“I am, but I’d make an exception for Rider.”
“You and Rider wouldn’t get along.”
“How do you know? You barely know the man.”
“I don’t. Stud does, though, and he said Rider is a big pussy.”
“He doesn’t say that.” Skeptically, Crazy Bitch peered closer at Calder’s nonchalant posture.
“Not to anyone else, but he did to me.”
“How would he know?”
“A man sees things a woman wouldn’t notice.”
“Like what?”
“Like that goofball you broke up with.”
“You were around Sam for two seconds.”
“Long enough to see that he might have jumped at getting a drink for you and Killyama, but he didn’t open the door for you when you got to Stud’s house.”
“How in the fuck do you know?”
“I was outside, smoking a cigarette.”
“That doesn’t mean shit.”
“He didn’t let you go first, either, when you got to the door, even though he had never been there before.”
“I didn’t need him to hold the door for me.”
“Just saying, I would have opened the door for you.”
She had seen Calder around the club with different bitches. She had also seen him being nice to them. She couldn’t see him roofieing any of them, either. Even at the height of his drug use, he had never even offered her a joint.
“So, why does Stud think Rider is a pussy?” All the bitches had fantasies about The Last Riders.
“He said that, when they were searching for Raul, all he wanted to do was go home to make sure the women were safe and Shade wouldn’t let him. Everyone knows that you keep your strongest man to protect the clubhouse and the women. Stud said that he whined the whole time to go back.”
“Anything else?”
“That’s not enough?”
“Have you seen Rider through a woman’s point of view?”
“I can’t say I have.”
“He’s sexy as fuck. He may not be Shade’s choice of watching the women because he didn’t want to leave the fox watching the hen house.”
She slapped her hand down on the bar, laughing at Calder’s expression. Then she sobered when she saw Dozer carrying in the case of beer. The brothers moved closer to the bar, calling out to him to hand them one. Nearly squished, she started to snap at Looney when he almost elbowed her in the jaw while trying to reach for one.
Before she could, Calder swiveled on his bar stool, his arm going around her waist to pull her snugly between his thighs. With his other hand, he took the beer from Dozer’s hand, giving it to her.
“Want me to open it for you? I wouldn’t want you to break a nail.”
“I got it.” She twisted the top off as the other brothers emptied the case before she could take her first sip. “Fuckers, have five other brands to choose from, yet they always finish mine off first.”
“You want one, Calder?” Dozer asked, the last one in his hand.
“Give me a Bud. Put that one in the cooler for Crazy Bitch for later.”
When the brothers moved away with their beers, she jerked away. “You trying to prove you’re nicer than Sam? Don’t bother. I didn’t break up with him because he didn’t hold the door open for me.”
“Why did you break up with him?”
“When I want you to know my business, I’ll tell you.” Dismissing him when she saw Greer Porter coming in the door, she grabbed her beer and returned to the table where The Last Riders and her crew were sitting.
The man arrogantly ignored that he was the center of everyone’s attention. “Why did you need to see me in such a hurry? If you’re wanting product”—his eyes went from Shade to Knox and Diamond—“I don’t sell anymore.”
Greer worked part-time as a deputy sheriff. His wife, Holly, was BFFs with Diamond. Diamond had told them that Holly had put a stop to Greer’s pot selling, which no one believed he had done, except Diamond and Holly. Stud regularly bought from Greer once a month.
“Holly told Diamond that you’re an expert at hiding your stash. Knox said the same thing; that the state police have given up trying to find your plants or your stock.”
“The police can’t find their ass with their own two hands.” He disdainfully sniffed. “But I do take after my pa, and the feds could never catch him moonshining.”
“Have a seat, Greer. We want to ask a favor from you. Knox, get Greer a beer.” Viper motioned for Greer to take a chair that one of the brothers had positioned at Viper’s side.
Greer distrustfully stared at everyone who was staring back at him. “I ain’t gonna kill anyone.”
Viper leaned back so Knox could set the beer down in front of him.
“Not that I would mind, but Holly wouldn’t be happy. I got a kid on the way, and I can’t raise it from prison.”
“We don’t want you to kill anyone. The Destructors and The Last Riders have decided to bet on who has the best club.”
“You want me to referee? I’m down with that.”
“No, we’re not going to fight it out. We want you to hide my jacket, Stud’s for the Destructors, and Calder’s for the Blue Horsemen. We’re each putting in keys to a motorcycle.”
“Be easier to fight it out.”
“Dude, what are you getting at? This way, no one gets hurt and we can remain friends.” Killyama looked like she was about to break Greer’s beer bottle over his head.
“Sounds like a pussy way to find out.”
Viper and Stud gave everyone warning looks to keep some of the brothers from beating the bastard to a pulp.
“Can you do it or not?” Viper ground out.
“What’s in it for me?” His question was the first interest Crazy Bitch had seen in his eyes since he had entered the club.
“What do you want?”
Greer grinned, running his fingers over his temple, his eyes going to Diamond. “Wife’s expecting…”
“We know.” Becoming irritated, Viper gave Train a side look. “Get me a whiskey.”
“Me, too,” Stud brusquely requested before Train could stand.
“Diamond said Holly can have eight weeks maternity leave. I’m thinking twelve sounds better.” Greer stared at Diamond questioningly.
Viper turned toward Diamond. “The Last Riders will pay Holly’s salary for the extra four weeks.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be taking my own maternity during that time.”
“Then it’s a….” Viper’s smile vanished when Greer started shaking his head.
“I went to the grocery store the other day. You know how much diapers are?”
“Yes.” Viper’s face was becoming red with anger. “Since you’re Aisha’s godfather, you know I do.”
“Yeah, well, I didn’t have a clue. Might have put off knocking Holly up if I did. A year’s supply would come in mighty handy.”
“The Destructors will pay for a year’s supply of diapers,” Stud offered.
“Satisfied?” Viper ominously grabbed his knife from his boot, but Winter took it away before he could open it.
“Seems to me that The Last Riders and the Destructors are donating to pay my fee; I think it’s only fair the Blue Horsemen contribute, too.”
“What do you want?” Calder shouldered his way to stand beside Stud.
“I got Holly a brand-new truck. Every Sunday, she makes me wash it and gas it up. It’s a pain in my ass to spend my time doing it.”
“The Blue Horsemen can take care of that,” Calder agreed.
“Make sure the tank is filled to the top, too… for a year.”
“Anything else?” Calder glared down at Greer, showing his patience was running out.
Crazy Bitch would have to remember the tactics that Greer used to get his demands met. The fucker had three groups of bikers ready to beat him senseless, yet he wasn’t even sweating.
“Yeah, don’t forget the wax.” Greer tilted his beer back, finishing it off
. “I better get home. Holly will be waiting for me.” He turned his head to look over his shoulder at Calder. “When someone comes to wash Holly’s truck Sunday, send the jackets. I’ll send an email to Viper, Stud, and you after I hide them. After that, you’re on your own. Don’t be trying to get me to give any hints. And so you know, it won’t be hidden anywhere on my property. I ain’t gonna have my backyard dug up to settle a bet.” Greer stood up, staring down at Viper expectantly.
Confused, Viper stared back. “What?”
“Shade said you would make it worth my time to get here in thirty minutes. I made it in twenty-five.” Greer held his hand out.
“Viper… we don’t know the sheriff here. You’ll spend the night in jail,” Winter cautioned her husband.
Viper’s chair scraped back as he stood, removing his wallet. Taking out a hundred, he slapped it down into Greer’s waiting palm. Then Greer’s palm went out toward Stud, who looked like he was about to have a seizure. Taking out his wallet, he placed another hundred on top of the other one. When Greer’s hand went toward Calder, Crazy Bitch nearly howled in laughter. Calder took out his wallet, counting five twenties.
“You can see who has more butter on their bread by the bills a man carries.” Greer’s fingers snapped closed as he turned to leave, stopping by Diamond. “Let’s just keep this to ourselves. She would have expected me to do it for free because she’s friends with you.”
“All right. It’s a good thing she didn’t come tonight when I invited her. She said you were under the weather, and she needed to get home and make you some soup. You don’t look very sick,” she said caustically.
“I’m not.” Greer shrugged. “But I wasn’t about to let her go to that movie. I don’t want her getting any ideas. You dumbasses should take a lesson from me.” He smirked as he went toward the door.
Crazy Bitch couldn’t hold back her laughter any longer.
“I’m glad you find it so funny.” Calder’s hand had gone to the chair that Greer had been sitting in as if he was going to throw it at the departing man.
Crazy Bitch laconically stood, making sure she was standing so if anyone threw anything at Greer, it would hit her first.
“You sure he isn’t a Last Rider? He fucked all of you and left with a smile on his face.”
8
He sat, staring out at the green grass and the flowers that had been planted in a circle underneath the trees. The rehab center Gavin was in was nothing like the one the court had decreed he had to stay at. There were no bars on the windows, and each room was private with its own backyard.
“You’re not going to eat your lunch? Bro, you’re looking like a bag of bones.” Calder had been trying to coax Gavin out of his silence since he arrived this morning.
Peyton had left when he arrived, warning him that Gavin hadn’t said a word during the week she spent with him, and he refused to take any visitors, other than him and Peyton.
“Viper called when you were taking a shower. He wanted me to call when you got out. He’s not going to be happy I didn’t.”
Calder looked over at Gavin then returned his eyes to the trees.
“I don’t blame you for staying out here all the time. When I was released from prison, I couldn’t stand to be cooped up. I still sleep with my bedroom door open at night. You have a sweet deal here. If I had this area attached to my bedroom, I’d sleep out here, too.”
Calder raised up from his position on a chair he had carried out from Gavin’s room. Taking half the sandwich that remained untouched, he settled back down on his chair. “Did I tell you that I saw Viper and Winter last night? Shade, Train, Cash, Razer, and Knox were there, too. They all asked about you.” He took a bite of the sandwich.
Gavin rarely talked to him, just listened in silence until Calder would leave Sunday night. Calder didn’t let it bother him, filling in the silence by talking about anything and everything, trying to pull Gavin back to The Last Riders, who wanted him so desperately to rejoin the land of the living.
“They all had their wives there, too. Those women are fine. Not as fine as the woman I have my eye on, but they’re smokin’ hot.”
“Did anyone else call when I was in the shower?” Gavin distracted him from his lone conservation.
“No, Taylor didn’t call. You want me to call her?” Viper had explained that Gavin had been engaged to Taylor when he was kidnapped. After he was rescued, he found out she was now married and expecting. It was a raw wound for him.
“So she can ask if she can come and see me again? No thanks.”
“Then why you asking if she called?”
“No reason.”
“Bullshit. Why won’t you see her?”
“I don’t want her to see me until I’m back to normal.”
“You want to get back to normal, start eating again and hit the gym.”
Gavin went back to the silence he hid behind whenever anyone told him what he didn’t want to hear.
“You don’t want to see her because Viper told you she is married. Call a spade a spade, but don’t lie to yourself or me. It’s a big step in your recovery.”
“What do you want me to say? That if I see her, I’ll beg her to get a divorce? I know the man she married. Taylor’s better off with him.”
“Is that why you’re slowly killing yourself?”
Gavin’s harsh features would make anyone proceed with caution, but Calder had been in prison with men who were just as menacing and who had nothing better to do with their days than work out. Gavin was so gaunt and weak that he wouldn’t be able to fight himself out of a paper bag.
“I’m not trying to kill myself. I just don’t care if I do or don’t die anymore.”
“When you were held captive by the Road Demons, did you just give in, or did you fight the bastards?”
“I fought.”
“Then why give up now?”
“Have you ever loved a woman?”
“Can’t say I have. I came close once.”
“The one who won’t give you the time of day?”
“I never even dated her, and she hates my guts. Can you see how much she would hate me if I had?”
“What’s her name?”
“I don’t even know her real name. Her nickname is Crazy Bitch.”
“If you’re hung up on a woman called Crazy Bitch, you’re the last one I’d take advice from.”
“I’m not giving you advice. You have counselors here who get paid to dish out advice. I’m just saying that, if you want to get Taylor back by making her feel sorry for you, go right ahead. I don’t blame you for preferring her to me. The only problem with that is you’re going to be the same pitiable mess until your body gives up and you get your wish, and you’ll be as dead as a doornail. Or you regain your strength, she will see you no longer need her, and she goes back to her husband.”
Gavin struggled to his feet. “I’m going down for a nap.”
“Or we can go work out for a while. Then you eat an early dinner and have a good night’s sleep.”
Gavin went inside his room, shutting the sliding glass door behind him.
Calder remained where he was, giving Gavin time alone. He knew the man had more going on in his mind than a woman. He was fighting off the depression of coming off the drugs. Until Gavin was ready to admit what he was really missing was the high coursing through his veins, he wouldn’t get better.
The rehab center had been weaning them off him, but it was a slow process so his blood pressure and heart could be monitored. Each week, the amounts would decrease until he had the willpower to not depend on it. Only someone who had gone through it themselves would be able to understand with hindsight. Calder still remembered the agony of wanting the drugs that had become the only friend he had left.
He shook his head at himself. If he hadn’t gotten caught and been forced into rehab, he would have still been using. It was only when his ass had been locked up for a couple of years had he kicked his dependency. Now he would take a lo
aded gun to his head before doing them again.
Gavin might have become dependent on them because the Road Demons had used every means possible to keep him under control through years of captivity and abuse, but it wasn’t the club who kept him prisoner now; it was the drugs. They had taken control, and unless Gavin realized which enemy he was fighting, The Last Riders would soon be burying him.
Calder got up and went into Gavin’s room, silently opening the door, not wanting to disturb him if he was sleeping. He wasn’t. He was staring at a picture on the wall.
“Why didn’t Peyton include you in the picture?” Calder asked, sitting down beside him on the bed.
“I told her not to.”
Calder stared at the men in the painting. Once a week, each of them visited Gavin. Viper came once during the middle of the week, and then again on Sundays when he would bring Winter and their daughter, Aisha.
“It’s hard to see them so happy while your life is in the toilet bowl.”
“I’m glad they’re happy.”
“You’re jealous as fuck.” Calder wryly shook his head. “Stud sent me letters with pictures when I was in prison. I ripped most of them into shreds. I didn’t want to see Stud so happy while I was so miserable. It’s not The Last Riders you’re in here for any more than Stud was responsible for me.”
“I only blame four people: Memphis, Crash, Vincent Bedford, and myself. I was a naïve fool.”
“You weren’t naïve. You were a grown man who had served your country and thought that you could handle yourself. Damn, bro, two men you thought were brothers took you down. Nothing to be ashamed of there.”
Gavin’s face cracked in agony at his memories. “You don’t know the shit I did. If you did, you wouldn’t be sitting with me. None of them would be.” He pointed at the painting then let his hand drop to his side.
“Gavin, I told you, as your sponsor, anything you want to talk about, I won’t repeat. It’s just between me and you. I wouldn’t want anyone spilling the shit I did when I was using, and I willingly took that crap. You didn’t take it willingly. It won’t make it easier to bear what went down, but cut yourself a break here.”
“I went into the Navy to help people. To defend and protect the weak from others who would hurt them. I became what I fought against.”