The Last Riders - First Four Votes (35 page)

“I never did have much imagination. You might as well give up. No one has figured out all of the symbols.”

“I bet I can,” Winter boasted.” “I have become an expert at puzzles from a couple of months in a wheelchair with nothing to do with my time except several magazines of puzzle solvers. Let’s see how I do.”

“Go for it.” Viper put his hands behind his head, giving her a full view of the tat.

“The revolvers are Knox and Rider.”

“That’s good. Everyone has a hard time with that one.”

“I don’t know why; those two go everywhere together.” Her finger touched the chain wrapped around the revolvers. “The chain is Train, that one is a little obvious,” Winter said.

Viper looked down at her in surprise. “How do you know?”

“He has a chain wrapped around the handlebars of his motorcycle.” Winter had seen him washing his bike the day she had gone to the doctor.

Winter didn’t understand the unfathomable look he gave her. “Am I right?” she asked, gloating at her deductive skills.

“Yes,” he finally answered, amusement in his voice, so Winter continued on with her game.

“The brass knuckles are Cash.”

“How did you know that one?”

Winter gave him another gloating smile. “I live in Treepoint remember? I know a couple of the men he’s been in fights with. He doesn’t believe in playing fair.”

“No, he believes in winning,” Viper said with respect in his voice.

“The shadows are obviously Shade.”

“Usually people think he is the cards or the chain.” Winter could tell this time she had surprised him with her deductive reasoning.

“Then they don’t know Shade,” she said wryly. “Is the navy insignia a member?” She asked.

“He isn’t anymore, the insignia stands for Gavin.” Viper’s voice had thickened.

Winter tried to slide off Viper, but he held her still. “I am so sorry about your brother,” Winter said softly.

“Rider, Knox and Gavin were tight. They wanted to come up to Treepoint with him, but I wouldn’t let them. I didn’t want to scare everyone off before the deal went through and the house was ready for us to move into.”

Tears filled Winter’s eyes as she saw he held the guilt of his brother’s murder inside.

“It wasn’t your fault, Viper. It was no one’s fault except my greedy cousin.” She lowered her head to his chest as his hand moved to stroke the back of her neck.

“There is one more you haven’t told me yet who it is,” Viper redirected her attention.

Winter raised her head, staring into his eyes, seeing that he held no ill will towards her because of Vincent’s actions. Her attention returned to the tattoo gazing at the last symbol. She was almost sure the cards themselves were a clue but she was stumped.

“Joker?” Viper shook his head. “Ace? Poker?” At that, a laugh rumbled through his chest.

“No.”

Winter gave it one more try. “Luck or Lucky?”

Viper’s laughter stopped and he looked at her in surprise.

“You are good. Congrats.”

“Is he in your Ohio house?”

“No, he’s still in the Seals. Lucky came out of the service for a while, during the time we started the club, but he missed the service.”

“Were you close?”

“All eight of us are close, but yes, Lucky and I were close. He is a good brother, one of the luckiest bastards I know.” His finger touched the hand of cards on his chest. “They call this hand of cards a Deadman’s hand. Lucky is one of the most lethal sons of a bitch to ever be in the service and they give him the jobs men usually don’t walk away from.”

“I thought that went to Shade.”

“What do you mean?”

“His symbol covers the whole tattoo. He is the protector of the club, isn’t he?”

“He is our enforcer, yes,” Viper said carefully.

“I saw him lay out several of you during the picnic. All together it took four men to hold him back.” Winter didn’t try to hide the admiration in her voice.

“You saw that?”

“I could hardly miss it. I thought he was going to rip poor Charles’s head off.”

“Charles, who?” Winter tried to hide her smile at Viper trying to dodge the truth without telling an outright lie.

“Lily’s high school boyfriend. I’ve told you that before,” she reminded him.

“What makes you think he was after that kid?” Again he tried evasion. This time it was her giving him a look that doubted his intelligence.
Does he not remember I’m the principal of high school males, where they learned the bro code in the first place?
Winter thought.

“Because Shade wants Lily?” Winter mused, smiling wryly,

“What’s so funny?” Viper’s eyes narrowed at her.

“Well, he is going to need Lucky’s good luck to accomplish that feat.”

“You don’t think it would work out?” The bro code reappeared again when he thought Winter didn’t think Shade and Lily would make a good match.

This time it was Winter who tried to dodge the question. Sliding off Viper, she got out of bed to go to the bathroom.

“Winter, he’s a friend of mine. I want to know,” he demanded when she came out. “Don’t you think he is good enough for her?” A trace of anger could be heard in his voice.

Winter stopped, gazing back at him before going to the closet and pulling out a towel, needing time to think of how to answer his question. Wrapping the towel around herself, she walked back to the bed, sitting down beside his sprawled body.

“Lily is a beautiful woman.” Winter tried to explain in a way that he would understand her hesitation at the possibility of a relationship between their two friends.

“She is attractive,” he admitted slowly.

Winter gave him a smile to let him know that she could never be jealous of Lily’s beauty. “She is beautiful inside and out.”

“She’s beautiful,” Viper conceded.

“Has Razer discussed this with Beth?” Winter asked, curious.

“Beth refuses to discuss Lily.” Viper at this point realized that Winter knew the whole club was aware of Shade’s intentions for Lily.

“She is very protective of Lily. Beth is also a little oblivious where Shade is concerned.” Viper lowered his lashes and his face went impassive at her words. Winter’s voice turned hard. “I am not.”

“Say what you are getting at.”

Sighing, she continued, “Lily has a lot of issues, and I don’t know Shade well enough to know if he will be able to handle her with the care she needs. If he screws up, he won’t get a second chance.”

Winter gave him the only warning she would give. Lily was her friend and she wasn’t going to throw her to the wolves. The only reason she was giving him a heads up at all was because Shade was the one The Last Rider’s depended on for their protection. Lily deserved someone strong enough to protect her. Winter had observed Lily’s reactions to certain situations and she had a terrible feeling that Lily needed a protector.

“If Beth finds out he is as bad as I’m thinking he is, Shade won’t get a chance. Lily will listen to Beth, even if she’s crazy over a man. If Beth doesn’t approve, she will walk away. They are that close. No one, not Razer or Shade, will come between those sisters. That being said, I think he’s playing it smart by keeping his activities away from Beth, and me also because what I can’t see I can’t tell, can I? But if I get any inclination he’s not the man I think he is, I will have a long chat with Beth and put a stop to it myself.”

“Is that a threat?” Viper asked in a challenging tone.

“Yes, I love her, too. Lily is sweet and she has a side to her that really is mischievous and fun, yet she has temper that can get her in trouble. Beth and Lily are two of the best people I know or will ever know. Beth is laid-back and easy going, but Lily is not. Shade needs to decide if she is really what he wants before he makes a move because, if she gets hurt, it will affect Beth and it could hurt her relationship with Razer. I see how much she loves him and I don’t want to see their relationship affected.”

“That’s fair,” Viper conceded. “I’ll have a talk with him. Are you going to give Beth a heads up?” Winter was aware he was in a difficult position. He had opened up to her in confidence. As head of The Last Riders, he needed someone to talk to about his brothers who he could trust to not betray his confidences.

Winter smiled. “There isn’t really anything to tell. He hasn’t made his attention to Lily obvious and I haven’t seen anything I could tell her about. Now, I am going to go take a hot shower. Are you going to be awake when I get back?”

“Definitely.”

“Good, because I need to check out that tat on your abdomen.” Winter’s finger traced the tribal tattoo on his arm. Admiring the sleeve, she was unaware she was provoking a response from Viper.

Before she could move out of reach, the towel slipped to the floor with his helping hand.

“Why wait…”

S
aturday morning
, Winter woke to an empty bed. Stretching lazily she smiled, remembering the night before. It took several seconds for something to work its way into her consciousness. Her body, while sore, wasn’t in actual pain. She had noticed several times that the pain was lessening in intensity and duration, but it was the first time she had woke up not needing to reach for the ibuprofen.

Feeling as if her life was getting back on track, she took a shower, humming to herself as she shampooed her hair before rinsing it out. Carefully getting out of the shower and getting dressed, she made a list of things she needed to do during the coming week before her rumbling stomach reminded her that she was hungry. Glancing at the clock on the nightstand, she was surprised to see that it was lunchtime. Winter was amazed she had slept so long, usually her back would have woken her well before now.

Continuing to hum to herself, she left the bedroom, hoping there was still some food left. Winter was at the top of the staircase when the voices drew her attention down the stairs. A huge number of The Last Riders members that she hadn’t met were filling the living room and doorway as they stood casually talking. Several glanced up to see her standing at the top of the steps before turning back to their conversations.

Winter carefully went down the steps, aware she had several curious eyes watching her cautious descent. Reaching the bottom of the steps, she maneuvered herself through the crowd of men. She lowered her eyes, blushing when she caught several intent gazes on her figure. Not wanting to appear like a blushing virgin, she nevertheless hurried through the men, consoling herself that she had her cane if one of the men reached out to touch.

Entering the kitchen, she found it almost as crowded. Giving a sigh of relief, Winter made her way to Beth’s side.

Beth, standing beside the counter, gave her a welcoming smile as she approached.

“Good morning. Sleep late?” She gave Winter a knowing look.

Refusing to be embarrassed, Winter changed the topic. “Who are all the strangers?”

“Actually they aren’t stranger’s, they’re members from the Ohio house. They showed up this morning. Razer said that Viper sent for them, but didn’t tell me why.”

Winter wondered why so many had been brought in from Ohio. She searched the room, not finding Viper. She knew her questions would have to wait.

“Hungry?” Beth asked.

“Starved,” Winter admitted.

“Me, too. Let’s grab a plate.” Both women picked up a plate and went to the mounds of food that the members on kitchen duty had prepared.

Rider looked flushed and hot as he watched everyone load their plates. Winter hid her amusement at the rugged biker, covered in more food than what she was sure had made it to the buffet.

Loading her plate with eggs and fruit, Winter followed Beth to a table with a couple of empty chairs.

Once they managed to fill their stomachs, Winter questioned Beth. “Where is Razer?”

“He’s in a meeting with Viper and Shade.” A worried look crossed Beth’s face.

Evie and Jewell, sitting at the same table, deliberately spooned more food into their mouths when they heard Winter’s question. Winter had known deep down something was going on and she didn’t think it was good. Evie and Jewell confirmed it with their silence. Winter didn’t question them, not wanting to place them in an awkward position. She was just going to have to be patient.

A flash of red caught Winter’s eye as a group of three women she had not seen before passed by their table. She had known that there were other male members here from the other house, but she hadn’t realized that they had brought women as well. Truthfully, she hadn’t thought that the other house would have even more women available to their members. Her hand tightened on her glass of juice.

Beth’s eyes dropped to her plate. “That’s Joy, Sunshine and K.O.”

Winter’s eyes tracked the women across the room as the male members talked familiarly with them as they filled their plates. Beth and Winter just stared at each other, their thoughts completely shared.

“Sunshine and K.O. have both been members for a couple of years. Joy has three votes Rider, Knox, and Cash’s. Razer won’t be giving her his vote,” Beth explained, not taking her eyes off the woman.

“I see.” With Razer unwilling to give his vote, that left Viper, Shade, Lucky and Train.

Viper didn’t
have
to give her his vote; it came down to if he would or not. When they had gone out before her attack, he had obviously fucked around, but now that they were actually intimate, would he still be having sex with the other members? Winter was unsure of Viper and what they had going on between them. She knew what it meant to her—what it had always meant to her—but Viper guarded his emotions, which left her unsure of his feelings.

Winter took deep breaths, not wanting the other women to sense her distress. Obviously she was unsuccessful as Beth reached across the table, taking the glass out of her hand and held it tightly within her own grasp, giving her the strength she was desperately striving for.

“There is another way besides the sex to get their vote,” Evie revealed, seeing they were upset.

Winter’s eyes raised in surprise. “There is?”

Evie nodded. “That’s how Beth became a member. You can earn their marker, but that’s hard to do, so don’t get your hopes up. Beth accomplished it by helping solve Gavin’s murder and the club owed her a debt for the way we treated her. Joy will not go that route. She will fuck to get the votes.” She dashed Winter’s hopes.

Winter had never really believed that Beth had been with six of the members, but she was glad that her instincts had been proven right. On the other hand, it made her feel worse about the ugly comment that had resulted in her drawing a punishment.

Returning Beth’s squeeze on her hand, Winter turned to her friend. “I’m really sorry for my remark. I shouldn’t have let Viper goad my temper by trying to say I was a prospect.”

“Whether you want to admit it or not, Winter, you are,” Evie spoke, looking the other woman in the eyes. “You have to face facts, Beth did. If you want a relationship with Viper, and I can see you do by your reaction to the women from the other house, then your only option is to become a member. Viper will never turn his back on The Last Riders. He and his brother started the club and he enjoys the lifestyle. I know you care about Viper, so if you want a relationship, then girl, you have only one option.”

“To become a member?” Winter knew Evie was right, even as her mind and morals fought against her decision.

“Yes.” Evie had made it clear that unless she became a member, a relationship with Viper wouldn’t last. Becoming a member of The Last Riders made you a member of the family. If she didn’t become a member, she would always be on the outside.

Sighing, she leaned back in her chair, knowing she was going to go for it. Fear filled her stomach. What if she went through with getting the votes and Viper didn’t return her feelings? Surely she wasn’t stupid enough to let him make a fool of her twice.

“Well, I guess I better start collecting markers.”

The women laughed this time.

“Not many left to collect.” Evie laughed. “I heard you already managed to get Train, Cash and Rider’s vote. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

Winter blushed bright red, refusing to look at Beth who chimed in. “You have Viper’s.”

“That leaves two more. You’re ahead of Joy, and she’s been here longer, but I think she’s determined to get her votes this weekend,” Evie speculated as all the women at the table turned to gaze at the woman flirting with Train.

“She certainly is going after the man who can help her get the votes,” Jewell said with envy. Winter sensed the women wanted their own piece of Train.

He came across as laid back and easy going until you actually studied his actions. He was always aware of where everyone in the room was. If something needed to be done, he was the first one there. He and Knox were always surrounded by the women and Winter figured that it was because they were probably the best at giving the women what they needed. But it was his grey eyes that set Train apart; they belied his easygoing nature and held a flash of turbulence whenever his temper was roused.

One day, Winter had been eating lunch when she had seen Rider accidently bump into Beth. He didn’t apologize fast enough for Train, who clocked him for not being careful. He kept you guessing if he was going to react with a smile or his fist.

“I’ll talk to Razer about giving you his marker,” Beth promised, drawing Winter’s attention back to her.

“Thanks, Beth.”

“Geez, what is this club turning into? You guys are missing out on the best part,” Jewell muttered.

“I am not missing out on anything,” Beth gloated.

This time it was Beth receiving the envious looks. Winter and Beth laughed, and the topic switched to Beth’s upcoming wedding.

“Next weekend I’m going to Lexington with Lily and her roommate to find my dress.” She looked at Winter. “Would you be one my bridesmaids?”

Tears came to her eyes. “I would be honored.”

Beth turned to Evie. “Will you be one of my bridesmaids? I also asked Sex Piston and Crazy Bitch.” Being the peacemaker she was, she was picking two from each set of her friends.

Evie’s voice wavered, “No, I don’t deserve it.”

Beth gave her a frown. “Don’t talk like that again, that’s all water under the bridge now. It happened months ago. Would you treat me like that again, truthfully?”

Evie was quiet several minutes before admitting, “No, I wouldn’t. I would leave The Last Riders before I ever treated you that way again. Those biker bitches taught us all a hard lesson, Beth; one that we haven’t forgotten.”

“I knew that all along, Evie. Now I am not going to take no for an answer. I wish I could have everyone as a bridesmaid, but Razer drew the line at asking more than five brothers to be groomsmen. Said he was going to have to ‘bribe a few of them’,” Beth mimicked her fiancé.

“I can see that.” Winter bet he used threats instead of money. The members wouldn’t be anxious to be dressed in the tuxes that she was sure they were going to be forced to wear.

The outside door opened and Viper, Razer and Shade came in with grim expressions on their faces. The men glanced at their table and then Evie stood up at a signal from Viper.

“We have to go into the other room,” she told the women at the table. All the women stood up without demur and headed to the living room. Winter and Beth moved more slowly, but did as they were told. Winter knew Beth was just as concerned as she was, but they were simply going to have to wait until later to find out what the meeting was about.

Viper went to the middle of the room while the members surrounded him.

“I want to thank everyone for being here. I know you put in a hard week at work and spent the night riding up here. First off, I would like to tell everyone that, with Winter’s help, we were able to prove that Gavin didn’t disrespect the club rules by fucking Sam. The bitch lied, just as we all knew she had. We still haven’t been able to locate the baby, but the sheriff is continuing to investigate. We offered our assistance if he needs it. Evie and the women have been given permission to do what is necessary if Sam makes any further attacks on the club, but as of now, we are done with the bitch.”

Murmurs of approval filled the air before they quieted down with Viper’s next words.

“I wanted to handle this a few weeks ago, but Shade cautioned me to hold my hand. The group that Sam has attached herself to are one percenters, and he didn’t want us to strike out before we were ready. We are now prepared and that’s why I sent for you. We planned on hitting their club tonight, but they called for a meet this morning. My guess is they have someone watching the house and are aware that we are about to strike.

“I was not happy that they wanted a meet, but did so because Shade urged me to at least talk to them. I was glad I listened. The president of The Blue Horsemen informed me that the four men who attacked Beth and Lily were outlaws, no longer associated with their club. They have been trying to get their colors back, but they have been outrunning their enforcers. We offered our help and they accepted.

“Shade has put in motion a set up for tomorrow that they won’t be able to resist. We won’t need a show of force, but I am not an idiot. I won’t send you back to Ohio until our business with them is complete.

“Enjoy yourselves tonight and we’ll take care of business tomorrow morning. If everything goes as planned, you can be back home tomorrow night.”

After the meeting broke up, Viper and Razer went in search of their women, finding them seated on the couch with worried frowns.

Winter saw that Viper and Razer now appeared more relaxed and her nerves settled instantly.

“Everything okay?” Winter asked, searching Viper’s eyes.

“Everything is fine. We thought we had an issue with another club, turned out we were wrong.” Viper shrugged. “The brothers are going to stay the night and head back tomorrow.”

Relieved, Winter felt the tension Beth and she were feeling dissipate. Viper sank down onto the couch next to her, pulling her onto his lap at the same time Razer made the same maneuver with Beth. At first, Winter felt uncomfortable, aware of the eyes of the house on her, but gradually she relaxed as she and Beth discussed bridesmaid dresses. Curious, Winter asked Razer if he had chosen his groomsmen.

“Yeah, anyone that wouldn’t black my eyes. They aren’t too happy being dressed up as a penguin for the day.” He cast Beth a reproachful look before he admitted defeat. The woman was determined to get her dream wedding, and Razer was all about giving her what she wanted. “Viper, Shade, Cash, Train and Rider.”

“Not Knox?” Winter was surprised. Knox and Razer were constantly talking and cutting up with one another.

“Do you see Knox in a penguin suit?” Winter studied the man in question. Knox definitely was the largest of the members. It would be hard to find a suit to fit him, but it wasn’t his size alone that would have prevented Razer from asking. Knox was the bluntest of the group. If Razer asked Knox, he would in all likelihood tell him to fuck off. He had the shortest fuse, both with his temper and his sex drive. He was constantly with a woman, sometimes two. His muscled frame sometimes packed one on each shoulder as they went upstairs. He was the least handsome one in the group, yet he was the one your eyes were constantly drawn to.