by Jamie Begley
“I feel sorry for you.”
“Feel sorry for yourself.” Killyama could stand a lot of things, but pity wasn’t one of them. “I’m not the one who hooked up with a loser who was sick of you banging a clubhouse full of men and pressed charges against you for stealing.”
While it didn’t make Sasha stop crying, that comment shut her mouth.
“Well, that was interesting,” Jonas remarked when they crossed the city line and entered the neighboring county. Finally relaxing, he reached for his coffee cup, and then handed her one.
“Thanks for the backup,” she said caustically. “Were you waiting for Train to punch me?”
“Did you see Shade?” Jonas mimicked Shade’s motions. “It was like watching a master at work.”
“Wow. I see where I am on the scale of importance to you fuckwads.”
“Be real. Hammer or I would have stepped in if we thought he would have hurt you. He might have shaken you, but you would have crushed his nuts if he had.”
“Train wouldn’t have touched you. He’s the sweetest man I know,” Sasha said.
Killyama should have known she wouldn’t stay quiet for long.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“You shouldn’t have to. I heard you in his room all last night. Any woman who spends any time with him knows how considerate and gentle he is. Train’s my favorite. Well, him and Rider are pretty good, so it’s hard to pick.”
Killyama slouched down in her seat. “Jonas, shoot me.”
“Why, already regretting that Train won’t be inviting you over for any more sleepovers?”
“I don’t regret a damn thing. Why would I care? Train’s not keeping a spot warm for me,” she snapped.
When Sasha nodded, Killyama wanted to punch her in the face.
“No, he won’t, and you’ll be missing out. He’s the type to go downstairs and fix you something to eat when you’re hungry, buy your favorite body wash, and when you’re on your period, he rubs your belly.”
“Pull over!” Killyama ordered, practically yelling.
“What for?” Hammer took his eyes off the road to stare at her in the rearview mirror.
“I want Jonas to switch seats with me.”
“I’m not pulling over. The Last Riders could be behind us out of sight.”
“Oh, and did I forget to mention that he would work your shift if you want to get ready for the party?”
Killyama tried to climb into the front seat, but Jonas wouldn’t budge. Giving up, she had to listen to Sasha talk about Train’s attributes until they reached the interstate, which took an hour. When she ran out of things to say about him, she started talking about Rider. Apparently, he wasn’t as perfect as Train, because she started discussing Crash after five minutes.
“Oh, my God. Will someone shoot me already? Bitch, I know you’re making this shit up.”
“I’m not lying, I swear. If you take me back, they won’t be mad anymore. Well, maybe just a little.” She stared at her beseechingly then started crying again.
Killyama reached into the console, taking out the tissues and handing them to her.
“Thank you. Do you know if the other women prisoners are going to beat me up or make me their bitch?”
Killyama rubbed her forehead. They were still two hours away from the jail.
“You’ve been watching too much television. You’ve been in jail before.”
“I was only there for two hours before Moon bonded me out.”
“Moon must have someone in his back pocket to have you bonded out so fast.”
Sasha wiped her eyes with the tissue. “Not enough to manage to get the charges dropped. Please take me back.”
“Running away doesn’t solve anything. You need to face the charges. Were you just going to hide out for the rest of your life?”
“No, Diamond was trying to fix things for me.”
“Diamond and The Last Riders were putting their ass on the line by protecting you. It was only a matter time before the authorities in Ohio grew tired of waiting for Knox to arrest you. Would you be happy if Knox was arrested? Or Diamond lost her license to practice law? You say you care about Train and Rider; would you have cared if the State Police came knocking on the clubhouse door and one of them were hurt trying to sneak you out?”
Shamefaced, Sasha stared down at her lap. “I didn’t think of that. I’m so used to Viper and Moon taking care of things that I didn’t consider they could get hurt.”
“You’re a grown-ass woman. The only one who needs to be handling your business is you. Do you know how many women are behind bars because they trusted a man?” Killyama shook her head at the woman. “Do what you have to do to get this trouble taken care of without getting any of your friends hurt, and then get a new start on a future you control.”
Sasha’s crying stopped, and she remained quiet for the rest of the trip. Killyama expected her to start the waterworks again when they stopped at the jail and she helped her out of the back seat, but she remained calm.
Killyama watched as she was taken into the in-take room while Jonas filled out the paperwork. She could see Sasha pulling out her empty pockets.
Killyama asked a standing guard nearby if Ron was on duty. Then she asked if she could talk to him.
Waiting impatiently for him to show, Killyama watched as Sasha was told to remove her shoes by a female guard. The woman’s lips were beginning to tremble again.
“Hi, Rae. How can I help you?”
Hammer and Jonas frowned at her in puzzlement as she turned toward Ron.
“I have a favor to ask.”
“I’ll see what I can do. What do you need?” Ron was one of the few men she had grown to like since she had started working in this field. He was fifty years old and thirty pounds overweight, with a wife who was as in love with him as he with her.
Killyama walked to the side so no one could hear their conversation. “Could you give the woman I brought in her own cell and make sure no one messes with her? If you can lose her paperwork for a few days, I would appreciate it.”
“What was she wanted for?”
“Theft. She’s going to get her charges cleared. Her ex framed her.”
“We’ve heard that one before.”
“I believe her.” At his doubting look, she put her hand on his arm. “Come on; she’s scared.”
“She should be.”
“Please.”
He sighed heavily. “Okay, but this is the last time. When are you going to stop listening to the sob stories these runners are feeding you?”
“I guess when you get promoted out of here, I won’t have anyone to help me out.”
“You’re too kindhearted. The last one you tried to help was back in jail the next day.”
“She’s different.” Killyama gestured toward Sasha. “When she gets out of here, she won’t be back.” Viper would see to that.
“Fine. I’ll watch out for her.”
“I’d hug you, but I don’t want the other guards to get jealous,” she teased him good-naturedly.
“Better not. Deb gets mean when she thinks someone is flirting with me.”
“You think I can’t take her?” Killyama grinned.
“Hell no! You might be younger, but I married a tough cookie.”
“I guess we’re not fated to be together, then.”
Ron blushed. “I better get back to work.”
“Thanks, Ron.”
“We done?” Killyama asked as Hammer and Jonas took the paperwork from the officer at the desk.
“Yes. What were you talking to Ron about?” Hammer asked.
“Nothing. I was just asking him about his wife and kids.”
“Sure you did,” Jonas said, handing her the completed paperwork.
“I saw the hundred you slipped him.” Hammer pushed the button so the guard would open the door for them to leave.
“You need to get your eyes checked.” Killyama swiped the keys away from Hammer. “I’m dr
iving.”
Getting behind the wheel, she started the SUV. “It’s getting late. How about we stay the night?”
“You never want to stay the night. What’s up?” Hammer took the gum she had been about to put in her mouth, throwing it out the window.
“Nothing. I had a long night, and we have a long drive. I’m tired.”
“That’s cool with us. We can get an early start in the morning.”
“I’m going to take a couple of days off. We can rent a car before we find a hotel room for me to use until I come home.”
Jonas nixed the idea. “We’re not going back home without you.”
“I need some space and rest. I’m not going to get that with you two here.”
“You believe this bullshit, Jonas?”
Jonas leaned forward, sniffing the air. “I smell the bullshit, too.”
“You’re going to stick your nose in it, aren’t you?” Hammer looked at her with disapproval.
She knew they weren’t going to believe whatever lie she came up with, so she admitted, “Yes.”
“Then I guess we’re all staying,” Jonas stated.
“What’s the plan?”
Killyama grinned at Hammer. “When you’re dealing with someone who has a lot of power and who can get a lot of strings pulled, you know what you have to do?”
“What?” Hammer and Jonas both asked.
“You have to call the puppet master.”
12
Train watched the SUV pull out onto the road. Then he started to go inside the clubhouse to get his wallet and keys.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“To Ohio.”
“You’re staying here. Shade, Moon, go. And take Rider.”
“I want to go,” Train protested.
“There isn’t anything you can do.”
The men went back inside the clubhouse as Viper took out his phone. Train waited impatiently as Viper called Knox then Diamond, listening as Viper recounted what had happened, not sparing the embarrassment of how Killyama had known Sasha was there.
Unable to listen anymore, Train went to the bar, getting a glass and the whiskey, pouring it to the brim.
“What did Diamond say?” Train asked when Viper walked up to him, putting his phone away.
Viper took the bottle away from him, pouring himself a glass. “She said, ‘I told you so’.”
Train downed his drink then turned to smash the glass against the wall. “It’s all my fault.”
“No, it’s mine. Diamond warned me two months ago this would happen, and she told me to hire a different lawyer in Ohio. I put it off, thinking I’d take care of it when I had the time. I’ve been so busy with the new contracts, Aisha, and making sure Winter’s cancer is gone that I let Sasha slip through the crack.”
“You’ve had your hands full. I’m the one who invited Killyama. We’ve been so careful not to let anyone see Sasha in town, and then last night Killyama saw her and asked who she was. Like a fool, I told her.” Train gave a harsh laugh. “She’s been playing me like a fiddle since we had the party at Rosie’s. I even believed I was making headway in getting her to join The Last Riders.”
Viper poured himself another drink at that confession.
Imagining all the brothers’ angry thoughts, Train stormed out of the clubroom, going to his room then coming back downstairs where he threw his leather on the floor at Viper’s feet.
“I don’t deserve to be a Last Rider.”
“Pick it up,” Viper said on a sigh. “You let your dick do the thinking. It’s happened to us all. We’ll get Sasha out of this trouble, and then we will go back to normal. The one change we will make is no further contact with the Destructors. Stud might have married into the crew of conniving women, but The Last Riders haven’t.”
Razer, who had come over when Killyama was walking out the door with Sasha, didn’t say a word of protest against Viper’s order. However, Train knew that Beth and Lily, and maybe some of the other wives, were going to be hurt by the order.
A line was going to be drawn between The Last Riders and the Destructors, and it was all Killyama’s fault. It would be better this way, though, because if he ever got close to Killyama again, he would break a vow he had made to never touch a woman when he was angry. And right now, he was beyond angry at the bitch.
He wanted to pay her back so badly that she would never betray another man. The problem was, the coldhearted woman had to have a heart to learn her lesson, and she didn’t have one.
Jewell peered around the door of the kitchen. “Is it okay if I come out now?”
“Yes.” Train took the bottle away from Viper before he could drink it all, pulling out another glass.
“I hope you don’t expect me to clean up this mess?” Jewell gingerly stepped over the broken glass.
“I did it; I’ll clean it up.”
“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Jewell demanded, staring at the men’s faces.
“Killyama used the favor Viper owed her to take Sasha back to Ohio. Seems she’s some kind of surety bond agent there.”
Jewell didn’t look as upset as Train would have expected. “You’re not mad?”
“At Killyama?” Jewell prevaricated.
“Hell yes. Who else?”
“Sasha.” She shrugged. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m not crazy about what Killyama did. But let’s be real, Train. You were asking for trouble when you started messing around with her. Everyone in Treepoint and Jamestown knows she’s a psychopath. Did you forget the fight at the Pink Slipper? I know I haven’t. You men may have forgotten, but I still remember T.A. shaking me like a rag doll then trying to strangle me. Do any of you remember what Killyama was doing?”
Train racked his memory. Truthfully, he didn’t remember. He had been too busy trying to fight off one of the larger bikers from the Destructors.
Jewell shook her at the men’s blank stares. “All the women were taking each other on except for Killyama. She went for you guys.” She looked around, asking, “Where’s Rider?”
“He left.” Viper put his glass down.
“I bet he remembers that night. She nearly broke his nose with a chair. She also gave you”—she pointed at Train—“one of those two black eyes you got that night.”
“I would have remembered Killyama giving me a black eye. Dozer did …” Train trailed off as he thought back to that night.
“Yes, he did. He hit you so hard he knocked you out. Killyama hit you when you were falling down.”
“She hit me when I was down?”
“You hadn’t hit the floor yet, but you were down and out for a few minutes.”
“I’m going to pay that bitch back. I won’t lay a hand on her, but when I’m finished with her, I’ll make sure she’s paid back for that and betraying my trust.”
“If you’re going to make her pay, know what you’re making her pay for. Killyama doesn’t owe any loyalty to The Last Riders. Sasha should have let her ex-boyfriend have time to get over her before she rubbed his face in the fact she had become a Last Rider. I’m not excusing her ex”—Jewell raised her hands in defense—“but Sasha could have made better choices. Sasha and Killyama are both guilty of screwing men over.”
Train almost lost his cool. His voice turned deadly as he told Jewell, “Sasha didn’t betray The Last Riders’ trust. And Killyama may not owe The Last Riders loyalty, but she did betray the personal trust I had in her.”
Viper looked down at a text message. “Shade said he’ll call as soon they get to Ohio. Diamond has been trying to find a lawyer to take Sasha’s case. Crash, are you positive you didn’t miss anything on Kane or his family we can use against them?”
“You want me to hire Jonas to double-check my work?” At Viper’s glare, Crash changed his sarcastic tone. “I’m sure. His family hasn’t had so much as a speeding ticket on their record. I searched the phone number Sasha gave me for Kane; it only shows run-of-the-mill text messages. He goes to work and g
oes back home every night. Once a week, he goes to play golf, but that’s pretty much it. Sasha said he always had two phones on him, but I don’t have access to those messages without the phone number.”
“He isn’t carrying two phones without a reason. I’ll tell Shade. Maybe he can find out.”
“Nickel has been trying to figure it out since I got here,” Moon spoke up. “He’s had no luck. He talked to three women Kane had dated. None of them knew, either.”
Sasha was going to do time for a crime she hadn’t committed unless they found something on Kane to make him tell the truth. Killyama’s treachery had limited their options.
Train wanted to defy Viper’s order and go to Ohio. It was hard to stand idly by as each of the members awoke and learned what had happened that morning.
“Do you think Sasha will get mad if I borrow her new black dress?” Stori came up from behind him, running her hand over his ass.
He shoved himself away from her, moving to the other side of the counter. “What do you think?”
“Sorry,” she mumbled, escaping into the kitchen.
Jewell took the whisky bottle away from Viper, refilling Train’s glass for him. “You going to make us all pay for Killyama stabbing you in the back?”
He gave a humorless smile. “No. It wasn’t the first time I ever got stabbed.” Train almost spilled his drink onto the jacket he had laid there. The night she had been cold, he had tried to get her to wear it. She wasn’t worthy to touch him or the jacket now. “But it will be the last time.”
13
“Get your ass off my bike. I told you last night I had nothing to say to you.”
Killyama got off Shade’s bike, snidely asking, “You have any luck getting Sasha out of jail yet?”
“No, but if you came to gloat, you’re barking up the wrong tree. You need to leave before anyone comes out and sees you. I can guarantee Hammer and Jonas won’t be enough to pull them off you.”
“They aren’t here. They’re asleep in their hotel room. They told me I’m wasting my time.”
