CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Second Chances
Rio—
My knee is bouncing a mile-a-minute, wondering if Shelby is coming back or sneaking out on me.
This isn’t going the way I’d envisioned. There’s such a wall between us now, and I hate it. Especially since I have no idea what I did to put it there.
Maybe someone talked some sense into her and told her she was crazy to try to maintain a relationship with a guy in prison. It’s the only explanation I’ve been able to come up with in all these years.
She looks good, though, and it’s been heaven just sitting next to her in this restaurant. The thought that it could be all I ever get from her is depressing as hell, and I know I’ll never be satisfied with it.
Finally, I spot her sashaying back to our table. She’s wearing a pretty floral skirt that swings around her hips when she walks with a white peasant blouse that sits off her shoulders with a big ruffle around the top. It’s nothing too overtly sexy, but it’s sweet and feminine, just like I remember her.
Our waiter brought our food while she was in the john, and as she slips into her chair, she stares at her plate and then mine, still untouched.
“You didn’t have to wait for me,” she says, dropping her napkin to her lap.
“Of course, I did.” I pick up my fork. “It looks good, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, the food here is amazing.”
We eat quietly for a few minutes, until she starts to push her food around with her fork, then sets it on her plate and looks at me.
“Who are you, Rio? I barely know anything about you. You said you couldn’t talk about it in prison, but you’re out now.”
Here it comes—the moment of truth. Do I tell her everything? What do I have to lose? If I’m reading the situation right, she’s going to climb in her car when this lunch is through and drive out of my life.
“Okay. I’ll tell you the truth. My buddy Zig and I grew up together back east. Neither of us had a good home life. When we were teenagers, we met some guys in a motorcycle club and started hanging around with them.” By the look on her face, I think she’s already picking up on where this story is going. “We prospected and became full patched members when we turned twenty-one.”
“You’re a biker?” Her mouth drops open.
“Yes, ma’am. Saint’s Outlaws MC.”
“And that’s who was there that day robbing the bank?”
I nod again. “No one can know that, Shelby.”
Her face flushes, and I’m afraid she’s going to bolt for the exit.
“I divulged none of that at trial, and the club never contacted me the entire time I was in prison.” I don’t explain about the attorney. It’s more detail than she needs.
“They abandoned you?”
“Nope. They were there the day I was released.”
“Back east, you said. Where?”
“That’s not important.”
“So, are you going to return there, then?”
“Actually, no. Zig and I and some of the others are staying here.”
“Here? Here where?”
“Las Cruces.”
“Have you lost your mind? You can’t stay here. The cops hate you. They’re all crooked. They’ll send you to prison again, Rio. First chance they get.”
I smile. “That’s not going to happen.”
“What do you mean? How can you know that?”
“I’m going to make sure it doesn’t happen. I appreciate your concern for me, though. Maybe you care about me just a little.”
“Of course I care about you.” She stares at me for a long moment. “I can’t believe you’re in a biker gang.”
“An MC. A motorcycle club.”
“An MC. Whatever. And all this time, you never told me.”
“I couldn’t. All my letters were checked, and we couldn’t even have a private conversation. I’m sorry. I never meant to lie to you. I just couldn’t explain. Not then.”
She tosses her napkin on her plate. “I think I’m finished.”
“Where are you staying now?”
“I live in… I live out-of-town now. I only returned today to take care of my father’s estate.”
“The garage. Right. What about the house? You could live there now.”
“No,” she barks harshly, then inhales and speaks softer. “No, I can’t. I’m done with this town. I’m never coming back.”
“Why?”
“I have my reasons.”
“It’s not because of me, is it?”
“It has nothing to do with you.”
“I want to see you again.”
“I… I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Because I’m in an MC?”
“Because of a lot of reasons. I’m sorry. It’s just the way it is.”
“I don’t buy that, Shelby. I know the spark that flares between us. You feel it, too. Don’t deny it.”
“I won’t deny it, but some things just cannot be.” She stands. “I really need to get on the road now.”
I pull out my wallet and drop a wad of bills on the table. “I’ll walk you out.”
When they see us on the move, Zig and Jenny follow, Zig dropping money on their table like I did.
At her car, she turns. “It was good to see you, Rio. I’m glad you’re free of that place. I wish you nothing but the best.”
“Is that it?” I ask.
She arcs a brow.
In response, I hook an arm around her waist and drag her against me, my mouth coming down on hers. I’ve dreamed of this moment when I could finally feel her lips on mine. She’s stiff at first, but then melts against me, and I know immediately that all this reluctance is a lie. She feels it—that fire flaring between us.
When I release her, her lips are red and her eyes are wide, staring up at me.
She may think this is goodbye, that this is the last time we’ll see each other, but I know it’s not. It can’t be. No way in hell am I letting this woman walk out of my life again.
“Goodbye, Shelby.”
She fumbles for her car door. “Goodbye, Rio.”
Zig and I watch her and Jenny drive away.
A waiter jogs out, drawing our attention.
“You forgot your wallet on the table, sir,” he states, handing it over.
“Thanks,” I mumble, sliding it into my pocket.
Zig eyes me with a wide, toothy grin.
“What?” I snap.
“You and that wallet. It’s like you want someone to steal it.”
“That’d be a dumbass decision on their part. And for the last nine fucking years, I didn’t have to keep up with one, did I?”
“Okay, sorry.” Zig holds his hands up in mock surrender.
I turn my gaze to the road. Shelby’s car is long gone.
“You can’t get that girl by sheer force of will, boss. She’s not a brother you can boss around,” Zig tells me, following my eyes.
“She seems guarded now. Wonder why. She seemed jumpy when she saw that cop.”
“Maybe like the rest of the town, she knows to steer clear of them.”
“Maybe. Maybe there’s more to it than that. I need to know. I want to know why she hates this town so much. I need to get to the bottom of that. Got any info?”
“No, but I can look into it. Bandit’s been flirting up that chick in their records department.”
“Check around. Find out if there are any rumors about it.”
“Maybe her friend Jenny knows.”
“She tell you anything?” I ask, hope flaring.
“Just now? Not much, but she knows her friend has got it bad for you.”
I grin at his answer and feel Zig studying me, but stay quiet.
“Said she moved to Cloudcroft,” he adds.
I whirl on him. “The place we stopped? She was right there?”
“Guess so.”
“That’s what, an hour and a half away?”
“Yeah, I guess.” He puts a hand on my arm. “Do you really want to drag this girl into your world again, Rio? Into the MC world?”
“I’d never let anything happen to her; you fucking know that.”
“I do, but still, ours is a dirty, violent world.”
“It’s what we make it, VP. We’re starting fresh here. We’re going to run this town, and people aren’t going to be afraid of the fucking cops ever again.”
“No, they’ll just be afraid of us.”
I glare at him and change the subject. “I hate that Shelby’s afraid to come back to her own hometown. I thought the trouble with her father was what drove her away. He’s dead now. She gets the house and business. She could live in the house. It doesn’t make sense,” I muse, trying to figure it out.
“Maybe it has bad memories.” Zig looks at me. “Or do you think there’s more to it?”
“Something doesn’t feel right. She told me her father was killed in a robbery gone bad. You know anything about that?”
“I know it wasn’t us.”
“I want to know everything you can find out about it.”
“You know what I do know? That tire place would make a great location for us to open a Saint’s Outlaws Garage. Maybe we should see how much she asking.”
I nod, wishing I’d thought of it. “You’re right, VP. Let’s drive past it again.”