Chapter 5
FIVE
Roe
I lifted my eyes from my sketch pad as the door to the garage’s office swung open and Pope walked in.
Usually this was where Pops holed up, working on the administrative side of the business that Pope hated taking care of, but with him out of commission for a while, I was using his desk as a place to work on some of the artwork for a few of the custom motorcycles the garage had been hired to build.
I’d always been good at drawing, but I never thought I’d have much of a chance to use that skill when I got older. I always figured I’d be a mechanic. Just like Pops and Pope’s old man, Court, before he passed.
That was until Pope came to me with his plans for the future of the club.
The garage would no longer be the legitimate front for some of the criminal bullshit the Wraiths used to be tied up in.
Once he took us straight, he homed in on each guy’s personal talents, and just like that, we became the number one garage in Tennessee and the surrounding states for custom-built bikes and vintage muscle cars.
We lost a lot of members—those who didn’t like change, those who preferred the danger of our less-than-legal endeavors, and those who couldn’t stand the idea of losing out on the money we were making.
He told me the plan before he ever wore the president’s patch, and I was with him every step of the way.
Because I believed in him and the club. I couldn’t lose it, not after I gave up the only woman I ever loved for it.
What no one but Pope and those of us who believed in him knew, we’d eventually be richer than we’d ever been before, and we’d do it legitimately.
Well . . . mostly.
We still raked in serious cash thanks to our underground fighting ring. But we kept that venture mainly for the guys who enjoyed beating the hell out of other people. The club’s Sergeant at Arms, Bane, padded the shit out of our pockets. But then, he was a crazy bastard, so that wasn’t saying much.
Pope’s eyes passed through me like I wasn’t even there as he gave his head a shake. “Christ. Still not used to walkin’ in here and not seeing the old man sitting there.”
I knew the feeling. I fucking hated coming to work and not seeing the man who’d been a fixture in more than half my life.
“Or smell that burned tar he called coffee. I still don’t know how he drank that shit his whole life.”
“I guarantee that coffee is most of the reason he had a heart attack in the first goddamn place.”
Tossing my pencil aside, I scrubbed at my face and leaned back in the chair. “I don’t know how the hell we’re gonna keep him from eating and drinking the way that nearly killed him once he gets out.” Odds were really high he would be more of a pain in my ass than my seven-year-old daughter.
Pope moved around the chair in front of the desk and took a seat across from me. “I think the only thing that’ll keep the old man in line is Dakota.”
Hearing her name still hurt, even all these years later. It was like having a white-hot fire poker shoved into my chest.
“You’re probably right.” I busied myself with the drawing so I wouldn’t have to meet his eyes. There weren’t many people who could read me like Pope could. I tried to sound casual as I said, “I hope for his sake she plans on sticking around for a while.”
I could practically feel his eyes drilling into the top of my head. “Just for his sake, huh?”
I looked up with a sigh, the chair letting out a painful squeak as I rocked back. “What are you getting at?”
His brows climbed up toward his hairline. “I think you know exactly what I’m getting at, brother. You doing okay with her back in town?”
It had been a week since Dakota’s return, and even though I hadn’t seen her since that first night, the woman still managed to consume most of my thoughts.
Knowing she was back in Ashland was fucking with my head in a major way.
There was a constant buzz beneath my skin, a growing anticipation at the thought of running into her.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen her.” I had to loosen my grip on the pencil in my hand or I was going to snap it in half.
“I’ve been trying to give her some space.
” Other than the one night I hadn’t been able to help myself.
Cassi had been home with a sitter the other night while I attended a club meeting, and instead of heading straight home once it finished, I found myself pointing my bike in the direction of the hospital.
I’d intended to go up and see Pops, but as I pulled in a flash of gold caught my attention, and I glanced over just as Dakota stepped off of the sidewalk and onto the blacktop of the parking lot.
Even in the harsh lights of the parking lot her hair danced like spun gold.
My body acted without any input from my brain, and instead of parking and going inside, I ended up trailing after her.
The only thought in my head as I followed was maintaining enough distance that she wouldn’t catch on, because once I saw her I needed more.
Dakota Riley had always been my biggest addiction.
I thought I’d kicked the habit but as soon as she popped back up, the craving came back stronger than ever.
I drove my bike on autopilot all the way to the inn where she was staying one town over.
Like that amount of distance might keep her safe from the past.
From me.
I’d let her go once already, and it was the hardest fucking thing I’d ever done.
Now that she was back—even if back meant one town over—I didn’t think I could do it again.
We’d barely said more than a handful of words to each other for the first time in sixteen years, but it was enough to know I wouldn’t survive another detox.
There would be no working her out of my system this time around.
I knew that as I sat on my motorcycle across the street from the inn, watching her move back and forth past the window.
I lost track of time as I sat out there in the dark like a fucking creeper. It wasn’t until the lights in her room went out, casting everything in black, that I snapped back into reality and drove my ass home where I belonged.
Pope’s eyes widened. “Space, huh? How’s that working out for you?”
There was no point lying about it. He would have seen right through me. “Like pulling my own fuckin’ teeth out.”
His face pulled into a wince of understanding. That was new.
Pope had been content with his single life before Lennon came into it.
He never intended to settle down, but all that changed the instant he laid eyes on her.
He finally understood what it felt like to look at another person and see your forever.
Giving another person that kind of power was the best and worst thing I’d ever done.
“Well, you’re stronger than I am. I thought for sure you’d lose your shit when you found out what went down with Brady the other day.”
Every muscle in my body locked tight. My body seemed to move in slow motion as I slowly lifted my head to glare in my best friend’s direction. “What?”
“Oh shit.” Pope’s jaw hinged open. “Wait. You don’t know?”
“Don’t know what?” I demanded, my voice coming out as a growl.
Pope let out a curse as he reached up to scrub a hand over his jaw. “It’s nothing, man. Maybe just forget I said anything.”
“You used Dakota’s name and Brady in the same sentence. You better start talking. Now.” I loved the man like my brother and always would, but I also wouldn’t hesitate to break his fucking jaw if he pissed me off.
“Lennon and her girls ran into Dakota at the coffee shop the other morning. Len said Tolliver came in and recognized your girl almost immediately.”
“Fuck,” I hissed between my teeth. “Don’t tell me . . .”
Pope started nodding before I could finish my sentence.
Back in the day, Dakota had always taken it personally when any member of the Brady family came after me.
And when she got pissed about something that wild, untamed streak of hers came out.
The woman had a skill for cutting a person down and making grown men cry with just her words.
That was the problem.
She never held back, even when she needed to. Even when the Bradys were involved.
“What happened?”
Pope’s top lip curled up in a grimace. “She may have been pointed out that whoever decided it was okay for him to have a gun was stupider than most.” Fuck me.
“You have to admit though, she’s not wrong,” he continued, like that made the situation any better.
“However, apparently that was the least offensive of her insults. Raven said she thought Brady’s head was gonna explode, he turned so red. ”
“Fucking hell,” I gritted out as I shoved to my feet so hard the chair went sailing backward into the file cabinet.
“Ah, shit.” His muttered words followed after me as I stormed out of the office. “Don’t suppose I could talk you out of whatever you’re about to do?” he called as I threw my leg over my bike.
“Nope.”
“Fuckin’ hell. Just . . . don’t get arrested,” he warned as I clipped my helmet into place and started the engine.
I couldn’t make any promises, so I didn’t bother. Without another word, I raced out of the forecourt between the clubhouse and the garage. I was going to track Dakota Riley down, then I was going to spank her perfect peach ass red.