“Oh, you’re such a big spender,” she laughed. “Throw in a chocolate milkshake and you got a deal.”
Quinn moved to the passenger door and pulled it open. “Get your ass in, and let’s go.”
“I’m spending time with Oscar when I get back,” Kimber whined. She plopped into the passenger seat and folded her arms over her chest.
Quinn slammed the door and shook his head. “Woman is going to drive me insane.”
“Yeah, but you wouldn’t want it any other way.”
He flipped me off and rounded the front of the truck. “No one likes a know it all, Dyno.”
Kimber and Quinn headed off to buy a TV, and I went in the clubhouse to help supervise the guys putting together the beds and fighting over who actually got a mattress and who had to wait until Monday.
Not exactly the type of action you would expect at a clubhouse on a Friday night.
At least I knew there wouldn’t be a shortage of beer.
✽✽✽
Chapter Ten
Here to save the day…
Fancy
“No.”
The gauges on my car flashed then went blank.
“No, no.”
The engine sputtered back to life, but as soon as it came back, it died.
“No, no, no,” I moaned. I coasted the car to the side of the highway all while cranking on the key to get the car to start again.
It was almost ten o’clock, and my piece of shit car had just died.
Th car actually wasn’t a piece of shit before tonight, but for some reason, my four year old Toyota chose to die without any warning.
“Nooo,” I whined. “Please start, please start,” I chanted as I continued to crank on the key. Memories of Kimber bugging me to get AAA played in my head. I had every intention of getting the service, but I had never actually gotten around to it.
Now, I had to call her and ask if should could come pick me up. “Dammit.”
No cars had passed me since I coasted to the side of the road, so I couldn’t even flag someone down to help.
“Hello.”
“Kimber,” I sighed.
“What’s wrong, Fancy?” she chirped.
Headlights appeared in my rearview, but the car drove by without even stopping. I knew asking a stranger for help wasn’t a good idea, but I also didn’t want to have to bother Kimber.
Another car appeared, this time slowing a little bit, but they also didn’t stop.
“Earth to Fancy,” Kimber called. “Did you call just so I could hear you breath?”
“I wish.” I leaned forward and pressed my forehead against the steering wheel. “My car broke down, and I’m on the side of highway twelve.”
“Oh no,” she gasped. “Are you all right?”
“I am, but my car isn’t. I can’t get the damn thing to even turn over.” I tried the key again, but all I heard was a click and then nothing. “I don’t know if it’s my battery or what. Nothing is working.”
“Quinn,” Kimber called. “Fancy’s car broke down, and we have to go get her.”
Quinn asked Kimber for the phone. “Fancy?”
Ugh. I didn’t want to have to talk to Quinn. I just wanted Kimber to tell him my car broke down, I needed a ride, and then have him quiz me about what happened when he picked me up. I needed fifteen minutes to cry in my car alone.
“Yes, Quinn,” I sighed. “It’s me.”
“Kimber and I are three towns over. I’ll have one of the guys come and get you. I don’t want you sitting on the side of the road alone.”
I rolled my eyes and pressed the door lock. “I’m locked in. Nothing is going to hurt me. I can wait until you get back to town.” It was bad enough I had to ask Quinn for help; I didn’t want the guys in the club to think I was some damsel in distress.
“Ten minutes.”
The phone disconnected, and I knew Quinn stopped listening as soon as I had said I needed a ride.
I pressed the button for the hazard lights and leaned my seat back. If I was going to sit on the side of the road, I might as well as be somewhat comfortable.
Four cars drove by. None of them slowed or stopped.
I guess chivalry was dead these days. Or, everyone thought everyone was a murderer.
Two more cars drove by, and then there was a lull in the traffic. If only I had broken down closer to home, I would have been able to just walk and deal with my car tomorrow.
Headlights appeared behind me. About fifty feet before they reached my car, the driver hit their brakes and then approached me slowly.
“Fucking weird,” I whispered. I hit the door lock button again and raised the back of my seat.
I couldn’t tell if the car was tan or gray, but the windows were tinted dark black, and I couldn’t see who was driving. The car rolled past then pulled over to the shoulder about twenty feet in front of me.
Maybe this was whoever Quinn had sent to help me, but how the hell was I supposed to know?
Two more cars drove by, and I counted the seconds as I waited for whoever was in the car to get out.
The taillights flashed as whoever it was put the car into park.
Goosebumps ran up my arms, and I pressed the lock button again.
The car sat there, running, but nobody got out.
“That’s because they’re trying to decide what parking lot to dump you in, Fancy.” I reached for my phone, and my eyes caught on a headlight in my rearview mirror.
Just one.
There was either a padiddle behind me, or it was one of the guys from the clubhouse.
Or, it was a second murderer. Like they had some type of GPS for people who were easily picked off the road and ready to be killed.
That was nonsense though, right?
The single headlight pulled close behind my car. That had to be one of the Kings of Vengeance. It had barely been ten minutes, but I was hopeful.
My eyes darted to the front of my car when the driver’s door opened and a foot hit the gravel. The light from the motorcycle bounced through my car and partially onto the vehicle in front of me.
All I could see of the person emerging from the car was his hand resting on the door and his jean-clad leg and white tennis shoes.
“Fancy.”
My heart leapt in my chest, and a high-pitched scream escaped my lips. “What the hell!” My head snapped to my window, and I looked up into the face of Dyno.
“You okay?” he asked through the glass.
I nodded and looked back out the windshield. Dyno made two steps toward the car before the person driving slammed their door, shifted into drive, and took off.
“You know them?” Dyno shouted.
I shook my head and tried to calm my racing heart.
He took a couple more steps toward the disappearing car and pulled out his phone.
Was he calling the police? That car had been odd, but I didn’t know if it was worthy of calling the police.
I reached for my purse and bag in the backseat.
“Open the door, Fancy.”
After I gathered everything, I unlocked the doors and pushed mine open. “Sorry,” I muttered.
“No need to be sorry about being safe.” He motioned to the car. “Mind if I give it a look?”
I stepped out of the way and nodded. “Uh, sure. Though it’s not starting.”
He slipped behind the wheel of the car and tried to crank it over. “It just died?”
“Uh, the lights on the dash started to go wonky and then it sort of sputtered for a bit. I managed to pull it off the road before it died completely.”
Dyno reached down by the pedals and popped the hood. “I’ll have a look at it, but I’m not really sure what is going on with it. One of the guys can take a look at it tomorrow, though.”
He slid out of the car and moved to the front.
“Thank you for coming.”
He nodded and disappeared behind the raised hood. “Quinn said you needed help and I was the closest guy.�
�
“You weren’t at the clubhouse?” I asked.
He fiddled for a couple of minutes under the hood and slammed it shut. “I was on my way back from something when he called.” Not specific but whatever. I guess I didn’t really deserve specifics from him. He pointed to the bag and purse in my hands. “That all the shit you need to take with you?”
“I wouldn’t call it shit, but yeah, this is what I have.”
He held up my keys. “I’ll hold on to these.”
I tried to snatch them out of his hand.
“We’ll get your car in the morning. Kind of hard to do that when we don’t have the keys.”
I huffed and folded my arms over my chest. “Whatever.” He was right, but that was something he wouldn’t ever know. “Are you sure it will be okay here?”
“Not a reason why it wouldn’t be. That is, unless your friends in the Toyota decide to come back and steal your hubcaps.”
I rolled my eyes. “Ha, ha. You’re a regular comedian, Dyno.”
He slammed my door shut and beeped the locks. “Let’s get out of here.” He stalked toward his bike. “Ever been on a bike before?” He crouched down next to the back wheel and opened up a leather compartment. “Give me your shit,” he ordered.
“Maybe you could stop referring to my stuff as shit, yeah?” I handed him my purse and bag. I thought he had a grip on the handles of the bag, but it slipped through his fingers and landed in the gravel. Four pairs of colorful panties tumbled out, along with a dark burgundy bra. I quickly crouched down and shoved everything back in the bag.
“Yeah, that definitely isn’t shit, babe.” A smirk was on his lips, and a devilish twinkle overtook his eyes.
I growled at the nickname and shot up. “The name is Fancy.”
I handed him back the bag and didn’t let go until I knew he was holding it.
“Hop on the bike, Fancy. I’m here to save the day.”
✽✽✽
Dyno
“This isn’t my place.”
I threw my leg off the bike and held my hand out to Fancy. “I know. I don’t know where you live.”
She knocked my hand away and scurried off the bike. “Then maybe you should have asked where it was before you kidnapped me and brought me here.”
“It’s hardly kidnapping when you voluntarily get on the bike.” I crouched down by the saddlebag and pulled her purse and bag of panties out. “And I stowed away your panties so nicely.”
She snatched the bag from me and growled. I never had a woman growl at me before. At least, not when I wasn’t in bed or touching her.
“Take me home,” she insisted.
I shook my head. “No can do.”
“What? Why?” she squealed.
She couldn’t go home because whoever was in that car gave me the fucking creeps.
When I had spotted Fancy’s broken-down car in the distance, I was surprised to see another car pulled over with her. It had been a tan Toyota, and the engine was still running as the person opened the car door. If it had been just a regular person stopping to help Fancy, then why hadn’t they stayed when I got there. It was strange for them to take off when I pulled up.
Until I could figure out exactly had happened back at her car, then I wasn’t going to feel safe sending her home alone.
Quinn was going to be pissed when he found out we were going to have to give up another bed for a chick. “Just one night, Fancy.”
“Why?” Fancy stressed.
“Because I said so.” I tried not to cringe at my own words.
“Because you said so?” She rolled her eyes and flounced toward the clubhouse. “That is bullshit, Dyno. Last I checked, whatever you say does not apply to me.”
I would have been surprised as hell if Fancy actually accepted my lame reasoning. I didn’t want to upset her over something that might not be an issue. Whoever had pulled over might have just figured since I pulled over for Fancy that they didn’t need to help her anymore. Maybe.
Fancy flung open the door and strutted in as if she owned the place. “Quinn!” she yelled.
Jesus Christ. I had been right when I thought she was high maintenance. Not many chicks I knew would just walk into a motorcycle clubhouse and holler for the president like she lived there.
I managed to catch up to her at the door because Fancy halted in her tracks a few steps into the clubhouse.
“Wow,” she gasped.
“What the hell?” Point shouted.
“Chick alert,” Zephyr gasped.
“What in the hell is that supposed to mean?” I grunted. I pulled the door shut behind me.
“Uh, just alerting everyone she is a…well…a chick.” Zephyr cleared his throat. “That sounded better in my head.”
“You have actual walls and furniture that isn’t buckets.” Fancy slowly looked around. “And a fridge.”
“It’s been awhile since you’ve been here. Things change.” I grabbed her bags from her hand. “I’ll show you where you’ll be sleeping.”
“What?” Sledge yelled. The guys were all sitting in the area where the TV was going to be as soon as Quinn came home with one. While Quinn had been at the furniture store earlier this evening, he had called Point and Zephyr to grab the truck and start picking up the available beds, fridge, and one of the couches. Point, Rhino, Sledge, and Zephyr were all on the couch while Core laid on an air mattress on the floor.
“Whose bed is she going to be sleeping in?” Core asked. “Petra has a room, and then Quinn and Kimber have the one next to her.”
“I’m not sleeping here,” Fancy insisted.
“Yes, you are,” I countered.
“You guys can take the room next to Quinn,” Sledge said. “You were in that one anyway, Dyno.”
“Says who?” Point grumbled.
“Says the fact he’s the vice president of the club,” Core chuckled. “Rank matters.”
I herded Fancy toward the hallway that led to the rooms. “I don’t need the bed. I’ll sleep on an air mattress. This is for Fancy.”
Fancy sleeping on an air mattress was so far-fetched that I couldn’t even imagine it.
“Where are Quinn and Kimber?” Fancy asked.
“On the way back with a big ass TV and hopefully pizza,” Core chuckled.
I nodded down the hallway. “Let’s get you settled in before they get back.”
“I don’t want to get settled,” she protested. “I want to go home, eat one of my TV dinners, watch some trash TV, and then go to bed. That is what I want.” She glared over her shoulder at me. “Not as if you care about what I actually want.”
“Trust me, Fancy, I care about what you want.”
“Then why in the hell are you herding me down this hallway like I’m some type of sheep.”
“Because I care about what you want, but I can’t give it to you right now.”
Fancy growled and flounced toward the end of the hallway.
“Turn,” I ordered. We had set up the six furthest rooms with beds, but I wasn’t sure which one Petra was in. “Try the one all the way at the end of the hallway.”
Fancy kicked it into high-gear and flung open the bedroom door.
“Hey!” Petra screeched.
Now I knew which one Petra was in. “Not that one.”
Fancy turned toward me. “Another one of your women who need to stay at the clubhouse without consent from them?”
“I don’t have women.” I moved next to Fancy who was standing in front of Petra’s door. “Sorry, Petra.”
Petra was sitting on her bed with Oscar laying in her lap. “I, uh, it’s okay?”
I hadn’t spent much time with Petra, but from what I knew, she was the complete opposite from Fancy. While Petra was exactly what you would picture when you think of a quiet librarian, Fancy was basically a peacock strutting around.
Tonight, Fancy was wearing tight jeans cropped at her calves and a light blue shirt that hugged her chest and somehow was short enough to give a glimp
se of her stomach if she moved just right. Even though she was sporting a pair of chucks, she managed to look like she had just walked off the runway. Petra was wearing an oversized gray sweatshirt that looked like it was about to swallow her and black leggings. Oscar was her accessory.
“Is there going to be another chick behind the next door I open?” Fancy asked.
“Uh, I think Kimber is next door, but I haven’t heard her.”
Petra wouldn’t have heard Kimber if she was next door because I had built these walls to be soundproof. If she had the door shut, she wouldn’t be able to hear anything that wasn’t in the room with her. “We’re in the one on the other side of Kimber.”
“Oh, well.” Fancy waved to Petra. “I’m Fancy, and I’m sorry to have barged in on you. Dinosaur didn’t tell me which room. It was like I was on the ‘Price is Right’ trying to figure out which door to pick.”
Petra actually smiled at Fancy. “It’s okay. I get it.”
Fancy beamed at Petra. It was almost like a bond had been formed over a few words. Chicks. I was never going to understand how or why they ticked.
“Maybe I’ll see you in the morning if I don’t manage to bust out of here before then.”
I reached for the door. “There won’t be any busting out.” I pulled the door shut and nodded to the door back in the direction we had come.
“You guys need some carpet and paint.” Fancy strutted to the door that I hoped was hers and flung it open like she had done Petra’s.
“I’ll let the maids and butlers know you’re unhappy with your accommodations.” I reached around her and flipped on the lights. I dropped her purse and bag on the floor by the bed.
For a second, she looked regretful of her words, but she shook it off and stepped into the room. “You mean there isn’t a comment card I can fill out and leave with the concierge?”
I chuckled and shook my head. “Not yet, darlin’.”
“It’s Fancy,” she muttered.
I knew what her damn name was. “Yeah.” I didn’t understand what her deal was with not liking me calling her anything but Fancy. I got that she didn’t want to be called sugar tits. That nickname was not for the faint of heart. “I planned on getting some sheets tomorrow, so tonight, you’re just going to have to deal with my blankets.”
Lean Into It (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 2) Page 6
