White Lies

by Autumn Jones Lake

  “Heidi,” Hope says gently after they leave. “I want you to have them.”

  “Thank you.”

  She gives me a warm smile. “Don’t get too attached until you try them on.”

  “Good point.” I shake off the remainder of the sullen mood still clinging to me. “I’m going to grab a pair of socks.”

  When I return to the living room, she has one of the boxes open. Alexa’s busy pawing through the tissue paper; thankfully, she hasn’t started shredding it yet.

  I go for the flat-heeled tapestry boots first. “Oh, wow. They fit perfectly.”

  “Walk on the rug a little with them.” Hope watches me intently, throwing me back to a memory of a much younger Heidi doing some back-to-school shopping with my mother before she disappeared. Sharp, painful emotions stab at me. That trip ended with me in tears while my mother cursed me out in front of the whole store.

  “Heidi? How do they feel?” Hope asks for what I suspect isn’t the first time.

  “Good. Great.” I end up throwing myself at her and hugging her tight. “Thank you so much.”

  She squeezes me for a few seconds before pulling away and directing me to sit next to her on the couch. “I was thinking, remember that short champagne-colored dress we saw? That might be super-cute with the boots for maybe the pre-wedding dinner.”

  “Pre-wedding? Why are we having a pre-wedding dinner?”

  “Another reason to get together and celebrate?” She shrugs. “Most people do a rehearsal dinner. Same idea, I guess.”

  “But there’s nothing to rehearse. Everything is supposed to be low-key.”

  She gives me a you’re-not-getting-out-of-this eye roll. “Lilly and I were talking. There’s a Southwest Steakhouse about halfway between the two clubs. I know it’s not the most elegant setting, but they have a room big enough for both clubs that we can rent out.”

  “Really? That sounds awesome.”

  “You’re sure you don’t mind?”

  Mind? I’m overwhelmed with gratitude that they’ve been planning wedding stuff for me while I’ve been drowning in schoolwork. “I like steak, and Murphy’s not into elegant anything, so I think it’s perfect.”

  She claps her hands together. “Great. I know you’re going out with Murphy tonight, but do you have time to go dress-shopping tomorrow?”

  “Sure. Yeah. Whenever you want to.”

  “My schedule is wide open right now, Heidi.” She lifts Grace up and down in the air a few times. Grace giggles and kicks her feet in response, drawing Alexa’s attention.

  I nod to the pile of books on the floor at our feet. “Blake says Alexa picked out some books for Grace too, so you should have a fun night ahead.”

  “Oh boy.” Hope leans down for Alexa to show her some of her new treasures while I try on the second pair of boots.

  “They’re a little tight.” I wiggle my toes. “But I probably shouldn’t have tried these on with socks.”

  Hope reaches down and squeezes the front of the boot, searching for my big toe, further reinforcing the little kid feeling. “I think they’re okay. Walk around a little. I don’t want you getting blisters on your wedding day.”

  I pace up and down the hall a few times. “I think they’ll be fine.”

  “Pwetty.” Alexa tugs at the ribbon laces.

  “I wonder if I can find her little matching purple boots? Without the heel, obviously.”

  Hope grins. “Don’t be mad, but I saw these and thought they’d be so cute.” She whips out her phone and swipes a few times until she finds what she’s looking for.

  When she thrusts the phone at me, bile rises in my throat as the memory of Bryce shoving his phone in my face this morning returns.

  What am I going to do about him?

  “Heidi?”

  I cough and shake my head. “Sorry. Tickle in my throat.” I grab the phone from her and chuckle at the toddle-sized purple glitter Doc Marten’s on the screen.

  “They have them at the mall. I thought I’d wait until closer to the wedding to order, so she doesn’t grow out of them. And I wanted to make sure you were okay with it,” she adds quickly.

  “Of course, I am.”

  Hope waves her hand in the air and huffs. “I’m not trying to…I don’t want to take over or tell you what to do for your wedding or with your daughter…Never mind.”

  “Hope.” I reach out and grab one of her hands. “I’ve never thought that. I love…I appreciate everything. Thank you.” Swallowing over the lump in my throat is almost impossible. “I love how good you treat Alexa. It means so much to me that she has you and Uncle Rock. Really.”

  She curls her arm around me. “Always, Heidi.”

  Maybe I should tell Hope about my day? Ask her advice?

  I swallow the words before they have a chance to break free. If I’m going to tell anyone, it has to be Blake.

  Twenty-Six

  Murphy

  We end up leaving early, so Teller and I can check out the place before the meeting with Whisper.

  It’s a warm night, but the temperature cools as we head west on the thruway. Heidi stays snuggled against my back the whole way.

  At the bar, a row of spots right in front have been reserved “for bikers only.” I assume Remy means us and take the first spot. Teller backs in next to me.

  Remy must have heard our arrival because the front door swings open, and he waves. Gravel crunches under his boots as he ambles over to greet us.

  He gestures to the sign. “Put that up today. Just for you.”

  One corner of my mouth pulls up. “Aren’t you supposed to have handicapped spots out here?”

  Taking my dickish question seriously, he waves his hand toward the side of the building. “On the side. My grandpa put a ramp in over there when my grandma…it’s over there.”

  “That’s so sweet,” Heidi says.

  Remy nods. “They were.” He gestures toward the bar. “They left Molly and me everything. Unfortunately, memories don’t pay the bills.”

  Teller and I glance at each other. Looks like we found our way in.

  Inside, the place is all shiny wood floors and aged panel boards. Weak lighting in the dining area lends it a too-broke-to-pay-the-electric-bill vibe. The bar is well-lit and stocked. Probably where they make all their money.

  Remy ushers the four of us to a large table in the back corner.

  “You’ll have privacy here,” he assures us.

  “What’s the story?” Teller asks. “You busy most weekends?”

  “Not like it used to be.” Remy crosses his arms over his chest. “I have an issue, and I figure I better tell you now in case they show up tonight.”

  “Who?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “Couple biker-looking dudes keep stopping in since the incident at Zips.”

  “Same guys?” I ask.

  “No.”

  Teller leans closer. “Names might be helpful.”

  “Heard ‘em call each other by some stupid road names.”

  I raise an eyebrow.

  “You know. Like the ones who are trying way too hard.”

  “Okay, Ruthless.” I sneer at him.

  “Fuck that, I earned that name with my fists in the ring.” He dismisses my taunt with a chin lift. “Terror, Satan, Lucifer. Bullshit like that.”

  “Any patches?”

  He eyes my cut for a second. “No patches like yours. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re rolling with the same two that were causing trouble at Zips.”

  “How about their bikes?”

  “Ah!” He claps his hands. “Flames. Black, orange, red…not that it means anything. Pretty generic. Millions of bikes probably have a similar design.”

  True. Although, South of Satan also had flames in their center patch, and they’ve already been prowling around this area.

  Remy snaps his fingers. “Vermont plates.”

  Motherfucker. “You should’ve led with that. Same MC as the ones at the track.” I glance
at Teller. “Guess they can’t take the hint.”

  “They need to relocate.” Teller scratches his chin. “For some reason, they think it makes sense.”

  “Well, they’re not doing it here,” Remy says with every bit of confidence a cocky fighter who’s never been in a real turf war is capable of. Not that I’m dismissing his skills. That fearlessness will serve him well if he’s going to help us form a support club and defend our territory.

  “You can see the door from here.” He nods to the table. “I’ll point ‘em out if they come in.”

  Teller’s still busy checking out the place, which apparently offends Remy.

  “The place is secure.” Remy points to the ceiling. “I’ve got cameras. I can see who’s coming in and out.”

  He takes our orders and promises to send over a waitress.

  “We trust him to cook our food?” Teller asks when we sit down.

  “When did you get so uppity?” I smack his arm. “I once watched you eat a pizza off the floor.”

  Charlotte snort-giggles into her hand.

  Teller rolls his eyes at me. “One time. And we were desperate.”

  “Vermont, huh?” Charlotte raises an eyebrow. “Is it the same club my uncle was trying to cozy up to?”

  I eye Teller before answering her question. “We think so. Ran into a few of them when I took Heidi to the track.”

  Heidi slowly turns and stares at me. That’s right, I never told her what went down when I took off with Eraser. Club business she doesn’t need to worry about.

  Charlotte sips her water carefully, and I can see her mind turning this over. She’s a shrewd woman. “Their club was shut down by the F.B.I. Means whoever escaped the sweep will be looking to relocate.”

  “How do you know all that?” Heidi asks.

  Charlotte shrugs. “I saw it on the news. Their whole story was sensationalized nonsense about the ‘outlaw motorcycle gang’ in the sleepy Vermont town.”

  “You see any of them, let us know,” Teller says.

  “Oh, trust me, my ears always perk up when I hear a Harley.”

  Teller leans over to whisper something in her ear.

  “Can we dance?” Heidi asks.

  Like everything else, I can’t say no to her. “Glad you wore those.” I gesture to the black cowboy boots I’d bought her in Texas.

  “Glad I finally had a reason to wear them.”

  I spin her into my arms and out again. “Your man doesn’t take you out enough, does he?”

  “My man does plenty for me.” She thumps her body into mine, and I curl my arms around her, swaying from side-to-side. After a few minutes, she peeks up at me. “Do you need me to pay more attention to stuff like Charlotte does?”

  “No.” I don’t need time to think over my answer.

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had trouble when we were at the track?”

  “No trouble. Just a conversation.”

  “Yeah right.”

  “Only thing you need to worry about is finishing school.” I dip down to look in her eyes. “Okay?”

  “I’m your old lady. You should keep me in the loop, so I can tell you if I see anything.”

  “You know enough to mention if you see patches who don’t belong riding through Empire.” What more do I need? She’s either at college or medical facilities. Not exactly biker hot spots. I don’t need her distracted with club stuff for no reason.

  “Where’d you learn to dance like that?” Teller calls over to us.

  Heidi shakes out of my tight grip. “We went dancing with Rooster and Shelby down in Texas.”

  Teller laughs. “I can’t wait to see Rooster.”

  Charlotte presses her hand against Teller’s mouth. “Don’t you pick on Rooster. And don’t be jealous Murphy has better moves.”

  That’s enough of a challenge for Teller to spin her away and back with a hard thump into his chest. After that, they end up doing more groping and whispering than dancing.

  Heidi side-eyes them and turns us, so her back’s facing them.

  “I don’t want to see it either,” I protest.

  She slides her hands from my shoulders to my cheeks. “I can’t wait to marry you.”

  Everything in me calms. My anxiety about the meeting. The nerves from trying to talk Remy and Griff into starting a support club. All of it vanishes, at least for a few seconds.

  I lean down and press my forehead to hers. “Same.”

  There’s a tap on my shoulder. “Head’s up. Two dudes on Harleys just rolled in,” Remy says. “One old. Never seen ‘em before.”

  “Two, huh?” Can’t fault Whisper for bringing a brother. Surprised he didn’t bring a whole crew. “Thanks.”

  “Gotta be Whisper.” I lift an eyebrow at Teller.

  “I’ll keep an eye on your girls,” Remy says. “If you need to talk business or whatever.”

  “Thanks.”

  Teller watches Remy return to the bar, and I tap his shoulder to get his attention. “You with me, bro?”

  “You trust him?”

  I get what he’s implying right away. “Remy? Shit, yeah.” The guy’s a player for sure, but he’s not suicidal.

  We return to our table and wait for the Wolf Knights to join us.

  Whisper ambles in maybe five minutes later. I stuff down my annoyance and stand to shake his hand. “How you been, Whisper?” I refuse to call him “brother.” Rock said I had to be diplomatic, not kiss the guy’s ass.

  He flexes his hands before taking a seat. “Getting old sucks. I don’t recommend it.”

  “I think it’s inevitable,” Teller says.

  Whisper tosses him a cool look. “Aren’t you a poet.” His grouchy expression disappears when his gaze lands on Charlotte. “Good to see you, sweetheart.”

  “You too,” she answers quickly.

  He’s polite enough to Heidi but clearly wants the girls to get lost.

  Teller tilts his head toward the bar.

  “Good to see you, Whisper.” Charlotte reaches over and captures Heidi’s hand. “I promised Heidi a game of darts. We’ll be over there if you need us.”

  The waitress stops by, but all Whisper’s interested in is a beer. After she leaves, I lean forward.

  “So, what’s on your mind?” Time to find out what he wants.

  “Warmer climates.”

  “It’s been in the eighties all week,” Teller points out.

  Whisper grumbles and slashes his hand through the air. “Winter’s coming, and I’m sick of it.”

  The waitress drops off a beer and scurries away. My gaze sweeps the room, landing on Heidi and Charlotte over by the bar. As promised, Remy’s making sure no one bothers them.

  “Real talk, Murphy.” Whisper taps the table in front of me to grab my attention.

  “Well, I hope you didn’t come all the way out here to bullshit me.”

  He doesn’t laugh at my attempted humor.

  “We got permission from our mother club to close down the Slater New York charter of the Wolf Knights MC.”

  The news settles over the table like nuclear fallout. I don’t even have to glance Teller’s way to know he’s as stunned as I am.

  I sit back and let it sink in. Our clubs have occupied territory next to each other for years. We’ve had rough patches here and there, but most of the time, we’ve been allies. Even joined up against the Vipers MC when it was necessary.

  “Are you sure?” I ask.

  He nods once. “Been over and over it. We just don’t have the numbers or the dedication these days. I can’t keep it together on my own and only got one guy who’s willing to step up.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It wasn’t an easy decision.”

  “Can’t imagine it was.”

  Again, he drums his fingers over the table. Am I making him nervous or does he have something else to share that might piss me off?

  “National slapped a condition on us closing.”

  “Always something, huh?” Te
ller says.

  Whisper’s not in a joking mood. He glares at Teller before focusing on me again.

  “They don’t want any rumors that Lost Kings pushed us out of our territory.” He cocks his head, a slow smirk twisting his mouth. “It’s well-known Lost Kings evicted the Vipers.”

  “That so?”

  He tilts his head. “Don’t insult my intelligence, son.”

  I sit back while staring him down. “What would you like us to do? Send out a press release?”

  “You know as well as I do how rumors spread throughout the MC world.”

  “Ninety-nine percent of it is bullshit.”

  “True,” he agrees. “Look, we don’t want South of Satan taking over what we worked so hard for all these years.”

  Too late, they’re already trying, but I keep that to myself for now. “Weren’t they just arrested?”

  “Not all of them.” Whisper’s gaze darts between the two of us. “They’ll think it’s in play.”

  “They have to go through our territory to even get to Slater,” Teller points out.

  Whisper just stares at us.

  “Motherfucker,” I grumble. “Merlin really stirred up trouble trying to get in bed with them.”

  Whisper nods but doesn’t say a word against his Wolf Knight brother.

  “How is he, anyway?” Teller asks. “You hear from him lately?”

  “Sure did.” He tilts his head toward the bar. “Asks about Charlotte all the time. Glad you brought her tonight.”

  Teller’s jaw clenches, obviously not liking the implication that Whisper’s probably going to call Merlin right after this meet and give him the scoop on his niece. Miraculously, Teller keeps his mouth shut and only gives Whisper a tight nod.

  “I know he fucked up with her. For what it’s worth, I think he genuinely feels bad.”

  “So, where’s he gonna go when he wants to get off the road?” Teller asks.

  Whisper shrugs. “Don’t know. Another charter, I guess.”

  “Right,” Teller says, sarcasm dripping from every word. “So, he’ll just roll back into Slater County, realize we run it now and be cool with that?”

  Sometimes I wish Teller would keep his comments to himself. Whisper leans across the table. “Who the fuck you think wanted me to talk this through with you? We didn’t work to hold that territory down for decades, son, so any piece of shit could roll in and call it theirs.”