Brash: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (Black Reapers Motorcycle Club Book 1)

by Jade Kuzma

  When we got to the bakery, I could see a small line of people inside.

  “Hey,” I said. “Listen… Thank you.”

  “Thank you? For what?”

  “For last night. I had a great time.”

  “Well—”

  “I’m not just talking about the sex,” I said as I slapped him on the arm. “Well, maybe I am. But I also enjoyed spending time at the Grindhouse. I enjoyed spending time with you.”

  I kissed him, letting my lips linger on his for a second before pulling away.

  “Can I see you again?” he asked.

  Despite his rugged exterior, Sean seemed calm. It was moments like this that told me that there was more to him than the tough biker facade.

  “Yeah,” I said. “Of course.”

  “I’ll call you. Or text you. Whatever it takes.”

  “If you can’t find me, I’ll be here.”

  He took my hand in his. I let my fingers dance in his hand as I gently pulled away. Just when I was about to get free, he pulled me back in for another kiss. I giggled into his mouth as he wrapped his arms around me.

  “I have to go,” I said. “Amy is waiting for me.”

  “Right, right. I know. Just one more kiss.”

  “One more…”

  This was perfect. I would have been happy forever just being in his arms like this. I couldn’t imagine being more comfortable. But we both managed to eventually pull away from each other. Sean drove off before either one of us got any other ideas and I headed into the bakery.

  I rushed to the other side of the counter and saw how busy Amy was.

  “Sorry, I’m late,” I said as I put an apron on. “It won’t happen again.”

  Amy didn’t pay much attention to me. The older woman was busy tending to the customers. Her attitude was just as delightful as it always was.

  The morning rush went as it usually did. People ordered their pastries and coffee to help them get their day in Ivory started. It was just Amy and me, so there was a little more work than usual. But it wasn’t anything either one of us couldn’t handle.

  A few hours went by and the rush was over. Amy took some time to herself and had a seat at a nearby table.

  “Lydia,” she said. “Her voice sweet as always. Why don’t you have a seat? We could use a break.”

  “Thanks.”

  I grabbed a cup of water and sat down at the table in front of her. I was still sore from my evening with Sean. The morning rush didn’t help matters. I didn’t realize just how tired I was until I collapsed into my chair.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked. “Long night?”

  “Something like that,” I said with a smile. “But I’m here and I’m ready to handle it.”

  “Gina was supposed to come in today. I wonder where she is.”

  “Gina… I went out with her last night. She was partying pretty hard. She’s probably sleeping in for a little bit.”

  “I know Gina’s a party animal but she usually shows up on time.”

  “She was really excited about going to the Grindhouse. She probably partied a little harder than she usually does. I’m sure she’s fine.”

  “Sure,” Amy said with a polite smile. “I’m sure you’re right.”

  Amy turned her attention to the display case. The pastries were all scattered in every direction, the result of an early morning rush. I would have to spend the rest of the day reorganizing everything.

  “I had some of your dessert the other day,” she said.

  “The tiramisu?”

  “Yes. It’s a shame you can’t make it more often. A lot of customers are asking for it.”

  “The ingredients are kind of pricey, especially in this town. Plus, there’s the preparation. But I’ll see what I can do. I’ll make another batch when Gina shows up.”

  “That’s good. Thank you, Lydia.”

  Amy looked at me as I sipped on my water.

  “Have you thought about what I said?” she asked.

  “What you said?”

  “Yes. About taking over and running the bakery. Did you put some thought into it?”

  “Oh! Right… Honestly, I’ve had a lot on my mind lately.”

  “That’s no problem. I understand. You’re still getting settled into Ivory.”

  “No, it’s not that. There are some other things. But… I’ve given it some consideration. The thing is… Are you sure this is what you want to do? It’s your bakery. The people of Ivory love you just as much as your desserts.”

  “I can’t keep working here forever. The people will understand. They’ll get over it eventually. I know you can keep giving them what they’re asking for.”

  She reached forward and put her hand on top of mine.

  “It’s no hurry. I know you have plenty of business to take care of. It’s just something you should consider.”

  “I’m considering it. Trust me. I’m not taking this lightly.”

  “No, I wouldn’t imagine you are.”

  Amy patted my hand then stood up straight. She stretched her arms to the ceiling and yawned.

  “My old bones are talking to me,” she sighed. “Do you think you can handle yourself until Gina gets here?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be just fine.”

  “Thank you, Lydia.”

  She smiled at me and excused herself. I watched her leave the bakery. The door closed and the bell attached to it rang. I closed my eyes and gathered myself before heading to the back to get to work.

  A few hours had gone by as I prepped more desserts. A customer came in from time to time but it was never anything I couldn’t handle.

  I was in the back of the bakery when I heard the bell on the door ring.

  “Just a second,” I yelled.

  I cleaned my hands off then headed out to the front. I saw two men in uniform standing at the counter.

  “Sheriff Sutton!” I said. “Ben! How are you two doing?”

  The two cops stood in front of me. I looked at both of them and waited for them to place an order. But neither one of them was smiling the way they usually were. In fact, it was the exact opposite.

  Sutton was frowning at me and the look of concern on Ben’s face was undeniable.

  “How are you doing?” Sutton said to me.

  “I’m… I’m fine,” I said. “Is something wrong?”

  “Maybe you should sit down. We need to talk.”

  “Okay. What’s this all about?”

  “Lydia, please. Have a seat.”

  My heart began to thump harder in my chest. I swallowed nervously as I moved to the front of the bakery. The two of them took a seat and I sat down at the table in front of them. The concern on both of their faces was still there.

  “Okay,” I said with a shrug. “What’s this all about?”

  I was trying to remain calm but I knew something was wrong.

  “Gina,” Sutton said. “When is the last time you saw her?”

  “Gina? Just last night. Why?”

  “Someone found her. This morning.”

  I blinked my eyes in disbelief, hoping that I’d misheard them.

  “I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered. “They found her?”

  “Yes,” Sutton said. “They found her body in an alley.”

  “Her body?” I exclaimed. “What are you saying? Is she—”

  “She’s not dead,” Sutton interrupted me.

  I leaned back in my seat and sighed a deep breath.

  “But she’s in the hospital right now,” Sutton said. “She was unconscious when they found her and they had to sedate her.”

  “Is she… Is she going to be all right?”

  Sutton and Ben looked at each other before shifting their eyes back to me.

  “They don’t know yet,” Sutton said. “The doctors say there’s a chance but they just don’t know.”

  “What happened?”

  “They found drugs in her system. That and the alcohol was too much for her. It’s lucky someone found her, othe
rwise…”

  I didn’t want to think about what could have happened.

  “You said you saw her last night,” he said. “Where was this at?”

  I clenched my jaw when he asked me. I went over all the details of last night in my head, trying to figure out if there were something I should or shouldn’t have said.

  “The Grindhouse,” I said.

  “The Grindhouse?” Sutton said. “That’s the Black Reapers’ clubhouse.”

  “I suppose it is. Do you think the person responsible for what happened to Gina is over there?”

  “If you’re telling me she was there, there’s a strong chance there’s some correlation between the two.”

  “I wasn’t with Gina. I mean, I was there but I don’t know what she did or anybody she talked to. I just saw her there.”

  “I understand. And believe me, Lydia, we’re not implicating you. We’re just trying to get to the bottom of this.”

  “Of course. I’ll… I’ll cooperate in any way I can.”

  “If you think you know anything that might help us out, you let us know. Come on, Ben. Let’s get out of here.”

  Sutton and Ben got up from their seats. Sutton left but just before Ben followed behind him, the young man turned around.

  “Do you know what happened?” he asked.

  “I don’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I swear.”

  “…I believe you.”

  I stared back at him. The look in his eyes told me that there wasn’t anything I could hide from him. Despite his apparent aloofness in our previous encounters, I knew Ben was more insightful than anybody would give him credit for.

  “I know you’re spending time around the Reapers,” he said. “Just do me a favor.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Be careful.”

  I paused for a second then nodded softly. He stared back at me without saying a word then left the bakery. The bell hanging on the door handle rang in my ears before I was left in silence.

  Sean… Sean knows what happened. He has to know.

  I pulled my phone out of my pocket and sent him a text.

  No response.

  I called him to see if he would answer.

  No response.

  I couldn’t just leave the bakery. Not when I was the only one there to run it. Whatever business I had to take care of would have to wait until tonight.

  Chapter 18

  SEAN

  “We got a problem. A real big fucking problem.”

  Everybody in the chapel was looking around at one another. Garnet stood at the head of the table, his arms crossed as he examined each of us. Garnet was as laid back as they came, so when he got serious, you knew some shit went down.

  “We just got word that Gina, the chick at Amy’s Bakery, just got found in an alley. Her system was full of drugs.”

  Garnet explained the story while everybody listened closely.

  “She was here last night. It’s not a good look for us. The cops are going to associate the drugs in her system and assume she got ’em here. And the cops are probably gonna be right. Did any of you talk to her last night?”

  Everybody again looked around at each other but nobody said a word.

  “This shit is bad,” Garnet said. “The Chinese get word that people are ODing on our property with product and they won’t hesitate to cut us out of the deal.”

  “Gina was messing around with a lot of guys last night,” Needle said. “There’s no telling where she got those drugs. It could have even been a plant from another club.”

  “That is a good possibility,” Ghost added. “The Chinese aren’t gonna keep secrets about who they’re making deals with in Ivory. If one of the other clubs got wind of this, they could have given something to Gina to make us look bad.”

  Garnet had his hands on his hips, sighing in frustration.

  I was even more frustrated. I clenched my jaw, trying to figure out how it happened.

  “It was the Cobras,” I said.

  Everybody turned to me.

  “What’s that?” Garnet said.

  “Maybe not the Cobras but Poison did it. I’m sure of it.”

  “How can you be so sure?”

  “I had a run-in with Poison at Finn’s the other night. He threatened me and said that he was gonna pay me back for what I did to his brother.”

  “Are you fucking shitting me?” Needle barked as he jumped out of his seat. “The guy whose brother you killed threatened you and you didn’t bother to tell us.”

  “The Cobras ain’t nothing to worry about,” I said. “He’s not even a Cobra. Poison’s an idiot. He lost his patch because of how volatile he is. He’s not even good enough to hang out with the rest of the Snakes.”

  “Listen,” Garnet said. “I don’t like the Cobras any more than you do. They’re Snakes, through and through. But they wouldn’t do something like this and fuck up our deal. There’s too much heat on them already from the cops and the Chinese would find out about it eventually. Fucking with either one of them would paint those Snakes into a corner.”

  “Poison is not a Cobra,” I said. “He’s still a Snake though. Patch or no patch, he’s fully capable of drugging some innocent girl to try to make me and the rest of the club look bad.”

  I stared at the wall, trying to figure out how I was gonna get to the bottom of this.

  “So, now what?” Needle said. “Some asshole is trying to get back at us through Brash. What do we do now?”

  “Right now, the deal is still on,” Garnet said. “The Chinese haven’t said anything. We get the product and take it up north on schedule. Nothing changes. We just gotta be extra careful now. After what happened to Gina, the cops are gonna be up our asses.”

  “This is too much of a risk,” I said.

  Everybody turned to me.

  “It’s a risk,” Garnet said. “It was always gonna be a risk. But what do you propose we do?”

  “Back out of the deal. Tell the Chinese to look for someone else. Wait for the heat to die down until I can settle this shit with Poison.”

  “And how the fuck are you gonna settle shit with Poison?” Needle said to me. “You just gonna walk into the Cobras’ clubhouse? He’s not even a patch anymore.”

  “I won’t have to look for him. He’ll find me. He’s looking for me. It’s only a matter of time until I run into him again.”

  “That’s just fucking great,” Needle sighed. “We sit around with our thumbs up our asses, waiting for this Poison asshole to show up, while all the other clubs in town are making money off our jobs.”

  “There’s no other choice,” I said.

  I glared at Needle. The arrogant prick was as cocky as ever but I wasn’t about to back down. Not when I knew I was right.

  “It’s the right move,” I said. “Everybody else agrees with me… Right?”

  I looked around the table at everybody. Needle shook his head. Ghost frowned. Even Brawn and Petey weren’t able to look at me.

  “I don’t think even I want to deal with a man like Poison,” Brawn said.

  My eyes shifted toward Garnet, who was staring back at me with his arms crossed.

  “The deal goes through,” Garnet said. “The Chinese won’t be too happy if we back out of the deal. Especially this late in the game. All we have to do is lay low. It’ll be like all our other runs.”

  I breathed a frustrated sigh through my nose. I was about to say something but I knew it was pointless. Garnet was the president. Changing his mind was never easy. The truth was, I didn’t even know if my answer was the solution.

  “Keep your heads down,” Garnet said. “You see anybody suspicious fucking around the clubhouse, you let everybody else know. Some asshole trying to fuck with some girl. Some guy sneaking around back. Anything. We gotta be on guard. Lord knows how hard this shit is with the cops already keeping tabs on us.”

  Garnet snapped his fingers to signal the end of the meeting. While everybody got up from their seats, I sat
there with my hands in my lap. I glanced up at Needle and saw him glaring at me just before he left the chapel.

  I stayed where I was, thinking about everything that happened. Ghost was about to leave me alone in the room before he stopped and realized I wasn’t moving.

  “What are you doing?” he said.

  “I’m just thinking,” I said. “Can’t a man think?”

  Ghost sighed then took his seat back down next to me. I wasn’t looking at him.

  “This is my fault,” I said.

  “What is?”

  “This. All of this. I’m the reason Gina got fucked up. Poison… That piece of shit… He used her to try and get back at me.”

  “Gina will be fine. She’s a strong woman. And this Poison prick will get what’s coming to him, one way or another. You can’t go crazy in a town like Ivory. Clubs won’t respect a man who lost his patch the way he did.”

  “Gina isn’t the one I’m worried about,” I said.

  I shifted my eyes toward Ghost and he understood immediately.

  “She was the one,” I sighed. “Lydia was the one who was going to bring meaning to all of this.”

  “Hey!” Ghost barked at me. “What did I tell you? The Reapers are here. We’ll always be here. Don’t forget about your loyalty to the club.”

  “I haven’t forgotten. I wear this fucking patch with honor.”

  “Then what the fuck are you moping around for? Lydia knew what she was getting into when she started messing around with you.”

  “No,” I said. “No, she didn’t. She thought I was just a man who committed a crime and did his time. Justice was served and now I’m back on the straight and narrow.”

  I laughed at myself as I thought about what I said to her just last night.

  “I told her it would be okay. I told her that this job wasn’t a big deal. Who the fuck am I kidding? I’m transporting enough drugs to get me life behind bars.”

  “All right then. So what the fuck are you gonna do, Brash? You gonna break up with this chick? You gonna keep going? You’re gonna have to do something.”

  “Yeah… I am gonna have to do something. I just wish I fucking knew what.”

  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone. I saw the text messages I hadn’t responded to. I saw the phone calls I didn’t answer. Someone had told Lydia about what happened.