Her Hot Ride: A gripping and sexy biker mc romantic suspense novel Page 7

“She regrets it now.” I focused on the letter again, meticulous as I folded it and stuffed it back into the envelope. “It’s obvious in her later letters. If you’d just read those—”

  “Fuck the letters,” he hissed, grabbing the stack from me. I flinched as the words flew angrily from his mouth. “They don’t mean shit to me.”

  My face heated in shame. Archer was right. My mom had made a huge mistake. But I wasn’t going to disown her because she’d gotten scared.

  “Nobody in the club trusts you anymore,” he mumbled this time, staring out the window of the diner.

  “I know.” I sighed in resolve. “But I also don’t care.”

  Archer dropped his face into his hands. “Have you always been this—”

  “Stupid?” I finished for him, chin high.

  “I was gonna say stubborn, but you said it first.” He shrugged, letting his hands fall away.

  “Insult me all you want, Archer, but it’s not going to change my mind. She’s my mom. And since you only get one of them in your life, I’ll do everything I can to protect mine.”

  He jerked his head up at that, staring at me as if I’d just told him pigs could fly and there was currently one above my head. For a long time he did so, to the point where something rolled through that green gaze of his that I couldn’t fully comprehend. He almost looked… sad. Pained.

  It didn’t last long though.

  He stood and reached for something inside his cut, only to pull out a small stack of bills. He tossed the money onto the table then picked up my envelope of cash and shoved it into his cut, replacing what he’d just taken out.

  “Did you ever stop and ask yourself why the fuck your ma didn’t trust us enough to keep you two safe?”

  “All the time actually,” I whispered, turning my head away as I gathered my bags.

  “She played you like she played us all. You’re just too blinded by her to see it.” He shook his head, continuing, “She chose to go with Pops instead of choosing to be with you, the one fucking person who was supposed to matter the most in her life.”

  I winced. It was true, yes, but I couldn’t control my mom’s thoughts or feelings. And according to her letters, like I’d just told him, she’d run scared. I loved her enough to believe that she’d run to keep me safe. Archer, obviously, didn’t see it that way.

  “You realize Pops won’t let this happen, right? That he’ll either kill her, or you, before ever letting her go?”

  I swallowed hard, meeting his eyes again. “The thought has crossed my mind, yes.”

  He squinted, and a different piece of his hair fell forward, caressing his sharp cheekbone once more. “You got a death wish then. That what this is about?”

  “No, of course not. But I have to try and do something. I can’t keep sitting around and waiting.”

  He shook his head. “So damn stupid.”

  I shrugged, not denying it. “Are you going to turn me in, then?”

  Archer studied me from above, the wheels turning in his head—the fight there between what he should and shouldn’t do. My question was, why was he hesitating at all?

  “Where are they?” he asked.

  “Who, my mom and Pops?”

  A nod.

  “Somewhere south.” That’s all I’d give him.

  He rubbed his jaw, nodded, then grabbed my elbow, guiding me out of the diner. Because I wasn’t in a position to argue, I let him.

  “When did you get the last letter?” he asked as we stepped outside.

  I licked my lips, hesitating before I said, “Last night.”

  He swung me around, backing me up against the brick wall. “What do you mean, last night?”

  I took a deep breath, inhaling through my nose. “When I got back from the club, there was a man on my porch. He, um, gave me the letter.”

  “What fucking man?” He seethed. “Someone from the club? A traitor?” His eyes crinkled with anger. Up close like this, I could see several scars along his temples, by his eyes most of all. They were places where he’d probably needed stitches at one point in time but had never bothered to get them.

  “No. I didn’t recognize him.”

  He let go of my shoulders, taking a step back, pacing the sidewalk, muttering, “Fuck, fuck, fuck,” under his breath. “You didn’t get a single look? Hair color, eye color, dark skin, light skin…?”

  “No. I’m sorry. It was dark out and he just… he gave me the letter. I couldn’t see his face because he wore a hat that shadowed him. But he wore a hoodie. Blue, I think.”

  Not looking at me, Archer continued to speak—growl, really. “How did he get in?”

  “I don’t know. I just… I read the letter, and the next thing I knew he was gone, and then the car was exploding outside the gate.”

  “You know what that means, right?” He stopped in front of me, teeth bared.

  I shook my head slowly, fear in my chest making it hard to breathe.

  “It means the club’s been compromised. It’s un-fucking-protected if anyone can get in like that.” He shook his head. “Or worse, we’ve got a damn rat behind our gates. Someone working for Pops.”

  “He wasn’t from the club, though. I didn’t recognize him.”

  “But you just said you couldn’t see him.” Archer stopped in front of me, wild eyes searching my face.

  “Well, not really. I just… He looked young. I know that. A white guy. But his hair was hidden by a hat like I said, and it was too dark to see his eyes, but he was really tall and super thin.”

  Archer pulled out his phone, typed something, waited, then typed something again before sticking his phone back into his pocket a moment later. Instead of making a move to grab me or walk away, he continued to stand there and stare at me, merciless eyes filled with hatred capturing me. I didn’t know what he wanted, what he wanted to do with me either. And because of that, I’d never been more terrified in my life.

  Slowly, he crept even closer, trapping me against the wall with his hands along either side of my head. His nostrils flared and a vein jumped in his temple.

  “You are so fucking lucky I need something from you,” he continued. “Otherwise we’d already be on the back of my bike, headed home, your ass chained up and awaiting punishment right now.”

  I folded my arms to keep them from shaking, inhaling the scent of cigar smoke on his skin. If he wanted me intimidated, then color me just that.

  Archer was a lot more than just the playful, playboy drunk of the club. He was a monster buried beneath a frisky demeanor. A secret weapon, really. Possibly the scariest weapon of all. Maybe that’s why he was second in command. The “VP” was the title I’d often heard my brother throw around.

  Archer reached behind his back and pulled something out. Cold metal met my belly, and when I looked down to see what it was, I gasped, pulling away just a second too late.

  “What’re you doing?”

  “What does it look like I’m doing?”

  He’d handcuffed my wrist.

  “This isn’t necessary. I’m not going to run. You took my money. I don’t have a car either.”

  “But you got two working feet and a bangin’ body. You could get a ride from some lonely idiot in a heartbeat.”

  Ignoring his “bangin’ body” remark, I looked left, then right, then down at the metal cuffs again. “I’m not going to run. I swear. This is totally unnecessary.”

  “Trust is a hard thing for me to give, JP. And you’ve fucked it up before I even gave it over, which is why this has to happen.”

  “I’m not sorry and I won’t apologize. And if you think handcuffs are going to make this situation easier, then you’re sadly mistaken.”

  He tugged on the cuffs, not too hard but enough to pull at the skin beneath my wrist. Seconds later, he clipped the other cuff to his wrist, smirking at the view as if the sight excited him.

  “You want to see your ma again? Fine. But we’re gonna do this my way, not yours.”

  I blinked, waiting a
second, thinking this was some cruel joke. “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “What’s in this for you, huh?” I settled my free hand on my hip, not trusting him.

  “When you get me to where you ma is, I’m gonna use you as bait to draw Pops out.” He pulled me behind him, stopping next to his bike.

  He uncuffed himself then quickly attached the free cuff to the side of the bike.

  “Y-you’re not going to turn me in?”

  “Nope. Now, get your ass on the bike.” He patted the seat.

  I shook my head, confused. Dumbfounded even. Just a minute ago, he was calling me stupid, telling me I was making a mistake, that I wouldn’t be getting away with this. Yet here he was agreeing to take me there; to the one place he told me I shouldn’t go.

  “Why would you do this alone?”

  “Got my reasons,” he said with a curled lip, nodding me onto the bike with his chin. “Now, you gonna get on or do I have to pick you up again and put you there?”

  I blinked at the cuffs. “I can’t be cuffed to this bike. What if we get in an accident?”

  “We won’t.”

  “How do you know?”

  “Because I’m the best rider you’ll ever know, JP. That’s why.”

  “I don’t trust you.” I scowled, wishing I had the power to read his mind.

  He smirked at me, patted his seat. “Good. Because I don’t trust you either.”

  Seven

  Archer

  The sun was beginning to set when I felt Emily start squirming behind me. She didn’t tap my shoulder or ask me to pull over, but I could tell the woman had to piss by the way her thighs kept squeezing my ass. If I wasn’t so damn annoyed by it, I would have kept going.

  “Why are we stopping?” she asked after I pulled into a rest stop, parked, and shut off my engine. We were about three hours outside of Rockford now, road construction so damn bad it’d taken us forever just to get here.

  “You gotta piss.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  I lifted my leg off the bike, turned, and poked her in the gut.

  “What the hell?” she screeched, her thighs immediately drawing together.

  “See?” I smirked.

  “You’re such a freaking little boy,” she muttered, moving one leg off the bike, her arm outstretched from where it was still cuffed. “I don’t have to pee, I’m just really ticklish.”

  “Ticklish, you say?” I grinned, eying her up and down. “That’s good to know.”

  “I will punch you in the balls if you even think about tickling me.”

  “You sure do have an obsession with my nuts, don’t you, JP?” I walked around my bike and uncuffed Emily from it. Then I latched the free cuff to my wrist again, not willing to take any chances.

  “I do not have an obsession with any piece of you. At all.”

  “Not yet, anyways.” I winked. “Now, come on. Let’s use the pisser.”

  She groaned from behind as I tugged her to the rest-stop door. “For the millionth time, I don’t have to pee. My butt’s just sore from riding.”

  “You want me to rub it for ya?” I flexed my fingers, turning to face her as I shoved the door open with my ass.

  She rolled her eyes, but I saw her cheeks get pink before she looked away. “I’ll pass, thanks.”

  Inside the brick building, the first thing I smelled was gas, followed closely by the scent of bleach. As far as rest stops went the space was big, with high glass ceilings and walls covered in maps. With me still in front, I pulled her to a row of vending machines then tugged out some dollar bills. “What’ll it be, hm? I’d say chocolate, but you’re too amped up for that right now.”

  “Amped up?” I heard the frown in her words.

  I slid the money in and pressed a few numbers. “Yeah, I mean, I’m assuming you’re horny as fuck. Most women get that way on the back of my bike. And all that squirming you did…” I whistled low, scanning the junk in the machine. Normally I didn’t eat this shit. You didn’t get a body like mine by junking out on sugar all day. But desperate times called for desperate measures.

  “Um, no. I’m not that at all. Trust me.”

  I grinned at her from over my shoulder, waiting for the chips and cookies I’d picked to fall. “Sure.” I winked. “Keep telling yourself that.”

  She covered her face with her free hand and groaned. “Oh my God, you are so… weird.”

  I grinned, her words only egging me on. “Just so you know, sexual awakening is common when spending time with me.”

  “Would you just shut up already?” she hissed.

  “No need to be embarrassed. It’s a natural thing.”

  “You’re disgusting.”

  I tugged the food out, tossing it on a bench beside the machine. I grabbed some waters next. When I turned around to hand her one, I said, “Beg to differ there, baby. I’m the most non-disgusting thing to ever grace the earth.”

  Emily dropped her hand from her face and shoved me against the drink machine with it. I froze, hands in mid-air, wearing an even bigger grin on my lips. What was it about a violent woman that made my cock hard?

  “Testy, are we?”

  “No. I am not testy. I am disgusted,” she huffed. “Everything that comes out of your mouth is either degrading to women or chauvinistic, and it makes me want to scream.”

  I stared down at her face right then. Her nose in particular. There was a small spread of freckles over the slope, dotting out across her cheeks. Nothing big, but enough for me to take notice of. With her severe straight bangs and her long dark hair, she’d always looked like a little girl. Those tiny freckles didn’t help matters. But—and fuck if I know why—the sight of them made my chest tighten. To the point where I lost my smile a little.

  With other women, I didn’t take the time to look at details on their bodies like that, unless it came to their pussy or tits. With Emily, though… being so close to her, and under the bright fluorescent lights, I couldn’t help but notice. And I wasn’t sure if I liked the fact that I noticed either.

  “Listen up, asshole,” she continued, oblivious to my inner turmoil. “I am not going to spend this entire trip to Kentucky with you teasing me about sex and anything that goes along with it, you hear me? I’m not interested in you, or your penis, so get that thought out of your head.”

  I lifted both brows at her use of the word penis. But that’s not what had me snapping out of my thoughts. “Kentucky, huh?”

  She blinked, probably realizing what she’d done. Emily had refused to tell me where we were going, other than saying south and which highways to stay on as we rode. Hell, as far as I knew, we could’ve been going to Florida or something like that. But Kentucky? That was way too close to Rockford for comfort.

  “Well, we um… I mean, we… uh.” She took a step back. “We have to travel through Kentucky is all.”

  “Can’t bullshit a bullshitter, JP. You said Kentucky. Which means that’s exactly where Pops is.”

  She blinked, now as far back as the cuffs would allow. “Maybe I’m a better bullshitter than you—did you ever think about that?”

  Despite the fact that she’d just told me the one huge thing the RDs had been wanting to know for over a year now, I couldn’t help but throw my head back and laugh. “I’m the master when it comes to telling if someone’s lying or not, didn’t you know?”

  Shaking my head, I pulled my phone out and ignored whatever else she had to say as I scrolled through my contacts. I stopped on Slade’s name and punched in a text.

  “What’re you doing?” Emily asked, her voice filling with panic.

  “Doing what needs to be done.”

  She tried to look around me, over my shoulder, but I held my phone out of arm’s reach and gave her my back.

  “What needs to be done exactly?”

  “None of your concern.”

  She groaned but stopped being nosy, which gave me a chance to finish my text to Slade.

  Pops is c
loser than we thought. Be on alert. Will send more intel as I find shit out. Going off grid.

  Knowing he’d give me hell, I hit send on the text and powered down my phone. I’d texted him earlier from the diner and told him what was up—parts of it anyway. How Emily had run and I’d gone to get her, leaving out the section where I was actually the one to take her in the end. My brothers would kill my ass if they knew what I was really up to. Trying to take down Pops on my own, get shit settled without anyone else going down. If I had to die protecting my brothers and my home, then so be it. I had whiskey and monthlies. They had lives and love.

  Slade didn’t like the idea of me being on the road alone, but he also knew I had no problem taking care of myself, that I was smart as fuck too. I told him I’d be gone a week, tops, and that if I didn’t find Emily, then I’d head home. Hawk wasn’t thrilled with the idea of me giving his sister a timeline like that, that I should look for her as long as it takes. He, more than most, knew how badly Emily wanted out of our world in the first place, which is why he didn’t see the point in sending anyone else after her. I was the best at tracking people down, so if anyone could find her, it’d be me.

  “You’re not telling anyone what I just told you, right? About, you know…” Her voice hitched as I finished up my text to Slade. “Kentucky?”

  “Don’t worry.” I pocketed my phone and faced her. “Your secrets are safe with me.”

  Her dark brown eyes widened in surprise. “So… you’ll give me a chance to get my mom out before telling anyone where we are?”

  I thought about it for a second, still studying her. It’d be wrong if I didn’t let her go, yeah, but it’d be even worse if I did. The thing was, I might not even make it out of there alive so what did it matter either way? Emily was harmless. Her mom, on the other hand, had fucked up, big time. But it wasn’t her daughter’s fault, and as a former mama’s boy, I probably would’ve done the same thing if I were in her shoes. Still didn’t make it okay, but apparently I was feeling generous—had a motive that nobody else needed to know about.

  No matter. This all might change come morning, or in the next twenty minutes even. My decisions and choices were like my brain, bouncing around at lightning speed.