotten about the mundane task. She nodded to let him know she needed a second and headed into the kitchen to pour them both a cup of tea. She figured he might need some too with as heavy as the conversation was getting.
Kim brought the tea and set it down on the coffee table in front of both of them, sitting back down herself with a sigh. "I know that The Shadows do some pretty shady stuff. I know that they're basically a gang. But I can't see Diesel hurting me any more than I see the two of you doing it." Kim shrugged, still not understanding quite what the big idea was but willing to listen for once.
"There are things I have kept from you, sheltered you from, regarding the activities we've undertaken. It's not just selling some illegal goods or beating a couple of guys up, or rumbles like you see in the movies. It's the real deal. The Shadows steal and sell guns illegally, sometimes even smuggling them over the border. They import drugs like heroine to be sold by dealers we partner with. And our rival gang, The Skeletons, are ruthless. Their second-in-command is the nephew of a prominent member of the mob. They have killed our members before and their families if they get a hold of that information, and our side has killed just the same. Diesel himself has done some horrid things."
Kim put her hand up to stop the flow of information so that she could process what she was hearing. Had she been naive to expect anything less than the horrible things he was both confirming and implying about Diesel and even himself? No wonder her father had never fit in or been able to survive trying to be a member.
Tears sprang from her eyes as she remembered losing her father and trying to understand growing up without him. She had been told bad people did something to him and that he'd made a mistake. As she got older she had been filled in with a few of the details; that he was a nice and normal guy who became obsessed with being like the rest of the family and part of the MC. His first time out had been his last. But she had never been told the specific details. She could clearly imagine it now; him getting destroyed by the brutal motorcycle gang without even a hope of fighting back.
"You should have told me sooner," she said quietly, staring at her tea like there might be a toad laying eggs in it. "You should have never let me get involved in any of this, even with Spencer. And I don’t understand why people like you and him would eve associate with such people and activities. No wonder my father was killed. there was never any hope for him in this mess, and I don’t know that there will be for me either."
The worst part of the whole thing was that Kim was trying so hard to be angry at her grandfather for all of it, but she just wasn't. Kim looked over at her grandfather’s defeated look and realized he was hurting over the way they’d been to each other lately as well. She wasn’t going to let it continue to go on. Kim reached up to him and squeezed his neck in a hug, perking him up slightly. “Thank you for sharing this with me even if it was a little late. I hope you respect the fact that I want to hear Diesel’s part in all of this from his own mouth before I really dig in and think about this.”
Her grandfather nodded, and she was glad to see some of the light back in his eyes. She picked up her tea and carried it into her bedroom, prepared for a long night of worry thinking about what the hell she had gotten herself into.
Chapter 6
Kim cradled her phone in her hand as she paced back and forth outside of the bar that held several members of The Shadows, including her boyfriend, Diesel. She had driven that horrible old clunker all the way over there to meet him in order to talk, but she didn’t think she could go inside. So, she had texted him to try and get him outside. After everything she had learned from her grandfather the night before she wasn’t sure if she would ever feel comfortable setting foot in that building again.
Suddenly, a large group came up behind her, pulling up in their loud bikes and looking angry and bewildered even. She couldn’t help but notice that one of the group happened to be Diesel's ex, but she quickly looked away. She wasn't about to get into an altercation over someone who wasn't even worth it. From what she understood from the few things Diesel had told her, Sophia was a very shallow person who liked to cause a lot of trouble. It would only fuel her for Kim to talk to her.
Kim could hear frantic exchanges between the members as they made their way inside, and she wondered what could be going on. They barely noticed she was there. Kim looked up just in time to see that one of the members looked a little banged up as well. Something was clearly going on, and she was ready to disregard her fear of going inside to find out what it was.
Kim walked in behind the straggling members and quickly found Diesel standing near the bar. She walked over to him, and he looked concerned as everyone began to share in broken pieces what had happened. Kim let Diesel wrap his arm around her as she temporarily forgot the worry that had brought her there as a new one took over. A threat had been made against the MC by The Skeletons and a strong message sent about sharing territories. They wanted The Shadows out of the way and had apparently not only gotten into a fist fight with a few of the members but had also maimed and nearly killed one of the dealers that The Shadows worked with.
Kim felt a cold chill take over her body, and she pulled her jacket tightly around herself for protection. She did not like what she was hearing. Not only did she need to worry about all the awful illegal activities Diesel might have committed in the recent past, but now she had to worry about losing him the same way as her father.
Kim looked up at him with obvious fear in her eyes, and he looked down and noticed it. He placed his hand against her back and pushed her through the crowd into one of the rooms down the side hall where they had first met.
"I'm sorry you had to be here to hear that, Kim. It was my intention to keep you out of all of this, but I guess that’s not really possible, is it?" Kim shook her head, finally acknowledging that herself.
"That's actually kind of what I came to talk to you about. I talked to my grandfather last night, and he mentioned some things about the MC and you and what you guys do. I'm not some straight edge gal or anything, but it sounds like pretty scary stuff, and I'm worried about what I've gotten into. I'd like to ask you for full disclosure. I need to know who you’ve been; who you are with these guys when I'm not around. I need to know if my history is going to repeat itself." She closed her eyes and sighed guiltily when she said the last part, feeling accusatory and even selfish at the mention of it. Was she being distrustful? Would it offend him to think he might put her directly i
n danger like that?
"I think that's a fair thing to ask for," Diesel replied to her surprise. "But I need you to be prepared for what you might hear and understand that many times there is no choice in what I do. Once you are a member, there generally isn’t a way out; especially when your job is like mine." His voice sounded gruff, and she tried to stay focused on the task at hand as she noticed how sexy he was looking and how strong his musky smell was as it wafted into her nostrils.
Kim nodded. "I just have to know. I will try not to judge you unfairly. I realize you grew up much differently than me."
Diesel smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. he held her hand the whole time, rubbing his thumb across it. "When the MC found me and bailed me out, I had been in jail many times for some pretty awful things. I had possession charges and robbery charges. But the worst was assault and battery, which I had many charges for. Even as a younger kid I had gotten myself involved with various gangs in the area for protection or whatever other excuse I came up with. My background kind of made it easy for me to become their enforcer or the muscle of sorts. I handle fights, threats and those that don’t deliver or those that betray us."
Kim looked at him with large eyes she swore were going to come out of her skull. Was he really capable of such things? There was a burning question she had to ask him before she could even decide to remain standing there. "Have you ever killed anyone?" she asked him quietly, darting her eyes around to make sure no one was around to listen in.
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 7