by Tonya Brooks
She had known from the beginning that Luke didn’t want anything to do with her, but she had gone right ahead and pursued him anyway. When was she ever going to learn to leave well enough alone? How many times could her heart break before it never healed again? This was the last time. It had to be.
She had gotten over Remi easily enough. They had been young and stupid and she’d been dazzled as much by his good looks as she had his title. It had been a lot easier to forgive him for breaking her heart than it had been for betraying her trust and making her doubt her own self worth.
Luke was right about that much. She had expected every man that she had met since Remi to try and exploit her in one way or another. Some of them had, but the majority of them hadn’t. Nevertheless, she had projected her own fears onto their motivation for pursuing her and had pushed most of them away without giving them a fair chance.
Unfortunately, she’d left herself wide open with Luke and given him her whole heart. He had not only broken her heart, he’d destroyed her dream of finally settling down and having a happily ever after with a man who loved her for herself. No man could ever compete with him or make her feel what he had. There was no coming back from this.
She would never get over Luke.
~~~~
Sandy Foster had been shocked speechless when Luke stopped by the jewelry store to buy an engagement ring. She’d had no idea that he was serious enough about someone to marry her and could not for the life of her figure out who the lucky lady might be. She really hoped it wasn’t that stuck up bitch Shelly Andrews that he’d been out with last weekend. Luke refused to tell and he made her swear not to say a word about it to anyone until he’d had a chance to propose. As if she’d ruin his big moment!
Then he stopped by City Hall and chatted with the clerk who handled community events and found out who was in charge of this year’s Founder’s Day Parade. One phone call and a whole lot of charm later and he had made a last minute addition to the parade list. He made a second call to Brett and explained that he might need a bit of help coordinating. The other man didn’t doubt it and agreed to make sure things went as smoothly as possible.
As soon as he got home, Luke made one last call and said, “I need a favor.”
“Consider it done,” was the immediate response, no questions asked.
Luke explained what he needed, ended the call and tossed the phone on the coffee table. This was his only chance to get Easy back, and if it didn’t work, nothing else mattered. Either way, after tomorrow he could kiss his reputation and a career in politics goodbye. He grabbed a full bottle of Jack, sank wearily onto his sofa and unscrewed the lid. Hell, he might as well just get good and hammered.
Life as he knew it was about to end.
Chapter Ten
Saturday, March 22, 2014
“Aren’t you glad you came?” Dizzy asked her sister when she saw her smiling at the antics of the children on the float passing in front of them.
“You didn’t give me much choice,” Easy complained without heat. Spending the morning at the Founder’s Day parade had not been her idea, but her little sister could be very persuasive. In spite of her mood, she’d had a good time even if she had kept scanning the crowd for the sight of one particular face. The only face she wanted to see and the last face she ever wanted to see again.
“It’s better than sitting in your room moping.” Brett pointed out yet again.
Before she could give a sarcastic reply, the sound of rolling thunder filled the street, drowning out the noise of the crowd. Easy’s heart began to beat in sync with the steady thrum of the powerful motors and a genuine smile lit her face. God, how she loved that sound. Standing on tiptoe and craning her neck for a better look, she caught flashes of sparkling chrome and lots of leather clad bodies turning onto Lakeside Drive in high and tight formation.
“Now that’s what I call a parade,” she laughingly assured her grinning sister and brother-in-law.
When the float carrying yet another batch of beauty queens eased on out of the way, she got her first look at the group of impressive looking motorcycles and their riders. These were not weekend warriors she realized in surprise. No, these chromed out machines were meant to be ridden long and hard by the one percenters astride them. This was an outlaw motorcycle club known as the Heathen’s and she wondered what they were doing in the parade.
One of the lead bikes was a particularly wicked beast that commanded attention, but nothing could have torn her stunned gaze away from the man riding it. Luke Baker was dressed in torn, faded jeans with well worn boots and a black leather vest that exposed his powerful chest and arms. His hair was wind tossed, his handsome face covered in a couple days growth of stubble, and his eyes were hidden from view by mirrored wraparound shades. He was without a doubt the sexiest thing she'd ever laid her eyes on.
He held up a fist as he rolled to a stop right in front of her and the rest of the club stopped in formation with him. Easy realized that her jaw had dropped and she snapped it closed when she had the presence of mind to wonder what the hell he was doing. Before she knew what was happening, Brett grasped her hips, lifted her off of her feet and placed her on the back of Luke’s bike.
The all too familiar feel of a warm hand closed over her bare thigh to hold her in place as Luke accelerated and the bike eased on down the street with a low menacing growl. Instead of following the rest of the parade route, he kept moving straight down Lakeside Drive to where two grinning deputies directed the crowd of spectators to part like the red sea and allowed the motorcycles to pass through.
Silently fuming, Easy locked her thighs around the seat, folded her arms over chest and refused to hold onto him. She didn’t know what he was trying to prove by pulling this stunt, but pretending to be part of an OMC did not impress her in the least. Okay, maybe it was impressive as hell that he was willing to go to these lengths, but it wasn’t enough to make her forgive him. Nothing he said or did could erase the hurt he had already caused.
She did wonder how the hell he had managed to pull it off though. Maybe he had called in a really big favor from the biker he had defended a few months ago. Or he had promised a favor in exchange. The thought sent a shiver of trepidation down her spine. Easy knew exactly what kind of favors outlaw motorcycle clubs could demand and the thought of honest, dependable Luke being at their mercy because of her really pissed her off. How could he do something so stupid?
By the time Luke pulled into a parking lot somewhere at the beach, the other motorcycles right behind them, she was absolutely livid that he would pull a stunt like this. As soon as he backed into a parking space, Easy stepped off of the bike and started walking toward the street. The bastard might have kidnapped her, but there was no way in hell she was going to stick around and give him another chance. There was nothing left of her heart to salvage.
“Oh, no,” Luke denied as he swung her up in his arms. Despite her kicking and cursing him with every breath in several languages, he carried her to the rear of the building. “You're not walking away from me again, baby. This time you're going to listen to what I have to say.”
“There is absolutely nothing that you could say that will excuse what you've already said,” she assured him coldly and folded her arms over her chest.
“But you'll never know unless you listen,” he pointed out reasonably. “I'll always be the one that got away and when you wonder if you were wrong about me, the doubt will haunt you right along with the memories.”
Damn him, she knew he was right but that didn't make it any easier. “I'll listen,” she agreed grudgingly.
“I lied to you,” he confessed as he placed her on her feet and unlocked a door marked PRIVATE. “I'm not a Rotarian. This is the club that I belong to.”
“You expect me to believe that you’re a Heathen?” she scoffed and stepped inside the dimly lit office. Although he certainly did look the part right now, it was too ridiculous to believe that Luke Baker was an outlaw biker.
&n
bsp; “I expect you’ll kick my ass before I finish explaining, but I hope you’ll give me the benefit of the doubt.” Luke said as followed her inside and closed the door behind them. He seated Easy in a chair and sat on the edge of a banged up desk.
She fixed him with a mutinous glare and said, “This had better be good.”
He took a deep breath and began, “When I was in college, I met a guy whose father owned a biker bar. Joey and I used to hang out there a lot and his father kind of adopted me as part of their family and gave me a job tending bar. One night a fight broke out and Joey was stabbed and killed.”
“My God,” she breathed in horror.
“The thing is, it should have been me,” he explained and saw her pale. “We traded shifts so I could study for an exam and if it hadn't been for that, I would have been working that night.” Even after all this time, the loss of his friend still ate at him and Luke knew it always would. “Joe never blamed me even though I felt responsible for Joey's death. I still do.”
“Luke, you couldn't have known,” she assured him with genuine compassion.
“Anyway, I was working one night when one of the regulars came in stoned out of his mind and looking for trouble. Joe told him to get the hell out and the guy pulled a gun on him,” he explained with a grim look as he remembered the scene like it was yesterday. “I didn't even think, I just reacted and disarmed him. That was when I began a downward spiral into hell.” Luke admitted gruffly. “The guilt ate me alive because I knew I could have done the same damn thing the night the fight broke out. If I had been there, Joey would still be alive.”
“You can't be certain of that,” she denied in an effort to ease the suffering she saw in his eyes.
“I can.” Luke assured her. “Hell, Pop trained all of us to defend ourselves since we were old enough to walk. I could have disarmed him, but Joey didn't have a clue what to do and he died.” He sighed wearily and continued. “I stayed drunk off my ass just trying to dull the pain for weeks before Joe got fed up and kicked my ass back into shape. He even made me move in with him.”
A wry smile touched his lips. “He's a lot like Pop and doesn't put up with any shit so I didn't have any choice but to get my act back together. Then he surprised the hell out of me and gave me the motorcycle that he'd been building for Joey. I told him I couldn't accept it and Joe said I was the only son he had left and he'd be damned if the bike would just sit there and go to waste. He told me to ride the damn thing and make him proud. I've had her ever since,” he admitted.
“It's a beautiful bike,” Easy admitted.
“It is,” he agreed proudly and completely understood Easy’s attachment to her bike since he shared the affliction. “The day I graduated, the club presented me with my colors. Joe said I’d earned them and he'd never met anyone he'd rather have ride with him or watch his back. Letting me into the club was the greatest honor he knew how to give me. I was more proud of the patch than I was my diploma. I damn sure learned a lot more earning it.”
She didn't doubt that for a minute. It sounded like Luke had gone through hell and come out with more than a few scars of his own. “So you became a Heathen,” she said in amazement and realized why his tattoo had looked so familiar. It was the club insignia. She hadn't been able to place it because she would have never associated Luke with an outlaw motorcycle club. Not in a million years would she have believed he was one of them. They were one of the biggest clubs in the states and their numbers rivaled that of the Hell's Angels.
“I knew Pop would have a fit if he knew I was riding with an outlaw club, so I didn't tell the family when I came home that summer. Hell, I didn't know how to tell them and to be honest, I still don't.” Luke admitted. “I'd always been the level headed one. The brother that everyone depended on to be solid and stable while the rest of them were wild as hell. So I went off to Harvard, got my law degree and came back home to behave like an upstanding citizen. Little did anyone know that I led a double life.”
“Since I’m all the family he has left, Joe bought this bar and opened a new chapter here so we could stay connected. I keep the bike stored here at the club so no one in Lakeside would know about it and made damn sure my two lives never converged. Until I met you,” Luke said with a tender smile. “You were so open and honest about who you were and I knew if we hooked up that I’d want to do the same thing. I was never ashamed of you, Easy. My God, a man would have to be insane not to want you just the way you are,” he confessed.
“You kept calling me wild man.” He tapped the leather vest covering his chest where the name Wild Man was embroidered. “You were hitting too close to home, getting too close to the side of me that I had tried so hard to hide and it scared the hell out of me. You made me want things I couldn't have. Like the freedom to be myself regardless of what the rest of the world thought.” Luke said as he knelt before her.
“I've wanted a career in politics for a long time and it's finally within my grasp, but I discovered it’s not worth the cost. Nothing is worth losing you. So I decided to let everyone know who I really am and the hell with the consequences.” He pulled a small box from the pocket of his vest and lifted it up between them.
“I love you, Easy Grayson. I want to marry you and spend the rest of my life with you. Can you forgive me for being a fool?”
Easy knew this moment would be forever emblazoned in her mind. Luke Baker looking all bad boy scruffy in his colors, blue eyes blazing with love and determination as he offered her his heart. This was not Lakeside’s most eligible bachelor kneeling before her. This was the wild man who had stolen her heart with one look. Now that she knew the truth, there was no way she couldn't forgive him.
“On one condition,” she said firmly.
“Anything,” he readily agreed.
“Can you fix my damn bike?” Easy asked with a mischievous smile. “It won't crank again.”
His grin was decidedly wicked when Luke said, “I disconnected the battery cables so you couldn't leave.” At her stunned look, he explained, “Hell, Baby, I couldn't let you be the one that got away. You're the only one that matters.”
A smile curved her lips at the lengths he'd gone to in order to keep her with him and she wondered how she had ever doubted this man. Easy held out her left hand and he slid the ring on it. “I love you, Luke.”
He crushed her against his chest in a fierce hold and reveled in the feel of having her in his arms again. “I love you so damn much it hurts.”
“I always knew you were a wild man,” she informed him in satisfaction as she returned the hug. “I just didn't realize how wild.”
He pulled away to look at her, his blue eyes serious and somber as he asked, “Is my being in the club a problem? Because if it is, I'll give it up right now. Nothing is more important than you, Easy.”
“I'd never ask you to do that,” she denied seriously. “I don’t care if you’re a lawyer or a Heathen or both. I love you because you’re you.”
Luke kissed her hungrily before he stood and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, baby. It's time you met the rest of my family.”
Luke led her into what looked like a typical biker bar and directly to a small stage where he lifted her up onto it and stepped up beside her. He grabbed a microphone and his expression was downright menacing when he announced in a growl that demanded attention, “Listen up. This is my old lady, Easy. You damn well better treat her with the respect my woman deserves or there will be hell to pay.”
That announcement struck fear in her heart. Easy had hung out with enough outlaw bikers to know a direct challenge like that usually meant blood was gonna be spilled and she was terrified that someone would take Luke up on the offer. She grasped his arm and whispered urgently, “Luke, are you crazy? My God, you're asking for trouble.”
He laughed and pulled her to him for a searing kiss as catcalls, whistles and shouts of approval filled the air from the rowdy crowd of bikers. “Baby, there’s a reason why they call me Wild Man,” he assured he
r with that bad boy grin. He was the chapters second in command and only the president could overrule him. No one in the club questioned his authority and they sure as hell didn’t challenge his decisions.
“You keep issuing challenges like that and they’ll call you Dude With A Death Wish,” she warned nervously.
He was still laughing when a mountain of a man sporting shoulder length hair and a full beard stepped up on the stage behind her. Luke nodded at his mentor and said proudly, “Easy, meet Joe.”
Easy turned around, a friendly smile on her face for Luke’s friend, and found herself lifted off her feet in a bear hug. “Sugah Bear,” she laughed in recognition and returned the hug.
“Goddammit, I told you not to call me sugar bear,” his gravelly voice rumbled as he placed her on her feet. “They’ll think I’ve gone soft.”
“Alright, I’ll just call ya Sugah so they know how sweet ya are,” she teased the hardened biker and he laughed a growling sound at her audacity.
“Damn girl, I told you to keep in touch, but this is a hell of a lot better than an email,” Bear pointed out as he folded his arms over his barrel chest and lifted his chin at Luke. “How'd you wind up with this reprobate?”
“It was nothing short of a miracle,” Easy confessed as she gazed adoringly up at her wild man.
“You’ll treat her right or answer to me,” Bear growled in warning at the man he loved like a son.
Luke knew the older man’s warning wasn’t a joke. As Chapter President, Joe’s word was absolute law, so he nodded seriously and replied, “You wanna tell me how you know my woman?”
“Easy rode with us back from Daytona.” Bear informed the younger man and saw his look of surprise at that announcement. “We got caught in a storm that nearly beat us to death, but she hung right in there and never complained. She's a damn fine rider... for a lone wolf.”
