Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
GRAFF
I checked the latches on my hardshell saddlebags again—stable and tight. The leather cut pulled across my back as I buttoned it up for the ride. Pulling on my second fingerless glove, I tightened the strap until the blood flow ceased to my fingers. My skin between the tattoo lines turned pale, knuckles bulging, and I held it for a few seconds, hearing the holler of voices behind me cut through my tunes.
The earbuds weren’t securely situated in my ears, but tucked under my bandana so I could still hear Miracle of Sound crooning away. I released the hold on my glove strap, but the feeling didn’t immediately flood back into my fingers. Pinpricks brushed my skin, and I flexed my hand, trying to get flow back.
“I know,” Beans argued with Teller, “but, like, the OG Mad Max and The Road Warrior were better than the spin off.”
“What world are you living in? Fury Road is waaaay better.” Teller snorted. “You’re getting nostalgic.”
“Nah man, money talks. Relative to its budget, the original and the second in the franchise had the best return on investment. Imagine if they were given the same production budget as Fury Road .”
“Just like a goddamn accountant.” Teller straddled his ride, looking around and counting bikes gathered for the trip up to our property up at Red Rock Canyon. “Where’s Sas?”
I shrugged, watching the door for the Veep to emerge.
Beans, however, wouldn’t let the movie topic go. “It’s a factual perspective.”
“It’s shitty justification. Where’s the feeling? Emotion?”
Our club’s treasurer appeared absolutely nonplussed. “I’m using data to back up my argument. You should try it sometime.”
Teller blew out a breath. “I can’t help that you have bad taste.”
I straddled my motorcycle, fired it up, and glided it alongside their bikes. Their bickering halted, probably because they didn’t want the brothers knowing they were arguing about something so nerdy. Beans and the Warden had an excuse. They were numbers and computer people, but the rest of us didn’t have that excuse. Teller included. But he was the one who really got charged up about the quality of movies, video games, really anything that involved a good story.
No judgement on my part, though. Art was art, and Beans couldn’t see past his digits to get the different viewpoint.
I jutted my chin at him. “How do you stand that noose while riding?”
Beans’s hand drifted up to his neck. “Always prepared to make a good appearance. It’s important in my line of work.”
My eyes drifted down his button-down shirt to his clean, black, hole-less jeans. Yeah. Nerd with a capital N.
“We almost ready to ride?” asked Teller, kicking up his stand and settling in.
“Bet your ass.” I gave a curt nod while looking down at the map on the infotainment system. Traffic was going to be a bitch until we made it off the highways, but that shit was nothing new for LA.
Beans checked his watch. “Should I go get Sas? We need to roll if we’re gonna make the meeting with the real-estate agent.”
“How long we got?” asked Teller, our Road Captain in LA.
“Two hours,” said Beans. “Ride should only be an hour, but...”
Teller let out a low whistle, and I jerked my head around to follow the line of his and Beans’s gazes.
My jaw dropped just like the others when the vision in neon pink burned the backs of my eyes. I blinked rapidly with certainty I was having a stroke. Even as an artist, I didn’t realize that shade of pink existed.
Adelina had pushed the warehouse door open and stood there holding it open. Her hip jutted to one side, and she held a helmet with bling all over it under one arm. The black platform boots hugged her calves and stretched up her thighs. Where on earth did she find bright pink riding leather that made her more look like she was Barbie than a biker?
The pink wasn’t the worst part of it, though. It was the attitude that rolled off her as she put on a pair of sparkly cat-eye sunglasses. She exaggerated the sassy stance, and her smile beamed. It would’ve been cute if she didn’t look so fucking ridiculous.
Teller and Beans were stifling laughs, and I tried not to cringe.
I pursed my lips and nodded, looking her up and down. “So this was what you had delivered yesterday?”
“If I gotta ride, I’m doing it in style,” she said.
A small groan gurgled through me. Okay, I took back the ridiculous thought. The fit was Adelina through and through. The guys behind me were laughing now, and I looked over my shoulder. “Shut it!”
They both looked away just in time for Sas to burst through the door and yell at her, “The fuck you doing?”
She spun toward him, still grinning. “Going for a ride?”
Sas stared at her imperiously, like she was speaking a different language. “You trying to get us picked up by the cops?”
She scoffed and planted her hands on her hips. “You think black leather puts you under their radar?”
“We”—he pointed to himself and the rest of us—“blend in.”
She shrugged flippantly. “Or, you look like lemmings.”
“And you look like a whore.” He stepped up to her, towering over her, but Adelina didn’t flinch, just raised her chin to stare down her nose at him.
Had to admire her spunk.
Everything outside the warehouse fell silent, like even the motorcycles had been shut off. The normal LA traffic, punctuated by horn honks, dulled to silence. It was just Sas and Adelina glaring at one another. Her chest nearly pressed against his gut, and I could see this was spiraling toward what had been happening last night.
I stepped off my bike, about to break it up, but then Sas started laughing. Hearty and loud and vicious. Forced with wheezing breath. Then the other guys joined in. The chortles were infectious, and some bubbled up inside of me, but I clamped my teeth shut.
“What?” demanded Adelina. “What are you all laughing at?”
“You,” wheezed Sas through his laughter. He was having so much fun with this his face was practically plum colored.
But his laughter just seemed to harden his future bride. “Me? You just called me a fucking whore. And if that’s me, we can call you Sas the ass.”
“Don’t dress like a whore, and I won’t call you one.” He stood up straight, still laughing. “What’d you expect in”—he waved his hand up and down her body—“that getup?”
“I needed riding gear,” she argued. “I wasn’t going to ruin my good clothes or wear something shitty. And boring black is not my thing.”
He picked at the leather on her shoulder. “You think this is nice?”
“It’ll be nicer when I get the club logo on the back.”
“No fucking way,” barked Sas.
“Excuse me for having style,” she snapped.
“You are excused,” said Sas, beaming.
Adelina balled her hand into a fist, about to throw a punch. Rafe wasn’t here to keep her from starting a fight or finish it for her. I had witnessed what Sas did to her last night, but that was only a start. He wouldn’t hesitate to pick up right where he left off when Rafe shoved his gun under his jaw.
This would not end well, so I rushed forward before she could throw her punch. Plus, she would probably hurt herself in the process, and we couldn’t have that.
Sas flared his eyes at me, like I was the problem. He was the one acting like a dick, specifically by picking a fight with a tiny woman.
And for what purpose?
I literally had no idea why he wanted to irritate her so badly. Unless...
No, not possible. She couldn’t have annoyed him enough to make him start to see her as something more than he claimed. But I’d never seen Sas engage with someone so hard.
While her effort missed the mark, Adelina had given it her best to fit in with the MC. But somehow, I didn’t think that was why I got the blunt end of Sas’s ire.
“We got a problem, Graff?” he asked, sounding oddly like Rafe. Like he was a captain in the military instead of a VP in a motorcycle club.
“No, sir,” I said.
And winced.
We’d never called him sir before.
His eyes narrowed on me, but I wasn’t giving him lip. Adelina had done enough of that for the both of us.
Sas stared at me for a long moment before turning back to Adelina and snarling at her.
Her hands relaxed, so she no longer looked like she was about to throw a punch. Also, I no longer believed she actually intended to hit anyone. She just clenched her fists when she was frustrated and then she would stomp her foot like a toddler having a tantrum.
Little princess, indeed.
“You’re not coming with us,” Sas said, stepping around her.
I hoped she would let it go, but she turned on her heel, stalking after him. “Yes, I am.”
“Not dressed like that,” he said over his shoulder.
“She’s not wrong,” said Beans to Teller in a low voice. “Sas the ass.”
Teller made a small affirmative noise, but the two fighting didn’t seem to notice the comments from the sideline critics.
“You’re not letting me go because you don’t like my style?” she asked. “Would you prefer I wear nothing? How whorish would that be for you?”
He spun on his heel toward her, moving like a flash of light, and then reached for her neck. I couldn’t get there fast enough. He fisted her hair, but again, she didn’t flinch. It was like she was staring down the barrel of the gun, but it didn’t faze her. In fact, her lips curved upward, and her eyes narrowed on him.
“What?” she asked almost breathlessly. “You seem to think I am a whore, so I might as well give it a go.”
“No,” growled Sas. “You are mine.”
I took another step closer, hanging off to the side of his body.
Then Sas gave her a wicked grin. “My whore.”
She snorted. “Your whore. Your bitch. Whatever. This isn’t about my style. You just don’t want me riding with you. Or in your business.”
“How’d you even know about this?” he asked in a low growl.
She shrugged, playing coy, but she was far too cocky for it to work. Sas snarled, but she laughed, giggling like a schoolgirl. He jerked away as though he had been slapped.
Along with the other guys, I shifted uncomfortably. I was the closest, standing next to the tension fueled by something more dangerous than hate or disgust. I could recognize it from how much I had been around it all my life.
Desire.
It dripped off of both of them.
“I’m going with you,” insisted Adelina.
“The fuck you are.” He dropped her hair and walked away.
“The fuck I am!” called Adelina to Sas’s back.
I nearly laughed. It was adorable when she swore. The phrase sounded wrong on her lips, mingling with the high pitch of her voice and fullness of her lips.
“You are mine,” said Sas, swinging his leg over his bike. “Mine to marry. To fuck. To order around. You, princess, answer to me. Now take your pink ass back inside.”
As he settled down onto his bike, it was answer enough for the rest of us. I followed his lead. Since he outranked me, I was in no position to question him, though I thought we should’ve called a prospect to drag her back inside. Where was Rafe to do the dirty work?
“I’m not yours yet.” Adelina stomped toward the row of bikes, each of us now settled into our seat. “I have a week.”
Sas cocked a smile. “Less than a week.”
With her glowering came a twinkle in her eye. She sidestepped him and maybe for a second considered going inside the clubhouse. That was wishful thinking. With a helmet in her hand catching the sunlight, she made her way to the side of my bike. Without asking, she planted her platformed boot on the passenger peg and threw herself up onto my bitch seat, rubbing the front of her against my back. She snaked her arms around my waist, giving me a tight squeeze. The smell of her perfume mixed with new leather was intoxicating.
Sas now glared at me and her, and I waited for him to give the order for me to throw her off and take her inside. We could lock her back in her bedroom, but she had gotten out before—twice.
She would be able to escape again, so it was smarter for us to take her. That way, someone could keep an eye on her.
“Well?” prompted Adelina. “What are you waiting for?”
Facing forward and seeming not to care, Sas kicked his bike into gear and then took off.
The ride up into the canyon was almost painful. I wanted Adelina to touch me more, but at the same time, I needed to squirm out of her hold, especially every time Sas looked back at us from the lead spot in our formation. It was wrong for me to be doing this—I should’ve fought her off and left her back at the clubhouse. But Sas hadn’t said a word. Maybe this was his grand plan to leave her up in the canyon to die.
Didn’t matter how much rank he pulled on me, I wouldn’t be able to do that.
By the time we reached the turnoff, I was hotter than I should be on the relatively cool morning. My body was as stiff as a board, and I couldn’t easily move, scared that the slightest movement might lead to Adelina dragging her hands across my torso. She held me too close. Too tightly. Her breasts pressed into my back, and her hot breath tickled the back of my neck.
Her breath. The heat. The rub. . . I was diving down a fucking rabbit hole and really needed to climb out.
At the place where we often built bonfires, we pulled up next to a black SUV. I turned off the ignition and waited for Adelina to get off, also needing to escape the bike. And her. Sas watched us too closely, thinking he was being covert with his wrap-around sunglasses.
He wasn’t.
His lips were in a constant downturn, looking disgusted, but this was when Adelina shone the most. Standing beside my bike, she took off her helmet and flipped her hair like a movie star, and her strawberry-scented strands caught in my mouth. I almost reached for her and pulled her into me again. But that was wrong. She was Sas’s property, as he’d pointed out back at the club, not one of the bunnies we could share.
The door to the SUV opened and out stepped Julie Monroe, our real-estate agent, wearing a pencil skirt that fell to the middle of her calves and heels that must’ve been six inches tall. The pointed toes made me shift like I need to protect the family jewels. Julie wasn’t a threat, but nonetheless, I didn’t need any new piercings.
Teller and Beans moved toward Julie, then Sas joined them. As a group, they wandered toward the shade, leaving me with Barbie.
Adelina was slow to move away from the bike, even as I tried to cautiously push her in the direction of her fiancé. I said nothing but desperately wanted to swing my leg off my motorcycle and join my brothers. I had my job to do.
Finally—hopefully taking my hint now that Sas wasn’t looking at her—Adelina stepped away and gave me enough space to stand. I hopped off my bike, nearly tripping over my own boots in the process. Adelina was watching me under her glittery sunglasses. I couldn’t see her eyes, but I could feel her intense gaze.
The same way I could feel Sas’s anger blowing toward me on the wind before he snapped, “Graff!”
I followed his voice toward the copse of trees dotting the overlook. It was the only shade in the area to protect us from the blistering sun. It may have been a cool morning, but the temps up here today would probably top a hundred in the direct sunlight. My eyes swept over the landscape, considering how breathtaking a house would be with the views of the sprawling slopes.
The canyon curled down, trails leading into the hills, but there hadn’t been any other tire marks on the dusty road besides the real estate agent’s. No one had come out here recently. The cool metal of my gun brushed my skin, giving me a moment of reprieve from the relentless sun.
“No, not you,” spat Sas, and I pulled up, confused. He had just called me over. But then I realized he was looking over my shoulder.
Adelina moved right behind me, crossing her arms over her chest and popping out her hip. “You want me to wait in the heat? In the sun?”
“You’re from Vegas. You should be used to it,” said Sas, turning toward Julie. “Come on, Graff.”
I glanced over my shoulder at Adelina, and she shot me a pleading look. I didn’t know what she expected me to do. Unless she wanted a tattoo, she was shit out of luck with me. Sadly.
“Graff, please,” she murmured.
I turned my back to her, but said in a soft voice over my shoulder, “Just wait there. We won’t be long.” I hoped Sas wouldn’t hear. “There’s a water bottle in my right saddle bag if you’re too hot.”
It would only minimally help. I hoped she put on sunscreen to protect that pristine complexion of hers. Although, she was Italian, so perhaps the olive undertones would soak up the rays and turn her golden brown.
Shit. No thinking about how gorgeous her sun-kissed skin would be, Graeme, I scolded myself. While I felt bad for her, I headed to the trees with my head down, escaping the sun and the heat. The shade wasn’t much better, but the updraft from the canyon helped.
Sas and Beans were at Julie’s side, already listening to her spiel and flipping through a packet of papers fixed with a single staple in the corner.
I stood beside Teller, lingering off to the side. Numbers just weren’t my gig.
I checked over my shoulder from time to time. Adelina moved around the bikes, seemingly inspecting them for... what? Her small fingers trailed over the handlebars, curiously touching the clutch and hand brake, then she fondled the switches at thumb’s reach. She looked down at her boots, now covered in red dust, and then peeked over at us.
What thoughts bloomed in that brain of hers? I couldn’t tell for sure, but it was probably something she shouldn’t be thinking. This probably wasn’t the excitement she thought she would be getting, and MC work could be fucking boring. Every day wasn’t gun fights and orgies.
The agent, Sas, and Beans strolled toward us.
Beans asked, “What do you think?”
“For a quickie sale?” She grimaced. “It’s not looking good. This is high value land, so it sits for a long time on the market, especially with all the mansions going up in these hills.”
“Doesn’t that make it better?” asked Sas. “More attractive to a buyer with deep pockets?”
The real estate agent shook her head. “Buyers with the means are fewer and farther between.”
“How long will it take?” asked Sas.
“It’s hard to say,” answered Julie with her lips pressed into a thin line.
“Guess,” he said.
“I’d rather not.”
Beans said, “She means that it will be hard to get the true value on the property if we want to turn it around quickly.”
Julie frowned. “That’s not exactly what I was saying, but yes, that is true. If you price it below market value, you’ll probably get more hits. However, those buyers are looking for a deal. They’ll try to negotiate you down even further. I don’t recommend that.”
“We need to get some money out of the property now,” said Sas, voice almost as low as a growl.
With one ear open to the conversation, I let my attention drift back over to Adelina just as she threw her leg over my bike and tried to stand it up.
I laughed out loud, drawing everyone’s attention.
“Sorry,” I said, covering my mouth, and when they went back to the conversation, I chuckled under my breath at how cute she was if she thought she could throw around twelve-hundred pounds with her little body.
“I can reach out to a few people I know,” said Julie. “There are some agents in our office with wealthy clients. I’m not sure if any are looking to build, though, so I can’t make any promises.”
“Today?” demanded Sas.
“Yeah, probably,” she replied.
“Contact us tonight and then let us know,” said Beans.
Julie wiggled her way back to her SUV, and both Beans and Teller stared at her ass the whole way.
Beans, standing next to Sas, let out a long sigh. “I’m not optimistic.” He scanned the landscape, a vein throbbing in his neck. His lips pursed, signaling the gears turning in his brain. “If we built up here, we might bring in top dollar.”
The man had a point. People couldn’t see the art of the possible on raw land like this.
“What the fuck don’t you understand about seventy-two hours?” Sas deadpanned. Not waiting for an answer, he continued, “I need to take a ride to the shipyard to check the ruins of the warehouse. Maybe there’s something left we can use.”
Teller spoke up, “I’ll map the route with the least traffic.”
“Good deal.” Sas gave a single nod. “You’re with me.”
Teller marched back to his bike and started messing with the infotainment system. The SUV pulled out of the area and disappeared behind one of the hills blocking the main road from our land.
When Sas moved past me, his shoulder plowed into mine. “Take the princess back to the clubhouse.”
Fabulous. I got to be the babysitter of the day.
Teller started up his bike and as soon as Sas mounted up, he tore away. Sas hauled ass behind him, and dust kicked up in their wakes.
“I’m heading to my office. I got paperwork.” Beans jumped on his ride and started it up with a roar. “You good?” he asked.
It seemed like everyone wanted to get out of this heat and sun. Except for Adelina, and I hadn’t heard a peep out of her. I hadn’t seen her in the last five minutes, and I was scared to turn around and have her not there. Or maybe I was scared to have her there.
After working up the courage, I faced my bike, where Adelina sat in the rider’s seat in all her hot-pink leather glory. Although, she pulled at the leather vest and fanned herself, looking wildly uncomfortable. When she unzipped the leather a little and pulled it away from her skin, I got a glance of her breast hidden underneath.
Just us up here now. Damnit. I definitely should’ve done what Sas had planned and sent her back inside. Now, I had to deal with the almost irresistible consequences. I looked away. She wasn’t my old lady or a bunny. Never would be.
Adelina raised her head, no longer fiddling with the leather. Sweat glistened on her skin, and a droplet ran down into her cleavage, teasing me. The way she posed against the rusty backdrop on my bike made it painful to look at her. I wanted to capture this moment with a pen and paper—no, more than that. I wanted to tattoo this image of her on my body. I had a bare patch on my thigh where she’d find a perfect home.
Then, I could stare at her for the rest of my life as I hand fucked myself.
“What?” she asked after I had been staring at her too long.
“Nothing.” I cleared my throat. “We should go.”
“You’re taking me back to the warehouse?” She pouted.
“Clubhouse,” I corrected.
“Same thing. So, you are taking me back there?”
“Yes, I’m—” I stopped my slow stroll toward my bike.
Sweat already prickled my skin, my cut hanging too heavily and too tight for this heat and humidity. But I was riding, and there would no freedom from my cut except death, and even then, someone would have to pry it from my cold, dead hands.
I’d chosen this life, something not meant for everyone. Adelina didn’t belong here, but in truth, she had only seen the shitty parts of it so far. Of us. That’s all she would see at the clubhouse, where she would either be stuck with the bunnies or locked in her bedroom until everyone thought they could trust her.
What kind of life was that?
Sas might’ve thought it was fine, but I wasn’t as much of a dick. Or at least I liked to think I wasn’t.
“No,” I said. “We’re not going back to the clubhouse. Yet.” I resumed my trek to my bike.
“Where are we going?” asked Adelina, her voice quieter now as I drew closer.
I smiled at her. “I’ve got a place in mind.”
Where we were going was somewhere I went alone, a place to clear my head and focus. A place where I could feel the energy of artists like me. And I’d never taken another person there. I had never found another person I thought might appreciate it.
Until her.
She pouted—so fucking cute. “You’re not going to tell me?”
“Maybe you won’t like it,” I said, my fear seeping in.
“You think I’ll say no?”
“Maybe. You don’t use that word a lot, but you’re good at rebelling.”
She laughed but then she planted her hands on the seat between her legs, squishing her tits together, and pushed her ass onto the bitch seat. “Who wouldn’t be when they’re basically a hostage? Guess I’ll just let you kidnap me a while longer.”
“You like the thought of that?” I narrowed my eyes at her.
She shrugged, but the corners of her mouth twitched into a secretive smile.
“You’re trouble.” I swung a leg over my motorcycle and settled down.
“I try,” she whispered in my ear as her body pressed into mine. Our sweat mingled in the hot day, but I didn’t have the urge to get away this time. Before she could say or do anything else we would both regret, I kicked my bike into gear and took off. The fresh air cleared my mind and cooled my body.
Thank fuck.