Daddy Bikers Box Set

by Sadie Savage

  “Well, thanks,” Arrow said gruffly, unsure of how to respond.

  As much as he wanted to trust this beautiful girl, there was still the matter of her roommate to consider. Hawk would just as soon kill him as look at him, and Arrow sorely hoped to return the favor.

  Ari smiled at him, her face stunningly sweet in the dim light of the lonely convenience store, and she left without another word.

  Arrow sighed and sat down on the small stool behind the counter. Almost nobody came into this damn store. It was a wonder Mel still managed to keep the place open. But Mel had confided that it had been his father’s business, and his father’s before that, back when the area was populated with ranchers and farmers and cowboys who needed to stock up every once in a while, on the little things that they needed on the road. Arrow guessed that it was more a matter of pride to keep the place open than profit. He could get behind that.

  Ari’s shadowed body grew small in the distance as she continued to her house, the smell of her cooking wafting tantalizingly through the air. Arrow waited until she had disappeared to open the container. Inside, was a bowl of delicious-looking stew. Arrow’s stomach gurgled but he put the bowl down. He wouldn’t let himself be drawn in by the young succubus. If that was Hawk’s game, he would rather die fighting than as a victim of underhanded tactics.

  Still, he couldn’t bring himself to throw it away, and spent the rest of the night in puzzlement, wondering if, perhaps, the young woman was being sincere, and what that might possibly mean.

  Chapter 6

  The next few days dragged by. Ari wasn’t allowed to leave the house because of her uncle’s paranoia. Every time he came home, it was late in the evening and he was drunk and riled up about something he would never really talk about.

  He would wake her up demanding dinner, even when she had left clear instructions that he could microwave whatever it was that she had made during the day. It left her so exhausted that she had nearly forgotten about the mysterious new cashier at Mel’s place, and found herself wanting nothing more than a break from the demands of being a housewife and keeper for her uncle.

  It felt wrong of her to complain, though; housework came naturally to her. Her mother had raised her to be prim, proper, and respectful of the home. In fact, she had been homeschooled right there on the ranch, never having much of a chance to go into town and make friends with any of the people there. Her family considered all outsiders to be nothing but bad news, and perhaps that contributed to her interest in Arrow. After all, she knew everybody around like the back of her hand already. It was the first real chance she’d had at meeting someone new in the area.

  Once in a while, a friend of her father or her uncle would bring other people about her age around to play with, but the relationships she formed were never long-lasting. They left her wanting more than what she was offered there on the ranch, but regardless, she found herself pleased with the solitude that her life offered. Most people couldn’t figure out their own values in such a hustle-bustle world, but in the sanctuary she had made for herself on her family’s land, Ari was sure she knew herself better than most women her age ever would.

  And yet, she couldn’t shake the feeling that she was missing out on something special. And that maybe, just maybe, the feeling that had brought her to Mel’s in search of the person who drove that car might be something more than just curiosity.

  Who was Arrow really? He looked familiar, but in truth, so many of the tough guys from the other side of the tracks seemed to look alike. They dressed the same, and gave everybody dirty looks and a mountain of attitude. There was nothing much to make them stand out; at least not in her opinion.

  And even if she could place Arrow’s face, wasn’t there more to it than that? When she saw him, she felt a heat coursing throughout her body, pure and simple, and that wasn’t something one felt toward friends. Whether she had spent most of her time alone or not, she knew that much for sure.

  She heard a knock at the door and Ari had the absurd thought that maybe Arrow was going to be on the other side of the door. There usually weren’t any visitors on the ranch; her uncle was a very private person. After the death of her parents, company dwindled, and then ultimately vanished completely.

  The sound of the knock had brought her heart to her throat. In a way, she was terrified, but at the same time she felt immense comfort as she was taken back to those days in her childhood when her parents would entertain guest after guest, all of them eager to be around her father’s quick wit and her mother’s beautiful smile.

  “Yes?” Ari asked, opening the door cautiously. She had forgotten how one goes about such a thing as greeting company, and became suddenly very self-conscious about it.

  “Hey! Let me in!”

  Ari furrowed her brow and opened the door a little wider, revealing Pete, her father’s ex-best friend.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked, trying to keep the wavering out of her voice.

  “I heard Hawk lives around here and I need to see him. Now, little lady,” Pete said, looking Ari up and down through drooping, heavy-lidded eyes.

  “Well, he’s not here,” Ari said, standing firmly in front of the door. “It was nice to see you, Pete, but you’ll have to come back again another time.”

  As she tried to shut the door, Pete caught it with his hand and pushed his way inside, studying Ari intently with his glossed over brown eyes.

  “Wait a minute; I know you from somewhere.”

  Pete staggered even closer to Ari and leaned down into her face, his breath sour. She backed away, furious at herself for opening the door for him.

  “You look just like Michelle! You’re Michelle and Ollie’s kid, aren’t you?”

  Ari backed away, her hands trembling.

  “Shit. I haven’t seen you since you were about eight!”

  “I think you should go, Pete,” Ari said, opening the door wider to try to push him away.

  But he wouldn’t budge.

  “Man, did you grow up,” he said. His voice was slow, inebriated sounding, and Ari began to panic. There was a lusty glint in his eye, and she didn’t like it at all.

  “Please, Pete. Just go.”

  “No!” Pete exclaimed. “I’m talking to Ollie’s kid! You know how long it’s been since I saw your dad?”

  “Um…ever since you came in demanding he pay you your share of the business you opened together so you could buy drugs with it?”

  Pete stared at her dumbly, as if he hadn’t realized that even an eight-year-old could understand the toxic effects of addiction and the injustice of his demand. Finally, he shook his head and stumbled forward, gripping Ari by the shoulders.

  “You’re a good lookin’ young woman you know, mighty fine and good-looking. You take after your mama. You know, I always did favor your ma. It’s a shame Ollie got to her first. But now…”

  Pete grabbed Ari close and she shrieked, trying to slap him away. But although he was tall and scrawny, Pete was too strong, and tugged her around easily, as though she were nothing but a ragdoll.

  “Cut it out, Pete. Just let me go and I won’t tell anyone!”

  But he was persistent, and Ari’s heart raced with fear as he began to overpower her in the doorway.

  “The hell do you think you’re doing in here, man?!”

  Ari’s eyes grew wide as the dark shadow of Arrow fell over Pete. Pete froze, his hand hovering just above Ari’s breast, before he was yanked away from her. Hard.

  Pete flew onto the porch, and Ari saw Arrow’s eyes flash darkly as he turned away from her with his fists clenched.

  “I think the lady asked you to leave, pal,” Arrow growled.

  A sickening thud filled the air as Arrow slammed his fist into Pete’s face, and Pete fell face first onto the porch, knocked out cold before he even had a chance to protest or defend himself.

  “Are you all right?” Arrow asked, his face suddenly softer somehow as he examined her, his brow creased with concern. “He didn
’t hurt you, did he?”

  Ari nodded, but she was still trembling.

  Pete regained consciousness and slowly got to his feet, and Arrow whipped around to face him.

  “You better get the hell out of here before you don’t have any legs left to walk with, do you understand me?” Arrow growled, his hand tight around Pete’s neck. “And if I ever see you here again, it’s going to be the last time you see anybody!”

  Pete nodded and mumbled that he wouldn’t come back, and Arrow watched him, his dark eyes sharp, until Pete was back in his car and out of sight.

  “You sure you’re all right?” Arrow asked.

  Ari shrugged. “I guess so. He didn’t hurt me or anything, but…”

  “Maybe not with his hands,” Arrow said. “You want to come on out and get some fresh air?”

  Ari nodded. Somehow that sounded like the best idea she had ever heard.

  Her legs were like jelly as she walked over the threshold of the house and onto the porch. Arrow stood near enough to catch her if she fell, but far enough away that she felt safe, even from him.

  “Maybe you should sit down, kid,” Arrow said, his deep, rumbling voice gentle and soothing.

  “All right,” Ari said quietly. She slumped onto the porch swing and Arrow walked across from her and perched on the railing of the porch.

  “So, who the hell was that guy?” Arrow asked.

  “Pete,” Ari said quietly. “He knew my dad.”

  “Where’s your dad? He shouldn’t be hanging around people who treat his daughter like that.”

  “My father passed away when I was about nine, almost ten. My mother too.”

  “Shit. Sorry to hear that. I guess I stepped in it there, huh?”

  Arrow chuckled softly and instead of feeling sad or offended, Ari smiled too. It had been years at that point. She was tired of people tip-toeing around the fact that it had changed her life forever. It was refreshing for Arrow to be blunt and oblivious, and more or less unapologetic.

  “It’s actually fine.”

  “So if your dad’s dead then what was that asshole trying to pull? Some fuckin’ friend.”

  “Well, they weren’t technically friends at the end…Pete got pretty heavy into drugs. They had a falling out.”

  “Well, I guess he doesn’t give a shit about you being his friend’s kid then if they weren’t even friends anymore,” Arrow said, his eyes clouding over. “Addicts play by different rules. They don’t care who they hurt.”

  Ari was quiet for a few moments, and then looked up suddenly. “Oh, come inside! I’d like to give you something.”

  Arrow frowned.

  “You haven’t had enough strange men in your house for one night?”

  Ari laughed. “Actually, I wanted to thank you. For helping me. Really, it’s nothing. Besides, I could use a drink. How about you?”

  Arrow hopped off the porch railing and sighed.

  “Honey,” he said, the scent of his cologne making her dizzy as he drew nearer to her. “You have no idea.”

  Chapter 7

  Arrow stepped tentatively inside Ari’s home, shocked by just how pleasant and comfortable the home of a piece of shit like Hawk could be. He’d always assumed that the area where Hawk lived would be like the dingy, run-down apartments where he liked to peddle his drugs. It was almost like going back to his own childhood.

  Ari led Arrow to the kitchen, a bounce in her step as she crossed through the doorway and stood on her tip toes to reach a bottle of scotch far back on the counter.

  “This okay?” she asked. “We don’t keep a lot of alcohol in the house. My uncle says that it’s bad to have temptations around. He’s not the kind of man who gives in to a vice.”

  Arrow raised is brow. Hawk wasn’t a man to give into a vice? That didn’t sound right. And even if it was true, it was infuriating that he would be judgmental enough of the people he hooked on his drug to try his hand at being a goddamn martyr in his own home. A man who didn’t tempt fate with drugs and alcohol in the house; a man who, somehow, had kept this little treasure of a young woman in this house. Was there a ball and chain here, or was there something more to the story than that?

  “Here,” Ari said, offering Hawk a small glass of scotch.

  He took it reluctantly, surprised by the eagerness with which Ari put her own glass to her lips. For such a small woman, the girl looked like she could hold her own with alcohol.

  Arrow waited until Ari had downed her own small glass before taking a sniff of his own and then, determining that it was safe, took a drink. He half expected Hawk to show up out of nowhere, but the house remained quiet.

  “Anyway, this is what I wanted to give to you,” Ari said, disappearing into a small closed porch in the back of the kitchen.

  Arrow braced himself for a fight, but when she returned, she was beaming, offering him a little flower pot.

  “What’s this?” Arrow asked, taking it and holding it up to his face.

  “It’s a succulent,” Ari said proudly. “I like to grow them. I have a huge garden out back but this little guy was getting too big for his pot. I was going to transplant him but for some reason he reminded me of you…”

  Ari’s voice grew distant and Arrow quirked his brow, studying the tiny green leaves.

  “Why would this little thing remind you of me?” Arrow asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ari said, her face flushing red. “It looked for a while like it was going to die, but it pulled through. It’s the most resilient succulent I’ve ever had. Something about it made me feel like you would be able to relate to it.”

  Arrow was stunned into silence for a few moments and then looked Ari in the eye, his heart thudding in his chest. She was a gorgeous girl, but he couldn’t let his guard down, no matter how innocent she seemed.

  “Well…” Arrow said, offering the plant back to Ari. She put her hands behind her back and shook her head, her ocean-colored eyes glittering sweetly.

  “No, I want you to have it. Maybe it will keep you company.”

  “Why do you assume I’m lonely?” Arrow asked, mildly offended. Still, he had to admit that she was right. He hadn’t had a true friend in many, many years. Not since he had first become weakened by his addiction.

  “Your eyes, I guess,” Ari said quietly, stepping forward to peer into Arrow’s face. He felt uncomfortable, as if he were afraid that she wasn’t going to like what she saw.

  “Well I’m not lonely,” Arrow said, thrusting the plant back at her. He would have done anything to get her pitying look off of him.

  Ari frowned and backed away, refusing to take the plant.

  “Look, I know it probably seems really stupid to you but I really want you to have it. I think it would help.”

  Arrow sighed and gripped the little potted succulent awkwardly.

  “Thanks,” he said gruffly.

  “I tried to give one to my uncle because he doesn’t seem to have any friends, but he refuses to even go out to the garden. That’s where my mother spent all of her time, and sometimes I think he cared more about her than he did his own brother…”

  Arrow froze at the mention of Ari’s uncle. The more he looked at and talked to her, the more he could tell that she had probably never done heroin in her life. There was a look that most junkies had, a look of vacancy and desperation in their eyes. Ari looked like she was full of hope and light – the opposite of the people who Arrow was used to dealing with, people who looked like they were used to being stepped on and disappointed.

  “What’s your uncle like?” Arrow asked, setting the plant down cautiously and taking a seat at the kitchen table.

  Ari sat down too, a dazzling smile spreading across her face.

  “He’s great. Very kind. But he seems to think he’s a big hard ass or something. He calls himself Hawk, and doesn’t go into town because he thinks everybody’s after him for some reason. I’m a little bit afraid he’s got some kind of mental illness, but…”

  Ari’s smil
e faltered for a moment but soon she was back to beaming. “He would be very upset if he thought I suspected him of anything like that. So I’ve never said anything. And he isn’t actually hurting anybody, so it doesn’t matter all that much what I think of him.”

  Arrow was stunned, and gaped at Ari, who had grabbed an apple from the table and wiped it off. She offered it to him with a sweet smile, and Arrow took it dumbly.

  It was almost as if she didn’t know…

  “So, why are you living with your uncle?” Arrow asked. The more he knew about this girl, the easier it would be for him to figure out just how Hawk got his hands on his drugs and cut off the heroin from its source. Then he would take care of Hawk once and for all.

  “I guess it just happened after my parents died. He moved in when I was a teenager because I needed a guardian. So I take care of the house and make sure he’s fed, because he means well. He just doesn’t really think about that kind of thing.”

  Arrow stared at Ari in disbelief. Was it possible that she was just the unassuming niece of a powerful and malicious drug lord? A man who, apparently, was taking advantage of her as a housekeeper?

  “So you just live with your uncle here?”

  “Yeah, he really doesn’t like to go into town, but he runs around and does who knows what. But he never wants me to leave the house. He’s afraid somebody will come in and steal from us. But we don’t have anything to steal. It’s kind of sad, really…”

  So that really was it. She was clueless. Just another pawn in Hawk’s sick game; a live-in maid and cook who didn’t know any better; who was clueless as to how she was being exploited. That man was the scum of the earth, and Arrow was going to give him exactly what he deserved.

  “He sounds like something else, your uncle,” Arrow said, doing his best to hide his fury and revulsion. Ari smiled.

  “He’s really not so bad,” she said. “He just needs someone to take care of things around the house and make sure he doesn’t get into trouble.”