Chapter 5
CHAPTER
FIVE
Julie
“There’s my beautiful daughter. You haven’t been home in so long,” Dad says like he does every Sunday when we have dinner.
It’s one thing from my childhood that we have kept consistent. Being the chief of police takes up a lot of his time, but barring an emergency, he always makes time for me on Sunday.
“Hey, Dad. How are you doing?” I say, hugging him.
He frowns. “I’m fine, but you’re a bit pale. Are you okay?”
My mind flashes back to Friday, but I push it away.
Those men can’t hurt me. I can’t tell my father that, though. He is the law. I know he loves me, but I don’t think he would have killed someone for my peace of mind. Not the way my mystery man did.
“Yeah. Tired. Liz convinced me to go out Friday night.”
Before he can ask me anything else, Liz walks through the door.
“Your favorite daughter is home,” she yells out, making us all laugh.
“Always humble, Elizabeth. Come give me a hug.”
I smile as she does that before sitting across from me.
Liz never really had a family. Her mother was a junkie.
One my father arrested more than once. We met in grade school and became fast friends.
It wasn’t long before she spent more time here than at home.
When her mom would go to jail, Dad would make special arrangements to take her in.
She’s practically my sister at this point.
“Only because I work for the enemy,” I tease her.
Liz works as a secretary to the CEO of a marketing company. Dad is proud of us both, but I know he still wishes I didn’t help get criminals off.
“Uh-huh.”
“Elizabeth Marie, I hear you took my daughter out Friday night,” Dad starts in on her.
“Come on, Dad. We are young. We were safe. My boyfriend was with us. Besides, she made it home safely.”
I swallow hard, spooning food on my plate so I don’t have to meet their eyes.
Neither notices as they continue to argue about the safety of going to a club, and I don’t hear a word. All I can do is sit there and see those two dead men in the alley. All of the blood.
“Julie, are you going to pass the peas?” Liz asks.
“Oh. Yeah. Sorry. Thinking about work,” I lie easily, passing her the peas.
She narrows her eyes but lets it go.
“I want to meet this boy you claim is so safe,” Dad demands.
“Oh, come on. It’s not ‘meet the parents’ time yet. When we get there, you will be the first to know,” she promises.
Dad groans. “Please tell me you are using protection.”
“Dad,” I gasp.
“What? It’s important to be safe. I don’t want you girls having sex with any guy you meet, but you should be stocked up. In fact, I’m buying you both condoms in bulk.”
My face heats as Liz starts to laugh.
“Good looking out, Chief.”
I groan. “Don’t encourage him. Dad, we don’t need condoms. We can buy our own.”
He is about to speak again, but his phone goes off.
He keeps it on “Do Not Disturb” during these dinners, but there’s one number that will come through. His second-in-command, who only calls if it is an emergency.
He answers, leaving the room to speak in hushed tones.
“You told him about Friday?” Liz hisses at me.
“He wanted to know why I am so tired. Staying out past my bedtime does that,” I whisper back to her.
“You left before ten, so don’t act like such a grandma.”
Before I can respond, Dad comes back.
“I’m sorry, girls. I have to go in.”
“Anything serious?” I ask.
I know he won’t tell me much, but he will let me know if I need to worry.
“Biker gang issues. Nothing to concern yourself with. Will you put the leftovers away for me, sweetheart?”
I nod. “Of course. Love you.”
“Love you,” Liz says right after me.
“Love you, girls. Be careful getting home. It’s supposed to snow tonight.”
“We will,” Liz tells him.
As soon as the door shuts behind him, Liz turns to me.
“So why were you exhausted? I mean, you didn’t answer any of my texts the rest of the night. Did you meet someone?”
My mind flashes to my savior.
“Oh my god. You did. I can tell by that look. Who is it?”
I shake my head. “It’s not what you think. Some guy was bothering me outside, and a guy stepped in.”
I leave out the fact that the man was trying to rape me and my savior killed him. She doesn’t need to know all of that.
“Well, tell me all the deets. Was he hot? Did you get his number? Please tell me you let him dust off the cobwebs.”
I roll my eyes. “Not everyone is obsessed with sex the way you are.”
“It’s not an obsession. It’s self-care. Don’t deflect.”
I chew on my lip for a moment. “I didn’t get his name or number, but he was hot.”
“Boo. You are boring.”
I sigh. “I wish I had, though.”
She perks up. “Wait, you were actually interested in this man?”
I can’t explain why to her, but I nod.
“Man, I thought for sure you ran for the hills because Cliff was coming on too strong. Instead, you went and found someone on your own. You slut,” she jokes.
“I didn’t even kiss him, so I can’t be a slut. Also, Cliff is a creep. Don’t ever make me hang out with him again.”
She laughs. “Noted. It doesn’t matter because we are going to find your hottie. What do you know about him?”
I shrug. “He had on one of those vest things like…”
My mind blanks on her boyfriend’s name.
“Steve. His name is Steve. You can’t even remember my boyfriend’s name?” she teases.
“Maybe if he lasts a month, I will commit it to memory,” I tell her.
“He is going to make it a month. So he is a Demon Raider. You think your man is one too? This is what his cut looks like.”
She flips her phone, showing me a zoomed-in picture of her man’s vest.
I shake my head. “No. It was more like a skull. I think there was an ‘A’ on it. Maybe a crown. It was dark, so I didn’t see it too well.”
I can’t forget it, though. I stared at it quite a while, using it as my focal point to forget everything that had happened.
“Hmm. Hold on.”
I continue to eat while she types in her phone, taking bites between whatever she is looking at. She isn’t finished by the time we are done, so I move around her, cleaning up the food and doing the dishes.
“I have it. The Kings of Anarchy. Did it look like this?”
She comes to my side, showing me the picture.
I gasp because yes. That is it.
She smiles. “I’m taking that as a yes. Cindy posted this picture. Let me text her and get more info.”
She texts away before her phone rings.
“Yeah. I want to meet someone from there.” She pauses. “I don’t know his name. I met him at a club.” Another pause. “Oh. That’s awesome. Are you sure it’s okay?” A third pause. “Can I bring my friend? Safety in numbers and all.” Silence. “No, she’s cool. Okay, thanks. Bye.”
The butterflies fill my stomach as she looks at me with a big smile on her face.
“They are having a party tomorrow night at their clubhouse. We have an invite.”
My heart pounds in my chest.
“Are we going?” she asks.
His face pops up in my mind.
“Yeah. We are.”
Yak
The snow is falling, but it doesn’t stop me from getting on my bike. It’s not the safest, but it’s where I prefer to be. I don’t care how much upkeep it takes to keep her running. I will always choose my bike over a cage.
Besides, she was locked up for most of December because of the blizzard.
I promise myself I’m only going on a little ride. Just around town.
Yet I find myself going down the streets I should be avoiding. The ones that lead me to her.
Julie.
We didn’t exchange names, but I called in a favor with my old friend Meek from Colorado.
I told him I only needed a name, but he sent over a whole file. I haven’t opened it. It’s bad enough I know her name and I’m practically stalking her. I don’t want to invade her privacy any more than I have to.
Pulling to the side of the road, I turn off my bike.
I’m still several streets away, but I don’t want to draw attention to her.
Pulling off my plate, I pocket it before I make my way through backyards until I make it to her house.
My hands itch to knock on her door, but I don’t.
Instead, I circle the house, checking each of her windows.
She really needs to get a security system, but I’m proud that her house is locked up tight.
When I finally make it to her bedroom, I hate that I can’t see her through her heavy curtains. Then again, I’m glad no one else can see her either.
My mind hasn’t left her since the night I met her.
I know it’s because she was hurt. I want to make sure she is okay.
At least that is what I keep telling myself.
Another part of me wants her. As sick as it is, I want to know what she looks like underneath me.
I want to pull that beautiful blonde hair until she screams out my name.
I shouldn’t want that after what she went through, but I do. Fuck if I can help the fantasies I’ve had about her. I’m not a saint. She doesn’t need to be tainted by me, but I want to see bruises from my fingers mar her skin.
“Sleep well, Angel,” I whisper.
I’m about to leave when I hear a car pull up out front. I don’t miss the police lights on the car.
I hop the fence and hide in a neighbor’s bush as the cop circles the house.
His phone rings as he is in the backyard.
“I don’t see any sign of the biker. No, I’ve checked the neighborhood. Yeah, maybe he’s fucking a housewife. Okay, I’ll keep patrolling.”
I have no idea what made him check her yard specifically. Maybe he saw my shadow. All I know is he can’t find me here. He doesn’t need to connect her with my club.
High-tailing it out of there, I make it back to my bike just in time to see his car come around the corner. He flicks on his lights, but I take off like a bat out of hell.
I’m not pulling over for him.
The roads are slick, which makes my heart skip a beat as I slide on the road, but I keep going. The farther from her I get, the safer she is.
The cops follow closely. It’s almost as if he were trying to take me out.
I keep my eyes on the road, slipping my bike onto the sidewalk and then down an alley his car won’t make it through.
Another couple of turns and I open the throttle, struggling to keep my bike on the road.
Once I’m clear of town, I pull down a freshly plowed driveway and around the back before cutting the engine. I have no idea who lives here, but no one comes out, so I consider it a win.
I wait nearly twenty minutes before I slap my plate on the bike.
My phone rings, so I pull it out.
“Yeah,” I bark into it.
“Where you at?” Aragon asks.
I bristle at the demand in his tone. Technically he is my vice president, so I should show him respect, but the fucker is always up my ass.
“Out for a fucking ride. What the fuck do you need? Miss my dick? I don’t mind letting you suck it. After all, a mouth is a mouth.”
“One day I’m going to punch you out. You near the maple farm?” he asks.
I’m not, but I’m not going to tell him that.
“Not far,” I lie.
“Get out there and grab Sap. We got a run.”
He hangs up, making me cuss under my breath. Of course we do. We always have a run.
I don’t have time to waste, though. So I pull out, pushing my bike to the limit until I make it to the maple farm. My bones are cold from the chill in the air, but I ignore it, pulling my bike into the already open garage.
When I cut the engine, Sap steps out of his house.
“Thought you were close by. At least, that’s what Aragon said.” He crosses his arms.
“Didn’t realize we got married. When am I getting those marital benefits? My cock is feeling lonely right now.” I force a cocky smile.
“I told him I’m the reason we are running late. You’re fucking welcome, you prick.”
I frown, wondering why he covered. I don’t fully trust Sap, but the more I get to know him, the more I think he might be on our side.
“Thanks, sweetie. I’ll pay you back later,” I tell him, climbing into the passenger seat of his jacked-up truck.
“If you keep calling me sweetie, I’m going to rearrange that face of yours.”
I chuckle. “But my pretty face is your favorite part of me. That’s a lie. It’s my cock.”
He sucker punches me, making me groan, but a smile is on my face. He could have hit me harder and in worse places.
“I knew you loved me,” I choke out as he starts driving.
“I have no idea how you made it this long. Your mouth is going to get you into a lot of trouble.”
I snort. “It gets me out of trouble too. Want a demonstration?”
He shakes his head but doesn’t say another word.
It’s fine with me. I need to get my head back in the game.
Aragon is slimy as fuck. I can’t give him a reason to question me.
I really do owe Sap one.