Chapter Eight
Cash
I nursed my coffee at the bar, watching Mike set up the karaoke equipment on the small stage at the back of Throttle.
The regular Friday night crowd packed the place, leather cuts mingling with tank tops and faded jeans, the air thick with cigarette smoke and the familiar scent of spilled beer.
Knuckles and his brothers occupied their usual corner booth, their laughter occasionally rising above the rumble of conversation and the steady thump of classic rock from the jukebox.
I hadn’t planned on being here tonight, but something kept pulling me back to places where I might catch a glimpse of Eliza.
I could admit, to myself at least, to being completely charmed by Lily, but more than a little obsessed with Eliza.
Thankfully, the old ladies had surrounded her and Eliza with love and the pair had formed fast friendships, especially with the mothers in the club.
Tonight, Eliza had agreed to let Lily stay with Penny and Tiny.
Brynn and Kira and Zelda would also be with her.
The older girls had surrounded Lily with their protection and made it their mission to put themselves between her and anything that might hurt her, and I could see the care they took in keeping their young friend safe.
The door swung open, letting in a brief rush of warm night air before it closed again.
My heart skipped when I saw her standing between Hannah and Knight’s sister Ada, her eyes wide as she took in the room.
Eliza looked different outside of Haven, away from the hospital.
Her hair fell in soft waves around her face instead of pulled back in her usual practical ponytail.
She wore dark jeans and a deep blue top, transforming her from the exhausted, worried mother I knew into someone new.
I’d never seen a more beautiful woman. Not only did she have curves in all the right places, but she was a fierce protector and advocate for her daughter.
Lily clearly adored her mother, and Eliza proved herself time and time again in the careful balance she managed between letting Lily be a normal, rambunctious six-year-old and protecting her from injuries.
She picked her battles carefully and used redirection liberally rather than telling the child “no” all the time.
Not only did Eliza make an excellent mother, she would be a fierce old lady.
I could see her alongside Lavender and Pippa and all the other old ladies protecting the children in the compound.
Which meant my fate was fucking sealed because I wanted Eliza to be mine.
I took another pull of my coffee. If ever a time called for beer -- or something stronger -- it was now.
“First timer?” Mike asked, following my gaze as he wiped down the bar beside me.
I nodded, not taking my eyes off Eliza as Hannah guided her through the crowd, one hand protectively at her back while Ada cleared a path ahead of them. Eliza moved cautiously, her body tense as the noise and press of bodies closed around her.
“The old ladies bringing in another stray,” Mike observed with a knowing smile. “They’ve got good instincts, those women.”
I didn’t respond, but he was right. Hannah and Ada had a talent for spotting the ones who needed to remember life existed outside trauma. Eliza certainly qualified, though I wondered if she was ready for the sensory assault of Throttle on karaoke night.
“Tell me again, Mike,” I spoke to the bartender as he removed an empty beer bottle and polished the sweat ring from the bar. “Why does a biker bar have karaoke night?”
Mike shrugged. “Something about old ladies and keeping the peace. And wanting to get laid. I think someone’s woman set her foot down and now on the second Friday of each month, here we are.”
I snorted. “Surprised they kept it to once a month.”
“I think the negotiation is ongoing.”
The music pounded through the floor, vibrating up through the soles of my boots.
Bodies pressed together in the limited space, everyone shouting to be heard over the din.
The red lights cast everyone in the same bloody glow, turning the place into what church folks might call a den of sin. To us, it was just Friday night.
Hannah spotted an empty table near the makeshift stage and steered Eliza toward it, Ada following close behind. I watched Eliza sink into a chair, her back to the wall where she could see the entire room.
Hannah signaled to the waitress, ordering drinks with an easy confidence that contrasted sharply with Eliza’s visible nervousness.
When the beers arrived, Eliza wrapped her fingers around the bottle like it might float away if she didn’t anchor it down.
She took a small, tentative sip, her gaze never stopping a scan of the room.
Eventually, her gaze landed on me at the bar, and for a moment, our gazes locked across the crowded space.
She gave me a nod of acknowledgment and a smile along with a tentative finger wave.
Then she lowered her gaze and looked away.
I felt a strange satisfaction knowing she’d noticed me, even as I told myself to keep my distance. Which I know I couldn’t maintain.
The karaoke started, some prospect butchering a Lynyrd Skynyrd song to the good-natured jeers of his brothers and enthusiastic cheers of a group of women on the opposite side of the room from Eliza and the Kiss of Death women.
Eliza watched with a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth, her fingers tapping slightly against her beer bottle in time with the music.
As the night progressed, more performers took the stage, some decent, most terrible, all received with equal enthusiasm by the crowd.
Much as we all liked to bitch and moan about it, there was a reason karaoke night was always packed.
I noticed the subtle change in Eliza as she finished her first beer and started on the second one Ada handed her.
Her shoulders relaxed, her smile came more easily, and occasionally she leaned in to laugh at something Hannah said close to her ear.
The sight of her relaxing created a warm feeling in my chest I immediately tried to suppress.
“You planning on watching her all night, or you gonna do something about it?” Knight dropped onto the bar stool beside me, signaling Mike for a beer.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I muttered, taking another sip of my now-cold coffee.
Knight snorted. “Right. And I’m the fucking tooth fairy.” He accepted his beer from Mike with a nod of thanks. “Ada told me they were bringing her here tonight. Thought you might show up.”
“I was here anyway,” I lied, knowing Knight would see right through it.
“You haven’t done karaoke since before Terre Haute,” he observed casually, watching as another brother took the stage. “Might be good for you.”
“Not happening.” My tone left no room for argument.
Knight shrugged, but his knowing smile irritated me. “Suit yourself. But you’re not the only one watching her, brother.”
He was right. Across the bar, several unattached riders kept glancing toward Eliza’s table, drawn by the novelty of a new woman in their territory. A protective, possessive instinct flared in my gut, taking me by surprise with its intensity. I reminded myself she wasn’t mine.
At Eliza’s table, Hannah leaned in close, gesturing toward the stage with obvious suggestion in her body language.
Eliza immediately shook her head, her posture stiffening as she clutched her beer bottle more tightly.
Even from across the room, I could read panic flashing across her face at whatever Hannah had proposed.
Ada joined the conversation, sliding closer on the bench seat, her hand resting gently on Eliza’s arm as she spoke.
The warmth and encouragement in Ada’s expression was clear even from my position at the bar.
Eliza continued shaking her head, but with less conviction now as Hannah and Ada persisted.
“Come on, honey, when’s the last time you did something just for fun?” Ada’s voice carried to me during a brief lull in the music, her tone gentle but persuasive.
Eliza’s resistance visibly wavered under their combined encouragement.
She took a long pull from her beer bottle, her eyes darting to the stage where a young woman was finishing a surprisingly good rendition of a Carrie Underwood song.
When she looked back at Hannah and Ada, something had shifted in her expression, a small spark of the woman I’d glimpsed during Haven’s own karaoke night breaking through her carefully constructed walls.
The excitement suddenly pumping through my veins had my palms sweating like they used to before a show.
Hannah said something to make Eliza laugh, a genuine sound carrying across the bar, drawing my attention like a physical touch.
Her cheeks flushed pink, either from the beer or the company or both, and for a moment she looked younger, lighter, free from the constant worry usually shadowing her features.
With a final nod of apparent surrender, Eliza rose from the table, smoothing her hands nervously down her jeans before allowing Hannah to guide her toward the stage.
As she approached the small platform, her eyes swept the room once more, landing squarely on me at the bar. Our gazes held for a long moment.
I couldn’t look away, couldn’t pretend I hadn’t been watching her all night. Whatever she saw in my face made her pause for just a heartbeat before she took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage, her fingers trembling slightly as she reached for the microphone.