Chapter 31
Quinn
I slept with all three of the guys that night. We didn’t have sex; we only slept. Zane was too injured to do anything frisky anyway. When I woke up, Zane and Taven were gone, and Keith was sitting at the end of the bed, his dirty blond hair sticking up in every direction.
He smiled. “Morning.”
“Morning,” I replied with a smile of my own.
Stretching, he got to his feet. “Want to go to a party tonight? It’s Halloween, so you can dress up... or not. The boys and I are going to just wear masks.”
My eyes lit up. “You’re letting me out?”
“We have the murder weapon you used on the old guy, and we have a video of you asking us to kill a cop. I think it’s safe to say it’s not in your best interest to snitch.”
I wanted to snap, but honestly, I wouldn’t trust me entirely if I were him, either. Having insurance was just to make sure I didn’t flake. “I would love to go to a party.”
“Good, then come with me.”
I threw on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, sliding on shoes before rushing after Keith, who had already walked outside. He opened a saddle bag on his motorcycle and gave me a severe look. “I want to give you something very precious to me.” He gently unraveled a neatly folded motorcycle vest, or cut, as he would call it. There was a small unicorn on the front and a patch on the side that said, Ol’ lady. “This was my mom’s. She left it in her car the day she died. I guess she must have run to the store a little bit beforehand.” He rubbed the unicorn patch with his fingers. “It’s a rule that you never wear your cut in a car, so she didn’t have it on.” He sighed heavily, “I’d like you to have it. I want you to wear it to the party tonight.”
I took the vest and held it up. The inner lining was pink with little white leaf patterns. The middle patch on the back was a phantom like the guys’ cuts, but it was smaller and had a ball and chain attached to the tail. Phantom Raiders Property was embroidered below it.
I eyeballed him. “Property?”
Keith chuckled, “Yeah, outlaw biker clubs were started around the fifties, so it’s an old-ass outdated term. We know you aren’t our property. But just because we don’t own you doesn’t mean we will share you. Basically, it just means I’m your sponsor, and if you fuck up, it’s on me. I take responsibility for you.”
I hated the term and fought the urge to cringe. This was his mother’s cut, and he was offering it to me. I would be the biggest bitch in the world if I turned it down. With a gentle smile, I slid it over my sweatshirt. It was a perfect fit.
“The guys and I want to take you out to get some chaps.” I looked up at him with a raised brow. “I’m not going to a biker party in a cage. We’re riding, but it’s gonna be cold as fuck. You’re going to want to bundle up.” He pulled out a set of keys and my phone. “Your friends have texted a lot. I stuck with the story that you were out of state with us.”
Snatching the device, I instantly clicked on my messages. Sure enough, Cameron and Amree had texted, and Keith had given them short and sweet answers. Apparently, we decided to go check out Vegas and the Grand Canyon. “I’m jealous. I’ve always wanted to go to Vegas, and here is alter me getting to go.”
Keith grinned. “You’ll go to Vegas, Sweet Pea. We have a chapter there. We can plan a trip next year.”
“They are going to expect pictures.”
“Just tell them you lost your phone for a few days.”
I nodded. “So, what now?”
“Take your Jeep and head home. I’ll pick you up at four to get the chaps. Remember, no wearing the cut in a car.” He unchained the gate, pushed it open, and sat on his bike.
“What are you going to be wearing to the party?”
Keith shrugged. “I think we’ll slap on those pig masks. Didn’t really have time to gather anything else.”
He started his bike, and I headed to my Jeep. I didn’t know where they hid it during my confinement, but she was sitting in the open looking freshly washed. Pulling off the cut, I placed it on the passenger seat and climbed in. I had to adjust everything. The seat was so far back I couldn’t reach the peddle, and the mirrors were all off.
“Friggin giants,” I muttered, turning the key in the ignition.
Keith pulled out of the gate, and the moment I passed him, he got off the bike and locked up again. As I drove down the long road that led to the highway, Keith zoomed by me, revving his motorcycle. When I hit the main road, I put the car in park as a sob threatened to escape. I was free. I could go home. I wasn’t going to die! My plan worked. I got them to fall for me. They wanted to keep me. The problem was, I wanted to keep them, too. But they were murderers.
“I’m a murderer, too,” I muttered out loud.
I wouldn’t be if they hadn’t set me up. Even if I hadn’t fallen for it, they still presented me with the head of my enemy, sort of. What more can a woman ask for? They were going to give me the justice I so desperately craved. They even promised me the head of Officer Moralles. These men were willing to kill for me. Was that something I was willing to give up?
Drawing a shaky breath, I threw the Jeep into drive and sped onto the highway. My thoughts were scattered all over the place. Part of me was thinking I needed to cut ties with my biker boys. They wouldn’t turn me in, and I couldn’t turn them in. Perhaps it would be best if we never saw each other again. The other part of me wanted nothing more than to curl up in their arms. All three of them. It blew my mind. Never in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine falling in love with three men. Falling in love… Was that really what was happening? I stopped hating them when they moved me from the cage into the gift shop. At times, I even looked forward to our encounters. My God, did I end up with Stockholm syndrome?
My thoughts continued to race until I got to my apartment. A small group of people was out front, placing boxes and other furniture into a truck. Ignoring them, I ran upstairs, and my jaw dropped. There was an eviction notice on my door; according to it, I had one week to move out.
“What the fuck?” I cried.
A woman passed by, carrying a laundry basket filled with various items. “I thought you moved out.”
I looked at her, ripping the paper off the door. “This doesn’t make sense. I paid rent!”
The woman, Ida, I think her name was, shook her head. “We’re all getting kicked out, honey. Our landlord got locked up. The people who bought the place are demolishing it.
FUCK! Why couldn’t anything in my life go right? Thanking the woman, I walked inside, slamming the door behind me. The apartment looked the same as it did when I left. Sighing, I slumped on the couch and pulled out my phone. I needed to call Cameron and Amree, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.
I started to search for Keith’s number but paused. There was a missed call from Zane. That was weird. I never called him. I didn’t even have his number—or so I thought. Curious, I scrolled through my call log. There were a few calls to and from Zane and Taven. They must have added their numbers and used my phone, possibly as a way to avoid the police. Fantastic. They were making me even more of a criminal.
Rolling my eyes, I clicked on Keith’s number and waited. It went to voice mail. He must’ve still been on his bike. Hanging up, I switched to Zane since he was the last number on my call list, aside from Keith.
It rang two times before he answered, “Howdy, Sugar.”
I smiled; that was so cheesy. Who the hell said howdy anymore? “Hey. I need you to tell Keith I can’t go to the party tonight.”
There was a brief silence. “Did something happen?”
I sighed, “Actually, yeah. I’m getting evicted. While I was spending time with you lovely gentlemen, my apartment building got sold, and everyone has to get out.”
“I’ll be right over.”
“You don’t even know where I live,” I started, but he hung up. He most likely did; Keith probably brought him around for one reason or another. Tossing my keys on the computer desk, I looked around the apartment. What was I going to do? I was too broke to come up with a deposit plus the first and last month’s rent for any new place.
I waited ten minutes before there was a knock on the door. Groaning, I took heavy, depressed steps as I answered it. Zane stood in the doorway with a sexy grin and thin-framed sunglasses covering his eyes. Pulling them off, he winked. “I’ve come to rescue my fair maiden.”
“Rescue me how?”
“I’m here to help you pack. Taven will be on the way soon. I called him. I’m assuming Keith is still on his bike.”
Gripping at my hair, I made a show of pretending to rip it out. “Zane, I have nowhere to go!”
“Um, yeah, you do. You have two choices, really. You can stay with me or stay with the dysfunctional duo—AKA Keith and Taven. I have a two-bedroom house, and they have a one-bedroom trailer.” He grinned. “My place will be more comfortable.”
I shook my head, rubbing my tongue along my inner cheek. “You guys just expect me to move in with you? After you held me captive?”
Zane crowded me, placing his hand on my shoulder and forcing me against the wall. His nose was only inches from my forehead. Pulling back slightly, he lifted my chin, making me look at his beautiful pink eyes. “I know what we did to you was fucked up. None of us wanted to do it, but we had no choice, Quinn. It was either keep you there or kill you. None of us could stomach the latter. The pigs are one thing; they deserve everything they get and then some. You just ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time. But let’s face it, before yesterday, you would have turned us in.”
He was right. Before they handed me Mr. Franklyn, I would have turned them in within the blink of an eye. Perhaps even after that, had they not told me their motives. I wanted to believe they were lying, but seeing the raw grief on their faces as Keith told their tale, I knew they weren’t. Even the best actor in the world couldn’t fake that look. The way Keith gently handed me his mother’s cut confirmed that they only wanted justice. They didn’t wait for karma to show up, they decided to force the bitch’s hand.
Slowly, I leaned in to press my lips to his. It was a short kiss. “Are you all sure you’re okay with this? Sharing me?”
Zane grinned. “I don’t think I can have you any other way. You met Keith and Taven first, and I can’t steal you from my brothers. If I want to keep you, I have no choice.” Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, he led me back to the couch and pulled me onto his lap. “I thought for sure you were going to be nothing more than a pass around. I don’t even know how I got hooked on you, but I did.” He kissed me hard. “You’re the most addictive drug I’ve ever tasted.”
Cupping his face in my hands, I went for a kiss but was interrupted by another knock. Zane groaned as I smiled and pulled away to open the door.
“Hey, Cupcake,” Taven greeted me with a wink as he walked inside.
“Did you get ahold of Keith?” asked Zane.
“He’s on his way. He’ll be bringing food.”