Tempting Country: Ruthless Sinners MC

by Wilder, L.

  “Whoa, slow down.” I giggled. “One thing at a time.”

  A wave of guilt washed over me when he said, “Sorry, I’ve just missed you. It feels like we haven’t had a chance to catch up in months.”

  “Because we haven’t. Not really. You’ve been busy with work, and I’ve been busy with my school projects, but there’s not much either of us can do about that.”

  “No, but we have some time now. I’d really like to hear how things are going for you.”

  “Okay, well... my classes are fine. Even though some of them are tough, I’m enjoying them, and as far as I know, my friends are doing well, too.” My mind suddenly drifted to Country. Fate played a dirty hand when she threw us together... And now I was left wanting something I couldn’t have. It shouldn’t have mattered. My focus needed to be on my deal with the Sinners, but he seemed to be all I could think about. As much as I’d enjoyed our night at the bar, I relished talking to him by the fire even more. I’d never felt so comfortable having a conversation with a man I barely knew. I’d also never been so attracted to a man before, and the whole thing was completely frustrating. I liked to be in control of things, but this is one situation where I had none.

  I considered telling my father I’d met someone, but I worried he might ask questions that I wasn’t ready to answer, so I simply said, “I’m not seeing anyone—at least nothing steady.”

  “But you have met someone?”

  “Yeah, but I’m not sure if anything will come of it.” I shrugged. “It’s kind of complicated.”

  “Don’t worry. You have plenty of time to figure things out. You know, I was almost thirty before I met your mother.” His expression softened. “I can still remember the day I saw her walk into that coffee shop. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. She was simply breathtaking. I’m pretty sure I fell in love with her right there on the spot.”

  “Yeah, Mom was incredible.”

  “She was definitely that. I still miss her every day.” Anguish filled his voice when he continued, “I’d give anything to have her here with me. If I had only known then, maybe—”

  “There was nothing you could’ve done, Dad.”

  “I could’ve reminded her not to mix her migraine medication.” He shook his head. “She knew ... I’d told her a hundred times, but when she was hurting like that, she was desperate to make them stop.”

  I’d remembered him telling her to be careful. I also remembered how horrible those stupid migraines were. She would be so happy, so full of life, but as soon as they hit, she’d be out of commission for days. It was as though those damn headaches stole the life right out of her.

  Mom would lock herself away in her room and close all the blinds, sealing herself off in darkness, and she’d stay there until they finally went away. It was the only thing she could do. I hated seeing her in so much pain, and I had no doubt my father felt the same. I placed my hand on his arm and said, “You know it wasn’t your fault. There’s nothing you could’ve done to change what happened.”

  “I wish I could believe that.” He glanced down at his uneaten cake, then inhaled a quick breath. “I’m sorry. You came all this way to celebrate my birthday, and here I am messing the whole thing up.”

  “You didn’t mess up anything. I know you miss her. I miss her, too. I think about her all the time.” I wasn’t exaggerating. I did think about her all the time. We had such a good life, and while there were still some good times, it just wasn’t the same without her. In fact, everything changed. I had to fight back my tears as I said, “I often wondered what our lives would be like if she was still here.”

  “I don’t have to wonder. I know my life would’ve been better with her in it, and I have no doubt yours would’ve been, too.” A soft smile crossed his face as he said, “But we have each other, and we’re doing okay, right?”

  I was tempted to tell him that he was wrong, that we weren’t doing as well as he might’ve thought, but I couldn’t form the words. I wasn’t ready to tell him about what I’d seen so many years ago. I wasn’t sure I would ever be ready, so I simply nodded and said, “Yeah, we’re okay.”

  “Good.” He turned his attention back to his cake, and in a matter of minutes, he’d eaten every bite. “Why don’t you tell me a little about this guy you’re seeing and why it’s so complicated?”

  “I’m not exactly seeing him.”

  Before I could say anything more, my cell phone started ringing. I grabbed it out of my pocket, and when I saw that it was Braylon calling, I turned to Dad and said, “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.”

  I slipped inside the house and closed the door before answering, “Hey, what’s up?”

  “I hate to bother you while you’re at your dad’s, but a guy came by here looking for you. Said he knew you from school. I believe he said his name was Drake Coburn.”

  “Damn.” Drake was in my agronomy and crop science class. He was a nice guy and not bad-looking, but I found it creepy the way he was always staring at me. Even though I’d tried to make it clear that I wasn’t interested in him, he was always trying to strike up a conversation and used every excuse in the book for us to meet up outside of class. “I have no idea how he found out where I lived.”

  “I was afraid of that.”

  “Did he say what he wanted?”

  “Nope.” I didn’t like the sound of Braylon’s voice when he said, “I gotta tell ya. I don’t have a good feeling about this guy. I think he’s up to something.”

  “What makes you say that?”

  “Just the way he was snooping around. I caught him looking down the hall, but he played it off and said he was just searching for you.”

  “Damn, he had no business coming there like that.”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Look through the security feed and find out exactly what he saw. Maybe ask Riggs to check them out, too—just to be sure we don’t miss anything.”

  “You got it.”

  “Thanks, Bray.” Before I hung up, I told him, “I’m on my way.”

  I was just returning my phone to my back pocket when I heard my father ask, “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes,” I lied as I turned around to face him. I had no idea how much he’d heard, so I tried to choose my words carefully. “My partner and I have run into a little snag with our project, so I need to be heading back.”

  “So soon?”

  “Afraid so.” There was no missing the disappointment in his eyes when I said, “I really need to get back and take care of this before a real problem arises.”

  “I understand.” He stepped over to me and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I can’t tell you how much it meant to have you here with me today. I enjoyed it so much.”

  “I enjoyed it, too.” I gave him a quick squeeze back, then said, “I’ll try to get back soon.”

  “I really hope you will.”

  He walked me outside to my car, then waited as I got inside. I was looking at him as I started my car, and for a brief moment, I didn’t see the man who made dead bodies disappear. I simply saw my father—and only my father, and that was something I hadn’t seen in years. It felt good to see him like that, which made it difficult to leave. Sadly, I didn’t have a choice. I had to get back to Langford Manor and figure out what the hell was going on with Drake Coburn.

  By the time I finally returned to the office, Braylon, Timms, and Duggar were done looking through the security feed. I hoped that meant they’d figured out what Drake was up to, so I asked, “Find anything?”

  “Hard to say.” Braylon pulled up the surveillance footage, then pointed at Drake’s red pickup truck. “Looks like he walked around to the gym. Never looked inside but seemed to just casually walk around. Then, he made his way into the school. He wandered down one hall and had just made his way to the other when I found him.”

  “Did he look inside any of the rooms?”

  “Nope. Just stuck his head through the door li
ke he was searching for you.”

  “This makes no sense.” I’d always been very careful not to mention where I lived. I certainly wouldn’t have told Drake. “I don’t even know how he found his way here. I never told him where I lived.”

  “He must’ve followed you home.” Timms’ brows furrowed as he asked, “Who is this guy anyway?”

  “That’s just it. He’s nobody. Just a guy from one of my classes. He’s been trying to get me to go out with him for months, but I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested.”

  “Apparently, he didn’t take the hint.”

  “Obviously not.” I let out a deep breath. “This is bad.”

  “It certainly isn’t good.”

  “So, what are we going to do?”

  “Riggs is looking into him. He’ll be able to tell us if there’s anything we need to be concerned about. Hopefully, he’s just a fucking nutjob who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”

  Seven

  Country

  “I talked to Gus this morning.” Viper sat down next to me and Hawk at the kitchen table. “He seemed to agree with you about Kiersten’s pot. Said it was the best he’d ever come across.”

  “Told ya,” Hawk replied. “The shit we tried the other night was pretty damn good. Best I’ve ever had. This girl really seems to know her stuff.”

  “She damn well better.” Viper leaned back in his chair as he said, “We’ll be putting a lot on the line if we go into business with her, especially if we bring both the Carolina chapters into it.”

  “I think they’ll be impressed with what she has to offer. They shouldn’t have any problem moving it.” The intense expression on Viper’s face started to fade when Hawk said, “Hell, I’d be surprised if they didn’t want more than the twenty pounds they agreed to.”

  Viper had good reason to be relieved. A pound of marijuana typically brought anywhere between two and three grand, but Kiersten had the potential of making even more—which meant we, along with our North and South Carolina chapters, stood to make anywhere between fifty and sixty grand a month. That, along with what we pulled from the two strip clubs and our nightly coke sales meant we would be eating high on the hog. Viper almost smiled as he said, “Guess we’ll see about that.”

  “So, we’re doing this?” I asked.

  “It’s definitely looking that way.” Viper stood, then let out a deep breath. “Axel and I need to get with Menace, crunch some bottom-line numbers, and then we’ll need to take a vote on it. I’ll call church as soon as we get everything sorted.”

  “Sounds good.”

  “I best get to it. You boys try and stay out of trouble.”

  “We’ll do our best,” Hawk answered.

  When Viper walked out of the kitchen, I quickly got up and followed him out into the hall. “Hey, Prez ... You got a minute?”

  “Yeah, what’s on your mind?”

  “Need to talk to you about something.”

  “All right.” He opened the door to his office and said, “Come on in and tell me what’s going on.”

  Dread washed over me as I followed him inside and over to his desk. Once we were both seated, I said, “I should’ve come to you days ago, but with everything that’s been happening—”

  “What’s this about, brother?”

  “Kiersten.”

  “Kiersten as in Billy’s daughter, Kiersten?”

  “Yes, sir, that’s exactly who I’m talking about.”

  “I’m not going to like this, am I?”

  “Probably not, but it’s something you need to hear.”

  I sat back and told him about the night at the bar. I made it clear that neither of us knew about our unlikely connection until we met again at Langford Manor. Viper’s brows furrowed as he asked, “You’re sure she had no idea who you were?”

  “I’m positive. It was just a crazy coincidence.”

  “You can say that again.” Viper ran his hand over his goatee. “Well, it is what it is. Don’t see why this should cause any issues with our partnership with Kiersten. You two are both grown adults, and things happen. It’s over now, so we—”

  “That’s just it, Prez. I’m not so sure it’s over.”

  “Come again.”

  “I like her, Prez. I like her a lot.” It felt strange to say it out loud. I’d never really done the whole relationship thing. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to. It just wasn’t me. I never had the desire to truly pursue a woman—at least not after we’d hooked up. We’d both get what we were after and move on, but for reasons I couldn’t explain, I hadn’t been able to move on from Kiersten. I had no idea how to explain that to Viper, so I simply said, “I’m not sure I want it to be over with her.”

  “Oh hell, Country,” Viper groaned. “You sure it’s not just your dick talking?”

  “Don’t get me wrong, Prez, he’s got plenty to say when it comes to her, but it’s more than that. There’s something about her…”

  “You know, it would be nice if just one of y’all... just one, would find a girl without some kind of fucked-up strings attached. I mean, damn, we’ve had it all—a father in the cartel, issues with dirty cops, a crazy ex-husband, a brother who caused the club problems, and even had one on the run. Now, we’ve got you and Kiersten.”

  “Well, you did end up letting Danny prospect, and he’s a Sinner now, so I’m not so sure that one should even count.”

  “This is not the time, Country.”

  “I know. And I get that Kiersten isn’t exactly an easy choice, I really do, but that doesn’t change anything. It certainly doesn’t change how I feel, but at the same time, you gotta know I’d never do anything to cause problems for the club.”

  “Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” Viper’s tone changed. “You know, it’s not just the club you gotta be worried about here. If this thing goes south with you and Kiersten, you might just find Billy on your ass, and God help you if that happens.”

  I’d been so concerned about Viper and the club, I hadn’t even considered Billy. We all knew the kind of shit he could do, even more so after all he’d done to help us with Parker. When the mafia was after her, he’d managed to make it look like she’d committed suicide and got them off her back, and no one was ever the wiser. I couldn't deny that just thinking about it was a little unsettling. Clearly amused by my state, Viper chuckled as he said, “Guess you hadn’t thought about ol’ Billy, huh?”

  “No, can’t say that I have.”

  “This girl worth it?”

  “Yes, sir. I believe she is, but I won’t know if I don’t see this thing through.”

  “Well, do whatever it is you gotta do. Just make sure it’s not something stupid that’ll cause any issues with this upcoming partnership.”

  “I’ll do my best.” I stood up and added, “Thanks, Prez. I’ll see ya at church.”

  I left Viper’s office and went to the bar to join the others. I didn’t mention my conversation with Viper. I just sat back and listened to Locke and Lynch as they went on and on about some brawl that had broken out at Stilettos the night before. Locke motioned his hand towards our brother as he told Shotgun, “Before we had a chance to do anything, Lynch just plowed right through them. Sent ’em flying one by one. You should’ve seen it.”

  “Just did what needed to be done.” Lynch took a pull from his beer. “Glad we got those assholes out of there before they made a mess of the place.”

  “Yeah, no doubt about that.” Clearly ready to change the subject, Lynch turned to me and asked, “Anyone heard anything from Jagger lately?”

  Jagger was one of our brothers who’d found himself in a tight spot with his sister. She’d run into some trouble with her piece-of-shit boyfriend and called Jagger to come help. When he showed up at her place, Jagger discovered that the boyfriend had done a real number on her. He started laying into the asshole, and after a hard blow, the guy fell back and hit his head on the coffee table, killing him instantly. Jagger was put away for involuntary manslaug
hter, and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do to stop it. It was hard on all of us to see our brother behind bars, but Menace took it especially hard.

  The two were always close, and Menace felt an undeserved sense of guilt for not being able to do more to help him, so I wasn’t surprised when Rafe replied, “Yeah, Menace was out there a couple of days ago. He and the lawyer got him hooked up with some anger management counselor.”

  “What’s up with that?”

  “They’re hoping that by talking to this chick it’ll help him get an earlier parole.”

  “A chick, huh? Is she hot?” Lynch snickered.

  “Never met her, but don’t figure it matters. Jagger is pissed about the whole fucking thing.” Rafe shook his head. “Doesn’t think he needs anger management, and neither do I. It’s just something that needs to be done to get him the hell out of there.”

  “I hope it fucking works. It’s time for him to get his ass back home.”

  “No doubt.” I turned to Rafe and said, “I need to get down to see him soon. Maybe we can head out there when we get all this shit settled with Kiersten and the deal.”

  Lynch sounded intrigued as he said, “Heard Billy’s daughter has some pretty impressive weed on her hands.”

  “She does.”

  “And she grows it herself?”

  “She has some help, but the process is hers, and the product is pretty fucking impressive.”

  Rafe was quick to add, “Definitely the best shit I’ve ever had.”

  Rafe went on to tell them about his venture into the kitchen and how he’d cleaned out the fridge, which led Locke into telling about an experience he’d had in high school. One story led into the next, and the guys would’ve probably stayed there all night sharing stories if Viper hadn’t called us all into church.

  Prez gave everyone the rundown of Kiersten’s business proposal, and how we would be joining forces with our North and South Carolina chapters along with Satan’s Fury to create a pipeline of sorts. Each chapter would be responsible for moving twenty pounds a month with the possibility of more if the need arose. We took a vote, and as expected, all the brothers agreed that we should move forward, and the vote went through unanimously.