He’s not from Laughlin. I grinned. “Where are you taking me?” I asked.
Gabriel turned his head, and I could see the corner of his eye from behind his shades. He smirked. “Out.”
I yelled something about having to find a job, but my words were swallowed up by the engine’s growl as we revved into traffic, leaving behind a line of bewildered lesbians in our wake.
* * *
Gabriel took us to a strip mall at the edge of the city. I read the signs of the businesses quickly. There was a talent agency, a pay day loan place, and someplace called “TA Enterprises.” After sliding off his bike, Gabriel began making his way toward the latter. He turned around to look at me.
“Coming?”
I eyed the storefront. The window was completely painted over and covered in iron bars. Nobody would’ve been able to see me once I got inside. My stomach coiled into a nervous ball. I crossed my arms. “What is that place?”
Gabriel stared at the sky, deep in thought. “I guess you could say it’s kind of my part-time job.”
I opened my mouth. No thanks, I should’ve said. But when Gabriel turned back around, I caught another glimpse of his backpatch. He’s a Skull King, I told myself. And all Skull Kings identified themselves as that, first and foremost. If you asked a brother what he did, he didn’t ever say he was a doctor or a bartender or a security guard. He always said, “I’m a member of the Skull Kings MC.”
I felt the pull of kinship again. Even if I met a different stranger every day for the rest of my life, they’d always be familiar to me if they were a King. My gut wanted to trust Gabriel, but my head was a whole different story.
Gabriel chuckled. “What, do you think I’m going to sell you to some human traffickers or something?”
I jumped as if I’d been punched. “No!” I said.
Gabriel looked surprised by my sudden volume, but he tried to ignore it. “Then, come on.”
I breathed in. “Okay.”
Gabriel held the door open for me, and I walked inside. The “enterprise” was a small room, barely bigger than my room at the Paradise Motel. Several cluttered desks lined the walls. The one just opposite the door was the only one with an occupant, a balding man in a gray suit.
“Gabe, baby!” he said, kicking himself up from his leather-backed chair. He reared back his hand before swinging it forward to grasp Gabriel’s. “Ready to make some money? Who’s your friend?”
I studied the man warily. He talked a little too loudly, like a DUI lawyer in a commercial. He smiled a well-practiced smile, but his little black eyes floated suspiciously between me and Gabriel.
“This is my friend Lucy. She’s new in town and needs to make a quick buck. Lucy, this is Tim Hawk.”
“Perfect,” Tim Hawk said as he shook my hand. “A couple girls didn’t show up tonight. I could use the extra muscle.”
I widened my eyes at Gabriel, but he shook his head and pressed a finger to his lips. Tim walked over to a file cabinet and began searching its drawers.
“You explained how it all works, right? Pass out the wristbands, come back and pick up your cash.”
“Yup. That’s pretty much it,” Gabriel said, looking at me.
“Great!” Tim turned around and tossed something at Gabriel. “Then, here’s for you. And here’s for you.”
I caught the bundle just before it hit my chest. It was a plastic bag filled with what must’ve been a hundred neon green rubber bracelets.
“See you in a few hours,” Tim said with a wink.
I said an awkward goodbye and followed Gabriel back outside. “What just happened?” I asked.
Gabriel tucked his bundle away in a saddlebag and reached out for mine. “You needed a job, I got you one,” he said matter-of-factly. “All we have to do is walk along the Strip and hand these out. Then, we get paid.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I squeezed my plastic bag, shifting the bracelets. They were stamped with the words “DURANGO.”
“How will they know we did it? What’s to stop us from throwing this shit away, hitting some bars, and coming back to get paid for doing nothing?”
Gabriel shook his head. “You don’t want to do that. Because if they should find out...” He drew his finger across his throat. “They have some scary friends, if you know what I mean.”
I sighed. Gangs. It had to be. Gangs ran half of the city. At least I didn’t have to take my clothes off on my first night in Vegas. “Thanks. But why are you helping me?”
Gabriel shrugged, suddenly avoiding my eyes. “I just felt like it. A little thing like you in a big city like Vegas. You’re like a lost puppy or something.”
“Gee, thanks.”
Gabriel stared at his boots, grinning. “Well, come on, then. Let’s get to work.”
Chapter 3
I counted the cash Tim Hawks had handed me after showing up with an empty plastic bag. “A hundred and sixty dollars. Not bad.”
“Don’t spend it all in one place,” Gabriel said as he pocketed his. “Sometimes months will go by before he has another open gig for me.”
We were sitting on the curb in front of a burger place. After walking up and down the Strip all night, I was ravenous. I fished some fries out of the grease-stained paper bag that sat between us.
“So you’re a security guard, a club promoter...what else?”
“Professional nomad,” Gabriel said immediately. Then, he smiled.
I stared pointedly at his cut. “Is that why you have that patch?”
“That patch just means I don’t have a home.” His jaw worked after he took a massive bite of his burger.
No home. That meant no chapter. I didn’t press the issue further, but I got the feeling Gabriel was hiding just as much as I was. My secret was crouched inside of me like a sleeping tiger, waiting to spring out at any moment. I was the sister of a Skull Kings VP, the daughter of a former president, and I had to pretend that I didn’t know squat about any of this.
What was his secret? He wasn’t part of a chapter, but a “nomad.” How could a biker live without his brothers?
I swallowed daintily. “Then, I’m a nomad, too.”
Gabriel was silent for a moment. “Well, you’re pretty trusting for a girl who’s traveling on her own.”
I sneaked another glance at his cut. I thought I’d been careful, but apparently not careful enough. I mentally kicked myself. Of course, Gabriel probably wasn’t used to girls accepting rides from him, especially when he was decked out in his biker regalia.
When I turned to look back at his face, I was surprised to find him staring at me.
“What’s your secret, Lucy?” he asked.
My insides froze until Gabriel’s lips spread into a smile. There was a mischievous glint in his eye. He wasn’t serious. He was flirting.
I cleared my throat. “I don’t have any secrets.”
“Everybody’s got secrets.”
I raised my chin. I struggled to flatten my lips into a straight line, but a little grin fought through my efforts. “Yeah? What’s yours, then?”
Gabriel’s face suddenly turned serious, half illuminated by the neon lights of the burger shack. The other half was plunged in shadow. His eyes searched mine, wide and deep as lakes. I inhaled sharply as he opened his mouth.
Then, he turned away. A light seemed to have gone out in his eyes. “I don’t have any secrets either.”
I flinched. There was a tiny seed of disappointment knotting up in my belly. Maybe I’d hoped that he had a secret, one he was willing to share with me.
I squeezed my hands into fists and crunched down on my empty burger wrapper. “Should we get going?”
“Yeah,” Gabriel said, strangely distant.
I followed him to his bike. What had happened? Things had been going great, only until we started talking about secrets. It was a harmless subject. Except for my secret, I told myself. And maybe Gabriel’s secret was just as serious as mine.
/>
I studied him in a new light as he straddled the smooth seat of his Harley. “Are you coming or not?” he asked, keeping his gaze fixed ahead.
Prickled with sudden annoyance, I took my seat behind him. “I’m staying at the Paradise Motel,” I said.
* * *
The city whirred by in a neon haze as I rode with Gabriel, my cheek pressed to his back. Nomad, his backpatch proclaimed at me, almost like a taunt. A nomadic Skull King? What a joke. He might as well have been invisible. At least he wasn’t a Laughlin King, so I was safe thus far. But I had nothing else I could gain from him. I told myself this was the last I’d ever see of Gabriel.
Still, I felt a tightness in my chest thinking about how he’d helped me out with a job, with a ride around town.
I steeled myself for the inevitable goodbye that was about to come as Gabriel rode into the parking lot of my motel. I pointed him toward my room, number fifteen, so he could take me right up to the door, but I noticed something strange.
The door to room fifteen was wide open.
I felt the grease from my burger and fries all at once. Nauseous with apprehension, I wobbled slightly as I set my feet on the pavement.
“You okay?” Gabriel asked.
I shook my head. “I’m sure I locked the door when I left,” I whispered, pointing.
Gabriel narrowed his eyes into a scowl. It looked almost sexy, if the situation weren’t so serious. He kicked himself off of his bike and threw an arm out in front of me. “Hang back, I’ll check this out.”
My heart pounded as I watched him disappear into the darkness of my room. The skull on his back gave one last leer before it was swallowed up by the shadows.
What am I doing? I suddenly thought. I wasn’t some dainty princess. I made to march in after him when a strangled yelp and a thud stopped me in my tracks.
“Gabriel?” I called.
My heart pounded even harder. I froze in suspense for three long seconds before I finally entered my room. When I switched on the light, I saw an interesting sight. My room was a mess, mattress upturned, knapsack contents all over the floor, and drawers pulled out. Gabriel stood framed against the bathroom light, and struggling in his hands was—
“Larry,” I said.
Gabriel glanced up at me, caught off-guard. Sensing his opportunity, Larry tore himself from Gabriel’s grip and straightened out his twisted hoodie.
“Told you she knew me,” he said. Then, he smiled, showing off his crooked, corn-yellow teeth. Gabriel’s eyes went straight to the unregistered gun tucked into Larry’s belt, but my only concern was Larry’s big, suffocating ego.
“You haven’t changed a bit,” I said.
“Thanks. You’ve gained some weight, though.” He howled when Gabriel kicked him in his shin.
I crossed my arms. Sure, Larry wasn’t exactly the welcome wagon lady, but I was strangely relieved. He had a thin face like a shaved rat and there were twelve year olds smarter than him, but he was harmless. Worse things could’ve shown up on my doorstep.
“Can you tell me what exactly you think you’re doing? How did you know I was here?”
Larry raised his thin black eyebrows. “Gloria,” he said simply.
I frowned at the unfamiliar name. Another True North recruit? I couldn’t remember ever knowing her. I was about to ask for more information when, to my surprise, Gabriel beat me to it.
“How do you know Gloria?”
Larry jumped, seeming to really notice Gabriel for the first time. “How do you know Gloria?”
“I asked you first.”
Larry widened his stance and put his hands on his hips, probably trying to make himself look big and intimidating. It didn’t help much; he still stood a head shorter than Gabriel. “She happens to be an associate in an industry—”
“Oh, of course,” Gabriel interrupted, speaking in an it-all-makes-sense tone. “You’re a drug dealer, too.”
For some reason, Larry looked relieved. “Yeah, man. Hey, if you’re interested in buying, I got some sweet—”
“Shut the fuck up, Larry,” I said. “Who the hell is Gloria and how did she know I was in town?”
“You ran into her at my work, remember?” Gabriel said. He gave me an imploring look. “Right before we met.”
At first, I merely stared. Then, I remembered. Are you lookin’ for a good time? That voice gave me chills. I remembered the cowboy hat, the straw-like braided hair. She’d been a drug dealer just like Larry, which meant she was a True Norther.
But how had she known who I was? Especially enough to recognize me in a random Las Vegas lesbian bar?
“Turn out your pockets,” Gabriel said suddenly, shoving Larry toward the bed.
Larry threw up his hands in surrender. “Relax, dude. I didn’t steal anything. I was only looking for clues.”
I had to laugh. “Clues? Who are you, Sherlock Holmes?”
“Clues looking for you,” Larry said. He shot me a glare. “Word on the street is that the dynamic duo is back in town.”
The dynamic duo. For some reason, my mind lingered on those words. “Anna?” I didn’t even realize I’d said the name out loud until Larry started laughing.
“Personally, I was just curious,” Larry continued on, “but once the boss hears you two are back...” He made a violent gesture with his hands.
I choked on my silence. This was too much, too soon. Anna, was she back in town, too? And what did Larry mean about the boss hearing we’d come back?
Larry kept glancing from me to Gabriel and back again. “Well...I’m out,” he said, making his way toward the open door.
Gabriel and I looked at each other, perhaps waiting to see if the other would stop him from leaving. Neither of us moved until Larry was out the door, his sneakered footsteps on the sidewalk fading into the distance. Then, I released what felt like the first breath of the decade.
“Hey,” Gabrel said softly. There was a hardness in his eyes. I knew what was coming, and I stared at the ground as I prepared myself. Are you a drug dealer, too? I imagined him asking. Are you going to get me in trouble?
But his next words weren’t what I expected at all.
“Right before you walked in, that guy,” he said sternly, his face impassive, “called you Lisbeth.”
Shame bloomed bitterly in the pit of my stomach. I felt naked and exposed. I stared at the floor, the walls, anything but Gabriel’s face as I sank down onto the end of the bed. “You wanna sit down?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “No, I’m okay right here.”
“Okay.”
After a few beats of tense silence, Gabriel sighed loudly. “So, what is it? Are you Lucy? Or are you Lisbeth?”
I closed my eyes. “My name’s Lisbeth.”
“And you’re not just some wide-eyed, innocent girl from out of town are you?”
I couldn’t think of anything to say. Luckily, Gabriel wasn’t finished yet.
“I spent a whole evening with you. I helped you out with a job. The least you can do is explain what’s going on.”
“Fi—”
“Actually, forget it. It’s none of my business. Good luck with everything, Lisbeth.”
Gabriel began stalking toward the door, and I was going to let him at first. But when he crossed in front of me, I caught a glimpse of that backpatch, and something inside of me prodded me into action.
“Wait!”
“What?” Gabriel snapped.
I stood up. “It kind of is your business.” I swallowed. “The mess I’m caught up in, the Skull Kings MC is involved.”
Gabriel’s lips twitched as he stood there, dumbfounded, struggling to find something to say. “How do you know about the Skull Kings?”
“My older brother is the VP of the Canyon City chapter,” I said. My gaze slid sideways as I chose my next words. “I recognized your backpatch on the street that day we met. That’s why I walked into Lip Service. I followed you in.”
Gabriel’s hands rose. He tried to gri
p handfuls of his hair, but the short length kept making his fingers slip as they closed on his dark strands. “Fuck,” he muttered.
“I’m sorry.”
“But why were you so interested in me the first place? I’m obviously not the first biker you’ve ever seen in your life.”
“Well...just before I left Canyon City, my brother’s club had a little beef with the Laughlin chapter. I thought you might’ve been with them.” His looks had done a little convincing, too. My cheeks grew warm as I considered telling him that part, but thought myself out of it.
“You know I got nothing to do with them. I’m a nomad, remember?”
“Yeah. I just didn’t know at the time,” I said pathetically.
Gabriel released a frustrated growl and shrugged, shaking his head. “Well, you feel like telling me a little more about that beef?”
I smiled at the floor in spite of myself. “I could. It’s a long story, though. You really might want to sit down for this.”
Chapter 4
“I was involved with a gang called True North about a year ago when I was living here,” I began. I rolled up my right sleeve to show Gabriel the tattoo on my forearm. “I got suckered into this support group scam. One of the girls there got me into an expensive habit. It got to the point where I owed a True North dealer a lot of money. To pay it off, I was forced to join them.”
Gabriel nodded, touching his fingers lightly to my tattoo. It was rather plain and non-suspect, the lines of a compass over a gray and black outline of a rose. The design was specific enough to be recognizable, but generic and dismissible to anybody who wasn’t part of the gang. I watched his face carefully as he studied it, wondering when he was going to ask about what I had to do to pay off that debt. Thankfully, he never did.
“Anyway,” I continued quickly, rolling my sleeve back down, “some scary gang shit went down, and I ran away back home. The gang tracked me down, though. I got ambushed and shoved into a van in downtown Phoenix. Somehow, my brother’s club figured out we were headed for the Nevada border and reached out to Laughlin. Laughlin caught up to us, but the True Northers sweet-talked them into a distribution deal—”
Wild Child: A Skull Kings MC Novella Page 2
