SHADES: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series Book 3) (2 page)

“But, bikers, Skylar? What the hell?”

“He was charming and…”

“Charming? They aren’t going to be so charming when they show up here.”

She looked up at him, panicked. “You can’t be here when they come.”

“I can’t close my practice indefinitely.”

“Then you have to tell them I disappeared. I never showed up for work. You haven’t seen or heard from me. Oh, God, I should go.” She got up to leave, but he pushed her down.

“Go where?”

“I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes, it does, honey. You think I’m just going to let you walk out the door. I couldn’t live with it…and Ben would kill me.” He tried to make a joke.

She barely cracked a smile. He dipped his head.

“Hey, look at me. I’ll put you up in a hotel. Or better yet, you can stay in our Boca Raton condo.”

She shook her head no. “I think I’m going to go back home.”

“Birmingham?”

She nodded.

“Is there somewhere you can stay? Somewhere they won’t track you?”

She looked down, realizing she couldn’t bring this trouble down on anyone she knew.

“Do they know you’re from there?”

“No. I never told anyone but you and Ben. You’re the only ones they could get that information from.”

“Let me make a call. I know someone in Birmingham. Maybe he can help.”

****

An hour later, Skylar was driving down I-20 toward a hometown she hadn’t seen in ten years. Eric had made a deal with a man that owned a second home he rarely used. He’d agreed to let Skylar stay there for a few months in exchange for use of Eric’s condo in Florida. He was going to meet her with the keys. She had the directions in her purse.

Along with three thousand dollars.

Money that Eric had pulled out of his office safe and shoved into her hands, insisting she’d earned it and to consider it an early Christmas bonus. When she’d tried to refuse, he’d insisted, vowing Ben would ‘have his head’ if he let her leave with no money. God bless those two men. What would she have done without them?

****

Two hours later, she glanced at the directions once again as she drove down highway 119, south of town. ‘Over the mountain’ as anyone from Birmingham referred to it. She passed mile after mile of tall pine trees, rolling hills with horses grazing behind split rail fences and some very expensive homes. Slowing down, she turned right onto the driveway hidden in the overgrowth. It was barely visible from the road. If she hadn’t been looking for it, she would never have noticed it.

About twenty yards off the road was an ornate iron gate, woods and bushes on either side. Parked in front was a Black Lexus and a man leaning against it.

Skylar pulled her Miata up behind him and got out.

“You must be Eric’s friend,” the man asked, extending his hand.

“Yes, sir. I’m Skylar.”

“You must mean a lot to him, he really twisted my arm on this one.”

“He’s a good friend.”

The man reached inside his pocket and pulled out what looked like a garage door opener. “This is the remote for the gate.” He aimed it at the gate and pushed a button, and the gate began to slowly swing open. “I’d appreciate it if you kept it closed at all times.”

She accepted the remote from his outstretched hand. “Yes, sir. Of course.”

“Get in your car, and follow me up to the house.” He turned and headed back to his Lexus.

Skylar looked at the gate and the long tree lined drive that curved to the left, disappearing into the woods. What the hell kind of place had Eric made a deal for her to stay in? This seemed like a damned estate, not a house.

She followed him up to the house.

House? Right.

The drive had come up through the woods and approached the back of the residence, passing it on the left. The drive then looped around to the side and ended in a circle in front of the home, complete with a fountain in the center.

Skylar climbed out of her car and looked up at the place. The home was huge. It was built of dark wood and stone work in sort of a Craftsman style that blended in with the rustic wooded setting. Stone steps led up to a large front porch. Skylar followed the owner up and waited while he unlocked the door. Then he turned and handed her a set of keys.

“Here’s your set.”

They stepped inside. He immediately stepped over to a security alarm. “The four digit code is one-four-seven-eight. It forms the letter L when you look at the keypad. The only way you’ll remember it.” He smiled.

“Thanks. That’ll make it easy to remember.”

He showed her how to set it when she was going to bed and how to set it when she left the premises. Then he gave her a tour.

From the entry, there was a living area on the left, complete with a stone fireplace. On the right was a gourmet kitchen and dining room. Dividing the space was a large open staircase straight ahead that led to the second floor. She followed him up, and he showed her the master bedroom that faced the front of the property. It was huge, with a giant four-poster bed and a set of French doors that he showed her led out to a covered porch.

There was a beautiful master bath, and two more bedroom suites in the rear of the second floor.

After making sure she had his number for emergencies, he left, instructing her that she had the place until November 1
st
. That gave her a little over six months to put her life back together. She’d need to find a job and another place to move to when she had to give this place up.

She stood on the porch after the owner drove off. The home was on high ground. From the porch, she could see several mountain ridges in varying shades of blue-gray fading into the distance. Birmingham sat on the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain range, and it was quite beautiful. Just beyond some poplar and pine trees she could see a green pasture with horses grazing in the distance.

The house was set so far back from the highway she could just barely make out the sound of a car driving by.

Would she be safe here?

She couldn’t be sure. And then her thoughts returned to Rusty. Although, she hadn’t been in love with him, she had cared about him a great deal. He’d always been good to her. God, she prayed, please forgive him his sins. She hoped he was at peace. She’d prayed for his soul all the way from Atlanta. A tear slid down her cheek, and she brushed it away.

She turned and went back inside. She didn’t even have anything in the car to unpack. She’d left town with the clothes on her back and her purse and what little she’d had in her car. She didn’t even have her cell phone. Eric had made her leave it, telling her they might be able to track her down if she used it. He’d instructed her to buy a disposable phone when she got to town and load it with minutes. Thankfully she had the money he’d given her. It would have to make due until she found a job and got an income.

The only thing she had going for her was that the club didn’t know her last name. All they knew was that her name was Skylar. Eric planned to give them false information, if they ever came asking. A false last name and a false social security number, so if they ever did try to track her down, it would lead them nowhere.

Luckily the one thing she did have was her laptop. She’d left it in her shoulder bag with all the files from work she sometimes carried around with her. It had been in her car, thankfully. She pulled it out now. The owner had said there was cable and internet set up, and he’d given her the password.

Opening her laptop, the first thing she did was close her Facebook account. She had no idea how technical any of the guys in the Devil Kings MC were, but she wasn’t taking any chances.

Then she immediately stopped her mail. Thankfully, Eric had taught her to shred her mail daily, so she didn’t think there was anything incriminating to be found if the MC searched her apartment.

If they questioned the apartment manager, they’d only find that the apartment was rented in the name of Eric Ramsey. Another favor he’d done for her when she didn’t have the good credit to sign the lease. The electric was in his name, too. Although she paid all the bills.

Thank God for bad credit!

CHAPTER ONE

She rode back into his life when he least expected it…

Shades took a hit off his cigarette and looked up from the fire burning in the barrel in the backyard of the Evil Dead clubhouse. The Birmingham Chapter had just lost its VP and brothers were descending from all over the country for the funeral. Two bikes rode in through the back gate. Shades had to blink into the setting sun to be sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

Holy shit.

Skylar.

He hadn’t seen her in years, and now here she was, the love of his life, riding back into his life—on the back of a brother’s bike.

Fucking hell.

Earlier that day…

Skylar drove through downtown Birmingham. It had been years since she’d been back home. She got off on 20
th
Street and drove her little silver Miata through Five Points South. She had the top down, and the wind blew through her long dark hair. Stopping at the light, Skylar looked around her hometown. The place was the same, but the businesses had all changed. The fountain was still standing center stage on one corner—still attracting the hippie-homeless types. A couple of musicians were set up, playing—a guitar case taking tips. The restaurant on the corner with the outdoor courtyard had now become a microbrewery. The music hall where she’d snuck out to see her first concert was now a pool hall.

Following the directions she’d been given, she turned left onto a side street, and parked half a block down. Climbing out of her car, she pushed her sunglasses up on her head and looked up at the storefront window. Lily Pad was painted across in block letters. The trademark statue of a frog sat center-stage in the window. Smiling, she moved up onto the sidewalk and headed inside.

A bell tinkled over the door as she entered the shop. Skylar glanced around. Her best friend may have moved locations, but this place suited her. The floors were wood, the walls brick. Pottery, sculptures and assorted art pieces filled the place. Recessed lighting from the ceiling spotlighted different pieces haphazardly arranged on upturned wooden crates. Brightly colored scatter rugs lay throughout.

The smell of incense permeated the place. Skylar had to grin though, knowing what it probably was an attempt to cover up.

She strolled toward the back, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. She was half way to the back, when she spotted her. Her best friend all through high school, and the closest friend she’d ever had. So close, she felt more like a sister than a friend.

Although her back was to Skylar, she’d know the shape of her body anywhere—her thin shoulders and arms sticking out of the faded denim overalls she wore. A tube top, all she had on underneath. Her feet—as usual—were bare.

Her hair—now
that
was new. Her beautiful long golden brown hair now hung in long dreadlocks to her waist. The top of her head was covered in a blue bandana tied atop her head—the little triangle points falling in the back.

“Hey, girlfriend!” Skylar watched as she turned, her face lighting up with happiness.

“Skylar!” she yelled and launched into her arms, hugging her like an idiot. “You’re here!”

Skylar hugged her back tight. “Letty, it’s been so long. I’ve missed you.”

Letty pulled back and wacked her playfully on the arm. “Then why did you stay gone so long, dumbass?”

Both women burst out laughing.

“Who’s a dumbass?”

Skylar turned to see a big man standing in the doorway to the backroom.

Now the dreadlocks made sense.

The big muscled man had his own long dark dreads hanging to his waist. They were tied back in some semblance of a ponytail—as thick around as Skylar’s arm. His skin was a smooth mocha brown.

Letty turned to look over her shoulder at the man. “Relax, Ace. Come meet my best friend.”

He strolled over, if a large muscled man could stroll and extended his hand. “Ace Luther.”

Skylar studied him. He was bare-chested under his own pair of overalls. His eyes were a golden cat-eyed color. “Hi,” she said, shaking the man’s hand.

“Doesn’t he have the most beautiful eyes you’ve ever seen, Skylar?” her friend asked, starring deeply into the man’s eyes with adoration and possibly love, Skylar noted.

“They are nice,” Skylar admitted with a laugh.

Ace smiled, revealing even white teeth and nodded toward Letty. “Your friend’s a goof-ball, but I guess you already know that.”

Skylar laughed. “Sure do. It’s why I love her.”

Later that afternoon Letty and Skylar were talking near the cash register as Letty closed up. They’d planned to go out and have drinks and catch up on all that they’d missed in each other’s lives. Letty had just changed out of the overalls and into a pair of low riding jeans, biker boots and a halter top that left her belly bare. Both wrists held multiple strands of beaded bracelets, and there were more funky necklaces around her neck. The hippie-child look fit her, Skylar thought with a smile.

That wasn’t Skylar, though, never had been. Skylar always preferred something a little more subtle, a little more classic. Never wanting to fall into the cliché her upbringing made her feel destined for. Something she’d always fought against. Some things she’d never been able to control in her life, but her wardrobe was one thing she did have control over.

She, too, had low waist jeans, but instead of a halter top, she had a simple white racer-back tank that hugged her like a second skin. No biker boots for her, though, she wore a pair of black high-heeled sandals. Skylar always strived to have a bit of class to her look. Her jewelry showed it, too. The simple silver hoops in her ears and the matching silver cuff at her wrist.

The bell over the front door tinkled, and booted feet moved through the front of the shop. Skylar turned, as two more faces from her past walked in, Letty’s big brother, Crash and his best friend, Cole. Both were members of the Evil Dead MC, having joined up right after high school. They’d spent about five years with the Birmingham Chapter, before moving out to the West Coast where she’d heard they’d joined up with the San Jose Chapter.

They were both tall, broad shouldered good looking men, both wearing the black leather cuts bearing their colors. The patches they bore on their backs with pride, declaring to the world their membership in one of the baddest MCs around. Colors that struck fear into most.

“Crash!” she yelled, moving toward him for a hug.

He lifted her, squeezing her tight. “Damn, Skylar. Haven’t seen you in forever.”

“I know. It’s been too long.”

He released her, stepping back. “You look gorgeous as ever, squirt.”

She grinned up at him, and then looked back at Letty. “Same old Crash. Still calling me squirt.”

Cole stepped forward. “Remember me, Skylar?”

She turned from Letty, and her eyes sparkled. “Cole!” She flew into his arms next. “I can’t believe it. It’s been forever!”

He laughed, hugging her back. When he released her, he reached up and ruffled the top of her head. “You coming to the party tonight, little Sister?”

She looked back at Letty. “Umm, I don’t know. I thought we were going out for drinks.”

“She’s going,” Letty answered for her with a grin, then looked at Skylar. “What, there’ll be drinks there.”

“I thought we were going out.”

“We are. I just didn’t tell you where. Didn’t want to give you the chance to back out. I know how you are.”

Crash pulled Skylar by the hand, stealing her away from Cole. “No backing out. Come on, squirt, you’re on my bike. Sorry, Letty, but I’m not showin’ up at the club with my own sister riding bitch on the back of my bike.”

“Yeah, yeah. I remember your stupid rule about that.”

Cole grabbed Letty’s hand. “Come on, girl. You’re with me. I don’t mind you wrapping those long thighs around
me
,” he teased.

Twenty minutes later, they rolled up to the clubhouse of the Birmingham Chapter of the Evil Dead. It was buried back in the poor neighborhoods that bordered the old steel plant. Skylar held tight to Crash as they rolled up several side streets coming to a huge old two story clapboard house that sat, looming large, on a big corner lot. Skylar looked up at the building, remembering the times she’d been here with Letty that summer years ago.

Next to it sat an empty lot with overgrown grass. The two properties consumed the entire short block that ran between two side streets. The back of the clubhouse was surrounded by a six-foot privacy fence and backed up to an alley that faced a junkyard on the other side. Across the street was a burned out house, next to that an abandoned house. Obviously, the neighborhood was not primo real estate, and she figured the club liked it that way. The fewer people and neighbors to mess with them, the better, apparently.

The front yard was overgrown, the sides overrun with tall bamboo and kudzu vines. There was a waist-high chain link fence around the front yard and a rusty gate she doubted anyone ever used. The metal mailbox out on the street was painted black with Evil Dead MC in white stencil across it. Up on the front porch in a chair by the door sat a skeleton holding a scythe like some leftover Halloween decoration, except for the Evil Dead support tee shirt it wore.

The bikes turned the corner and circled around back to the alley, which led to the only entrance members used. There was a double wooden gate with the club name, Evil Dead painted, top-rocker style across it. One word on each portion of the swinging gates that, when closed, formed the name. Up on the back side of the house was painted a winged skeleton holding a scythe, looking down at the back of the property as if guarding it.

Crash and Cole rolled through the back gate and into the large gravel lot that took up over an acre. The sun was sinking low on the horizon, its bright setting light hitting at a sharp angle and turning everything a brilliant golden. A bonfire had been started in an old oil drum in the center. About a dozen members were gathered around it, more members at picnic tables or milling around. The place was packed, the wake being a mandatory turnout. In addition to club members, there was also a strong showing of support clubs. A line of bikes three deep were parked around the outer edge of the property, backed up to the wood fence. Cole and Crash rolled along the line and backed their bikes into a couple of open spots.

Skylar climbed off the back of Crash’s bike and handed him the helmet he’d lent her. Climbing off, the men stashed the helmets on the ground, under the bikes. Crash looped his arm around Skylar’s neck and led her toward the fire. Cole did the same with Letty, pulling her close.

Skylar stayed silent as they greeted several of their brothers, recognizing some faces from the old days. Others were new members they’d never met, but brothers just the same. Nervousness filled her. Her eyes darted around, searching. There was only one biker here that she feared running into. The one who had broken down all her walls, made her fall in love with him, and then ripped her heart out.