Although the burden of those eight years could have been one week lighter if Evie had told him when they first met again. Or had she not intended to tell him and Jagger forced her hand? He fought back a flare of resentment. Now was not the time.
“Your mom said no, and she’s the person who looks after you.” Zane pushed himself to his feet. “That means you gotta do what she says.”
“But you’re my dad. You have to look after me, too. What do you say?”
Hell. Were all eight-year-olds that smart? He didn’t know. Hell, he knew nothing about kids and he wasn’t leading a family kind of life. He was a bachelor through and through. So how the hell was he supposed to handle this? Pay the occasional visit? Show up on the weekend and take the boy to a game? He had no frame of reference, no skills, no one to guide him or tell him what to do.
“I say you gotta listen to your mother.”
Ty spun around and pushed past Evie, spilling his motorcycles on the floor. “I thought you were cool, but you’re just the same as Mom.” He stormed into his bedroom and slammed the door.
“He just needs some time,” Evie said softly. “He doesn’t deal well with change and this is a lot to handle.”
“I get it.” More than got it. If he hadn’t developed self-restraint over the years, he’d be slamming the door behind him, jumping on his bike and riding until he’d had time to process everything and clear his head. But, of course, he didn’t have that luxury. Not with Evie and his son to protect.
“Why didn’t you tell me when we first met?” His words came out sharper than he intended, but he couldn’t hide the emotion that burned in his chest.
Evie hugged herself and leaned against the wall. “I just … I didn’t know if you’d want him and I didn’t want him to get hurt and I wasn’t sure about involving him in your biker life. I was going to talk to you about him first, and then I wanted it to be perfect, a meeting in a neutral space—”
“There is no perfect.” He cut her off, his hands curling into fists. “You should have told me right away. I lost even more time—”
“Don’t take out your guilt on me,” she snapped. “You’re the one who left. You’re the one who decided to drop off the face of the earth. You’re the one who came back and assumed Ty was Mark’s son.”
Zane turned and smashed his fist into the wall, making the cheap bungalow shake. “And you were the one who jumped into bed with the first man who crossed your path.” He regretted the words the moment they dropped from his lips and tried to soften the blow. “I get that you were alone, but I have never broken a promise. I came back, Evie.” His voice caught as his emotion spilled over. “Fuck. I came back.”
And then she was pressed up against him, holding him tight, soothing his pain just as she had done the day they met. “I know you did.”
They stood in silence and he buried his face in her hair, breathing in the familiar floral scent, wishing he could turn back the clock and live his life all over again.
“What are you going to do?” she murmured against his chest. “Do you want to … are you going to be around for him?”
“He’s my boy.” Why would she ask that question? Did she honestly think he would walk away again? Did she think he’d leave his son without a father?
“I got lots of money,” he continued. “Anything you need—”
Evie pulled away, frowning. “I don’t want your money. We do okay.”
“You don’t do okay.” Overwhelmed by his feelings, and unable to get it together, he raised his voice and struggled against a tidal wave of guilt. “Living near a trailer park at the edge of town and driving a shit vehicle that’s about to fall apart is not okay. Working in a shop that’s almost all guys, with bikers coming in and out all the time, and a boss who goes missing when the Jacks show up—which should be a warning to you—is not okay.” Everything he’d held inside since the moment he saw Ty erupted in a burst of concerned anger. “I want my boy to have what you had—a nice house with a big yard in some leafy suburb where everyone is decent—”
“Like my mother?” Her face tightened. “You know that’s all an illusion. Good people and bad people are everywhere, Zane. It doesn’t matter whether there are nice cars in the driveways, or trees on the street. Sometimes the worst people can be found in the nicest homes.”
“And worse people can be found in the worst homes,” he responded. “And the fucking scum-of-the-earth, cock-sucking murderous bastards of the world can be found in Red River where you are definitely not going tonight. You and Viper. That’s over.” His body shook as he drowned in a maelstrom of fear, anger and regret. “I’ll buy you and Ty a house somewhere nice where you can meet nice people. And I’ll buy you a decent car. Something safe. And Ty can have all the toy motorcycles he wants.”
She twisted her hair around her finger and glared. “And then what? You’re going to go back to your biker life? How does that work? Gunfight in the morning; baseball in the afternoon? Lock Evie up in the kitchen so she doesn’t date men you don’t like?”
“I gotta figure it out.” He didn’t know what else to say, or what to do, his emotions still trying to play catch-up with his mind. He couldn’t think beyond the next hour, much less the future.
“Figure this out.” She poked him in the chest. “You can’t just walk into our lives and change everything you don’t like. Ty goes to school in this neighborhood. He has friends here. You want to buy him hundreds of toy motorcycles, but where will he put them? What kind of values does that teach him? I totally understand you want to make up for lost time. And I want you to spend time with him. But we need to talk about what’s best for him, and how we go about making this work. And part of that is you not telling me how to live my life. I’m going out tonight. With Viper. And there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Like fuck there wasn’t.
If that’s how she wanted to play it, he’d let her go.
But no way in hell was she going alone.
NINE
Don’t sweat it if you break something. You can always get another part.
—SINNER’S TRIBE MOTORCYCLE REPAIR MANUAL
Evie pulled open the heavy wooden door to the Riverside Bar and stepped inside, the warm air instantly thawing the chill from her skin. Too bad it couldn’t thaw her all the way through. How could she be here after what happened with Zane? She felt too raw, as if her deepest secrets had been exposed to the light.
And yet, how could she not be here? Zane had to understand that being part of Ty’s life didn’t mean he was part of her life. And there was no better way to drive that message home than to go through with her date as planned.
Still, her enthusiasm for meeting up with Viper had diminished over the course of the drive. Did she really want to keep seeing Viper when all she’d been able to think about over the last week was Zane? Especially since he was the rival of a member club.
She smoothed down her dress, wished she’d worn her jeans. Riverside was so not a dress-up bar. If she’d walked in any other night, she would have turned around and walked right out. Rough didn’t begin to describe the customers—mostly bikers, a few skinheads, shifty looking guys in shiny suit jackets—Zane would have a fit if he saw her here. He’d probably throw her over his shoulder and stalk out the door.
A smile teased the corner of her lips. Now wouldn’t that be hot in a totally primal kind of way.
The bar was bigger than it appeared from the outside, with a small stage in the far corner, and a sea of tables between the front door and the bar. Warm air, scented with yeast and the distinct tang of chicken wings, engulfed her as she made her way through the crowd looking for Viper.
“Nice to see you again, kitten.” He came up behind her, his voice a warm rumble in her ear. “You look lovely as always.” Viper’s warm hand slid around her middle and he pulled her into his chest, his lips brushing over her ear. “Good enough to eat.”
“I didn’t see you hiding in the shadows.” She looked back over her s
houlder and Viper laughed.
“I live in the shadows. No one ever sees me coming.” He led her to a table in the back corner, guarded by four of the scariest bikers she’d ever seen. Clearly none of them had ever used a razor or had a haircut, judging from their full beards and long ponytails. But then who was going to complain given their height, the breadth of their shoulders, and their massively muscled chests and arms.
And yet, for all that Viper didn’t have their bulk, he was no less imposing. His arms were thick with ropey muscles and covered in colorful tattoos. His cut, worn and heavy with patches sat on broad shoulders and covered a barrel chest. He had trimmed his salt-and-pepper beard since she had last seen him, and tied his long hair in a ponytail. His broad face, weathered and scarred, was distinguished, rather than handsome, and he wore six rings on his fingers, the largest, a snake’s head with ruby eyes.
“My bodyguards.” Viper answered her silent question as he pulled out Evie’s chair.
“I think just one of them could take out everyone in the bar,” she whispered. “Much less four.”
“Actually there are six.” Viper winked as he sat beside her.
Evie toyed with the handle of her purse. “I didn’t know you were being threatened. You’ve never brought them before.”
“Circumstances have changed.” He covered her hand, drew it away from her purse, and slipped something into her palm.
“What’s this?” Evie stared at the key fob in her hand.
“You can’t ride around in that piece of junk you call a vehicle.” He slid his hand into her purse and fumbled around.
“Hey…”
“Your vehicle isn’t safe.” Viper pulled out her keys and tossed them to the nearest bodyguard who caught them neatly with one hand. “I bought you something new and worthy of a woman associated with the Black Jacks.”
“You bought me a car?” She stared at him in shock.
“Not just a car. A Mazda MX5.”
“I can’t accept this. I want my keys back.” She offered the key back to him, but he shook his head.
“It’s a gift. You can’t return it. But you can thank me for it.” He dropped his hand to her thigh under the table and Evie sucked in a sharp breath. Viper had never been sexually aggressive before, and his sudden change in demeanor disconcerted her even more than the flippant way he dismissed her protest.
“Vip—”
“You can start with a kiss.”
“Here?” She looked around the crowded bar, her gaze flicking to the band only ten feet away, now warming up with a few guitar riffs.
“Here. Now.” He slid his hand beneath her hair to cup her neck, pulling her forward. “I want a taste of those sweet lips, kitten. Show me your gratitude.” His hand slid higher on her thigh, pushing up her dress. Uncertain whether the pounding in her heart was from arousal or fear, she tried to pull away, but Viper tightened his grip.
“One kiss. Is that so much to ask? Or have you been teasing me all this time?”
Teasing? She’d been annoyed he only wanted a kiss. So what had changed? Why did the thought of that bristly beard brushing against her skin set her teeth on edge? Or maybe she was just overthinking. Only one way to find out.
“Okay. Just one kiss. I’m not that comfortable with public displays of affection.”
“That’s not what I heard.”
Before she could ask what he meant, he pulled her toward him and sealed his mouth over hers. A shudder ran through Evie’s body, and she tried not to wrinkle her nose as his beard rasped over her skin. Cold, hard lips forced her mouth open, and when he thrust his thick tongue past her teeth, she almost gagged at his milky taste. When he finally pulled away, she was almost overwhelmed with the desire to brush her teeth.
“Damn you’ve got a soft little mouth.” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, making her think of a school visit to a local farm where the farmer had pried back a horse’s lips to show off its teeth.
The first few notes of the band’s “The Edge of Darkness” cover, drowned out the chatter of the crowd. Viper sent one of his bodyguards for drinks, then hooked his boot around the front leg of her chair and dragged her closer, throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Good cover band. They always start off with Iron Maiden.” He gave her a wink and a self-satisfied smile. “After they’re done we can pick up where we left off.”
Her eyes flicked to the door and a shiver licked up her spine. This wasn’t the Viper she knew, charming, teasing, and flirtatious. Tonight, he exuded a subtle, threatening sense of power that rattled her more than she cared to admit. She felt no excitement at the prospect of picking up where they let off, no thrill of desire. Instead, for the first time since she met Viper, she felt an uncomfortable sense of wariness.
The band played. Evie sipped her cooler. Viper downed his whiskey in one gulp, then peppered her with questions about the shop and her work. He asked for her opinion on the sexual escapades of her favorite radio show host, and lamented the governor’s latest stance on crime. Although his body language appeared relaxed, and his conversation witty and entertaining, she sensed anger simmering beneath his skin, and lust, barely contained.
“Call your babysitter,” he said, after the band announced a short break. “Tell her you won’t be home tonight.”
Evie’s blood chilled. She’d been careful not to mention Ty, not wanting to share too much of her life until she knew where the relationship was going, to protect him if things went wrong. “How do you know I have a babysitter?”
“I know everything about you, Evangeline.” He slid his hand up her thigh, his long, thick fingers brushing along the edge of her panties. “Except one, and I’m going to find out just how tight and wet your pussy is tonight.”
Evie sucked in a breath and stood so abruptly, his hand slid away. “I need to use the restroom.”
“Rob will go with you.” He gestured to the biggest and scariest of the bikers and Evie swallowed past the lump in her throat.
“I don’t need an escort. I can find the restroom on my own.”
“I’m sure you can.” Viper’s cool, shrewd gaze chilled her to the bone. “But someone needs to protect you from the Sinners. I understand they’ve been following you around.”
Run. Run. Run. But where would she go? Viper had taken her keys. Controlling. Just like Mark. Although Viper’s need for control was clearly not the result of insecurity. Still, it had taken her years to break free and she had promised herself she would never again get into a situation where a man would control her life. Straightening her shoulders, she said, “They were looking for Axle.”
“They found him this morning.” His dark eyes bored into hers, challenging. “At the morgue.”
She didn’t take the bait, swallowed the question on the tip of her tongue simply because she didn’t want to know the answer. “I’m sorry to hear that you lost one of your men. It was nice of you to come out tonight when you must be in mourning.”
Viper stood, annoyance flickering across his face at the hint of sarcasm in her tone. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Don’t you think this game has gone on long enough, kitten?”
“What game?”
“The game where you pretend to be innocent and I pretend to be civilized.” He leaned down and nuzzled her neck, the scrape of his beard on her sensitive skin sending a shiver down her spine.
She tried to pull away, but he slid one hand over her ass and squeezed her cheek, grinding her hips against the bulge in his jeans. “I’ve been patient. I’ve played the civilian game, and I have to admit it was entertaining. But we both know where this is heading, and now that the Sinners are sniffing around you, I can’t wait any more to stake my claim.”
Evie bristled, fear warring with indignation. “I’m not a piece of land.”
“But you are a piece of pussy.” He fisted her hair and yanked her head back, his lips, wet and cold, sliming a trail across her cheek.
Evie raised her hand to slap him. Lightn
ing fast, Viper grabbed her wrist, twisted it, and wrenched her arm up behind her.
“Jesus Fuck,” he growled under his breath. “Why did you have to do that? I can’t tolerate disrespect, especially in front of my men.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Anger surged within her. “Why are you acting like this?”
“Did you think I wouldn’t find out about you and the Sinner VP?” Viper tightened his grip, forcing her up on her toes. “I don’t want to hurt you kitten, but I had you first, and I am not a sharing kind of man.”
“Let go.” She struggled to hide her fear, taking deep breaths to keep her voice even. “You’re hurting me.”
“If you want to play around with a Sinner, and disrespect me in front of my men, you gotta pay the price. What’s a little pain, kitten, when I’m going to give you a whole lot of pleasure?”
His heated words were followed by the scrape of chairs and the pounding of feet. As the people seated around them moved to the far end of the bar, the bouncers approached, only to come up against a solid wall of Black Jack muscle.
“I’m not playing games with you,” Evie gritted out. “I’m not with Zane. I grew up with him. I hadn’t seen him for nine years until the night Axle came to bring your message. What Axle saw … I didn’t want that.”
Viper loosened his hold on her hair, and gripped her jaw, forcing her to meet his stony gaze. “You grew up with him?”
“In Stanton. But we lost touch after high school. I didn’t even know he was in Conundrum.”
His dark eyes bored into her as if searching for the truth. But she had nothing to hide. Well, except for Zane’s relationship to Ty. Still, she met his cold, hard stare full-on, although she trembled inside. Zane had been angry about Ty, but she knew in her heart he would never hurt her. She couldn’t say the same about Viper.
“You know why I like you, Evangeline?” His voice lost its edge, becoming smooth and sickly sweet like her mother’s bourbon.
Sinner's Steel Page 10
