Outlaw: Screaming Eagles MC (7 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Falcon stayed at the clubhouse for two hours. He gave a great performance, calling the police actions outrageous and promised that the cops would reap what they had sown. He laughed loudly and led rallying cries and somehow or another by four-thirty everyone was clapping him on the back and congratulating on getting out of there. The praise and attention for something he hadn’t done was oddly thrilling. He was putting on an act for them and it was working.

“Poor Billy and Big Chris. I look forward to avenging them myself,” he said and everyone around him raised a glass to his courage. He felt like an actor, a man paid to play a part and play it well. At certain times he even forgot he was spinning fiction as he bemoaned the capture of their fellow Screaming Eagles. He swore the loudest and promised the angriest revenge; he shook his head and rattled his fist along with everyone else. Deep down inside he was glad Big Chris and Billy had been captured; it felt right. They were bad men and they had got what they deserved, but on the outside he showed nothing but anger and sadness.

At four-thirty he looked down at this watch and then stretched his arms and his shoulders. “It’s a little cramped in here and I’m all amped up. I’m gonna go for a ride,” Falcon said standing up. He was at the center of a table filled with his fellow bikers and they all made disappointed noises as he stood.

“Where’re you going, Falcon?”

“When you coming back?”

This sudden surge in popularity was strange to Falcon. He had been a member of the gang since he was fourteen when they would remind him that his record turned clean when he hit eighteen. But he had always been a foot soldier, a nameless face ordered to go here or do that. But now people were looking at him, turning to him with questions and seeking him out for advice. He had survived two run-ins with the cops and some were starting to think it wasn't luck or trickery that had saved him, but skill.

They were wrong, but Falcon wasn’t interested in correcting them. For the first time he didn’t care about the gang or what its members thought. For the first time he wasn't trying to get noticed or looking for advancement, so it made sense that the second he stopped looking for it, it suddenly appeared.

But he was supposed to meet Grace. Beautiful tall Grace who lived to put the scum around him behind bars. Grace who had changed everything, Grace who had given him an out. He would rather be with her, whether they were planning a raid, or planning to screw, he didn't care. As long as she and her intelligent green eyes were there, so was Falcon.

“I’m not going anywhere, just gonna drive around. I’ll be back whenever,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders and to his surprise everyone nodded. His status had changed in the gang in some imperceptible way. But he knew he couldn’t allow himself to get cocky. The other foot soldiers might have gained some respect for him, but the boss was another story.

Falcon had to resist the urge to whistle and spin his keys around as he walked towards his bike. He wasn’t allowed to look happy; he needed to look angry and upset and worried and so a scowl crossed his features as he slipped his helmet over his head and got on his bike.

He was less than a mile away when he noticed the tail. He wasn't sure whom it was, but they were trying to keep a distance. The problem with motorcycles is how noticeable they were. A car was better for a tail. So what were the bosses thinking? Were they just curious where Falcon was going, or were they still trying to watch him at all times? Did they still not trust him?

Either way, he was in no mood for that shit. Falcon revved his engine and sped up, he took the first exit off the highway that he could and made the first left and then the first right, which brought him to a wide-open park. He drove through the park, letting the trees and the bubbling noises of the streams absorb the sound of his motorcycle.  He got to a wooden bridge and waited. He was pretty sure he lost the tail on the highway, but waited to be sure. From up here he had a wide view of the park and he scanned the various roads and paths, but he neither saw, nor heard any other bikes.

Good
, he thought as he sped away down the lane and exited the park on the other side. He kept his eyes on his rear-view mirror looking for tails, but he didn’t see any.

He made it to the rendezvous point early and waited in the parking lot for the beach. Grace arrived ten minutes later and pulled her car, a black SUV, up next to Falcon.

“What are you doing I said same place. That means the shack, not the parking lot.”

“Get on,” Falcon said, nodding to the back of his bike.

“What?” Grace demanded from her car. She had rolled down her window, but the engine was still on and she was giving him an annoyed look from her driver’s seat.

“I said get on. Get on the back of the bike with me, or I’m not saying another word.”

“That’ insane-” she started, but Falcon cut her off.

“You can bring your gun and your badge and your phone, anything you want, but you're driving with me.”

She let out a frustrated sigh before angrily opening her door and stomped out into the parking lot. Falcon handed her his extra helmet and she huffed as she slipped it over her long, silky hair. Tentatively she slipped onto the bike behind Falcon and he couldn’t help but stop to appreciate the feel of her legs against his, her breasts pushing into his back. She brought her arms loosely around his stomach and Falcon pulled them tighter around him until she was flush against him and he could hear her breathe in his ear.

He pressed the gas and they took off down the road. Grace instinctively clung even tighter to him and he relished the feeling of her hands around his body. He liked the feeling of protecting her, of being in control. He would never have hurt her, or let anyone else hurt her; he just didn’t know how to say it. So the best thing to do was show her. He would take her for a motorcycle ride and keep her safe the entire time. They drove along the coast eventually following along a twisting coastal road with the vast blue ocean on their right.

As the road opened up and the view appeared before them, Grace gasped as she looked out over the sudden bright blue ocean. Falcon could taste the saltwater on his lips and feel the cool ocean breeze against his skin; it reminded him of something he couldn’t quite define. All he knew was that he liked being by ocean, nothing bad had ever happened to him on the shore. Seagulls were calling to each other and wheeling through the sky above them as the two continued down the long road.

Eventually it leveled out and they were greeted by crowded beaches filled with surfers and palm trees and kids who ran screaming towards the ocean and jumped in without a care in the world. The sun was setting in front of them illuminating the ocean in pinks and oranges and yellows and it was so beautiful that it was hard for Falcon to focus on the road.

But then he remembered the hot chick he had in tow and that he really didn’t want to crash his bike and so he put his eyes back. He kept driving until he slowed next to a sign that said NO TRESPASSING and ROAD CLOSED. He ignored the signs and turned his bike down the road. A steel chain, long since gone to rust, was strung across the road, but Falcon easily went around it and then sped up once he was on the other side.

The road was empty, it had been closed for repairs about a year ago, but Falcon had yet to see anyone back here working on anything. The street was lined with palm trees as he continued down it, traveling at a slow and relaxed place. But even though they weren’t going as fast, Grace was still holding on to him tightly.

Chapter Fourteen

He brought his bike to a stop near the edge of what was a half-finished pier. Metal and wood stretched out into the ocean before stopping suddenly. There were no boats moored here and no additional pylons or docking stations, just one unfinished bridge to the ocean.

“What the hell, Falcon?” Grace demanded as she got off the bike and tore her helmet off. “Where are we? Why did you bring me here? Is this a set-up?” Her hand reached for her gun but she hesitated as she looked around.

“We’re at a half-finished pier,” Falcon said, pointing towards the water as he dismounted his bike.

“Why did you bring me here? Why did you demand that I come with you? You basically kidnapped me!”

“You can leave whenever you want,” Falcon said walking up to her. She didn’t back away as he approached; slowly he took three steps until he was on top of her. Then, never taking his eyes off of hers, he lifted the helmet out of her hands and finally looked away as he placed it on the bike.

She was breathing deeply, her chest heaving as her hair was tossed about gently by the wind. “So why here?” she asked again, her voice a little calmer.

“I like it, and it’s isolated,” he said with a shrug. “Besides,” he continued looking at her over his shoulder. “Don’t ever want to just do something bad? Something no one expects. You’ve never just wanted to get in your car and drive for no real reason.”

“My dad was in the military, so being bad isn’t really my thing,” she said. “I have respect for the laws, they’re important, they keep us civilized, and we’re nothing without them. But...I do like riding my motorcycle when I get the chance.”

“I knew you were a biker,” Falcon said. “You gave some good chase in the woods,” he smirked at her and then held out his hand.

She looked at it in confusion, as if he were offering her a fish. But finally she placed her hand in his and he pulled her down the pier towards the place where it stopped suddenly.”

“What happened here?” she asked as they both sat at the edge with their feet dangling over the water.

“Budget cuts, I guess. I found this place about two years ago and they haven't done any work on it since.”

“You’re pretty good at finding secret hiding places,” she said. “First that shack, now this?”

Falcon nodded and said, “When I was little I used to have to find places to lie low. It’s a learned habit, but one that has aided me well.”

“Why are you looking for somewhere to hide now? Do the Screaming Eagles suspect something?” She turned to face him, but Falcon couldn’t look in her eyes.

Instead he focused on the large, orange sun setting in front of them. “You know I don’t think they do. It’s strange, but since we’ve started working together...I don’t know. It’s like now that I’m done with them and I don’t really care what they think anymore, now they like me all of the sudden.”

“That happens,” she said with a smile. “People like confidence, they’re drawn to it, and not caring what other people think is the ultimate in confidence.”

“You’re a pretty confident woman,” he said, finally looking at her. She looked almost too lovely in the sunset. The orange glow accentuated her tan skin and her dark hair and green eyes seemed to shine in the light.

“I’ve worked hard to get where I am. But I’m at a point where I like my life. I’m independent; I do what I want when I want. I can move anywhere and be anything. I can leave dishes in the sink and I don’t have to answer to anyone. It’s nice.”

“So who did you used to have to answer to?” Falcon asked.

“My parents, I guess. And then for a while...I had a couple of serious boyfriends. But it just didn’t work. Either they were intimidated that I was a cop or the crazy hours didn’t work for them. They were always trying to get me to choose between them and the job, but that was like making me choose to give up my happiness. I love my job. I bust bad guys for a living and I’m good at it. It’s the only thing I want to do. So,” she shrugged. “It’s basically the only thing I do. That’s why I’m glad you showed up. You’ve made things a little more interesting.”

“And successful, I saw the raid on television. That’s an awful lot of drugs you busted.”

“Yeah, the chief and the mayor were both very happy. I felt a little bad taking all the praise. You did most of the work.”

“Nah,” Falcon said with a shrug, “I just showed up. You know, it’s strange, but I thought I would feel guiltier about all of this. I took blood oaths with the Screaming Eagles that I would die rather than rat them out to the cops. Yet, here I am, ratting them out and I feel pretty damn good about it. Maybe it’s you?”

“Or maybe it’s because you know you don’t belong there. You told me yourself that you didn't have a lot of choices. It sucks to swear your life to something that you don’t like very much.”

Falcon nodded as he looked at her. There had never been a woman in his life he could talk to like he did with Grace. He could be himself around her and she never made fun of him for it; she understood. He couldn't help himself; he leaned over and kissed her hard, gripping her hair and pulling her to him.

She wanted it, too, and before Falcon knew it they were laying back on the deck and their hands were fighting for control again as she grabbed his hair and he grabbed hers and then her hands were around his shoulders and his were on her breasts and they were nothing more than a tangle of limbs.

She ripped his shirt off and he reached up under her shirt to shove aside the cup of her bra as he massaged her breast and pinched her nipple. She pushed against him, desperate for more contact. He fumbled with the button of her jeans and then Grace stopped.

“No,” and she put both her hands on his chest. He stopped, immediately, frozen in place by her command. He was half on top of her and they were both lying back on the dock. The sun had almost set behind him, but the air around them was still bright. “I’m a cop,” she said, sitting up and fixing her messy hair, “and we’re on a dock by the beach. I can’t do this here.”

“There’s a motel like four minutes away,” Falcon said.

“That sounds perfect,” she said as she turned to him and kissed him deeply.

Falcon broke the kiss and stood up. He grabbed his shirt and slipped it on before offering Grace his hand to help her stand. He didn’t let go as they hurried down the pier to his bike.

“A room, now. Right now,” he said to the pimply-faced kid behind the counter.

“Please,” Grace added with a smile.

Falcon threw a hundred dollar bill at the kid and grabbed the keys out of his hand. They were on the second floor and halfway up he grabbed Grace and she laughed as he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her to their room.