Dearest Biker MC The Complete Series Box Set Read online

  Aaron shoved a piece of pizza in his mouth and cussed. “That’s good shit, man.”

  “Everything is good when you’re drunk, come on,” I said.

  “Stop giving me shit for that. I thought I’d be at home in bed right now, not saving your ass over something stupid,” he replied.

  “You’re saving her ass, and it’s not that stupid,” I said, before I even realized I was so quick to defend her. He sat down heavily in the chair and picked up his laptop, and then he took a long drink of his coffee and sighed.

  “Alright, tell me what you got and I’ll see what I can get on him,” he said. I gave him the piece of paper I had Erika fill out, and he set to work. Being trained in the Navy as he was, I had faith that he’d be able to find what we wanted on Kline. I wasn’t sure how much there was to find on the guy, but any information there was to be had, he’d be able to get it.

  Once Aaron was settled in and working, I pulled Erika aside in the kitchen. “You told me that you had cash and some paintings, where did you put it?”

  “It’s in my car,” she said. “A white SUV that I left over by the old diner,”

  “Do you have the keys?” I asked, trying not to get worked up about the fact she left that much cash in the car overnight.

  She handed them to me, and I nodded back toward the living room. “I’m going to go get it and bring it here. I want you to hang out with Aaron and help him out with anything that he might need. He’s a good guy, even if he is drunk.”

  She nodded and headed back to the couch, and I headed out the door. I had to get that car where I felt comfortable, but there was more to it than that. I didn’t want Erika out in public, not right now at least. I wasn’t sure where this guy was or if he had a location on her yet.

  Without knowing who we were dealing with in particular, I wasn’t sure how far his roots reached. For all I knew, he could have had her in his sights from the minute she left Boston. There was just no telling with some of those guys in the mob.

  Erika had told me that he wasn’t as high in the mob as many of the others, but I still wasn’t sure what that meant. Even in the MC, everyone had some good ranking, even the least among us. I knew there was a lot more backstabbing and throat slitting when it came to the mob, but I wasn’t sure if that meant the guys on the bottom were truly bottom feeders or if they were just the men who got their hands dirty.

  Either way, it made me sick to think that she was being chased by a guy who wasn’t afraid to throw her body in a river if he got the chance. I knew the things that I saw on the news. They might seem so far away when I was sitting at home in my chair on the other side of the country, but knowing that they were on their way, and that they wanted Erika, made it all hit closer to home.

  I ignored the creeping thoughts in the back of my mind. Thinking about how good it made me feel to have her here, to have her watching me like I was some sort of hero.

  I didn’t want to keep going back and forth with myself over whether I should fuck her and what would happen if I did. I just wanted to help her. She came here so I could help her, and that’s what I was going to do.

  One thing I did know with absolute certainty, however, was that I wasn’t going to be able to handle this alone. If there was a mob coming, that was a lot of men against me. Against the two of us, if she dared to hang out and try to fight.

  The odds weren’t good, and that meant I was going to have to bring in backup.

  Carl Painter, and his son, Zach, were the two guys I knew would have my back in this. While I did hesitate to talk to them about the potential trouble, I knew delaying the fact that it was coming was only going to make it worse in the end. If they were going to be effective, they were going to have to know about this as soon as possible.

  Carl had been the leader of our MC for as long as I’d been part of it, and I respected the man dearly. Hell, I trusted the man with my life, and I knew Zach would be right there by my side, as well. It wasn’t just me who was going to benefit from this. It wasn’t Erika, either. If the mob reached Santa Rosa, who knew what they were going to do to the town?

  I decided my best bet was to call Carl first. It was still early, and if Aaron was this drunk from hanging out with Zach and Vanessa, then there was little doubt in my mind those two were still hungover and in bed, as well. Carl could get a hold of his son later and tell him what was going on, and then we’d decide what to do next.

  The phone rang twice before our leader answered. “Adam?”

  “Carl, hey, I’ve got some bad news I’m afraid,” I said.

  “More issues with The Enemies? Please, tell me you haven’t knocked one of them up or anything, too. That was a shit show,” Carl said. I had to chuckle. Two of our members – one of them being his own son – had fallen in love with women in the rival MC. One of them had gone so far as to have a one-night stand and knock a girl up. But, they were working things out, and I hoped they were happy.

  “No, I’m afraid we’re going to be dealing with another enemy. A friend of mine has come to me and said she got into some trouble with the mob,” I said.

  “What kind of trouble?” Carl asked.

  “Death, I’m guessing,” I replied. “You know how they are.”

  “Yeah. And they’re coming here?”

  “There’s a good chance when they find out where she is, they’ll be on their way to get their revenge,” I replied.

  “Probably,” he said. “Fuck. Did you talk to Zach about this?”

  “Not yet. I hear tell he was up a little late last night,” I replied.

  “I’ll get a hold of him then. Listen. We need to talk about this in person. Why don’t you meet me at the diner for dinner tonight? I’ll get Zach up and tell him to get his ass down there, too, and we can figure out how we’re going to handle this. You okay right now?” Carl asked.

  I felt a bit of relief wash over me. “Yeah, right now we’re good, but again, I’m not sure quite what we’re dealing with,” I replied.

  “We’ll figure it out,” Carl said. “Be there at five, and don’t be late.”

  “See you then.”

  6

  Erika

  “Is there any more coffee?” Aaron asked. I had to make another pot, but I was happy to do it. Though he was nice enough, just like Adam said he was, I was nervous around him. I was nervous around all men who weren’t Adam or my dad, and it was even worse now, knowing that there was a man out there who wanted me dead.

  “Sure,” I said. I was also relieved for the chance to get out of the room for a few seconds. He was focusing on the laptop, and I was watching something stupid that I found on TV, but I still felt it was rather awkward in the room, and I looked for any reason to take a few moments away.

  When I was in the kitchen, I noticed there were a few Army postcards on the fridge. I didn’t dare take one off or try to read it for fear Aaron would catch me invading Adam’s privacy, but it was sure tempting.

  I couldn’t believe that he had gone through that. It was hard to imagine him in uniform, out there in combat, facing fear right in the eye. I felt so afraid right now, like at any moment Kline was going to come through that door and gun me down. I was on edge, and it made it hard to focus on anything.

  After pouring the hot liquid in the mug, I headed back out to the living room, glad to see that my white SUV had just pulled up in front of the complex. Adam was home, which was going to take some of the tension out of the room. At least, the tension I felt.

  Sixteen-year-old me would have kicked myself for not having made a move on Adam last night. I couldn’t believe it. Here I was, waiting for him to come back inside and hang out with me. I knew that he was only helping me because of the trouble that I’d gotten myself in, but still.

  He was here. We were back together. Well, maybe not together in that sense, but we were together like old times. There had been several times during my years spent in Boston that I’d wondered if I was ever going to see him again. I didn’t think so, but then, I
always had this feeling that I might.

  We had connected too well for him to drop out of my life completely, I knew that for a fact. But then, he was gone, and I was gone, and we didn’t have any contact with each other. I’d tearfully assume that he had moved on with his life. Probably had a wife and kids. Then, I’d assume that I had to move on with my life, get myself a husband.

  He walked through the door and I smiled. Aaron looked up and groaned.

  “You look like shit man,” Adam said. He took the coffee from me and sipped it, then he set it on the table beside him.

  “I feel like shit,” he replied. “I’m on, like, my fourth cup of coffee.”

  I almost pointed out that it was his fifth, but I kept my mouth shut. I didn’t know what kind of sense of humor this man had, and I didn’t want to push the limit, especially if he was drunk.

  “Damn,” Adam said. He handed me my keys as he sat down on the chair next to Aaron’s. “So what did you find?”

  “A shit ton of shitty shit,” Aaron said. “I emailed it all to you, but it’s not pretty.”

  “Shit,” Adam said. “Thanks for coming over, bud; you know I appreciate it.”

  “Fuck you,” he said. “I did it for the girl.”

  Adam laughed, and the two of them rose from their chairs. They headed into the kitchen, and I hung out in the living room. I felt shy around Aaron, and I didn’t want to hover. He and Adam were clearly close. There wasn’t any need for me to be in the middle of the conversation they were having, even if I was dying to know.

  At long last, Aaron got his laptop and headed out, leaving me and Adam alone.

  “Let’s get that art in here. I’m not sure how much they’ve got on you, but if they know your car or license plate, they’re going to check that for the art first thing,” Adam said.

  “I’m sure it’s a dead giveaway that it’s me, even if they don’t have my number, it’s a Massachusetts plate,” I said.

  “Shit, you’re right,” Adam replied. “But my point still stands. I want to get that shit in here, and we’re going to have to do something with this cash. I don’t think it’s smart for you to be walking around with that much on your person, either.”

  “That’s why I left it in the car last night,” I said.

  He didn’t say anything, but the look on his face told me that he clearly didn’t approve. I kept my mouth shut as we headed down to get the paintings. Adam opened the back hatch to my SUV, and together, we pulled them out. I had been in such a hurry, there were only four of them, but there was a part of me that was proud Adam got to see them.

  I wasn’t proud of the reason behind why I’d painted them, or that they were forgeries of other artists’ work, but I was a damn fine artist myself, and I was proud that I had been able to get away with passing off my own work as original.

  We carried the art upstairs, and Adam had me hide them in the back of his closet.

  “I’m sure anyone who breaks into the place will have the sense to toss it,” he said. “But at least with them in there, they aren’t right in the middle of fucking everything.”

  “Right,” I agreed. “So now what?”

  “I talked to Carl Painter. He’s the leader of our MC,” Adam said. “He and his son are going to meet with us down at the diner later and talk about what’s going on.”

  I nodded. I felt torn about the meeting. I knew who Carl and Zach were. They had been around since I was a little girl. But, I wasn’t looking forward to telling them I was the reason shit was about to hit the fan. They were bound to be pissed off at me.

  Hell, if the situation was reversed, I would be fucking livid with me for what I’d done.

  Adam and I passed the afternoon quietly enough. Neither of us were very flirty with each other. I wanted to be, but I was careful to keep my teasing in check. I noticed that his was, too. I was sure he could see how badly I wanted him. Hell, I’d straight up announced it when I walked into his shop the night before.

  But with the reserved way he was behaving, there was part of me that thought he was the same as always. Liked me, was attracted to me, but held back because of whatever reason he had. For as much as I knew I had to respect that, it was hard.

  I wanted to tell him that I was an adult, I was free to make my own decisions, as was he. If he wanted to fuck me, then we should fuck. Even if my father found out about it, he wasn’t going to do anything about it. He couldn’t tell me who I could and couldn’t fuck.

  At the same time, if he really felt that way, I didn’t want to press it. I didn’t want to be the little slut who wouldn’t take no for an answer. We were so careful with sexual respect on campus, I knew a lot about it. But that sixteen-year-old girl inside me still yearned to have Adam’s cock in my pussy.

  Around four-thirty, he announced we had to get going.

  “I thought you said we were going to be there at five?” I asked.

  “Carl hates waiting, and Zach’s going to be there early. It’s his diner. Even though he doesn’t work on Sunday, he always shows up at some point. I’m sure if he was feeling hungover, he already ate some greasy food to get it out of the way before dinner,” Adam replied.

  I wanted to wait. I wanted to hang back, but I knew I couldn’t. Hell, I was the one who this was all about, I had to go, whether I liked it or not. What would they think of me if I were to run and hide in the apartment all day long?

  I was never part of the MC, but I had grown up in this town, so I knew who these people were. I knew what they thought of outsiders, and it was because of me outsiders were coming, and they might hurt someone innocent.

  So, I reluctantly got ready. I had a change of clothes in my vehicle, and I pulled my hair back as much as I could. It was short, but I could get it into a ponytail if I tried. It looked decent enough to me, and off we went.

  Adam was right. Though we were half an hour early, we got there the same time Carl did. The man didn’t seem to even notice that we were early as he dutifully shook my hand and clapped Adam on the back. Zach was already inside, but he merely gave me a nod when I walked in.

  Everything about the man screamed douche bag, but in a way, that made me feel better, too. I needed to have a team of douche bags if I was going to get through this alive.

  The men at the table made small talk for a while, ignoring that I was even there. No one asked me any questions except for the waitress, but I was okay with that. I didn’t want to talk about me. I didn’t even want to give any of these men my opinion.

  I just wanted to have this nightmare end.

  When the food came out, however, the conversation changed. Carl took a bite of his food, then he clasped his hands together and looked at Adam. “Alright, tell me who this bastard is and what we’re up against.”

  “It’s not looking too great,” Adam replied. My heart sank. “He doesn’t always go by Kline, though that has been his name for the past couple years. He’s a murderer, good at making things look like an accident. Good at making people disappear. The police want him under different identities, but still, he’s good. That’s all I can say: he’s good.”

  “And, do we have a location on the guy?” Zach asked.

  Adam shook his head. “No, but we know that he’s a master at finding who he’s looking for. I’m not going to say that means he’s going to be able to find Erika here, but I have a feeling if he wants to bad enough, he’s going to.”

  “And would you say he’s going to want that?” Carl asked. “Has she fucked up enough that he’s going to want her dead?”

  “Oh, no doubt,” Adam said, as casually as though it were nothing. “He’s been known to murder people for cutting him off in traffic. He’s bound to be pissed, and I mean pissed at this situation.”

  “Sounds like we’ve got our work cut out for us,” Zach said. I noticed still no one at the table really looked at me or even engaged with me. I felt the looks that I got were ostracizing, but I also couldn’t blame them. I had no one to blame but myself.

&nbs
p; This was their town, and I was the one who was bringing trouble down on it. Of course they were pissed.

  “So what’s the end game?” Adam asked. At least he was on my side.

  “Clearly, we aren’t going to let this bastard in our town,” Carl said. “If the guy comes around, he’s going to be let known that this is our town, not his, and he’s not going to have his way here.”

  “Do we go so far as...” Zach asked. I knew what he was getting at. He was asking if they would be willing to murder the guy if it came down to it. My heart fluttered, and I felt sick to my stomach, but I forced myself to keep eating. They were talking about this as though it was the most casual thing in the world.

  “We do what needs to be done. I’m not going to have that scum in my town,” Carl replied.

  Both the other men nodded, and I had to force myself to finish my dinner. I was sure they hated me, but Adam was acting natural, so I tried to do the same.

  However, when dinner was finally over, both men shook hands with Adam and gave me a nod. “Let us know if you need anything,” Carl said. “The Iron Fist will drop if it needs to.”

  “Thank you,” Adam said. “Really.”

  He gave me a look, and I quickly nodded. “Thank you so much. So very much.”

  7

  Adam

  I woke up the next day with higher hopes things were going to turn out alright after all. It wasn’t going to be easy, that was for damn sure, but at least now I knew I had the guys on my side. Of course, they would have been anyway, but now I had Carl in the loop and Zach was in my back pocket.

  But, I still had to know just what we were dealing with, and to do that, I was going to need more cooperation out of Erika. I knew she had told me all that she knew about Kline, but she hadn’t really said much about what it was like working for him.

  She didn’t go into detail about the things that she did any more than what was absolutely necessary, and I knew it would be helpful. So, I started in on her the next morning.