The Biker's Protection - Book 3 (Motorcycle Club Romance) (Ghosts of the Prairie Motorcycle Club)

by Fox, Regina

  “I definitely have to go back,” said Foley.

  “You really are pushing it. You were just at a fire. And you, we,” Savannah stopped mid-sentence, blushing profusely recalling the night before.

  Foley swooped in and grinned.

  “You’re too tired to fight a fire,” she murmured softly.

  “Wanna write me a note?” he asked playfully. “You know if I skip work, I can’t have hot sex with anyone. Fireman’s code.”

  Savannah raised her eyebrows. “I’ll bet it’s not a biker’s code.”

  “You catch on quickly,” he said. “You’re absolutely right.”

  “I’m serious,” she said.

  “Unfortunately, everyone was at the first. We are all tired. If this happens again, we’ll import firefighters from the next town over. We work together like that especially during dry season,” he said.

  “Do you think it will happen again?” asked Savannah.

  “It could. I will know for sure after we put the fire out, but two all hands fires in a row usually spells firebug. Devil’s Lake probably has an arsonist,” he said. “And I’m fine,” he said.

  “Well then, let’s go,” she said.

  “No, no,” he said. “You enjoy the rest of your ride. Why don’t you ride with Danny?”

  “Sure, Savannah,” said Danny. “We’ll take good care of you.”

  “Fucking keep your hands off of her!” he joked.

  “Fuck off! If you can’t keep your woman satisfied…”

  “Screw you!” he laughed.

  Savannah smiled at their banter. “No offense, but if Foley isn’t here, I just won’t enjoy myself.”

  She said it playfully, but she actually meant it. It just wouldn’t be the same without him. And she didn’t want him to be by himself on the road.

  Before they took off, Trenton got a text. He hooped.

  “Fuck, yeah!” he said. “They took your estate attorney and your stepmother into custody.”

  “They did?” Savannah asked with complete surprise.

  “Don’t sound so shocked,” Trenton replied. “Now we have to find out if those were real Riggers or fake Riggers they hired.”

  “They admitted it?” asked Savannah.

  “Of course not,” said Trenton. “But a couple of Riggers were coming out of his office as the sheriff went over to question him about last night. It was enough to put the screws to him.”

  As Foley and Savannah pulled out back onto the road, something didn’t set right with her.

  Foley dropped Savannah off with a kiss goodbye before he drove away to the firehouse. Savannah put the dog on the leash and walked him.

  Chapter 9

  Foley didn’t return to her place from the fire that night as he had with the previous fire. Savannah awoke in the middle of the night. She fell asleep on her sofa watching movies. She grabbed her cell phone to skim the internet and saw that the local news reported the firefighters were still battling the blaze. An office building was burning out of control. It happened to be the office building where Savannah’s father’s estate attorney Paul Kerley had his offices.

  Savannah would have drifted back to sleep. The sofa she had been sleeping on was awful comfortable. It was wide and plush. She drew up the throw around her, snuggling. But her mind was wide awake. The television played lightly on the background when she heard somebody had been injured. She listened carefully, and when she heard it was a firefighter, her heart sunk. Was Foley okay? She washed her face and brushed her teeth, then ran a brush through her hair. She couldn’t sleep until she knew. Damn it! And he didn’t have his cell phone. Savannah put Beau on a leash and drove down to the scene of the fire.

  It was hard to know when she was close to the scene of the fire. The office building glowed like a holiday ornament. Fire trucks clustered as hoses aimed at tongues of flames flicked around the building. Savannah knew she had something special in Foley Graham. Seeing that he did battle against mega-fires, something that seeing put in a whole new reality, Savannah knew she had become involved with a hero. A hot, sexy hero.

  She knew that Beau would be agitated by the noise, so she left him in the car. She got out and started asking around.

  A kind man looked up at her. “It was Carl Fizzons. They took him to the hospital.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “We all are.”

  The man disappeared into the crowd. Savannah hung back from the main activity. It was just by chance that she noted someone in the shadows looking on as well. Who she saw made sense. She didn’t blame this person. It just hurt seeing her. Susan Gretsky. Foley’s ex-wife. The reason why Foley had been in Savannah’s neighborhood in the first place. Savannah’s heart sank right to the pit of her stomach.

  In her mind, it should register all the good things it said that Foley and his ex-wife still had an amicable connection even though their marriage was over. It was the best of all consolations. She could not imagine what it would be like to be in a very deep intimate relationship with a man like Foley Graham and to lose it. She also realized it was not something she wanted to consider -- not that they were there yet.

  Savannah had no idea what happened between Foley and Susan. Her mind tried to do the math, but she really couldn’t come up with anything. She also didn’t know Foley well enough to ask. And for now, she liked him so much she had to set whatever jealousy she felt.

  Beau slept at the foot of Savannah’s bed. After he walked around with her to check the doors and windows, and waited as she craned out the window to the guest house. She saw a couple of bikes parked out front. Looked like a couple of Ghosts of the Prairie were on watch. Savannah changed into her comfiest pajamas and went to bed.

  Part of what let Savannah fall asleep, she realized later, was that some part of her kind of expected or maybe hoped that Foley would be beside her when she awoke. Hopefully, he was crashing in a bed at the firehouse. When she didn’t hear from him all the next day and into the night, that’s what she assumed. That he was resting. She had a strong, deep desire to help him do that. They had come together so quickly that it was probably better if they missed each other for a day or so.

  She was actually able to get some work done. She completed a freelance project and turned it in. She was amazed that with so much going on she actually made the deadline. It was a good, positive feeling. Savannah took Beau out with her as she ran errands. He loved going everywhere with her, even if it meant he stayed in the car. They drove passed the office building which was still smoldering even though the flames were out.

  In fact, the smell of smoke was obvious even with the windows rolled up. A few firefighters had their hoses on the site while others walked over the ruins. No sign of Foley which to Savannah was a good thing. She headed over to the Fresh Grocer. She decided she wanted to invite a bunch of really nice bikers over to watch movies in her dad’s home theater.

  The grocery store parking lot in the middle of a weekday was like a ghost town. That was a key advantage of working from home. No lines. Life was relatively easy. Savannah parked her car, cracked the window for Beau and went in to shop. All was good until her dad’s former estate attorney Paul Kerley, and she locked eyes at the opposite ends of an aisle.

  “You!” he shouted.

  “What?” she asked.

  “You have RUINED me!” he said. “I never set a fire!”

  The attorney was like a rabid dog. He abandoned his cart and charged toward her. He stopped suddenly keeping his distance as Savannah shrank near a checkout stand. The checker, the bagger, and a customer looked on.

  “You said I had something to do with bikers? Chasing you? Are you as dumb as your dad?” he shouted.

  Savannah had no idea where that came from, but she was outraged.

  “My dad gave you a job, and you took his money. Money you did not earn. Money that he did. The only dumb thing he did was hire you,” she growled.

  “Fine. Finish my reputation. I won’t need it. I am facing disbarment beca
use of you! And now they think I burned down my own building!”

  The manager approached her.

  “Is this gentleman bothering you?” she said. “Do you want me to call the police?”

  Savannah shook her head. “I’m actually leaving. I think this guy is in enough trouble,” she said.

  She had no idea where her generosity of spirit came from. She told herself at the height of her squabbles between her stepmother and him that if she could, she would have him tossed in jail and throw away the key. But now she just felt sorry for him.

  So much for shopping.

  Savannah went out to her car. Sweet Beau was poking his nose out of the cracked window. She had an incoming call. It was Susan Gretsky. Not a person she felt like talking to, but she was polite.

  “I have some time in the next hour if you want to bring Beau in for a follow-up,” she said.

  Savannah shook her head. She was really beside herself from the scene at the store, but she thought, why not? They were already out, and that was putting a positive foot forward. She tooled around town to Susan’s office. What she found there – or rather who she saw. Foley. He looked positively exhausted, and his hand was bandaged. He looked her in the eye with his warm smile.

  That she was worked up from her encounter with Paul Kerley must have been obvious.

  “What happened to you?” he asked her.

  “Why?” she replied.

  “You look upset,” he said.

  “No, I just hurried to come over. Dr. Gretsky said she had an opening. Thanks for taking us,” Savannah said as politely as she could.

  “How about you are you okay?” she asked him.

  She didn’t really want to engage in a personal conversation in front of his ex-wife but she was weak for him. Foley stooped to pet Beau who was wagging his tail at him. The dog really liked him. Susan jerked up on Beau’s leash randomly. Savannah was alarmed. Even Foley was shocked. But Susan smiled.

  “Relax,” she said. “I was just correcting him.”

  “What the fuck did he do?” asked Foley.

  “He needs to respect personal space. Boundaries,” said Susan. “Watch your language.”

  Savannah was about to take the dog out of there. But Susan sank down next to Foley, gently checking the dog out. Savannah bristled at how Susan’s body was so close to Foley’s and how chummy they were. And her exam was so uninvolved that Savannah was wondering why she had to bring the dog down for? What sort of veterinarian expertise was at work just petting the dog next to her ex-husband? Yes, it was official; Savannah was jealous.

  It was so awkward. Whatever she and Foley may grow to have, if they grew to have something, he and Susan shared something that by all appearances was timeless. His ex-wife was always going to have some kind of connection with him. One that looked really comfortable. Savannah wanted to leave and retreat to the comfort and bliss of her lake home.

  “He looks good,” Susan said.

  She and Foley stood up. Susan handed Savannah an envelope.

  “You can just drop that in the mail to me whenever,” she said. “Nice seeing you again. And if you email my assistant, I will be happy to forward records to your regular veterinarian.”

  Savannah and Beau walked out of the vet’s office. Savannah didn’t even have the feeling she might see Foley again. Like the bulk of why he and the Ghosts were at her house had resolved or something, and everyone moved on. Now Savannah wondered if what happened between Foley and her was not just a consenting adult moment. Boy, did she feel stupid.

  Susan was indeed right about her ex.

  Savanna h almost felt like thanking Paul Kerley for wrecking her grocery shopping. She almost bought enough to feed an army or rather a biker club. She drove through the fast food window and bought the biggest meal they had. It didn’t help to have a Border Collie-Lab mix staring at her while she bit into her food. Against her strict regime for him, she gave Beau the occasional French fry until they got home.

  Chapter 10

  Savannah let the dog off the leash once they were inside the house. She set the remains of her binge on the kitchen counter and opened up the vet bill. It was such a shock that she started laughing. She was hysterical. She laughed so hard that she attracted the dog’s concern. She had to rub his head and assure him.

  “It’s okay,” she said.

  She looked at the bill again. Two thousand dollars and that was not including lab fees to keep her dog at the vet’s office. Reviewing the invoice made her laugh all over again. When she thought the fit had passed, she picked up the phone to call the vet’s office. As soon as Susan answered the phone, Savannah’s laughter was revived.

  “Hold on,” said Savannah and she bent over laughing.

  “Are you okay?” asked Susan.

  “Yes,” she said. “I was just reading the bill. Is the bill really two thousand dollars?”

  “Well, yes,” replied Susan. “It was emergency care.”

  “Okay, well, I see you’ve also charged me for a follow-up exam,” said Savannah.

  “Yes,” said Susan as though Savannah was being unreasonable. “You were just at my office.”

  “You pet the dog. You didn’t examine the dog,” said Savannah.

  And without being able to do anything to stop it, she began laughing again.

  “I have to go,” said the vet. “Foley and I are in the middle of something. We can discuss this later.”

  Click.

  Savannah poured herself a glass of wine and drank it with the rest of her hamburger meal. She poured herself another glass when she finished her food. This glass she didn’t drink quite so quickly. She ambled around her house, really looking it over. She wandered out on to the patio and saw that a bike was out in front of the guest house. She put her glass down and decided to pay the guest house a visit. She decided it was probably time for them to go. She didn’t need ‘protection’ any more.

  By the time she knocked on the guest house door, Savannah was feeling the effects of the wine, though she wasn’t drunk. Bull, one of the Ghosts, answered the door. He was more than polite. He invited her in, but Savannah was brief.

  “You are welcomed to stay as long as you need to pack up, but I won’t need you guys to stay. I am fine. The house is fine,” she said.

  Bull looked confused. Pike joined him at the door. Now, he was cute, thought Savannah. He had longish, silky hair the color of honey comb. He was younger than Savannah, but he was definitely adorable. Maybe even fuckable. Now, that was the booze talking.

  “You want us to go?” asked Bull.

  “Yes, please. I would like my privacy,” she said civilly. “And I don’t want to call the police.”

  She didn’t want to throw the police threat in at all. But she knew they wouldn’t leave if she didn’t.

  “Alrighty then,” he said.

  “I will let Trenton know,” she said.

  “Don’t you mean Foley?” asked Bull.

  “No,” she said with a chilly smile. “I meant Trenton.”

  As promised, she followed up with a text to Trenton. That was that. Savannah felt like she had her place finally. It was very similar to the relief she felt when the matter was legally settled between her stepmother and the estate lawyer. Paul Kerley. He was furious with her. The allegations that he had been harassing her had destroyed him.

  Savannah made sure everything was locked up.

  “Come on, Beau,” she said, and the two of them jogged to the bathroom off her bedroom.

  She left the door that opened to the bedroom opened. Beau lounged on the rug while Savannah bathed. She was going to dress and snuggle in the movie room. She and Beau were going to watch movies together.

  The phone buzzed. It was Trenton. He wanted to talk. Savannah ignored him. It buzzed again. It was Susan. She invited Savannah to chat about the bill. She ignored that text too. No messages or contact from Foley. Pain gripped her chest. It hurt badly. Being stupid and smitten was not a good combination. She turned off her p
hone on purpose.

  She washed her hair and got out of the tub. She dressed in a terry teddy and shorts set. She and the dog padded off into the movie room. She pulled her scrumptious afghan up over her body and hit the remote. She chose a romantic comedy. Beau slept on her feet. Half an hour into the story, the doorbell rang.

  Chapter 11

  Savannah’s heart raced. Her first thought was it was Foley. She had a mixed feeling. Part of her, of course, wanted to see him, but she felt she also had to protect herself. The bell rang again. Savannah paused the movie and dashed to the door. She checked the peephole. There was no one there. She first thought Foley had stepped aside. But that was not the case.

  Her heart raced. Beau began to bark and growl. Savannah quietly called 911. She sent the bikers in the guest home away. The doorbell rang again. She tried not to freak out. She eased away from the front door, slipping into the guest bathroom. She whispered.

  “Please come,” she said. “Someone is ringing and running my front door.”

  Now there was a firm knock. Savannah could not help but shriek. Foley called from the other side of the door.

  “Savannah?” he called.

  He tried the door knob but was locked. He pounded the door. His voice was panicked.

  “Savannah! Better open up or I’m kicking this damn door down!” he shouted.

  Savannah twisted the lock on the knob and let him in. They were both very confused.

  “False alarm,” she said.

  “False alarm?” asked the dispatcher.

  “Yeah,” assured Savannah. “The person who was at my door is here, and I know him. I am sorry for the drama.”

  Savannah ended the call.

  “What was that about?” demanded Foley sternly.

  “Someone was ringing my door and there was no one there. I got scared. I called the cops,” she said.