by Sierra Rose
"She's alright. It was a rough day." I moved to the edge of the covering, wanting to walk out into the rain and enjoy the serenity of it washing over me.
"I bet. Her grandmother was the only soft spot she had left in her life."
"Hey. I'm soft." I glanced back at him and smiled. "Well, only when she needs me to be."
"I hear most girls like it hard, but whatever words, kid." He chuckled and knelt down in front of Knife's hog as he groaned loudly.
"We should get that leg checked." I moved to the other side of the bike and pressed my hands to the top. "You know that, right?"
The sound of Blade's voice behind me startled me. "He's not getting that checked. He'd rather the fucking thing just rot off."
"That's dumb." I glanced back at Blade before returning my attention back to Rusty. "Let me get Animal's truck and I'll take you into town."
"No. Shut the fuck up about it. All of you." Rusty coughed and moved back to fixing the motorcycle.
"Where's your old lady?" Blade leaned against the wall, watching me as if I might spill some grand secret soon.
"She's at her grandmother's house. I'm going back over there after a while. She wanted some time to herself, and I'm going to grab Animal and head over to the Black Hearts’ club house, if you guys are cool with it." I hadn't planned on asking, but now that I was standing in front of the only man who'd been like a father at all to me, I figured I might as well.
"Yeah. Check to see if there are signs of life out there. Just make sure you're packing heat. You know those bastards are probably holed up in that place." He shivered in what appeared to be disgust and mumbled something.
"I wanted to talk with you and Knife again about Lena." I crossed my arms over my chest and stood up straight. I wasn't sure what I expected from him, but just in case he wanted to give me any shit, I was ready to combat it.
"What's there to discuss? You belong to us. She belongs to you; therefore, she's welcome here. As long as you're completely sure that she's not still working for her daddy, we're good." He shrugged and slipped his hands into his pockets. "It's not as if you can help who fall in love with, boy. Shit happens. Make sure she's clean and bring her out here. You know we're not going to deny her anything."
"You guys were cocks that day her bike broke down a while back. Remember that shit?"
Rusty stuck his head up and laughed. "Yeah, you jumped at the chance to help her fast, didn't ya? Bet you took her into the forest and fixed her up good."
"Fuck you, old man." I smiled and pushed at the bike a little, scaring the old fart and starting him cursing.
"She's Delgado's daughter, Lucky. His only daughter." He lifted his eyebrow in challenge. "She was still very much working for him at that point, and you know it."
"Yeah. I guess you're right." I ran my hand through my short hair and glanced across the yard to see Animal and Viper walking toward us. "She's his only kid altogether."
"I'm not so sure about that, but whatever.”
I shot him a look.
“He’s always screwing some bitch. But it's irrelevant now." Blade shrugged, but his words grabbed my attention.
"What are you tal-"
Animal let out a holler and jumped toward the Harley beside me, shaking it as Rusty climbed to his feet and waved a wrench around in the air.
"You fucker. I was down there." He moved around the bike with a look of retribution on his old face.
"I was just teasing, old timer. Shit burgers." Animal turned to me and nodded. "Let's get the fuck outta here before I get my ass handed to me."
"Might be the only time someone touches your ass, hm?" Viper laughed at himself before turning his steely eyes onto me. He was the thinnest of us, and his haggard look left him looking downright mean. "You alright?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
“I got your text,” Animal said. “Are we going or what?”
I glanced over at him. "Grab your truck."
"Awww... Really? I thought we were riding. What the fuck, man?" He pulled his keys from his pocket. "You owe me dinner or beer for risking my life tonight for some fucking clothes."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm thinking dinner, seeing that you drink like a goddamn fish."
He sucked his cheeks in and bulged his eyes out as the other guys pushed at him and chuckled. He was a crazy mother fucker, but quickly becoming the comic relief I needed in my life.
A strong hand wrapped around my upper arm and pulled me back as I started to go. Blade.
"I'm serious about you bringing the girl back out here. It's not up for discussion. Put your foot down with her. You guys are sitting ducks out there, and you fucking know it. Stop messing around and come home tonight." He lifted his eyebrow in challenge.
"I will tomorrow. I’m helping her clean up Grandma's house tonight. I promise." I nodded, tugged my arm gently from his grasp and followed Animal to the truck.
"So, you think anyone is out there?" He stopped by the hood and slid his hands along the sleek, bright blue body.
"I don't know. Some part of me wants there to be, so I can let off some steam, but I know it wouldn't be good for us if there were." I shrugged and got into his truck, wishing I had one like it for myself.
"I hear that." He tapped the steering wheel after turning on some hard rock music from the nineties. "Hey, you know that the shop in town I work at is looking for a few more grease monkeys. You should come help us out. I know you do odd jobs and shit, but it's really a decent paycheck."
I glanced over at him and nodded. "I might have to check that out. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be supporting my girl soon, seeing that her daddy's wallet went with him."
"Where did the bastard go? Any ideas?" He turned off the long dirt road that ran in front of the club and got on the asphalt, leading us into town.
"No, but I would assume to one of these neighboring cities around here. His whole life and the history of his family is here in Pleasant Valley. We haven't seen the last of him." I cracked my knuckles one at a time and ignored Animal's stare. He would get over it, and I was a little nervous, though I'd never let anyone know it.
"I hope we haven't. It's fucking boring when he's not stirring up shit." Animal rolled down his window and waved his arm wildly as he started to sing.
I glanced out the other window and let my thoughts go. I was fucking tired and needed a three-day nap, but that wouldn’t be happening anytime soon. The list of things to do just ran on and on. Good thing Lena would be mine for the night. I needed to remember why we wanted to keep pushing forward. It was for each other if nothing else.
"Looks fucking dead as a doornail to me." Animal turned the truck off and gave me a sideways glance. "This should be easy."
"Let's hope so. I need to get Lena's shit packed up, and then we can check out the other rooms and look along the back of the property." I got out of the truck and walked toward the doors of the enormous white house.
Animal jogged up beside me and slid his hands into his jeans pockets. "The back of the property? Did that have an underground lair or something back there?"
"No, you idiot, but there is a shed that they used to torture people and shit. Who knows what's out there?" I jogged up the front porch steps and knocked on the door.
"Or what's out there." Animal shivered and wrapped his arms around himself. "You believe in ghosts and shit?"
"What? No. Shut the fuck up with all that." I knocked once more before opening the door. It wasn't locked, which didn't surprise me. Rafael had little reason to fear many people, but maybe if he had, he wouldn't be in the situation he was in.
I wanted to lay waste to the sorry mother fucker, and so did the rest of my MC. The only person who wanted his blood spilled more than any of us was Lena. I couldn't let her kill him, though. It would have to be me. She didn't need that on her conscience for the rest of her life. It would haunt her.
"You want me to help with her room?" Animal paused at the bottom of the large stairway that lead to the second floor.
"Yeah. Get your ass up here and let's do this quickly. We need to find some boxes if we can." I turned right and pushed the door open across the hall from Lena's room. The image of her cousins hurting the Barnes girl left a shiver running down my back. The bastards had no sense of decency at all. As much as I didn't want anything to do with Dane, I was going to have to talk to him soon. Where Rafael had a bullet with his name on it, I wasn't planning on going on a murder spree. The other guys would have to be brought in on various felony charges.
We needed proof of their nefarious acts to do that. The DEA was fucking useless as far as I was concerned, and it was a hard lesson to have to learn, but I was glad I learned it earlier rather than later. Their plan seemed so perfect, but after the first one blew up, they had nothing.
"Dumb asses." I moved to the closet at the back of the office and pulled it open as empty boxes poured out toward me. "Bingo. Come grab some of these, dude."
"Alright. Stop calling me dumb though. You know I hate that shit."
“What? I didn't--" I rolled my eyes. "Never mind. I'll watch myself. Get a handful and let's go. I don't want to be caught with my pants down if someone shows up."
"Pants down? What the fuck? I'm not that kind of guy, Luck. You ain't gettin' lucky today." He snorted. "Get it? Oh man, your name is too--"
"Shut up." I pressed my hand into his chest as I stopped at the open door.
"Dude, I was just--"
"Shut the fuck up. I'm serious." I gave him a warning look. "There's someone downstairs."
His eyes widened and a sick smile formed on his lips. "Oh, this should be fun."
I bent down and laid the empty boxes on the floor before pulling my piece from the back of my pants and moving down the hall.
The front door opened and I lifted my gun, yelling in a low voice. "Freeze. Don't move a muscle or I'll--"
Dane turned and lifted his hands. "Or you'll what?"
"What are you doing here?" I lowered my gun and tucked it back in my pants as Animal jogged up beside me.
"Ahhh, really? It's just your fucking cop friend." He scoffed and walked back toward Lena's room.
"I'm here to look for evidence, Lucky. It's not like we can bring these bastards in without proof that they've done something worthy of another warrant." He gave me a look and turned, walking toward the far end of the house.
I jogged down the stairs and followed after him. "Are you telling me that the bullet you removed from Thomas and Lena's Grandma isn't enough to convict Rafael and Elec of murder?"
He paused and glanced back. "That's plenty for them, but what about Mateo, Paz, Javi, Santino? Anything you got on them would help. If not, fuck off."
"Oh hell no, you don't." I moved toward him and grabbed the front of his shirt, slinging him back toward the front door. "Get the fuck out of here before I tear you in half."
"Fuck you. You can be as pissed as you want, but it was me who set you up with Lena when I was in love with her. It was me that got you set up to help her bust her father, and if you think all that shit went down because she got caught with a wire, you're wrong, asshole. It went badly because you didn't use discretion. You did what you wanted, when you wanted, like a fucking idiot. You think he didn't know about the two of you for years? He did." He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth as he glared at me.
I'd never seen him so upset. "Did you just say that you're in love with my girl?"
"I said that I was. I'm over it now. Once you decided you were in love with her, I was done." He ran his hands through his hair. "You need to get off your fucking high horse and let's start helping each other again."
"Why? You failed me." I tried to ignore the pain that laced me to think that Dane had once loved my girl. He would have been a much better fit for her, though she never would have dated him. He was safe and clean, caring and good hearted. He had a great family and... and...
And all the shit I didn't have.
"You failed you." He spat at me and walked down the hall, leaving me standing there before he skidded to a stop. "I'm not turning my back on you, Lucas. I've been your best friend my whole goddamn life. Just because I missed the mark this once doesn't give you the right to give up on me. You can join me in the search for these bastards, or you can stay the fuck outta my way."
I turned to face him, hearing the truth in his words as if they were being screamed in face. I nodded. "Let's look for evidence of them being here. There's a storm coming and I need to get to Lena. We can search for the rest tomorrow."
"Alright. I'll take the downstairs. You go up with Animal." Dane pulled his gun out and moved into the dining hall as I turned and bounded back up the stairs.
I wasn't done being pissy toward Dane, but this was about keeping Selene safe. The more of us looking for these bastards, the better chance we would have of finding them.
Chapter 3
Selene
Lucky left and I walked around Grandma's house for a little while, doing nothing really, but touching everything. I wanted her spirit to linger in some corner of the quaint little home that she'd raised my mother in, but it didn't. I don’t believe in those things anyway. If it were true, I'd have felt my mother's presence a long time before this.
I cleaned up the kitchen and started to pack up some of her things. The TV was on in the living room and the weather report caught my attention. A storm was headed our way, and it looked like it was soon to hit.
"I need a thirty minute ride, at least." I pulled off my shirt and slacks and changed into jeans, a t-shirt, my jacket and my shit-kickers. Lucky knew where the key was about the front door-frame, so leaving and worrying about him was out.
After locking up, I jogged down the old cement stairs and got on my bike. I tilted my head to the sky and smiled as the clouds shifted just a little and the sun hit my face. A short ride and a long bath would be perfect as I waited on Lucky to come back.
"He would have stayed if you hadn't asked for time to yourself, moron." I pulled the helmet on, ignoring the pain as it pulled at the long strands of my dark hair. I looked too much like my father, and something told me that glancing at a mirror would just be one of those things that would forever haunt me. "After you kill him."
I cranked the bike and sat there for a minute, letting it purr between my legs. Something about the steady, rhythmic sound of it humming calmed my spirits. I'd been a biker from the time I could walk. It was in my blood and it always would be.
There was no way I would ever be a Stone Wolf, though I appreciated the kindness they were extending to me and Lucky where our relationship was concerned. I was too much my father's child, and rebel and freedom were ingrained in me. Lucky could be whatever he wanted, and I would just play his old lady when the time called for it.
I chuckled and drove out to the lake, enjoying the feeling of the wind against my body and the light roar of thunder in the distance. After parking my bike by an old maple tree, I tied it up and walked down to the lake, pulling off my helmet and messing with my disheveled hair.
Another bike pulled up behind me, and I turned, realizing that I'd left my pistol at Grandma's house on the kitchen table.
"Fuck," I mumbled as the rider stopped beside my bike and revved his engine. The Black Heart's leather jacket he wore should have helped me guess who it was, but all I could assume was that it was Elec or Paz. I prayed like hell it was Elec.
He turned off his bike and got off of it before pulling his helmet off and narrowing his eyes on me. Elec.
"Why are you out here by yourself, Sel? You know you're not safe, right?" He walked toward me before getting up on the dilapidated picnic table beside the lake. He patted the seat next to mine. "Come here."
"No. I'm good here." I put my hands on my hips. "I still owe you an ass whooping for tossing me in the back of that car."
"Part of the plan. I told you this."
"You hitting me wasn't." I growled softly, ready to take him in a fight if necessary. He wasn't much bigger than me, but much
unlike myself, I bet he had two or three weapons at his disposal.
"Yes it was. You needed a bruise or laceration across your face when we got there." He pressed his forearms to his knees. "The problem is that you got out of the car somehow."
"You left your tools in the truck with me, idiot." I walked toward him, but stopped at a healthy distance.
"On purpose. Since when have you ever known me to be sloppy about anything, girl?" He brushed his fingers across his lips and arched his back, stretching.
"Never." I turned and let my eyes move across the lake. "Where is my father?"
"In a county over from here. Safe and tucked away for now."
"And you want him safe?" I turned my attention back on Elec.
"I have to pretend like I do. I honestly don't know what I want. The way of life that he raised me into is all I know." He tilted his head, studying me a little. "Do you remember when we were young and my daddy used to hit me all the time, smack me upside the head and fuck me good?"
"Yes." My heart dropped at the look on his face. For all intents and purposes, he was a villain and yet as a child, he didn't deserve to be hit or verbally beaten to the ground.
"You know why he did that?" He glanced up at me, the sun breaking through the clouds and catching a few of his scars, as if the heavens could hear our conversation.
"No, but there was no reason for--"
"Because he said I wasn't his." He ran his hands through his slicked-back, black hair. "He said that my mother fucked around and got knocked up with me. Said that I was a bastard he was forced to raise." He turned his attention back toward the lake. "I still feel that way, most days."
"What happened to your mother? Did you ever ask her about your real dad?" I honestly didn't know Elec's story. I'd been too much into my own world when I was a little girl and all the shit he was describing was happening.
"Dad killed her when I was eight. I don't remember much about her, but when I was old enough... I killed him." He pulled out his phone and let out a growl. "I gotta go. You need to keep that ugly white boy next to you. It's not safe."
