Revolution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 1) (13 page)

‘You went over there to do a job. You didn’t go over there to fuck my stepdaughter… Jesus Christ! You got her pregnant!’

‘Hey, before you go any further let’s get something straight, okay? This club has no fucking say over my private life…’

‘You don’t
have
a private life anymore. That’s gone, finished. It disappeared the second you stuck that wandering dick of yours inside Lexi… Jesus, Coby! What the hell were you thinking?’

Coby reached into the barrel and pulled out a beer, ripping the top off the bottle with his teeth, spitting it out on to the ground. ‘I love her,
Tay
.’

‘Oh, Jesus…’
Tay
laughed, sitting down on the table behind them. ‘You don’t love her…’ He looked straight at Coby. Right into his eyes. ‘You tell her that yet? You tell her you love her?
When
did you tell her, huh? When you had your dick rammed up her?’

Coby’s expression darkened and he took a couple of steps back from
Tay
, shaking his head. ‘This is bullshit.’

‘You’re telling me.’

‘You don’t interfere in my life,
Tay
. You got that? Because you have no idea of the shit I’ve been going through since I got back from
England
. You have no fucking idea.’

Tay
walked back over to Coby, his expression serious. Almost threatening. ‘The thing is, Coby, your
life
could really fuck things up around here.’

‘And what you’re doing with the Cabos isn’t?’

Tay
took a couple of steps back, laughing quietly. ‘That deal could keep us going for a long time. A
long
time. And if you actually sat down and thought about it, you’d know I was right. It’s gonna take the pressure off, Coby. And we could really do with that right now.’

‘If you’re so certain about that then why haven’t we taken a vote on it, huh? Why haven’t you let any of the others in on it, given
them
the chance to decide whether they want to get back into all that shit? If you’re so sure this is good for the club then why are you going behind everyone’s backs? Because, if anything,
that’s
what could pull this club apart. Not me. Not my relationship with Lexi. Not what happened over in
England
. You,
Tay
.
You
are the one taking the risk here, not me.’

Tay
stared at him for a beat or two. ‘That’s what you really think? You don’t think the guilt is gonna get to you, huh? When she’s lying in your arms, and you’re holding her close; when all you want to do is keep her safe because, if you
do
love her, Coby, that’s all you’re gonna want to do – keep her safe. So, when all those feelings are running riot inside that fucked-up head of yours, you’re telling me the guilt won’t ever get to you?’

‘It was business,
Tay
. We had no choice.’

‘That isn’t what I asked you. Can you be
sure
the guilt won’t get to you? Because when that kid of yours gets over here, that son you ain’t ever met, Coby – when he gets over here, and you hold him for the very first time you are gonna have feelings kicking their way to the surface you ain’t ever felt before. So you need to be sure – you need to be really sure – that this ain’t all gonna blow back on us. You need to be so fucking sure.’

Coby took a long drink of beer, turning away from
Tay
, watching as Lexi walked out of the clubhouse, out into the compound, all long legs and blonde hair and a body he craved now, like those drugs he would never, ever touch. ‘I’m sure.’

‘Yeah, well, you better be, Cobe. You fucking better be. So, let’s try and keep the past where it belongs, okay? As far as the kid is concerned, we’ll work something out. I don’t know what the hell that is yet, but I’ll think of something. You all right with that?’

Coby nodded.

‘Good man.’
Tay
squeezed his shoulder, smiling slightly. ‘Oh, and one more thing. You take care of my stepdaughter, you got that? You hurt her, you hurt me. And you really don’t wanna do that.’

***

‘I’m guessing that wasn’t the way you wanted all this to come out?’ Kel sighed, sitting himself down next to Lexi.

She didn’t look at him, just kept staring straight ahead, out at the rows of bikes all lined up outside the clubhouse, the smell of petrol and oil and cigarettes all merging together in some heady mix that was strangely comforting. Because it was a smell that reminded her she was home, where she belonged. Whether she really wanted to be there or not.

‘It’s best that it’s out there, sweetheart. And Jesse, he’ll get used to it. He’ll come round.’

‘Yeah. That’s what my mum said about Kip, and he doesn’t seem in any hurry to get our brother/sister relationship back up and running any time soon.’

Kel handed her another beer, and she took it, taking a long drink.

‘You see, I’m just not sure this
is
gonna work itself out, Kel.’ She finally turned to look at him, crossing her legs up underneath herself. ‘Nobody takes another brother’s old lady, but that’s
my
fault, isn’t it? Because I shouldn’t have done what I did. I should have walked away…’ She trailed off, more stupid tears suddenly starting to prick her eyes. ‘But I couldn’t, Kel. I couldn’t walk away.’

He reached out to take her hand, giving it a quick squeeze. ‘This thing you have with Coby, it all seems a bit sudden. I mean, you walk back in here, and it looks as though it’s all gonna be you and Jesse again and then… then suddenly you’re Coby’s old lady.’

She looked right into his eyes. Of course Kel hadn’t been fooled, he never was one to take anything at face value. If something didn’t feel right then he’d more than likely try and work out the reason for that.

‘This
isn’t
a sudden thing. Is it?’ Kel asked.

Lexi looked down at his hand holding hers, the sound of Coby’s voice talking to Luca somewhere behind her making her close her eyes and wish they could get away from here. Far away. But that was something that was probably never going to be possible. Not now. Not after everything that had happened.

Taking a deep breath she let go of Kel’s hand, pulling herself up off the bench she’d been sitting on. ‘It’s complicated, Kel.’

‘Isn’t everything around here, kiddo.’

She looked at him, gripping the beer she was holding tight between her fingers. ‘Yeah, well, believe me, you don’t even know what complicated is until you hear this.’

He narrowed his eyes as he stared at her. ‘What’s going on, Lexi?’

She shook her head, aware she’d already said too much. ‘Nothing. It doesn’t matter. Look, I’ve got to go. I’ll catch you later, all right?’

‘Lexi! Hang on a second.’

She swung back around as Kel caught up with her. For a man as big as he was he could sure move fast sometimes.

‘How long?’

She said nothing for a few seconds as she tried to work out what to do for the best. But all she really wanted to do was kill the lies, end the secrets. She was here for the truth, wasn’t she? And it was about time that truth started to come out a little bit faster now.

‘I think I’ve been in love with him for a long time, Kel.’

Kel’s eyes narrowed again. ‘A long time? But… I don’t understand, kiddo…’

‘At least a couple of years.’ It was almost as though she was talking to herself now, admitting everything she’d been afraid to admit before.

Kel stared at her, letting her words sink in. ‘A couple of years ago you were over in
England
, Lexi so… so why would you suddenly develop feelings for a man you hadn’t seen in almost six years?’

Lexi looked at him, but she didn’t answer his question. ‘Talk to my mum.’ She turned around and walked away, knowing she’d just started something she may now not be able to stop. And although the consequences of that scared her, she was beginning to realize that sometimes you just had to do what was best, for you. For the people that mattered. Not what was best for the club.

‘Hey, beautiful.’

She swung around to see Coby standing there, his hands in his pockets, his hair pushed back off his face – his rough, scarred, but oh so handsome face. And she couldn’t help but smile. ‘Hi.’

‘You okay?’

She briefly looked down at the ground before her eyes met his again. ‘Yeah. I guess.’

He walked over to her, taking the beer from her hand and helping himself to a drink before leaning over to kiss her. She slid a hand around the back of his neck, pulling him down, keeping his mouth on hers, the taste of beer still there on his lips. She could have stayed there, kissing him, forever. But life wasn’t that perfect. Not here. She’d seen to that.

‘Maybe we should go back inside, huh?’ Coby smiled, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, and she couldn’t help but return his smile.

‘I don’t know what to do, Coby. All of this, it’s such a mess. And I miss Ozzie. I miss our boy so much.’

‘Hey, I know.’ He pulled her against him, holding her close, kissing the top of her head as he rubbed her back. ‘I know, kid. But we’ll get him back, I promise. Because I… I need to meet this little guy…’ He pulled back slightly, looking into her eyes. ‘Don’t I?’

She reached out to touch his face again, stroking it gently, watching as her fingers traced the deep scar that ran almost the entire length of his left cheek. ‘He’s going to grow up amongst all of this,’ she whispered, her fingers now resting on his scar. ‘And that scares the hell out of me.’

Coby took her hand, holding it tight. ‘Let’s not think too far into the future, baby. Okay? We don’t… we don’t know what the hell’s around that corner, all I know is… all I know is I’m gonna try my best to make this work. I’m gonna try my best.’

She smiled a weak smile, resting her forehead against his. ‘Yeah. I know you will.’

And she knew he would. But what if his best just wasn’t good enough?

Fifteen

‘How the hell do we explain a baby, Angie?’
Tay
asked, throwing himself into a chair at their dining table. ‘How do we do that?’

Angie sat down opposite him, pouring him a coffee. ‘I don’t know.’

He let out a heavy sigh, throwing his head back. ‘This is so fucked-up! I just don’t see how we can sort this out, how we can say this kid is Coby’s, work a story around that. And get Lexi to go for it.’

‘I don’t think Lexi is going to go for anything like that,
Tay
.’

Tay
picked up his coffee, taking a sip, looking at Angie over the rim of his mug. ‘Then you’re gonna have to
make
her go for it.’

‘And how am I supposed to do that?’

‘I have no idea. Really, I don’t. I’ve got enough shit going down without having this to sort out, too. This one’s gotta be
your
job, honey.’

Angie sat back, looking out of the window, out into their back yard. ‘You do realize that Coby’s priorities are gonna change the second he sees that boy. Right now all he’s ever seen are pictures, and that means he can still push the reality to the back of his mind because he can’t touch it. He can’t see it, right there in front of him.’ She turned to face
Tay
again. ‘But the second he meets his son for the very first time…’ Her gaze lowered, watching as her fingers fiddled with a napkin lying on the table. ‘As much as I would rather he wasn’t the father of my grandson, he is, and I know that even a man with a heart as hard as Coby Walker’s can’t fail to love his own child. So he will change. And you need to know that. The shit that is gonna go down here, that’s gonna change everything. But it’s gonna change him more.’

Tay
let out another heavy sigh. ‘If I’d had any idea that something like this was gonna happen between Coby and Lexi…’

‘How
could
we have known?’ Angie said, refilling her coffee mug. ‘There was never a hint of anything like that, no obvious attraction between them. They were just thrown together,
Tay
. He was a familiar face at a time when Lexi needed someone. It was just... the circumstances weren’t what we’d been expecting.’

‘He should have walked away, Angie. He should have known the danger involved, the shit it could kick up.’

‘Jesus,
Tay
, he’s a man. And my daughter, she’s a beautiful young woman. He was thinking with his dick.’

‘Maybe I should have sent someone else.’ He looked right into Angie’s eyes. ‘Maybe I should have sent Jesse.’

Angie held his gaze for a few, long seconds before she spoke. ‘And you think
that
would have been any less complicated?’

‘He would have gotten some payback.’

‘It wasn’t just
about
that, was it?’

Tay
broke the stare, looking down into his coffee. ‘No. It wasn’t.’

‘And anyway, Charlie asked for Coby. He wasn’t willing to take anyone else… Look, it’s pointless sitting here talking about what we should’ve done, or what we could’ve done, none of that matters now. It happened, and we can’t change that. So we’re just gonna have to deal with it. Somehow.’

Tay
pushed a hand through his hair, letting loose yet another heavy sigh. ‘I did this for Charlie, Ange. All of it. I mean, what Lexi and Shane did, that shouldn’t’ve happened, but that alone wouldn’t have made me do what I did. What Shane was planning, though… that had to be dealt with. You understand that, don’t you?’

She got up, walking over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck from behind, kissing him quickly. ‘I know, baby.’

‘I did it for Charlie. For this club. Our two chapters, they’re so closely linked, so bound together, and I couldn’t just sit back and watch that be threatened. All the work Charlie and me put in… and I know he still feels betrayed by me, by what me and you did, but I will always love that guy, Angie. We’ve been on this whole crazy ride together for far too long... Shit! I know we treat Shane pretty badly, but he shouldn’t have… him and Lexi, they should’ve known better. They weren’t kids, they knew what could happen.’ He stood up, looking straight at Angie. ‘Do you think she – do you think Lexi knew anything? About what Shane was planning to do?’

‘No,’ Angie whispered. ‘No. She adores her daddy, and if she’d thought for one minute that anything…’

‘Hey. It’s okay. I know.’ He pulled Angie into his arms, kissing her quickly. ‘I know. Jesus, this is such a mess!’

‘When is it not around here?’ Angie sighed, pulling away from
Tay
, making a start on clearing the breakfast things from the table. ‘And it’s all because of the lies,
Tay
.’

‘We can’t change that, baby.’

But Angie knew they could. It was just way too dangerous to risk it.

***

‘You not hungry?’ Lexi smiled, leaning against the doorpost.

Coby lay in bed, smiling back at her, his hands behind his head. ‘Not for food.’

Lexi laughed, walking into the room, her eyes never leaving his as she climbed on to the bed, crawling slowly up it, pulling the covers away as she straddled his naked body. ‘I see you’re ready for me, Mr. Walker.’

‘Quit with the Mr. Walker shit, Lexi. You make me sound like your teacher or something.’

‘And does that not turn you on?’ She leant right over so her mouth was almost touching his. ‘Because it kind of does it for me. And if you
really
want to play that game I’m sure I could get my mum to dig out my old schoolgirl skirt.’

He grinned, winding his fingers in her hair as he pushed her head down, their mouths touching in a long, deep kiss. ‘Get naked,’ he whispered.

She sat up, pulling off the t-shirt she was wearing before she leant forward again, his hands cupping her breasts, his thumbs flicking over her nipples, actions that only served to make her crazy.

Lifting her hips up slightly she took him in her hand, taking a second to just enjoy feeling him there, knowing he was growing harder as her fingers wrapped tighter around him, before she slowly guided him inside of her, lowering herself back down, taking him deeper.

‘Jesus, Lexi…’ Coby groaned, grabbing on to her hips, pushing her down, her fingers sliding between his as she gyrated slowly on top of him, arching her back. ‘
Jesus Christ
!’

‘Already?’ She smiled, raising an eyebrow, their eyes locking as she felt him tense up slightly.

‘Not yet, missy.’

She let go of his hands, reaching down to touch herself, their eyes still locked, although she could tell he wanted to look down, look at what she was doing.

‘You really are gonna kill me, sweetheart.’

She continued to hold his gaze. ‘As long as nobody else does,’ she whispered, and for a fleeting second the air around them grew serious, the room filled with a heady tension. But then he broke the stare, his eyes dropping, watching as her fingers worked against herself. Lexi closed her eyes, losing herself in the moment. She didn’t want to think about the kind of shit that could happen in
Paradise
. She didn’t want to think about reality, not just yet. Not when they still had this little bit of time left on their own.

Pulling her hand away she leant forward again, resting her mouth on his as she pressed herself against him, finding that perfect position to draw the release she badly needed out, feeling the friction working its magic and within seconds she was overwhelmed by that wonderfully warming sensation, that beautiful wave of intense pleasure as it swept over her body. He caught her in his arms, holding her close, keeping her there until he too gave in to the release, pumping into her that drug she needed to keep her sane now. That drug she’d never thought she’d needed. But she wasn’t sure she could do without it now.

‘Oh, baby, you are wearing me out!’ he breathed, kissing her gently as his movements finally started to slow down.

She gave him a quick squeeze, clenching her muscles tight, drawing as much out of him as she could, every last drop, she wanted it all. Everything he had, she needed it. Because nobody was quite sure what was around the corner here. And Coby, he was giving her a strength she didn’t know if she’d need yet, but she wanted to be prepared. For anything. Whatever it might be.

‘Jesus, Lexi, don’t do that,’ he laughed, his hand slowly running down her back, falling on to her bottom. ‘You got one hell of a grip there, kid.’

‘Just keeping you right where I want you, for a little while longer,’ she whispered, running her fingers over his cheek, kissing him gently, opening her mouth so his tongue slid inside, the kiss becoming deeper.

‘You don’t have to hold me prisoner,’ he said, his fingers stroking her bottom, sending millions of beautiful shivers shooting right through her. ‘Baby, I would stay right there inside you forever if I could.’

‘Nice thought,’ she sighed, finally sitting up and climbing off him, sashaying over to the window and drawing the curtains, letting in the bright sunshine of another glorious Californian day. ‘But we’ve got to get going.’

‘You got something planned?’

She turned around, walking back over to him. ‘I promised my mum I’d help out in the office today so, come on, handsome. Up.’

‘You’re coming to the compound?’

‘Yes, I’m coming to the compound. And I thought you could give me a ride in.’

He sat up, reaching out for her, pulling her back on to the bed. ‘You want to be my ridin’ bitch, huh?’

She couldn’t help smiling. ‘I’ll be any kind of bitch you want me to be, soldier.’

He pushed her on to her back, parting her legs with his knee, one hand on her hip, the other one holding tightly on to hers up by her head. ‘Thing is, beautiful, I kind of want to ride
you
first.’

‘So fucking romantic,’ she sighed, but she was smiling. She couldn’t really stop smiling when he was this close to her. This man she’d never really wanted, until the day he’d become
all
she’d wanted. And once he’d touched her, once he’d kissed her; once he’d shown her what love could feel like, no matter how warped or twisted it might occasionally feel – once that had happened, she’d known there was no turning back.

‘You want romance, you’re with the wrong man, sweetheart.’

‘No. I’m with the right man,’ she whispered, reaching out to touch his face, pulling him down to kiss him, keeping her lips on his for as long as she could, to taste as much of him as she could. ‘And the right man…’ She felt him push into her, his body once more taking her over until she had no other option but to give in and accept him, pull him in deeper, hold him there. ‘The right man is inside of me.’

Where she wanted him to stay. Forever.