Surviving The Biker (Motorcyle Club Romance) (18 page)

My cell phone began to vibrate.

“I should go,” she said, watching me grab it.

Nodding, I checked my phone and noticed that I’d received a call from a number that I didn’t recognize.

Mavis picked up her satchel and turned toward the kitchen door. “I’ll see you around.”

“Let me walk you to the door,” I said, following her out of the kitchen. When we reached the entryway, she slipped her boots back on and then turned to me.

“Take care of yourself,” she said. “And don’t forget to look out for those fucking Devil’s Rangers.”

“I will.”

“If you know how to get ahold of Jordan, tell him the same thing. Also,” her lip trembled again. “Tell him… that I’m sorry for everything. If I could go back and do things differently, I would.” She reached up and touched my shoulder. “That goes for you, too.”

Staring down at my mother, I wanted to forget the past and move forward. To hug the woman who had taught me how to tie my shoes and make pancakes. The woman who had once told me that she loved me more than life before abandoning me the morning after. I could see the sincerity in her eyes and I wanted things to be okay between us. But, I wasn’t about to start singing, Kumbaya. “I’ll let him know,” I said, taking a step back from her.

Her face fell and I could tell she was disappointed. “Okay,” she said, opening up the door. She turned around. “Do you have plans for Christmas?”

“Yes.”

“Of course you do,” she said and laughed nervously. “I’m not even sure why I asked. It was stupid of me. Well, Merry Christmas.”

“Thanks. You, too,” I answered.

With one last look, she walked down the porch and toward an old, blue Ford Taurus that was parked in front of the house. I watched as she got in, started it, and drove off. Brushing off an unexpected feeling of guilt, I checked my phon, to see if the person who’d called me had left a message. When I didn’t see anything, I made myself some breakfast and then went downstairs to work out with my free weights. Afterward, I took a shower and headed out to the clubhouse.

After talking with Trevor the next morning, I fell back asleep and slept until I heard my mother knock on my bedroom door.

“Yeah?” I mumbled, opening my eyes.

She opened the door and stared at me in surprise. “You’re still sleeping? It’s eleven, sleepy-head.”

Yawning, I got out of bed. “It’s the jet-lag,” I said, scratching my shoulder. “I’m still wiped out.”

“I bet. Well, come downstairs and I’ll fix you some lunch,” she answered. “That will help wake you up.”

“Thanks. What time do you want me at Dazzle again?”

“Four?”

“Okay.”

Mom left the room and as I stepped into my bathroom, I swore under my breath when I realized that I’d left the empty pregnancy test box out in the open. I buried it in the garbage can and then went downstairs to the kitchen.

“What are you hungry for?” my mother asked, looking into the refrigerator.

“Just something easy,” I replied, sitting at the counter.

She turned and looked at me. “How about some macaroni-and-cheese? I can make you my special recipe.”

“The homemade kind? That would be great,” I said, turning on the television. She made the best macaroni-and-cheese, even making her own noodles from scratch. “Are you sure you have time?”

She pulled out a bag of flour from the cupboard. “Enough time to make you your favorite. We haven’t had a lot of time together, lately, and I know how much you love this recipe.”

“That’s so sweet. Thanks, Mom,” I said, looking at her. “Do you want any help?”

“No,” she said laughing. The last time I’d tried helping her with it, I’d burned the noodles, which was apparently not an easy thing to do, especially when you boiled them. “Just let me do it.”

“Okay,” I replied, relieved.

“So, are you seeing Trevor later this evening?” she asked, walking back over to the refrigerator.

“Actually, yes. I’m staying over at his place tonight.”

“It’s probably good. There’s supposed to be another snowstorm,” she said, pulling out a carton of eggs and a gallon of milk. “Sometime after eleven. I hear we could even get between four and eight inches of snow.”

“Great,” I said dryly. “Tomorrow is going to be a mess on the roads and I need to get some Christmas shopping done.”

“Just be careful driving.”

“Do you want me to get home early in the morning so I can help snow-blow the driveway?”

“Jim already promised to do it.”

I grinned. “He sure is a nice guy.”

She smiled back. “I know and very handy. When you were gone last week, he helped replace my water heater. Thank goodness he was here when it went out, otherwise I would have called someone else and spent a fortune.”

“When did it go out?”

“Friday morning.”

My eyes widened. “He was here last Friday morning?”

Her cheeks turned pink.

My jaw dropped. “He spent the night, didn’t he?”

She took out a bowl from the cupboard, avoiding my eyes. “Yes.”

“Did you guys… you know?”

She didn’t say anything.

I grinned. “Mom, you did, didn’t you?”

She sighed. “Yes, we did. Are you happy?”

“The question is, are you happy?”

I didn’t think she was going to answer, but then she suddenly smiled and nodded. “It was nice.”

“Nice?”

Her eyes widened. “Yes, nice, and that’s all I’m going to say about it. It was very nice and we both enjoyed ourselves.”

I laughed. “Okay. That’s good to know.”

She started mixing her ingredients for the noodles and a small smile crept onto her lips.

“What are you smiling about?”

She looked at me. “I’m just… happy.”

“Happy? You mean you’re in love, aren’t you?”

Vanda’s eyes sparkled. “Yes. I believe I am.”

“That’s great,” I said, excited for her. “What about Jim? Does he love you?”

“Yes. He admitted it to me a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s fabulous!” I said, surprised that she hadn’t mentioned it yet. “So, when’s the wedding?”

“Wedding?”

“Yeah. Aren’t you two going to get married?” I teased.

“No. Of course not”

“What do you mean?” I said, feeling excited for her. “Why not? Has he asked you?”

She smiled. “He did, as a matter of fact.”

“Then why not? You don’t have to have a big wedding. You could elope in Maui, like Slammer and Frannie did. Or, pick another island or a totally different location. Even Vegas!”

She looked at me and chuckled. “It’s a beautiful thought, but we aren’t getting married.”

“Maybe you’ll change your mind after you think about it for a while?”

She didn’t answer. Instead, she began rolling out the dough for the noodles. “You’re in a great mood today,” she said, changing the subject. “You
must
have slept well.”

That and I’d had a wonderful dream about Trevor and me at a beach, playing in the sand with our baby. I couldn’t tell if it was a boy or a girl, but we were having fun and I hadn’t wanted the dream to end. “I’m still tired but I feel pretty good.”

“Good.”

The house phone rang and I got up to answer it.

“May I please speak to Vanda Nikolas?” asked a man on the other end.

“Sure.” I held the phone up. “Mom, it’s for you.”

“I’ll be right there,” she said, rushing over to the sink to wash her hands. When she was finished, Vanda grabbed the phone and walked away with it.

As they talked, I started flipping through the channels but then stopped when I recognized the photograph of a woman on the news.

It was April!

“Oh, my God,” I said, stunned at the news of her being ‘Wanted’ for questioning by the police. As I listened to the journalist, I learned that April’s brother had been found murdered in Hayward, Minnesota.

“Okay. I’ll see you next week,” murmured Vanda. “Goodbye.”

Not paying much attention to my mother, I started thinking back to the night April had helped us escape Mud and Skull. She hadn’t seemed like a particularly violent woman, but I began to wonder if she’d killed her brother. Then when I heard that the murder had occurred a few days after we’d left Hayward, I knew it wasn’t her. I wondered if the Devil’s Rangers had anything to do with it and decided to call Trevor.

“I’ll be right back,” I said, flipping off the television.

“Where are you going?” she asked, looking a little troubled.

“Just to use my phone. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Who was that on the phone?”

Vanda took a little long to answer. “Nobody important. I’m going to start cooking the noodles and getting the cheese melted. The food should be ready soon.”

“Okay,” I answered, leaving the kitchen. I ran upstairs and grabbed my phone.

“Kitten, is everything okay?” asked Trevor, when I called him.

“I don’t know, you tell me,” I said and then explained what I’d seen on the news.

“It might be nothing but then again, it could be them,” said Trevor, sounding a little worried himself.

“The Devil’s Rangers?”

“Yes.”

I let out a ragged breath. “Are they going to come looking for me?”

“They might try and that’s why I want you to move in with me. Now, instead of later. I don’t want to give them another chance to snatch you from your home, like they did last time.”

“Yeah, but they snatched Brandy from your home,” I protested. “What makes you think that they won’t go looking for me there as well?”

“I won’t let you out of my sight,” he said. “If they show up, they’ll meet me
and
their maker.”

I smiled at his words. “That won’t work. You can’t watch over me every second of the day and I have school. You can’t follow me to my classes.”

He was silent.

“Trevor?”

“Okay, fine. I’ll hire a bodyguard to watch over you when I’m not able to.”

“I can’t live like that. Being followed all the time. I’ll feel foolish.”

“Better to feel something than get killed.”

I gasped. “Do you really think they’re planning on killing me?”

  “I think they’re looking for revenge and coming after us is the only way they’ll get it.”

“What about that guy? The one who killed Skull? Can he help us?”

“We don’t need his help, Kitten. I just need you to move in here with me. I’ll put in a security system and you can learn how to use a gun.”

“I already know how to use a gun,” I said, feeling frustrated. “But, the hell if I really want to carry one around. I don’t even have a Carry-and-Conceal permit.” I doubted he had one either, but this was me and I wasn’t interested in taking chances. Not when it came to the law and handguns.

“Then let me find someone to watch over you when I can’t.”

I touched my stomach, wondering what I’d gotten myself into. I loved Trevor with all of my heart, but now I was bringing another life into the world and its life was already in danger. “Why does this stuff keep happening? Can’t you just call your other Chapters and come down on these guys all together?”

“Actually, I think Slammer is heading in that direction.”

“God, I hope so.”

“Until then, you’re moving in,” he said firmly.

“What about my mother? Will she be in danger?”

“I think she’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know. Look at what happened to April’s brother,” I protested. “If anything happens to her I’d never be able to live with myself.”

“We don’t know if April’s brother’s death was even related to the Devil’s Rangers. It’s just speculation.”

“I wish I knew how to get ahold of her,” I said, chewing on my lip. “Then we’d know for sure.”

My mother knocked on the door and then stuck her head into my room. “Your food is done.”

“Okay,” I said, trying to sound more chipper than how I felt. “I’ll be right down.”

Nodding, she left.

“I have to go and eat lunch,” I told him.

“Okay. Remember, I’m going to meet you at Dazzle tonight. We’ll talk to your mother together. About you moving in.”

“She’s going to freak out, you know. This is so much to lay on her.” Too much.

“We don’t have any other choice. She needs to know the truth. It’s for her safety, too.”

“I know.”

“Did you tell her about the baby yet?”

“No. I wanted to wait until after the holidays.”

“How are you handling it today? Better than yesterday?”

“I was feeling much better until I saw the news,” I mumbled. “What about you?”

“I’m stoked about the baby. I could barely sleep.”

“Stoked?” I replied, picturing his smiling face.

“Yes and not just about our child. I’m happy about us getting married and living together. Aren’t you excited?”

“Yes,” I replied with not quite as much enthusiasm. “I am.”

He sighed. “Relax and don’t let this shit worry you, Kitten. I’ll keep you safe, this time. I promise.”

I know you’ll at least give it your best shot.