Tread: Biker Romance (Ronin MC Series Book 1) (8 page)

THE NEXT DAY WAS THE
brightest fucking day on the face of the earth. Coming out the old timey hotel that we used for a clubhouse, I felt like I was staring into the damn sun. Holding my palm out and in front of my face, I blocked the blinding light. I lit my morning cigarette, as always, and trotted over to the saloon to escape B.O.B.—Bright Orange Ball, the fucking morning asshole.

Inside, the saloon was dimly lit, and I was stumbling over shit as my eyes adjusted. I noticed the new girl from yesterday was behind the bar working the coffee. Taking a seat in my favorite chair at the bar, I asked politely, “Heyah . . . yen . . . cof . . . coffee . . . yea. Thanks, miss.”

“Have a little hang over?” she asked.

“Yup.”

“Here, I found some ibuprofen under the bar.”

She slipped me four pills that I popped into my mouth, washing them down with perfect, scalding hot coffee.

“Thanks, love. What do they call you ’round here.”

I expected to hear some stupid made up name: Lexi, Cherry, Sherry, Ivana, or some dumb shit.

“Grace.”

Nice, but was it fake?

She was nervous. I could tell by the way she retreated back to the coffee maker and held her back to me like I was going turn her to stone with my gaze. Not the usual Soiled Dove I’d gotten used to. I wasn’t attracted to that past the second I got off.

This girl took herself too damned seriously. A waste, if you ask me. I wasn’t tryin’ to live that life, at least when we weren’t talking about war and brothers.

“Mac,” I whispered, flashing back to the conversation last night as I searched the room for him. Alt was off by the pool table watching news and eating pancakes. Other than that, the room was empty.

“Is Veesa back there, Grace?” I threw the name out with a slight amount of discontent. This chick wouldn’t do, even though I liked the taste of her name on my lips. She reminding me of a scared little mouse I wanted to stomp.

“Yeah, do you need something?”

Even the G at the end of somethin’ was pissin’ me off.

“Yes, please. I would love for you to ask Veesa to make me the breakfast scramble, if it isn’t too much trouble.”

I pulled my hand back on its wrist and flung out my pinkie, mocking her uppitiness, plastering my prettiest fuck-you smile on my face.

“Okay.”

She seemed perplexed. There was no way she didn’t realize she enunciated every fucking syllable. Curling my hand around my coffee, I took a look over my shoulder at Alt.

“Mornin’, brother. How’s the cakes?”

He couldn’t respond with his mouth that full, instead lifting his coffee over his head and moaning something through his food before returning his attention back to the news. If you could call that news. I don’t know why, but Alt had always had a thing for “Good Morning America” like he needed to know the weather in Seattle or some shit.

“So what were you lookin’ for in my garage?” I turned my attention back to the object of my aggression. My temperature was rising, probably over halfway due to the hangover, but this chick wasn’t helping. “You got some kind of porn fetish?” I tossed out just to see her feathers ruffle.

“
No
. Marley told me to go in there and look for a chart.”

“Ooooh, Marley told you, did she? What did you need the part chart for?”

“To see why you guys are charging me five thousand dollars to fix my stupid car.”

She was getting frustrated, and I loved it. I wanted to poke and prod until she flipped. It had been awhile since I’d gotten to do the passive aggressive thing.

“Five thousand bones, huh? You got that much?”

“No, I don’t.” She blushed. No, no, Grace. I need you peeved. Not shamed, honey.

“So how you gonna pay for it? You turnin’ tricks around here, Grace? What’s your angle?”

Leaning back, I eyed her for the first time now that my eyes fully adjusted to the light. Behind my bar was a plain-Jane, spring chicken. She must have been eighteen? Nineteen? She didn’t wear makeup, which was about the only perk, but she dressed like a 1960s librarian. Read: Not the hot kind.

“Tips? I’m helping Kit with the bar.”

“HA!” I slammed an open palm on the bar top, making her jump. “Doll face, you’re not gonna get shit for tips dressed like that.”

I purposefully eyed her up and down. She wore a plain, white button up shirt. Not form fitting at all. And what was this? Baggy khaki pants? The fuck? Then it hit me, the thing that could go fuck itself the most about what she was wearing.

Fucking flats.

“Wow, did you start dressing like that after graduating from the University of the Dewey Decimal System?” I stroked the beard at my chin as I pondered.

“What are you talking about?” She put her little hands on her hips, finally giving shape to the tent she probably called a shirt.

I dropped my hand to the bar, my watch ringing out a sound that punched me straight between the eyes. “Doll, you look like you just got your doctorate in librarian studies and they shoved the diploma up your ass. Is it comfortable?”

“My clothes? Yeah, I guess so.”

“No. The diploma.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. This girl had no clue. What was she even doing here? She was going to get fried if she stuck around. Literally, her pale skin would sear in the New Mexico sun. I checked her out for the third time as she was bringing me my food.

She did have a figure on her, though. Her hips swayed from side to side as she walked, the tent catching on her ass. The bounce in her step was so prim, so proper. It wasn’t lazy and bow legged like all the dirty bitches I’d been with in this town.

I didn’t know what to make of it. As I ate Veesa’s badass breakfast, I kept eyeing the lamb chop in front of me. Back and forth behind the bar, she poured cups for my brother’s coming up in droves. I wouldn’t let her catch me watching her. I knew I made her feel uncomfortable and didn’t want her burning anyone.

Who the hell was she? She wasn’t from around here, that was for fucking sure.

After I finished, I grabbed my coffee cup. I was about to steal the TV from Alt.

Oh yeah, I had to tip. I gave her a lot of shit, and she hadn’t broken. I slipped a twenty under my plate, then reconsidered. Pulling the twenty back, I left a ten instead. I chuckled on the way to the TV. I’d meant what I said. She wasn’t going to get a single fucking tip dressed like that. I’d better not get the girl’s hopes up.

“Move over, fucker. Your show’s over. Time for some Looney Tunes.”

I nudged Alt as I sat too close to him. He pushed me away, so I hopped up on his lap.

“Come on, bro, snuggle huddle.”

“Fuck off, ya weirdo.”

I moved over and lit a cigarette. Tom and Jerry lit the screen and I relaxed, letting the greasy food cure me of my woes.

About the time the Jetsons came on, a light burst into the saloon, causing a kneejerk reaction that got me to my feet and facing the door. A tall figure barged in, long hair, tight pants. It was a lady for sure. The figure slammed the door and as my eyes adjusted, I came to realize who had barged in.

“What the fuck, Tatum? You know you got vets in here, right?” I scowled.

“It’s Kit,” was all she said as she stormed in my direction. “I need you to go over there and check on her.”

“What do you mean? Benny and Kale are on babysittin’ duty,” I explained, then called over my shoulder, “It was Benny and Kale, right, Alt?”

“Dunno,” Alt replied nonchalantly, apparently chalking this up to women craziness and went back to the Jetsons.

“No.” Tatum grabbed ahold of my arm and pulled me close to whisper in my ear, “Her fuckin’ car is gone. Benny and Kale weren’t there when I went to pick her up. No one was.”

“Who slammed my g’damned door! I swear someone’s about to get a broken neck.”

A grumpy Harvey stomped down the stairs. He was clearly hung over, keeping his shades down indoors. I turned to Harvey then back to Tatum. She was staring a hole through my head like she wanted me to do something. Oooh, that was what she wanted me to do.

“Mornin’, boss man. Everything’s good. Klutz here lost her grip on the door and it slammed the wall.”

“All right, all right.” He waved us off. “But next time, doll face!” He jokingly shook his fist and smiled slightly. “Veesa! Gimme the scramble, pretty please!”

“You got it, Harvey.”

“And good morning, new Dove. I heard you had a little run-in between a Hyundai and a custard stand. Musta been rough?”

I could see Grace from where I stood, see the whites in her eyes as they bulged. I knew I better intervene.

“Hey Harvey, new girl can’t pay the tab on the Hyundai. Hell, the repairs alone are worth more than the car. Cracked block.”

“Well, what are we gonna do? We can’t just make her walk to . . . Where are you headed again, doll?”

Tatum squeezed my arm.

“Hey, Harvey, I’m goin’ out for some . . . fish . . . tacos? Do you want any?”

Harvey spun on the stool to look at me.

“Fish tacos at ten in the damn mornin’? In New freakin’ Mexico?”

Shit.

“Yeah, Prez.” I smiled. “When the craving hits you, it hits you.”

He turned back to the bar and my arm was squeezed again.

“Smooth,” Tatum mumbled under her breath.

“Sorry, long night.”

I strolled out the front door with Tatum not too far behind me.

“Call me and let me know as soon as you get there.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Don’t you ‘mom’ me, boy!”

I hopped in my ‘69 Corvette that I hadn’t driven in a good while and roared out of town.

On the road, my mind wondered what had Tatum all worried. The club didn’t have hard feelings with anyone right now, so it couldn’t be a kidnapping. Where were fucking Benny and Kale? They had better be dead if they weren’t physically with Kit when I found her. Those drunken fucktards were batting a thousand for fuck ups lately.

I made the turn down Kit’s row. It was a small neighborhood with plenty room between houses. If suburbs didn’t make me sick, I wouldn’t mind living out here. It was upscale but not yuppie-scale. Kit’s place was in the back corner.

I pulled into her driveway, only seeing one bike, and it didn’t belong to Benny or Kale. Heads were going to roll back at the clubhouse. Kit’s truck wasn’t there and the door hung wide open. I killed the motor and coasted the rest of the way up the drive. I stopped the car and popped out as quiet as I could. Drawing my gun, the barrel trained on the open door, I stole peeks into the windows but all was dark inside. I rotated around the doorway bit by bit, trying to see the intruder without entering the front door. Nothing.

Pressing onward, I used my non-shooting hand to push the door slightly. Stepping in, I swiveled around the doorway to the right as smooth and fast as I could. The dining room was clear, so I made my way into the kitchen, trying to systematically clear the house in a counterclockwise pattern.

Kitchen was clear. As I looked around the wall of the kitchen, I acquired a target. He was sitting on the couch with his hat on backwards. I edged a little closer. It was Royal. Come to think of it, I should have just looked closer at the damn bike outside. I eased behind him and saw he held a piece of paper.

“Hey, bro, what’re you doin’ here alone?”

Dude didn’t even jump. I walked around the side to see Royal had a serious expression, coupled with a blank stare.

“You all right?”

“She’s gone,” he finally replied.

“Who, Kit? Where did she go? What does the note say?”

“She got a job. Packed her shit and split.”

“Where are Benny and Kale?”

“Dunno.”

“Those fuckin’ guys, man. What’s the damn note say, already?”

“She got a goddamned job, just like I said.”

“So she had this planned? How come Harvey didn’t say anything?”

“I don’t think he knows, bro.”

“Oh, man, he’s gonna kill the ’spects. We gotta get back to the clubhouse. What are we gonna tell Harvey?”

“The truth. Let’s go.”

Royal followed me through the kitchen. I turned when I heard him open a drawer. He pulled out a key and continued on. We left the house and Royal locked up. I let him peel off in front of me and wondered how this was all going to go down.

We arrived at the rear of the saloon and saw Tatum smoking a cigarette. She lunged for me before I stopped rolling, but I cut her off before she could open her mouth.

“Where’s Harvey, Tatum?” I asked.

“Clubhouse.”

I spun the ’Vette around and pulled into my clubhouse parking spot. Royal pulled up next to me.

I HUMMED A SONG THAT
was stuck in my head since the day before as I straightened the coffee mugs and wiped the bar as I tried to stay invisible. Something was going on. Everyone was piling out as soon as Harvey showed up. It was none of my business, but I had a feeling Kit was involved, and since I slept in her bed last night, I was pretty sure I was going to be pulled into it sooner or later.

The front door slammed open, making me jump. My already sore muscles protested and I rolled a shoulder stiffly. Tatum stomped to the bar and threw down her purse. “Give me some coffee,” she grumbled.

I stared at her until she looked up from her phone and raised her eyebrow. I put a hand on my hip. “I don’t know how Kit ran this thing, but you’re gonna have to give me a little more than an order if you want service.”

Tatum let out a surprised laugh then studied me up and down. “Well, well. Looks like you got up on the feisty side of the bed this mornin’. Whose bed was that again?”

I was learning not to underestimate any of these women. They were all far from stupid, and just as hardened as the men. If I didn’t want to be a doormat, I had to start out strong. At least, that’s what Kit’s text message this morning said to do. I tried not to choke as I swallowed. “Kit said I could take her room upstairs.”

“And her job, from the looks of it. She tell you where she went?”

I looked down and shrugged, wiping the clean counter again. Tatum brought her arm down, the bangles on her arm clanging loudly in the empty room. “Spill it. Right now, Grace,” she ordered.

“She didn’t tell you?” I was trying to stall.

“Nah.” Her face hardened, and her chocolate eyes lowered to a glare. “And I’ve known that girl since I was born. Fuckin’ diapers and shit. Now you better spill it all before you have a whole biker club in here ready to split you open for the information.”

I swallowed again, though my mouth seemed to have suddenly gone as dry as the desert outside. “She said she had a job opening and I could work here until I had enough for a new car. She gave me the keys.” I dug them out of my pocket as proof. “That’s all I know, I swear.”

Tatum ran her hand through her hair, only getting halfway through since the thick mass was up in a messy bun. “Was she pissed off? Upset or something?”

“Not mad.” I shook my head and took a breath. “More resigned, kind of sad, I guess.”

“Did anything else happen that I should know about?”

I shifted from one foot to the other, licking my lips as I looked around the room.

“Grace.” I jumped a mile high then spun around.
Shoot
. Veesa knew my name. She was staring down her nose at me, commanding my soul to spill all over the floor or she would do it for me. My eyes traveled to her hands on her hips. Was that a knife? Oh, holy God.

“Kit asked me to count the deposit while she took the trash out, but she didn’t come back. I went to the kitchen to make sure she was okay. She was making out with Royal. He left and she told me I could have the job. That’s all I know, I swear.”
Please don’t kill me.

Veesa yelled, throwing her arms up. I tracked the movement and scrambled back. Not a knife, but a lethal looking spatula, the stainless steel glinting in the morning light. She turned and pushed the swinging door to the kitchen so hard it echoed, yelling in Spanish the whole time.

“Jesus fucking Christ!”

I spun to make sure Tatum couldn’t get me either, backing into the rows of bottles on the wall. My nerves were going to be shot before lunch.

“You’re fucking kidding me. Royal? You’re sure?” she demanded, leaning over the counter towards me.

I nodded. “Long blond hair, blue eyes? That’s Royal, right?”

“The VP? And she left right after? Oh, we’re all screwed. All of us. Oh my God, I gotta call Marley.” She grabbed her phone, muttering more “Oh my Gods.”

Not knowing what else to do, I made a cup of coffee for her and set it down gently with shaking fingers as she ranted.

Marley came in minutes later, looking wild. “What’s going on?”

Tatum threw her arms up. “Kit took off! Hooked up with Royal and left.”

Marley’s eyes grew wider than they were before. “She fucked him?”

Tatum swung to me and now I had both of them bearing down on me. “No. No . . . sex.”

Marley’s mouth tightened. “How do you know?”

“Well, her shirt was up.” I gestured to my neck. “But both of their pants were on. I may be sheltered, but I know that’s not how it’s done.”

Marley took a seat and seemed to deflate. “All right. All right.” She dug in her purse, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. “So she finally does it and chickens out. It’ll be okay. They’ll get her back.”

I looked from one woman to the other. “I don’t think she wants to come back. She tried to talk to her dad, then him. She said I could have anything in her room.”

Tatum pinned me with her angry eyes. “No one leaves, Grace. We all know that. We’re a goddamned family.” She blinked rapidly and I suddenly realized how hurt they must be that she hadn’t told them.

“I’m sorry. I hope I didn’t do anything—”

“No.” Marley exhaled a cloud of smoke and waved her hand. “The kiss was more of a catalyst than anything.”

I sighed, my shoulders sinking in relief.

“What’s wrong with your dog?” Tatum asked, looking at the floor beside me. My Bella was scratching her side so hard she fell over.

“Oh my gosh!” I sank to the ground, lifting her face to see it was red and swollen behind her white fur. Sighing, I grabbed her leash. “You just had to have the bacon again, didn’t you? You were lucky you didn’t break out yesterday.” I shook my head and pulled her behind me to go upstairs.

“She allergic or somethin’?” Marley asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, among other things. I need to get her pills.” I turned to them. “Is it okay to leave for a minute? She needs Benadryl.”

They waved me away and I pulled an itchy dog up the stairs.

“Hey, Grace.” I turned at the top to see Marley leaning back to see me over the balcony. “Change into some workout gear. We gotta get to the gym.”

I stifled a groan. My body couldn’t take another class, let alone all of them. I was barely managing to walk upright, instead of hobbling like a geriatric. I would have given my life for a bath.

I unlocked the door and situated Bella on a folded comforter in my open suitcase, knowing she’d pass out soon. I’d have to leave her there. I made sure she had food and water close by while she gobbled her pill pocket treat, knowing I’d have to keep a better eye on her, or fork over most of my meager savings for a vet bill. Reluctantly, I turned to the room, remembering I had nothing that could pass as workout clothes of my own. Yesterday’s outfit was stiff with dry sweat. Kit’s room was filled with perfume bottles and bandanas. Hair bands were everywhere. When I opened the doors to the closet, it was an explosion of black and pink. The hangers showed that nothing had sleeves. I guessed they really didn’t need them here.

Towards the back, there were some jackets, all leather. I sighed, pulled a black tank top from a hanger then searched through the dresser in the corner for pants.

Once I had changed, I studied myself in the circle mirror above the perfume bottles. I’d never worn anything that revealed so much skin. At least the tank top was loose. But the leggings? I turned to look at my butt and groaned. Putting my hair in a ponytail, I left before I chickened out and hid under the bed instead.

When I locked the door, Bella’s snores were muffled considerably, but the voices from below came into focus. It sounded like the guys were back.