by Ali Parker
His question threw me off a bit. I’d been working at this shop for Axel for a while now, and I knew each and every MC member well. I respected them, and they respected me. I was probably as close as I would ever get to being one of them, which in my opinion, wasn’t quite close enough. I ached to be part of their club. I had brought it up with Axel and Johnny before, and both had shot me down before I finished asking the question. The MC was no place for a woman.
“I’m under no delusion that I could hold my own against a Black Heart,” I admitted. “I wouldn’t hang around if they showed up again, Jax. You don’t have to give it another second’s thought.”
Jax nodded more to himself than to me. “Happy to hear that.”
We continued going through the remnants of the shop for the next couple of hours until, eventually, my body ached and my eyelids grew heavy. Jax offered to drive me home, and I accepted, sliding into the passenger side of his Challenger. He drove much more carefully than I knew he would have if I wasn’t in the car. I hated that they all treated me like I was delicate. They thought I would break at the first hint of danger.
I liked going fast. I liked adventure.
Jax parked at the curb outside of my apartment and turned the engine off. He glanced over at me and smirked. “Make sure you shower before you get into bed.”
“Pardon me?”
“You’ll thank me later. You’re a mess.”
I scowled at him as I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me. He rolled down the window as I walked down the path to the front door of the apartment building. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Ellie. You’re welcome by the way!”
I stopped and looked over my shoulder at him.
“For the ride!” He called, before turning the car on and peeling away in a scream of screeching tires and a toxic black plume of smoke.
I rolled my eyes and climbed the stairs to the front door. After buzzing myself in, I walked down the hall to the back of the building where my door was. I liked having a ground level unit. It made things like grocery shopping easier. I let myself in and was greeted by the chaotic sound of dog claws on the vinyl floors as Cade came barreling around the kitchen corner to greet me.
I dropped to my knees as he rushed around my legs. I cupped his dopey face in my hands and kissed his snout and then rubbed him behind the ears—his favorite.
“Aren’t you a good boy?” I cooed, kissing him on his wet nose again.
Cade’s tongue rolled out of his mouth in a happy response, and he licked the side of my face. I laughed, wiped his slobber away, and stood to make my way to the bathroom.
I saw what Jax had been talking about when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
I was a soot-covered mess. I understood what Jax had meant by the Simba comment he made back at the shop. I had smeared a straight black line across my forehead of ash. My white T-shirt was now gray, and my overalls were covered in splotches of dark, greasy, ashy stains. I groaned and wondered if they would all come out. I loved my overalls.
I had caught Axel checking me out each and every time I wore them.
I sighed and slipped out of them while Cade still trotted happily around my legs. When he finally settled down and sat in front of my bathtub, I gave him a longing look. “It must be so easy being a dog. You don’t have to worry about things like your place of work being burned to the ground by a group of criminals. Must be nice.”
I pulled my T-shirt off over my head and threw it out into the hallway. I wasn’t even going to try to save that lost cause. It was destined for the trash bin. Then, I filled the bathroom sink with hot, soapy water and plunged my overalls into it. I began furiously scrubbing.
It took almost twenty minutes, but I was able to get most of the stains out. Once I was satisfied I had done as much as I could, I threw them in with a load of laundry and then went to the patio doors to let Cade out. I shielded my mostly naked body by leaving the door half closed as Cade did his business.
When he came back inside, I hopped in the shower and scrubbed myself as vigorously as I had scrubbed my overalls.
Afterward, wearing a tank top and booty shorts and smelling like lavender and eucalyptus, I made myself a late-night snack of vanilla ice cream, chocolate drizzle, and crushed peanuts. It had been a long day, and I had earned myself a reward of some sort. I put food in Cade’s bowl as well but knew he wouldn’t touch it with the temptation of my human food so close by. He would probably eat once I had fallen asleep and he realized there would be no more tasty morsels coming his way.
I sat down on the couch, put my heels up on the coffee table, and placed the bowl of ice cream on a pillow on my lap to protect my bare legs from the cold. Cade hopped up on the sofa beside me and rested his chin on the corner of the pillow. His big blue eyes followed my spoon from the bowl to my mouth.
“This isn’t for dogs,” I said.
Cade’s ears drew back, and he stared up at me.
“I’m serious. There’s chocolate in here. I don’t know if it’s myth or fact, but this stuff isn’t good for you. I guess it’s not good for me, either. But I earned it, okay?”
Cade heaved a great sigh.
“Stop it. You’re making me feel bad.”
I gave into Cade’s longing stare after I had finished most of what was in the bowl. I left three spoonfuls in the bottom and placed the bowl on the floor. I told Cade to wait, and he did, eyes flicking from me to the bowl as he waited for my command.
He was a good boy. I had worked tirelessly to train him well. There was nothing worse than a poorly trained animal.
“Okay,” I said, and Cade leaped off the sofa to bury his snout in the bowl. The ice cream was gone in three licks, but he proceeded to lick the sides of the bowl for a steady two minutes. I knew he would have gone longer, so I took the bowl from him and filled it with soap and water. I left it in the sink to be dealt with another time and headed for my bedroom.
I turned on the lamp beside my bed and pulled the covers down. I climbed in, relishing in the feeling of the soft sheets against my bare legs. Cade hopped up on the end of the bed and curled himself into a ball at my feet.
I grabbed a book from my nightstand and began reading.
I put it back down when I realized I had read the same paragraph five times and hadn’t retained any of it. I was distracted.
Sighing and closing the book, I let it sit on my lap. Cade lifted his head from his paws and stared at me.
“I can’t stop thinking about him,” I told my companion.
Cade cocked his head to the side.
I smiled. “I know. It’s silly. He’s not interested in me in that way. But it’s so confusing. Sometimes, I catch him staring at me, and I swear he looks at me the same way I look at him. And then there are other days, like today, where he wants nothing to do with me. And he just walks away to do who knows what, and it never even occurs to him that if something were to happen to him I would …” I trailed off, unsure of what I would do if something ever happened to Axel. He wasn’t mine to worry about. He wasn’t mine at all.
If he belonged to anyone, it was Johnny.
“Forget it,” I said, tossing the book over to my nightstand and punching my pillow to fluff it. Or to get out some of my pent-up frustration. “You’re the only love I need in my life, Cade. You never let me down, do you, boy?”
Cade’s tail thumped happily on the bed as I turned off my lamp.
I patted the open space beside me, calling my furry friend to my side. He padded across the mattress to curl up beside me, and I wrapped my arms around him. He was warm and soft and familiar.
I knew sleep wouldn’t come easy. My thoughts were of Axel and Johnny and where they had gone. I knew it wasn’t good. I knew they were out seeking revenge for what had been done to the shop. I didn’t blame them. Part of me wanted to level the playing field and get even for what the Black Hearts had done to our shop.
But I was just a girl mechanic, and that was the only way any of the othe
rs would ever see me. I was someone for them to protect.
“I don’t need protecting,” I muttered against Cade’s neck as sleep began to approach.
Chapter 3
Axel
I received the call from Johnny about the MC meeting the morning after the fire, the morning after he and I had beat the holy hell out of those Black Hearts boys in the middle of their living room. I told him I’d be there, and half an hour later, I was strolling into the bar, the first one to arrive.
As usual.
I ordered a beer and took up a seat at one of the corner tables, putting my back to the corner. This way, I could see every soul in the place, and I gave no one the chance to surprise me. Not that I thought they would. This was safe territory for us, and it had been for over a decade.
Shortly after taking up my seat, Johnny arrived. He stopped briefly at the bar to order himself a drink and then wove through the scattered tables until he reached me. He dropped down into the open chair beside me and kicked his heels up on the table. The impact made the amber liquid in my glass dance and slosh over the sides.
“Hey, you fuck,” I growled, snatching my glass from the table. “Don’t spill the good stuff.”
Johnny waved my concerns away with one hand as he tipped his head back to take a swig of his drink. “Did you tell Ellie to come?”
“Yes, as you said.”
“And the others?”
“Are all on their way.” I took a sip of my beer and enjoyed the way it bubbled down my throat. “Nobody knows about last night, right?”
Johnny shook his head. “No one needs to know. It stays between us for now.” He looked at me like he was accusing me of spilling the goods.
“I won’t say anything.” I didn’t like being eyed up. “You know me, Johnny. Your word is law in my books. Point that glare somewhere else.”
Johnny gave me a wide smile then. It reminded me of how things used to be before his brother had been killed. And his father. Back when things were simpler for MC members.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said as I leaned back in my chair and folded my hands in my lap.
“Yes?”
“I’m not opposed to the idea of using my shop to get our jobs done. Until the insurance money comes through and we can rebuild, that is.”
Johnny’s eyebrows crept toward his hairline. “You’d be willing to let us on your property? That’s a first.”
“That’s not what I said. We can use my shop to get our current jobs done. I don’t want any of these fucks using my tools. The only person I’m willing to share the space with is Ellie. Unless you have a problem with that.”
Johnny didn’t answer me right away. He took a giant mouthful of beer and swished it around his mouth, ballooning his cheeks and looking at me out of the corner of his eye. There were several things he wanted to say. I could feel it in the air between us. After he swallowed, his lips curled into a small smile. “I don’t have a problem with that.”
“Why the fuck are you smiling then, you prick?”
“Nothing. I just can’t help but picture the two of you working alone so close to your house … and your bed. It’s easy for one thing to lead to another. One minute you’re asking Ellie to pass you a wrench, and the next, you’re three knuckles deep in her—”
“Ellie and I aren’t like that, and you know it. She’s my employee. That’s it.”
“If you say so.” Johnny shrugged.
“Besides, she’d murder me if I asked her to pass me a wrench. She’s just as capable under the hood of a car as I am. She’s not a broom pusher.”
“Never said she was.”
I scowled at Johnny and let the conversation die. I didn’t want to keep discussing Ellie with him. It was a topic he had drawn up out of the well several times before, and I knew this wouldn’t be the last time.
We sat in comfortable silence as the rest of the MC members began to slowly trickle into the bar. Each stopped and ordered a drink, or two, and with no sense of urgency, everyone took their seats and chatted amongst themselves. As we filled the bar, conversation grew louder, and non-MC members naturally vacated the area, giving us the space to speak freely without worrying about who might overhear us.
When everyone had arrived and everyone had a drink, Johnny motioned for me to get to my feet and tell everyone about the shop situation. I did.
“My shop has all the necessary space and equipment for me to finish all our current jobs. If you have a customer who needs a rush order, run it by me first. We’ll have to be a bit restrictive on jobs for the time being. Just until the insurance money comes through and we have our space back again. Got it?”
All the heads in the room bobbed up and down.
Johnny got to his feet beside me and addressed the crowd. “Axel is doing us all a favor. His shop will allow us to still pull in some profit. But for now, we aren’t going to do any work on members’ vehicles. You all hear that? No side jobs. Only paying jobs.”
The heads all nodded again. Then, someone hollered something about getting payback for what had been done to our shop.
Sabian Delgado, the lean, dark-featured Mexican in the seat closest to the front, lowered his beer from his lips. “Those Black Hearts deserve to be ripped a new asshole, if you ask me.”
“We didn’t ask you,” I growled, holding his gaze.
Sabian shrugged one shoulder and stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing one ankle over the other and hooking his thumbs in his belt. “I’m just sayin’. Sure seems like we’re pussying out by standing by with our cocks in hands, doing nothing about their hit on our shop. You’re okay with this shit, Ryder?”
I looked over at Johnny, who tore his dark gaze from Sabian to regard the whole room. “We’re not standing around with our cocks in our hands. We’re waiting for the right opportunity to come our way.”
Sabian rolled his eyes and uncrossed his ankles. He sat up straighter and scowled up at me.
“You heard the boss,” I said. “Deal with it.”
Derek Baxter, who we all called Money because he was our treasurer, stood from his seat at the back of the bar. His beard seemed even denser than usual and gave way to a wild mane of thick, brown hair. There was a hint of amusement in his dark eyes as he looked from me to Johnny. “I heard someone hit a Black Hearts clubhouse last night around nine.”
“Oh?” Johnny asked innocently, eyebrows arching like he was inviting Money to spill more details.
Money did. “Yeah. Word is three boys had their asses handed to them by two guys with baseball bats. A few broken bones. A concussion. They did some serious damage in a matter of minutes.”
Johnny crossed his arms over his chest. “I suppose no one has any clue who these guys were?”
I tried my best to keep my expression neutral.
Money shrugged before dropping back down into his seat. “No one seems willing to come out with any names. But, if I were to point any fingers, I’d say an MC member had all the right motivations to do it. Wouldn’t you think, Ryder?”
Johnny stroked his chin and then shot me a look. “You hear anything about this?”
“No,” I said evenly. “But I’ll keep my ears open.”
“Sounds to me like someone disobeyed your direct order, Ryder,” Sabian piped up from the front row. He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth and shook his head once, slowly. “Playing with fire.”
“I find it hard to believe someone in this room would go behind my back,” Johnny said. Then his dark gaze swept across the room. Tension settled in as his stare landed on each man and held him in place for several agonizing seconds.
Johnny was not the sort of man you disobeyed unless you were willing to expose yourself to his brutality. I had seen Johnny in action, and I would never make a mistake that would put me in his line of fire. I was a big man. I was tough. But Johnny was ruthless, and as the President of the MC, he sometimes had to do things that I knew I could never follow through with.
Like punishing someone who was your friend.
Or banishing someone who was family.
The swinging doors at the front of the door opened, and someone stepped inside. It was a woman, and her shape was framed by the sunlight streaming in behind her. When the doors closed, it became easier to see her, and I realized it was Ellie. She took up a spot near the back wall and met my eyes for the briefest second. She gave me a tight-lipped smile and then turned her attention to Johnny, who began speaking once more after staring each MC member in the eye.
“We lay low until I say otherwise. Run all customer inquiries by Axel before committing to any work. And take care of your own vehicles because we won’t be fixing them up until the shop is rebuilt. Now get the fuck out of here.”
Everyone got to their feet and slowly began saying farewells. Soon, they were filing out of the bar and heading back to their cars or bikes out in the gravel parking lot.
Ellie was still leaning against the back wall. She hadn’t moved an inch.
I went to join her and stood across from her. “You missed half the meeting.”
Ellie shrugged and brushed her long, blond hair from her shoulder. “I’m not an MC member. The rules don’t apply the same to me. Johnny said so himself.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. You heard the part about using my shop as a temporary replacement?”
“No, but I gathered that was what’s happening.”
“I’ll need your help getting it in order. I’ve been working on a lot of my own projects. There’s no room to bring in any other vehicles. I’ll pay you, of course. You shouldn’t lose work because of this.”
“Because of a gang hit?” Ellie asked, pushing her hip out to the side and cocking her head in the same direction. I couldn’t help but notice the curve of her hip and waist as she stood like that.
“Yes,” I said.
