Biker Born: The Lost Souls MC Series (The Lost Souls Series Book 4) (6 page)

With all the dust everywhere I can’t see a thing. I rely on my other senses, I can hear the bike engines getting further away and the men’s hooting and hollering soon fades into nothing the further they ride away.

“Warning shots?”

“Must be, no one’s screaming they’re hurt,” I say, I slowly release Rayna as the dust settles and see we are no longer in danger. I keep her in my arms, more for my sake than hers. I need to know she’s okay, I feel her trembling but when I look down at her, her face is impassive.

Grabbing her chin so she is looking at me I ask, “Are you okay?” Needing to hear it from her lips.

“Yeah, who were they?” she asks.

“No one that’s coming back here,” I promise her.

“Are you okay?”

Looking into her eyes, I see the genuine fear she feels for me and I feel that much closer to her. I need to speak to her soon about making her mine because I don’t want to step away from her ever and the way she’s looking back at me I would guarantee she feels the same.

“I’m fine darlin’, why don’t you go and get us a drink. I’m sure we could both do with one.”

She goes to walk away but I pull her back, needing to feel her lips on me. She tastes of beer and innocence and right now, there isn’t anything I want more than her.

“I’ll be right back,” she whispers, pulling away.

“What the fuck is happening?” Micky calls, jogging towards us.

I turn back to the gates while Oak, Michael and Micky get into it. You don’t attract attention from the wrong people unless they think you are a threat. Hunter saw us a threat and probably still does. I have no doubt he will be back or some of his men to check on us. My mind runs crazy with possibilities of that situation occurring, we have to be prepared for it. He came with a considerable good size backup tonight but who knows how many more men he has to rely on. With only four of us against a club we don’t stand a chance.

If we were a club, we could stand against them and protect what’s ours. I am aware of the clubs and how they work. I have never been particularly interested but these days, what the hell.

We have perfect premises, we have a bunch of guys with the same problem, not fitting in. Fed up with no cash and this Hunter thinking he can come here and take over, it’s about time we make our own stand in this world.

Oak must notice I’m not part of their conversation and asks,

“You’re quiet, what you thinkin’?”

Tearing my eyes away from the gate, I turn and look at my brother and my two friends who I class as my brothers.

“Hunter thought we were a club, he came all the way out here to check us out. What if we were a club?” I ask.

They all stare at me like I’ve lost my mind but as they begin to think it over, Oak gives me a look to say he will follow this path with me. Micky grins wickedly and Michael, well, the wheels in his head are spinning so fast with ideas already I am surprised his head is still on his shoulders.

“How would we go about it?” Oak asks.

I shrug my shoulders and blow out a heavy breath.

“I don’t have a fuckin’ clue, we can talk tomorrow after everyone’s gone.”

“So, we’re not makin’ any important decisions right now?” Micky asks, looking around, no doubt for Flo.

“No Mick, go on, go find her.”

I look around myself for Rayna, she should have been back by now with our drinks.

When I can’t find her I make my way back around the house, I stop so suddenly Oak and Michael both bump into me.

“What the fuck we stoppin’ for bro?” Michael asks.

“Can you hear that?” I ask, holding my hand up to shush them.

They go quiet and wait. I did hear right, sounds like a woman struggling. We back track to the shed we just passed and when Oak opens the door and I see it’s Rayna I heard, I can’t stop myself.

Some punk is pushing her against the wall and while she looks like she holding her own quite well considering the guy is bigger than her, I still rush to her and grab the guy by the back of his tee. Throwing him down to the floor my boot connects with his head, then his ribs. I can hear Oak calling my name and from the corner of my eye I can see Michael take Rayna by the arm and pull her outside.

“Who do you think you are to touch her?” I scream at him, using all my strength to drive my boot into his ribs over and over.

“You don’t touch anyone who says no, you hear me?”

Dropping to my knees, I grab him by his hair and this time I drive my fist into his face.

“You don’t ever come back here or look at her, do you understand?” I scream in his face.

Punching him relentlessly the pain in my hand is numbed from the adrenaline shooting through my veins.

“Mark, come on, he’s had enough. You’ve made your point.”

I lift the guy’s sagging head and punch him one last time before Oak wraps his burly arms around me and pulls me off of the guy.

He drags me out of the shed and it sobers me up pretty quickly when I see Rayna’s face as she looks at me with blood splattered across my face and hands. She doesn’t look scared, she looks disappointed. She doesn’t say anything, she simply turns and walks away. Assuming she doesn’t want me near her, I look to Michael. He gives me the nod and follows her.

“That should be you running after her,” Oak grumbles.

I’m beginning to feel the pain in my hands and the rush is starting to wear off. I don’t have the energy or inclination to deal with this now. Keeping my opinion to myself, I turn for the house and disappear to my room. I haven’t lost my temper like that in a long time and to be honest, it felt fucking good.

MARK

“Have you seen her yet?”

Oak has been busting my balls for days now over Rayna.

“No.”

I‘m dying to see her, to hold her in my arms while feeling her skin against mine in bed. Only the thought of her seeing me lose my shit like that again is what’s keeping me away from her. It was a legitimate reason for pummelling the guy into the ground and I would do it again for any woman if they found themselves in that position with the guy, and that is what I can’t afford. I have to concentrate on getting my life sorted before I ask someone to be a part of it and God only knows where I’ll end up.

“You do know Michael has been up that diner every chance he gets. He’ll not give you a chance if he thinks your bust up the other night has given him an in with her?”

“I know,” I manage to grate out through gritted teeth.

“I don’t understand, I know you like her so stop moping around like a bitch and go and see her before it’s too fuckin’ late.”

“Look, I know you mean well man, but just leave it. Let’s get this finished before nightfall yeah.” I grunt, hammering a nail into the plywood of the bar we are building in the biggest outbuilding. From now on, this will be the centre of the party with only guys we deem worthy to enter.

The day after the party and once we were all alone, we sat in the kitchen shooting the shit about this idea of forming our own club. Between the four of us, we covered everything we would need and who we would want with us. I wasn’t surprised to hear how many guys were in our position. It was then I knew we were doing the right thing. Not only for us but for others who are lost too, others who struggle to fit in and live by the rules.

We could offer them a place to be themselves and have the security of others standing beside them. Hunter had guys ready to shoot for him, even as outlaws they still had each other’s backs. Micky left the next morning to arrange a meet with the guy he gets work from and is due back tomorrow, with more work coming our way we can make this work because if it doesn’t, I don’t know where it will leave us.

“I’ve been thinking,” Oak says, “If I didn’t sell up and we were to give up our rentals, we could pitch in here. There’s plenty of room in the house for us to have a room each and in here, there are more rooms if others turn up and have no place to stay. What do you think?”

“I think that’s a fuckin’ good idea man, there’s not a lot to clean up there. It’s not like anyone will be expecting the Hilton or anything, just a bed to crash.”

I know in my heart this is right, everything is falling into place.

“Yo, Mark.”

Throwing the hammer down, I turn to see Michael walking through the door. He’s been different since we’ve been out here. He’s more laid back and not as intense. And apart from his encounter with Micky a few weeks ago, he hasn’t thrown a punch at all. I don’t know how long that will last but for now, I’m grateful he’s here and he wants to be, not that I would force him to stay. Trying to keep him out of trouble seems to be a full time job and being here makes it easier for me to do. It’s not just him either. We all seem to be better out here, away from the mainstream of society.

“What’s up?”

“Just letting you know that I’m leaving but I’ll be back in a few days.” He says, taking a look around at we’ve been working on most of today.

“We’re gonna need tables and chairs and shit in here,” he says, frowning, “I’ll sort it out.”

Oak throws me a disbelieving look before quickly going back to sanding down the bar top.

“Okay, sounds good.” I agree, giving him the nod, “Where you going to?” I ask.

“I know a few guys who would be good to join us, I just need to track them down. They’re not exactly the homely types.”

“Okay, remember though, don’t pick up just anyone,” Oak puts in.

Michael rolls his eyes and grunts loudly, “I’m done being around complete morons, I’m not gonna be bringing them out here to be surrounded by them day and night.”

I can’t help smile at how far my brother has come in the last couple of months.

“Be careful and get in touch if you need us,” I warn him.

Oak had a phone installed last week so if any of us left they could still get in touch with us.

“Don’t worry man, I can look out for myself,”

I don’t doubt he can but I doubt the sense he loses when his temper gets the better of him.

“When will you be back?”

“In time for the party weekend.”

I pull him in and hug him tight before he leaves, it takes us both by surprise but none of us say anything.

The afternoon passes and by the time the sun begins to settle, Oak and I have finished the bar.

Sitting on piles of left over wood, we both sit with a beer looking at what we created. 

“It could do with some shelves on the wall behind it,” he points out.

“There’s enough wood we’re sitting on to cover that.”

The conversation ends there. We just sit there exhausted with our calloused hands trying to keep a grip on the beer bottles.

It isn’t long before we hear an engine coming closer until it stops. Both standing up, we make our way out to see who it is as we’re not expecting anyone.

Turns out, Micky is back a day early and with him on the back of his bike is Flo. Obviously he couldn’t wait to see her and stopped off at her place first. Not only has he brought Flo with him but two other guys as well.

“Mark, Oak, this is Davey and he’s Big Ron.” He says, introducing us.

Hands are shaken and greetings are passed around.

Big Ron is named because he is just that, the guy is fucking huge. Shaved head right down to the scalp and more tattoos than I ever seen on one person. Davey is considerably smaller but by no means skinny, hair hanging down his back, he looks like a throwback hippy apart from he is covered in grease and has the coldest set of eyes I’ve come across. No peaceful, loving vibes coming from him. Flo manages to wriggle out of Micky’s arms and walks beside me as we all go into the house.

Micky and Oak are busy telling the new guys about the house and land and it looks like I am about to get a fucking lecture.

I like Flo, I have done from the first time I spoke to her at our first party. She is soft and kind with a party animal streak running right through her and for the moment she’s making Micky extremely happy.

“I thought you would have been by to see her, make sure she’s okay.”

“Michael’s been checking on her, I know she’s fine.” I say, not really wanting to have this conversation with her, or anyone.

“It’s not Michael she misses, Mark,” she says, squeezing my arm softly, “She won’t admit it because she’s stubborn but you scared her losing your shit like that. She isn’t weak, find out why she ran off before you give up on her. That’s if you haven’t already, her shift finishes in an hour.”

With that, she’s gone and sitting on Micky’s lap as they sit around the kitchen table.

Not allowing myself to think it over, I grab my keys and walk out. I don’t bother telling anyone where I’m going, Flo can fill them in.

All the way to the diner I ride fast and hard, more to keep my attention on the road than on Rayna. I have a tendency to overthink things, this time I am not going to over think her, if it works, good, if it doesn’t, I’ll move on. I’m not doing this half in anymore though, we’re either together or we’re not.

The car lot is empty when I pull in and park by the door. Flo said she had an hour left till the end of her shift. Getting here in a half hour, it leaves another half hour till she comes out. I’m prepared to wait for her though, making myself comfortable on my bike, I wait.

With luck on my side, she finishes early on account there isn’t any customers in and blows out of the door in a blonde whirl.

I see her surprise at seeing me here for a short second but she quickly covers it with coldness.

“I thought I heard a bike pull up a while ago, have you been waiting all this time?” she says, digging around for her keys in her purse.

“I wanted to see you but I didn’t want to interrupt you while you were working.”

She slowly looks up and waits to see why I am here.

“I wanted to apologise to you for what I did, I…”

She cuts me off with a wave of her hand and speaks herself.

“I understand why you did it, they guy was being a jerk. I have my reasons for why I left but it didn’t mean I didn’t want to see you again. I would have come to you but with you not coming in, I thought I’d messed us up. Whatever it is that we have anyway.”

Fuck, she’s cute when she babbles on.

I move towards her and close the distance between us. Tucking her hair behind her ear so I can see her face, I grip her chin to get her full attention and tell her what I have to say.

“At the moment I have nothing to offer you apart from myself, I can only say sorry for letting you be in that shed on your own. I should’ve got our drinks but I’m not sorry for what went down after because I’d do it again if anyone apart from me touched you. It’s not in me to let the people I care about get hurt and not do anything about it.”

“You care about me.”

It wasn’t a question.

“Yeah, I do. I want you to be mine and only mine. We’re staying in town permanently and I want us to be together and maybe one day you will tell me your reasons for leaving that night, you don’t have to now, but one day.”

There I’ve said what I want, now it is up to her.

“You sure took your time, Mark Blake,” she laughs.

She leans up on her tip toes and kisses me before I can speak. Wrapping my arms around her, I kiss her back matching her hunger for our need to touch each other again.

“Flo’s already with Micky so I’ve got the place to myself tonight. Do you want to come back to mine?” she asks, pulling away too soon.

“Sure.”

I release my hold on her and take hold of her hand.

“It’s not far from here, you can follow me,” she says.

“No.”

“No?” she questions, raising her eyebrows.

“I mean, ride on the back of my bike with me. I’ll bring you back to get your car in the morning,” I clarify.

A smile creeps across her face and she leans up to kiss me again.

“What makes you think you are staying till morning?” she teases.

“You just agreed to be mine so I’ll be waking up with you as many mornings as possible.” I say, making it fucking clear where this is going.

She doesn’t need any enticing to get on the bike and when her legs cling to my thighs and her arms wrap around my waist I know for sure I have made the right decision making her mine.

The only drag is telling Michael our news and I hope for both our sakes that he doesn’t go back on his word to not let this affect us as brothers.