Patience: Biker Romance (The Davis Chapter Book 1) (13 page)

Without turning around, Trask nodded. “We agree.”

“As simple as that? Got damn, you
must
be desperate.” Captain slid the briefcase across the picnic table. Trask turned back to me. It was my cue to step forward. As I did, he snapped the latches on either side of the case. I stood over him as he opened it. A manila folder lay inside. Trask handed it to me.

 
“Carla Landry. Born April 13
^th
, 1988.” The words barely registered to me. I read them again, this time to myself. Carla Landry. Not Patience, but Carla. 27 years old with a home address in Sacramento. That was me.

There was no epiphany. There was no tsunami of memories washing over my blank mind. I wasn’t expecting it, anymore. I had gotten used to the fact that I was starting over from scratch. Hey, at least I had a name.

Trask elbowed me in the thigh. It startled me back to reality. The reality of two groups of testosterone riddled bikers just itching for one wrong move. “Are we golden?”

I turned back to Thunder. I had a smile so wide I could almost see it on his face, “Solid gold, baby.”

As I walked back to my man, my heart was at full speed. I knew what was coming next, and I hated it. My throat was bleached bone dry, but I tried to swallow, anyway.

I was facing away from Trask and the negotiations when he spoke, “All right boys.” I could almost hear the smile on Trask’s face, “Time for the renegotiations.”

As the president spoke, all of the Rising Sons pulled their weapons.

In the blink of an eye, every Rising Son that brought a gun had it pointed across the benches. I kept walking towards them, telling myself one foot after the other. I was terrified, and all I wanted was to get on the other side of Thunder. There was safety next to my man.

“You rotten motherfuckers. I knew this shit smell bad from the start. If that dumb bitch hadn’t been with your boy, we’d have you by the short and curlies right now, assholes.”

Captain didn’t sound as angry as he did disappointed. He had probably seen the betrayal coming from the very beginning, but that was probably life as an outlaw. When I turned around, I expected to see guns pointing back. It was my worst fear.

When I was beside Thunder, I spun around. To my surprise, every Devil’s Branch member was frozen in place, hands at their sides. It almost worried me more.

Their president had a dry smile on his face, “You really thought we would come all the way out here without a contingency?” He looked around at his men, his laughter spurring theirs to start. The old man turned back, his hands up in the air like he was giving up. Then I noticed his eyes.

They weren’t looking at us; they were looking past us. In a flurry, I turned around, expecting to see Harleys riding up behind us. There was nothing but the empty baseball diamonds.

Captain stepped forward, oblivious to the gun in Trask’s hands. “Wanna see a fun party trick?” He unrolled a pack of cigarettes from his T-shirt sleeve. Hamming it up, Captain took a few steps back and tossed the pack into the air.

A crack came from some unknown direction, and a pack of cigarettes turned to torn paper and dust in the air. Everyone except Captain and Trask ducked. Most of the Rising Sons kept their guns trained, but some spun around, looking for the unseen shooter.

As the sound of the gun faded out, Captain’s laughter took over, once again. “That’s what I call an insurance policy. He’s an ex-SEAL, so I wouldn’t push your luck any more than you already have. Now, because you couldn’t play nice, here’s the new terms: twenty percent of everything for two years and one hundred grand at the end of it.” Captain watched Trask, drinking in his victory. “Tell me, Trask, do you
really
want to try it?”

Through clenched teeth, “What’s that?”

“Taking a swing at me. It’s written all over your face. I wouldn’t recommend it, though. You’ve got some crosshairs on you, Trask Rivers, so move with care. Y’all are new in town, so maybe you don’t know all the tricks of the trade quite yet.”

I stood half-hidden behind Thunder, holding in a scream. The men might have been used to the violence and tension, but I wasn’t. I didn’t know if I wanted to be part of that world. It was harsh and constant.

Trask turned, a smile on his face. He tilted his head for me to join him. It was all part of the plan, but I felt rigid. My feet weren't moving, no matter how much my brain screamed at them. Thunder leaned down, “You’re up, baby. I’ve got your back. I’ve got it here, there, and everywhere.” He whispered so that he and I were the only ones that could hear.

Thunder was my strength. His voice rumbled inside of me and broke whatever fear was holding me tight. The biker lifestyle might not have worked for me, but fuck, Thunder knew me better than I knew myself.

I walked forward. Trask threw an arm around me and pulled me against him. “Real cute, Captain. You think we didn’t come with a backup, too? Our backup is standing right next to me. Honestly, I’m surprised you didn’t see this one coming. You might be losing your edge, old man.”

Captain’s smile faded, but just a hint. He still thought he had the upper hand. “The fuck you talkin’ about, Rivers?”

“Really? Are you forgetting what she does? Carla is DEA, and Carla is on our side. One word from her and satellites thirty miles up are starin’ at your wrinkly balls. Or maybe she gets your door busted in on suspicion of trafficking.”

The expression on Captain’s face went from pure joy to pure anger. Trask said that the Devil’s Chasers took in most of their cash running coke up the coast. Thunder confirmed that the DB were drug runners. Captain’s look was concrete.

“You kidding? She doesn’t even know her name.”

It was true, but I could hear Captain grasping at straws. I had to step in. “Do you think that is gonna save you? I don’t. I lost my memory, not my deductive skills.” I looked back around to all the Rising Sons standing behind me, “Any one of these guys could call in and put you on the radar, but if
I
call? If I make the call, you aren’t just on the radar; you’re on every billboard in California, and maybe even the FBI’s top ten most wanted list.” A voice came from inside of me that I hadn’t heard before. It wasn’t Patience. It was Carla.
 

“You’ve got a sniper? That’s wonderful, really. Very twentieth century, but I’ve got news for you: a phone call is one thousand times more powerful and deadly than a bullet in this century. You know it’s true; you just can’t admit it to yourself.”

Trask had a wide grin on his face. He leaned forward and extended his hands, “So, now that you understand the stakes, all that shit about us paying you is out the window. Obviously.”

Captain was defeated, “Obviously.”

Trask gave his approval. “Now’s the part where you leave, Captain. Things are going to stay quiet around here, right?”

The president of the Devil’s Branch looked out past the diamonds. I wanted to follow his eyes, but I couldn’t tear myself from his face. “For now, Rivers. For now.” He turned to the dozen or so bikers behind him. “Let’s give them what they want, boys. Tails between our legs.” With a heavy wave of his hand, they began to walk away.

With speed that completely defied his age, Captain spun around and lurched towards me. His quickness caught Trask off guard, and I closed my eyes, preparing for whatever pain was coming. My body tensed as I prepared, but it didn’t come. Instead, it sounded like the devil himself with screaming behind me.

I open my eyes in time to see Thunder tackle Captain. Thunder outweighed the Devil’s Branch president by fifty pounds, and all of his weight came down on top of Captain. By the time Trask and a few other bikers pulled Thunder off, my man connected with three solid punches. There was something completely devoid of sanity in his eyes.

Thunder was panting when they pulled him from Captain. When his men pulled him up, Captain was bleeding from the nose and one of his eyes was already swelling shut. When I thought about violence, I hated it. When I saw Thunder protecting me with his fists, I couldn’t get enough of it. It was some part of me that I didn’t understand. It scared me, but at the same time there was an addictive quality about it.
 

“Nice try, Captain. Fair is fair, but you just don’t have the speed anymore, old man.” Trask waved his handgun at the opposing bikers, “Be gone with you, foul wretches.”

Thunder wasn’t in such a good mood. He spent his words out like fiery death, “Try that again, fucker, and God himself couldn’t pull me from you. You won’t need a funeral, ’cause I’ll pound every inch of you straight into the dirt myself.”

I never wanted to fuck Thunder so badly the entire time that I knew him. Lust consumed me, and I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. We had a long haul before the two of us would be alone, and I didn’t know if I’d survive.

 
We regrouped at the Watering Hole. I held Thunder as tightly as I could on the ride back to Davis. There were so many naughty things I wanted to whisper in his ear, but the roar of the Harley between our legs drowned it all out. I wasn’t worried, though. I was saving up everything for him.

Somehow, my identity didn’t seem as important. I had a name, and apparently I had a real place of my own in California’s capital. I was Carla, now, but Patience was inside of me, too. It was a past I couldn’t erase; it was a past I had to embrace.

Trask addressed the Rising Sons. “High alert, boys. We are on high alert.”

“Maybe if we hadn’t played chicken with Captain, we wouldn’t be in this fucking mess. Maybe if we hadn’t been
lied
to.” Apparently Stache was still one of my outspoken opponents. He shot me a look on par with Captain’s.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Trask shook his head, “We withheld some information, I’ll grant you that. I don’t know just which of you I can trust with sensitive information quite yet. Crucify me for that if you want, but that’s what being a leader is all about. I promise that from here on out, I’ll lay all the cards on the table and we’ll vote fair and square on everything; you have my word. When you joined, I asked you for complete trust. That’s what I expect. You know what I don’t expect? Any trouble from the Devil’s. I want everybody looking over their shoulder, but I’m not expecting it. Carla is our nuclear deterrent. She’s our doomsday device.”

Romero half-raised his hand, “ I don’t want to sound dumb or nothin’, but you mind saying that in English?”

“Why don’t we let her explain?” Trask turned to me.

Honestly, I was done talking. Half of them hated me, and half of them loved me. I didn’t think I’d be changing any opinions, but when the president calls, you answer. “Basically, we’ve got them by the balls. They aren’t going to mess with us because of me. They know I have the power to wipe them out with a phone call. Because of that, the chances of the Devil’s Branch looking for retribution are almost nothing.They’re fucked.”

I almost laughed. I heard the words coming out of my mouth and realized that I was one of them. The question of my loyalty was answered. It wasn’t one of the three choices, though; It was two. First and foremost, I was loyal to Thunder. I was willing to do absolutely anything for the man who would put himself in harm’s way for me every time. There was no question that I was his.

In the five days since waking up with no memory, the DEA never reached out for me. They were watching, sure, but through all my struggles, they were nowhere to be found. At any point they could have stepped in. In reality, they didn’t leave so much as a note to let me know they had my back and I was safe. There was no loyalty, and there was no love lost.

Some of the Rising Sons didn’t like me; I knew that much. Some disliked me because of Patience, others probably hated me because of a potential war with a rival gang. Even still, I felt more respect and care from the Rising Sons and from my government and employer. My complete loyalty was with the Rising Sons Motorcycle Club, Davis Chapter.