So Hot MC Boxset

by Blair Grey

  With wide eyes, she asked, “What about me? Do I have to stay a part of it?”

  “No. You’re not a member. No women can be members. It’s a men-only club. But you will always have our protection as long as you’re with Ryder.”

  “What if I leave him?” She looked into my eyes. “What if he and I don’t work out? What if I find myself single? What then? And what will that mean for us, Lucas?”

  “You and I can’t be a thing,” I let her know. “Even if you and he divorce, you will be off-limits to any MC brother of his.”

  “What if he dies?” Her question made my jaw drop.

  “Don’t even say that.” She had no idea what she was asking. “Hailey, forget about me and what we had. Put your energy into your marriage with Ryder.”

  Nodding, she sucked in her breath. “Yeah, you’re right.” Moving forward, she wrapped her arms around me, and I hugged her back. “Thank you for being so real and honest with me, leather. I will never forget you and what we had.”

  “Me too, honeysuckle. Me too.” Letting her go, I heard the sound of the alarm as the door was opened to let Ryder come outside.

  Shielding his eyes as he stepped into the bright morning sunlight, he called out, “Hailey? Baby?”

  With one sideways glance at me, she walked away from me to go to her husband as the gate opened, setting him free. “I’m here, babe. Welcome home, Ryder. I’ve missed you.”

  I knew I would miss her – hell, I already had missed her more than I’d ever missed anyone in my life. But she wasn’t mine to love. She was his and I had to hope that he would be able to be the man she needed him to be.

  He needed to be the man who gave her the happily ever after that she deserved.

  UNATTACHED

  The Iron Cobras MC – Book #4

  By Blair Grey

  Copyright © 2019 by Blair Grey

  All rights reserved.

  Chapter One

  Ryder

  Two years, two long as shit years had been stolen from me. I had a wife – a gorgeous wife. We’d only been married for a year when the bastards set me up. My MC, the Iron Cobras, had dealt with the Angry Hogs for what they’d done to me. Not even one of them still breathed thanks to our club’s chaplain, Lucas Hoss.

  He’d helped me in a couple of ways once I’d learned the Angry Hogs weren’t quite done with me. They’d made threats against my wife, Hailey. When I asked Lucas if he’d watch over her and keep her safe, he didn’t hesitate, taking her into his home until he’d made things safe for her again.

  I was pretty sure he’d taken her into his bed too. That’s how things were done in gangs like ours. When one of us got locked up, our women were up for grabs until we got back into the free world.

  Hailey hadn’t been part of that world though. I’d sent her away to live with her parents before I was put away. She’d only been back a short time when the threat against her came. She didn’t really know anyone in my MC, so I set her up with Lucas.

  I did that.

  I put my wife in the home and quite possibly the bed of another man. Her life was more important to me than her fidelity. I wasn’t going to second guess myself. Today was the day I would be set free.

  Nothing was going to spoil this day. Not a damn thing.

  The guard brought me the clothes Lucas had brought up to the prison for me a few days earlier. “Here ya go, Winslow. Get dressed then I’ll take you out.”

  “Is she here yet?” Stripping off my orange coveralls had never felt so good. “Fuck, I’m glad to get these off.”

  With a curt nod, he asked, “You going to try to stay out of orange coveralls for a while then?”

  “Forever.” I wasn’t going to get my ass into any trouble. And I wasn’t going to poke at any rivals anytime soon either. “I hope to never see you again, boss. No offense.”

  “None taken.” He opened the door to my cell.

  I’d lived in the six by eight space with Tito Fuentes my entire stay at Baltimore’s finest resort for convicts. That was up until three days ago when he was set free. Our old home would soon house two more inmates and forget all about us.

  Taking one last look around at the place I had thought would drive me insane, I walked away from all the bad memories that I would leave right there. “Time to start my life back up.”

  “It sure is.” The guard escorted me to the last exit door. “You have a nice life and leave all that nonsense you got into in the free world alone, Winslow. Take it easy this time around. Love your wife and love your life.”

  “Will do, boss.” I had to shield my eyes as he opened the door and the morning sunlight hit me right in the eyes. All I saw were a couple of black silhouettes on the other side of the gate. Heading out to the yard as the gate opened, I called out, “Hailey? Baby?”

  The sweetest and most beautiful voice called back to me, “I’m here, babe. Welcome home, Ryder. I’ve missed you.”

  “Yeah, I’ve missed you too, baby.” Finally, I could see her as I got close enough and the sun got out of my eyes. I found Lucas standing near her. “Hey, Lucas. You came too? Great.” It wasn’t really great, but I didn’t want to come off as unappreciative. He’d done more than his fair share of solids for me.

  Hailey reached out to hug me. She moved in a bit fast and went for a kiss that I wasn’t prepared for. Our mouths missed; hers landed on my ear as mine landed on her shoulder. “Oh, crap. Sorry,” she shook her head as she took a step back.

  Feeling awkward, I reached out to shake Lucas’ hand. “Hey, brother. Thanks for everything.” I’d thanked him before when he came to tell me how he’d ended the Angry Hogs and how Hailey would be fine. Now that they were all dead, she had moved back to our home. But she hadn’t come for a visit. That was my call though. I didn’t want anymore convict eyes on her than there already had been.

  Nodding, he let me in on one more thing he’d done for me. “So, I took your hog to the shop to have it looked over, primed, tank filled, new tires, and shined up for you.” He glanced as Hailey. “Honeysuckle can take you up to headquarters whenever you’re ready to get back on it.”

  “Honeysuckle?” I looked at my wife. “So, you’re honeysuckle now?”

  Pink stained her cheeks as she looked at Lucas. “He and I gave each other nicknames is all. I call him leather because that what he smells like and he calls me honeysuckle because that’s what I smell like. It’s the shampoo I use.”

  Lucas agreed, “Yeah, her shampoo and I guess leather is the smell of my cologne. I don’t know. I never really pinpointed the exact reason she thinks I smell like that.”

  That’s an awful lot of smelling each other.

  “Cool.” There wasn’t much else to say to that. “So, where’s the car, baby?”

  She pointed at a new Lincoln that wasn’t too far away. “That’s me.” Shaking her head, she looked a little miffed. “I mean, us. I bought it not that long ago.”

  “It’s nice, baby.” She and I hadn’t talked about a whole hell of a lot since I’d been put away. I started heading to the car. “Lucas, you gonna join us at home?”

  “Um.” He looked at Hailey who shook her head. “No. I’ve got stuff to take care of.” Looking at her again, I could see some anguish in his steely blue eyes. “Don’t forget about bringing him to my place next Saturday for the thing with the council. Around two is good.”

  “Yeah, I’ll have him there.” She walked a few steps in front of me, unlocking the car, then opening the passenger door for me. “Here you go, Ryder.”

  Lucas walked next to me, then took a couple of quick steps to get in front of me. “Honeysuckle, let the man drive.” He put his hand on the door and the other on the small of her back. “You take the passenger seat.”

  Nodding, she got in. “Yeah, you’re right.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say. I felt a bit odd. “If you’d rather drive, I understand.” It wasn’t my car. Hailey had bought it with her own money. I hadn’t been able to give her any money since I h
ad gotten locked up. She had to get a job and from the little, she’d told me she’d done well for herself.

  Lucas closed her door. “You drive. It’s been a long time. You should exercise your freedom.” He clapped me on the back, and I noticed how clenched his jaw was. “I’ll check on you later. And if you guys need anything at all, don’t hesitate to call me, brother. I mean that. Anything at all, Ryder.”

  Going around the front of the car, I nodded. “Yeah, if I need you, I’ll call. Thanks again, chap.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him put his fingers on Hailey’s window and she pressed hers to his on the other side of the glass. Then he turned and walked away, and I got into the driver’s side to see my wife wiping away tears. Opening the glovebox, she pulled out some napkins from fast food joints, pressing them to her eyes. “I’m so emotional. Ignore me, Ryder.”

  “Um, sure.” Looking at the dashboard, I didn’t have the first clue as to how to start the car or put it into gear. “Whenever you get though crying, I guess we can leave the parking lot. I don’t know how to even start your car.”

  Laughing, she sniffled. “Put your foot on the brake.”

  I did as she’d said to then she reached over and pressed a button and the car came quietly to life. “Does that only work with your finger?”

  “No, you can push it too. I just did it to show you.” She ran her fingertips over some more buttons with letters on them. “And here are the buttons you push to put it in drive, reverse, park, etcetera.”

  “Nice.” I pushed the capital ‘D’ and then we left the parking lot that I had high hopes of never being in again. “Now to go home.” For the first time in two years, I was going to my home.

  Hailey and I had bought the place after we’d gotten married. When I’d left, it hadn’t seen too many improvements since we’d moved in. I hadn’t put myself into my home or my marriage much.

  The truth was that she and I weren’t getting along very well when I got busted with a trunk full of drugs that had been placed there by the Angry Hogs. Sending her back to her parents was a thing I wasn’t sure she’d come back to me from. But she had come home to our place, so I guessed that meant she wanted to give out marriage another shot.

  Not that I deserved one.

  I’d really flaked on her. I couldn’t blame her even a little for how I’d been. I’d married above myself and it seemed like out of the two of us, only I knew that. Hailey was a saint, a real angel. I wasn’t worthy of her and only figured that out after we’d made our vows.

  Her chest rose as she took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re out.”

  “Me too.” At least we could agree on that. “And it’s going to be great to be home. Have you done much to the place? Am I going to recognize it?”

  “I’ve done some, but you’ll recognize it.” Looking out the passenger window, she seemed distant already. “Do you know the way home?”

  “I think I can remember it. If I miss a turn just tell me.” The atmosphere weighed a ton. She had something on her mind and she just didn’t want to tell me about it.

  Finally, she turned to me, but instead of talking to me, she reached up and pressed a button that opened a little compartment on the roof that sent her sunglasses down. “The sun’s in my eyes.” She slid the dark glasses on. I knew they were meant to hide her eyes from me than shield them from the sun.

  My life was about to begin and the last thing I wanted was for it to begin with her then end because she no longer wanted to be with me. So, I wasn’t going to beat around the bush with her. “You know, I learned a few things while I was in there. And one of the things I learned is that life is too fucking short to live it unhappily or with someone you’d rather not live it with.”

  Staring out the window, she seemed to be a million miles away. “Oh yeah?”

  “Yeah.” I knew I needed to talk to my wife and Lucas together. “Do me a favor and text Lucas to come on over to the house.”

  She didn’t turn her head to look at me as she sniffled again. “When?”

  I felt this should be handled as soon as possible. I wanted to get on with my life and I needed to know if I had a wife to build a life with or not. “Now.”

  Slowly, her head turned, and her lips parted only a little as she seemed like she wanted to say something, but then she didn’t. Instead, the phone she’d held in her hands got busy, texting the man I’d asked her too. I heard a ding, then she said, “Okay. He’ll be right behind us.”

  As crazy as it may have been, I wasn’t angry at all about anything. If Hailey and Lucas had something going on that my coming home had gotten in the way of, then they could get back at it. All I really cared about was getting on with my life. And I didn’t want any complications, drama, or heartache.

  I did want one thing before I found out anything that would end our relationship. “Do you have the stuff you need at home to make me some of that spaghetti you make so well?”

  “I think so.” She tapped her leg with a long, pink nail. “Yeah, I know I do. You want me to make it for dinner tonight?”

  “Do I have to wait until then? I really would like it as soon as we get home. I’ve missed that.” It was one of those things that I had kept dreaming about. Hailey made this sauce that no one could recreate.

  “I’ll make it as soon as we get home then if that’s what you want.” She laughed lightly and the sound made me smile. “It’s kind of early for that, but what the hell. You deserve it, Ryder.”

  “Thanks.” I felt like I did deserve it.

  Driving into my driveway, I began to get nostalgic and seeing the home I’d only lived in for a year before I had to leave it, made me start to feel a little sorry for myself. A thing that Hailey saw right away. “I know this has to be hard for you.”

  “I didn’t know it would be so hard.” Turning the car off, I got out and walked slowly up to the house. There were some shrubs I hadn’t seen before but other than that, not anything else had changed.

  I felt her hand on mine, then something cold and metal was pressed against my palm. “The house key. Your house key.”

  “Thanks.” It felt good to have my own key in my possession again.

  Unlocking my front door, I walked into my living room, say the furniture she and I had picked out and went to take a seat in the recliner that I’d bought just for me.

  She smiled as I pushed the button to lie it back. “That chair missed you, Ryder.”

  “And I missed it too.” Closing my eyes, I let myself go all the way back to before I’d had to leave my home.

  I’d sent Hailey to go back to her parents’ home in Massachusetts before the trail had even started. I didn’t want her to be involved in any of the shit I had gotten into. It wasn’t her fault I’d had the stupidity to get involved with the crazy sister of the leader of the MC.

  Before I’d met Hailey, I’d been involved with a girl who ended up taking her own life after I broke up with her. It was her brother who decided to fuck my world up royally, blaming me for his sister’s suicide. Thanks to Lucas though, no one had to worry about that man any longer.

  I’d spent many a night in that chair and as I sat there, all those nights alone came flooding back to me. Drinking whiskey, beer, vodka, anything I could get my hands on, I’d floated out the nights without Hailey by my side. Not that she knew that.

  I wasn’t drinking so much because I missed her. I was drinking to mourn my freedom that I felt sure I would lose and did end up losing.

  Hearing the door open, I knew Lucas was there. “Hey, brother.” I opened my eyes and found that Hailey was no longer in the room with me. I saw her in the kitchen, getting the spaghetti going for me. “Hailey’s making me something to eat. You want some spaghetti, chap?”

  “It’s a bit early for that.” He smiled as he pulled a bottle of Scotch out of the inside pocket of his leather MC jacket. “But I think it’s the right time for a glass of this.”

  “I agree.” I was about to ask Hailey to grab us s
ome glasses, but Lucas already knew right where they were and walked into the kitchen to get them.

  I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying to each other, but I could hear them talking quietly. It was obvious to me that they’d gotten close. Much closer than I had thought Hailey would get with any man in an MC.

  She wasn’t the usual biker girl. That’s why I’d married her after only knowing her for a few months. And I’d kept her away from my MC, mostly. I’d taken her with me on a handful of club runs but never introduced her to many people who were in it. I kept her to myself. Mostly because I didn’t think she would find much in common with the people I’d hung out with.

  But she and Lucas were tight – anyone could see that.

  Lucas came back with a couple of full glasses in his hands and handed one to me. “To you, Ryder. And to getting your life back on track and forgetting about the last two years.” Hailey came up behind him with a glass of Scotch in her hand too. Taking one step to the side, he let her come up next to him. She held up her glass too as he went on, “And here’s to many more years of a happy life with your wife. You deserve it, brother.” He clinked his glass to mine and so did Hailey, but they didn’t clink their glasses together before taking drinks.

  I didn’t take a drink of mine. “Before I drink to that I would like the two of you to be honest with me.”

  Hailey began choking on the alcohol as her face paled. Lucas patted her on the back as he looked a bit worried. “Hailey, you okay, hun?”

  After she’d stop coughing, she nodded and croaked, “I’m okay.” Her hazel eyes had gone from blue to pale gray as she asked, “What do you want me to be honest about?”

  I figured I needed to get right to the point. “I don’t want to try to get back to where we were, Hailey. We both know that our marriage was on the rocks when I got put away.”