Shade's Fall

by Jamie Begley

  “I didn’t mean to pry.”

  “I know you didn’t.” Lily smiled tremulously, getting to her feet. Rachel reached out to steady her and Lily felt the warmth of her hand against her arm. She managed to get herself back under control with that comforting gesture.

  When they went back to work, Lily was quiet at first but couldn’t remain so for long in Rachel’s cheerful presence. Rachel told her how one man had flown in from England so that she could perform her healing on his penis when he could no longer get an erection.

  “I thought I would die, I was so embarrassed,” Rachel said, describing the incident. “My brothers refused to leave the room.”

  Lily was laughing so hard she almost dropped a box she was carrying. “Did it work?”

  “He’s had two children since then. Of course, I got a text from his wife who asked if I could turn it off again.”

  Lily’s laughter bubbled over, enjoying spending the day with Rachel.

  As they finished up for the day, Lily got a text from Beth, telling her to meet her at the fair when she was done. They had worked most of the day and only had a fourth of the store completed.

  “See you next Saturday?” Rachel asked as they grabbed their purses.

  “Absolutely.”

  They left each other in the parking lot, each heading their own way.

  Lily went home and showered, changing into a pale blue sundress then a matching sweater in case the night turned cool.

  She drove to the outskirts of town to the fairgrounds, where there was already a huge crowd. She managed to find a parking spot at the end and began the trek toward the fair when Lily heard several motorcycles pull in.

  She glanced back, expecting to see some of The Last Riders or even a Destructor, but she didn’t recognize the jackets of the riders pulling in. Lily wondered how Treepoint was going to deal with yet another motorcycle club.

  Chapter 5

  Lily got in line to purchase her entrance tickets, texting Beth that she was at the fairgrounds. After purchasing her ticket, she wandered through the various booths before Beth texted back that they were on their way to meet her. Lily smiled when she read Beth’s text that said Razer had decided to hit the hot dog stand when they’d arrived, thinking it was more likely Beth had joined him in getting one.

  Lily stopped at one of the booths, looking over the delicate glass figurines. There was one of a delicate flower with a tiny crystal raindrop dangling from one of the petals. It was beautiful.

  “How much?” Lily was in awe of the skill it must have taken to make the beautiful art.

  “Twenty,” the vendor quoted. Lily reached into the pocket of her sundress for her money, pulling out a twenty, unable to resist the buy.

  “Thank you,” Lily said, taking the piece, which had been wrapped in tissue paper. Afraid it would become damaged if she packed it around for the rest of the evening, Lily decided to take it back to her car.

  Texting Beth that she would be right back, Lily walked back to the parking lot. It was just beginning to get dark, yet there was still plenty of light. She was halfway back to her car when she had the feeling she was being watched. Lily looked around casually. There were several people still coming and going to the fair, so she didn’t worry about her safety; however, she began to feel uncomfortable and didn’t understand why.

  She was almost to her car when a truck door slammed shut. Lily swallowed hard when she recognized who had gotten out of the truck. He was already striding angrily toward her.

  “You fucking bitch!” Gaige stopped in front of her, looking down at her angrily. He had a busted-up lip and a black eye that was half-closed.

  “Gaige,” Lily greeted him, despite his hateful words.

  “I hope you’re happy. I lost my job because of you. How am I supposed to feed my kids with no job?”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want you to be fired,” Lily said, taking a step back at his aggressive stance.

  “I was only joking around.”

  “It didn’t feel very funny when you put your hand on my butt,” Lily snapped.

  “Then you sent Train to beat the hell out of my face.”

  “I didn’t,” Lily protested.

  “At least I got out of there before Shade came after me. Now I have to leave town for a few days. He’s been all over town looking for me today. You need to call that psycho off.”

  “I’ll talk to him,” Lily promised.

  “You do that, because if he comes after me, when he’s finished I’m going to come after you,” he threatened.

  Ripping the tissue with the delicate glass from her hand, he tore the fragile tissue away. “Well, isn’t that pretty.” Turning sideways, he threw the glass at her windshield, breaking both in a shatter of flying glass.

  Lily gasped as tears came to her eyes at the wanton destruction of something so beautiful. She didn’t care about the windshield; she was more upset about losing the glass figurine. She hardly ever splurged and bought herself something like that.

  He caught her arm in a tight grip when she would have stepped back.

  “Now is that any way to treat a woman?” a hard voice came from behind her. From Gaige’s widening eyes, she could tell it wasn’t good. Turning her head, she saw the motorcycle riders that had pulled in after she had arrived coming to her aid.

  “I don’t want any trouble with you,” Gaige said. This time it was him taking a step back at the three men coming toward him, releasing his tight hold of her arm.

  “I hate it when pussies start crying before I can even get my hands on them,” the biggest one complained. He was huge, almost rivaling Knox in size. While Knox appeared fiercer, this man looked like he would beat the crap out of you while laughing about doing it.

  The remaining two, on the other hand, didn’t look like they ever laughed. One was blond with a look of hardness and the other was just plain scary with his dark hair and scar down his cheek.

  “Pretty little thing here don’t need to watch me beat the shit out of you, so why don’t we go over here and take care of some business.” The huge man slung a meaty arm around Gaige’s shoulder, turning him toward a group of trees. Gaige’s frightened expression tugged at Lily’s conscience.

  “Wait, he just lost his temper.”

  “That’s okay, sweet thing, I’m going to help him find it.” He was leading a struggling Gaige away.

  Lily took a step forward when she felt an arm slide around her waist. “Let Max deal with him. He can’t look much worse than he does now,” an amused voice said in her ear.

  Lily stiffened, beginning to get frightened.

  “Lily!” Beth’s yell as she drew closer was cut off when Razer grabbed her arm, preventing her from coming any closer.

  Lily turned her head as The Last Riders appeared in mass.

  Viper, Cash, Razer, Shade, Train and Rider were covering the parking lot with the rest of their members following behind while the women members kept Beth from running to her sister.

  “Want to take a bet on which one she belongs to?” the one with his arm around her waist spoke.

  “Don’t have to. I know,” the dark-haired one said in amusement, moving in front of Lily and blocking her from view.

  “Let me go.” Lily tried to wiggle from the grasp around her waist.

  “Calm down. I’m going to let you go.”

  Viper’s harsh voice could be heard over the thrumming of her heart. “Let her go.”

  The one with Gaige in a stranglehold turned back, moving closer to his friends.

  “I have every intention of letting this sweet thing go. We’re not out for trouble; just passing through.” He nodded his head at Gaige. “Found him giving her some trouble.” Nodding his head at Lily’s car, he then said, “Decided to step in. Seeing she’s yours, we’ll step back.” His arm slid away from Lily, releasing her.

  Lily took a step forward toward Razer while none of the men took their eyes off each other. The one with the scar stepped to the side. When Lil
y passed him, she brushed against him and his jacket moved to the side. Lily saw the gun clipped to his waist. Terror almost took hold of her, yet Lily knew she didn’t want anyone hurt.

  “He’s telling the truth, Viper. Gaige was angry that he got fired and they made him leave me alone.”

  “Lily, go to your sister,” Shade spoke.

  Lily had done what she could, so she went to Beth. Neither group of bikers was interested in her opinion at this point. It was now a standoff between the two groups.

  “Are you all right?” Beth asked.

  “I’m fine,” Lily answered, turning around to see what was going on.

  Seeing the one called Max hand over Gaige to Shade, Lily started to go back.

  “Stay here, Lily. Knox is pulling into the parking lot,” Beth said, placing her hand on Lily’s arm. Knox, a former member of The Last Riders, pulled his deputy car into the parking lot close to the men.

  Lily, Beth and the other women watched as the men talked. Knox took Gaige from Shade, putting him in handcuffs before placing him into the backseat of the cruiser. They continued to watch as the men talked to the members of the other motorcycle club. Lily bit her lip, not wanting anyone to get in a fight. The other men had only stepped in when they had seen Gaige bothering her.

  “What happened?” Evie asked. Lily told her and the women about Gaige breaking her windshield and grabbing her arm, explaining how the men stopped him.

  They stood watching as The Last Riders started back toward them with the men from the other club going to their bikes.

  Razer was the first to reach her; however, she felt Shade’s eyes running over her, checking to see if she was hurt.

  Assuring her bother-in-law that she was fine, they went back into the fair. Lily didn’t want to ruin the fun for everyone, so she changed the subject as she walked arm in arm with her sister through the fair.

  “Do you want to go back to the booth and get another figurine?” Beth asked.

  “No,” Lily said, aware of the others’ eyes on her. “Let’s play some games.”

  Attempting to prove that she was fine, she walked up to one of the booths where you had to throw a ring around a milk jug, handed the worker some money and he gave her several rings. Aiming, she missed pathetically. She tried again with the other two rings, throwing each one carefully, and missed them all.

  Afterwards, the others split up, going to different games and playing. The men went to the shooting game while Lily moved on to another game, shooting water into a clown’s mouth. She did well in a race with the other women, jumping up and down when she won, laughing.

  They did two more races and Lily finally won a prize, picking a purple monkey. The man behind the counter handed it to Lily.

  “Here you go.” Lily handed it to Beth.

  “Don’t you want it?” Beth protested.

  “You’re the one that likes stuffed animals.” Lily didn’t like to collect items. The only thing she had let herself get in a long time was the flower and Gaige had seen to its destruction.

  With their game over, they went to watch the men play. Train and Rider were shooting at the targets while Viper and Shade stood nearby watching. Razer walked to Beth, putting his arm around her shoulder as they all waited to see who would win. Lily stood to the side near Beth as Evie and Jewell came to stand next to her.

  It was fun just watching everyone relax.

  “Why don’t you take a turn, Shade?” Bliss asked.

  Shade’s eyes went to Bliss and the small woman seemed to shrink in on herself. Shade was good at that. Lily felt bad for the woman, throwing Shade an angry glance, which he ignored.

  “Let’s go ride the bumper cars,” Bliss suggested.

  The Last Riders made their way through the fair, stopping and riding a few rides and playing several more games.

  Everyone was waiting in line for a ride that Lily had no intention of getting on.

  “I’m going to go get something to drink,” Lily told Beth who was standing in line with Razer, her arms wrapped around his waist. Lily was happy that Beth was so much in love with her husband.

  She walked to one of the vendors to get a soda. Unable to resist, she bought a cotton candy, too. Taking a seat at a nearby picnic table, she watched the ride going around and around. Nope, that ride wasn’t for her.

  Opening her bag of cotton candy, she pulled out a tuft of the soft confection and ate it. The sugar melted on her tongue. She licked the sugar crystals from her lips.

  Shade sat down on the bench next to her. “You don’t want to ride?”

  “Not that one, I don’t,” Lily replied, smiling, her anger forgotten.

  She sat, eating her candy as The Last Riders got on. Then, seconds later, she heard the women’s screams and the men mocking them.

  She pulled out another tuft of cotton candy, letting it melt on her tongue once more as she felt Shade move restlessly next to her, and she looked at him inquiringly. She licked the sugar crystals from her lips and watched as his blue eyes fell to them. Uncomfortable, Lily turned away, taking a drink of her soda.

  When she saw The Last Riders get off the ride, Bliss, Jewell and Evie were walking with Rider; Dawn and Stori were next to Train; Raci was walking with Cash; Winter and Viper were walking hand-in-hand; and Ember was mixed in with the rest of the bikers, teasing Nickel for having a weak stomach.

  Lily thought about how happy everyone looked.

  “What are you thinking?” Shade asked.

  She turned to him with a start, giving him a sweet smile. “I was just thinking how happy everyone looked, like they belong together. I can see you all care about each other.” Lily tore another piece of the spun candy off. “You shouldn’t be so hard on Bliss. I think she has a thing for you,” Lily said, raising the confection to her lips.

  Shade’s hand snapped out, catching her wrist in a hard grasp. “What did I tell you about me not being your BFF? Bliss knows exactly what I feel for her.” Shade brought her hand to his mouth, taking the bite of cotton candy from her fingertips. His tongue licked her fingers, taking the sugar off.

  Lily shuddered, her eyes darkening. Jerking her hand from his, she avoided his eyes. She got to her feet and dumped the cotton candy and drink into the trashcan before making a beeline straight for Beth’s side.

  She refused to let herself think or dwell on the incident. It was just one more memory to lock behind her imaginary door when she couldn’t cope with the reaction. She couldn’t handle the spark that had lit inside of her when his tongue glided across her fingertips. She was letting her defenses down around Shade, and she had to build them back. He was everything she didn’t want in a man, everything she couldn’t have. If she failed at keeping him at bay, he could very well be the path to her destruction.

  * * *

  Shade followed behind the group, keeping a watchful eye on his club members. Lily didn’t stray from Beth’s side for the rest of the evening, using her as protection against him. Lily used Beth and Razer as her shield against the world; however, naively she thought that they would protect her from him. They would try.

  He had thought that Beth would be his biggest opposition but, surprisingly, Razer was playing the big brother and had laid down the ground rules. Shade was willing to go along with it for now.

  He watched as she looked back over her shoulder then moved closer to Beth. His gut twisted as he wondered if she would ever turn to him over Beth, if he would be the one she turned to for protection.

  He would lay back. He could wait; he was a patient man. For now.

  Chapter 6

  Lily kept her head down during service, concentrating on her Pastor’s words, letting them fill her heart and calm her tumultuous mind.

  Beth’s hand grasped hers and Lily held it tightly, gathering strength from her sister, as well.

  After the service, Pastor Dean’s eyes searched hers. “You and Rachel got a lot done yesterday. Thank you for your help.”

  “I enjoyed it,” Lily replied, mo
ving forward to let the other parishioners greet the Pastor.

  “Let’s get lunch,” Razer said.

  Lily thought about going home, but she remembered the strange experience from last week and decided against it. Following her sister, Razer, Evie, Bliss, Raci, Diamond, Winter and Viper crossed the street and they entered the diner.

  Shade, Rider, Train and Cash were already inside drinking their coffee. When Lily took a seat between Razer and Winter at the end farthest away from Shade, she felt his eyes on her.

  After the waitress had taken their table’s order and left, Lily listened to the conversation around her, but she didn’t participate. The food arrived and Lily ate her salad.

  As she ate, she heard the door of the diner open, but didn’t turn around until the silence at the table had her raising her head to see the concerned look on the women and the men’s hard expressions.

  “What’s going on?” Lily asked Winter.

  “The bikers from last night just came in,” Winter answered.

  “Oh.” She didn’t turn around and make it obvious she was staring at them.

  Conversation gradually resumed; however, Lily could still see the men were tense.

  Thankfully lunch finished and everyone rose to leave. Lily followed The Last Riders to the door, but stopped at the cash register, opening her purse to take out some money.

  “What are you doing? Razer already took care of the check,” Beth told her.

  “I know.” She gave her money to the cashier. “I want to pay for the men’s ticket by the window.”

  The cashier’s mouth dropped open, yet she took the cash.

  “Lily, what are you doing?” Beth questioned in a hushed voice.

  “Paying back a favor,” Lily said, taking a deep breath, and before anyone could stop her, she approached the men sitting at the table. There were more of them today, but Lily had been around The Last Riders and the Destructors enough that she easily recognized the leader.

  Standing in front of the dark blond man, she spoke in a rush. “I wanted to thank you for what you did last night. It could have gotten bad without your help.”