Travis (Grim Sinners MC Book 3)

by LeAnn Ashers

  We finish up our food, and I eye the check when it comes. I am itching to just take it and run. Travis rolls his eyes like I am being cute, but when you’re so used to being independent, it’s kind of hard to let others take the lead.

  “Ready to party?” He takes my hand, pulling me gently out of the booth. I laugh softly. “As ready as I will ever be.”

  Travis

  I never expected to find out she was fucking starving, that she went days without eating just to make sure Gabby had everything she needed.

  She is such a beautiful fucking woman—way too good for me, but I am a selfish bastard. And I know she will never, ever have to suffer again. Never again.

  We are driving across town to a bar, where she will meet some of my brothers. This is my way of claiming her, letting others know she is mine. She is fucking mine. The moment she looked at me with those big beautiful eyes filled with tears, filled with fucking pain. The fear of me running away. That shit hit me right in the fucking core and hurt me; no one should have to suffer that way.

  It pisses me off that every single person in her life has shit on her. They should have protected her and made sure nothing like that ever happened to her. They did shit. Her parents and especially the father of Gabby—that man needs to fucking die. I am pissed off at him for being a piece of shit. He crossed the fucking line when he allowed her to do without; he did absolutely nothing. I wanted to leave that fucking restaurant and track his ass down.

  Someday—and it will happen soon—I want him to fucking suffer. I will bring him back to the club, and I will let him starve to fucking death just to see what she felt. I want him to feel every ounce of pain she has dealt with. They will all pay; that is for certain. Even her worthless fucking parents. They will know what she has gone through; that’s for sure. Nobody—and I repeat nobody—fucks with Bailey.

  It amazes me she is the way she is after everything that has happened to her; she still has that sweet innocence about her. I am going to protect and cherish that and her beautiful baby, Gabby. It will be my mission to make sure all of this happens—wait, no. It will happen.

  Bailey

  He holds the door open for me as I step inside the biker bar. This is the first bar I have ever been in, honestly. I was way too busy being a mom, and the thought never even crossed my mind—now here I am. I’ve never even drunk alcohol. I am a bit pathetic, honestly. What twenty-two-year-old hasn’t indulged in a beer or been to a nightclub?

  Travis puts his hand on the small of my back. I look around the room and I see a bunch of men and very few women. The women are all on the dance floor, half naked and having the time of their lives.

  “Over here are my brothers,” he says in my ear, and he leads me across the room. I can feel eyes on us from people all around us, which I ignore. “Hey, guys.” He lets go of me for a second as he greets his brothers, doing that handshake hug thing all men seemed to have mastered from birth. I smile at all of them, and Travis looks at me and then back at the guys. “This is Bailey.”

  They nod and I try not laugh, because they all nod at the same exact time and it’s such a badass thing to do. “Momma, this is our president, Lane.” He points to the guy who is closest to me, and I reach out.

  “It’s nice to meet you.” I smile at him. I want to make sure I give a good impression.

  He points to the guy next to Lane. “This is Trenton.”

  I shake his hand. “Nice to meet you too.” He laughs and looks at Travis, who is staring at me, smiling ear-to-ear. “The last one is Trenton’s dad, Walker. My eyes widen slightly as I look at that silver fox of a man. He is beautiful—not as beautiful as my Travis, of course.

  “Nice to meet you, little darlin’. My daughter is right around your age,” he says, crushing any dream I ever had of dating an older man.

  “You met Joslyn,” Travis tells me.

  “Ahh yes, she is a sweetheart,” I tell Walker. I can see the resemblance now.

  Walker touches Trenton’s shoulder. “This is my son.” Woah, the genes are strong in this family; that’s for sure.

  The door opens and Adeline comes in with a bunch more MC guys. She comes straight to me and pulls me into one of her motherly hugs. “How are you doing, sweetheart? How is Gabby?” She is talking a million miles an hour.

  I laugh. “We are both good.”

  She smiles and smooths down the back of my hair with such motherly affection. I wish my mother were like her. I think of this almost daily—how different would my life have been?

  “What do you want to drink?” Travis says in my ear, making me jump because I was lost in my thoughts. His breath on my face causes goosebumps to go straight down my spine. Jeez, chill out, Bailey.

  “I really don’t know, I never drank before.” I shrug, feeling kind of self-conscious about the whole ordeal.

  “That’s alright, babe. I will grab you some fruity shit and then a beer. You can try both.” He fixes my hair on my shoulder and walks away, leaving me speechless. I think I need to stop being in my head so much. I expect one thing, and he does the exact opposite.

  That leaves me with Adeline and all of the guys. I can feel their eyes on me. I smile, and Adeline rubs my back. I guess she can tell I am nervous. “You having fun?” she asks, and I tear my eyes away from the guys and turn my attention to her.

  “Yes, a lot of fun. Travis is just amazing.” He really is the greatest guy I have ever met.

  “He is a sweet boy. Just a heads-up, he is a major baby when he’s sick though,” she whispers and I laugh loudly. That’s hilarious. A lot of men do tend to be horrible patients.

  “Thanks for the heads-up.” I laugh again at the thought of Travis lying in bed, a blanket tucked under his neck, pouting.

  “Here, Momma.” Travis is beside me, handing me a blue drink. “Try this.”

  “Thank you.” I put the small cup up to my lips and take a sip. “Yum, this tastes like a pixie stick.” I tilt the cup all the way back and finish it.

  He laughs. “Here is a beer.” I take it from him and take a drink. I cringe. “Yeah, I don’t like this.” I guess it’s just an acquired taste.

  “I will finish it for you, want another one of the drinks you like?”

  I hesitate because, honestly, I don’t want him to have to buy me anything else. His eyes narrow, and I bite the inside of my lip. “Thank you, Travis,” I finally say, and he winks before walking back to the bar area. Adeline sighs, and she has a dreamy look in her eye.

  “You okay?” I ask her.

  “Travis is such a sweetheart.”

  I watch as he orders my drink, leaning against the bar. “Yeah, he really is.” I don’t take my eyes off him; just the way he moves is infatuating. I think I need to change. I need to get out of my head. What if I don’t try with Travis? I would truly regret it. He has done nothing but prove himself to me and Gabby. I would be a fool to not just let go of all of the stupid stuff in my past and move forward. That is what I want to do, no more overthinking every detail. So what if it doesn’t work out? In the end I will be perfectly fine. And what if it does?

  He comes back with two more drinks. He hands me one and sets the other on the table in front of us. “Thank you.” I smile and press myself against his side. This is outside of the norm for me. But I am doing what I have wanted to do since the very moment I met him.

  He presses his hand against my back, rubbing gently. I feel him moving closer, and his lips touch my ear. “You okay, Momma?”

  “More than okay. I have come to realize some things.”

  The expression on his face changes from confusion to pure happiness. He pulls me toward him so my back is lying against his chest. “You know how fucking happy you just made me? I needed and wanted you to see me from the very fucking second I met you,” he whispers softly enough for only us to hear.

  “I needed to wrap my head around it all. I needed to wrap my head around you.” I lay my head against his chest. I can’t believe I am really going to try and do
this. I am going to try and have a relationship with this man, something that I never thought I would do again. He is different. I am different. This is just different. I need to stop comparing everything to the way things used to be.

  “Fucking about time, Momma.” His words send shivers down my back, and he bends down, kissing my forehead. I think that is the sweetest thing he’s ever done. I smile and my cheeks are warm, not with embarrassment but with happiness. I turn around in his arms so that I’m facing him, shutting out everyone else in the room, giving us privacy.

  I push my hair over my shoulder and take another sip of my drink. It’s so good it might be dangerous, but I want to get at least slightly drunk.

  Travis

  When I came back with her drinks, I noticed a change in her instantly. She was more relaxed and, for a fucking split second, I was afraid she was done with me. Then she moved closer, until she was against my side, and I fucking knew she saw me.

  I had wanted her to see the real me from the moment I met her. She has been so fucking hurt that she let that overshadow everything. I did everything in my power to wiggle my way into her life, but I didn’t realize the full extent of the pain she’d suffered.

  Now she’s made me the happiest guy in the world. She is giving me the chance to show her that things can be different. She is giving me the chance to be the other half of her heart, which she has wrapped up so fucking tight. I am getting the chance to be a part of Gabby’s life. She has let me in a little bit, but I am going to take that little bit and bury myself so fucking deep. She could do so much better than someone like me, but no one else would care for her the way I will. She is Bailey.

  Bailey

  It’s getting later and the room is filled to the brim with people, dancing and grinding all over the place. The club is full of bikers. Most of them are not Grim Sinners; they’re from surrounding small towns.

  I rest my head on Travis’s shoulder; the alcohol is taking effect. Someone starts laughing and I join.

  “Someone’s feeling a bit tipsy.” Travis holds me more tightly against his side.

  “Damn, you feel nice.”

  “Thank you.” He chuckles.

  My eyes snap open. Did I just say that aloud? “Did I just…” I ask.

  “It’s okay, Momma.” He laughs under his breath again, and I smack him lightly on the chest and tear myself away. “I am going to the bathroom.”

  Adeline sets her beer down on the table. “I will go with you.” We walk inside the bathroom, and I take a stall while Adeline stands in front of the mirrors, waiting for me.

  I hear the door open and a bunch of women laughing. “Well, if it isn’t a Grim Sinner bitch.” What the hell? Adeline is wearing her cut, like all the women who are with their men. It’s a sign of being under their protection, and it’s sort of like marriage to them, or so I have been told. I hurry and pull my pants up and push open the stall. Adeline is in the corner surrounded by three women.

  “I am so fucking sick of women like you thinking you’re the shit,” the woman on the right hisses in Adeline’s face, “but you are not, and our guys are going to fucking show your guys who are the real badasses. Not some pussy wearing a cut.”

  Oh hell no. Adeline is the sweetest woman; I will not stand back and let them fucking do this to her. Did I ever mention I have a bit of a temper?

  I grab my hair tie off my wrist and bundle my hair up on top of my head in a bun. I clear my throat, and they all turn to look at me. “Why don’t you leave her alone and pick on me?” I smile at them, watching with glee as they look me up and down.

  “What are you going to do about it?” the one standing in the middle says. She’s the biggest bitch in the group, so I guess she’s the leader.

  I laugh again at how ridiculous these girls are. They are all the same. I dealt with these girls every single day when I was a teenager. I did have a bit of a temper. I tended to punch them right in the face and be done with it. I didn’t argue; I just shut them up. My parents wanted me to be this meek little girl who would do their every bidding, but that is not me. “Why don’t you come over here and we can see.” I smile at them. I haven’t had a good fight in a while.

  The leader steps forward and takes a swing at me. I move my head to the side. Then I whip my head back and smile. “Let’s get it.” I punch her in the nose, and her head whips back and she holds her face.

  “You bitch,” she screeches, her teeth bloody. She runs toward me and I punch her again, on the side of her face. She falls to the ground. The other two girls run straight for me. I duck to the side, and one runs into the wall. I grab the other by her hair, tilt her head to the side, and punch her repeatedly in the face. She screams and scratches, trying to get me to let her loose.

  The girl on the ground is trying to get up, and I kick her in the face. Blood and spit fly out of her mouth. My fist is still in the other girl’s hair. I spin her around and slam her face into a stall door; then I let her go and she hits the ground.

  I am tackled from the side, and I catch myself on a stall door. I grab the girl by the throat and drag her closer.

  “Let me go, you stupid bitch!” she screams, punching me in the tit.

  “The tit, really?” I drag her over to the toilet. I lift the seat with my foot and I push her head into the toilet. I have always wanted to do this. I flush the toilet, and she screams. “Breathe before the water rises.”

  “What the fuck are you doing, Bailey.” I let her go and spin around to face Travis, who is staring at me and the girl.

  “Uhh…” I start.

  “All three of them tried to attack me, and Bailey intervened,” Adeline says. “Then they attacked her, but Bailey destroyed them.” She laughs, holding her face.

  Smiley pulls her hand away, and I can see the redness on her cheek. “They fucking hit you?” I ask.

  She nods and everyone snarls. “Which bitch was it!” I hiss and step out of the stall. She points to the head bitch. Ohh, I don’t like that. I run back into the bathroom and grab the top of the toilet tank, ready to bash her head in.

  Travis grabs the back of the toilet from me and throws it to the floor. “You’re vicious.” He laughs and kisses the side of my head. “Come on, they got what they deserved,” he tells me and I let out a deep breath, trying to calm myself. We leave the girls in the bathroom and join Travis’s friends at the bar.

  I sit down in a chair, rubbing the back of my neck. I can’t believe I just got into a fight, and with three girls, mind you! Back when I was high school, girls tried to jump me every single day, so I did whatever I could to protect myself.

  When Adeline approaches, I sit up and she hugs me tightly. “Thank you so much, sweetheart.”

  My nose starts stinging from unshed tears. “I got your back.” I hug her back and she lets me go, and Smiley immediately snatches her up into his arms. I look down at my hand; my knuckles are bloody.

  “Damn, killer. Remind me to not fuck with you,” Trenton jokes and I crack a smile.

  “I don’t like to fight, but I will protect those I care about.” I smile at Adeline. I love her like I would love my mother if she weren’t such a bitch.

  “That’s how we all are,” Smiley tells me.

  Travis comes back and hands me an icepack. He cradles my face in his hand, and I lay my head against his side.

  “I think she could give Shaylin a run for her money,” Adeline says, and all of the guys look at me with wonder. Travis just laughs loudly and I grin. I can’t help it. My temper rarely shows up, but in cases like this it gets the best of me. I just have a huge protective instinct. I want to make sure my family and those I care about are safe.

  A door slams, and we all turn to see the girls walking out of the bathroom, looking rough. Three guys get out of their seats and walk over to them. I look at Travis, and he looks at me with the same thought. Uh oh.

  The three guys turn to look at us and make their way over. I never expected my first date to be like this.

&nb
sp; Travis stands up, and I stand up with him. “Stay behind me, Momma.”

  Adeline takes my hand and stands next to me as our guys step in front of us to face their adversaries. “This them, Becky?” The man on the right asks. They are dirty and grimy. They all look like they haven’t showered since god knows when. Why are these girls with them? They aren’t bad looking women, and I am sure they can do better than that.

  “Yes.” The leader of the group, who I now know is Becky, says in her shrill voice. I take that back—she can’t do any better.

  “Hand over the bitch that fucked them up, and that will solve all our problems,” one of them says, staring at me. I swallow hard, fear taking a hold of me. What do they mean, hand me over?

  “That is not going to fucking happen,” Travis snarls. I jolt at the sound of his voice. He is scary. I notice the guy closest to me is looking behind me. I turn around just as one of their members, who we didn’t notice, sneaks up behind me.

  “Travis,” I whisper as the man’s hand wraps around my arm. Travis spins around, grips his fingers, and twists them back until they break. The guy lets me go and screams, clutching his hand. Travis wraps his arm around my middle and lifts me off the ground. He sets me down against the wall with Adeline. The guys move back in front of us, but this time no one can sneak up behind us.

  “You guys are going to regret this.” The one standing in the middle points right at me. In a blink of an eye Travis has his gun out, pointing right at his face.

  “Mind yourself, you stupid motherfucker. Do you want war?” His body stiffens with anger. I press my hand against his back, and I can feel myself shaking. This is a scary situation. It’s one thing to face a bunch of girls, but these guys? What would they do to me if they did get me?

  The guy smiles, his yellow-filmed teeth making me sick. Travis presses his hand to my back, and I let out a breath. This is his way of saying he’s got me. “War is what you guys will have. Watch your back, bitch.” He tells me.