by London Casey
I fished it out of my pocket and saw it was Tia calling. I jumped and ran from Cash as he called for me.
“Tia,” I said. “What’s wrong?”
“I think someone is here. Watching me.”
“Fuck,” I said. “Don’t move. I’m on my way.”
I ended the call and grabbed for my shirt and cut.
“What are you doing?” Cash asked.
“Tia. I dropped her off at a little coffee place to meet a friend. There might be trouble. I’ll be back.”
“You can’t ride with your shoulder like that.”
“Watch me,” I said.
I got my shirt and cut on and bolted to my ride. I fired up my beast and took off. I splashed through the water on the ground and weaved through the bodies on the ground.
I had to go save Tia now.
Just another fucking day in my outlaw life.
twenty-four.
(Tia)
He pulled up and I saw a big blood stain on his shoulder and his face looked roughed up.
“Holy shit,” Amber said. “What happened to him?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
Diesel hurried off his motorcycle and ran right toward me. His big hands grabbed my waist and walked me back a few steps.
“Where is he?” Diesel asked.
“In there,” I said and pointed to the coffee shop.
“Stay here,” Diesel said.
He took off and went right into the coffee shop, looking bloody and roughed up.
I chased after him.
No shock that the guy who had been staring at me was gone.
Amber and I looked around the coffee shop and we both confirmed that the creeper was definitely gone.
Back outside, Diesel ran a hand over his head.
“Shit, darling,” he said. “I shouldn’t have left you alone. This is why…”
“What happened to you?” I asked.
“Nothing,” he said.
“That looks like more than nothing,” Amber added.
Diesel looked at her. “You need to go. Get somewhere safe and stay there. Got it?”
“Who was that guy?” she asked.
“I didn’t see him,” Diesel said. “I don’t know.”
Amber looked at me. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I promise.”
“Look, I’m not being an asshole here,” Diesel said. “I don’t know what is going on right now. That guy could have been here for Tia. Maybe me. Either way, you don’t need to get wrapped in this. If anything happens though, or anything seems off then you need to call Tia so I can help.”
I nodded to Amber. “I’m fine. Just get home.”
I hugged Amber and then I went with Diesel. He gave me his helmet, like he always did.
As I strapped it on, I asked, “Are you going to tell me what happened to you?”
“Disagreement,” he said.
“That looks…”
“Darling, not here.”
Fine.
I climbed onto the back of the motorcycle and we sped away. Was I shaken up still? Sure. Whoever that guy was in the coffee shop was definitely there to rattle me. Just like the text messages.
But I felt safe in Diesel’s care.
We sped through the streets and I started to understand it. The feeling he probably had while riding. Two wheels. One road. The wind. The rumble. A great sense of freedom.
My hands slid around Diesel’s body some more. I interlocked my fingers to his stomach, able to feel his hard muscle through his shirt.
I knew one thing for sure.
I couldn’t resist the temptation much longer.
I grabbed the bottom of his shirt and lifted it over his head. Well, I lifted as far as I could and Diesel did the rest. He rolled the shirt up with one hand and threw it to the corner of the room. Being so close to his muscle was dangerous. It was like being close to chocolate while going through PMS. I wanted to fucking devour him. Taste all his muscle. Keep going down…
“Just a little cut,” Diesel said.
“No,” I said. “Sit down right now.”
Diesel laughed and plopped down to the bed. I was just a couple inches taller than him.
I tried to avoid his eyes and his sexy body. I reached for his shoulder. “Can I?”
“Do anything you want, darling,” he said.
I peeled the bandage back and saw the gash. I gasped. “Holy shit. That’s bad.”
“It’s a cut.”
“How?”
“I’ll tell you when you tell me,” Diesel said.
I looked at him. I slowly put the bandage back in place. I took a chance and moved my hand from Diesel’s big shoulder to his neck. My thumb ever-so-slightly touched his chin.
“Someone tried to hurt you,” I whispered.
“And it seems like someone tried to hurt you,” he shot back at me. “Some guy just shows up where you are?”
“I don’t know what that was,” I said. “I panicked. He was sitting in the corner just staring at me. So I moved outside and then he appeared in the window, staring. I panicked and called you.”
“You did the right thing, darling,” Diesel said. “Seriously. That could have been bad. Whoever it was, you did good by calling me.”
I took my hand away from his neck. The temptation was driving me crazy.
“I just wish this would all end. I know that’s a lot to ask. But the time of the year…”
“You want your Christmas tree, huh? Your crappy music on the radio. All the lights and fake stuff.”
“Happiness isn’t fake,” I said.
“It really makes you that happy?”
“Yes. And the music isn’t crappy. It’s timeless. I love the old sounds.”
Diesel grinned. “Whatever you say.”
“What?”
“I like the way your face lights up when you talk about it. Christmas. You make me want to believe. Almost.”
“Wow,” I said. “The bad boy outlaw loving Christmas?”
“Whoa, whoa,” Diesel said. “Loving Christmas? Not a chance. It’s nice to see you smile. To see you genuine. And bad boy? Darling, nothing about me is a boy. This is all man. Trust me.”
With that said, Diesel touched my hips. My body started to melt like goo, beginning right between my legs.
“Tell me what happened. Please.” I was pleading with him.
I had to know. Something about it… well, it really got to me. To understand just how much of an outlaw he really was.
“Okay,” Diesel said. “But then you’re going to do something for me.”
“You want me to talk,” I said.
“No, darling. No talking. But you’re going to do what I say.”
I swallowed hard. “Okay.”
“We had another President running this charter. He wasn’t the greatest guy in the world. He started a lot of beefs and, well, he’s no longer around. So Trev got intel on something coming our way. Two guys in another crew got popped and put in prison. They blame us. They wanted revenge. We tried to talk. One of the guys pulled a knife. Took a swing at Jasper. I had no choice but to jump in the way. I was able to knock his hand away a little, but not enough. The knife got me.”
I gasped. “Diesel…”
“It’s okay,” he said, his grip tightening on my waist. “It’s what we do. Sometimes shit gets bloody. We took care of business though.”
“So the other guys were hurt?”
“You could say that,” Diesel said.
“You got stabbed though. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Darling, that’s how this works. We’re a club. A brotherhood. Wearing this leather cut isn’t just for show. If that prick stabbed Jasper, we would have lost our VP. The war that would have created… I don’t want to think about it. So a little cut to my shoulder is fine. Plus, we got our revenge. That’s all I’m going to say about it though. Okay?”
I slowly nodded. “Okay. That’s just
…”
“Now, it’s my turn.”
“Your turn. Right.”
Diesel looked up at me. His right hand moved up my body, his fingertips gently touching me. When he crested over my breast, I felt my skin tightened and shiver. I gasped, almost losing my breath.
What the fuck is he doing?
He moved up to my face and slowly grabbed the back of my neck. He pulled me, forcing me to bend down to him. My mouth was suddenly just a few small inches from his. And I knew… if we kissed this time, all temptation would be destroyed. We were going to end up ripping each other apart. Not that I would mind that.
His other hand moved to my lower back. As he pushed, I threw my hands forward, grabbing his shoulders. I touched his bandage and I felt his shoulder jump.
“It’s okay, darling. I can deal with pain.” His voice was as smooth as whiskey.
“Fuck,” I said without realizing it.
“Yeah. Fuck.”
He pulled at my lower back some more and I opened my legs, starting to straddle him. Climbing up on top of the outlaw. Finally able to explore a wicked fantasy that started from the second I met him.
His hand at the back of my neck tugged, bringing my mouth down even closer.
My heart raced like it was my first time. Maybe in some way it was my first time. I’d seen him naked. I knew what he had and I knew it was the biggest I’d ever experience. Add to that the way he made me feel and…
“Darling,” Diesel whispered in a growl. “You’re worth breaking every fucking rule in the world for. I trust you. When you’re ready, I’ll be waiting. I want to protect you.”
I killed the distance between us.
Our lips and tongues finally touched.
It was finally going to happen.
Then there was a knock at the door.
twenty-five.
(D)
I pushed her away. I stood up and grabbed my shirt. I threw it over my non-damaged shoulder. I couldn’t even look at her right then. Our fucking moment ruined. Whoever the hell was at the other side of the door was going to get a punch to the jaw.
I ripped open the door.
“Diesel.”
“VP,” I said. “You okay?”
“We need to talk.” He looked over my shoulder at Tia. “Alone.”
I looked back at Tia. “Stay here, darling. I’ll be right back.”
I took a deep breath and forced my body to calm down. I knew my dick was probably showing along my jeans but that was no big surprise to anyone.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“Come for a walk. Prez wants to talk. Conference room.”
“Yeah, okay.”
My heart jumped a little.
Did they suspect something with Tia? Shit, if they took me away from her… if they put another member on her…
I felt my fists clench up.
How the fuck could I care so much? I hadn’t even fucked her yet. For all I knew she was terrible in bed.
Yeah right.
I knew better.
She was going to be amazing between the sheets.
When we got into the conference room, it was Prez and Cade standing there. Jasper behind me. He shut the door.
“I feel like I’m getting set up,” I said.
“What happened with Tia?” Prez asked.
“What?”
“You took off in a hurry.”
“Oh. Yeah. Someone was stalking her. That’s what she thought.”
“She give you anything yet?”
I shook my head. “Prez, she’s terrified. I’m running out of ideas here. This place. What happened today. My shoulder.”
Prez nodded. “She’s shook up.”
“It’s going to get worse,” Cade said.
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Got a call,” Cade said. “Eli and Mace have a bounty on you, D. They want your head. Literally.”
“They can come get it,” I said.
“Not with Carl’s daughter under our watch,” Jasper said.
I looked at Prez. “So… what do I do here?”
Prez reached into his pocket and took out a set of keys. He threw them at me. I caught them, staring at them for a second.
“What is this?” I asked.
“Friend of a friend,” Cade said. “Has a cabin up north. Way north.”
“A cabin?” I asked.
“You’re going to take Tia up there and hang out,” Jasper said. “Let us deal with Eli and Mace.”
“Fuck that,” I said.
“No,” Prez said. “You almost gave your life for Jasper. For this club. Right now you need to focus on Tia. Get her out of this place. Relax a little. Maybe the isolation will help her.”
“I don’t like this,” I said.
“Tell him the rest,” Cade said.
“The rest?”
“Carl got in touch. Whatever deal he was piecing together fell through. He’s hightailed to London.”
“London?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Prez said. “He’s working on something else, I guess. He said we have to be careful with Tia. He all but implied to maybe just give her up.”
“Throw her to the wolves,” Jasper said.
“No,” I said. “That I won’t let happen.”
Prez nodded, staring me down. He reached for my shoulder - my bad shoulder. “You remember what we talked about, right?”
“Of course I do, Prez.”
“Good. Now take her up to that cabin.”
“You’ve been there before,” Cade said. “You’ll recognize it. Just don’t trash it. Don’t burn it down.”
“Don’t ruin the sheets either,” Jasper said with a laugh.
“Fuck off,” I said.
“I don’t know what Eli and Mace are planning,” Prez said. “They’re no threat to this club. We know that. But I don’t need anything like that scene today showing up again with Tia here. We’ll take care of this mess, D. You just take care of her. Her old man split this country. We could just dump her off and let her be. But I refuse to leave information sitting on the table. So I want to know what happened to her. The truth. Everything she knows.”
“I’ll do what I can,” I said. “I took this cut, Prez, so I could get in the action. Not run from it.”
“You’re not running,” Prez said. “This is my order. Now pack up and get ready to go.”
“You’ll need the SUV keys, too,” Cade said.
“What?”
“And pack warm,” Prez said. “You’re going way north.”
I looked at Cade. He smirked.
That’s when I realized where I was going.
I remembered that cabin. We went up there once on a run in the middle of summer. But I remember hearing that those mountains get plenty of snow in the winter.
“Christ,” I muttered.
“Keep in touch, brother,” Jasper said.
“We can send prospects with you,” Prez said.
“Prospects are useless,” I said with a grin. “I’m fine on my own.”
“Spoken like a true outlaw,” Cade said.
I left the conference room and stuck the keys into my back pocket.
A SUV? A cabin? Snow? Winter? Fucking Christmastime?
I preferred the violent atmosphere, fighting the reaper as he lingered right by, waiting to strike.
I opened the door to my room and Tia stood up from the bed. She had a nervous look on her face. Goddamn, her pretty face. Her beautiful features. The way she looked just naturally amazing in jeans and a shirt. She didn’t even have to try. She didn’t have to show off. She was just…
“What happened?” she asked.
“Looks like you get your wish, darling,” I said.
“Meaning what?”
“Grab your bag, we’re out of here.”
“Where are we going?” Tia asked.
“You finally get to see some snow.”
twenty-six.
(Tia)
It was a comfor
table drive, like I was watching all my problems and worries in the rearview mirror disappear with each passing mile. At one point, as I stared out the window, I shut my eyes. I dozed off into a deep sleep.
I woke to Diesel shaking my shoulder.
“Darling, wake up. You’re going to miss it.”
Miss what?
I asked the question in my dream state.
Then my eyes slowly opened and I was jolted away by the sight.
Snow.
Actual snow. Real snow. Not some fake spray in a window or something you could buy in a store.
There was a thin layer of snow on the branches of the trees. The grass was mostly covered, the very tips of the green blades poking through. The road was clear and dry. It must have snowed yesterday or something.
I put my hands to the seat and leaned forward.
“I can’t believe it,” I said. “It’s… it’s beautiful.”
I looked at Diesel. He was smiling.
“You’re really this excited?” he asked.
“I’ve never seen snow before. Where are we?”
“Way up in the mountains, darling. Hiding from the fucking world.”
That was okay with me. I didn’t mind to hide.
Diesel kept driving. My eyes were plastered to the wintery scene around me. I couldn’t believe how much the temperature had dropped. Which made sense since it needed to be cold to snow. At some point during my nap Diesel had turned on the heat in the SUV. The temperate on the mirror read it was thirty-five degrees.
I wasn’t sure if I ever experienced thirty-five degrees before.
“We’ll be there in a few minutes,” I said. “This place is really hidden.”
“I can see that,” I said. “How did… is it yours?”
“No,” Diesel said. “Friend of a friend kind of thing. But it’s usually stocked up with supplies. If not, I can shoot into town. It’s about a thirty minute drive. Hopefully we can make do with what’s there.”
“How long are we staying?”
“As long as we need to,” Diesel said.
That was the end of the conversation.
I watched after we went around a bend as a cabin climbed out of the horizon. This long and winding road went right to the cabin.
It was like looking at a picture of Christmas. The deep brown color. The wide front porch. Two windows that popped out of the second floor. A small yet cozy cabin buried in the woods.
Just weeks before Christmas, too.
Diesel pulled right up to the cabin. He climbed out and opened the back, grabbing our bags. For me, I exited the vehicle slowly. The cold air hit my skin and I shivered. When I exhaled I could see my breath. I smiled. I stood there, taking breaths, watching my breath dance in front of my face.
