Kim stared at the clock by her bed as if she would look at it long enough and magically make it move faster. She had spent so much time worrying about what people might think or say only to find out that several days later no one was really that interested in where she was or why. So, now all she had to keep her warm at night and going during the day were her own thoughts and insecurities. That was a dangerous position for her to be in.
But what was she supposed to do now that she was back in town? She didn’t really want to seek out anyone else other than Spencer. She thought a small life would do her some good now that she had learned her lesson about how people could betray her so easily. A thought crossed her, a curiosity that she'd had for a long time, but she wasn’t sure if she should follow through with it. Her grandfather would have a heart attack, and she was sure of that, but then again she was miserable, bored and looking for a new life. Besides, she was 23, not 16.
So, she pulled out her phone, her new favorite companion, and called up the only person that seemed to care anymore.
"Hey." Spencer's voice was a strange comfort, and she could feel something shifting in the way she saw him, though she wasn’t ready to admit it quite yet. It was hard to think of him as more than a brother with the way they knew every scrape, bruise and whooping the other had.
"Hi," she said slowly, feeling suddenly a little awkward and spacey. Maybe it was just a side effect of her heart being broken. She was just vulnerable and desperate. So much for that whole bad girl rocker image she had been going for.
"Did you need something?" he finally asked. She could hear other voices coming through the receiver in the background and wondered if he was busy.
"I'm sorry if you're busy I can call back. I really just wanted to see what you were up to tonight. I'm just so bored and need to get out of the house."
"I'm just doing a little accounting over here is all. I'm not too busy to talk to you, Kim." The way he said it made her feel tingly, and she pinched herself to bring her back to reality. "Tonight I'll be with the MC, though. There's a party going on, but you know, when is there not?"
Kim laughed with him as if she knew what he was talking about. Though she had grown up with more than one family member and friend involved with The Shadows, one of the most notorious MCs in Quebec, she had never even stepped foot into their meeting place.
“You know what, though? It would be great to have you at that party with me. It’s not like everyone doesn’t basically know who you are.” Kim nodded to herself, understanding just how they might all know who she is. She was the daughter of the weekend warrior who stupidly got involved with The Shadows at the wrong time and got himself killed because he wasn’t a fit for that life.
“I don’t know; I mean, Papa would be pretty pissed at the both of us. You know that. Maybe I’ll just sit this one out and clean his house or something.” Kim knew she didn’t mean it, but she was waiting for that final push to agree.
“Kim, you’re 23. I understand why he wants to keep you away from this life, but it’s not like you’re joining the MC. I wouldn’t even let you get in that deep. It’s just a party, and you’ll be with me anyway. You do need a night out of the house, and you need to quit sulking and get back to real life. There’s more out there for you. I just know it, but you won’t find it watching Netflix in your grandfather’s guest bedroom.”
Spencer had never been quite so forward like that before, and a little gasp escape her mouth. “When did you get so wise, Mr. Domir?” she teased him. “I guess you’re right, but he still is going to be angry at the both of us. Just know that. He may not treat you like you’re his favorite person in the world after he finds out this was all your idea.”
Spencer scoffed. “He doesn’t treat me like that anyway, especially in front of the MC. I’m just the accountant, remember.” His voice sounded bitter for just a moment, but before she could say anything his tone lightened up again. “Do you want me to come and pick you up, or are you going to get yourself here?” Kim thought about that for a moment. If Spencer picked her up, it would probably be on his motorcycle since he was headed to the MC. She had never been on one before and for good reason. It was forbidden. But if she didn’t do that she would either have to take the Toyota in the garage that barely started and smelled like garbage or take the bus and walk from the bus stop. Not that she was so against walking, but the idea of walking to a bar where a motorcycle gang was holed up seemed absolutely ridiculous.
“Well, I guess if I’m going to do this, I might as well do it thoroughly. I’ll see you in a couple of hours.” As she answered, Kim could almost hear the smile in his voice.
“This is going to be fun,” Spencer replied before hanging up.
***
Kim heard the engine of Spencer’s bike before she ever saw it. He flew around the corner and skidded to a stop right at her feet with a huge smile on his face before his body began to shake with laughter. “You should have seen your face just now. Your eyes got so big. Are you sure that you’re cool with this? You haven’t been on one of these before, I know.”
Kim glared at him and climbed onto the back of the motorcycle without another word. Spencer passed her a helmet, and she looked at him curiously. “Why do I need to wear one of these things if you don’t?” she asked, feeling slightly insulted.
"Because my head is harder than yours, and I figured you'd wanna put your hair up in it. I mean, mine isn’t going anywhere, but we are going to a party and that long hair is gonna get so messed up in the wind."
"You really think I'm all that girly?" she asked. He raised an eyebrow at her showing her his answer, and she knew that she did care about those things. Just because she didn’t walk around with pink bows in her hair and flowery dresses didn’t mean she didn’t care how she looked for a party. In fact, she had picked out the perfect outfit for the party; leather pants with studded belt and a cropped black jacket over a black tube top.
Kim rolled her eyes and put the helmet on without any more argument. She didn’t feel like getting a severe head injury anyway. "You know, you really should wear one too," she mentioned to Spencer in a scolding tone.
"Gee, I didn’t know you cared, Kim." He sounded like he was teasing, but something in his eyes made her feel like he really meant it.
"Of course I care about you," she said softly. He looked at her as if he was seeing her for the first time, and Kim got the sudden feeling that this party meant much more to him than just her getting out of the house. It seemed like a date.
Kim looked at him for a moment and wondered what it would be like to just give into what he wanted and be with him. She liked the idea of being needed and wanted again after all she had been through, and Spencer seemed so safe. He would never hurt her. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if she ended up with Spencer. She could learn to love him that way, and her family already loved him. It would be so easy. She smiled warmly at him, and he smiled back before turning around and revving the engine. She was sure she had seen him begin to blush.
"By the way, you look hot!" he called back to her before the bike jerked forward and she was forced to wrap her arms around his body tightly.
Kim could almost guarantee he was enjoying making the ride as frightening as possible for her, but while she was so scared she was also thrilled. Nothing else besides her music had ever made her feel so alive before. But her music wasn't that solace anymore. What the people she trusted had done to her had ruined it. She hadn't even tried to pick up her guitar since, and she wasn't sure if she ever would. Until then, riding on the back of a motorcycle was a pretty fun alternative, even if it was dangerous.
Finally, they pulled up to an old bar in the warehouse district that looked like no one would dare come inside unless they wanted to do something seedy. Across the street was a pawn shop that she knew the MC also owned. How they didn’t get caught so out in the open like that she wasn't sure. Maybe it was because they had to be caught actually doing something wrong, and that was harder to do.
Kim took off her helmet and felt a little wobbly. She was glad when Spencer got off first and offered his hand to her to help her swing her leg over onto solid ground. "Well, that was something," she told him as he led her inside, ever so sneakily landing his hand protectively around her tiny waste. Kim was surprised by the warm feeling, but she let it go. She still wasn’t sure what to think of the new relationship developing between the two of them. It was a strange idea no matter how comforting it was to have him wanting her around.
"Well, what do we have here?" some chubby man with a beard hollered as they walked inside. "I can't believe our little numbers boy brought a girl with him!" The man chuckled and slapped Spencer on the back hard as they passed by. Spencer looked embarrassed for the both of them as he showed her the rest of the place.
On the inside, Kim realized that it looked pretty cool. There were pictures all over the wall of people with their motorcycles and patches. The walls were covered in what resembled cow hide. It wasn't exactly her cup of tea, but it was pretty nice for the purpose. She supposed the outside was to keep the wrong kind of people away from the bar. They were surely missing out, though, because one wall was lined with dart boards, pool tales and shuffleboard. The bar itself was made of glass and stretched the entire back wall.
Kim ducked away from there and found a lounge area where there were huge televisions that she assumed played the latest sports games. At the moment the couple that was sitting there was watching reruns of The Walking Dead. Kim sat down in a big comfy chair, and Spencer took his jacket off and placed it next to her. "What would you like to drink? I'll grab it for you so you don’t have to face Don just yet." He winked down at her, and she smiled awkwardly up at him. The transition from friend to more than that was going to be a rocky one.
"Anything with vodka is fine," she told him. Spencer nodded and walked off. It gave her a chance to look around and people watch; see what the whole MC thing was all about.
It was still a little early in the evening, so that was probably why nothing was rowdy yet. Some were getting drinks or walking back into other areas that she didn’t know where they led and coming back either glowing or with a new tattoo. Kim assumed that there was an artist among them giving out tattoos in a makeshift studio somewhere in the building.
Others were just chatting and playing some of the games, just getting started in drinking. It was very mild, and she hardly saw anyone near her age in there. It wasn't quite the rebellious shindig she had been looking forward to.
When Spencer came back with their drinks in his hand and sat down on the arm of the chair, Kim decided to ask him about it. "So, where is all the action? I mean this seems awfully tame for a notorious motorcycle gang." She let out a light laugh, and he smiled at her and nodded.
"The fun people just haven't arrived yet. They should be back any minute. They were attending to business today." Spencer cleared his throat when he said the word business. Kim was pretty sure that meant some illegal activity. She was not naive enough to think that this was the kind of MC to advocate for animals and gun rights and go around donating money to charity. The most legitimate business The Shadows had was the chain of pawnshops they owned. Hell, their motto was "we are behind everything, we watch, we are not seen". And they were well known and feared throughout the area and for good reason. The only name that rivaled theirs was The Skeletons, but they hadn’t been around near as long; just long enough to get her father killed.
Kim shook the thought out of her head and turned her attention back to her drink, which she downed in just a couple of swigs. Being in a rock band meant a lot of parties where drinking was involved. She had trained herself to no longer be such a lightweight even though she was so skinny. She could drink a few drinks before feeling tipsy.
"Wow, maybe I need to get you a couple of drinks this time. I'll be right back." Spencer stood up to go get Kim more to drink, but she grabbed onto his belt loop and yanked him forward. Caught off guard and off balance, he practically fell on top of her. He laid a soft kiss on her lips and looked at her with unreadable eyes. Maybe he was gauging her reaction, but she didn’t really have one. His lips seemed soft and familiar, but there was no spark. Kim chalked it up to her shattered heart not being ready yet.
"Sorry," she said with her eyes trained on the ground. "I just wanted to tell you I’d rather have some beer this time." Spencer nodded slowly and stood up looking off balance before heading back to the bar. Kim dared to glance back through the crowd and saw him approach her grandfather. She slunk down in her seat and placed her head in her hand. Maybe the whole thing had been a bad idea.
Kim looked around for an escape just as a flood of people came through the doors. There were a few younger members of the MC as well as some women that she could tell didn’t belong to the gang. They were one step away from looking like prostitutes, and she could only guess at what their purpose was, but she saw it as her chance to get out without her grandfather seeing her.
She stood up and slid between people down the hall that she had seen people coming back from with new tattoos. There had to be a back exit somewhere, and she was hoping that was the way. But as she got to the opening leading to the hallway she was confronted with a man that took up the entire opening. She was almost positive she was about to drool or faint.
He had dirty blonde hair like hers, cut short on the bottom and left spiky at the top, and his eyes were the kind that she was sure reflected his soul. Through the white tee shirt that he had on underneath his motorcycle jacket she could see that he was not just covered in tattoos, but he was also covered in the most symmetrical, perfect muscles she'd ever seen. He seemed to be just as startled by her, but he was the first to quickly recover.
"Would you mind moving out of the way?" Kim nodded her head slowly and stepped slightly to the side, but it was like things were moving in slow motion. "I don't know who found you, but I don’t think any of us want a dumb chick who also doesn't even look like a woman," he said coldly. She couldn’t imagine what caused his reaction to her, but she felt incredibly hurt by it. It felt like an instant rejection. She didn’t realize until that moment that it felt like a hole had been burned in her stomach that she had actually been hoping that he was attracted to her.
Suddenly, Spencer appeared by her side and wrapped his arm around her. She wanted to shove it off. She still wanted to appear available to the hateful but sexy man who had just walked into her life. But it was like she was frozen in place. "Why do you have to be such an ass, Diesel? She's with me." Diesel looked the two of them over, and Kim searched him for any hint of jealousy. He was about to cut through them when a booming but familiar voice came from behind them. They all turned around nervously to look on the red-faced Don.
"How dare you bring her here!" he bellowed at Spencer. Then, he turned to Kim. "You know what happened to your father. It isn’t a game. I thought you knew to stay away." It was pure disappointment in his voice that made Kim’s heart sink even more. "And you need to stay away from this one. I don’t ever want to see you two talking again." Don pointed to Diesel, and Diesel looked back at Kim in surprise. his face had suddenly gone softer.
"You're Jerry's daughter?" he asked, looking her up and down as if seeing her for the first time.
She nodded and saw that familiar look of someone who felt sorry for her cross his face before he walked away.
"Get her home," Don ordered. And Spencer led her out to the parking lot, but it felt like Kim had left a piece of herself with the hostile man of her dreams.
Chapter 4
Earlier that day…
Diesel was just getting out of the shower and pulling up his white sport boxer briefs as he heard his phone begin to buzz and fall off the counter. He dived down agilely to grab it, sliding his large thumb across the phone icon to answer it. He recognized the voice immediately, and he wondered for a split second if he would ever get a day to himself or just a moment for that matter. Of course, he appreciated what The Skeletons had don
e for him, taking him in when he was certain no one else would, and he certainly didn’t have any intention of quitting for more than just safety reasons. But some time off on occasion would be nice considering what a pivotal member he was. Then again, that was exactly why he didn’t get days off.
Diesel was the one Pops trusted to check up on all of his business endeavors and the one to make sure all orders and runs happened without incident. Most importantly, though, Diesel was the muscle for The Skeletons. He was the one who made the threats when people didn’t pay up or orders didn’t turn out right and followed through on those threats. He was the one who dealt with attacks from rival gangs like The Skeletons.
It sounded horrible when said out loud, the things he had done, but compared to the way he had been before The Skeletons had paid his bail and given him a new lot on life, it was relatively tame.
"Hey Pops. What’s shakin?" Diesel asked, trying to sound cool and up for anything and not like he was losing interest.
"We're giving the partnership with Lotten and his crew one more chance before we cut them off, and I want you to meet them at the port and make sure everything we need is there and make sure they know how lucky they are that we have been lenient." Pops sounded angry and on a destructive path. If it had been up to him they would have been done with Lotten a long time ago and not just in business. Lotten wouldn't be able to walk straight anymore. But Diesel had shown him mercy based on the fact that the man had a family, and it was more his crew's fault than his own. This was the poor guy's last chance before Diesel would be forced to break a few fingers, if not more, over what was missing.
"Sounds like a plan. What time does that shipment come in, Pops?" Diesel glanced up at himself in the mirror and wondered how a muscular guy like him over six feet tall, tattooed almost over his whole body and an ex con became such a yes man even if it was for a motorcycle gang. If Pops said jump, he said how high? That's the way it had been since the beginning, but if any of the other members saw it that way they would quit fearing him. That's why it was always a phone call and not some in person meeting for an assignment.
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 2
