BADDY: A Small Town Crime Romance

by Nikki Wild

  What in the hell had I gotten myself into?

  Dante

  We turned onto the dirt road that led to the clubhouse in Montclair and I slowed down a little. My tires kicked up dust behind us as we wound down the curvy road that led deep into the woods. My woods. Tall trees towered over us, swaying in the wind, throwing dancing shadows across our path. After a few miles, I slowed the bike to a crawl as we approached the clubhouse, the dim light spilling out of the windows onto the driveway in front of the secluded cabin that I called home.

  I turned off the bike and sweet silence surrounded us. The girl jumped off the bike like she couldn’t get off fast enough and I suppressed a little grin. I wasn’t surprised. Long rides on a Harley take a little getting used to. It took a special kind of woman to be able to handle this lifestyle and those were few and far between.

  “Where are we?” she asked. I heard the alarm in her shaking voice. “Why did you drive all the way to fucking New Jersey?”

  “We’re at my clubhouse. We’re safe.”

  “Your clubhouse? Is that so?” she asked, raising an eyebrow as she met my gaze. The moonlight shone in her bright green eyes and I smiled down at her. I knew she must be scared and when she reached up to push her wild black curls from her eyes with a shaking hand, I reached out and grabbed it. She was shivering and she pulled her hand away from mine quickly.

  “You’re freezing,” I said.

  “I’m fine,” she snapped. “Look, I’ll just call a cab if you’ll let me borrow your phone?”

  “There’s no cell phone service out here.”

  “What?” she asked, her voice rising. “Well, just take me back to my car. I don’t know why you brought me all the way out here.”

  “I had to make sure we weren’t being followed.”

  “Right,” she replied, her eyes darting around. She took one look at the cabin and then her gaze turned to the road we’d just arrived on. “Well, looks like all is fine now. Please take me back, or if you don’t want to take me all the way, if you’ll just take me to a phone where I can call a cab or a friend or my —,”

  “ — Your boyfriend? Husband?”

  “My father.”

  “Your father? How old are you?” I asked, my eyes squinting, looking her up and down for the first time really. She was a petite little thing but there was no way a girl dressed like this still needed her daddy to save her…

  “I’m twenty-one,” she replied defiantly, jutting her chin out a little. God, it was fucking adorable. My cock twitched in my jeans and I reminded myself to keep my cool.

  “You sure about that?” I asked, taking note of the way she glanced off to the side.

  “Fine. You win. Two weeks.”

  “Two weeks?”

  “I’ll be twenty-one in two weeks.”

  “Why were you in that bar?” I asked, thinking that was the last place she should have been, and not only because of her age.

  “It’s a long story,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Listen, I appreciate what you did. Really, I do. But I need to go home. I left my purse behind, my phone, everything…not to mention my car. I just need to get back to it and I’ll be on my way and leave you alone. Thank you…” she looked up at me, and bit her bottom lip, “…for getting me out of there.”

  “Well after seeing your moves with that bar stool, I’m thinking you probably didn’t really need my help after all.”

  She laughed and threw back her head, her laughter echoing through the forest behind her. Her tangled hair blew in the wind around her face.

  “My brothers taught me how to fight,” she replied with a smile. “But yes, I definitely needed your help.” She laughed again, then grew serious, biting her lip again. “Thank you. Seriously.”

  “You’re welcome. It was my pleasure seeing those assholes get what they deserved.”

  “So?”

  “So, what?”

  “So, will you take me back now, please?”

  “Oh, no, that’s not gonna happen,” I said, turning on my heel and walking into my cabin, leaving her behind.

  Gabby

  “Oh, no, that’s not going to happen.”

  My hair to stood up on my neck as I watched him turn and walk away.

  No?!?

  I stood there in the dark, feeling naked, alone and helpless. I turned back and glanced at the only road leading in, which was very long and currently very dark. The idea of walking occurred to me, and just as quickly, I dismissed it. My gaze landed on Dante’s bike, and for the first time in my life, I wished I had let my brothers teach me how to ride. I’d never been interested, or more accurately, I’d been totally intimidated by the huge, loud, dangerous bikes, even if I was a little intrigued by the culture.

  Obviously. I’d gotten myself into quite a predicament because of that intrigue. Fucking Bella, I thought again to myself. If only she hadn’t gone on and on about them. I made a mental note to give her ten tons of shit about this next time I saw her.

  Hell, if I ever saw her again, that is.

  Slowly, I put one foot in front of the other and walked towards Dante’s cabin, praying to St. Christopher that I came out of it alive.

  I was six feet from the door when a huge blur of movement burst through it, hurtling straight for me, knocking me to the ground in a whirlwind of black fur, drool and muscle.

  I tried to scream, but my face was being frantically assaulted by the biggest, wettest tongue in the whole fucking world.

  “Bear!” Dante yelled, as I tried to cover my head. The licking stopped, the crushing weight that was on my chest lifted, and hesitantly, I peeked through my arms that I’d thrown up over my head to try to protect myself.

  Through my clouded mind, through the gut-wrenching fear, in the back of my mind, I was trying to figure out why Dante had a fucking bear in his cabin. When I could finally focus my eyes through all the remaining drool on my face, I saw it wasn’t a bear at all.

  It was a bear-sized dog. Or, more accurately a monster-sized beast of a dog.

  “Sorry about that,” Dante said, although the smirk on his face told a different story. “Should have warned you about him. He’s very friendly.”

  “Friendly? Is that what you call it?” I asked, sitting up and wiping drool from my face.

  “Inside!” Dante demanded, snapping his fingers and pointing at the door. The dog whimpered, wagged its giant, furry tail and with a hanging head, wobbled slowly back into the cabin, looking like the complete opposite of the vicious beast that had just attacked me.

  Dante turned back and offered me a hand and I reached out to take it as he pulled me to my feet.

  “You okay?” he asked, looking down at me with concern in those mesmerizing eyes of his.

  “Yeah, I think so. Maybe a little dusty,” I said, pulling my hand from his and wiping the dirt from my ass.

  “Come on in and clean up,” he said, grabbing my hand again, his grip a little firmer this time.

  “I just want to go home, really,” I replied, my heart racing as I tried to push away all the worst-case scenarios that were running through my mind.

  “And you will. We’ll talk about it,” he said, smiling and squeezing my hand gently. “Right now, I’m starved, so unless you wanna see how angry I can get when I get hungry, you’ll let me make us some dinner.”

  I smiled. There was something familiar about Dante. Something about him that reminded me of home. I looked up at him, into those dark eyes, drinking in his handsome ruggedness and sighed. I had no choice but to trust him. “I guess a little dinner couldn’t hurt…” I murmured, letting him lead me into his cabin, the warmth of his hand surrounding mine.

  Dante

  I was only half-lying when I said I needed to eat. The truth was I wasn’t about to leave the safety of my cabin for a while. Not without my crew.

  I knew the Iron Godz were surely looking for me…for both of us…by now. I wasn’t naive. I knew I’d have to face them eventually, but for now, until the dust settled,
the girl was safer here with me for a while.

  The girl…hell, I didn’t even know her name.

  “What’s your name?” I asked as we walked into the cabin. Bear raised his head from his bed by the fireplace, a big trail of drool hanging from his droopy lips. I walked over and began throwing logs into the fireplace. He shook his head and I groaned as thick strings of drool flew through the air, landing on the wall and floor.

  “Gabby,” she said hesitantly, almost so quietly that I didn’t hear her.

  “Gabby,” I said, letting her name settle in my mouth. “I like that. You look like a Gabby. Why don’t you get a couple of beers from the fridge, Gabby? Relax a little, while I get this fire started.”

  She stood watching me silently for a second, her eyes raking over my body. I stared back, taking in her curves. She was fuckin’ hot, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, she looked scared as a rat who’d wandered into a snake’s den.

  She finally nodded and then turned towards my small kitchen and walked away. I watched her ass sway in her tight jeans, holding my breath until she’d disappeared around the corner. I shook my head, trying to clear away the fogginess. I needed to think more about protecting her than fucking her right now, but the way those jeans hugged her hips made it damned near impossible to achieve that feat.

  I finished lighting the fire, warming my hands as it began to grow, the orange and yellow flames flickering and dancing in the dark room. I hadn’t bothered to turn on many lights, which was my usual routine. This was our official clubhouse, but I was the only one who lived here. Unless there was a party or other business to attend to, I had the place to myself. I spent most of my nights staring into the flames with nothing but the sounds of the night and Bear’s incessant snoring as company.

  Gabby walked back into the room holding two opened beers in her hands. She handed one to me and sat down on the old, brown leather couch, her eyes glued to Bear warily. I sat down next to her, taking a big swig of the beer, downing half of it quickly.

  “He’s harmless,” I said.

  “Right,” she whispered, tentatively turning her head to meet my gaze while keeping one eye on Bear.

  “And what about you?” she asked.

  I laughed. “Guess that depends on who you ask,” I replied, with a wink.

  “I’m asking you,” she said, flashing her green eyes at me. My cock swelled, reminding me once again that it was impossible to ignore it when a girl like her was sitting in front of me.

  “You’re safe with me, if that’s what you’re asking,” I replied somberly.

  “I guess that’s all that matters,” she said with a slight smile. “So you’re a biker. A president? Does that make you some kind of criminal?”

  “It’s not really like that sweetheart.”

  “No?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then how is it?”

  “I guess you could say we aren’t your usual club… And I’m not your usual MC president. There’s seven of us. We’ve known each other forever, grew up together, went into the service together, basically we’ve gone through hell and back together. We stick together, no matter what.”

  “So, you’re not running drugs, money, or girls?”

  “No,” I laughed, taking note of her suspicious gaze. “We mostly fix bikes. We have a bike shop in town. That’s how we make our money. But those guys back there? At Otto’s? Those are the kind of guys you’re talking about. The bad guys. But we’re not them.”

  “Then why were you there? At Otto’s.”

  “I just stopped for a drink. Wasn’t exactly looking for trouble…” I said, my voice trailing off as I took another gulp of my beer.

  “What were you looking for?” Gabby asked, her eyes flashing at me curiously.

  That was a damned good question. I had a bottle of whiskey in my kitchen, along with a case of beer. It’s not like I needed to stop for a drink because I didn’t have any booze of my own. So why was I there?

  Fuck, I hated to even admit it to myself, but I’d found myself feeling a twinge of loneliness lately. And that was something I thought would never say. I thought I’d be happy to be alone forever, ever since I’d started living my life without Maggie.

  Maggie’s beautiful face flashed in my head, and I did what I always did when that happened. I closed my eyes and tried to drink in as much of her beauty as I could because I was terrified the day would come when I wouldn’t be able to conjure up her face.

  “Are you okay?” Gabby asked next to me.

  Shit. I’d done it again. Drifted off into thoughts of her. It’d been over five years and I still couldn’t have a normal conversation.

  “Yeah, sorry. Want a shot?” I asked, standing up and walking to the kitchen.

  “Sure, I guess,” she replied to my back. I couldn’t look at her. I couldn’t let her see the look in my eyes, the last thing I needed was to show her the pain that lingered there no matter what I did to erase it.

  I poured the whiskey into two small glasses, hoping like hell I could get through this night without being haunted too much by my past.

  Gabby

  Dante was a hard nut to crack. I couldn’t read him. One minute, I was positive I saw him checking out my tits, and the next he was jumping up from the couch like he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

  What was his story? I wondered.

  He sure looked the part of the big, bad scary biker, even if he said he wasn’t like the others. Not to mention he was sexy as fuck. But it’s true, he wasn’t like any of those assholes back at the bar. I wasn’t afraid of him at all.

  In fact, I was intrigued. I couldn’t stop staring at him. I watched the way he moved, drinking him in as much as I could.

  He was dripping masculinity, his jaw twitching as he walked away, his tight jeans hinting at the muscles hiding under his clothes.

  He was this hot, and yet he lived way out here in the middle of nowhere, hidden away in the woods, with not another soul in sight. Why didn’t a man like him have a woman waiting for him at home? This place was quiet as a church.

  Well, except for that mess of a dog that was currently snoring loudly, as he napped by the fire.

  Something didn’t seem right.

  “Do you know a girl named Bella?” I asked, suddenly wondering if this was Bella’s biker. That would suck, I thought to myself.

  “Nope, should I?” he asked, looking over his shoulder before he disappeared into the kitchen. He returned with two glasses full of whiskey. I’d barely taken two drinks of my beer. He worked fast, I noted. He sipped from his glass as he waited for my answer. Sitting next to me, the warmth coming from his large frame competed with the fire. Light flickered in his long wavy hair and I resisted the urge to reach out and touch it to see how soft it was.

  “Well?” he prodded.

  “What?” I replied, staring up at him like I’d never seen a man in my life. I shook my head, trying to shake the fog from my brain. “Sorry…never mind.”

  “Who’s Bella?”

  “My best friend…well, I mean, she used to be,” I replied, reminding myself that I was pissed at her for getting me into this situation.

  “Used to be? Why’s that?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Because she - um — I — never mind,” I stuttered, clamping my mouth shut quickly.

  “Tell me,” he said, prodding me again, adding a gentle smile this time.

  “Let’s just say she gave me some bad advice,” I said, dragging my eyes from his smoldering gaze.

  “We’re going to be here all night, you might as well tell me,” he said, scooting over closer to me.

  I hesitated, biting my bottom lip as I tried to decide how much I should tell him. I didn’t know anything about him, hell, I didn’t even know if I was really safe here, but all I had to go on was my gut, so I decided to trust it until it steered me wrong. Still, I chose my words carefully.

  “Bella is the one who convinced me to go to Otto’s. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t have
been there…” my voice trailed off, the lie sliding off my lips, leaving a lingering taste of guilt on my tongue. So, she hadn’t convinced me exactly - in fact, she didn’t tell me to do it, nor did she even know I was there, but in my defense she had gone on and on about her biker. That was just about the same thing, if you asked me.

  “Only two reasons a girl goes to Otto’s,” Dante said, raising an eyebrow.

  “And what are those?” I asked, a ripple of electricity running through my body as I met his gaze again.

  “Drinkin’ and fuckin’, basically,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, winking at me. “Mostly fuckin’.”

  A hot blush crept into my cheeks as I pulled my eyes away again. For fuck’s sake, was it that obvious? Of course it was. What was I thinking?

  I was being completely naive. What the hell was wrong with me? I knew better than this. I was a Loprinzi, for fuck’s sake. I knew not to trust anyone.

  “Look, I really should go home,” I stood up quickly, more determined than ever to get out of here. To get away from this man who’s eyes peered into mine like he was looking into my soul, as if I were standing stark naked in front of him.

  “Sure, sure,” he said, leaning back on the couch, stretching his long, thick arms along the back of the couch, a slow, lazy smile spreading across his incredibly beautiful face. “Tomorrow, Gabby.”

  “What? Tomorrow?! I’m sure those guys are gone by now,” I protested. There was no way I could wait till tomorrow.

  “Maybe. Maybe not. But we haven’t even had dinner yet. Tell you what, you sit here and enjoy the fire, I’ll make us a few steaks and we’ll talk about it again after dinner,” he reached over and patted my knee, his hand hot and heavy, before he stood up, leaving me alone with Bear, the flickering orange flames, and my frustration.