Chapter 7 Bella
“Where are we headed?” I asked, locking the front door as I shut it, turning around in time to catch Crow swallowing hard and his focus on my ass.
His head snapped up, caught in the act as his lips quirked upward in the corners. “You’re gonna have to repeat that, baby, because I didn’t catch a word you said. Don’t you know that ass of yours is like waving a red flag in front of a bull? I get worked up every time you turn around.”
“Good thing this sexy ass will be behind you on that bike.”
“Don’t mean you’re safe. In fact, I’d say you better watch out, Bella.”
“Why is that?” I asked, full of sass as I popped out a hip, daring him to get dirty.
“When I hunt, I always catch my prey.”
The hungry look in his eyes conjured a need so fierce I nearly jumped him on the spot.
“Better get on the road, or our date won’t get a chance to start.”
“And I sure want that second date, beautiful.”
Crow handed over a helmet as we approached his bike, pausing to help strap it snugly. “Gotta keep you safe.”
“Glad you remembered.”
“Of course, darlin’.”
Five minutes later, my arms wrapped around his waist as the wind picked up, whipping around us as we weaved through traffic. I had no idea where we were headed until he pulled into the parking lot of In-N-Out Burger. “Yes,” I squealed in his ear as he laughed.
“What you want, honey?”
“A double-double, fries, and a chocolate shake.”
“Everything on the burger?”
“Yep. No other way to eat it.”
“You got it.”
He ordered the food, nearly three times as much as I wanted, and we rode through the line, paid, and then pulled over once we had our bags. Yes, plural.
“There’s a thermal bag in my saddlebags. Put the food in there, so it stays hot for us. We’ve got a bit of a ride.”
“Okay.” I noticed the blanket tucked inside but didn’t comment on it.
We merged onto Hwy 11, and I still wasn’t sure where he was taking me until we approached Boulder City, and then I knew the surprise.
“Hoover Dam!” I exclaimed, squeezing his waist.
“One of the prettiest places to watch the sunset,” he yelled above the wind and the engine’s steady rumble. “Almost there.”
We didn’t take the usual route that most cars traveled. Crow turned onto an unmarked dirt road and rode on it for a couple of miles, following the path to a gate. He pulled his phone out and texted someone, ticking his head toward the gate when it opened.
“Helps to know people.”
I had to agree. We took a path that led above the dam, higher than I would have thought possible until the road spilled onto a flat space that overlooked the blue-green water below.
The spot was perfect and secluded, far enough away to have privacy and yet still enjoy the view. If we wanted to walk the area, we only had to ride ten minutes to reach tourist parking. The sun beat down mercilessly, but it wouldn’t be long before it began to sink toward the horizon.
Crow cut off the engine and pushed down the stand, rising off the seat after me. We grabbed the food, and he shook the blanket, covering the hot sand. He also managed to slide out a beach umbrella with a collapsible handle. Once in the shade, we spread out the food and began to eat.
I didn’t tell him this was my favorite fast-food restaurant, but he probably knew that by my enthusiasm and the noises of bliss I made with every bite.
“Tell me what you do for a living,” he asked in that authoritative voice I was learning to recognize, taking a massive bite of his burger. “I want to know everything about you,” he added after he chewed.
I’d never seen anyone eat that much that fast. He must have been starving. It made me wonder what he’d done all day. What was it like to be a biker? Did he work up an appetite in a shop working on bikes?
I swallowed the French fry I’d been chewing and watched him eat for a moment, not the least bit surprised he was almost finished with his first burger and reached for the second. “I work part-time for Lou at Bull’s Saloon, but that’s not my passion.”
“I figured.”
I picked up my burger and bit into it, swallowing before continuing, “I love jewelry. Not the stuff you buy in a store but the kind that takes skill and a discerning eye to craft. I’ve got a shop on Etsy and eBay, and I attend local shows when possible.”
“Huh, let me see some of the pieces.”
I picked up my phone and swiped across the screen, bringing up my shop. “Here, check these out.”
Crow leaned closer, resting his hand behind me on the blanket.
His aftershave or cologne—I couldn’t tell which—drifted across my nose in the gentle breeze.
Hints of leather, bourbon, cloves, and pine trees tickled my senses as I watched him stare at the pictures, slowly swiping from one to the next.
He took his time, not rushing as if to appease me but genuinely taking an interest in each creation.
“Damn, baby. You’re talented as fuck.”
It had been years since I blushed, but his thickly spoken, husky words stirred something wild and primitive deep inside, and a thrill flashed through me that a man like him would take an interest in something much less entertaining than motorcycles and his club.
“Thanks. You see these?” I asked, scrolling back a couple of pics.
“It’s Nevada turquoise. I dig for it myself and work with the Royston Mine to find quality rocks.
It’s got a beautiful blue-green spiderweb turquoise that’s perfect for jewelry.
Raw, but workable and polishes so pretty,” I gushed, gazing up and into his eyes.
A soft smile lifted his mouth before he replied. “You have the sexiest voice. I could listen to you talk all night.”
Funny, I thought the same thing about him when we met. “You flatterer.”
“I never say things I don’t mean.”
He didn’t blink or look away, and I believed him. I took the phone back as he handed it over. “Then I’ll trust you that it’s true.”
“That’s a good start, darlin’.”
“What about you? Anything other than leather, motorcycles, your club, and drinkin’ that occupies your time?” I asked, snatching up a fry.
He snorted at the description. “A biker’s life ain’t summed up quite like that.
I like to feel the wind at my back, but I like your arms around my waist more.
” He winked, and I knew he was only half-serious.
“There’s nothin’ like being a part of the club.
My brothers are my family. The Devil’s Murder MC isn’t a hobby or something I do part-time.
The club is my life. It’s the most important and a priority over everything else.
Need you to know that, baby.” His tone grew serious.
“Any woman I’m with would have to understand how this works. I’m hopin’ that woman is you, Bella.”
My gaze shifted to his cut. The nomad patch was gone, replaced with the title of president. “Oh, wow,” I whispered, dread sinking into my stomach. “I thought you weren’t a regular member.”
He frowned. “My father used to be president.” He blinked, and I caught the anguish he couldn’t hide. “After his murder, I came home to lead the club.”
“His murder?” I asked, horrified. “When?” Thoughts of my sister surfaced, and I felt foolish for being on a date and agreeing to gain the trust of a man who was much deadlier and more connected than I first realized. He was the president of a notorious motorcycle club.
What the hell was I thinking!?
I stood in a rush, knocking my half-eaten burger into the dust. Panic rose in my chest as I realized the manipulation that led me to this point. My sister was kidnapped, a man murdered, and I had a package that needed to be delivered to Crow’s clubhouse with who knew what inside.
“Hey.”
Crow approached me as I backed away, my gaze darting left and right as I noticed there was nowhere to run. The dam below was straight down from the edge of this cliff and the drop-off. If I ran, I would never outrun him. It never occurred to me that he was more concerned than suspicious.
“Darlin’?”
I didn’t answer, holding up my hands.
“Bella, honey, you’re worrying me. What’s the matter?”
“Does your club do illegal stuff?”
“You know I can’t answer that. Club business is only for members.”
“I guess that answers the question.” He took a couple of steps in my direction, and I backed up, nearly stumbling over a massive, jagged rock. I winced as my ankle twisted, and I began to fall, tumbling backward as I screeched.
Crow bolted forward and caught me, preventing a nasty fall. “Shit. Are you okay?”
“My ankle hurts,” I answered with a grimace.
“Stupid, stupid,” I muttered, thinking I was in way over my head.
How could I hand over an envelope that could have biological weapons or explosives or something equally harmful inside?
I didn’t want to hurt Crow or his club. I didn’t want any of this at all.
Tears filled my eyes, and I blinked them back, trying hard not to betray myself any further to this biker.
“Honey, you’re not making a lot of sense to me right now, but I think I should take a look at that ankle.
” He lifted me easily and placed my bottom on the blanket.
My leg was propped on his lap as he slowly untied the laces on my boot.
He gently pulled the shoe off with careful hands and began prodding the area around my ankle.
His fingertips barely applied enough pressure to feel anything until he pressed by the bone, and I winced.
“Yep. You twisted it. Nothing serious, I believe. Why don’t we head to The Roost, and I’ll have Falcon assess it? ”
“Is he a doctor?”
“Something like that.”
His vague answer made me uncomfortable, but I didn’t argue. After all, I was going to the exact place I needed to be in order to drop off the package. I’d placed the padded envelope in my purse before I left with Crow in case we ended up at the clubhouse.
When my boot was back on and loosely tied, Crow gathered up the blanket, folded it, and placed it in the saddlebags. He stowed the trash in a plastic bag, and I assumed it was kept to throw away later. After my pathetic reaction to the news about his father, I felt the need to make things right.
“Crow?”
“Yeah, honey?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For?”
He scooped under my legs and lifted me, placing my bottom on the seat of his bike, but he didn’t release me.
“Feel like I said somethin’ wrong, Bella.
I’m not the kind of man that goes around making mistakes and needs to beg for forgiveness.
For what it’s worth, if I said anything that bothered you, that wasn’t my intention. ”
“I know that,” I assured him, placing a hand on his stomach, feeling the hard muscle beneath his shirt flex under my palm. “I guess I spook easily sometimes.”
He gave me a funny look. “You don’t strike me as the type, babe. You’re not weak. I’ve learned that about you already. And you don’t let others boss you around. Hell, your sass and confidence are a turn-on. I like my women strong. You’ve got to be able to fight for what you believe in.”
“What if you’re wrong? What if I’m not the person you think?”
He tilted my chin up, holding it still in his grasp. “I’m never wrong about people. Call it intuition or whatever you want. You’re not a deceiver or fake, Bella.”
God, if he only knew.
“You don’t know me well enough to say that,” I pointed out.
“Don’t need to, baby. I feel it.” He tapped his chest. “Hard to fool me.”
Sighing, I nearly told him the truth, but something held me back. Guilt? Fear for my sister? Probably both.
“Tell me somethin’, beautiful. I earn the right to a second date yet?” The words fell from his lips in a murmur, dripping onto my skin with the richness of honey, all the smooth seduction of a man who always got exactly what he wanted.
Those flint-colored eyes held an old soul but also something striking and fierce like lightning in a summer storm. He oozed sex and sin. Part of me wanted to hop on his body and ride him until we both came multiple times, sweaty and slick with wild abandon.
Maybe my pussy just needed a good fucking. I didn’t care if that was shocking. Men needed release, and so did women.
“Yeah,” I answered, giving him a small smile because even with all I faced right now, there wasn’t a single part of me that didn’t want to stay close to Crow.
“Just what I wanted to hear.”
Maybe I hoped he was a hero. Perhaps I didn’t care if he wasn’t. I just hated feeling alone and helpless.
My sister and I grew up with loving parents, and when they died in a car accident, we went to live with our Gram at the tender ages of six and nine.
Everything changed, and we learned to be strong, relying on one another to get through the hard times.
Gram didn’t have a lot of money, but she made up for it with love and desserts.
After she died five years ago, we were on our own.
Instead of growing closer together, Brianna and I grew apart. She moved out. I stayed in Gram’s house, refusing to give it up.
We both regretted letting that chasm between us grow wider over the years.
Until Bree went missing, I didn’t realize how much I was mourning her absence.
The house wasn’t the same without my sister in it.
I tried to stay busy, but it just didn’t work.
And the pain of the past had a way of creeping in.
I knew loss and tragedy in a way many people never experienced.
It wasn’t some far-off thing hidden behind a door of secrets.
No, I knew the acute pain, lived with the agony it brought on, the devastation it left behind.
When I searched Crow’s eyes, I saw the same kindred spirit.
A soul who knew what that horrible ache felt like and still struggled with accepting its finality.
Somehow, fate led me to Crow.
It was going to take a risk to tell him the truth, but I’d rather take the fallout from the truth than risk him feeling the wrath and contempt of my betrayal.
We barely knew one another, but I cared about Crow and his opinion of me.
“Let’s go,” I finally replied, looping my arms around his waist as he settled on the seat, deciding I was the maker of my own fate, and I wasn’t going to let Boris and his boss dictate what I did any longer.
But boy, I was going to need a hell of a lot of help.