Lizzy squeezed me tighter as if her answer would make me disappear. It wouldn’t but I did nothing to reassure her right then. I needed the truth.
I felt her draw in a deep breath. “Eighteen,” she blurted, making me recoil and she took my reaction the wrong fucking way.
“Screw you, Texas!” She let go and pushed off me, eyes tearing up. It wrenched at my heart to see her that way. A primal part of me wanted to kill any motherfucker who put that look on her face but that would’ve been counterintuitive since right then, the motherfucker was me. “Don’t treat me like I’m just some kid who can’t make her own decisions!”
“You are a kid!” I roared, my carefully laid calm shattering into a million pieces. This was all too much. Creed. Johnny. The traitor. It felt like there were countless things I had to deal with all of a sudden and not enough time to do all of them.
It was a risk, bringing someone into this world. My world. But it was a risk that a woman could stand by my side and face.
I couldn’t bring a girl into this.
I couldn’t lay claim to her life when it was only starting, no matter how bad I wanted to.
A crack formed deep in my soul as I realized I had found and lost the love of my life all in one. Single. Night.
I slipped on a familiar mask, shuttering my emotions behind it. “This was a mistake,” I told her, feeling a knife in my guts when a single tear rolled down her cheek. “Forget you ever saw me.” She shook her head violently sending her golden hair flying all around, but it didn’t stop me from giving her my back and walking away.
“You don’t get to do this!” She called out and I paused at the shadow’s edge, where the light ended. “You can’t just barge into someone’s life and walk away.”
To myself, I whispered, “And yet that’s exactly what I’m doing, sweet girl.”
She would thank me for this, she just didn’t know it yet. My next steps took me back into the darkness. Back into my life and out of hers. But I knew the sound of the sobs tearing from her throat would never leave me.
CHAPTER 3 - Lizzy
Present
The sound of a motorcycle firing was second nature to me now, but I always looked, I couldn’t help myself. It didn’t matter that I hadn’t seen my biker in two years. There would never be a time when I heard that sound without associating it with Texas.
As casually as I could, I tuned out the conversation at the table and turned my head, glad we were sitting outside my favorite coffee shop so I could pretend I was just watching the people go down main street. There was a red and black Harley at the four-way intersection, surrounded on all sides by the small, one story shops that made up the busiest area of town. The man on top of the cycle was tall, but that was where the similarities ended.
He was fat where Texas was all muscle. Wearing a raggedy pair of jeans and a jacket that had seen better days instead of an immaculate outfit. No short, dirty blonde hair buzzed close on the sides. No golden tanned skin. Most of all, there was no flutter in my stomach. No ache between my thighs. It wasn’t him.
“You’re doing it again.” I turned back to find Kayla staring at me, brown eyes narrowed.
I feigned ignorance. “Doing what?”
“Thinking about him.”
Rain snorted beside her. He always found it unreasonably funny the way she refused to say his name. As if that would make him more real. As if that would make him appear.
Lord knows, if it was that easy, I would’ve made it happen from all the times I’ve gotten off on my vibrator while his name spilled from my lips.
Kayla shot him a look that made him hide his grin behind his cup. “Nobody asked the peanut gallery for their opinion. She needs to stop. It’s been years. This isn’t healthy behavior.”
“Damn, babe.” He leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head and showing off two full sleeves of tattoos that stood out against his pale skin. “Sheathe the claws. You know I can’t bring a litter box on the back of Suzanne.”
She looked to me for support, electric blue hair twisting about her face in the wind, but I only held my hands up. I knew better than to get in between a lover’s spat. Especially when the lovers in questions were my two best friends. Switzerland was the only route that didn’t end in me choosing a side and the headaches that would come with it.
Seeing that I wasn’t coming to her aid, she huffed at me and scowled at Rain again. “You are so not helping right now; do you realize that? How can she forget anyway when you’re always around looking like the poster kid for bad boy bikers everywhere?”
I would never admit it, but she had a point. Rain, with his jet-black hair, tattoos, piercings, riding boots and the chromed out cycle, Suzanne, parked a few feet away embodied everything I knew about bikers. Not that there was a wealth of information there, but he let on bits and pieces over the years. Once I finally made peace with who he was.
“Forget you ever saw me.” Those were Texas’ own words right before he walked away from me over two summers ago. The asshole. And yet, when college started back up that year, I was in for a whole host of changes, starting with the new student that soon became my shadow.
Rain. Little brother to Creed, the President of the Seven Sinners and their go to mechanic, even though he wasn’t strictly part of the club.
The expertly styled dark hair and storm cloud gray eyes fooled people sometimes but I wasn’t stupid. Suddenly, a boy I had never met before - who was also associated with a biker club - never wanted to leave my side? Then, not long after I pieced that puzzle together, my mom was randomly selected for a housing program that got us out of our rough neighborhood and into a quaint little cul-de-sac where we were somehow paying less rent than before. Things like that didn’t just happen.
But the man I knew was behind it was a ghost and nothing made Rain’s lips go tighter than for me to ask about Texas in any way, shape, form or fashion. Something that had been an initial falling out point between us before I realized he was a pretty fun grease monkey to hang out with.
A hand slammed down onto the table and I jumped, heart racing. “What the hell?” I cried, staring at Kayla like she’d lost her mind. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”
“Stop daydreaming about him,” she snapped, eyes blazing. “From everything you’ve told me, if he was going to come back it would have been when you turned twenty. And yet we stood on that dirty street corner all night on your birthday for no freaking reason.” Her mouth opened as she realized what she had done but it was too late.
My cheeks heated as she revealed something that was supposed to stay between us. I glanced at Rain and he was carefully studying the sign above the shop, but I knew he had heard and it was completely humiliating. It was one thing for him to know there was something between us, even if he didn’t know exactly what. But now he knew that I had been so desperate I had all but offered myself on a silver platter that was left unopened.
Emotion choked my throat. I grabbed my drink and stood, and Kayla came with me. “Lizzy, wait.” She reached out and put her hand on my arm before I jerked out of her grip.
“I really need to get back on campus,” I told her with a brittle smile. “There’s a book I should grab before my next class. See you there, Rain?” He nodded carefully, looking between the two of us like he had something he wanted to say but didn’t. “Bye, guys. Thanks for lunch.”
“I’m sorry,” Kayla called out to my back, but I didn’t stop, didn’t turn. I walked until I got to my beaten down little Honda and took off, blinking to ward off the tears that threatened to spill.
***
The rest of the day passed in monotony, only broken by me having to walk across campus from one class to the other. Oakdale Community College was even smaller than most, so I ended up speaking to people everywhere I went but the conversations were all forgotten in moments. My whole being was in a daze as a thought that had plagued me for the last two years returned to the forefront of my brain, burning bri
ght and insistent.
How long was I going to wait?
Despite my best efforts to linger, life was moving along, heedless of my wishes. How many more dates would I turn down while some foolish part of me still wanted to save myself for Texas? And it was foolish, because no way a man like that wasn’t getting some on the regular but I pushed that thought away before I poked a hole in my palm from how tight a fist I was making.
I walked into Professor Bowman’s history class and took a seat a few spaces away from Rain. He perched a pierced brow my direction and I offered him a weak smile but shook my head. His features tightened for a split second, but he only nodded, accepting that I wanted to be left alone right then.
Our professor, who looked like an obese Jack Sparrow and didn’t dress much better, droned on about something I was going to have to catch up on later while my mind wandered.
I was only halfway through my sophomore year, but college would end sooner or later. When it did, would I stay here? Mom and I had started a little handmade craft website that was doing pretty well but I could do that anywhere. I didn’t have to stay in Oakdale, unless I was going to keep pining after a man who cared enough about my wellbeing to pretty much force a bodyguard on me and get me into a different, safer neighborhood but not enough to show his face and claim what was his.
Those thoughts and one’s similar swirled in my mind for most of the class until the bell rang and I noticed the group of girls hanging around Rain. A tall, willowy redhead with giant tits that seemed like the leader was right in front of him, wearing a skirt so short I could nearly see ass-cheek. Ugh. Much to his credit, he sat there calmly and met her eye without so much as a once over.
She popped her gum in that loud, bratty way people learn at some point in life. “So, like, we heard your brother is throwing a party at the clubhouse. Is it like, an invite only deal or what?”
Rain shrugged. “Not brothers’ only, if that’s what you mean. Anyone can show up. Doesn’t mean anyone can get in.”
Bubble gum arched her back and waved a hand down her body. “Please, they’ll totally let me in.”
“Probably.”
“Although…” she leaned over his desk and I rolled my eyes, knowing without looking that her blouse was gaping open in the front. “I’m sure I wouldn’t have any trouble if I went as your plus one. Or plus three, as the case may be.” She nodded at the two girls beside her who preened right on time.
My stomach flipped unhappily, and I was glad there wasn’t much on it but coffee. Was she seriously offering up a foursome? Here? Now? What a slag.
Rain stood in a smooth motion and stepped back from the circle of predators. “Sorry ladies,” he flashed that boyish grin, a perfect mix of bad boy and fun loving. “I’m probably not even going. My girlfriend and I have other plans.” The group’s sigh of defeat made me cover my mouth to avoid them hearing my snicker. “Feel free to head out that way though. I’m sure a lot of the guys would love to have you.”
The way he said that last bit, I got the feeling he didn’t mean they would enjoy playing the well-mannered hosts and Bubble Gum and her cronies caught on as well because they looked at attention again. They were ready to do battle and make sure they had someone to spread their legs for tonight.
Okay, Lizzy. Stop being mean.
I was standing, packing my stuff up when I caught an absent, “What’s the occasion anyway? Creed doesn’t throw these often.”
Something made my head turn and I found Rain staring right at me. I don’t know how I could tell, but whatever was in his expression was an echo of what I had seen this morning. Somehow, I knew what he was about to say was meant specifically for my ears. Yet still, when I heard it, my knees nearly went out from under me.
My pulse raced.
I thought my heart might stop.
“A good friend of his is coming back into town after some long years on the road.”
Hands shaking, mind racing, I shoved the last few pens in my bag and nearly ran into the hall.
Texas was coming back.
But was he coming for me?
CHAPTER 4 - Texas
I stared at one of the most recent pictures Rain had given me, letting Lizzy’s sparkling blue eyes calm me. In it, she was at the fair, arm slung over her friend Kayla’s shoulders while they opened their mouths huge, preparing to take a bite from either side of a towering mountain of pink cotton candy. The pure joy in her expression made it clear she was laughing, and I desperately wished I knew what that sounded like.
The time I spent away from this town, searching for what I needed to find out about the traitor, was supposed make my desire for her wane. Instead, it had the opposite effect. Every night, I went to sleep with her face in my mind, her voice in my soul. Every morning, I woke up desperate to know how she was.
I won’t go into the exact number of times I stroked myself in the shower, imagining it was her lips around my cock, her pussy milking every ounce of cum from my balls. But I was a man that hadn’t seen action for two years.
Do the fucking math.
Yesterday, when I rode past the sign welcoming me within the Oakdale’s city limits, my bike roaring through the stillness of the night, it had taken all the willpower in me not to find my Lizzy. I realized then, I wasn’t as strong as I thought. Because by three o’clock that morning, I was outside one of the houses I owned, the one I made sure Lizzy and her mom were able to get settled in, debating on if it would make me too much of a fucking creeper to climb up the nearby tree and try to look into whatever room might be hers.
Couldn’t rightfully say that willpower won out that time either. But when a light in the neighbor’s house had flicked on, I was able to break the trance I was in and get the fuck out of there before there was no going back. Cause really, who was I fucking kidding? If I saw her again, that would be it.
Nothing on the face of this planet would keep me from her.
Which is why I was heading back out as soon as fucking possible.
“Why don’t you just go get your woman instead of staring at her picture like a lost puppy?” I looked up and glared at Creed as he removed his glasses and pushed his paperwork to the side. He was a bigger, meaner looking version of Rain with the same, jet-black hair, less piercings, but way more tattoos that crawled over nearly every inch of his body except his face. “Seriously, Tex, you’re fucking creepin’ me out. Your big, burly ass holding a little polaroid.”
“No one asked for your goddamn opinion, Creed,” I complained, stowing the picture in the pocket of my cut.
Anyone else who spoke to him like that was liable to get their teeth kicked in, but he only grinned wide, knowing he was getting to me. “Maybe not, but I figured I would give it to you anyway so you can stop walkin’ around like someone cut your fucking heart out.”
“My heart’s fine.” Mangled. Bruised. Missing the only thing that would make it complete. But fine. “Now if you’re done doin’ taxes like a good lil’ citizen, how about we get down to business?”
The humor in his eyes extinguished like a candle left out in a tornado and I’m not ashamed to admit that even I felt a little ball of tension in my gut. Give me a gun, rifle, slingshot, and I’ll outshoot everyone in the club any day of the week. But I’ve never considered myself a truly violent person, despite my willingness to act as our club’s weapon.
Creed, though?
That motherfucker was violence personified. Been that way ever since we were brats on the playground, having it out over who was going on the only swing. He beat me then, and I knew that even though he was a bit smaller than I was, he could still beat me.
Grown ass men shook with fear when they knew I was coming for them. But I’ll never forget being in that warehouse and seeing the leader of a rival club piss himself when Creed strolled in behind me with the devil’s glint in his eyes. I’ll also never forget walking, but wanting to run, the fuck out of there and losing my lunch in the dirt and grass after only a half hour of his special k
ind of attention.
So, it was with a ferociously satisfied grin that I stood, grabbing the manila envelope sitting beside me and threw it on his desk and into his waiting hands.
Cold, gray eyes focused on the envelope as he flipped it open, taking a quick look. It said a lot about the blackness of his soul that the only reaction from him was his throat working up and down, like he was trying to swallow something that wouldn’t go down. Finally, he dropped the envelope and looked at me, menace and pure hate radiating from his pores. Words clipped, he said, “So it’s true then. It was really him.”
I nodded, tasting ash in my mouth. Rebel had been with us since high school. The three of us started this club together. Built it from the ground up. Having proof of the shit he had done didn’t make it hit any softer. We were supposed to be brothers. Creed had the ruthless ambition. I brought the muscle and firearm expertise. And Rebel had the charm and a way with money that would make any man jealous. He could set up on the street selling piss in a bottle and make money hand over fist. And while he did more traveling these days, managing our other assets, he was still a fixture to the other members.
Which was why I left.
So that when it all went down, we would have undeniable proof of what he’d been up to before we put him in the ground.
“Everything I could find,” I confirmed. “Names, dates, places. Deals he took a cut from. Drugs he pushed. Lies he smiled and threw in our faces. Plus, some other shit I’m still putting together but it’s all there. More than enough to bury him, piss on his body and show that we had every right to do so.”
Creed nodded and set down the envelope. I frowned. I expected him to go through all of it and stoke the flames of vengeance I knew were burning inside of him. Except he only took a few deep breaths, and by degrees I could practically feel the bloodlust leaving him. He met my stare patiently, something in his gaze making the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.
Claimed by a Sinner Page 2
