Outlaw Ride

by Sarah Hawthorne

  Clint and I stood next to each other as the car pulled out of the driveway. I reached up to wipe a tear away and he put his arms around me.

  “She’ll be back soon.” He squeezed me against his side. “No tears, okay?”

  “I know.” I smiled up at him. “I’ll miss her.” I patted his chest. Then our eyes locked. I realized that he was holding me, comforting me.

  Clint stepped away. “You won’t have time to miss her.” He grabbed his keys. “We’re leaving tomorrow. Be at the clubhouse at 5:00 a.m.”

  He was right. I didn’t have time to miss Nana. The next day we would leave for Reno.

  * * *

  It was still dark outside when I got to the clubhouse. A few guys milled around the bar area. Clint, Rip, and Colt were leaned over a map that was spread out on the pool table. Since Colt was there, I looked around for Krista. She wasn’t there, but I did see Bettes.

  “You’re here early,” I said, giving her a hug.

  “I’m here to see the guys off.” She handed me a blueberry muffin from a basket on the bar. “It’s tradition that when they go on a run, we usually give them a goodbye kiss. Since none of the guys going have girlfriends, I thought I’d give them hugs at least.” Her eyes went wide and I could see wheels turning in her heard. “Tate told me about the other night. I was hoping you guys would reconcile by now.”

  “Things are...slow. I think the argument the other night was progress.” I tore a piece off the top of the muffin and ate it. It was dry and caught in my throat.

  “I hope you guys work through it. Oh, here.” She slipped something into my hands. It was an MP3 player. “I have a lot of audiobooks, thought you might want to borrow it for the ride. They’re all romance novels. Hope you like them.”

  “Thanks!” I laughed. “I haven’t read a romance novel in years, but I like them. I hope Clint does too, since he’s driving.”

  Bettes’ face turned into a blank mask. Her easygoing smile was gone. I wondered what I had said that was wrong.

  “It’s time to say goodbye.” She grabbed my arm and started walking toward the door.

  The whole group moved outside. They checked engines on the motorcycles and then on the Lamborghini. Roach put my backpack in the trunk and the guys put on helmets. Bettes and I stood off to the side watching the action. It seemed like we were ready to go.

  Tate, the president, greeted each of the guys and they shook hands. I imagined it was how a general would send his troops off into battle.

  As soon as Tate was done with the handshakes, Bettes gave out the hugs. Clint was last on the receiving line, and after she gave him a hug, she turned to me. Then everyone was looking my way. It was weird, like some sort of initiation was happening. They were letting me choose how involved I wanted to be. They didn’t know my role and this was the moment I would establish it. I took a deep breath and started walking across the asphalt.

  I started with Rip. He was the closest to me, so I gave him a hug.

  “Thanks, sister. We’ll keep you safe on the run,” he promised as he gave me a one-armed squeeze.

  “I know you will.” I smiled and moved on to Roach, who gave me a big bear hug.

  “If it don’t work out between you and him, you’ll call me, right?” he said, lifting me off the ground.

  “I can’t.” I couldn’t imagine dating any other guys from the club. They were a family—it wouldn’t be right.

  “Damn, I like you even more for that,” he said, laughing as he set me down. “You’re a good woman.”

  “Thanks.” I was surprised to find myself tearing up. “I think that’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”

  “Jo?” Clint said from my left. He must have walked up while I was hugging Roach.

  I launched myself into his arms. I was still reeling from Roach’s comment. I could never consider dating anyone at the club; it would tear Clint apart and me too. I tried not to cry as I wrapped my arms around him and buried my face in his neck. He slipped his arms around my waist and held me.

  “It’s okay, babe. Everything will go fine,” he assured me.

  “It’s not that,” I said, sniffling. “This whole goodbye thing, it’s because you might not come back. That night in the kitchen, this is what you were thinking about, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” he admitted, kissing the top of my head. “I know you didn’t have to do this, but thanks. It means a lot to me.” Abruptly, he dropped his arms and stepped back. “Do you have your knives?”

  “Yes, I’ve got them.” I patted my hip holster where the stiletto was hidden, and my throwing knives were in my backpack.

  “Good, we’ve had a change in plans. You’re gonna drive and I’m going to ride as far as Tahoe. Then I’ll join you in the car to the drop-off point,” he explained.

  “Sure.” I frowned. He didn’t want to be stuck in a car with me for the twelve-hour drive. “How come you aren’t riding with me?”

  “I thought it would be easier this way.” He didn’t look at me as he opened the car door. “I wanted my bike close by and the Lambo can’t exactly pull a trailer.” There was a hardness to his eyes as he said it. I thought that maybe we had made a little headway in the pawnshop, but apparently not.

  I felt tears prick in my eyes and I wiped them away before Clint could see. I just had to keep it together and not screw anything up as we dropped the car off in Reno.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Clint

  We dropped my bike at a safe house in Tahoe. I slid into the driver’s seat and Jo took the passenger. I liked the Lambo, but I was glad to be rid of her. She made us a goddamn target—the only bright yellow Italian sports car on Reno highways. I was relieved when I pulled into the driveway of the delivery location. It was the house of our buyer, George. Living in a gated community on the south side of town, George obviously had some cash and I was looking forward to getting paid.

  “She’s a beauty,” George said as we shook hands, but then he frowned. “What happened with the fenders? That’s a Strosek, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, sir.” I walked around the side of the car. “If you look here, you can see a bit of the original fender. We had to cover up the rounded edges so the cops wouldn’t pull us over. It’s just a water-based adhesive—pour water on it and the foam will just pop right off in one piece.”

  George gave her a full examination. He took in the Nevada plates and the new fenders in the front. “She’s street legal then?”

  “She will be, once you send in the registration for appropriate tags. She’ll pass smog on the first try, we made sure of that.” I nodded. I knew my shit was clean—this car was gonna be perfect.

  “All right, wait here and I’ll get the cash.” George said as he headed inside.

  Jo and I stood in his driveway, next to the yellow sports car. It was over. The transaction was almost complete. I couldn’t believe it was that easy.

  “So, everything is going well?” she asked. She’d been standing off to the side, letting George and I conduct business.

  “Yeah.” I nodded. “Thanks for your help. We’re on the home stretch. Almost done.”

  As soon as I said that, I wanted to take the words back. What would happen after we were done? Things were so tense between Jo and me, but one thing was clear: delivering this car was the beginning of the end. She would get a job, then she’d move out and find her own place. I’d never see her again. But that was for the best, because then I would never hurt her.

  “I’ve got the cash,” George said from behind us. He was holding out an envelope that was stuffed. I took a quick peek inside.

  “Thanks,” I said, holding it up. “You’ll be in touch about the next vehicle?”

  “I’ll give you guys a call. I have to admit, this has been pretty seamless. The Silver Souls took it pretty hard when I told them I wasn’t going
to have them do it. They just didn’t have the contacts available. What did you guys do to appease them?”

  Things started to click into place. George had only come to us when it became clear the Souls couldn’t produce.

  Fucking shit. This might make it even harder to make nice with those guys. I needed them on our side to make Volk’s plan successful. Of course, Volk’s plan could take a year to implement. I had to start small, and it sounded like there was no way we’d get out of Reno without at least talking to the Souls.

  “We go way back,” I smiled. The Souls had hated the Storm Kings from a long time ago and now that hatred was reserved for the Demon Horde. “The two presidents know each other. It won’t affect the supply chain at all.”

  “Good.” George offered a handshake. “Then I think we’re done. I’ll call you guys in about two weeks with another vehicle. Let me call you a taxi to go back to your hotel.”

  George and I firmed up a few more details about the next deal as we waited for a taxi. The vehicle was a Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R, which was legal in Japan, but not in the U.S. The owner wanted it brought into the country and then altered to pass smog and safety in California. Overall, an easy job and the beginning of a great new line of business for the club.

  As Jo and I climbed into the taxi, she smiled at me. “Everything went well, right?” she whispered, so the cabbie couldn’t hear.

  “Yep,” I lied. Everything had gone well with the drop-off and the exchange of money, but I still didn’t like the fact that George had approached the Souls first. The big question was: Did they know we were doing business on their turf?

  “Shit! Goddamn bikers.” The cabbie swerved. Jo slid across the bench seat and crashed into me. I had one arm around her, reaching in my vest for my piece. “Sorry about that, folks. They didn’t use their turn signals.”

  In front of us were three Silver Souls on their bikes, weaving through traffic. They’d come to give us an escort back to the hotel. We were fucked. They knew.

  The trio changed lanes and quickly got off the freeway. It was some sort of message—too bad I didn’t know exactly what. We were on their land and they knew we were here.

  I released the butt of my gun and left it in my shoulder holster, but I didn’t let go of Jo. It felt good to have contact with her. “Do you have your knives?” I whispered.

  “Yeah.” She patted her hip. “Did we just receive a message?”

  “Loud and clear.” I nodded. “And it’s not one I can ignore. We’re gonna go get checked in and then figure it out.”

  The cabbie continued to the hotel where we were supposed to meet up with Rip and Roach. I scoped out the street as the cabbie dropped us off. No Silver Souls anywhere to be found, so we got out of the cab and headed to the front desk.

  “One king or two queens?” the clerk asked.

  “Two,” I said.

  “One,” Jo told the girl at the counter.

  “How many?” The clerk frowned, confused.

  Jo smiled at the girl and said, “We’re on our honeymoon. We’d really like an upgrade if you can do it.”

  What the hell was she doing? We were going to be here one night and we sure as shit weren’t on our honeymoon. There had to be some angle, so I put my arm around her waist and gave her a squeeze.

  “Yep, we just signed papers at the courthouse earlier today.” I grinned at Jo and she smiled back.

  “Awww.” The check-in girl laughed. “Let’s see what we can do. How about a room with a great view? You can see all up and down Virginia Street.”

  “That would be wonderful!” Jo squealed. “What a great way to start our honeymoon!”

  The clerk handed me the keys and we headed for our room. In my head, I ran through the reasons why Jo pretended we were newlyweds.

  “After you, Mrs. Remmick.” I held the door open to the elevator.

  “I hope you don’t mind,” Jo said as the elevator doors closed. “If someone comes looking for a biker and a woman, I want the girl to think hard as to who that might be. She just labeled us the honeymooners and it will take longer for her to think of you as possibly a biker.” She shrugged. “At least that was my dad’s reasoning. It was one of his tricks.”

  “Well, I’m glad for his help.” I opened the door to our room. King-size bed with a view of Virginia Street below. We’d been riding for over twelve hours and it was closing in on eight o’clock at night. All I wanted to do was shower, make love to Jo, eat a steak and go to bed. In that order. But we had shit to do. At least I could shower.

  “All right, you get settled in. I’m gonna take a quick shower and then go downstairs, find the guys, and figure out our next steps,” I told her.

  “So I’m not going with you?” she asked, crossing her arms. “I came all this way to help protect you and I’m supposed to stay in the room all night while you go risk your life?”

  I groaned. I did not want a fight, but I also didn’t want her getting hurt.

  I stripped off my shirt and threw it across my duffel bag. “You came all this way to be my cover. Which you’re doing a great job of, Mrs. Remmick.” I smiled and tried to make it a joke as I undid my belt.

  Jo turned and moved close to me, close enough to kiss me, but she wasn’t giving off that vibe. Her movements were fast, definitely not sensual. That’s when I felt it. Something hard poking me in the ribs. I grabbed her wrist.

  “What’s in your hand, Jo?” I narrowed my eyes. Was she playing a game?

  She stepped back and showed me the hilt of her knife.

  “It could have been the pointy end, you know.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m good at this. I can help. Take me with you and I won’t be a liability. I promise.”

  “Come here.” I slipped my arms around her waist. She melted against my chest and I held her. God, it was so fucking right between us. How could I have risked this for a bet?

  Finally, I kissed the top of her head. “If you come with us, I’ll be protecting you and not myself or the other guys. I hate to put it like that, but it’s true. I need you here, where I know you’re safe and I can focus on whatever is going to happen with the Silver Souls.”

  She was quiet. I could feel her tracing the engine tattoo on my chest. Over and over she traced it, saying nothing.

  “I got that one when I moved out,” I explained. “My dad said my heart was an engine, because I was so good at fixing them. It was the only nice thing he ever said to me.”

  She laid her head on my chest. “It’s not an engine—I can hear it beating.”

  I held her close. “It’s just a regular old heart, and that’s why I need you to stay here. I want to be able to come back to you.” Finally I pulled away.

  “Fine,” she whispered. “I don’t want to get you hurt. I’ll stay here.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Jo

  I leaned my forehead against the bathroom door. Clint was showering and then he was going to leave—without me. I wouldn’t be able to protect him.

  I understood his reasoning—his attention would be split between me and the Silver Souls. But sitting here in the hotel room left me with no control, no way to help, and I hated it.

  I thought back to the scene in the clubhouse right before we left Tacoma. This was what the wives and girlfriends must feel like when they sent their men off: completely powerless.

  This feeling of love was consuming me. It was the first time in my adult life that I really knew what it was to love someone, the true, deep, romantic love that had kept my parents together for fourteen years. After she disappeared, he looked for her for a year. When my sister and I finally convinced him it was time to move and Mama wasn’t coming back, he searched for her in the bottom of vodka bottles. Would this love finally destroy me like it did my father? I didn’t really care if it did. I needed this feeling—I needed him. I had to throw myself in; the
re was no other escape.

  I stripped off my clothes and walked into the bathroom. I might be in love, but I wasn’t powerless. I could at least give him a reason to return.

  “Jo?” Clint called to me through the shower curtain. “Is that you?”

  “Yeah, it’s me.” I smiled, imagining him prepared to do battle with just a bar of soap for protection.

  I drew back the shower curtain and slipped in behind him. It was a fantastic view. His back and butt were shiny from the water, but he turned quickly. His face was dark, and I realized that maybe this wasn’t such a great idea.

  “You should go.” He leaned in close, so close I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead, he drew back the shower curtain. “Don’t do this, Jo.”

  “I want to do this.” I put my hands behind his neck and pulled his lips onto mine, and I knew I had made the right decision. He was looking for something in the kiss—just like me. We were both desperate.

  As he kissed me, his hands clenched my hips and his dick bumped against my belly. “Fuck,” he said, pulling himself away. “I don’t have a condom. You need to leave, Jo. We can’t do this.”

  “Why not?” I said against the wet skin of his cheek. “Do we need to use one? We’re both clean and I have an IUD.”

  “I can’t.” He leaned down and kissed me, but this time it had lost its passion. “We’re not in a relationship, Jo. It’s not right. There will be nothing between us after this trip.”

  That hit hard, like a punch to the gut. I pushed back from him.

  “I know.” I smoothed my hands over his shoulders. “I know you’re going to walk away from me after this, but just give me tonight. I’m selfish. I want one last night with you,” I pleaded as I looked into his eyes. “The thought of you getting hurt tonight is killing me.” I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his neck. “The idea that I might never see you again is absolutely terrifying.” I swirled my hands over his pecs and then down to his stomach. “I don’t care if you love me, but just pretend that you do.”