Chapter 1
Shotgun
“You ready for another?” Rafe asked Krissy.
“Sure.” She gave him a friendly smile. “I’ll take another beer.”
“You got it.”
Some of the guys had gotten together at the clubhouse to grill some burgers and throw back a few in hopes of blowing off a little steam. We’d had a long week and were looking to just chill out for a bit. Hawk brought along his ol’ lady, Delilah, and her best friend, Krissy.
We’d all been sitting around at the bar, talking shit and having a beer.
I could tell right away that Krissy was going to be a handful.
She was a pretty girl with a killer figure, who didn’t have a problem saying what was on her mind.
I watched as she leaned over and whispered something in Delilah’s ear.
The alarmed expression on Delilah’s face hinted that Krissy was up to something. When he returned with a round of beers, she batted her eyelashes and said, “Aren’t you sweet? Thanks, Rafe.”
“No problem, babe.”
Krissy glanced over at Delilah, who gave her a warning scowl.
She slightly nodded, and for a brief moment, I thought she’d adhere to Delilah’s plea.
After taking a sip of her beer, Krissy pretended to ignore Rafe, who was sitting right next to her at the table.
Rafe’s brows furrowed with displeasure as he watched the girls talk.
Trying his best to draw her attention back over to him, he asked, “You two having a good time tonight?”
“Absolutely.” Krissy flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder. “I’ve never been to a biker clubhouse before.”
“Glad you decided to come out.”
“Me too.”
“I gotta tell ya ... You’re looking all kinds of fine tonight, babe.” Rafe leaned back in his seat and let his eyes skirt over Krissy. Apparently, the ladies found his boyish good looks and crooked smile charming, even when he said lame shit like, “You make a man wanna do bad things.”
“Oh, really?” Krissy gave him a playful smirk.
I’d overheard her and Delilah talking earlier, and from what little I caught, Krissy hadn’t had the best of luck with the male population.
After continually going for the wrong kind of guy, she’d met some doctor at the nursing home where she and Delilah worked.
It was clear from the way Krissy had been talking that she was pretty pumped about the guy.
A spark of mischief flashed through her eyes as she asked, “What kind of bad things?”
“Why don’t you come back to my room, and I’ll show ya?”
Without taking his eyes off Rafe and Krissy, Widow leaned over to me and chuckled. “He’s laying it on thick.”
“Yeah, but it seems to be working.”
“I don’t know, man.” Widow shook his head. “Delilah’s gonna be a hard cock-block to overcome.”
“She’ll come around.”
“You think so?” Widow glanced over at Rafe. “You wanna put a wager on it?”
“Yeah, I’d be up for that.” I picked up my beer and took a swig. “Fifty bucks says she gives in.”
“You’re on.”
We both watched as Krissy bit at her bottom lip, then said, “That’s really tempting.”
“Then, whatcha waiting for?” Rafe gave her a wink. “I’ll show ya a real good time.”
“I’m sure you would”—her nose wrinkled with regret—“but I think I’m gonna have to pass.”
“Oh, come on, babe,” Rafe pushed. “Do us both a favor. It’d be a night to remember.”
Country was sitting at the other end of the table, his shoulders shaking as he tucked his head and chuckled under his breath.
Even he could see that Rafe was about to get turned down, but Rafe wasn’t giving up.
In fact, he seemed to be digging in his heels, hoping that he could sway Krissy to take him up on his offer.
A smirk crossed his face as he leaned towards her and whispered something in her ear.
Her cheeks blushed a bright pink, and I was beginning to think he might’ve actually pulled it off until Delilah gave her a scornful look.
Like a balloon deflating, Krissy slumped back in her chair as she looked back over to Rafe and said, “I’m sure it would, but I’m here to spend time with Delilah. ”
“All right. Suit yourself.” He shook his head in defeat and stood. “I’ll be around if you change your mind.”
As soon as Rafe walked away, Widow turned to me and said, “Looks like you owe me fifty bucks.”
“The night’s still young, brother. Give the man some time.”
I had to hold back my smile when Krissy leaned over to Delilah and asked, “Are you sure I can’t just—”
“You’re seeing Jax, and you actually like the guy. Don’t screw that up by hooking up with Rafe!” Delilah scolded.
“Okay, fine.” Krissy pouted as she glanced over her shoulder at Rafe. “It wouldn’t be so hard if he wasn’t hot as hell.”
“You’re a mess.”
“I’m serious, girl. Did you see his biceps? Jax doesn’t have biceps. Jax doesn’t have a six-pack either, but I bet Rafe does. Hmmm ... I bet he’s totally packing too.” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth and sighed. “Damn, I think I messed up.”
“Stop, Krissy. We’ve already talked about this.” Delilah cocked her eyebrow. “No more bad boys, remember?”
“Yeah, I remember.” Krissy took a long pull off her Ultra-Light. “Boring Dr. Jax it is.”
“Jax is not boring!” Delilah shook her head and sighed. “Did you or did you not just tell me that you wanted a man who’d treat you right?”
“Yes, I did, and I do.” Krissy threw her hands up in the air. “No more bad boys.”
No sooner than the words had left her mouth, Krissy glanced over her shoulder and looked at Rafe with longing in her eyes. I knew then that she wasn’t done with “bad boys”—at least not yet.
It was moments like these that I was glad I didn’t get involved in relationships.
They were just too much fucking trouble.
I was more of a hit-it-and-quit-it kind of guy, keeping my distance from anything remotely resembling a connection with a woman.
My time for that had come and gone, and I was good with it.
I had my brothers and the club. As their enforcer, I focused on whatever needed to be done to keep both safe and thriving.
But every now and then, I’d find myself thinking about her, and the minute she crossed my mind, a sense of darkness would wash over me.
“Hey, man.” Axel, our VP, nudged me with his elbow, pulling me from my thoughts. “You all right?”
“Yeah.” I inhaled a deep breath, doing my best to shake the memory. “What’s up?”
“Got word from Flint. He’ll have our shipment in by the morning.”
“Damn, this motherfucker doesn’t mess around.”
“No, he sure doesn’t, and it’s a good thing too, especially with the new club.”
After running into some trouble with our last handler, we’d had no other choice but to look for someone else to bring in our take each month, which was no small feat, either.
We’d opened up a second strip club, so our demand for blow had doubled overnight.
The club needed someone trustworthy without sacrificing the quality of the goods.
It took some time to find the right man for the job, but after a little help from Gus, the president of Satan’s Fury MC in Memphis, we found Flint.
From day one, the guy seemed to be on top of things, dealing with the pressure without any major struggles, and we were extremely happy with his product.
Axel pulled up a chair next to me and sat down.
“Figure we’ll head over there just before daylight to pick it up. ”
“Sounds good.” I took a drink of my beer before asking, “Anyone else coming?”
“We could handle it ourselves, but I figure we better get Hawk and Rafe to come along with us just in case.”
“Probably a good idea.” It was just a simple transaction, but when dealing with that kind of money, it’s best to have a little backup in case something goes awry. “Viper still thinking about expanding our distribution?”
“He hasn’t made any final decisions, but I’m thinking he’s just gonna leave things the way they are. We’ve got a good thing here. No reason to push our luck or whatever.”
“Can’t disagree.” I shrugged. “I trust Viper to make a decision that’s right for the club.”
“That he will.” Axel looked over at the bar and smiled when he saw Rafe talking to Krissy. “Looks like he’s still in the game.”
“Maybe.”
“Hell, there’s no doubt about it.” He laughed. “That chick is looking at him like she’d drink his dirty bathwater.”
“That she is. I guess Widow’s gonna owe me fifty bucks after all.” I stood up. “I’m gonna head over to Stilettos and check in with Menace. I’ll meet you back here first thing in the morning.”
He nodded, then said, “Let me know how things are over there.”
“Will do.”
I hadn’t intended to go to the strip club, but I’d had enough of social hour. It was time to break away for a little wind therapy. There was no better way to clear my head than a ride on my Harley, especially when the weather was accommodating.
I stepped outside, pleased to see that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the Tennessee humidity felt less stifling than usual.
In fact, the air couldn’t have been more perfect.
Once I’d pulled through the clubhouse gate, I eased the throttle back and let the rumble of the engine drown out my thoughts.
It was just me and the road ahead. Normally, that was all it took to keep the memories at bay, but no matter how fast I rode or how hard I tried, I found myself thinking about Lindsey.
Her green eyes and innocent smile got me right in the gut.
Just like that, the memories cut loose their chains and invaded my mind, barreling through the walls I’d put up to protect myself from those dark days. Fuck.
I didn’t want to think about the night she left me any more than I wanted to remember the day my folks had died. As soon as I did, a heaviness would settle in my chest, and I’d struggle to breathe.
Beep …… Beep ……Beep ……