Hard Ride: A Motorcycle Club Romance (The Fallen Thorns MC) (Whiskey Bad Boys Book 2)

by Kathryn Thomas

  I clapped him on the back. They were all loyal to the death and they seemed to understand. They really were my family, there for me through thick and thin.

  Saul walked to me when I joined the others in the bar area. His face was somber, his limp a little more pronounced. “We sent two boys over to Selena’s apartment to check on Mitchell.”

  His voice was grim and I knew what they’d found before he shook his head with a sad expression. I balled my hand into a fist and punched the wooden wall next to me, making a hole. I’d lost one. I couldn’t save them all. The pain was sharp and intense. Familiar.

  “He died fighting. There were signs of distress. He died looking after her for you.”

  I nodded. It was the most noble death I could imagine. We would give him a farewell worthy of his honor and his loyalty. I had to take care of the living now first.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  Saul nodded and leaned against the wall, his head right next to the hole I’d just punched. “Just a little beat up, but I’ll survive. I’ve had worse.”

  I nodded. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

  “Me too.”

  We both chuckled and then we fell silent again. We watched the rest of the gang laughing and talking, some of the others, the ones I’d bought over, in the room, too.

  “I don’t know how you did it.”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know, either, to be honest. When I found out she had you I was about to lose my shit all over the show. She’s lucky she’s still alive.”

  Saul smiled. “I was thinking that. You looked murderous when you arrived.”

  We stood side by side for a while. It was good to be home, with my people. It was good to be next to Saul, my brother. All this was good.

  “I asked her to marry me.”

  Saul gave me a sideways glance. “That’s big.”

  I nodded. “She’s different than anyone I’ve ever known. I want to be with her. I want to give her the kind of life she deserves. I want to settle down and have the life I deserve.”

  Saul put his hand on my shoulder and I knew he agreed. He approved. “I always knew you were too good for this life.”

  We gave each other a half hug before I stepped into the room and called for the attention of my men.

  “I have some news,” I said.

  Chapter 28

  Selena

  The office was normal. The club – aside from all the bikes and the rowdy men – was normal. Everything was so normal it felt watered down after the last two days. Everything had been crazy. From the moment they’d arrived to tell Logan May had Saul, everything had spun out of control. Hell, even the proposal and sex in the lake had been out there.

  I had the feeling my life with Logan would always be like that – unpredictable, exciting, different.

  The office was full of papers and I knew this was the Fallen Thorns’ home ground. When Logan left the room I heard him talking to someone and I knew there was someone else at the door, looking after me. Logan made sure I was safe, no matter what.

  I ached inside that Mitchell had died. It was something special when someone died for you, and I knew he’d done it for Logan. For me. I had the greatest respect for him. As for Logan, I felt for him in a way I’d never felt for anyone else. It did something to a girl when a man saved her life. Right there, when May had pointed the gun at me and I’d closed my eyes, ready to die, I’d realized exactly how much I loved Logan. I knew now that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him for sure. It wasn’t just a hasty decision because his proposal had been so out of the blue.

  And it wasn’t because of the sex, even though he was a wildcat in bed. This went so much deeper than that. This was something special that I didn’t let go.

  He hadn’t blown himself up. He hadn’t died. He hadn’t done anything to make me feel like he would never be back and I would have to carry on without him. And I felt like if I married him he would keep trying, for me. He would keep fighting to keep me alive and he would keep fighting to stay alive to be with me. It was a wonderful feeling. Warm. Secure.

  I dialed Joanne’s number. The last time we’d spoken was just before Mitchell was shot. She answered in her business voice because she didn’t recognize the number.

  “It’s me,” I said.

  “Selena? I’m glad you called. You left sounding so rushed and when I tried to phone later you just didn’t answer. Are you okay?”

  I thought about it. So much had happened. But I was okay. “I’m more than okay, now. I’ll tell you later what happened. It’s a long story. I’m with Logan now.”

  “Good.” She sounded like she really approved. “He sounds like he’s good for you.”

  Oh, she had no idea.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something important, though. I got a call from Anjelica, you remember her, don’t you?”

  I tried to rack my brain. Joanne had so many contacts it was enough to make anyone’s head spin.

  “My publisher friend. She came to the book club once.”

  Right. Bombastic. Frizzy. I remembered her.

  “I remember.”

  “She wants to publish your book. You didn’t tell me you sent it to her, you sly thing!”

  I frowned. “My book?” I hadn’t sent it in at all. I never thought it was good enough. It wasn’t even finished.

  “She says you have amazing potential. She wants to pair you up with one of the editors, moving forward.”

  I opened my mouth, not sure what to say, and closed it again without getting anything out. It must have been Logan. I was pretty sure he was the one who had sent it in. He’d held onto it for so long I’d gotten nervous about it. Maybe that was why he encouraged me to write so much while we were at the lake.

  “I’m so surprised,” I finally said, finding the words.

  “I told you your writing is phenomenal. Maybe now you’ll start believing us when we say you have what it takes to make it as a published author.”

  The words sounded good. Published author.

  “I have to go,” I said. “I want to see you, though. Tomorrow? There’s so much to tell you.”

  “I wouldn’t miss a good gossip session for the world.”

  We ended the conversation. I put the phone back in its cradle and opened the door. One of Logan’s men smiled at me. He was big and muscled and rough, just like the rest of them, and I felt totally safe.

  “He’s about to make an announcement,” he said and walked to the bar area. I followed him. Logan was in between his men and he looked at home. It was clear to see they adored him, respected him. They were all quiet even though he wasn’t saying anything. They were waiting for him to be their leader.

  His eyes fell on me and he smiled, stretching out his arm, asking me to join him. I didn’t hesitate. It felt strange stepping into the center of all these strangers but they looked at me with the same regard as they did Logan and I had the feeling they saw me as the leading lady now.

  “Selena and I are getting married.”

  A ripple of murmur traveled through the crowd. The men were obviously shocked, surprised. It made me feel like I was truly the only one for him, that he hadn’t had many girls that he was serious with before.

  “I’m also stepping down from my position as leader of the Fallen Thorns.”

  Another outbreak of chatter but it seemed like this time they’d expected it.

  I frowned and looked up at Logan. “You don’t have to do this.”

  They all looked at me as if I were speaking in tongues.

  “I want to. You deserve this. We deserve this.”

  Something inside me broke up and warmth flooded my body. Love. Trust. Awe. I was the luckiest girl in the world.

  After the announcement we walked arm in arm to the bar. Saul was there. He just smiled at me. I felt unsure around him. He was a bit of a dark horse, but I could see how close he and Logan were.

  “Who did you phone?” Logan asked after he poured himself and Saul a b
eer.

  I declined a drink. I still felt wobbly on my legs and I was nervous alcohol would make me fall over.

  “Joanne. I was on the phone with her when they broke into the apartment.” I swallowed. I didn’t have to mention Mitchell.

  Logan pulled me against him and rubbed my back. I could tell by their faces that they felt the death a lot more acutely, but I’d seen it happen. It would haunt me for months to come.

  “What did she say?”

  I smiled at Logan. “You’ll never guess.”

  He shrugged but he had a naughty look on his face.

  “They’re going to publish my manuscript.”

  “That’s a big deal, isn’t it?” Saul asked.

  I nodded. “Especially considering I never sent it in.”

  Saul raised his eyebrows.

  I looked pointedly at Logan who just shrugged and took another sip of his beer. Saul laughed. When Logan put the beer glass down he kissed me on the forehead with cold lips. “I told you, you are a great writer. You shouldn’t hide that kind of talent from the world.”

  “Well, I don’t have much of a choice now, do I?” I was smiling while I said it. I was happy.

  We stood together and talked. The conversation moved toward Saul and how May had gotten a hold of him in the first place.

  “I was heading back from the Restaurant. I’d stopped there to talk to the boys about what we’d discussed at the Lake.” Saul had been at the cabin the night we’d gotten engaged. “Everyone was safe and I was headed home. I didn’t think I needed to be careful going home – everything had been so quiet for a while. I guess that should have been a sign. They’d put spikes on the tarmac and popped both my tires. When I stopped there were ten of them surrounding me.”

  It sounded horrific. He talked about it so calmly, like it was normal. I didn’t know how he managed to keep his cool, but I knew that these guys went through things like this more often. Maybe they were used to it. Maybe there was some biker class that taught you how to stay calm when you were in a life threatening situation. How to Keep Your Cool 101.

  “They kept me in some warehouse where someone came around the clock to beat me up.”

  I winced. Beat him up? Logan nodded like he knew, but Saul looked fine.

  “They hurt you?” I didn’t mean to sound as shocked as I did.

  Saul nodded, glancing at Logan before he pulled up his shirt. There were bruises all over his ribs and sides. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath through my nose.

  “Sorry,” he said. When I opened my eyes his shirt was back in place and I could imagine I hadn’t seen it in the first place.

  “Now that I’m leaving the Thorns we’ll need someone to take over,” Logan said, changing topic.

  Saul nodded. “No one will be you, though. No one can run this place the way you do.”

  Logan shrugged. “I get what you’re saying, and thank you, but the same was true for Elijah. I would never have been able to fill his shoes but somehow, with the help of the rest of you, I managed to make a difference nevertheless.”

  Saul nodded, not saying anything. I’d heard such great things about Elijah that I wished I could have had the opportunity to meet him. He sounded like he was a wonderful person. It must have run in the family.

  My mind wandered away from the conversation to my own life and what my future held now that everything was so different. I wasn’t just going to the outsider at the book club, with no husband and no real future. I was engaged and I had a future as a published author. It was going to take me a while to get used to the title.

  Selena Hastings, Published Author.

  No. Selena Frost. Published Author. Yeah, that sounded really nice.

  With a publishing contract, there was a chance I didn’t even have to go back to the library again. I could just quit, with immediate effect, and still be okay. Logan had a lot of money. That was becoming abundantly clear – he had a lot more money that he was letting on. Even after I realized he owned the restaurant where we’d had our first date I was still pretty sure I had no idea how loaded he was. That, plus the fact that I was going to be published now meant I could give up my day job.

  Still, I would go back and work my notice month. I would sit there, engaged, with a ring on my finger and a publishing contract pending and rub it in Alicia’s face that she may be the manager of the place but I was getting somewhere in life. I’d gotten the guy, the happily ever after. I relished the thought of her face when she found out Logan and I were engaged, that I was going places. The fact that she would just be stuck in her little office, going nowhere.

  “I’m looking forward to seeing you book in print,” Saul said, pulling me back to the current conversation. He was trying to involve me. Sweet of him.

  I nodded and smiled. “I still have to get used to the idea. It’s all a bit much to digest, what with the events of the past couple of days and the knowledge that nothing will ever be the same.”

  Saul nodded.

  Logan smiled. “I’m looking forward to riding on your coattails. Now that you’ll be bringing in the cash it will be nice just to sit back and do nothing for a change.”

  I pulled a face at Logan. Saul laughed.

  Chapter 29

  Logan

  The time came to do what needed to be done. I could postpone it for as long as I wanted but at the end I knew I was going to do the right thing. I needed to make sure the club was in the right hands, that Selena had the life she deserved and everyone was happy.

  Giving up the club was going to be hard, but I was tired of this life, tired of always being on edge. Since I’d met Selena I’d known I didn’t belong in this life anymore. I would always have my boys’ backs, and I knew they would always have mine, but at the end of the day I didn’t want to be a Thorn anymore. At heart I would always be a Fallen Thorn but it wasn’t ever going to be the same.

  I knew it would be hard but I had dealt with change before. I was good at it. And unlike all the other disasters that had taken place in my life to force change, this time it was my own choice. There was something very liberating about that.

  I stepped into the middle of the room and everyone fell silent. That kind of respect and loyalty was something I would always hold dear. I had no doubt that my men were the best kind, with honor and integrity.

  “My friends. My family. Selena and I are engaged now and in light of that I am not going to carry on my duty as the leader of the club.”

  A murmur rippled through the crowd and I smiled. They all knew we were serious but this was far-fetched even for me.

  “I am going to step down as the leader of the Fallen Thorns, effective today.”

  More murmuring. They weren’t happy but I knew they would understand, in light of what had happened earlier. Most of them had families; they all understood.

  “It had been a great run and no one could have asked for a better group of men to watch their back. You will always be the people that I hold closest to my heart.” It was emotional for a biker but I needed to get it off my chest. “I will always be here for you as I know you will be for me. I’ll only be a phone call away.”

  I felt emotional, a lump in my throat, but I swallowed it down. Emotional as it was, I wasn’t going to cry.

  “We need to decide on a new leader.”

  I looked around the group. It was going to be one of them and it had to be someone that they all wanted as their new leader. This one wasn’t up to me, but up to them.

  “Saul!” someone in the back called out. Another one copied it, and after a moment they all joined in and started chanting his name. Saul, Saul, Saul.

  I looked at him and laughed. “They’ve spoken, brother.”

  He nodded and walked toward me, leaving Selena alone at the bar. She looked as emotional as I felt.

  “Is this what you want?”

  Saul thought about it in earnest for two seconds and then nodded. “It will be an absolute honor to take up the reins. Some big shoes to fill.”<
br />
  I smiled. It was my father’s and Elijah’s but he was the man for the job. He could do what they had wanted for the place all along.

  I turned back to the men. “All in favor of Saul as the new leader, say aye.”

  “Aye!” They shouted as one man.

  They started stamping their feet and it filled the room like a muted thunder, a biker’s applause. I gave him a hug, clapping him on the back. I walked back to Selena, letting him address the club as their new leader.