One That Got Away
Page 1
ONE THAT GOT AWAY
Hades’ Spawn Motorcycle Club Series
Book 2
By
Lexy Timms
Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2015 by Lexy Timms
Hades’ Spawn Motorcycle Club Series
One You Can’t Forget
Book 1
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B012HPAFQE
One That Got Away
Book 2
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B014JT526E
One That Came Back
Book 3
Coming Fall 2015
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Lexy Timms Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/SavingForever
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http://lexytimms.wix.com/savingforever
Description
From Best Selling Author, Lexy Timms, comes a motorcycle club romance that'll make you want to buy a Harley and fall in love all over again.
Emily Rose Dougherty had only fallen in love once, in high school with a boy her parents didn’t approve of. Emily saw through the tough-guy façade, his leather jacket, and motorcycle. She gave her heart to him. An accident on Luke’s motorcycle brought things to a screeching halt when her parents forbade her to see him again.
Neither forgot about the other.
Fast forward ten years…
Luke Wade built a good life as the owner of a motorcycle repair shop and the road captain of Hades’ Spawn Motor Cycle Club. When he reconnects with his high school love, Emily, things seem to be falling into place.
When dirty dealings within Hades’ Spawn, problems created by Emily’s ex-boyfriend and secrets from Luke’s past threaten to blow Luke’s life and his relationship with Emily apart, it suddenly feels like everything spiraling out of control.
Can Luke and Emily find a way to conquer the obstacles to their love or will they be to each other, “the one that got away?”
This is book 2 of the Hades' Spawn Motorcycle Club Series.
*This story will end on a cliffhanger
* Intended for mature audiences only *
Contents
Hades’ Spawn Motorcycle Club Series
Find Lexy Timms:
Description
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter One
The Red Bull
Gibs made his one phone call to Luke, which Luke thought ruefully was both stupid and smart at the same time. It could never be good to let your employer know you were in trouble with the law. On the other hand, Gibs was smart enough to know he could count on Luke.
Luke shook his head. Gibs should have called his wife instead of his boss. It made Luke wonder why he would call him. Was Gibs involved with something he didn’t want his wife to know about?
It didn’t matter. Luke got no answers at the Westfield Police Department. The only information he did learn was that Gibs had to appear in front of a judge before he could post bond to get out of jail. A chill ran through Luke when he heard that. In Connecticut, misdemeanors could bond out at the police station, but felonies had bond set at the arraignment. Luke scratched his head. In all the years he’d known Gibs, the man didn’t do one thing to cross a line. Now he was charged with a felony? It didn’t make sense.
All this shit with the club wasn’t making any sense to Luke. First Okie was sent to prison, now Gibs had found himself in trouble? When Luke first joined Hades’ Spawn, all the riders were straight shooting citizens. Well, maybe not clean and perfect, but close enough in his opinion. However, something was sideways now. In the five years previous he’d been with the club no one strayed on the wrong side of the law. Except for Okie.
It had grown dark when he finally climbed onto his bike and headed home. The spring evening had cooled, and he shivered as the chilly air whipped through him. He decided he would go to the courthouse in the morning and find out what he could. He needed to know what was going on.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he couldn’t answer it driving, so he waited until he got home to check who called. Luke quirked an eyebrow as he stared at the contact number. Aces? Why would he call Luke? “Hey,” said Luke. “Calling you back.”
“Yeah, thanks,” said Aces.
“What can I do for you?” He yawned and made his way to the kitchen, ready for a beer.
“I’m calling to find out if you know where Gibs is. He was supposed to do some work for me today.”
The other eyebrow rose up to meet the one he’d already lifted. He pulled the fridge door open and reached for a bottle. “Really? Doing a side job on your bike?”
“What? No. I wouldn’t leech business off you, Spade.”
This conversation struck Luke wrong. Gibs, except on rides, usually hung back from the leadership. He couldn’t stand the politics. But doing jobs for leadership now? That definitely wasn’t his style. Luke had no intention of telling Aces where he’d been all day. “Tell you what. If I hear from him tonight I’ll give you a call.”
“Great. Thanks.”
“Night.” Luke hung up on the phone and kicked the fridge door shut with his boot. He didn’t know why he held back the information on Gibs, but then, no one had to be involved in Gibs’ business either. His employee would have to deal with Aces on his own when he was out of jail.
He twisted off the cap of his Budweiser and sat down on the couch, kicking his feet on top of the coffee table. He dialed Emily. “Hey, babe.”
“Hi, Luke. Everything okay now?” Her voice sounded strained though it was obvious she was trying to keep things light.
Luke thought about their conversation regarding her upcoming court case. After what he’d just had to deal with, he figured the last thing she needed to hear about was his employee’s incarceration. “It’s no big deal. One of my employees did something stupid and didn’t want his wife to know.”
“Are you an accomplice in his crime now?”
“I suppose. I’m sorry I ran off.” Was she teasing him or accusing him? He couldn’t seem to tell. He took a long swig of his cold beer.
“That’s okay,” she said quietly. Her voice was that of a little girl caught doing something wrong.
“Are you all right?” He felt like an idiot asking, but something was up.
“Um, yeah. Look, I gotta go.”<
br />
And there it was. Emily was pulling away again. Damn, what did he have to do to get her to trust him? “Emily?”
“What Luke?” She sounded exasperated.
He blinked in surprise. Could she be mad at him? “I’ll give you a call in a few days.”
“That would be best. Goodbye, Luke.” She clicked off the line.
Luke just stared at his phone. Her goodbye had the ring of finality as if she didn’t want to speak to him anymore. Ever again.
“Fuck!” he said loudly, tossing his phone on the couch and then swiping his bottle off the coffee table.
Shaking his head he guzzled it down. He was pissed off at what was going on about Gibs and letting it spill over into everything else. Everything else, meaning Emily.
Needing a diversion he grabbed his keys and headed out the door to the Red Bull Bar. In a short drive, he was there, bike parked, and heading inside.
Despite it being late on a Monday evening, there was a decent turnout crowd at the Red Bull. It was the hangout of bikers everywhere within a twenty-five-mile radius during the week and almost everyone else on the weekend. Luke walked in and surveyed the floor, making sure none of the Rojos Motor Club were in the room. Good. He shrugged off his leather jacket but kept it in his hands. The Red Bull was neutral ground for all riders and everyone was expected to take off their colors before they entered.
Satisfied, he moved to the center of the converted barn where a four-sided bar made of dark wood stood. Glasses of different shapes hung in racks over the bar, and the center island displayed the bar’s liquors in tier pyramid. Lights shining from the glass racks illuminated the liquors, their various colors, amber glinting under the harsh light. To the extreme left was a small stage by the wall, but there was no entertainment tonight.
The gray barn board walls were filled with bar pictures, advertisements of beers and liquors. Ancient red leather booths lined the wall in back to the front of the bar. To the right were three pool tables, two of which were occupied. It was a simple place that catered to the blue-collar biker crowd. The most decorative things in the joint were the bras and panties hanging from the rafters, a testament to the nature of its patrons.
John, the brother of the owner, was tending bar tonight, and he nodded at Luke. “What’ll it be, Spade?”
“Jack and Coke.”
“Oh, moving up in the world,” he quipped. Luke didn’t usually order mixed drinks.
“It’s Monday night. I’ve work in the morning.”
“Anyone from the club in?” John worked many years part-time for his brother and recognized all the frequent customers by club and rank.
“Not tonight.”
“And the other club?”
“No Rojos tonight.”
“Good.”
Luke took one of the red leather bar stools and put his jacket on the one next to him. John set Luke’s drink in front of him and Luke took a sip. He let the liquid slide down his throat and concentrated on shedding the tension in his body. Whatever Gibs was into would work out. And Emily? She did have a lot on her plate with that ridiculous court case. Maybe he was pushing her too hard too fast.
“Easy, guy,” he told himself. “You waited for her this long. A little while longer won’t kill ‘ya.”
Yet it didn’t feel that way, and thoughts of Emily sliding naked against him manifested more concretely in his faded blue jeans. He took a deep breath and a long sip, letting the liquor and soda burn on its way down. He’d finish this and get home. Sitting here wasn’t helping things at all like he hoped it would.
“Luke!” a female voice screeched. “Is that you, Luke Wade?”
He twisted to spot a well-stacked woman with long dark hair bounce toward him. It took a minute to place the face and then it came to him. “Sheila? Sheila Harmon?”
The girl he dated in high school before Emily threw her arms around him and planted a juicy kiss on his cheek. He was sure he’d have to wipe her red lipstick off at the first opportunity.
She pulled away, but still managed to stay near to him. She let her eyes gaze hungrily up and down Luke. She whistled. “Just look at you! You got even better looking!”
“You didn’t do so bad yourself,” he said with a smile. “What’re you doing here?”
“Visiting. Up from Alabama to spend time with the folks. My sister brought me here.” She drew out “Alabama” in an exaggerated Southern drawl. “But it’s Healey now. Sheila Healey.”
“Married?” He glanced down but didn’t notice a ring.
She shrugged. “I was. Divorced last year.”
“Sorry to hear.”
“Don’t be. I’m not. And you? Married?”
“Yeah, to a little bike shop called Central Valley Bike Repairs.”
“Ah, a man who follows his dreams. I remember you telling me about that.”
“You do?”
“Oh, yeah.” She poked her finger into his chest and twisted it. “I remember a lot about you, Luke Wade.”
“And you? What keeps you in Alabama?”
“My job. I’m a nurse in a hospital.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t think they can get along without me.”
“I’m sure anyone would find it hard to get along without you,” he replied with a smile.
“Mmm, mmm, mmm. That smile.” She sighed. “Hey! Let’s get together sometime. This weekend maybe?”
“Sorry, I have plans.”
“The whole weekend?”
“You caught me at a bad time.”
“Well, here.” She took a Sharpie out of her purse and wrote a phone number on his hand. “That’s my number in town. Give me a call if you find yourself with time on your hands.”
“Sure thing, sweetheart.”
She broke away and walked to the other side of the bar where her sister waited. But as she did so she looked over her shoulder and gave him a smile.
“Man, that girl’s got it bad for you,” said John, then he looked over his shoulder. “Oh shit.”
Luke heard the door open the same time John did. The look on John’s face told him this wasn’t going to be good. He didn’t bother turning around. Looking at trouble and looking for trouble could sometimes be mistaken for the same thing. He watched John and listened for any signs of warning going on behind him.
He didn’t have to wait long.
“Look what we have here. Oooh, a bad Hades’ Spawn.”
“Move along, Bre,” John warned.
“What? The Spawn can’t speak for himself?”
Luke stared at his drink, not moving.
A brown hand clasped his shoulder, and instinctively Luke turned on the stool, wrenching the hand away. “Didn’t your momma ever teach you to keep your hands to yourself?”
“And didn’t your papa teach you that only a pendejo snitches.”
Luke glared at the asshole spoiling for a fight.
“Boys,” said John. “Take it outside.”
“I don’t know, John. This asshole doesn’t have enough self-control to make it outside.” Luke was in no mood for a shit-disturber.
“You both know the rules. Drink peaceably, or take it outside.” John spoke in a no nonsense tone developed from long years of dealing with bikers.
Luke stood. “No problem, John.” He tossed some bills on the bar. “Thanks for the drink. Later.” He stood and walked by the Rojos biker. Or at least he tried.
Bre butted his shoulder into Luke’s and sneered.
Luke stared at the Rojos. The guy was taller than Luke but thinner.
The Rojos glared at him, his eyes burning for a fight. “Whatcha’ going to do, Homes?” said the Rojos.
“I’m going outside. If you dare, come along.”
Hate flickered in the Rojos’ eyes. He may have started this, but Luke was going to finish it.
“You know the place.” Without another glance at the biker, Luke sauntered out of the Red Bull and walked around to the back of the building. Motion sensor floodlights lighted the back as s
oon as he rounded the corner. The floods spilled light on the blacktop, but the trees and the eight-foot-high picket fence that ran the length of the property were cased in darkness. A dumpster to the right blocked the view of the road that ran perpendicular to the Red Bull. Luke dropped his jacket to the blacktop.
There would be no question in anyone who witnessed the exchange that Luke wasn’t going to back out of this. The man had called him not just a dickhead, but also a coward and a snitch, loud enough for everyone in the bar to hear him.
If it were just him, Luke wouldn’t have cared as much. But everyone there knew who Luke was and what club he belonged to. While Hades’ Spawn wasn’t an outlaw club, not one percenters like the Hell’s Angel or the Rojos, they had a reputation to uphold. Luke wasn’t going to let some skinny asshole from the Rojos smear it for the sake of an old grudge.
Bre followed him to the back and a crowd from the bar followed to watch. They faced each other. Luke sized up the Rojos and waited for the other man to throw the first punch. It was better that way. Luke could get an inkling of how the man fought.
When Luke was in the Navy, he wanted to be a Seal. It sounded exciting and glamorous, and he wanted to join that select cadre of warriors. However, there was too much need for good mechanics and he couldn’t get approval to take the training. That didn’t stop him from training on his own for the possibility of getting into the program. He swam every morning in the base pool, trained with weights after and took every martial arts class he could. It wasn’t Seal training, but it got him into shape and taught him how to fight.
By the way the man stood, Luke knew this man was no trained fighter. At best, he was tried and tested by the violence of his gang, but when it came to one on one, this man didn’t know how outmatched he was.
“Come on, asshole,” Luke said. “You wanted this.”