OLIN (A Brikken Motorcycle Club Saga Book 3)

by Debra Kayn

  "I want babies." He thumped his fist on the table lightly. "At least one."

  "Please, stop." She picked up the rest of her food and dumped it in the sack, then scooped up his garbage and walked into the kitchen, dumping it in the can under the sink.

  "I'm not getting any younger, Ash. I see Chief dealing with my sisters at his age, and soon, that'll be me dealing with my own kids. I'd like to get them raised and have enough energy left to enjoy my time with you."

  She whirled around. "Babies have nothing to do with your age."

  He tilted his head and looked up at the ceiling. They'd been over this argument many times, and she refused to listen to him. He wanted to be around for his kids.

  The air changed in the house at the onslaught of a roar building outside. He stood from the table and walked into the living room. Jett, Thorn, D-Con, and Cash rode into the driveway and parked beside Ashley's car.

  He sensed Ashley behind him. "Give me a few minutes, and I'll get rid of them."

  "Don't bother." Ashley walked to the door. "I'm leaving. I need to do a load of wash, and I'm tired."

  "The hell you are." He moved toward her, and she walked out of the house.

  Following her, he stepped out onto the porch and bellowed, "Ashley, get your ass back here."

  She ignored him and got into her car. He stepped off the porch in his bare feet and shouted at his brothers. "Get the hell out of here."

  "No can do. We need to talk." Jett approached him, looking over his shoulder at Ashley backing out of the driveway.

  Olin glared as she left and continued watching her until she arrived at her house, got out of the car, slammed the door, and hustled inside. Jesus Christ.

  He'd expected to have a good night. And, he had no idea how everything went to shit the second he talked about what he wanted in life.

  "Fuck this." He stalked back into the house and grabbed a beer out of the fridge.

  Jett followed him into the room. "We've got a problem."

  "What?" He'd been home a half hour, and Ashley already pulled away from him. That was his problem.

  "Krondy pulled out of supplying Brikken." Jett leaned his hip against the counter. "I contacted him as soon as I was told the shipment never came an hour ago, and from what I'm hearing he's gone deeper underground."

  All stolen motorcycle parts came from Krondy and his organization. Brikken had stopped lifting bikes off the streets almost twenty years ago and went with Krondy and his crew. It was safer and more economical. Their talent laid in making the custom bikes out of stolen parts, not doing the grunt work.

  As the second son of Chief, Olin was responsible for the production of each shipment Brikken sent to California. His agitation with the shit storm brewing grew. He just got home. "There must be something else going on with Krondy. Are the Feds sniffing around?"

  Jett shook his head. "No sign of them. We can chalk this up to something that happens in this kind of business or some bullshit, but it doesn't put parts in the garage or make us ready for the next shipment."

  "Fuck." Olin drank long from the bottle of beer. "We've got six weeks to fill a fifty-count order. We've got frames here, but only about twenty engines we could put back together. We need to get the parts."

  Jett removed his riding glove and rubbed his right hand. Olin glanced down at his brother's unusable fingers. Never one to complain, Jett kept how much pain he tolerated after a week-long ride to himself after damaging his hand in prison.

  "I'll snoop around and see what we can come up with," said Jett, working his fingers back into the glove.

  "How long is this going to take?"

  Jett grimaced. "We can only afford a week. After that, I'll send a crew out on the streets. We can't miss the shipment. Brikken is too large. I won't let the families go without a cash flow."

  "That's taking a huge fucking chance. We're out of practice. Most of the members who used to work the streets are out of practice. We'll lose some to the cops," he said.

  Jett grunted. "We can't afford to lose more men. We've got almost twenty out of three hundred and fifty already sitting behind bars."

  He nodded. "Let me know if you need any help."

  "Yep, will do." Jett walked to the front door and stopped. "Should I even ask what's up with you and Ashley?"

  "No." He gritted his teeth and watched his oldest brother join the others and ride off.

  If Ashley wanted to get a hair up her ass, she'd use any excuse to pick a fight with him. He slammed the door. She could sleep alone tonight. He was beat. The next six weeks were going to take all his energy.

  Chapter Seven

  Ashley glanced at the clock and slumped in her chair in relief. Five o'clock was the magical hour. At quitting time, the phone calls to Shechanics were forwarded to an answering service, letting her catch her breath.

  Lately, everyone and their cousin wanted to make an appointment for next week. She sealed the last envelope. It'd taken her every free second after lunch to get the month's billing done. The garage was much busier and the customer base much bigger than she'd originally believed when she'd started working here.

  She saved her work on the payroll program on the computer and shut down the PC, the printer, the network.

  Laughter floated through the side window in the office looking into the bay. She glanced through the glass unable to see Willa and Elissa. Her bosses planned to stay late again, as they often had, to accept the deliveries after hours.

  She checked her phone, disappointed that Olin hadn't called or texted. Last night, she'd finally fallen asleep sometime after two o'clock in the morning, thinking he would come storming over to her house after their spat.

  Okay, it was her spat. Olin hadn't done anything wrong. He'd only spoken about his dreams for his life, and she got that. She loved his ability to be confident in himself in what he wanted.

  But, it hurt.

  Wanting a family, children, that perfect life scared her to death. It only took her failing at one of those things to disappoint him. Disappointment led to destroying their relationship.

  She looked again at the screen on her phone and put her cell in her purse. Olin couldn't understand her hesitation because he'd grown up with parents who put their kids first. Chief and Karla were never married and lived apart, but their love for the family unit was the strongest she'd seen.

  She'd witnessed Johanna, who wasn't related to any of Chief's family, be brought into the fold at a young age and everyone loved her. There was no jealousy between Olin and his brothers toward Johanna because Chief loved them all differently and in a unique way that built up their relationships.

  That unconditional love was rare. A once in a lifetime thing that happened to other people. Not her.

  All she'd witnessed with her parents and received from them was heartache, anger, questions. There was always a motive behind how her mom and dad treated her, and it was never about her.

  Where's your mom?

  What's your dad doing?

  Who is your mom seeing?

  Does your dad have a woman at the house?

  Did she ask about me?

  Did he say anything?

  She'd grown up feeling like a marriage counselor instead of a child. The harsh reality of relationships had become a part of her daily life. Last weekend, her mom oddly kept all her nosey questions surrounding her ex-husband to herself. That only meant one thing.

  Her mom was sleeping with her dad again, despite him always cheating on her. Despite her dad having married another woman. Despite the lack of love from either of them.

  She didn't get it. Not. One. Single. Bit.

  Locking the bottom drawer of her desk where she kept her purse during the day, her stockpile of snacks, and a box of tampons in case that time of the month took her by surprise, she searched for her keys in her bag as she walked into the bay.

  A familiar chuckle stopped her the moment her feet hit the concrete. She raised her gaze and searched the area finding Olin with Elis
sa and Willa admiring one of the cars up on jacks. What was he doing here?

  "Ever think of putting in a bigger fuel injector?" Olin peered down at the engine. "That's if the owner can handle her."

  "We suggested the same thing." Willa shrugged. "The owner is more into show than power."

  The ease at which Olin spoke with her bosses alarmed her. How long had he been here?

  "Damn, what a waste." Olin straightened and lifted his gaze, connecting with Ashley. "Looks like my reason for coming has shown up."

  Ashley pressed her lips together. She didn't like the way Elissa and Willa looked at her. Unable to tell if it was disappointment on their faces over her interrupting their little party with Olin or satisfaction over receiving his attention, she only knew she didn't like sharing Olin with them.

  Striding forward, she walked between Elissa and Willa and stopped in front of Olin, stretching up and giving him a kiss. She pressed her lips against him longer than what was polite, considering PDA was the last thing that should be at a workplace.

  She pulled back, and he slid his hand up her back to her neck and kept ahold of her as she turned and faced her bosses. "Was I interrupting?"

  "Nah, I stopped by to see you and take Willa up on her offer for a beer, but I picked a busy night. I'll have to swing by again, another time." He squeezed her neck, keeping her close. "You ready to go to the clubhouse?"

  She nodded, agreeing because she wanted Olin away from Shechanics. Facing her bosses, she said, "I'll see you both in the morning."

  "Uh huh." Willa laughed. "Bright and early."

  "Nice to meet you, Olin." Elissa stepped back, zipping up her coveralls.

  Ashley only then realized Elissa had unzipped the whole thing and showed off her breasts in a tight, white tank. She walked with Olin out the open bay doors, feeling overdressed in jeans and a modest button shirt.

  She glanced behind her in the parking lot, making sure they were alone, and said, "I should go home."

  "Come to the clubhouse with me." He stopped at her car and pulled her around until she stood in front of him. "Ash?"

  She leaned against him and refused to look up.

  "Ash?" He bent his knees, lowering himself to look in her face. "Sorry about last night."

  "I'm sorry, too," she mumbled, knowing it was her fault. "I don't know what comes over me when you're involved. Can we forget about our latest fight?"

  "Fair enough." He straightened to his full height and tilted her chin. "Do you want to leave your car here and ride with me or follow?"

  Her hands tightened on the bottom of his vest. "I want to go with you."

  He could bring her back to pick up her car later on their way home. Business was closed. Elissa and Willa were here. Nobody would mess with her vehicle.

  Olin kissed her. "Let's get the hell out of here."

  She slipped her hand into his and hurried to his Harley with him. "Why did you come here instead of talking to me after I got home?"

  "I had time, so I thought I'd take Willa up on her offer to check out the shop and see you at the same time."

  Mulling his answer around in her head, she would've preferred for him to say he couldn't wait to see her or he wanted to surprise her with a night out. Instead, he made it sound like he was more interested in Shechanics. Or, Willa. Elissa.

  She handed Olin her purse, who put it in his duffle bag while she put on the helmet he kept on his bike for her. Appeased that she was a part of his life, she watched him sit the motorcycle. He caught her looking and winked.

  Happiness flooded her. It was easy to look forward when he was with her.

  She climbed up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. It seemed like her whole life centered around being behind him on his Harley. As if that's where she was supposed to be. It was her happy place.

  The noise made it impossible to argue. She was able to have her hands on him. Smiling to herself, because when he was riding, he belonged to her.

  Olin pulled onto the street. She rubbed his stomach. Because of his schedule and her inability to hold her temper, it'd been too long since they'd been together.

  Halfway through town, Thorn cut them off from the side street and slowed to ride beside Olin. She glanced over her shoulder and found D-Con riding toward them from behind.

  As they left the city and entered the county road heading toward the Brikken clubhouse, the other two passed Olin while he continued going the same speed. She pressed her face into his leather vest and inhaled deeply.

  She wished they could ride forever. Just the two of them. The wind provided a buffer, making it impossible to voice the problems they had between them. She could ignore her imperfections, his possessive control, her desperation, his stubbornness.

  The ride ended too soon.

  Olin's body tensed as he rode onto Brikken property. Feeding off the change in him, she blinked slowly and squeezed the last enjoyable minute Olin would truly be hers for the night before he parked the motorcycle and shut off the engine, becoming focused on everything Brikken.

  Chapter Eight

  The sun lowered behind the peaks of the fir trees. Ashley toed the ground, having walked out into the field on Brikken property after Olin disappeared inside the garage to talk with the other members.

  Finding a hard spot in the dirt, she bent over and pulled on the broad leaves of the dandelion until the earth gave up ownership and she held the noxious weed. She tossed it over her shoulder in satisfaction. During the daytime, the field was littered with yellow blooms.

  The bikers didn't care that the weeds would grow a seed head and blow the gazillions of wishes, populating the field with even more weeds.

  Her stomach growled after a long day at work and a skipped dinner. She stepped forward in the dark, fanning her foot over the grass, feeling for the rougher, denser weed when headlights lit up the area. Shielding her eyes with her hands, she squinted and recognized Sydney's crew cab.

  The headlights shut off and the driver's side door swung open. Ashley waved and walked toward the truck. There was no doubt that Sydney could use a hand with her large family.

  "Ashley, is my dad here?" piped a little boy voice before Gunnar clambered over the front bench and exited out the driver's door. "Is he inside?"

  She ruffled Gunnar's dark hair. "I believe he's in the garage, but you might want to check with your mom first before you run off. The men are talking, and you wouldn't want to bother them."

  "Gunnar. You're going into the clubhouse and staying with Aunt Kylie." Sydney lifted two-year-old, Cara, out of the truck and set her on her feet beside her. "Stay right there, pumpkin."

  "I'll take her." Ashley brushed her hands off on her jeans, making sure they were clean, squatted down, and held out her arms.

  Cara walked right to her and let Ashley pick her up.

  Gunnar bounced near Sydney. "Mom, can I—?"

  "No. You're four years old. How old did your father say you needed to be to go to the Brikken meetings?" asked Sydney.

  Gunnar held up all ten fingers. "Sixteen."

  "That's right."

  "I'm going by myself. I'm big enough." Gunnar walked sideways, keeping one eye on his mother.

  "Gunnar Stanton, don't you move an inch or you won't see sixteen years old." Sydney lifted an infant car seat out of the truck.

  "Baby." Cara stretched out her arm and open and closed her little hand.

  Ashley grinned, keeping a tighter hold on the child. "Yes, that's your baby. Can you say, Arick?"

  "Baby."

  Ashley laughed. "I have a feeling your baby brother is going to make sure you call him by his name when he gets bigger."

  "No kidding." Sydney hefted the car seat higher. "Going by the Stanton men, I have a feeling Arick will hold his own against his sister."

  She glanced at the sleeping baby cradled safely, barely two months old. "Girl, you've got your hands full. I don't know how you do it, plus run the daycare for the club."

  "I'll let you know wh
en I figure it out." Sydney grinned, walking to the front door of the clubhouse. Inside the building, she gave Gunnar permission to run ahead and find his aunt, and then looked at Ashley. "How have you been?"

  "Really good." She bounced Cara on her hip. "Things at the new job are finally feeling normal."

  "That's awesome." Sydney changed hands, putting the car seat in her left hand and opening the door to the daycare room. "I admire women who start a business knowing their competition is going to be men. There has to be a lot of satisfaction when they succeed."

  Having never thought of that angle, Ashley said, "It is wonderful to see how much respect they get from men."

  "I bet." Sydney motioned to her sister, Kylie. "Let me get the kids settled, and I'll come out and keep you company while we wait for the guys to come out of the garage."

  "Sure." Ashley put Cara down and watched her scurry toward the toys in the corner of the room.

  Not wanting to interrupt the kids in the room, she stayed by the door and waved to Kylie. Sydney and her sister were also women who should be admired for what they'd gone through in their life. Despite the odds of growing up in foster care and Sydney supporting herself as a minor, they'd flourished and turned the daycare into a business. From what Olin had told her, having childcare at Brikken was a life saver for the members with small kids.

  Sydney kissed all her kids and hurried toward Ashley. "Let's go before Cara figures out I've left."

  Hurrying out of the room, Ashley laughed softly. "I don't know how you do it. Taking care of three young kids, most of the time by yourself considering Jett is president of Brikken. He's always busy."

  Sydney pushed out the front door and stopped. "Running the daycare and having the kids with me while I work helps keep my mind off missing time with him. Plus, having Kylie living at the house is a huge help. The kids go to her a lot when I'm busy with Arick...or Jett."

  "There's nothing like sisters." Ashley rubbed her arms, chilled now that darkness had fallen. "Half the time, Lindsay and I just pass each other coming and going, even though we live in the same house, but it's nice to know she's there if I need her."