Tread: Biker Romance (Ronin MC Series Book 1) (9 page)

“WHAT THE HELL DO YOU
mean she’s gone?!” Harvey shouted as he slammed his fist down on the table. “Where the hell is my little girl?! If one of ya’ll are hiding info from me, I’m gonna fuckin’ kill you.” Harvey slowed down at the end for emphasis.

“Prez, she’s gone. She left this letter. We didn’t see Benny or Kale’s bikes, there was no forced entry, and she got a job.” I spilled all I knew, but it still seemed to only fan the flames.

“Any chance the cartels had anything to do with this? The Ruskies? Come on people, we’re better than this! What are we running here? Amateur hour?!”

“I’ll find her, stay with her if I have to, and bring her ass home,” Royal offered, but I doubted that Harvey would go for it with their history.

“No, I need my VP local.”

Called it.

“No worries, Prez. We’ll get a patch on it ASAP. I’m gonna call my Uncle Chuck. He’s still running that shop in Albuquerque. He’ll try to get a lead,” Alt offered up a real solution, one Harvey would have to be satisfied with.

“What about that new Dove? What the hell is her name? Faith? I saw them talking last night.”

Royal stared a hole through the table in about five seconds flat then shot up and stormed towards the door.

“Fuckin’ adjourned.” Harvey slammed his mallet and stormed after Royal.

Everyone followed suit and I couldn’t help but choke back a knot in my throat. That soft, church girl was about to get a rude ass awakening, and I was unsure if I wanted to be witness to it.

Following my brothers barging into the saloon, I took a nice, dark spot against the wall, crossing my arms, strangely wishing I could curl them around Grace to keep her safe from the coming storm. Oddly enough, just yesterday I wanted to belittle the shit out of the girl for being so sheltered and stuck up, not to mention this morning. Guess my ex was right, my emotions were as predictable as roulette.

“Hey! You there! What the hell is your name?” Harvey’s voice rumbled deep and low, and he slammed a barstool for extra effect.

“Grace.” The girl stood her ground. That or she was frozen to it at the bottom of the stairs. And what the hell was she wearing? Her eyes portrayed the fear she was succumbing to in the shadow of the formidable man. This was the point where I should have intervened. If it were not for the Prez getting answers about Kit, I would have.

“Where the fuck is my daughter,
Grace!
Where is my Kit!?”

“I don’t know exactly where, sir! She said I could have this job and sleep in her room until my car is fixed.”

“
Sir?!
Do I look like some white-collar prick wielding a briefcase and a fucking stick up my ass?! Do you know who the hell I am?!” Harvey was bowing up. Poor girl obviously didn’t know the military lifestyle. No one but a
sir
wanted to be called sir.

“I am the fucking boss around here and when I ask you a question you better goddamned answer it!” Harvey shot out another volley of intimidation. He was getting close to the limit. Everyone shifted where they stood. We’d need to intervene soon if Grace didn’t come up with a better answer.

“I swear I don’t know! She said she was using her degree. A nurse, I think?”

“Holy shit, Dove, if I find out you’re lying, you’re done. Tread, where’s this girl’s car at?”

I cleared my throat, unable to take my gaze off the fear in Grace’s eyes.

“I junked it, Prez. Cost more to fix than that P.O.S was worth.”

“Great goin’, Tread. Now we have another hang around, She’s your fuckin’ problem until I get my girl back.”

“Wait,” I immediately protested, clenching my jaw to stop the rest. I was not a fucking nanny. “I work for a livin’ too, Prez.”

Harvey’s eyes glared, his cheeks turning red. A phone went off behind me, pulling his attention away from me. “No, wait. Check that. TATUM!”

“Yes, Prez?” Tatum’s voice was purposefully innocent, as if to protect her from his wrath.

“You gals were babysitting this little girl since she got into town, right? Took her under your wing, is that right?”

Tatum seemed shocked. She hadn’t expected Harvey to know that detail. I didn’t know where he got it, either. Harvey was a hawk when it came to small details like that. Finally, Tatum nodded her head in affirmation.

“Good, after duty hours she’s y’alls responsibility. You’re her new roommate. Move into Kit’s room or have her move into yours.” Harvey became quiet and sat down on a barstool. “I don’t give a fuck how the three of you do it,” he finally continued, pointing at Tatum, Marley, and I at opposite sides of the saloon, “but you are responsible for keepin’ this girl until Kit is home where she belongs. Then I want her the fuck out of my town.”

“Yes, Prez,” we responded in unison.

“Good.” He turned to Grace and threw on a half-baked smile. “Grace, lass, hand me that bottle of Jim Beam, please.”

Grace froze, still terrified. She eventually backed towards the bar, grabbed the bottle, not daring to take her eyes off Harvey. She handed it to him with a glass and backed away swiftly. It was unfortunate that Grace got caught up like that. Harvey really wasn’t a bad guy. He just didn’t mess around when it came to family.

While Harvey was planning to ride out with Alt to kick some prospect ass, I had to open the shop and get to work. As I was walking out of the saloon, Harvey looked up at me.

“You forgettin’ something? Bar doesn’t open till 1600,” he said as he nodded towards Grace, who was cleaning out the coffee maker behind the bar.

“Madame Grace, your escort awaits,” I said with a bow and a grimace.

Grace tossed down her rag and walked from around the bar. I headed out of the saloon with her in tow, passing a snickering Marley and Tatum as I left.

In the shop, I opened up the bay doors with a loud rattle and hit the lights.

“So, what do you need me to do?” Grace asked.

“Nothin’ and don’t touch anything, either.”

I was trying to get into the zone—my mechanic zone—and I was not interested in playing a game of twenty questions while I figured out what job to tackle first. I grabbed the vehicle inventory and traced my finger down to the car that had been there the longest. It was a crappy Caprice that was owned by the nice old lady that ran the gas station in town. It needed a Freon recharge, new alternator, and she wanted me to figure out what was causing her valves to chatter.

“So are you sure there isn’t anything for me to do?” she asked again.

Ugh. “Nope, thanks. I got this. Just sit on that couch over there and don’t touch anything.”

“That couch? But . . .” she trailed off and I sighed, trying to keep my eyes on the damn list, and not her suddenly revealed rack in that new top. “Where’s the bathroom?” she persisted.

“It’s in the front office. It should be unlocked.”

“Okay. Did you want me to make some coffee in there?” She came closer, and I shifted to keep her out of my peripheral vision.

She had to be trying to annoy me now. Although, coffee did sound great.

“Yeah, sure. Thanks. Coffee is in the cupboard. Wanna be a doll and grab me an oatmeal creme pie while you’re in there?”

“Aren’t you a little old to be eating oatmeal pies?”

“Nope.”

“Okay, sure. I’ll grab you one if I find them.”

Finally, a reprieve from the awkwardness of having to babysit in my garage. I gathered the tools I would need and the Freon charger and got to work.

The peace didn’t last long, maybe ten minutes. Grace came in with a cup and a pie. That earned her a lot of cred with me, since I knew they were in the back of the cupboard behind a ton of shit. She could be my new favorite girl if she kept bringing me sweets.

“So what’s going on with that old red car out there?” Grace asked as she offered me my delicious, sugary snack.

“Red? Whichun?” I asked with my mouth full.

Grace pointed a finger, and her tits shifted, drawing me in like a red flag to a bull. “That one on the side with all the dust.”

“That’s not just a red car. It’s a ‘74 Z-28 Camaro. Got dropped off here after the owner blew it up.”

“That’s a shame. I always dreamed of driving something cooler, but I imagine buying a new engine would be just as costly as the Hyundai.”

She was a Chevy girl, living an unfortunate, imported life. Another perk. Speaking of perks, when I looked up at her, probably with cream all over my face, I noticed again that her breasts were freaking perfect. I was a total ass man myself, but something about seeing her all dowdy before, then in this getup was getting to me. The way they were restrained by the white bra that could be seen through a thin cotton shirt. This was the most skin I’d seen her show, and I realized she must have changed to go to the gym.

“It could be done on the cheap, if you know the right people.”

“How do I meet these ‘right people?’ ” She asked with an awkward wink. I almost laughed out loud, and wanted to turn behind me to see who she was flirting with. Who was this girl? Was she coming on to me? I thought she was a churchy, no-fun-till-marriage type.

“
I’m
the right people.” I winked back.

What the hell was I thinking? That sounded like a lame segue way into a cheap porn scene—cue images of her bending over this hood. My daydream was interrupted by shuffling feet and a beet red face. I tried to blow it off.

“Hey, I’m just messing with you. I know a guy who does engines and I got a decent condition LS2 out in the junkyard. Got it from a shot up Pontiac G8. Are you interested?” She practically glowed and I wanted to jump on that like a damn trampoline.

“I am so interested. I just need to plant some money seeds and wait for them to grow.” She laughed. At her own joke. She laughed
and
snorted. Suddenly, the sexy vixen I was just imagining turned back into a sheltered, dorky, yet very attractive, girl. One who had to stay in town, until of course, she had to get out of town.”

“Maybe we could work out an arrangement,” I said slowly as the thought crossed my mind.

As I set the coffee down, she stepped closer to me and I helped close the rest of the distance until we were in arm’s length of each other.

“Really? What did you have in mind?” I mean, come on. Could I have asked for a bigger opening? She looked so eager, it was almost too easy.

“I don’t know. I mean, building a motor is pretty time intensive and expensive,” I began.

Her brow wrinkled as her excitement faded, leaving her incredulous. “What could I possibly have that you would want, Tread? Don’t forget, I saw you on that couch last night.”

She pointed, but my gaze did not waver, suddenly lost in her pale blue eyes. “What do you have to give that I could possibly want, Gracie?”

She looked down as she bit her lip. I clenched my fists to keep from lifting her chin. What would her skin feel like? My eyes roamed her face, learning the curve of her jaw and noticing that her ears weren’t even pierced. Finally, she gave me those eyes again and I swallowed thickly. They were apprehensive but sparkling.

“The only thing I have is me, my dog, and about five hundred dollars. Would you be interested in that?” She shuddered out a breath and I forced air into my lungs. How did we go from zero to a billion in a five minute conversation? I took too long to answer and she backed away. “Never mind, that was stupid. I don’t know—”

I grabbed her arm and pulled her back, closer this time, so that her black tank top rubbed against my overalls. “Wait a minute. I was just trying to work it out in my head. Something fair.” I cleared my throat and tried to decide how to play this. “Let’s kiss to start. Is that too much?”

She looked at me like I was crazy. Shit. “Too much? Why would a kiss be too much when I saw you . . . A kiss is nothing to you.”

“Have you ever been kissed, Grace?” If she had, it would have shocked the hell out of me. She shook her head, confirming my assumption. “I didn’t think so. Your first kiss is a big deal. You’ll never forget it.”

She licked her lips, drawing my eyes to her mouth, and I suddenly couldn’t look away. They were plump, the top almost fuller than the bottom. She was not wearing any makeup, so I knew the shininess was from her tongue and not the sticky shit girls liked to wear. Damn, my coveralls were about to turn into a tent.