Slot tried to run when Stud got off his bike yet was held immobile by Crash and Razer.
“I made a deal with The Last Riders that, if they helped us find you, they could keep two, and I could take two. That way, everybody’s happy,” Stud explained.
“But there’s five of us,” Slot whined.
“We decided to share one.”
Once Stud’s fist slammed into Slot’s belly, knocking him to his knees, he pulled his pistol out from behind his back, bringing it down on the side of Slot’s head.
“Stud, remember my half,” Shade reminded him as he got off his bike.
“Which half do you want?”
“The part I bury.”
* * *
Shade forced himself out of bed the next morning, going up the steps to the kitchen. The punishment of cleaning the kitchen was a pain in the ass, but it was better than doing seed inventory. He snickered to himself, thinking of the tedious job Winter had drawn.
He opened the door to see the object of his sarcastic humor sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee in front of her.
He poured himself a cup, taking a sip of the coffee to bolster his flagging energy before he moved toward the stove. Opening the oven door, he stared at it for several minutes before closing it.
Shade then went to the kitchen closet, gathering cleaning supplies and filling a bucket with soapy water. He went to the refrigerator, opened the door, and within seconds, he was slamming it shut. Turning green, he hastily moved away to lean on the counter.
With the amount of whiskey he had consumed the previous night about to make an appearance, he decided he was going to call the local appliance store and have them bring a new stove then take the one in the kitchen. There was no way in Hell he was going to clean that mess.
“The punishments are a bitch, aren’t they? I thought mine was bad, but at least I don’t have to clean that oven or the fridge,” Winter remarked conversationally.
Shade looked back and forth between the offending appliances. There was no way you would think the refrigerator could be worse than the oven, but it was. Shade internally debated the price of a new fridge. He could buy one that had a water and ice cube dispenser on the door, and the brothers would thank him.
“I would start with the oven. Give your stomach time to settle. It’s a little early to clean something that smells so bad.” Winter stood up, freshening her coffee as she stared at him.
By that point, he was seriously debating the cost of the appliances against his pride at Winter seeing him act like a pussy. Shade had one weakness other than Lily, and that was vomiting. He hated to vomit. When you vomited, you had no control over your body, and control was everything to Shade.
“Of course, I could help you with your problem.”
He turned to face her, his eyes narrowing in on her innocent expression. The witch had somehow guessed he had a stomach which was a wimp when he had been drinking.
“I could clean the oven, fridge, and pantry for you.”
His eyes went to the pantry door, but he made no move to see what condition it was in. Everyone knew it was a close second to the seeds in punishments. He could buy a new oven and fridge, but he couldn’t buy a new pantry, and the women hated to clean worse than he did. They wouldn’t be bribed into doing it for him. Besides, they would tell Viper on him.
“What do you want?” he asked grimly.
“It’s going to take me at least a couple of hours to scrub that oven down. In case you didn’t know, that’s cheese on the bottom. The fridge is even worse—it smells like Armageddon—and the pantry has an ant infestation,” she told him before taking another sip of coffee.
“What’s your price?” he demanded through clenched teeth.
“I want your vote. Look at it this way; it’s going to take several hours of work to clean this mess up. If we had sex, it would take ten minutes. You’re getting a better deal. Besides, we both know you’re not going to vote me in with sex, anyway.”
Shade stared at her before shrugging. It was a no-brainer for him. “It’s all yours.” He poured himself another cup of coffee, giving her a smug grin. “I’ll have to tell Viper he must be getting old if you think sex lasts ten minutes.”
He went to sit at the table as she opened the refrigerator door. Shade almost dropped the coffee cup as he practically ran without stopping until he was back in his room, dragging in deep breaths of clear air.
Viper’s woman was proving to be as resourceful as he was. Shade didn’t like being the blackmailed; he much preferred being the blackmailer. She was cleaning up a mess he didn’t have the stomach for, for no reason. He had already planned on giving Viper his marker for Winter’s vote, even though she certainly didn’t need it. She had secured five votes on her own, and Razer would have been cajoled by Beth—he was sure—for the sixth she would need.
Shade whistled as he took off his clothes and went to the shower. He was the master of maneuvering people to do what he wanted. Winter needed to be taught by someone who really knew how to play the game.
As soon as he had showered and his stomach had settled down, he would find Viper. They needed to have a talk.
Shade grinned evilly to himself. Winter was going to become a student once again. He was going to teach her not to fuck with him.
Chapter 23
Dressed in workout shorts, Shade found Viper already in the gym finishing up a set. Picking up a couple of hand weights, he started up the treadmill to a steady run.
“Where’s Winter?”
“Upstairs talking to the lawyer from the Teacher’s Union.”
“She still trying to get her job back as principal of the high school?”
Evie had told him the school board had given Winter’s job away while she was recovering from her injuries, citing moral turpitude as the reason. Shade personally thought it was small-town bullshit, she’d have a battle on her hands, trying to fight the hypocrisy of the residents of Treepoint.
He pressed a few buttons so that he ran on an incline.
“Do you have to do that while I’m working out?” Viper grunted, dropping the weights onto the mat.
“Do what?”
“Show off.”
Shade grinned. “I have to stay in shape.”
“Fucker.”
“Who’s her lawyer?”
“Ms. Richards,” Viper mimicked the snooty woman’s tone.
“She’s new in town,” Shade commented.
“You know her?”
“No, just make it my business to know all the lawyers in town. I wouldn’t be much of an enforcer if I didn’t know the best way to protect the brothers if any of them get in trouble.”
Viper nodded in acknowledgement. “I talked to Cash. Winter spoke with Carmen, Jake’s girlfriend, and she’s convinced Jake is innocent.”
Shade had felt something wasn’t right himself.
“The sheriff ran the DNA on the cigar butt I found; it wasn’t a match.”
“Get the sheriff to let you talk to Jake. Take Cash and Razer with you. The three of you together might be enough to get him to confess. If he doesn’t, we’ll look into it further.”
“Cash will be enough to scare that kid.”
Viper frowned. “Shade, Razer didn’t mean anything by what he said. He’s trying to protect Lily.”
“He doesn’t have to protect her from me. I’m not going to make a move until I know she’s old enough to handle it.”
“Brother, that woman has problems age isn’t going to fix.”
“Not with everyone wrapping her in cotton. Overprotecting her can get her hurt.”
“It isn’t up to you to make that decision,” Viper cautioned.
“Not yet.”
“You always were a patient bastard.”
* * *
Shade passed out beers to the brothers as they watched the women get ready to leave for Beth’s bachelorette party at Rosie’s. The brothers were complaing that the women looked to hot to leave the
house without them.
Shade eyed Bliss who had been one of the first downstairs. She would be coming home early with the Biker Bitches coming after she left. I’ll have to make sure she doesn’t feel left out when she returns, he thought in anticipation.
“Let’s go!” Natasha’s yell had doors from the upstairs banging open as the women rushed to answer her summons.
It wasn’t long before the women were all waiting at the bottom of the stairs for the happy couple to come down the steps. As they did, Razer kept his arm around Beth’s shoulders, who was wearing a pink ‘Bride to be’ T-shirt and a modest blue jean skirt. The couple didn’t try to hide their happiness from the large group watching them.
A couple of months had passed since his and Razer’s argument and since then, Razer had tried to make friendly overtures, which Shade had rejected. He wasn’t nursing hurt feelings like a pussy, but he resented the lack of faith Razer had him, thinking he would make a move on Lily while she was still so young.
“They are perfect together,” Shade overheard Winter’s comment to Viper.
“Let’s go, or Bliss is going to miss the party.” Evie nudged everyone out the door.
Viper swept Winter into his arms, following the women who were excitedly rushing outside.
“He’s fucking whipped,” Knox groaned.
Rider laughed. “Better not let Viper hear you say that, or you’ll be the one getting your ass whipped.”
Knox shrugged, the huge biker clearly not worried about anyone giving him an ass-whipping. “What are we going to do with all the women gone?” he whined for the fourth time.
Shade took a seat at the card table, shuffling the cards. “Let’s play poker until Bliss gets back.”
Knox took a seat in front of him. “What good is one woman going to be with so many brothers waiting?”
“We’re talking about Bliss,” Shade reminded him, dealing the cards as Razer sat down. The other brothers fought for the remaining chairs. Then the ones who hadn’t claimed a seat found solace at the pool table, getting drunk off their ass.
Viper came back into the room, going to the pool table. He was a lousy poker player.
Shade hadn’t even noticed how much time had passed until Bliss came through the front door, and was immediately attacked by both Rider and Train. She giggled as they hauled her ass up the stairs. Shade sighed, thinking it would be at least two hours before he got his turn, for which he would ask Knox to follow them down to his room to join.
Shade had a pile of cash in front of him and was looking forward to winning another hand while Razer dealt the cards. He was dealing the last one when Viper’s cell phone rang.
Shade caught Viper’s frown as he stared at the caller ID before answering.
“Hello?” The expression that came to his face had Shade’s blood running cold.
“We’re on our way.” Viper snapped his pool stick in two by slamming it on the corner of the pool table. “That was one of the Bitches. They were on their way to the party when they saw Winter on the side of the road about a mile from Rosie’s being attacked. She said Lily took off into the woods.”
Viper, Shade, Cash, and Knox were running out the door while Razer ran upstairs, calling for Rider and Train to get their asses moving. Shade was the first on his bike with Cash and Viper right behind him.
The bikers sped down the mountain road, unconcerned for their own safety. They came around a curve and to a scene which brought them to a stop a few inches away from Beth’s SUV.
As he climbed off his bike, Shade took in what was going down. Winter was surrounded by the biker bitches, one with a gun in her waistband and holding a baseball bat. One of the sheriff’s deputies Shade instantly recognized was lying on the road, unconscious.
Viper got off his bike, running directly to Winter. “What happened?”
Shade studied the nearby hillside while impatiently waiting for Winter to explain.
“The deputy pulled us over. He’s crazy, Viper. He’s the one who attacked me at the school, to pay me back for almost getting him fired. When he knew I recognized him, he hit me. He was going to kill me, but I fought him off. Lily managed to get away.” Winter broke down in tears. “He shot at her twice before she ran into the woods.”
Viper took command. “Sex Piston, take Winter in Beth’s vehicle back to Rosie’s. Don’t open your mouths about what happened. You never stopped. You came directly to Rosie’s after you left your home. Understand me?”
“You going to finish this motherfucker, or do you need me to stay and help?” the scary one named Killyama asked.
“I think we can handle this piece of shit from here. Go on to the bar, get drunk, and have some fun. Forget this happened.” Viper’s eyes bore into the biker bitches’ faces.
Getting the message, all the women except Sex Piston and Winter climbed back in their vehicle, the tires screeching as Crazy Bitch’s car peeled out.
“Razer, call Beth, tell her what happened and not to tell anyone. You tell her we’ll find Lily. Winter, get in the SUV and go with Sex Piston. You need to keep Beth calm.”
Sex Piston was behind the wheel before Viper finished talking. Winter shakily walked to the passenger door, getting inside with Viper’s help. Then Winter and Viper exchanged a few words, and Sex Piston did a U-turn before driving off in the direction of the bar.
“Cash, Shade, Rider, find Lily.”
The men moved, each going to their bikes where they pulled out what they needed before running into the dark woods.
“Slow down, Shade; give me a second to find her tracks,” Cash ordered.
Shade forced himself to move slowly. Cash was an excellent tracker, probably the best there was, but Shade was good, too. Both men separated themselves by a short distance, trying to find a clue as to the direction Lily had run, while Rider stood still, not wanting to damage any of the tracks.
Expertly, Cash shone his flashlight back and forth across the ground. They were lucky because it took them less than fifteen minutes to find her first track.
“There it is.” Shade flashed the beam of his own flashlight on the overturned rock.
Moving apart a few feet, they began a search grid, steadily working their way closer to Lily. Cash was familiar with the mountain and instantly began searching for areas it would be easier for her to run.
Shade soon found a ripped portion of her dress with blood on it. He gripped the torn cloth tightly in his hand as they moved forward, changing direction slightly.
“We’re fucked,” Cash said, obviously recognizing a nearby marker.
“What?” Shade snarled.
“We’re on Porter land.”
“So?”
Cash shook his head, squatting down by a tree. “She rested here, someone found her, and then she left with them in that direction.” He pointed at an area to their left.
“How the hell do you know all that?” Shade asked, staring at the ground.
“Because whoever found her was riding a mud puppy. The good news is it left us a trail a blind man could follow.”
Since they had easier signs to follow, it didn’t take them long to come to the large house built into a clearing.
“Son of a bitch.” They hunkered down as close to the house as they could get without being seen from the occupants within.
“Let’s go,” Rider said when they saw the four-wheeler they had been tracking parked in front of the house.
“Get down,” Cash hissed.
“Why? Let’s just knock on the fucking door,” Rider tried to reason.
“If you knock on their door, the coroner will be scraping what brains you have left off the front porch. Listen to me; the Porters are the biggest weed growers in the county,” Cash said, trying to explain the danger they were in.
Shade didn’t need to be told—he knew what kind of arsenal was behind that house’s door. You didn’t just walk onto a weed dealer’s property in that area of the county, and it wasn’t his first visit to the Porter’s.
Shade stealthily crossed the yard, blending into the dark night. This was what he was used to—becoming invisible until he made his presence known. He was at the side of the house when Cash came striding toward the front door.
He didn’t make it far before the door opened. One of the Greer brothers came out of the front door holding a shotgun pointed at Cash. Shade was constantly telling the brother he needed to learn how to be more covert, but Cash was the type of fighter to barrel into a fight.
“Get off my land.”
“Greer, it’s Cash Adams.”
“I can see who you are, fuckwad. Get your ass off my property.” Greer didn’t raise his voice; the shotgun got his message across.
“My friend’s fiancée’s sister found herself in trouble tonight and took off into the woods. We’re trying to find her.”
“Haven’t seen anyone tonight other than you and that chicken shit you have hiding over by that tree,” Greer said, cocking his shotgun.
“Rider, come out.” When he didn’t, Cash knew where Dustin was.
“Dustin, you better not hurt him, or you’re going to have deal with The Last Riders. You won’t have anything except scorched earth left to grow that weed you’re so proud of.”
“Shut the fuck up, Cash,” another voice spoke as a third man pressed a gun muzzle against the back of Cash’s head.
“I was wondering where you were, Tate. Will you tell your crazy-assed brothers to back off? We just want Lily and we’ll go,” Cash tried to reason with the oldest brother.
Shade used the opportunity to move around the house, looking through the windows to find Lily.
“There isn’t any woman here!” yelled Greer.
The fucker was lying; Shade spotted her in the back bedroom.
Taking the knife from his boot, he used it to pry the locked window open. He was halfway in when the window was lifted the rest of the way up, making it easier from him to climb inside.
Rachel Porter’s critical gaze studied him.
“You better make them see reason, Tate. You don’t want trouble with The Last Riders.” Both of them heard Cash’s yell from outside.
“I better get out there.” She turned toward the doorway.