“Get on my bike, Billie. It’s time to go.”
Billie did as he asked and got on his bike, her hands running through her long hair nervously. She removed a hair tie from her wrist and twisted her hair into a long braid so it was out of her face.
“Here,” He said holding out a helmet for her.
She read her name across the back, which made her eyes widen. Underneath her name, which was written in pretty silver cursive, was the Seven Deadlies logo.
“When did you-,” He stopped her.
“I had it made before I came home, just in case. I’m glad it’ll get put to use now.”
Billie ran her fingers along the pretty edges of the writing and felt her eyes water.
“I don’t know if I’ll be any good at this.”
“Me either, but we’ll figure it out together, baby. Put it on. Let’s get going.”
Billie planted her feet in the dirt and put the helmet on. Slayer held out a pair of glasses and she took them, grateful for his thoughtfulness.
“You had all this planned out in your head, huh?”
“Where I come from hope ain’t a real thing, but a man can’t keep himself from dreamin’.”
The idea of him across the country thinking about her, missing her, the way that she’d missed him…it hit her hard. She felt a little bit of the ice around her heart melt and slip away, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She wanted to go with him, she wanted to love the way she used to.
There was something about the way that they used to love each other that set the bar for all of her other relationships and none of them ever measured up. Slayer had always been the one in her mind and in her heart, and if that was reciprocated, well then it would be much easier to forgive him.
The helmet fit perfectly, a sign if she thought about it long enough.
“How do I look?,” She asked as she tilted her head to the side and pursed her lips.
He laughed and tugged his own helmet on, “Like the sexiest ol’ lady I’ve ever seen.”
“What does that mean?”
He shook his head, “Nothin’. Just means you’re the one that rides on the back of my bike.”
Billie frowned, but she supposed it made sense. She had no idea what their biker lingo meant, and she would be the first admit it. She wouldn’t even pretend to know what the hell he was talking about most of the time.
“Okay, let’s get this journey started.”
Journey.
Yeah, that sounded right.
Billie wrapped her arms around his waist as he positioned himself in front of her.
“Lean into turns, keep your grip on me tight, and for the love of God, don’t pull back while we’re ridin’, okay? Last thing I need is you fallin’ off and dyin’ before I get to put a baby in you.”
Billie blinked in surprise at that last bit, but she liked the sound of it.
“Okay, Slayer.”
◆◆◆
Ox and Axel stood shoulder to shoulder as they looked at the carnage of one of the worst shoot outs they’d ever seen. In Axel’s fucking bar, The Watering Hole. A bar that every club in the mountains frequented, including the Seven Deadlies.
“This bar won’t ever be the same,” Axel said softly.
Ox peeked at the bartender, a red-headed woman that had served them dutifully over the years, dead behind the bar, a bullet in her head. Her green eyes were still wide open, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“No, it won’t.”
Limit was casing the scene, his dark hair falling into his eyes.
“Haven’t been here much since the night I met Scarlett, but fuck, this is a bloodbath. We think it’s the Madmen?”
Ox pointed towards the back wall of the bar, directly under an antler chandelier.
“That’s their calling card, ain’t it?”
Their logo, a crude portrait of the Mad Hatter with a bloody mouth, was spray painted on the walls.
“So, what? They’re comin’ after our territory?”
“This ain’t exactly our territory, not yet. But, I don’t like the fact that they’re in town. A lot of these people in here are locals, and the last thing we need is ATF breathin’ down our necks again and investigating us. This has the potential to fuck us, boys. Let’s get this cleaned up. They called us here for a reason,” Ox said angrily.
He’d gotten a call at the clubhouse from an unknown number in the middle of the night, saying there was a gift for them at their favorite mountainside bar. He couldn’t believe his eyes when Axel and Limit came with him to investigate. There was blood everywhere. It must have been close to last call too, because there weren’t many people left to kill. Three patrons and the bartender, but it looked like they just blasted through every one of them…
“This is fuckin’ overkill, boys. They’re mad about something, and I don’t know what.”
“I’m inclined to agree, Axel. I think it has to do with Chris and Pierce. If you think about it, we basically nipped those connections in the bud. None of us up here are willing to deal with them, and I bet I can call in a couple of other close charters to handle this if we need back up.”
“When the fuck have we ever needed back up?,” Ox asked.
“I’m not sayin’ we will, but I can call in the Reapers, get them up here from South Carolina. Ty owes me a favor or two,” Axel said, referring to the Reaper’s president. They were a large crew from South Carolina that used to help distribute their coke, and Ox knew that Axel and Ty were close allies.
“If we need it, do it. I don’t have too many allies left now that we’re green, so I’ll leave the networking to you,” He said easily.
Axel nodded.
“That’s what we’re partners for, Ox. Don’t be shy about askin’ for favors. This shit right here? This is about as real as it gets for us, brother. We may need the help.”
Ox knew that, just like he knew that their unmitigated beef with the Madmen just hit an all new level. They didn’t hurt locals, only helped them out if they needed it; the last thing they needed was word getting out that any of the locals they worked with at the clubhouse or the strip club were being killed. Picked off like cattle.
“How do you want me to handle this, boss?,” Limit asked.
“Call Green. Get him up here, and tell him to bring Torch. Clean up the bodies. I’m gonna have to pull a couple of strings and call in the sheriff.”
Axel’s eyes darted towards him, their dark depths questioning him.
“The fuckin’ sheriff? I thought we wanted out of the spotlight?”
“I never thought I’d have to cash in the favor he owes me, but after I helped him get rid of his daughter’s ex, he owes me big. I offed that fucker for him almost six months ago now. He’ll help and he’ll keep his mouth shut, which is exactly what we need,” Ox explained.
“Damn, I didn’t know Jefferson was in need of our help. Didn’t he always stick his nose up in the air when we rode through town?”
Ox nodded slowly.
“Yeah, so imagine my surprise when he called me to help him out. He got in a scuffle with his daughter’s piece of shit boyfriend and stabbed him. The idiot wasn’t even dead yet when I got there. I finished him off and buried the body for him. I buried the body with evidence on Jefferson though, so he’s in our debt for as long as I want him to be,” Ox said.
“Smart. Can’t have him turnin’ the tables on ya later on,” Axel said.
“Yeah and we’re gonna need him to help us. This isn’t just club business anymore, it’s personal. These locals were our friends and they have families who are probably worried about them,” Limit said.
Ox nodded, “You get a hold of Torch and Green?”
“Sure did. They’ll be here soon. Any word from Slayer?”
“He’s on his way back…with his lady.”
Every man turned to look at Ox, who was grinning from ear to ear.
“What? Man-whore of the year has a fuckin’ lady with him?”
“Yeah, he does. Billie is her name. If he’s happy, so are we. Now ain’t the time to worry about it, though. We have this mess to clean up. I’m callin’ Jefferson.”
“You want me to call in the Reapers?”
“I want you to alert them of our troubles. For now, let’s try to keep this isolated. I have a feeling if they catch wind we’re callin’ in reinforcements, they won’t be as loud. I want them to get messy enough to lead us to them,” Ox explained.
He looked around the room, wondering what the hell was going on. One day these bikers were just a questionable crew and now they were doin’ their best to intimidate them.
“Boss, these fuckers are dumb. I can take them all out on my lunch break,” Limit said.
Ox slapped him hard on the back and nodded, “That’s why you’re my enforcer. Call Tango, make a game plan with him. I want both of you on the same page. Nothin’ wrong with havin’ two enforcers working on this.”
Limit didn’t seem to have a problem sharing the responsibility now that he had Scarlett, and Ox couldn’t ask for anything better for his little girl.
“Shit just got real, fellas. Better strap in for the ride.”
Chapter 13
Slayer slammed his phone closed and glanced over at Billie, who was sitting inside the diner they stopped at for dinner. Their little road trip was just cut short by some renegade club leaving their mark all over Deadly territory. Billie was about to get a crash course in outlaw life, and he had no idea how to ease her into it.
They hadn’t even had the ‘full-disclosure,’ talk yet. Maybe it wouldn’t be wise to share this with her so soon. Billie always did have a white and black sense of right and wrong, and now Slayer definitely fell into the ‘gray,’ category.
How was he supposed to tell her that the people he was taking her to meet, to live with, to stand beside, were murderers? Justifiable or not, they’d all done their fair share of wrong. Billie would panic if he relayed to her what Ox just told him; that one of their favorite bars was now a murder scene, and that the sheriff was in on the fucking cover up!
Slayer wasn’t exactly sure he was excited about that himself, but he definitely didn’t want his new life with Billie as his old lady to be ruined so early. They weren’t even in North Carolina yet, and he was already sweating bullets.
She looked so fucking innocent sitting at their small table in the diner, waiting for him. Expecting some kind of romantic evening that ended with more heavy petting and soft words and absolutely nothing to do with some rival MC blowing through their side of the mountains. She wouldn’t even begin to understand what that meant. She was in danger just by riding with him. They had no idea how deep or far the Madmen’s connections went…
Instantly his mind went to Rayna and Fury and the hell they went through on their way back from Myrtle beach. Would that happen to them? Billie wasn’t trained to use a gun and she definitely wouldn’t be a good enough shot on the fly to take out multiple men riding bikes.
“Fuck,” He whispered to himself. Now was the time to make a hefty decision, and he already had a feeling he was about to make the wrong one.
As he stepped inside, he forced a smile and sat down across from her. She smiled back at him, obvious to the fact that he was indeed about to lie to her.
“Who was that?”
“My boss. He said that he hates to rush us, but we gotta head back as fast as possible. He needs me at the shop, apparently we’re way more than slammed. Some kind of accident in town that sent a lot of locals up to our place to get their cars fixed. I’m sorry,” He said as he reached for her head.
And, he was sorry; sorry that he was lying to her, tricking her, and doing everything he could to keep her. Once he got her to North Carolina, it would be easier to get her to understand the gravity of his lifestyle, of his world. It would be easier for her to acclimate once she was there with the other old ladies.
“That sucks…Are you okay with that? You could just call him and tell him we’re gonna take our time.”
So fucking innocent.
“My boss is also my prez, baby. I can’t tell him to fuck off if he needs me. Ox is a fair man, a good man, he wouldn’t call unless he absolutely had to. Don’t worry, I’ll make it up to you.”
“I wasn’t really concerned with making this a long trip, I’m eager to see where you’ve been hiding for the last six years. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it,” She said.
He could see the honesty in her eyes and hoped like hell that she couldn’t see the dishonesty in his. He wouldn’t lie to her unless he had to, and this was the first time he’d ever been faced with a decision like that. He didn’t share club life with any of the whores he fucked. Billie deserved to know the truth, but first, he had to make sure it wouldn’t scare her away for good.
He couldn’t handle it if she got spooked before they really gave a life together a go. Not after he was so close to calling her his again. He’d waited for so damn long, and it was so fucking close, it was all he could do not to shout it from the rooftops; Billie Aria King is mine!
“I’m okay with it. We’ll take a vacation soon enough and see the world, I promise. Ox needs me for the moment, but it won’t be like that forever.” That wasn’t exactly a lie, but it wasn’t exactly the truth; he had no idea how long the beef would last. It could be months, could be days, he had no idea.
“That sounds nice. I’ve wanted to head to the beach for a while, but I never got around to it.”
He gripped her hand over the table, “I’ll get ya that new camera as soon as we roll into town, and you can go to the beach and take as many pictures as you’d like. Rayna and Fury have a little girl, I’m sure they would love to have some family photos taken. Fury will pay you top dollar for them, too. Ain’t nobody in the club stingy with their money,” He said.
She looked like she was thinking hard for a moment before she looked up at him.
“Do you…have a lot of money? Probably rude of me to ask, but I am curious.”
“I don’t spend a lot and I don’t need a lot. I have a lot in the bank, and damn right you should be curious. I know we go way back, but I just moved you out of your home to go across the country with me. You have every right to know if I have the money to support you, and I do.”
He went one step farther than he probably needed to, mostly because he was feeling guilty about the fact that he was lying to her about his lifestyle already, and pulled out his phone. With a couple of swipes of his fingers, he was showing her his banking app, including all the commas between the numbers.
“Wow,” She said softly.
“I know you ain’t after my money, and once you get yourself established in town, you’ll make yourself your own cash. For now, just let me worry about you, okay? I may have been shit at sticking around, but I never let you go without, did I?”
She slowly shook her head and he lifted her hand from the table and kissed the back of it, his whiskers tickling her fingers. Billie was smiling again, and he loved it, and he couldn’t take the thought of her leaving him.
It didn’t sit well, the thought of it not working out, the thought of her getting smart enough to leave him this time. What if she woke up and decided that he wasn’t worth it? What if he woke up and she was just gone, with no trace of their love left behind?
He would deserve it, karma was a nasty bitch, but…he didn’t want that for them. He wanted them to work, like Fury and Rayna. Like Esme and Prettyboy, Green and Emily, Laney and Axel, Scarlett and Limit, for God’s sake! If Limit of all creatures can find someone to love him, why shouldn’t Slayer be able to do the same?
Her green eyes assessed him across the table, and he was sure in that instance that she knew the truth. That she’d somehow heard his conversation with Ox, and that she was already working out a plan in her head to get back home.
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
Slayer smiled and nodded, taking a drink of his soda while he did so.
“I’m ex
cited to take you home with me, to share this part of myself with you. It’s the only part of me you’ve never been a apart of, and I want that to change.”
Her eyes lit up at that, and she tightened her hold on him. She was still icy, still hesitant, but every day they spent together he could see the change in her. The way she would lean into him when they kissed, even if it was only for a second. The way she reached for his hand without realizing it, or the way she curled up next to him at night. Two days on the road together, and it was better between them then it had been since he came home.
In reality, he knew that eventually, it would work out. She would have to come to understand the way his world works…right? She wouldn’t just decide that he wasn’t worth it because the outlaw life was new to her, right? She had to know that it was different, that the lines were blurred where he came from…didn’t she?
The only one who could answer that was Billie, and he was too damn chicken shit to say a peep about the events that had recently come to light. Any other time, and he would blaze right through it, answer any questions she had, and explain to her whatever she needed explained.
But, now? Now she was only just starting to forgive him, to let him in, to show him how she’d grown and changed over the years. She was like a delicate flower blossom, and Slayer needed her to remain who she was. He didn’t want to be the force that crushed her petals so fucking soon.
“Billie? You in this, with me? For sure?”
Her head snapped up and she tightened her hold on his hand, confusion lining her features. Her shoulders were tense with worry, and she sucked her bottom lip between her teeth momentarily before she asked, “Did you change your mind?”
“Miles nor time has ever changed my mind about you, Billie. I just need to know you’re ride or die, because where we’re going, that’s really the only way to explain my lifestyle.”
“Ride or die?”
“Exactly.” She shrugged, as if there was nothing more that she could say to make him understand what was going on in her head before she said, “We ride together, we die together.”
Lust (Seven Deadlies MC Book 5) Page 8