Letting Her Lead (Ghost Riders MC Book 3) (2 page)

“
C
ome on
, Ham. Time for bed.”

I haven’t even gotten out of my chair in my office yet because I know it’s going to take Ham, my English bulldog, about twenty minutes to get up. I named him after the kid in The Sandlot, and it is a fitting name. I thought having a club mascot was a good idea, and I thought having a dog around for security would be even better. Little did I know I got the laziest dog on the planet. He sleeps forty hours a day and doesn’t so much as lift his head if he hears a gunshot. The only time I’ve ever seen him have a skip to his step is when I take him to the vet. Dumb dog actually gets excited when I take him in. Can’t really blame him, though, I get pretty damn excited when I see her, too. She was part of the reason I got Ham.

The first time I laid eyes on her, I was in the supermarket. I had to go in and pick up some stuff for the club, and there she was in the cereal aisle holding a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

She looked like a sweet little thing with her dark-brown hair up in a messy bun and her big glasses sliding down the end of her nose. She was wearing a baggy sweatshirt with an image of Ms. Pac-Man on the front, a pair of leggings with kittens on them, and purple Vans with no socks. I remember the no socks because there was this little gold chain around her ankle, and I remember wanting to put her foot over my shoulder and lick it as I fucked into her. Goddamn, was her body sweet. Tiny little thing with some thick thighs and a big ass. I loved that she was thick. I’ve always liked big girls, and she was making me have crazy fantasies with one quick look.

When I took a step to approach her, I noticed an older lady walk up to her and call her by name. “Doctor Izzy! I’ve been trying to call the clinic all week. My ragdoll cat, Princess, has had an upset tummy for three days. I have to get her in to see you.”

“Izzy.” I whispered her name, feeling it roll off my lips. I watched as she walked with the old lady out of the store and out of my life. But I knew where to find her. There is only one vet in town, and I could talk to her there. The only problem was, I didn’t have an animal.

I had our MC hacker, Knox aka Scribe, help me find a dog, but I didn’t explain why. I think he suspected something, but he never let on. When we went to pick the dog up from the shelter, he was a wrinkly little puppy, but I had to admit he was pretty damn cute. He looked chubby and slept damn near every hour of the day, so the name Ham stuck.

Taking Ham into the vet the first time was like going on a blind date, only your date didn’t know you were coming. I walked into the vet’s office and did the paperwork for Ham, taking him over and having a seat. When we got called back to the little room, the vet assistant looked him over and told me the vet would be in soon. I waited, looking down at Ham sleeping on the floor the whole time without a care in the world. I’d worn my cut into the vet’s office because I thought it was better to put my cards on the table, but I wonder, looking back, if it was the right idea.

When Izzy walked in, her face lit up and she beamed, only it wasn’t at me. She was looking at Ham and immediately fell to her knees, scooping him up and cuddling him. I’ve never hated an animal so much in my life. She didn’t so much as give me a second glance.

She was all business with me, not even looking at me as she put Ham on the table and gave him his shots. She talked out loud, but never so much as made eye contact when I tried to ask questions. Izzy was more than thorough, and she answered what I asked, but she didn’t seem to even notice me with the puppy in the room.

Right before she left, she put Ham down and finally—finally—turned to look at me. He was bouncing all over the place, I swear, the most active he’s ever been. But I ignored him, looking at Izzy. Her dark-brown hair was still in a messy bun, and her brown eyes looked at me from behind her big glasses. She was wearing a doctor’s coat, but her T-shirt underneath had a picture of Yoda on it.

“Do you like Star Wars?” It was the dumbest thing out of my mouth, and I wanted to kick myself.

She looked up at me and blushed and then nodded gently. “Yeah, um, with my last name and all, it’s kind of required.”

I stared at her in confusion as she told me to have a nice day and left the room. I walked out of the room with Ham following lazily behind me and finally saw her name on the door. Doctor Elizabeth Force.

I stood there like an idiot. I’m not normally a cocky bastard, but I don’t really have a problem getting a woman’s attention. I guess I just assumed she’d think I was cute and give me the time of day. I saw in that moment that I had some work ahead of me. Because I had to have this woman.

Seeing her so innocent and sweet, I wanted her to cuddle me like she did Ham. When I walked out of the vet’s office, I looked down at him, and I swear to God, the little bastard was smiling. He knew I’d struck out.

I’d been back to the vet a dozen times in the past few months. She still wouldn’t ever give me the time of day, only paying attention to Ham every time we went in. When I finally shot it straight and asked her out, she looked at me like I was crazy. She’d said I was the President of a motorcycle club, and she wouldn’t ever go out with one of us.

When I see Ham finally drag his chunky butt off the couch in my office, I stand up and make my way out, with him slowly following behind.

All of a sudden, the back doors burst open, and I see Scribe carrying Cas in, her leg bleeding. Adrenaline starts to course through my veins as I think about what to do next. I run towards them as Scribe lays Casper down across one of the pool tables and she lets out a grunt.

“What the fuck happened?” I shout into the room.

“This little thing shot her. And she’s going to fix it. Aren’t you?” I hear Savage say behind me.

Turning around, I get ready to rip apart whoever shot my sergeant-at-arms. But when my eyes lock on Izzy, I stop cold.

“You!” we both say at the same time.

I
stare
at the man who has been single-handedly driving me crazy for months. I’ve never wanted to get away from someone faster, yet at the same time want to kiss them. He makes me nervous and excited all at the same time. I dreaded and loved seeing his name on the appointment schedule at the clinic. He would bring his little bulldog in for any reason. It was cute, and that had started to warm me a bit to him.

How someone could be this hardened motorcycle club President and at the same time be so attentive with their dog was surprising. That had to mean something, right? But right now I’m not feeling all warm and excited. Nope. Nervous and scared shitless is more like it.

He’s way out of my league, and I was completely shocked when he’d asked me out weeks ago. It’s almost laughable to think of us together. He’s handsome in a rough kind of way. With his short dark hair and chocolate-brown eyes, he always seems to have a little bit of scruff on his face. Between the scruff on his face and the tattoos, he’s really playing to the whole motorcycle thing. He probably carries a gun and punches people who look at him funny. I can barely make eye contact at times, and the only weapon

I’ve ever used—besides my grandfather’s revolver—is a staff in Warcraft. Not that that’s anything to shun. It is, after all, a legendary.

“Let her go,” Lucias says. The giant, scarred-up guy named Savage releases my arm quickly, like I’m suddenly on fire, but Lucias’s tone didn’t give much room for argument. I reach up and rub the spot, not from pain. I’m just happy to be free. Well, not really free.

“Where the fuck are her clothes?” Lucias’s eyes roam over me, locking on my legs.

“Wasn’t real worried about her clothes at the moment, Pres,” Savages answers.

Lucias pulls his eyes away from me and over to Casper, who’s been moved from the pool table to a sofa over on the side. When I got in the truck, I’d cut her jeans away, and I’d done a few quick stitches and bandaged her on the drive over. I had to use what was in the truck because Cas just wanted it stitched fast and over quickly. Something about not wanting her man to see it. She didn’t even jump when I started on her. She just cursed and kept checking her phone. I did the best I could with my kit in a moving vehicle. It should be fine, as long as she doesn’t get an infection.

“Cas.” Lucias just says the one word.

“No. I’m not alright. Vincent is going to fucking kill me. I’m never going to hear the end of this. Ever.” She picks up her phone once again, typing away, not seeming to be in pain. More annoyed and agitated than anything. She actually didn’t even seem mad at me that I shot her. More pissed at herself. Or whatever this Vincent was going to do.

He walks over to her, looking down at her thigh. He pulls the bandage back to look at the wound before reapplying it, shaking his head.

“You did this?” He looks back over at me, and this time I can’t read his face at all. Holy shit, I’m standing with no freaking pants on in the middle of a motorcycle club after I shot one of their people. I pull at the bottom of my shirt, trying to make it longer.

I’m not sure if he means the bandage and stitching, or the shooting, so I just nod because, hell, I did do both.

“Someone want to tell me what happened?” He looks around the room at everybody, and it’s then I notice there are a few other men who have joined us. I go to step back, but bump into Savage, which makes me jump. Jesus, he takes up all the freaking space around here.

“What happened is Vincent is never letting me out of the house again. He already follows me around. I’m shocked he hasn’t scented my blood and isn’t here already,” Cas half-whines before dropping her head back down onto the sofa, ignoring Lucias’s question.

“Went to find Pinch. He wasn’t home, but his bitch was,” the man who had been carrying Cas and drove us here says.

I scrunch my face at his word bitch. For some reason, out of everything, that name seems to be the straw that is about to break this camel’s back. I feel the lump start to grow in my throat, but I try to hold it back by biting the inside of my cheek, hoping the pain will halt it.

I feel my body go lax, and I start to feel a little colder than before. I’m crashing. The adrenaline is leaving my body, and I clench my fist, hoping to stop the shaking that I know is going to come.

Lucias’s whole body seems to go rock solid, his hard stare landing on me. I can practically feel the anger pulsing off him in waves.

“You belong to Pinch.” The disgust is clear in his voice, and it also doesn’t sound like a question. More of an accusation. He lets out an angry huff, and his nostrils flare. “Not any more, you don’t.”

What the hell does that mean? Like, he’s going to kill me?

I feel my legs start to shake, and before I know it, Savage has me by the waist, stopping me from hitting the floor. I’m shocked he even cared enough to catch me.

I’m quickly pulled from Savage’s arms and into Lucias’s.

“I’ll be back. No one fucking go anywhere.”

“What the fuck was that?” I hear Cas say, and then a few others mumble as Lucias carries me from the room.

I have no energy to fight him. What’s the point? I just rest my head against his chest as he takes a set of stairs. It’s then I really notice we’re in some giant house.

We go up two flights of stairs until we reach the third floor. There are two doors, one at either end of the hall. One door opens, and a small blonde woman pops her head out, giving us a strange look.

“Savage is downstairs,” he tells the woman as he turns. She just nods before a half-smile pulls at her face.

At the end of the hall, he opens a door before dropping me on a bed. He stares down at me for a minute, and I feel my heartbeat pick up. I scramble for the other side of the bed, and Lucias just lifts his hand and points at me.

“Don’t even think about trying to leave.” With that, he turns, exiting through the door he just entered, and I hear a lock click into place.