Ride Angel Ride: A Biker Erotic Romance (Red Skulls MC) (3 page)

“On my way. On my way,” she yelled back as she left the bedroom.

CHAPTER FIVE

CJ’s bike was very much like that of Mary’s father’s, except that it had two more-or-less bucket seats across the rear axle. According to CJ, the design was because he was a rather large man. The truth was he was more than slightly paranoid and didn’t want anybody, even his momma for the night, riding directly behind him. His personal bike was also amazingly quiet. Again, not because he didn’t like the noise, but because he wanted to hear someone else pulling up on him. There was a reason they called him Crazy Jack.

As they buzzed out of the parking lot, CJ looked back over his shoulder at Mary. “I’m really disappointed in you,” he said. “Talked to your dad after last night. He told me to handle it. He doesn’t want trouble between the chapters, but we can’t have somebody taking advantage of you.”

He turned his attention back to the road long enough to weave through some traffic and then resumed speaking. “Just because somebody’s the President of a chapter, that doesn’t give them the right to go messing with At’s baby girl. Speedy may have gotten away from us last night, but there’s a lotta eyes lookin’ for him. He can’t hide forever.”

A blaring horn demanded CJ’s attention. Mary felt an anger swirling up inside her like she had never felt before, but she knew that for Roger’s sake she had to stay quiet. So she just stared at the back of CJ’s head, hoping that her glare would bore through his skull and let some sense into that thick head.

“Even if he gets his brown ass back to Texas,” CJ continued, “he could still have a problem. A lot of the members of that chapter are very loyal to At. When a chapter President does something stupid it doesn’t take someone from another club to cause a problem. Wild Bill got careless and it cost him. Now Garrison keeps riding off into the desert without his escorts. Speedy came all the way up here from Texas without a wingman. These young studs think the rules don’t apply to them.”

They were at the shop and CJ pulled up in front of the repair area. He got off the bike and held out his hand for Mary. As she stepped off the bike, he finished his tirade. “Maybe it didn’t happen last night and maybe it won’t happen today, but President or no, Speedy Martinez is going to find out that the rules apply to him. And I plan to be the one who lays down the law.”

He nodded his head, grunted, and then got back on his
bike so he could take it behind the sales area to where he normally parked. Mary just stood and watched him go. She wanted to scream at him, “I’m not a little girl anymore!” but she knew that screaming it wouldn’t make him believe it. She was still ten years old in his eyes, and maybe always would be.

When she got to her office, she found that all the jobs were already scheduled and someone had assigned the mechanics, right up to the early morning drop-offs. Glen, the chief mechanic, stuck his head in the door and said, “Heard what happened last night. Wasn’t sure you’d be in this morning, so I went ahead and filled the schedules.”

“Thank you,” she replied. Glen was her second-in-command. One bright spot about last night was that he was not among the crew that CJ had put together. Was it that he was loyal to her? Or perhaps he actually thought of her as an adult? Maybe he was just not available? She really didn’t want to know for sure. She would rather think that at least a few of the men who supposedly worked for her considered her to be grown up.

Several times during the day, she had to go out into the repair bays to check on job progress. A couple of the mechanics looked away as she approached or walked past their areas, but several stared her down. As she walked past one bay, one of the defiant ones said just loud enough for her to hear, “He can’t run forever, Mary. We’ll find him. We can’t let some Tex-ass punk take advantage of you like that.”

Again Mary wanted to scream at him, “He’s not taking advantage of me! I’m an adult, not a little girl.” But she knew that she had to endure whatever was necessary to get through this day so that Roger could get somewhere truly safe.

It was almost seven before all the bays were clear and every bike scheduled for pick-up today had been cleared from the board. She walked through the shop making sure that all the welders and tanks were shut off properly and nothing was left in a dangerous condition.

Her mechanics were pretty careful, but once she had found a bike dripping gasoline across the floor of a bay, and once she had heard the hissing of a leaking acetylene hose on a cutter whose tanks had not been closed. Either could have created a real problem overnight, so she always checked. Besides, tonight it gave her an excuse to be sure that there was no one else in the building when she called Roger.

Roger had given her his cell phone number. She was sure she was in the building alone, but she still closed her office door before keying it in. “Get your bike ready,” she said. “I’ll pull through the courtyard and you follow me back out. There’s a tourist motel up on the north side. It’s disputed territory, so don’t wear your jacket, but there probably aren’t many Red Skull eyes up there watching things. We can stay there tonight and figure out our next move.”

“I’ll wait until I hear your engine to pull out of the storage area,” he replied in a very serious tone. Then more like his normal wisecracking self, he added, “You’re not the only one who can recognize engines by sound.”

“You’ve never heard mine,” she answered.

“But I’ve heard everybody else’s,” he quipped back, “so if it sounds familiar, it isn’t you. Just to be sure, rev your engine twice as you come off the street.”

She laughed, “CJ said you were careless. I guess he doesn’t know you.”

“You know what they call a careless chapter President?” he asked.

“No,” she answered.

“A dead one,” he replied. There was no mirth in his voice.

Mary remained quiet. Roger said softly, “See you in a little while,” and closed the connection.

CHAPTER SIX

There is no shortage of cheap, ugly motels in Vegas. There are a lot of beautiful, expensive ones too, but not everyone is lucky at the casinos. The motel Mary had chosen was an older one. It may have been a major chain at one time in its life, but now it was Bob’s North Side Motel. Rooms were available by the day, week, month... or hour.

As they rode through the city toward the motel, Mary rode alongside Roger on her bike. It had started out as a Harley 1200T Superlow, but CJ had made some modifications to it. The front was extended slightly and its overall look was sleeker than a stock bike. Normally, Mary loved riding it, but today she was wishing that she was behind Roger in the momma seat rather than alongside him on her own bike.

They pulled in under the canopy and went inside to check in. Mary requested a room around the back so that the bikes would not be as visible from the street. She said she wanted privacy, and the desk clerk, after a little financial incentive, gave her a room that had vacancies on either side.

“God,” she said to herself as they walked out of the office, “I’m getting as paranoid as CJ.”

Then she remembered what her dad had once said about CJ. “Just because you’re paranoid, doesn’t mean that someone isn’t out to get you.” Maybe someone wasn’t out to get her, but several someones were definitely out to get Roger.

Once they got into the room, Mary threw her arms around Roger and pulled him close. “I was so afraid for you today. I know CJ is just trying to protect me, but a couple of the men in the shop... I don’t think they really care about me. They’re just pissed off that you got away from them. I think they’d like to get you just to prove they’ve got the balls to do it. And I had to go about my business all day like nothing was happening. That’s not the way I normally do things.”

“I don’t normally spend my days hiding out in some girl’s apartment either,” said Roger. His voice was lacking its usual flippancy. “But I also don’t run out on a girl that I’m really attracted to and leave her to the wolves, or in this case, Crazy Jack.”

“We have to figure out where you can go,” Mary answered. “CJ said that he was reaching out to the Texas chapter and it wouldn’t be safe for you to return there.”

“Yeah, CJ said that,” the mirth was now back in his voice and he smiled as he pulled Mary close once again, “but I’ve talked to the other officers in the chapter. They know CJ, and this isn’t the first time that Crazy Jack has lived up to his name. I’m OK down there.”

His voice got a little more serious as he continued, “If your dad had called, things might not turn out as well, but as long as it was just CJ, I can go back to Texas. So the question isn’t what do I do now, but what do
we
do now?”

“I can think of something for tonight,” she replied looking up at him with a big smile. “But I smell like a motorcycle shop and really need a shower. I’ll be right back. Afterwards, we can plan for tomorrow.”

With that, she turned and went into the bathroom. She turned on the shower and then slipped out of her jeans and shirt. For the first time, she fully realized that in her haste to stop CJ this morning, she had not put on any underwear.
I wonder if anyone at the shop had noticed,
she thought to herself as she checked the shower temperature.

Before entering the shower , she glanced at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. “You’ve changed,” she said to herself. She wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but she was sure that the woman looking back at her from the mirror was no longer a little girl in mind or body.

She emerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. Her hair was still wet. She hadn’t dried herself of completely, and her skin glistened from the body lotion she had used. Apparently even cheap motels provide tiny bottles of shampoo and body wash. These had been surprisingly good, and left her with a slight flowery smell.
Much better than the smell of grease and gasoline
, she thought to herself as she opened the bathroom door.

Roger was lying on the bed naked. The TV was on, but he switched it off as soon as she entered the room. “This time I don’t have to ask if you want this,” he said with his characteristic smile.

“I don’t have to ask you either,” she replied. Then she added with a slight giggle, “He’s already answered for you,” pointing at his rising member.

Their lovemaking was not hurried, but it was nowhere near as slow as last night. This wasn’t because Roger was moving at a faster pace. He was just as deliberate in his movements as he stroked and teased her body.

The difference today was that Mary was no longer the near-passive recipient of his lovemaking. She was an active partner, returning stroke for stroke and kiss for kiss. This was not the seduction of a virgin. This was mutual lovemaking between equals.

That did not mean that the result was any less intense. If anything, both Mary and Roger climbed even higher into the ecstasy of passion before an explosive release that left them trembling in each other’s arms.

After a long silence in which Mary lay with her head against Roger’s chest, listening to his heartbeat and breathing, she said, “I know what I would like to do. If it were possible, I would love to stay right here in your arms forever.”

“And I would love to hold you forever,” he replied with a sigh. “But sometimes life is not only a bitch, it has puppies, and we have to figure out our next move.”

Mary started to say something in response, but stopped and sat upright on the bed. “CJ!” she exclaimed.

“What? Again?” Roger asked, startled, but then he heard the soft buzzing of CJ’s engine. It was soon accompanied by the rumble of other bikes. There were more than a few, but as they drew nearer, it was impossible to distinguish individual engines.

Mary stood next to the bed. “I think the bitch and all her puppies have arrived.” she said to Roger. “Get dressed,
I think it’s time for me to put on my big girl panties and deal with this as an adult.”

“I didn’t think you were wearing panties today,” Roger answered with a smirk. Mary stuck her tongue out at him and hurried into the bathroom to retrieve her clothing.

As they stood at the door, Mary whispered loudly, “Let me go out first just in case any of them want to get trigger happy before we can talk.”

When she opened the door, CJ was sitting on his bike with the front wheel on the sidewalk directly in front of their room. There were at least two dozen bikes behind him and several more in the parking lot blocking the passageways around the building.

She spoke softly. It was difficult to hear her over the rumble of the motorcycles. “Kill the engines. Please, CJ. We need to talk.”

CJ looked up at her and at Roger standing beside her. He frowned slightly, but turned to look at the men accompanying him and moved his hand across his throat. In a moment it was silent in the parking lot. Very silent.

Mary stepped out farther from the room and stood directly alongside CJ as he sat on his bike. Roger stayed slightly back so none of the others would interpret him as a threat to CJ.

“CJ,” Mary began, “I think it’s time we quit beating our chests and seeing who can piss highest on the tree.” She laughed nervously. “I think you’ve got me beat on that one anyway. And I can never be a meaner or crazier son of a bitch than you.” She smiled at him. It was a genuine smile, and she hoped that CJ could see the love behind that smile. “But I don’t have to be, CJ. All I have to be is what I am.”

Her voice got louder and she raised her eyes to address those sitting on their bikes behind CJ. “I’m a damned good rider. I can probably out-ride half the Skulls. I’m the best damn motorcycle mechanic the state of Nevada has ever seen, and that includes my dad. I’m also a loyal member of the Red Skulls. But one thing I am not is a little girl that has to be protected every single second of my life. I’ve grown up. I’m a woman now, and I’m asking that you treat me as an equal, because I am.”

She smiled again and spoke directly to CJ. “Jack, I appreciate your loyalty to my father, but the other night Speedy and I just took his bike on a test drive. We sat in that diner and talked... for a long time. But even if we were in there screwing like rabbits, it was none of your concern.”

Her face reddened slightly as she thought of how her words applied to what had occurred just before CJ arrived.

She coughed nervously and then waved her hand over the group of men standing with CJ. “And it’s none of your concern either. You’ve been my family since momma died, but I’m not a seven-year-old girl any more. I am a woman and I’m free to make my own choices. If dad doesn’t like it, dad can talk to me. And to Roger.”

Her voice got very forceful as she said in a measured pace, “Atticus Taylor doesn’t need your help to settle family issues.” She smiled at all of them and continued, “I do love you all and I appreciate your concern for me. If I yell for help some day, please come running. But right now, I’m not yelling for help, and I would really appreciate it if you would all just leave us alone.”

The 20 or so men with CJ looked over at him. He nodded his head slightly, and the sound of their engines again filled the air. Soon it was just CJ, Roger, and Mary in front of the motel room. “I guess Baby Girl has indeed grown up,” CJ said softly. He shook his head slightly and looked back and forth between Mary and Roger. Then his gaze fixed on her and he said, “We were worried when you didn’t come back last night. That’s why I called the boys together. It’s a dangerous world out there, you know.”

“I’ll protect her,” said Roger.

“When I need protecting,” added Mary.

CJ smiled at Mary and said, “Are you sure you don’t want a job on the sales side? Riding over here, I was wondering how I was going to explain to At that he needed a new President for the Dallas chapter, but you made the sale.”

He started the engine on the bike. “I’ll let At know you’re OK, but I’ll let you explain, uh, anything else to your dad yourself. I don’t think I have that kind of sales skill in me.” He gave a quick salute with his hand and buzzed out of the motel parking lot.

They stood there in silence for a few moments. Mary felt tears running down her face. She wasn’t sure if they were tears of joy, or relief, or sorrow. A part of her grieved for the little girl that used to ride so excitedly in the back of CJ’s bike. That little girl was now gone forever. She was all grown up.

“Let’s get inside,” Roger said quietly.

As they entered the room, her telephone began to ring.

She looked at the screen and it said, “Daddy.”

“Looks like CJ made his phone call,” she said as she pressed the answer button.

The first thing her father said was, “Put it on speaker.”

She did so and the voice of Atticus Taylor filled the room. “I assume that Speedy is there with you?”

It sounded like a question so Roger answered, “Good evening, sir.”

“CJ told me what happened last night. I’m not sure I agree with what they did, but I’m not sure I wouldn’t have done it just like that.”

Roger and Mary kept silent.

“And from what I hear tonight, Baby Girl, you probably would have told me off just like you told them off.”

There was another long silence, then Atticus continued, “I guess I have to accept the fact that my Baby Girl has grown up. You’ll always be Baby Girl to me, but you’re a woman now and I have to get used to that. Whatever you said or did, you put the fear of God in Crazy Jack and his boys last night, and that ain’t easy to do. And you got him to change his mind tonight, and believe me, that’s even harder.” There was a long pause. “So, it sounds like you can take care of yourself.”

They could hear him take a deep breath. “Speedy, you still there?”

“Yes, sir,” Roger replied immediately.

“Cut that ‘sir’ shit. I had enough of that with your dad in ‘Nam. You got balls, son, ‘cause I know that you know how I feel about my Baby Girl. So you know that you’d better treat her right or I’ll kick your ass all the way back to Texas and then halfway across Mexico.”