Chapter Two
Sophia
I sure hoped I hadn’t jumped from the frying pan into the fire. I had no idea who the guy was that I was pressed up against, the smell of his leather vest filling my nose as we flew down the highway. I just knew he’d saved me, him and his sidekick.
The cool air, carrying the scent of damp earth and freshly mowed hay, filled my lungs and lifted my spirits.
The knot of dread in my stomach unraveled.
I’d never been on a motorcycle before, and was surprised at how much I liked it.
I’d always pictured motorcycles as a sort of dangerous, borderline illegal method of transportation.
Like for people who were too poor or too dumb to buy an actual car.
Now that I was on one, I suddenly understood the attraction. Maybe it was just because I’d been trapped in that van, but riding on the back of a motorcycle, I felt free. Almost giddy. I hung on tight, and every turn, every corner gave me a primeval high.
We swooped around another corner and into the parking lot of a strip mall. At the far end was a sign that read Coffee Quest . A vague blip of disappointment tumbled through me. The ride was over.
My savior maneuvered through the parking lot and pulled up in front of the coffee shop. His feet dropped to the ground to balance us as he cut the engine.
I loosened my arms, reluctant to let go quite yet. He might be the most dangerous looking man I’d ever seen, but he was also the sexiest. How come I never saw guys like this on dating apps?
His dark hair was shaved military short, and that day-old scruff of a beard softened his appearance.
His chiseled features were tempered by a generous mouth.
A faint scar on his face barely missed his eye.
Mostly healed, it suggested he’d been in a nasty fight a few months ago.
I could feel the solid wall of muscle under my arms as I held onto him, not to mention the intoxicating smell of leather and male that assailed my nose.
He might not be wearing shiny armor or be mounted on a white horse, but he had come to my rescue like the knight in a fairy tale.
The second bike pulled up beside us and the rider looked at me with a crooked grin before addressing my hero. “She looks good on you, Deuce. Who would have thought it.” He parked his bike and turned to hold a hand out to me.
I let him help me off the bike, feeling shy.
I didn’t know either of these guys. I suddenly realized that my phone, my wallet, my purse, everything was gone, and I was standing shivering in front of a strip mall with two complete strangers who didn’t exactly look like upright citizens.
And yet I felt safer than I had with George.
Neither of these guys gave off the creepy vibe I’d felt with him.
My savior slid off his bike. Giving me a quick once over, he nodded. “You don’t look too badly scuffed up, other than your hair. We wouldn’t want to raise any suspicions in there.”
“Suspicions?”
He shrugged. “Bikers with a woman who looks like she’s been roughed up?”
“Oh. They might think you hurt me.” I reached up self-consciously and finger-combed my hair. “Better?”
He nodded. “Let’s get inside and get a warm coffee into you.”
I shuddered. I wasn’t quite ready for another coffee after how that last one had ended. “Can we make that tea, please? But I don’t have any money on me.”
Biker number two shrugged. “I think we can afford to buy you a cup of tea after you livened up our evening.” He grinned over at his buddy. “I haven’t had that much fun in ages.”
Biker number one rolled his eyes. “You are trouble, Rattler.”
I cocked my head. “Your name is Rattler?”
“My road name, yes. And your arm candy there is Deuce.”
“What’s a road name?”
The two exchanged a glance over my head. Rattler opened the door to the coffee shop and held it for Deuce and me to scoot inside before answering. “It’s sort of like a nickname that the club gives you when you patch in.”
Deuce held up his hand to forestall my next question. “Patching in is when you become a full-fledged member of the motorcycle club, in our case Riptide. Before that you’re a prospect, as in prospective member.”
“Maybe we should get our drinks before we finish playing twenty questions.” Rattler exchanged another cryptic look with Deuce. “How about you two go find a table and I’ll get Rylie to make the drinks. You want sugar or milk in your tea?”
I shook my head. “No, just black please. Who’s Rylie?”
“The owner of Coffee Quest . She’s Cyclone’s old lady, which is how we know this place is safe.”
“I take it Cyclone is a road name for another biker?”
Deuce grinned. “Yeah, it is. You catch on fast.”
He led the way to a booth in the back of the building, and I noted how he seated himself so he could see the entire shop. It made me think of my dad, who did the same thing whenever he was forced to appear in public. Thoughts of my dad reminded me I needed to call Janet.
I slid in across from him. “Can I borrow your phone for a minute? I need to let a friend know I’m okay or she’ll have the cops and my dad out looking for me, and you do not want to meet my dad.”
Deuce reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out his cell, unlocking the screen before handing it over. “Why don’t I want to meet your dad?”
I took the phone. “He still thinks I’m his little girl, and he’s a prepper, so he doesn’t tend to play nice.
” I dialed and held up a hand to stop Deuce from saying anything else until I’d assured Janet that I was fine and the date hadn’t been great without going into detail.
She wanted to know why I wasn’t calling from my own phone and I told her I’d misplaced it and had to borrow one from a friend to call her.
Not exactly a lie, but it satisfied her for now and gave me an excuse to keep the call short.
I agreed to meet her for a drink the next day so we could dissect yet another failure to find my soul mate.
Ending the call, I handed Deuce back his phone and looked up just as Rattler put three cups down on the table and slid in beside Deuce.
“Sophia here was just going to explain why meeting her dad would be a bad idea.” Deuce looked at me expectantly. “I’m not sure if you meant he’s the kind of guy who’s likely to call the cops on me, or an end-of-the-world prepper who’ll beat the crap out of me for looking at you.”
I sighed. “The second one. He’s got enough guns and ammo to blow up half the town, and enough practice in hiding in the bush to make sure no one ever finds the bodies.
” I looked from one to the other and realized how that sounded.
“Not that he’s ever killed anyone, except maybe when he was in the SEALs,” I added hastily.
“Sounds like my kind of guy.” Rattler grinned and took a big gulp of his coffee.
I shook my head. “You don’t get it. If he thinks you two were the ones who hurt me, he’d shoot first and ask questions later. That’s assuming he doesn’t decide he’s got enough time to beat you to death with his bare hands. He loves me, but he’s not a gentle, cuddly kind of dad.”
“I do get it,” Deuce said. “If I had a daughter, I’d probably feel the same way. Sounds like he really cares about you.”
“He does.” I picked up my tea and took an experimental sip. “He’s always been there for me.”
“What about your mom?”
I shrugged. “Don’t really remember much about her. She took off when I was three. Dad says she just wasn’t into being a parent. I was an accident she didn’t want to deal with, so she split.”
“Ouch.” Rattler grimaced.
Why was I telling these guys my life story? “Not really as bad as it sounds. Dad was great and always made sure I knew I was loved. He just finds it a little hard to accept that I’m an adult now and can take care of myself.”
Rattler and Deuce exchanged one of those looks.
I rolled my eyes. “Okay, I kind of got in over my head this time, but who the hell expects drugs in a coffee?”
Rattler’s phone pinged, and he pulled it out of his pocket to glance at the screen. “Gotta take this.” He slid out of the booth, putting the phone to his ear as he strode away from us.
“You were drugged in a coffee shop?” Deuce frowned, and I realized I hadn’t told these guys the whole story. Somehow, we’d skipped over to my family situation.
“Yeah. There’s this dating app that’s supposed to be super safe and easy.
” I explained the whole sequence of events to him, stressing how I’d taken every precaution to protect myself even though it hadn’t been quite enough.
Hindsight being 20/20, the only way I could have possibly avoided the situation was to have a bodyguard nearby for the whole date.
Needless to point out, if I’d felt that was necessary, I never would have gone.
“Does this George guy know where you live? Or where you work?” Deuce looked thoughtful.
I shook my head. “No, but I’m not sure where my purse or phone is. I think they got left behind at the coffee shop, but if those guys have them, they’ll know where to find me. My phone is locked to my faceprint, but my driver’s license and credit cards are all in my purse.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be home alone tonight.” Deuce sounded dead serious. “Any chance this prepper dad of yours could come stay with you for a day or two? Just until you’re sure this whole thing is over? Sounds like he could scare off just about anyone.”
“Hell, no!” I snorted. “If I tell him what happened he’ll hunt George down, and then I’d have to spring for bail, and a lawyer.”
“I thought you said he knew where to hide the bodies?” Deuce sounded amused.
“Doesn’t mean I want him to have to.”
“Good point.”
“Maybe I should report this to the police.” I paused. “You know, in case they try it again with some other woman and there’s not a couple of awesome bikers nearby to whisk her away to safety.”
“Good idea, but don’t expect too much.”
“Why not?” I frowned.