Riding Danger
BBW Biker Romance
Copyright © 2014, Adriana Hunter
All Rights Reserved.
Published by Tangled Press
http://www.AdrianaHunter.com
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This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and places are solely the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, including events, areas, locations, and situations is entirely coincidental.
Table Of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
About The Author
Also By Adriana Hunter
Adriana Hunter Newsletter
Excerpt From Captive Heart
Chapter One
“We’ve got a pick-up tomorrow.” The brusque, raspy voice came at Jace Dawson with the scent of chewing tobacco and beer. He wrinkled his nose, both from the strong odor and because he wasn’t exactly keen on being a part of this deal in the first place.
Turning from the bar, he came face to face with Alec Stone, the president of the motorcycle club and the only man who held any real power over him. He wouldn’t give away his distaste for what gun-running had done to the Iron Soldiers Motorcycle Club until he could pull them out from under the hold the dealers had on them and finally get things back on track. Back to the way they used to be when his father was still alive and president of the club, a club he lived and died for.
“And what does that have to do with me?” Jace asked, clearly aggravated.
Alec drew his brows together as he spit into his cup, his dark eyes as ruthless as he’d always been after the dollar signs called to him, greed controlling his every move.
“I can’t trust just anyone to take care of this, Jace. You know damn well the Haitians are bringing in over a half million in product, and we have to pull this one off without a fuck-up if we’re going to keep the agreement going. It will mean a good payout if we play our cards right. I need you there, son.”
Jace wanted to ask where Alec would be while he was risking his life in order to fulfill Alec’s agreement with the dealers, but he knew better. The man didn’t want the middleman seeing his face or to be part of a situation that could get ugly quick. He would rather put all the men who’d devoted their lives to his club in danger than to risk himself being vulnerable to a double cross. He claimed that the distribution of money to the club was fair, but Jace knew he was pocketing a great deal more than any of them were. He also knew better than to question it. Everyone did.
“And when is this supposed to go down?” Jace tossed a quick glance at the man he once admired, his fallen hero who now used the club to his advantage rather than standing behind it as they had once promised to do.
Alec threw back a shot of whiskey, his eyes never meeting Jace’s. “Hit the building at about ten. Your delivery should arrive within the hour. I’ll send you the inventory list to check over. Take Donnie, James, and Rafe with you. I don’t want to take any chances that something might go wrong, and they’ll be able to watch your back.”
Taking three men who were just as unhappy by the whole arrangement wouldn’t do a damn bit of good if Eliezer Pierre, the middleman, brought his own reinforcements and decided to open fire. But Jace could only clench his jaw to avoid saying something he might regret later. He’d handle this, and he’d find a way to kill the next deal so that they could unbury themselves from this disaster before the Bandidos caught wind of it and came after them for gaming in their territory.
“I don’t think Eli’s smart enough to try anything stupid,” Jace replied gruffly, reaching for the beer he’d been nursing. He was done with the conversation. At this point, he just wanted to finish his drink and get the hell out of the bar for the night. Most of his buddies had turned in early, and he had no more reason to be here.
“Good.” Alec clapped him on the back the way he always had, like an old friend. And they had been, good friends for nearly ten years now with Alec once taking on a father figure role after Jace had lost his dad to a deal gone wrong. But in the last year or so, since the little one-off side deals had turned into a full time illegal gun-running business that was bringing in millions of dollars, their friendship had gone to hell and the club had turned to a new, dangerous direction.
Jace understood the lure of money and greed, but when the first brother had been sent back three months ago, bloodied and nearly dead, as a ‘warning’ from the local chapter of the Rogues, an opposing club, they had taken it seriously, backing off from further deals. Everyone, that is, except Alec. He’d simply paid the hospital bills and given the member extra money before throwing him right back into the business, sending him out to handle an even bigger exchange with greater risks.
Jace was beyond frustrated, but he had to tread carefully or he’d only get himself and anyone else who decided to go against Alec’s orders killed. These days, the man trusted no one and had a serious temper, reckless and uncontrollable. It would be foolish to incite that rage, especially without a plan in place. If there was one thing that Jace knew, it was that the club couldn’t get out from under this without him. Being able to see the future and predict someone’s next step had kept him alive more times than he cared to remember. But Alec was one of the few men that Jace had trouble understanding, much less be able to stay one step ahead of. He was unpredictable and selfish and Jace knew just how much greed could change a man, leaving him unrecognizable even to his own mother.
Placing the empty bottle on the bar and sliding a fifty-dollar bill across to the bartender, he pulled his leather jacket over his shoulders and nodded goodnight to Alec. He stepped outside, breathing deeply, enjoying the fresh, light breeze of early summer as he straddled his Harley Seventy-Two and started her up. He sat for a minute, engine purring beneath him, pulling hard and long on a Marlboro, before he tossed the butt to the ground and rolled onto the street.
His house was just outside of town and he cruised along, trying to let the stress roll off his shoulders and fade into the wind behind him. He wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing the real danger his men faced tomorrow, but there was nothing he could do to pull them out of it. He needed a plan and he needed it now.
Chapter Two
Piper Reece caught the knowing look that Carrie sent the orderly passing by and the twinkle in his eye as he smiled back. Shaking her head, she raised an eyebrow at her flirty co-worker.
“I take it you found your next conquest.”
Carrie nodded, a smile creasing the corners of her eyes. “Oh yeah, I sure did. And it was fabulous.” The tiny little woman with the perfect curves somehow managed to make her scrubs look as sexy as a little black dress. Carrie had made it clear that she had no qualms about hitting on patients or dating co-workers, especially new doctors.
Piper, on the other hand, couldn’t imagine using her job to pick up men, especially as hard as she’d worked to land the head nurse position at Parkland hospital. Her salary was finally climbing to a reasonable level, and she was looking at several private hospitals that would double her pay once she had a bit more experience under her belt.
“Carrie, you’re really something else,” she responded with a giggle, printing out the last set of prescriptions for the resident doctor and the patient who was being discharged this evening before she headed home for the night. She had a date with her DVR, a frozen pizza, and a bag of microwave popcorn. It was the first real downtime she’d had in the last three months, and she wanted to enjoy every minute of it.
Carrie was headed home as well, her shift over, and she tapped Piper on the shoulder as she blew by with her usual flurry. “Hey, if you feel like it, I’m meeting some of my girlfriends at Grapevine for a drink. It won’t be a late night. You should join us. It’ll be fun.”
As much as she appreciated the invitation, Piper didn’t feel incredibly social. “Thanks, but I’m really tired tonight. Think I’m just going to chill at home.”
Carrie shrugged and said goodnight as they both retrieved their belongings from the staff room and made their way toward the parking garage. Piper climbed into her car and considered what it might be like to meet up with Carrie and her friends, but then shook her head and turned in the other direction, heading toward her apartment in Addison. She wasn’t the party-girl type and she knew she never would be. She just didn’t fit in with those kinds of girls.
Her phone was ringing when she walked in the door, and she moved quickly to answer it.
“Hello?” she answered breathlessly.
“It took you long enough,” her sister, Sterling, quipped in an irritated voice.
Piper smiled as she dropped into a chair by the kitchen table to talk. “You know, if you would call my cell, you’d find me more easily. I just walked in the door from work. What’s up?”
“Oh, sorry,” Sterling replied. “Listen, word has it there’s FBI crawling around the area, a couple of agents from out of town. I just wanted to know if anything out of the ordinary had come through the hospital, any unusual shootings or stabbings or anything that may be considered... suspicious?”
Piper covered her mouth to keep from giggling. Her sister had just landed a job at a local news station and was determined to catapult her career with a breaking story before anyone else in the media. She was constantly calling Piper, asking her about patients, arrests at the hospital, and just about anything that may turn into a lead. Except each time Piper refused to discuss her patients or share any confidential information that could cost her the job.
“Sorry, I can’t help you there, but I’ll keep my eyes open.” And she would. She knew better than to share the information should anything come her way, but she knew it was much easier to just let Sterling believe otherwise.
“Thanks, Piper. Oh, I was thinking of going to see a movie this weekend. Want to come?”
“Sure, I’d love to. Just text me a time and a place when you figure it out.”
She said goodnight and hung up, finally ready to relax. She got up and made her way into the bathroom, turning on the hot water, preparing her bath. It was going to be a long, relaxing night and after a long week of endless shifts at the hospital, she was so very thankful for it.
Chapter Three
They carefully scoured the perimeter of the building in the old warehousing district of Dallas, looking for any sign of a setup or sting. James, one of their most loyal members, was posted as a lookout on the third floor that overlooked the truck docks and the main dock entry. He sweated inside his long leather duster, the early summer heat beating down from the sun high overhead, but he had two pistols buried in the back of his jeans and two more in the pockets of the coat for anything that might come up. He needed the duster as a cover.
Donnie and Rafe flanked Jace as the delivery truck backed towards them, and as it pulled in, Jace received a text from the man upstairs notifying him that Eliezer Pierre was on his way to meet them. He left his two men, who were carefully watching the truck, while he greeted Eli with a brief nod, trying hard to bury his suspicions.
Eli smiled and extended a hand, his Haitian French accent just thick enough that Jace had to listen hard to understand him.
“It is good doing business with you again, my friend. I’m sure you’ll find the delivery to be more than satisfactory, yes?”
Jace offered a hesitant smile and nodded. “We’ll see when the truck’s unloaded.”
He signaled to the men that it was time to start unloading and watched them carefully as Rafe and Donnie checked the inventory to make sure nothing was missing. Once everything had been thoroughly checked, the men climbed back into the truck and Eli followed Jace to the temporary office set up for these sorts of exchanges. With his body shielding the combination lock, Jace opened the safe and pulled out the cash that had been set aside for the transaction. He threw it on the desk and waited while Eli eagerly counted the bills.
With a nod of satisfaction, Eli smiled at him again. “You are good business, my friend. When is the next run?”
Clearing his throat, Jace scratched the back of his neck. “I’m not sure, Eli. See, the guy who calls the shots hasn’t been overly enthusiastic about this whole thing and the service we’re getting in this business relationship, so I don’t know if he’s going to want to continue doing business with you and your guys.” It was a lie and it was certainly risky, but if he could get the middleman up in arms and concerned about the possibility of Alec turning tail and canceling the agreement, maybe he could break the trust built between the supplier and their club, which would put an end to the gun-running for good.
Concerned, Eli crossed his arms over his chest. “That would be an unwise move, my friend. I tell you, the men who have the merchandise, they don’t take kindly to broken contracts. And I understand your boss has a long-term agreement with the man who puts the supplies out there for you, my friend. I think you should honor the agreement for as long as it stands. For the sake of your club.”
Jace grinned, his gaze never leaving Eli’s face, unflinching. “I’ll be sure to pass on the message, Eli, but like you, I don’t call the shots...my friend,” he added, using the middleman’s term before escorting him out of the office and back to his truck.
After they pulled away and the other men sorted the piles for redistribution, Jace pulled out his cell and sent a short message to Alec to let him know the transaction was complete. He didn’t leave until all the other men were gone.
As he locked up the warehouse and set the alarm, he looked around and growled. This place was a dump, but Alec had insisted they needed a base of operations where no one would come asking questions about their meetings with a bunch of Haitians in a delivery truck. Certainly, between this looking like a legitimate warehouse on the outside and the fact that the cops in this part of Dallas were typically busy with drunk drivers leaving the strip clubs and vagrants begging for money, it was probably the safest option for such an incredibly dangerous set-up.
But Jace was less worried about law enforcement and more concerned with the rival motorcycle clubs, several of which were known for small-time arms dealing. Sooner than later they would find out what Alec had gotten them into, and they would come for blood to reclaim their territory and their major source of income.
Satisfied that his brothers had gotten out safe, Jace lit a cigarette and leaned against the side of the locked building, fingering the keys to his bike that rested in his pocket. He wasn’t sure why, but he had a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. He would blame it on the fact that he’d just finished a dirty deal, one he had no intention of repeating if he could find a way to get his club out of the game. But that wouldn’t cause the hair on the back of his neck to stand up as if he was being wat
ched. He squinted through his sunglasses, looking around one last time, and saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Wanting to get the hell out of there, he squashed his cigarette and revved the engine on his bike, preparing to hit the road. But just as he started for the edge of the parking lot, the rumble from behind him stopped him cold, and he turned to see three large men on bikes headed straight for him. He wasn’t sure which club it was, but he knew they weren’t one of his. Not waiting until they were close enough for him to see the insignia they wore, he gunned his bike and took off, trying to put some space between them. Suddenly, he heard a thunderous roar, and a sharp, searing pain hit his side. He didn’t need to reach down to know the bullet had burned straight into him, and he could feel the heat of his blood soaking through his clothes as he rounded the corner.
Before he could get out of range, several more shots were fired and another struck home, grazing his shoulder and eliciting a foul curse from him as he gunned straight for the highway on-ramp, a shooting pain causing him to wince. With the quick loss of blood, his best chance now was to get to the nearest emergency room and get inside before they caught back up with him and finished the job.
Dammit, he was going to tear Alec apart as soon as he got back to the club. This situation was completely out of control and he was done with putting his club in danger in the name of greed. Whatever it took, this was coming to an end.
Speeding down the road and not even caring when he saw the flashing lights of police cars behind him, he headed toward Parkland, the hospital that asked the fewest questions and was closest to where he was. He was losing blood fast and knew that if he didn’t get there soon, he never would.
Chapter Four
As Carrie leaned over the counter at the nurse’s station, she was so bubbly with excitement that Piper thought she might spill over. “What on earth are you so giddy about?” she asked, slightly amused.
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