ROMANCE: MC BIKER ROMANCE: Hooked (MC Biker Pregnancy Romance)(Bad Boy Motorcycle Club Romance) (Contemporary Military Romantic Suspense Thriller) (62 page)

Chapter 2

“Dad, what is going on?”

Stella had been awoken with the loud noises in the room next to hers. Her brother shouldn’t have even been home that early, so she was surprised to see the two men packing up tings in the middle of the night. Something was wrong, it was clear.

“Everything is fine baby. Why don’t you go back to bed? You have school in the morning.”

Stella wasn’t sure that she wanted to go back to bed or that she could even do so. “I want to know what is going on. Why are you guys packing up Carl’s stuff?”

Sam stepped out of the room, taking his daughter with him. He had always wanted to keep her from it all, but she was a smart girl and knew more than even he probably realized. “Your brother got himself in some trouble and we need to get him out of the city for a while until things calm down.”

She had a feeling it was going to be something like that. Her brother was known for doing stupid things and it worried her that her dad looked so worried about it. “It’s going to be okay, isn’t it?”

He nodded that it was, hoping he was more convincing then he felt about it. He felt like everything was going to hit the fan, but he had to stay positive for her. Sam wondered then if he should get both of his kids out of the city. “Why don’t you go with him to Gran’s? You are always saying that you don’t see her enough.”

Stella shook her head and rubbed her eyes. “No, I have testing all week. If I want to get into a good college, I am going to have to test high.”

She was right and he hated to affect her studies which were so important to her. He knew that she wouldn’t forgive him if she wasn’t able to go to Duke like she wanted. “Fine Stella. But I want you to stay close to home when you are not in school, agreed?”

He saw that she wanted to ask more, but much like her mother, she had learned not to push. Stella had a way about her much like his late wife and he couldn’t help but smile down at her. “Everything will be fine Stella, just got to let this all blow over.”

“Okay dad. I will see you tomorrow after school.”

“I might be a little late coming home. I have some clean-up to do and it is quite a mess.”

“Isn’t it always with him?”

He didn’t answer, but smiled to himself. She got it and it made him feel a little better that he wasn’t the only one that thought his son was a bit of a mess-up. Not even he could have thought that he would mess up so badly though. It was going to take a plan and some reparations to fix the tie between them. The relationship between the two motorcycle gangs was already tedious at best and this was not going to help the matter.

Sam moved back into the room and kept tossing his son’s clothes in the bag in front of him. His son wasn’t as understanding and fussed about having to go somewhere. They both knew that he was not ready at twenty to go up against a man like Lance and if Sam thought that he could actually survive the confrontation, he would have made him deal with himself. It was a good character builder, but Sam didn’t think that Carl would make it.

***

The next morning the house was quiet when she finally got up and when she looked in Sam’s room, she saw that most of his stuff was gone. It made her wonder how long he was going to be away, but she tried not to think about it. There was no telling what he had done and though she knew it had something to do with the gang, for the most part she stayed out of all that.

Her father had made it clear years ago that he wanted her to take over, but once she became older, Stella realized that it was not the life for her. She was a bit gentler in nature and the last thing she wanted to do was tell a bunch of tough guys to do bad things for her. It wasn’t her cup of tea so Sam had been forced to worry about his son taking over. It had been one disaster after another and Stella felt a little guilty about it all. She knew that if she had taken up the torch, they would not be in the position that they were currently in, but she just didn’t want to. Stella dreamed of being a lawyer one day and she couldn’t have a criminal record and have a license. That had made the decision for her.

That and the fact that she had gotten her heart broken one too many times before. Bad boys were fun, they were full of passion and adventure, a little mystery, but in her experience, which was limited at best, it never worked out well. She had promised herself that she wouldn’t date that type anymore, but find her a nice, normal guy.

Her boyfriend now was a gentleman and would never do to her what Drake had done to her the year before. Franklin was sweet and generous, not even making a move on her more than a goodnight kiss. While she missed the passion and lust that had been in her other relationship, there was a feeling of safety and assurance with Frank. As she got ready for her day, she hoped that they would have time after class to see each other for a while.

She got to school right on time and had tests most of the day. Franklin was a year older than her and was already going to the local community college, so when Stella was done, she made her way over to Campton Community College to wait for his last class to get over. He was a few minutes late, but then she saw his face and it was worth the wait.

“It’s good to see you here Stella. I didn’t know if you were going to make it with the testing going on. How was it?”

She shrugged. Stella was sure it was fine. She had made it a big deal the night before when she was talking with her father, but Stella knew that her college was on lock and that it was going to happen. “It’s fine, nothing that I was really unsure of.”

“Should be that way. You have been studying for a whole week. I was hoping that you would want to go out tonight and celebrate?”

Stella remembered what her father said, but she was sick of Carl’s mistakes costing her in the end as well. She wanted to go out with him and was hoping that Franklin would finally get up the courage to give her more than a chaste kiss. It was hard to act like she didn’t want what she knew she was missing, but there was a part of her that knew that he wanted the delicate flower he thought she was. “Sounds good. I can’t stay out too long because of all the testing, but I would love to go out. When did you want to go?”

“I don’t know. We can go now if you want.”

She agreed, but wished that it would have been more planned and she would have had more time with her clothes. If it was a night time date, Stella figured that there would be more chance of him making a move, but in the end she was going to have to settle for an early evening dinner that she hoped turned into more. Franklin curled her fingers in his own as they went towards his sleek new car. “You look beautiful today Stella, though you always do.”

Stella couldn’t help but smile, wishing he would have stopped and gave her a kiss to show her how much he liked her. Her mind was far from the problems at home and with her brother. All she had eyes for or time to think about was Franklin. He was the kind of man that could change everything and take her away from her sullied past.

Chapter 3

Lance was pacing, something he found himself doing more and more as of late. A whole day had passed and he had heard nothing from the four men he sent out to collect information. He wanted to know what the Demons were doing. There had been some activity at the main house the night it happened, cars leaving late, but then there was nothing. It made him nervous and though he was still pissed, he was past the point of listening to Billy any longer.

The next day he called all his runners and had them bring in their takings. He was short to pay the supplier and unlike the punks in the Demon gang, he was actually worried about what would happen. He had never been late or short before and Lance’s only choices was to raise the money by putting up some property or going to his Columbian connection and seeing if they will give him a little more time. The very idea of doing the second thought made him cringe and he knew that their ten year relationship would fall to the wayside quickly. Money was the only loyalty in the drug game.

Billy came back in with some information. The son had been moved upstate to a relative’s house and he was apparently the one that had done the grab. For years Lance would leave his product out and no one ever had the guts to take from him. He had known as soon as it happened that the Demons were to blame. They were the only ones that were that stupid to do such a thing.

“So what do you want to do boss?”

Lance gave him a look. He was sick of being asked that question, even though most of the time it was he himself asking it. “I am still thinking about it.”

“We can go pick up his son. He is the one that did this anyways. You know that Sam has never been like that towards us.”

Lance stopped and looked at him again, wondering why he was talking about him as if he knew him. Billy had said his name as if he was friends with him and he found it odd, but he didn’t say anything else. Lance just realized then that he needed to keep it all more towards his chest instead of sharing what he usually would with him.

“I am not going to pick up family. Is that the only kid he’s got?”

“No, I think he has a daughter that is about to finish high school.”

Lance nodded, taking in the information that the man had, but he had to take it all in with a grain of salt. There was something amiss and though he was sure that it would all come out, he was already trying to wrap his brain around it. “Thanks Billy. I will get with you later. Just make sure that there are posts at the warehouse for the next couple of nights.”

“Did you need anything else?” Billy was confused by the change in the direction of the conversation. Lance was acting strange, but he tried to blame it on all of the stresses that he was under. While Lance was known for his violent tendencies, so were the Columbians. He was worried about his friend.

“No, I will take care of it.”

“Okay Lance. I am here if you need me.”

He watched him walk out of the small office and Lance was filled with mixed emotions. It was about that time that Dotty came in. “Hey baby, you look stressed. Do you want me to take care of that for you?”

Her hands went to his hard chest and then one creeped up into her shoulder-length brown hair. It was hard to think when she was touching him, but he didn’t have time for her right then. Pushing her back, he watched her face fall and he almost pushed her down where she was needed most. But he had to keep a level head about him.

“Not now Dotty. Maybe tonight.”

She whined that he hadn’t come see her for the last couple of nights. “I’m not looking for a girlfriend to rag on me Dotty, so if that is what you think this is…”

“No Lance, not at all. I just miss you is all. I miss the taste of you in my mouth.”

He groaned as his eyes went to her soft lips that he wanted to feel against him. But he had to take care of things first, so he had to shake off the feeling of the devil woman and ended up sounding a bit too gruff. “Later Dotty.”

She left looking hurt and Lance groaned loudly. She was staying with him because of some issues she was having finding a place after her lease went up. The little blonde was very manipulative though and used sex to get her way most of the time. If she didn’t get her way, she resorted to this sort of pout that drove him crazy, but at the same time made him want to give in. He didn’t love her, but the ease of sex was nice and she was a good cook. But it was moments like that, that made him realize that she was getting too comfortable in her place.

He got dressed to go out and her eyes took in the leather jacket. “Where are you going?”

Again, she was pretending to be more than she was and he felt like he had to remind her that there situation there was just temporary. “Out.”

Her face fell and he saw the pout going back on her face. “Oh.”

“How is house hunting going? You found anything you like yet?”

Dotty looked a bit alarmed. “No, not yet. I have a couple of viewings tomorrow that look promising.”

He just nodded his head before he left out the door. He didn’t say anything to reassure her. Dotty’s time at his place was coming to an end quickly.

Lance didn’t feel any better telling her how it really was. She had been there a couple of months now and though he enjoyed her company sometimes, there was just nothing else there. They were good friends or some sort of roommate, but it was wrong of him to use her in that way, knowing that he would never give her the fairy tale love that she wanted. It was what all women wanted, but Lance was just not capable of it.

He was capable though, of revenge and the messy business that it usually was. After getting more intel on Sam and his family, the choice to pick up his daughter was not made lightly, but he had to get the drugs back so that he had the money to pay his supplier. Without that, there was no telling what would happen, so Lance didn’t think about that. Instead he thought about picking up the girl and holding her until her father fixed the many mistakes of his son. He would have rather took Carl, but there was just too high of a chance that Sam would let it happen because he deserved it.

Everyone knew that a daughter was different though and he hoped that the same thing was true for Sam. He wanted to end it without bloodshed, but he was not above it later on. For now though, he had to fix the problem with his suppliers and worry about the rival gang when the problem was solved.

Chapter 4

He hadn’t made a move and Stella was giving up hope that he ever would. There was a moment when they had been kissing that she had felt his arm go around her, but it never went lower than her waist or higher than her hips. His tongue was as chaste as the kiss and she was once again left wanting more. Franklin had just dropped her off at her car that was still on the campus. She waved to him and kissed him once more through his car window. He pulled away before she did and promised to call her before he went to sleep. It was just starting to get dark and her date was over.

Stella had her mind on other things when she was walking through the rows of cars to hers. She had told him to drop her off at the entrance so it would be easier for him to get out. At some point though, Stella’s niceties were going to end. Her body was mad at her and her brain was screaming at him. What was wrong with her that he wouldn’t make a move? It was infuriating to her.

She didn’t notice the man standing behind her until she turned around to his voice. “Stella Martin?”

“Yes?”

When she saw the man, Stella knew instantly that he was not there for anything good. He was tall and dark-skinned, his bared arms looked huge coming out of his leather vest. There was a bike parked nearby that her eyes flicked too and she assumed it was his. The insignia was not hard to recognize from her days when she had gone with her father everywhere. It was the bike of a Black Riders, her father’s rivals.

“Are you Sam’s daughter?”

If he knew her name, she assumed that he already knew exactly who she was. The fact that he was verifying it did not bode well in her mind and it made her slightly sick to her stomach. “Yeah, why?”

“I need you to come with me please.”

His tone and face showed no emotion. It was like he was asking her what she wanted for lunch, like it was no big deal to walk up to someone and tell them that they had to go with them, a complete stranger. She knew not to get too flippant, but she couldn’t help the words that came out. “I am not going anywhere with a Black Rider.”

“So you know who I am?”

“I know your bike.”

“Good enough. I would have to take your car out of here anyways. With your keys, there will be less damage.”

She moved back against the car as he approached. “There is no point in making a scene Stella. You can get in on the other side or I can put you there, either way it is happening.”

Stella looked around, but there was no one to save her and it was somehow laughable to try to use her self-defense moves on him. He was too big and too determined. Since he had not gotten to her yet, she made one last desperate survey of the place to see if here was any way out of it. When she realized that there wasn’t, Stella gave in to the man. She handed him the keys and went around to the front of the car. There was a moment that she thought of running off, but when she looked back to see if he was paying attention to her, he just shook his head. “Just get in. I am going to be pissed if I have to chase after you after the last couple of days that I have had.”

Stella stopped thinking about it then. For a moment the huge man looked tired and she didn’t want to cause him anymore trouble, even though he was going to cause her one massive headache. She waited for him to unlock the car so she could get in and she sat back slowly. “You know my dad is going to have a fit when he finds out, don’t you?”

“I am kind of planning on that dove.”

She felt a chill run through the car and she was pulled between attraction and a real sense of fear. “What are you going to do with me?”

Lance’s hand that was turning the key in the ignition stopped. He didn’t like the way she had said it. She was young and when he looked back at her, he could tell she was scared. It was not something that he was used to seeing in a woman around him and Lance decided then that he really did not care for it at all. “I am not going to do anything to you, but Sam isn’t going to know that. Your brother took something very valuable of mine and I simply want it back. You are just going to be involved to ensure that it all goes smoothly.”

His tone and carefully chosen words were supposed to make her feel better, but it didn’t. It only made her more nervous and she just shook her head. She was already in the car and she was moving away from the college with the man that had abducted her. “So which of that jerk Lance’s goons are you?”

“I am Lance.”

Stella didn’t know what to say then. It was not what she had expected and as she looked at him from the passenger seat, she could tell that he didn’t like the way she had said it. Stella had heard about him, as most of the town had. She knew more intimately what the man was capable of. There was also the worry of him taking an interest in her. So much so that he would have been sent out to personally attend to it was another sign that she was in more trouble than his sweet words made it out to be.

“So I take it you know who I am. I am surprised your father didn’t keep you out of all of the business, a sweet girl like you.”

She just smiled back at him, though she groaned inwardly. What was it about bad boys like him that instantly saw her and thought that she was some adorable doll that they could play with? It infuriated her, even at the same time she was conscious that she had wanted her boyfriend to act more that way.

“Yeah I have heard enough about you that I wish I hadn’t gotten in the car.”

“We both know that you didn’t have much choice. There is no need for it to get ugly.”

“Since you know that I am not involved in all of this, why don’t you just let me go? I won’t tell anyone what happened and I will take off for a while so you can get what you want from my dad. He didn’t do anything wrong though, it’s always my idiot brother that messes everything up.”

She sounded like she knew more about it all then she really should of and it fascinated Lance in a way. In his family, the women were always kept from the dealings of the men. It was assumed that they couldn’t handle what was going on, but she seemed different. Stella seemed far more capable than a woman like Dottie and the ones that he was around more times than not. Stella seemed like the type that could handle anything as much as one of his own could. It was strange to think that after he had admired her for her pretty face and curvy body.

“Well as much as I would like to trust that you would do that, I am having trust issues lately and I just want to make sure that it all goes well. You can stay at my house for a couple of days, take a break from school.”

Stella didn’t want to hear that. It was one thing to not be worried about her grades, but another to totally miss the big tests for the end of the year. She needed some score to give the colleges that she was going to apply to. “That’s not really going to work for me Lance. I have tests and if I don’t take them, I am not going to be able to get into college. I don’t care what my brother did, but it can’t be worth me having to retake those test over the summer.”

“Your brother stole close to a quarter of a million dollars of my product from my truck.”

“Oh.”

The rest of the ride was met with silence. Stella wasn’t sure that there was anything that she could say to help the situation. She had already put her foot in her mouth too many times to really comment on anything else. Her mind reeled with the information that she had just heard about Carl. She couldn’t have imagined that he had screwed up that badly.

“Whatever happens Lance, you can’t do anything to my father. He would have never done anything like that and I promise you that he will make it right.”

“I hope you are right Stella.”