Ride the Wind, page 3
I felt Zig move behind me, and he cupped my elbow with his hand. “That was a sassy turn, darlin’, but I’ll take the lead from here.”
My cheeks heated, and I tipped my head back to look at him. He was much taller than I thought he was when he was seated, and I could see green flecks in his brown eyes. “Don’t call me sassy.”
“Just call it as I see it.” He guided me toward the edge of the backyard, and we skirted around a dilapidated fence that was more like a line of rubble than a fence. We moved through the darkness to the dimly lit parking lot.
“Ever been on a motorcycle before?” he asked. His voice was low, and the low vertebra hummed through me.
“Uh, well,” I sputtered. “No.”
He chuckled, and we stopped in front of an all-black bike. That was about anything I knew about it. It was a motorcycle, and it was all black. From the seat to the handlebar things to the wheels. Black.
“This is yours?” I asked.
Zig nodded and opened one of the bags on the side of the bike. “Yeah. My dad and brother helped me build it.”
“Wow, really?” That seemed pretty impressive to me. My dad had been more of a brainiac rather than good with his hands. He was great at numbers and equations but building anything with his hands didn’t happen.
“Yeah, darlin’. Impressed?” he laughed.
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “I mean, not, not really. Seems like something anyone could do as long as they knew what they are doing.”
“Couldn’t you say that about anything?” He pulled something out of his bag and plopped it on my head. “Pretty sure I could decorate a cake if I knew what I was doing.” He snapped the strap under my chin and looked me in the eye.
“No, not necessarily. You do need some kind of talent.” And did he know that I decorated cakes? How could he know that?
“Well, I guess my talent is putting together bikes then, yeah?” He straddled the bike and motioned for me to get on behind him.
“What do I do?” I asked.
He glanced over his shoulder at me and smirked. “Throw your leg over, wrap your arms around my waist, and hold the fuck on.”
Well, that was a little aggressive, but I think I could handle it. I scooted to the side of the bike and tried to lift my leg over the seat but lost my balance. I shuffled backward, and my arms flailed wildly.
Zig reached out and caught my hand before I landed on my butt. “Put your hand on my shoulder when you get on, darlin’.”
“I didn’t want to just touch you.”
“So you thought you should just fall on your ass?” he grumbled.
I thought I was more than capable to get on the bike without touching him. It wasn’t like I was eighty years old or something. “Can I put my hand on your shoulder?”
“You gotta be shittin’ me,” he mumbled. He tugged me close to him and put my hand on his shoulder. “Touch me all you want as long as I don’t have to pick you up off the fucking ground.”
Now that was rude, but I didn’t want to get into it with him. I really just wanted to go home and forget about this night.
I lifted my leg again, and this time with the help of my hand on his shoulder, I managed to sit down on the seat.
“Put your arms around me.” He cranked up the bike and revved the engine.
I lightly put my hands on his waist and scooted back, so I wasn’t pressed against him.
He glanced over his shoulder and glared at me. He grabbed my hand on his left and pulled. My body slammed against his, and my other arm wound around his waist, and my hand landed on his stomach. “Hold the fuck on!” he yelled.
I wanted to pull away, but I didn’t want to deal with pissed-off Zig anymore. I kept my body pressed against his and both of my arms wrapped around his waist.
He kicked up the kickstand, and we rocketed out of the parking lot before I could catch my breath.
The urge to shout at him to slow down was on the tip of my tongue. I had told him I had never been on a bike before, and he was driving like I wasn’t plastered to his back, holding on for my life.
We thankfully pulled up to a red light, and Zig had the sense not to run it.
“What’s your address?” he asked.
“I’ll only tell you if you slow down,” I bargained. We would sit at this red light all night if that meant he wouldn’t drive like a madman.
“We didn’t even go that fast,” he laughed.
Bull crap! “Slow down, or we don’t move.”
He revved the engine. “Pretty sure I’m the one who is in charge of that, darlin’.”
He was right, but he could slow down for me. “Marcus street.”
“Number?” he asked.
“Slow down?” I countered.
“All right, we’ll drive Mrs. Daisy speed, okay?”
That was what I wanted. “Twelve seventeen.”
The light turned green, and my stomach dropped. Zig pulled off the line, but it didn’t feel like my head would snap off this time.
A way down the road, I could relax my arms a bit, but I kept them around his waist. I didn’t trust him not to get an itch and drive like a madman again.
“This better?” he called.
It was. So much better. “Yes. Thank you.” I could enjoy the ride and feel what people liked so much about riding.
You just felt free—the wind in your hair and the sense of nothing weighing you down.
And not that I would admit it out loud, but it was nice to have my legs and arms wrapped around Zig.
The man was pretty gruff and rough, but that somehow made him endearing.
What made him be like that?
I could see he had a softer side. He was driving me home when he could be back at the clubhouse partying.
But I didn’t like him.
No. Not at all.
He had made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with me other than a quick ride home, which was precisely what this would be.
In five minutes, I would be home and never see Zig again.
Never.
*
Chapter Four
Zig
“This is?” I killed the bike and kicked down the kickstand. We were parked in front of a two-story house painted pale blue with white shutters.
We had parked in the driveway where the motion light over the garage kicked on.
“This is my place.” Reese scrambled off the bike and straightened her shirt as she stood. “And you’re going to forget it, too.”
I held up my hands. “Don’t even know who the hell you are, darlin’.”
“Well,” Reese sighed. “Uh, thank you for giving me a ride home.”
I nodded and kicked up the kickstand. “No problem. You might want to talk with your chick, though, darlin’. Not very cool that she left you as she did.” Not fucking cool at all. I thought maybe she and Kerry might have had some understanding when she had just taken off with Brain, but I knew that wasn’t true when Reese had woken up. She had no clue what the hell was going on.
Reese snorted. “She’ll be lucky if she has a job anymore.” She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Or she’ll be on dish duty for the rest of her life.”
“Well, whatever you do, darlin’, don’t let her get away with that shit.” I cranked up the bike, and Reese stepped onto the sidewalk. I tipped my chin to her and walked back the bike until I was pointed out of her driveway.
“Thank you,” she called. A small smile crossed her lips. “For everything.”
I hadn’t done much other than making sure she didn’t get taken advantage of. That was something her friend should have done. I nodded again and pulled out of her driveway.
I needed to get out of there.
Reese seemed like the type of woman that was endgame. The one you want waiting for you after working a long day.
A woman who could take away all the bad with just one touch.
She reminded me of Meg.
My own Meg was not what I was looking for right now.
Nope.
Not going to happen to me.
I headed back to the Sons of Sin clubhouse ad put Reese way out of my mind.
It is not going to happen.
Ever.
*
Chapter Five
Reese
“Did you get the order?”
Blain turned from the oven and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Which one?”
“The one for twelve loaves of brioche and ten dozen croissants.” I walked over to the board where all of the orders were pinned. The board was divided into seven columns from Monday through Sunday. I grabbed a blue push pin and pinned the order under Sunday.”
“You mean the one you just put up there?” he laughed.
I nodded and folded my arms over my chest. “That would be the one.”
Blain moved next to me and tipped his head back to look at the board. “You remember when I started here, and it was a big damn deal when we had one order a week?”
I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, I more than remember that. Now we have at least four special orders daily, and our weekends are packed with cakes and pastries on order.”
Blain bumped me with his shoulder. “That’s because you’re killing the baking game here, sweetheart.”
Blain was the sweetheart.
He had walked into Layers Bakery the second day I had opened, and he hadn’t left since.
It had been Blain, Kerry, and me for a long time. Blain was a literal godsend when I first opened Layers.
He was in his late fifties and had been married for twenty-seven years. Jill, his wife, was one of the sweetest people I had ever met, and she always came in with their two wiener dogs every Saturday and Thursday. Thaddeus and Tanner were the cutest dogs I had ever met.
“Is Jill coming in today?” I asked.
“Are you asking because you want to see her or because you want to see the boys?”
Busted. “Both?” I laughed. “I might have whipped up a couple of doggie treats for the boys when I made the last batch of snickerdoodles yesterday.” And also decorated them with each of the boys' names.
“And I know they’ll both love them.” Blain looked at the clock above the order board. “Are we going to talk about the fact that Kerry didn’t come in today?” he asked quietly.
I sighed and shrugged. “I mean, I’m not really surprised. We went out last night.”
Blain reared back. “You went out with Kerry last night?”
Unfortunately. “Yeah. It started out okay, but it did not end great.” I pursed my lips. “At least for me, it didn’t.”
“You wanna tell me what happened?”
Not really, but I knew Blain wouldn’t let me not tell him.
“Can I just hit the main points?”
Blain chuckled. “Sure, but I might need more details.”
I tipped my head to the side. “We went to the Sons of Sin clubhouse for a party. Kerry had been seeing some guy named Brain. We were hanging out on the patio. I fell asleep, and when I woke up, Kerry was off somewhere with Brain. She left me there with some guy I didn’t know. He ended up taking me home, and I haven’t talked to Kerry since.”
Blain’s jaw had dropped with each word I said.
“I did not expect one single word you just said.”
Yeah, it was all still pretty shocking to me, too, and I was the one it had happened to. “Well, that’s what happened. And since it is almost two hours after the time she was supposed to be here, I’m assuming she’s still occupied with Brain.”
“Is that what we are going to assume?” Blain asked. “We both know that Kerry likes to have a good time, but she never misses work. At least not without telling you that she isn’t going to be in.”
Blain was right, but I was still mad she had left me last night. “I’m sure she’ll call any minute and apologize up and down about missing work.”
The bell sounded over the door out front. “You need help out there?” Blain asked.
I should have been in the back with him while Kerry took care of the counter, but I had been working on cakes between customers. Rue had worked from seven to eleven to help with the church rush, but she was long gone. “Are you done baking?”
He lifted his shoulder. “I’ve got twenty-seven minutes until my last loaves of rye bread are done.”
“Hello?” a woman called from the front.
Blain smiled wide. “I can totally help that customer.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m sure you can. You can handle Jill, and I’ll take Thaddeus and Tanner.”
“I heard that,” Jill called from the front. “I know you’re just happy to see the boys, Reese.”
I smiled wide and grabbed the small white baggie from my decorating table. “Let’s go see your boys, and then we can worry about Kerry, yeah?” I had been driving myself crazy all morning thinking about Kerry. I wanted just half an hour where I didn’t dwell on her leaving me.
Thaddeus and Tanner could help with that.
*
“I called her. Twice. She didn’t pick up.”
Blain shrugged on his coat. “Should we be worried?”
I had no idea. Kerry was flighty, but this wasn’t like her. “Maybe?”
“You got a number for the guy she was with last night?”
I shook my head. “All I know is his name is Brain. And I doubt that is actually his name.”
Blain chuckled. “I think that is a good assumption, sweetheart.”
“The guy who ended up taking me home last night was Zig. I thought he was joking when he told me.” I moved from behind the counter and turned off the lights.
“You got a number for the Zig guy?”
“No. We didn’t really end the night on good terms. We both just wanted the night to be over.” At least that was the way Zig had made it seem.
“When does she work tomorrow?” Blain asked.
“She opens like usual.”
“So she’ll show up like usual, right?”
I hoped so, but I had also thought that she would show up today. “I’ll try calling her a couple of more times. She’s probably just really hungover and sleeping it off.” It was half past four, and while I hoped that was true, I didn’t think that was right.
Blain nodded. “I think that is a good idea, sweetheart. Call me if you hear anything from her, okay?”
I nodded and followed him out the front door. I locked it behind me and couldn’t ignore the bad feeling I had settling in the pit of my stomach.
Kerry will be in tomorrow.
She had to be.
*
Chapter Six
Zig
“Have they been feeding you?”
I laid back on my bed and placed my phone on my chest with the speaker pointed to my head. “Yes, mom.”
“Well, Ryan, how am I supposed to know if you’re eating? You won’t let me come see you, and you refuse to come here.”
“I’m twenty-six years old, mom. I don’t need you checking up on me to make sure I am eating.”
“Who is going to then?” she demanded. “Everything is so hard and confusing when it comes to you. Your dad and I just want to help you, Ryan.”
Yeah, sure they did. More like they just wanted me back in Rockton so they could control me. “I don’t need any help right now, mom.”
“Then what do you need right now?”
Fuck if I knew. “To be myself.” That sounded good.
“And you can’t do that in Rockton?” Her voice was soft, and I could tell she was hurting. I was the reason she was hurt. I could easily fix it but packing my shit up and going back to Rockton, but then I would be the one who was miserable.
Granted, I wasn’t exactly happy right now, but I was hoping eventually I would be. “Why do I have to be in Rockton?”
“Because this is where your whole family is. Your whole life is here.”
My old life was there. I wanted more. “I’m here now, mom. Maybe we can try to get together next month. I’m pretty busy with the club right now.”
“Ryan,” she sighed. “I wish you could talk to me honestly.”
I was. At least the best I could. It was hard to put what I was feeling into words. “I’ll call you later, mom.” I ended the call and dropped the phone on the floor. I propped my arms behind my head and stared up at the water-stained ceiling.
This place was a hell hole. At least my bedroom was. The ceiling leaked for days after it rained, the sink in my bathroom was busted off the wall, and my closet didn’t have a door. The worn hardwood floors were scuffed and scratched with three missing boards by the closet.
Compared to the room I had back with the Devil’s Knights, this place was hell.
But this was my choice, and I was going to stick by it. At least for as long as I could.
A knock sounded on my door.
“Yeah?” I called.
My door opened, and MW stood there. “You have a chick here asking for you.”
“Me?” I asked.
MW nodded. “Yeah, bro. You want me to bring her to your room?”
I had no clue what woman would be looking for me here. I hadn’t been with any woman since I had left the Devil’s Knights, and I sure hadn’t even tried to talk to a woman.
“She older or younger?” I asked.
MW leaned against the doorframe. “Probably in her twenties.”
Huh. There went my hunch that it was Meg and the aunts trying to get in here. “You ever seen her before?”
MW shook his head “Nah, man. Not that I can remember.”
I wasn’t sure how much help that was. It didn’t seem like MW remembered much of anything. “If she’s cool with it, have her come here.” I wasn’t interested in having the prying eyes of the club on me when I met whomever this chick was.
MW nodded and headed back down the hallway. I rolled off the bed and grabbed my phone off the floor. I shoved it into my pocket and turned when I heard a throat clear.
“What the hell?” I grunted.
Reese pushed her hair behind her ear and looked around nervously. “Uh, hi?”
“What the hell are you doing here, darlin’? I thought we both agreed we weren’t going to see each other again.”
