Not Attainable (Red Eyes MC Romance) Read online

  “Always making friends with the old folks,” Nicole said when I came back to my own coffee. “How are we ever going to find you a date?”

  I raised an eyebrow at her and looked around sardonically. “Well, it’s not going to be in here,” I said.

  Nicole gave me a look. “You know we get plenty of good-looking customers in here. Maybe not right now, but it happens. And you’re always off helping the geriatrics.”

  I shrugged. “It’s not like I can do anything about it, even if I meet someone good-looking,” I pointed out. “Better that I leave them to you.”

  “You have got to stand up to your dad one of these days,” Nicole said. I gave her an incredulous look, and we both laughed. “Yeah, okay, that probably wouldn’t go so well,” Nicole sighed. “But you can’t live with him for the rest of your life.”

  “I don’t live with him,” I said.

  “Not technically,” Nicole said, rolling her eyes. “But close enough.”

  What Nicole didn’t understand was that even moving across the city wasn’t really going to change things for me. Right now, I lived in the mother-in-law unit next to my dad’s house. But the real problem wasn’t bringing guys back there; it was the fact that everyone in Las Cruces knew who my father was and that no one wanted to mess with him. Or more specifically, to mess around with his daughter. And I couldn’t exactly blame them for that.

  I loved my dad. He was nothing but sweet toward me. But no one else ever saw that side of him. If I was going to get tangled up with anyone, he would want it to be the “right” sort of people. I couldn’t just pick out whoever I wanted. And I definitely just couldn’t pick up some random, good-looking guy that I met at the diner.

  Nicole sighed. “At least promise that we can have a girls’ day again soon,” she said. “I need a manicure stat.”

  “Now that I can do,” I said, grinning at her. A couple more customers came in, and I got them seated and brought them the breakfast menus. My good mood had wavered a little, though.

  The truth was, I wanted to be able to go out with Nicole. To go to bars and have fun. To not have to worry about anything worse than a hangover the next morning. I was an adult. I deserved to be able to live my life however I wanted to. Dad just didn’t seem to understand that.

  It was partly just that he was protective of me. He was afraid that if I went out and got drunk, something might happen to me. That someone might try to use me to get back at him for something. Sometimes, though, his protectiveness bordered a little too closely on controlling. It was like he didn’t trust me. I wasn’t stupid. I knew his reputation. I knew what might happen to me. I’d be careful.

  Regardless, I couldn’t seem to convince him of any of that.

  3

  Will

  Marcus gave me some time to wash the grime of the road off me before hauling me off to that new business we were supposed to check out. I wanted to put it off until tomorrow, but as Marcus reminded me, it would look better to Ray if we got on this right away, and right now, I could use all the brownie points I could score with Ray.

  I couldn’t seem to get my head in the game, though. I kept thinking about how nice it had been to make my own schedule over the past few weeks, to stop when I wanted, eat when I wanted, and go where I wanted.

  “Marcus, did you ever see yourself doing this for the rest of your life?” I asked as we walked.

  Marcus gave me a weird look. “The fuck, man? It’s like you go away on some big bike trip and suddenly you think you own the world.”

  “It’s not that,” I protested. “Just, there’s more to life than enforcing, isn’t there?”

  Marcus glanced pointedly around, reminding me that we were in public, where anyone could overhear. “Lock it up, man,” he said gruffly. “We don’t have time for that kind of talk.”

  What he really meant was, you never knew when Ray or one of his informants might be watching. I knew the guys in the club, of course, but Ray had other sources of information, guys he paid to do his dirty work, to make sure that no one was bad-mouthing him around town.

  And I supposed, from a certain standpoint, my comment about there being more to life than enforcing could definitely make Ray a little wary. It could almost sound like I was planning a revolt, like I wanted to take over the MC for myself. No one knew what I had gotten up to on that cross-country trip of mine. I could have been making allies in other places.

  It was almost laughable. I would never do something like that, not to Ray. Not to the family that had taken me in when I had nowhere else to turn. Not least of which because I wasn’t interested. But the thing that kept it from being laughable was the unspoken threat of what Ray would do if he thought I was one step away from going rogue. He’d have to make an example of me so that no one else would try it.

  I fought not to shudder. Ray might be getting up there in age, his beard streaked liberally with gray, but I still wouldn’t take him in a fight.

  We arrived at the new place, the Mercantile, and while Marcus browsed around the shop, I went up to the counter, leaning against it and putting on a jovial smile. “Good afternoon, neighbor,” I said.

  “Good afternoon,” the man greeted, just as friendly, tipping his hat at me. Roger, according to his nametag.

  “Say, Roger, you’re new to the area, aren’t you?” I asked, already assessing him. He was a bigger man, but nothing compared to Marcus or me. I didn’t recognize him, so this probably was just a blunder on his part. He didn’t know the rules. Hopefully, this would be easier than I’d expected.

  “I am new, yeah,” Roger said, his eyes glancing over toward Marcus, who was still roving through the store. He narrowed his eyes. “Something tells me you two aren’t here just for friendly chitchat.”

  I laughed. “You’re exactly right,” I agreed.

  Roger shrugged. “I already paid up if that’s what you’re here for.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “You shouldn’t go blabbing about that kind of thing, Roger,” I said. “You wouldn’t want to say something like that to the wrong kind of people.”

  Roger snorted. “You guys are the wrong sort of people, aren’t you? You’ve got MC goons written all over you. Two huge tattooed guys wander into my shop in the middle of the day and walk around like you own the place? You’re not fooling anyone.”

  I frowned. “The thing is, if you know who we are, you know what we can do to you,” I said. “And yet, you’re still lying to us.”

  “What do you mean, lying to you?” Roger asked, folding his arms over his chest. He was starting to get defensive, and I sighed inwardly. I didn’t want to have to rough the guy up, but it was starting to look like I might have to. Idiot. He could have just pretended he didn’t know the rules and we would have cut him some slack. Lying wasn’t helping anything.

  “What I mean is, you say that you’ve paid, but we haven’t received any money. Ray isn’t very happy about that.”

  “Who the hell is Ray?” Roger asked, looking confused.

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “The head of the Red Eyes motorcycle club,” I said. “I thought you said you knew the rules around here. Ray is the president of the most powerful MC in the state.”

  “So what you’re saying is that I have to pay off you as well as the Unknowns?” Roger asked, sounding aggrieved. “Jesus, maybe Las Cruces wasn’t the place to open a store.”

  “The hell are you talking about?” I asked, feeling suddenly flat-footed. I glanced over at Marcus, wondering if there was something I had missed in my absence. “Who are the Unknowns?”

  Roger stared at me for a moment, looking like he couldn’t tell if I was serious or not. “They’re the other MC. They told me they were the most powerful dudes around.” He shrugged. “Swung through here just a few days ago demanding cash payment in return for not running me out of town.” He eyed me up and down. “Gotta say, you two are a lot meaner-looking than the last lot. That’s why I figured you were here for the money. Things were getting more ser
ious or something.”

  Marcus joined me next to the counter, leaning casually against it as though we were really there just to chitchat. “Anything else you can tell us about these Unknowns?” he asked pleasantly. “How much were they trying to charge you, anyway?”

  Roger looked between the two of us, and I could see the debate happening behind his eyes. I decided to nip that in the bud right away. “We’re still going to charge you the same as we normally charge, no matter what you say their rate was,” I informed him, looking at my nails. “Although maybe, just this once, we could give you a little discount for being so… informative.”

  “We’ll need that cash, today, though,” Marcus said smoothly, writing a number down on a slip of paper and sliding it across the counter. “But don’t worry, we’ll take care of that little problem with the Unknowns. Show them better than to mess around on our territory.”

  Roger was silent for a long moment. “And if I don’t pay up?”

  I put my hands on the edge of the counter and pushed myself up until I could get my boots on the scuffed top. Then, I hopped down next to Roger. I crowded him back against the wall, pushing my forearm into his neck with just enough pressure to make him cough a little. “I don’t think you really want to mess with us, do you, Roger? I think you’re a pretty smart man and that you know exactly what you’re dealing with. You don’t want any trouble with this nice new store of yours.”

  Roger continued to stare at me and then gave me a little push. I went with it, backing off but staying behind the counter with him as he silently went to the cashbox and took out the money, counting it out carefully and discreetly. He handed it over to me, and I handed him fifty dollars back.

  “A little discount for being so cooperative,” I said, grinning at him and clapping him on the back. I vaulted back over the counter.

  “If you hear anything else of interest, you can find Ray at the Tavern most nights,” Marcus said casually. “He’s good about rewarding loyalty.”

  Roger shook his head, and I grinned. He wasn’t the kind of guy to want to get mixed up with trouble. Judging by his reaction to us, I had to wonder what his situation had been like wherever he came from, and if some sort of trouble was the reason he had moved to Las Cruces. He’d keep to himself as much as he could.

  Right now, we had bigger problems to think about.

  “Damn it,” Marcus muttered as we walked back out into the heat of the afternoon.

  “Can you believe the balls on them?” I asked angrily. “Going to one of the newcomers and just demanding money. What the fuck? If you’re going to challenge our territory, you could at least be upfront about it.”

  Marcus snorted. “They must know that we’d obliterate them if they were upfront about it,” he said. “We have to tell Ray about it, though. And he’s not going to be happy.”

  “What do you think he’s going to do about it?” I asked. “We don’t even know who the Unknowns are.”

  “Ray probably does,” Marcus pointed out. “He doesn’t always tell us everything he hears from his guys. I’m sure he’s been keeping an eye on them. Maybe that’s even why he wanted us to get to Roger sooner rather than later.” He was silent for a moment. “As for what Ray will want to do, I think it’s safe to assume that he’s going to stick us on it. Whatever it is.”

  “You’ve got to have some sort of idea,” I said, glancing over at Marcus.

  Marcus shrugged. “Haven’t had something like this happen in a while,” he pointed out. “Whatever it is, it’s going to have to be done delicately. Don’t need to be pissing off the cops, or things are going to get dicey for all of us.”

  I was silent, thinking about that. Finally, I shook my head. “Maybe if we show enough force right away, we’ll just, you know, scare them off.”

  Marcus laughed and slung an arm around my shoulder. “I wish that were the case,” he said. “But if they were going to be scared off that easily, it would have happened before they ever showed their faces in town. Ray’s reputation precedes him.” He paused, tugging at his beard. “Bet the first thing Ray does is send the twins out to make sure that certain key alliances are still being honored.”

  Before I could respond to that, my phone started ringing. I rolled my eyes and pulled it out, expecting it to be Ray checking up on us or maybe the twins calling to heckle me. Instead, it was an unknown number from an area code I didn’t recognize. I frowned, debating ignoring it, but it could still be MC business. Or something to do with the Unknowns.

  “Hello?”

  “Is this William Kamp?” the man on the other end of the line asked.

  “Yup.”

  “Hi, William, this is Greg Townsend. I’m the executor of your grandmother’s estate. I’m sure you heard the news about her passing.”

  I slowed to a stop. “Yeah,” I said. I didn’t have any feelings tangled up in it. I had hardly known the woman. Couldn’t even remember the last time I’d seen her.

  “As you probably know, you’re her last living relative,” Greg continued. “I know it’s inconvenient, but I do need you to come to Texas, as the reading of your grandmother’s will is happening.”

  I tried to figure out how to respond to that. I wasn’t sure what Ray’s response would be if I told him that I was leaving on another trip. Especially not with this matter of the Unknowns hanging over us. He might need me. But then again, there were other guys in the club. He could use this as an opportunity to give Grant a little experience, or he could have the twins do their fair share of the dirty work.

  Besides, if I really wanted to do something better with my life, I needed funds. What if the old woman had left me something of value? I would be an idiot not to head down there and find out what it was.

  That was all not to mention the fact that the road was still calling to me. It would be a quick trip; I’d be back in time for the next weekly meeting. Not much could happen in a week, and anyway, surely Ray couldn’t get mad at me for heading to Texas for this. I wasn’t just taking off this time; I had a valid reason for leaving.

  “I’ll be there,” I agreed.

  “Excellent,” Greg said. “We can delay the reading until your arrival, but there is a certain timeframe that needs to be met.” I tuned him out as he started talking over the particulars.

  “That all sounds fine,” I said when there was a break. “I’ll let you know when I get there, okay?”

  “Perfect,” Greg said.

  I hung up and looked at Marcus, who was eyeing me curiously. “Where are you headed off to now?” he asked.

  “My grandmother died,” I explained. “And apparently as her only living relative, I need to be in Texas for the reading of the will.”

  “Shit, sorry to hear that,” Marcus said.

  I snorted. “I didn’t know the lady,” I said, shrugging. I grinned. “But hopefully the bat left me something nice.”

  “We need to see Ray,” Marcus said. “But let’s stop at the diner first and catch up. Seems like you just got back into town.”

  I snorted. “That’s because I did just get back into town,” I reminded him. “God, Ray’s going to blow when I tell him I’m headed off again.”

  “Nah, he’ll be cool. It’s not like you don’t have a reason,” Marcus said confidently, steering me toward the diner. “Let’s get something to eat, and I’ll coach you through the best ways of groveling. He’s going to be pissed at you, but maybe you can make him a bit less pissed.”

  I laughed. “Thanks,” I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes.

  4

  Belle

  Monday at the diner was mostly uneventful, as always. The place was almost empty when Will and Marcus came in late that afternoon. I was just clearing a couple tables. Nicole had disappeared to somewhere in the back. “Hey, guys, just have a seat wherever and I’ll be right over,” I called.

  I had known Will and Marcus for practically forever. We’d all grown up there in Las Cruces, and now they were both part of the Red Eyes MC that my
father was president of.

  I hoped they weren’t here with bad news about the MC. My eyes shifted over to them. They both looked pretty serious, more so than usual, but maybe I was just letting my worries get the better of me.

  I carried the bucket of dirty dishes back to the sink and left it filling with water while I dried off my hands and brought the two men some menus. “It’s good to see you again,” I couldn’t help blurting out as I handed one to Will.

  He raised an eyebrow at me. “Is it?” he asked, and I thought I detected a hint of a smirk on his face.

  I blushed and ducked my chin. “Just give me a shout when you’re ready to order,” I said, scurrying off.

  God, that was embarrassing. Not that it wasn’t good to see Will again, but I shouldn’t have said that. At least I hadn’t said something even worse like, “Wow, you look good.” Which he did. He looked leaner and tanner than ever, and his dark T-shirt and jeans did nothing to hide how muscular he was. He had a couple of new tattoos on his arms, filling in whatever gaps there’d been. Even though I could tell he must have showered since his return, his hair still had a windswept quality to it. The road had definitely agreed with him.

  I tried to remember how long it had been since I’d seen him. A couple of weeks, at least. Dad had been fuming about the fact that he’d missed some of the Red Eyes’ club meetings. I had been surprised to hear that Will had just taken off like that, but there was something about that which honestly turned me on a little. He was brave, standing up to my father like that. I wished I had the guts for it. Instead, I’d never been out of New Mexico.

  I continued to watch the two of them out of the corner of my eye while I scrubbed some of the dishes. Something was definitely up. They weren’t joking the way that they usually did; there was something reserved about both of them.