Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3)

by Betham, Michelle

  ‘Aye,’ Coby sighed, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘Just, be careful, OK? Eyes and ears open at all times, you got that? Something’s happening, Kip. I just have no idea what, and no idea when… Shit! This is fucking crazy!’

  ‘Let’s kick back a bit tonight, huh?’

  Coby looked at him, frowning slightly.

  ‘A party.’ Kip grinned. ‘And I don’t mean some pre-wedding family get-together. Let’s have a club party, y’know, like back in the day. Before old ladies starting getting in the way of our fun.’

  Coby’s face started to crack a slow smile. ‘Now you’re talking, kiddo!’

  ‘Leave it with me, OK? I’ll get Luca on the case. I’m sure he’ll be quite willing to get a good crowd together. And no Lexi, all right? Cat won’t be coming ‘cause she’s visiting her mum in Burbank until Wednesday. And I’m sure there isn’t a brother out there who’d say no to a night away from their women.’

  Coby walked over to Kip, giving his back a friendly slap. ‘I knew there was a reason I’d made you my V.P.’

  ‘Hey, it’s nothing. Any excuse, huh?’

  ‘Aye… Go on. Get out of here. And check we’ve got enough alcohol behind that bar for tonight. I’m in the mood to make it a late one.’

  He waited until Kip was out the door before he wandered back over to the window, staring out at the compound, listening to the sound of engines revving coming from the garage, the noise of construction work going on out back as the new buildings continued to take shape, new ventures that could only strengthen the Lone Riders’ portfolio of legitimate businesses. He had this club back on the right track, they were almost there – almost working on a level where the trust and the belief that he and his brothers; the women who helped make this place what it was, they were almost at that point where the town could start looking to them once more as a source of safety and support. He could only hope that whatever was about to happen next; he could only hope and pray that whatever that was didn’t wreck everything because, right now, hope was all he had.

  ***

  Ben was edgy. She hadn’t sounded her usual self when he’d called her and asked her to come here, to their place. And that bothered him.

  Sinking to the ground he leaned back against his bike, drawing his legs up, resting his elbows on his knees as he fiddled with the leather bands around his wrist. The sun was too hot, and he could feel the sweat on the back of his neck, but that’s what you got for coming out early afternoon in the middle of a heat wave.

  He turned his head as he heard a bike roar across the old railway yard, and he quickly pulled himself to his feet. It was her. He recognized her red Harley Roadster.

  She swung the bike around a little way back from him, killing the engine dead but she didn’t get off straightaway, and he watched as she sat there, her fingers gripping the handlebars tightly, her head slightly bowed.

  ‘Mia?’

  He started to walk towards her, but then stopped as she finally removed her helmet and climbed off the bike, slowly raising her head until her eyes met his.

  ‘You lied to me.’ Her voice was quiet, but the harshness in her tone shot a warning signal right through him. ‘You knew what I’d been through with Lennie, you knew all of that, and you didn’t tell me.’

  He was confused, this completely unexpected barrage knocking him slightly off-kilter. ‘What the hell’s going on…?’

  ‘Carrie. You never told me about Carrie.’

  He kept his eyes locked with hers, trying hard to keep his composure because this couldn’t be happening. How the hell did she know about Carrie? ‘I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think it was important.’

  Her laugh echoed around the deserted yard; a harsh, dead-to-the-ear sound. ‘You didn’t think it was important?’ She walked over to him, her eyes never leaving his. ‘You beat her. You verbally abused her…’

  ‘Is that what she told you?’

  She stared at him, right into his eyes and he’d never seen a look so cold, on anyone, let alone a woman. ‘Are you telling me she’s lying? That she made it all up? Are you telling me she doctored the photograph she showed me?’

  ‘Photographs are only proof something happened, Mia. They aren’t proof that I was the one who did whatever it was she’s claiming I did. I wasn’t the only brother she slept with…’

  ‘You’re really gonna stand there and do this, huh? To me?’

  ‘Please, Mia…’ He reached out to take her hand but she pulled it away, although her eyes still refused to leave his.

  ‘Did you hurt her, Ben?’ Her voice, although still quiet, was consumed by a dark, almost flat tone.

  ‘Mia, please…’

  ‘Did you hurt her?’

  Ben bowed his head, breathing in deeply.

  She laughed, a quick, humorless laugh. ‘You can’t even look at me.’

  He slowly raised his gaze, his eyes once more locking with hers. ‘I love you…’

  ‘No,’ she whispered, shaking her head, backing away from him. ‘No. Don’t say that. Don’t you dare say that…’

  ‘I’m not that man anymore, Mia. What happened with Carrie… It was a mistake…’

  ‘A mistake?’ She let out another short, sharp laugh. ‘Jesus, Ben…’

  He moved towards her, but the look she gave him stopped him dead in his tracks. It was like an invisible barrier had just shot up between them. ‘It was all part of a past I’m not proud of. What I did to her, I regret it so much…’

  ‘I’m sure you do. I’m sure men like you pull that line out so often it just rolls off the tongue after a while, but I’m not listening. I’m not taking that risk.’

  ‘I’ve changed, Mia…’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Please… baby, I’m begging you…’

  She straddled her bike, pulling her helmet back on and kick-starting the engine, killing the conversation dead. ‘Begging is such an unattractive trait, Ben.’ She threw him one last stare, her eyes cold as ice, before she sped off.

  ‘Shit!’ Ben almost screamed the word out, a fierce frustration washing over him, enveloping him. All this crap, it was hitting him too fast, coming at him from all angles and any control he still had over anything, he felt as though it was being ripped away from him at every turn. And most of it – all the shit with his father, the Lone Riders, Sol; he could handle that. He could deal with all of that in a heartbeat, but losing Mia – she’d been the one thing he’d known could keep him from going back. She could have saved him. He’d never intended to lose her, despite everything Sol was ordering him to do. Walking away hadn’t been something he’d planned on doing. So losing her, that was the killer. That was the trigger. That was something that changed everything…

  Eighteen

  Mia slid up onto a stool by the bar and ordered a beer, glancing around the clubhouse as she waited for Red to fetch her drink. Lexi had told her it was a club party tonight. No old ladies invited. But Mia wasn’t anyone’s old lady anymore, was she? So she had every right to be here.

  ‘Didn’t expect to see you tonight.’

  She turned to see Coby slide up onto the stool next to her. ‘It’s a party, isn’t it?’ She took a long gulp of beer before turning her gaze back on the Lone Riders’ president. ‘And I’m just in the mood to party.’

  Coby narrowed his eyes, sensing something wasn’t right here. ‘You know this is a…’

  ‘No old ladies tonight. I know.’ Another mouthful of beer. ‘ But, you see, Coby, I’m nobody’s old lady. Not anymore.’

  He frowned, holding her gaze, seeing something in her eyes that he didn’t feel entirely comfortable with. ‘You seen Ben?’

  ‘Oh yeah.’ She broke the stare. ‘I’ve seen Ben.’

  ‘When?’ Coby’s voice was monotone; slightly mistrusting. He didn’t like being kept out of the loop, that wasn’t the way things worked.

  She slowly turned her head to look back at him, her expression impassive. ‘This afternoon.’

  ‘Why?’
He could feel an anger rising up in him. This shit wasn’t helping. What the fuck was Ben playing at?

  ‘I had no choice.’ She stared back down at her beer. ‘After what Kip told me. After seeing Carrie…’

  She trailed off, and Coby felt that anger multiply as he looked over at Kip sitting happily between two Candy Cave girls. His trusted V.P. A man who’d done exactly what he’d instructed him not to.

  ‘Who the hell is Carrie?’ Coby asked, trying his hardest to keep his voice calm.

  Mia waited a beat or two before she spoke again, her eyes down, her voice still flat. ‘Carrie is the woman Ben fucked over, Coby. The woman he beat… he’s no different to Lennie.’ She raised her gaze, her eyes once more meeting his. ‘He didn’t think that was something he should have told me. He didn’t think it was important.’

  ‘And where does Kip come into this, darlin’?’

  ‘I don’t know how, but he found her – Carrie. He found her, found out what Ben had done to her, and he made me listen to what she had to say.’ She finished her beer, draining the bottle and slamming it back down on the counter. ‘He lied to me. And I’m done with all that shit.’

  ‘For Christ’s sake…’ Coby sighed, almost kicking his stool back as he stood up, striding over to Kip. ‘Chapel. Now.’

  ‘Jesus, Coby, what the fuck…?’

  Coby wasn’t listening; he just strode off in the direction of the meeting room.

  ‘For fuck’s sake…’ Kip whispered something to one of the women who’d been climbing all over him before leaving them to entertain each other. He’d be back. ‘Coby? What the hell…?’ He followed Coby into the chapel, closing the door behind them. ‘What the fuck’s the matter with…?’

  ‘I told you to leave it alone, Kip. I told you to step back and leave it the fuck alone. But no, you couldn’t fucking do that. You couldn’t forget your own fucking feelings and stay on track… Jesus!’ Coby turned away for a second, raking both hands through his hair, almost pulling at it in frustration. ‘Do you know what you might have done here?’

  ‘Yeah, I know exactly what I might have done.’ Kip didn’t need to ask what Coby was talking about. He knew. ‘I’ve stopped Mia from becoming involved with another man who could hurt her, a man who has the ability to destroy her…’

  ‘You do not go behind my fucking back, you hear me? I ask you to do something, you fucking do it. Jesus, I made you my V.P. because I thought I could trust you.’

  ‘She’s better off without him, Coby…’

  ‘And she’s told him that.’

  ‘She’s seen him?’ Kip was slightly surprised at that, although he knew he shouldn’t have been. Wasn’t that what he’d wanted? For her to tell Ben it was over – that they were done? But now he knew it had happened, he was only just beginning to realize that his timing really may have been more than a little off.

  ‘Oh, she’s seen him. And what do you think this has done, Kip? What kind of mood do you think this has put Ben Salter in, huh?’

  ‘Did she tell him it was me who…?’

  ‘I have no idea. I haven’t really gone into depth with her over this, but even if she didn’t tell him, he isn’t a stupid man. He’ll work it out. Put two and two together. He’ll know. And what do you think that’s gonna do for his loyalty to us now, huh?’

  ‘Shit!’ Kip threw his head back and let out a long, frustrated sigh. ‘Shit!’

  ‘I know you care about her, Kip. I get that, OK?’

  ‘He was no good for her, Coby.’

  ‘You shouldn’t have got involved.’

  Kip looked straight at Coby. ‘You just told me she’s seen him. Which means… Have they been seeing each other…?’

  ‘Just do as I fucking ask, you got that? There’s so much shit going on right now that we obviously know fuck all about… Jesus! How the hell did I lose this much control?’

  ‘Do you want me to speak to Mia? See if he’s told her anything?’

  ‘I want you to keep the fuck away from her, that’s what I want you to do. You’ve done enough damage.’

  ‘I saved her, Coby.’

  ‘Christ, spare me the super-hero shit, Kip. You went behind my back, and you stirred up more crap. Fuck knows where we stand now…’ He made for the door, stopping briefly to take a deep breath. ‘No more, Kip, d’you hear me? No more. Leave Mia alone, and let me deal with this.’

  Kip held his hands up in surrender. He’d achieved what he’d wanted, but at what cost?

  ‘I’ll go talk to Mia,’ Coby sighed. ‘You go back out there and enjoy yourself. Pointless both of us wasting the night.’

  Coby headed back into the clubhouse, but Mia wasn’t anywhere to be seen. So he tried outside, weaving his way between the crowds of people who were gathered out in the compound, making his way out back to the small gated yard at the rear of the clubhouse.

  ‘Want one?’ Mia held out a packet of cigarettes, and he walked over to her, taking one and lighting up. ‘I don’t usually smoke that much anymore, but after the day I’ve had…’ She trailed off, blowing an impressive stream of smoke up into the black night sky.

  ‘You were seeing him.’ It wasn’t a question. ‘Even though he was back in the Dark Angels, even though it was dangerous, you were still seeing him.’

  ‘I loved him.’ She shrugged, blowing out another stream of smoke, this time aiming it down at the ground. ‘I tried to stay away; we tried to stay away from each other, but it was too hard. I loved him. I wanted to be with him. I needed to know he was OK.’

  ‘And now?’

  She looked up, taking a long drag on her cigarette. ‘Now I couldn’t give a fuck whether the bastard lives or dies.’

  Coby narrowed his eyes, but he said nothing.

  She turned her head away from him, throwing her cigarette down on the ground and grinding it into the concrete with the heel of her boot. ‘Kip did me a favor.’

  ‘Kip shouldn’t have done it.’

  ‘He did me a favor.’

  Coby sighed, leaning back against the wall. ‘When you saw him – Ben. When you saw him, did he say anything about… did he say anything about Shane? Anything about what the Dark Angels were planning?’

  Mia shook her head, her eyes still down on the ground, focusing on her squashed cigarette butt. ‘We didn’t really meet up for daily briefings.’

  Coby couldn’t help a small, frustrated sigh from escaping. They were no farther forward. In fact, if anything, thanks to Kip, they’d probably now taken more than a couple of steps backwards. The Dark Angels had the upper hand, and he had no idea what the fuck to do next. His head was a mess. ‘I’m sorry.’ He watched as she raised her gaze, her expression cold. ‘We’ll protect you, you know that, don’t you?’

  ‘You gonna take him back? When all this is over?’

  Coby shifted his gaze, staring out into the darkness. ‘To be honest, Mia, I don’t know what the hell I’m doing anymore. I don’t know what’s going on, what I’m supposed to be thinking or feeling or… it’s a mess. It’s a fucking mess. And that was the last thing I wanted.’

  ‘Are they coming for us?’ Her voice was barely a whisper.

  ‘Aye, darlin’. I think they are.’

  ‘Has what’s happened between me and Ben – has that made things worse?’

  He looked at her, right into her eyes. ‘I don’t know, sweetheart. I just know we could be in trouble here. And now that Ben’s…’ His eyes dipped again. ‘I don’t know, Mia. We’re just gonna have to be on our guard.’

  ‘I’m sorry.’

  His head shot up. ‘Hey, you’ve got nothing to be sorry for, darlin’. What’s happened here, this is Kip’s fault.’

  ‘He was only trying to stop history repeating itself.’

  ‘He shouldn’t have gone about it the way he did.’

  ‘Like I said, he did me a favor. I don’t need to go back there, do I?’

  ‘No, kid. You don’t.’

  ‘Anyway,’ she sighed, running her fingers through her
hair and shaking it out so it fell down around her shoulders. ‘I need a drink.’ She fixed him with a look Coby really couldn’t read. ‘I’ll see you in there.’

  He watched her walk away, her hips swaying slowly, effortlessly. The way she moved was almost hypnotic. ‘Mia?’

  She stopped walking, but she didn’t turn around. She didn’t do anything – neither of them did – for a couple of beats. And then she reached out behind her, still facing away from him, opening her hand and he took it, pulling her back against him, pushing her hair from the back of her neck and kissing it gently. His mouth brushed over her skin in small, feather-light touches, and she responded with quiet moans, her body pushing back against his and he felt his dick spring into action, straining to be set free. But he wasn’t rushing this. If she didn’t want this, he’d let her go. He wasn’t going to force her, but he wanted her. Jesus, he wanted her! He wanted to dive right into her, escape into her soaking wet heaven and not think about the crap and the reality that was happening right now. He wanted to do so many wrong things. He just didn’t want to think.

  Sliding off her jacket he threw it down on the ground, doing the same with her T-shirt, his hands splaying out over her naked breasts, his erection responding to the feel of her rock-hard nipples. She wasn’t fighting it, so far. In fact, she was relaxing against him, her fingers in his hair, her body still pushing back against him. And he wanted to fuck her, so bad, so hard he almost came there and then.

  Keeping tight hold of her, he quickly swung her around so she faced the wall, loosening her jeans and yanking them down, along with her panties, his hands on her inner thighs pushing her legs apart. And then he was inside her; he’d pushed into her so quickly he hadn’t even realized he was in there until he took a second or two to breathe, to let her wet warmth envelop him, draw him in, her moans becoming that little bit louder as he thrust gently, in and out of her. And once again she responded, replying to each thrust by pushing her ass back against him, causing him to thrust deeper, so deep he could feel himself hit his limit. Jesus! She was so tight, her muscles gripping him like a vice until he had no other option but to let go, erupting in a mass of groans and thrusts, his hands on her hips keeping her pressed against him as he emptied out inside of her. It was like the greatest, most powerful relief. It was wrong, on so many levels, and he knew that – even as he was shooting his load out into her warm, wet pussy he knew it was wrong. And he didn’t care. He didn’t fucking care. He loved Lexi, he did. He loved her, she was his whole fucking world, but he didn’t care that, right now, he was hurting her in the cruellest of ways. By fucking her beautiful, damaged sister.