by Hope Stone
Pin
When Claire showed up at my place before the barbecue, I almost suggested we bail on the whole thing. I took one look at her in her relaxed-fit green dress paired with combat boots, and I wanted to pull her into my bedroom and keep her there for a solid twenty-four hours.
Instead, I wrapped my arm around her waist and kissed her. I didn’t care that we still hadn’t defined our relationship or this was technically only our second date. I couldn’t resist.
To my joy, she kissed me back with enthusiasm. When she slid her fingers into my hair, I nearly threw away all my self-control. After extending the kiss for a few moments, I pulled back to gaze down into Claire’s glowing face.
Her eyes were big and full of mischief, as if it was the funniest joke that I had kissed her before speaking, and her lips were slightly swollen.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey,” she said.
“You look good,” I said.
“I wasn’t sure how to dress for a biker barbecue.” She stepped back to look down at her polka-dot dress. “I almost went with Daisy Dukes and bright red lipstick. Isn’t that what biker chicks wear?”
“Nah,” I said. “You’re perfect the way you are.”
She froze at the compliment. I hadn’t meant to be so intense, but it just came out. It was true, anyway. Everything about her from the tiny freckles on her nose to her black combat boots was amazing.
“Thank you,” Claire murmured.
I shrugged and grabbed her hand. “Should we go?”
“Yeah, I’m ready,” Claire said, adjusting her large purse on her shoulder and following me to the door.
“We’re just gonna take a car over,” I said.
“No bike today?” Claire asked.
“I’m gonna have some beer at the barbecue,” I said. “I don’t drink and drive.”
The barbecue was being held in the parking lot behind Blue Dog Saloon. We had gatherings like this at least once a month. A few of the guys would drag out grills and make hot dogs and burgers. We started in the afternoon, but usually the barbecue lasted long into the night. It wasn’t much, but it was my family.
As Claire and I walked up to the parking lot, a flurry of nerves rose up in my stomach. I had never so much as flirted with a girl at a biker barbecue. And I had certainly never brought a date. I hooked up with girls who were far removed from the biker world. I would never bring them to meet my brothers because there was no point. The Outlaw Souls were long-term only.
Yet here I was, walking into the barbecue hand in hand with Claire. Even before we reached the tables in the center of the lot, I could feel eyes on us.
Then Claire squeezed my hand a bit. I looked down to see her smiling up at me, and the tension in my chest eased in a heartbeat. As we approached a table, Moves appeared at my side. He reached out to shake Claire’s hand with a wicked grin.
“I did not think I would ever see you again,” Moves said.
I rolled my eyes, but Claire laughed, and the sound made me want to laugh as well.
“Don’t worry, I’m not scared off by sub-par wingmen that easily,” Claire said.
Moves blinked in surprise. “Fair enough.”
A flurry of black leather and dark hair appeared at Claire’s side.
“Kim!” Claire said. “It’s good to see you.”
“Girl, we need to talk,” Kim said. “I clearly need to catch up on a lot.”
With that, Kim pulled Claire away from me and over to a table. I watched her go with pride. Claire could fit in with the Outlaw Souls. Kim and Moves already adored her. She was different from us in many ways, but there was something in her spirit that we all recognized.
“Jesus, Pin,” Moves said. “You’ve got it bad.”
I focused back on Moves. I couldn’t deny his point, so I just shrugged.
“I have to say, I do like her for you,” Moves said. “Can’t really put my finger on it, but it works.”
He shrugged and made a move towards the food table. I followed. Claire could chat with Kim, and I would get her a plate of food and a beer.
Moves was right. There was something about Claire that just made sense. She was never going to be an obvious choice. I thought Claire was gorgeous, but she wasn’t the type to walk into a room and have all heads turn. Her legs were too short, her clothes were too simple, and she moved just a little too quickly to the side of parties where she could observe and comment.
But that was what I liked about her. She was sly and clever, and she did whatever she wanted. She didn’t need anyone else. Claire was the most independent woman I had ever met. So somehow it made it all the more flattering that she wanted to spend time with me and my brothers.
After I had picked up two plates of food, I wandered over to the table where Claire and Kim sat. Claire had Kim laughing, and it seemed like she had already met a bunch of guys.
As soon as she saw me, Claire scooted over on the bench to make room. I sat down and placed her plate in front of her. “I guessed cheeseburger.”
“You guessed correct,” she said. “I also would have accepted hot dog, burger, or grilled mushroom.”
I laughed as Claire dug into her food. Of course she wasn’t a picky eater. She was too full of energy and life to waste time complaining about food.
“So,” Claire said as she gave Moves a focused look. “I think I need a rundown on your role in the club, it sounds intense.”
A slow smile crept across Moves’ face. Anyone who didn’t know him would think it was a harmless grin. But everyone who had seen Moves in action knew that smile. It was a dangerous smile. He wore it whenever he had to channel his inner violence.
Strangely enough, Claire seemed to recognize the intensity behind Moves’ expression. The sunny smile did not fade from her face, but I felt her spine stiffen next to me.
“Best not to ask questions if you don’t want the answers,” Moves said.
“Oh, I always want the answers,” Claire shot back, quick as a whip.
Moves leaned back and raised his brows. I stifled a smile. Claire wasn’t going to be teased by Moves, and I liked that.
“Don’t let him scare you,” Kim interjected. “Moves is a big softie who only throws punches when it’s for a good cause.”
“Come on, Kimmy, don’t ruin my rep,” Moves said.
Claire laughed and turned to me.
“It’s true,” I said. “We all have rules that we follow, that’s why our club is so strong.”
“What kind of rules?” Claire asked.
“It’s like this,” Kim said. “When you’re wearing the patch, you’re not representing yourself anymore, you’re representing the Outlaw Souls – so anything you do or say, that’s on the brothers. That means you can’t just go rogue and do whatever. You have to respect your brothers enough to stay in line.”
“As opposed to illegal stuff?” Claire asked.
“We don’t fuck with that.”
We all turned to see Raul behind us. He was only a little bit older, in his thirties, but since he was the road captain, we all gave him the same respect we gave the old guard.
Claire picked up on that right away and nodded. “I didn’t mean to offend.”
“I know,” he said. “And you have a right to wonder, seeing as you just got involved with Pin. So I thought I’d come out and say it, we’re not that kind of club.”
Claire nodded and leaned closer to me. “Good.”
Raul sat down and we chatted about the gigs we did and other club news. It felt natural. Claire had questions, admitting to her ignorance of biker culture, but even so, she fit in. No one minded explaining things to her. And between Kim and Raul, she did not lack for teachers.
After Raul gave Claire an entire breakdown of Outlaw Souls’ territory, I decided to save her. I grabbed her hand and pulled her around the party, introducing her to everyone else.
I kept getting the same look from my brothers. A knowing nod and maybe a wink as they smiled at Claire. It woul
d have been embarrassing if I hadn’t known that they meant well. They liked her, and they liked her with me.
It was a big deal to bring a girl to a barbecue. We didn’t just bring anyone. Introducing someone you were dating to the brothers meant something.
I hadn’t thought too much about it when Moves suggested I invite Claire. Instead, I had acted on instinct. If I had thought too much about the implications, then I wouldn’t have asked her. It would have freaked me out that after I took this step, there was no taking it back.
I wasn’t freaked. In fact, I was feeling pretty great about all my decisions.
As the sun set, we all gathered around a small fire pit and continued to chat and throw back beers. Claire sat close to me on the bench, so that I could feel her warmth through my jeans.
I couldn’t help but glance down at her every few seconds, just to confirm again and again that she was real and there with me. Every time I looked at her, I noticed something else. How her cheeks flushed red after her second drink. Or how she had an extra piercing in the cartilage of her left ear. Or how she did this sharp intake of breath right before she laughed at something really funny.
As the night wore on, I tried to remember if things had ever felt so right between me and a lady. I couldn’t recall. Sara had been so long ago, and all the early memories were tainted with what had happened later. I couldn’t think of her without recalling her betrayal.
But even so, I didn’t think our connection had been as strong as mine with Claire. We had been teenagers, filled with hormones and lust, but that was all just physical. Not to say there was no physical aspect with Claire, there certainly was. But there was something deeper. Something I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in a long time. Something I hadn’t really believed existed.
I slipped away to grab another round of drinks and ran into Raul by the cooler. He gave me a head nod. As I grabbed a drink out of the ice, he opened his mouth. “Claire’s a keeper.”
I tried to stay nonchalant since I had been attempting to not show all my brothers how head-over-heels I was, but I was finding that act to be more and more difficult. So I smiled and nodded instead. “I get that feeling too.”
“Be careful,” Raul said. “She’s tough as nails, but I’m guessing that’s why you like her.”
I stiffened at Raul’s warning. Claire was tough, but she wasn’t cruel. I didn’t think so anyway.
“I didn’t mean to butt in,” Raul said. “Seems like she has a secret or two, that’s all. But then again, don’t we all?”
I frowned. I didn’t want to doubt Claire, but my curiosity got the better of me. If I was blinded by lust, I wanted someone else to point out what I couldn’t see.
“How do you know?” I asked. “That she has a secret?”
Raul shrugged. “It’s in the eyes. They move too much.”
I stared at the ground. Raul did have a habit of being a bit dramatic, but he was smart. I wasn’t about to dismiss him.
“I’m not saying she’s bad,” Raul said. “Truly, I like her. I just know you don’t trust easy.”
“That’s for sure,” I said. “And thanks, I’ll be careful.”
Raul nodded and drifted away. I turned back to Claire. The caution that had crept into my stomach while I talked to Raul evaporated in a millisecond as she tipped her head and made some sly comment to Kim.
Maybe Claire had secrets, but so did I. We all had baggage. But for the first time in my entire life, I was ready to take someone on despite any obstacles. I was ready to let her in.
If she hadn’t looked so happy, surrounded by the most important people in my life, I would have hesitated. If my brothers hadn’t liked her so much and made it clear that they thought she was right for me, I would have questioned everything.
But none of that had happened. Claire seemed to appreciate and respect the Outlaw Souls, and they adored her. I could already tell that Kim was plotting more ways to hang out with Claire while I could tell that all the guys thought she was cool. I would have been jealous if I didn’t know that a brother would never try and poach another Outlaw Soul’s girl.
For the first time in a long time, everything was making sense. I finally felt permission to be happy. Not just happy for one night. Not just happy when I was working or riding with my brothers but lonely the rest of the time. Truly and fully happy.
There was no doubt in my mind: I was falling for Claire.
Eighteen
Claire
Nothing made sense. Up was down, left was right. I felt like I was Alice, and I had just tumbled down the rabbit hole or through the looking glass or whatever other mess that silly girl got into.
The Outlaw Souls were a little rough around the edges, that was true. They liked to throw back some beers and tell raunchy jokes, and, as bikers, they clearly liked a little danger. But there was no older guy dragging around a manipulated teen. There was no drug activity or even references to drugs. Not even tension among the brothers. To be honest, it was all pretty wholesome.
Yes, they had dirty mouths, a lot of them had tattoos, and I heard one of the older guys mention his time in jail, but none of that was criminal or even out of the ordinary.
I had known that I wasn’t going to walk into that barbecue and find Zoe by the hot dogs, wailing about how her one-time cool and sophisticated boyfriend made her sell cocaine, but I also knew that fires give off smoke. You can’t hide everything. Illicit activity leaves signs, and I was pretty good at reading those signs. I had figured that there would be at least a whiff of smoke at the party.
But there was nothing. Every instinct in my body was screaming that the brothers of the Outlaw Souls were exactly what they said they were: hardscrabble guys from the wrong side of the track who took care of each other and stuck to a strong moral code of values. If anything, they were way more Robin Hood than Al Capone.
Hell, Moves had even ran through their most recent gigs. Security for big events and helping out on construction sites. A few of the guys did a lot of auto work at a shop I knew was the most trustworthy in La Playa. The Outlaw Souls, despite their name and leathers, were upstanding pillars of the community.
Or they were very, very good liars. I couldn’t deny that the possibility that they were duping me rubbed me the wrong way. I like to think that I can spot a liar.
I smiled at Pin and told him I was going to run to the restroom. I couldn’t imagine we were going to stay at the party much longer since it was already pretty late, so I wanted a moment alone to take stock.
I sat in the stall of the women’s restroom of Blue Dog Saloon and stared at the graffiti on the bathroom door. This case didn’t make sense. If this party had all the members of the Outlaw Souls, then not one of them was an obvious choice for coercion of a minor and/or drug-dealing.
Granted, I had not shared soul-searching conversation with every single brother, but I had met most of them and observed the rest. I knew criminals can wear the appearance of goodness like a second skin, but there still would have been signs. No one even had the physical traits of a drug-addict. None of them said creepy things or even looked at me cross-eyed.
I huffed in frustration as I yanked out my notebook and started to write down every name I could remember. I would research the members of the club later. Our office didn’t have access to all the files at the police department, but private investigators have ways. I could find out who had done time for what.
I tried to write fast since, if I was gone too long, Pin would come looking for me.
That was the other thorn in my side with this case. The more time I spent with Pin, the more I was inclined to believe that he didn’t deserve to be used like this. I didn’t want to use him. I just wanted to be with him. But that thought was way too scary to explore at the moment.
Maybe I should have stuck to the cheating husbands after all. At least I was good at that stuff. At least trailing scumbags didn’t make me question my every action.
Maybe I just wasn’t cut out for the bi
g cases.
I shook my head and snapped my notebook shut. No, I could do this. I was used to catching idiots who thought with their dicks. This was just a smarter opponent. Whoever had orchestrated Zoe and Hector’s fate was more complex and certainly smarter. Catching them would take more time, but it didn’t mean I wasn’t up to the task.
I stood up, shoved my notebook back in my bag, and walked out of the bathroom. I collided right into Pin’s chest. “Oh, sorry.”
He gripped my arm to steady me, and my heart melted at the feel of his hand on my body.
“No worries,” he said. “I was actually just looking for you, I thought we might head out soon.”
“Ok,” I said. “No rush, I’m having a good time.”
“Yeah,” Pin said. “Me too.”
The light in the bar was dim and intimate, and we were tucked into the hallway with the bathrooms, alone and secluded. Pin was giving me major bedroom eyes, as if to say that yeah, the barbecue was fun, but he could think of better things we could do in private.
Before I could stop or remind myself that I was playing a dangerous game, I stood on my tiptoes and brushed a kiss against his lips. I couldn’t help it. He had been so nice all day, always staying by my side so that I wouldn’t be alone, but allowing me to be myself and ask questions. And all the other bikers had been so kind. I could see that they just wanted Pin to be happy.
Pin placed his firm hand on my lower back and pulled me closer. He leaned down and placed a row of fluttery kisses on my neck.
“Not here,” he whispered in my ear. “If the guys catch me, they’ll never stop giving us shit.”
I chuckled and pulled away. “I can believe that.”
We walked hand in hand back out to the fire pit. Only a few of the younger crowd remained. It was getting late, so everyone had drifted off. Most of the older guys had wives and kids (another thing that didn’t quite add up with the Drug Ring theory).
Moves appeared at Pin’s side. His easy manner and smile were gone, and I was immediately on high alert.
