Chapter Three
Amy
I shouldn’t be here.
Seated at one of the tables in the back, I eyed the rest of the crowd, not even paying much attention to the act onstage. I didn’t know what had possessed me to get dressed and come to the fret house, nor what had made me sit at the table that Eric and I would normally have sat at, but here I was. I told myself on the way over I was going for the atmosphere, tired of being holed up in my house, moping around and pretending that I was okay.
I wasn’t okay. I was far from it.
I slid my finger over the glass of water, feeling like an idiot for being there, drinking water, in a bar. I wasn’t a fruity drink type person, and beer or whiskey was completely off the books, so I had stuck with the only other thing I could think of.
The funniest thing was that I was watching for him, glancing at the door every now and again like he was going to walk through it and everything could go back the way it had been. I didn’t know why Eric had been at that bunker, or why he had rescued us. He had attempted to contact me in the days after the shootout, with more than one text and call to my phone, but I hadn’t answered them. I had been too shaken up, too angry to talk with him, and eventually he had gotten the message.
It didn’t mean I hadn’t thought about him.
I was a complete idiot.
Sighing, I shifted on the hard seat, attempting to listen to the act onstage. Both Sydney and Roxanne had called to check up on me, not understanding why I had cloistered myself in my house. I was usually the life of our little group, with swagger that they rolled their eyes at constantly.
But ever since the shootout, I hadn’t felt myself. I felt lost, like I wasn’t sure where I belonged. All my life I had wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps, become the next Travis to run the Horsemen and the hell with everyone who thought a woman couldn’t be that person. I wanted to show them that I was tough and able to handle the pressure.
That had been the dream until I’d met Eric. Now I wasn’t so sure what my dream was. Of course, my father had sort of supported my future role, including me in a lot of his decisions that dealt directly with the club, the latest being how to handle the Brotherhood.
***
I watched as he gave the report a once-over, slamming it down on the desk.
Zach winced as he did so but didn’t so much as move out of his stance at the door, his arms across his chest.
I wanted to grin at the sight of his wedding ring, one of those rubber things that were so popular for working guys who couldn’t wear metal. Sydney had given him a hard time about the ring, and they had fought horribly, but in the end, Zach had worn her down, stating that at least he was willing to wear one.
He caught my eye, and I winked at him, causing him to wink back. I liked Zach.
“Are you fucking serious? This is the best you can do?”
“Neil is doing his best,” Zach replied evenly, referring to my other friend Roxanne’s fiancée. “They are hiding pretty damn well now, boss.”
“We had them,” my father growled, rubbing a hand over his face. “We had them at the bunker, and they just fucking disappeared off the face of the earth.”
“Maybe we should broaden the search,” I suggested, looking at my father. “Go beyond the few counties we are searching.”
He looked at me, anger reflecting in the same eyes I stared at in the mirror every morning. I had been told that my mother was a beauty, but I had most of my father’s features, right down to his temper.
“And you think that would flush him out?”
I gave him a small shrug.
“It can’t hurt, right? Maybe they are on the run.”
Grant Travis let out a slow breath, leaning back in his chair.
“Fine, go another county. Tell Neil to scout out the usual haunts. I want this bastard caught and soon, before I go after him myself.”
“Got it,” Zach answered before removing himself from the office.
I looked back at my father, seeing the exhaustion on his face.
“Maybe you should take some time to decompress. Tessa said you haven’t been eating lately.”
He arched a brow.
“Are y’all scheming against me?”
I gave him a wry smile.
“Of course not. We love you. I just don’t want you to drop dead in this office.”
My father chuckled, shaking his head.
“Get out of here and quit worrying about me. I’m fine.”
***
But I still worried about him. My dad didn’t take care of himself, and lately Tessa had told me that his blood pressure was up over this whole Grayson Barnes thing. I didn’t want to lose him.
“Hey darling, mind if I join you?”
I steeled myself against any ranting as I looked up at the large biker staring down at me, wearing a vest I didn’t recognize. Thank God.
“I’m waiting for someone but thanks.”
He sat down beside me anyway, plunking his beer on the table.
“Well then, I will keep the seat warm. What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?”
I pointed to the stage.
“Watching the act if you don’t mind.”
“Feisty,” he chuckled, sliding his arm around my waist. “I think we will fit good together darling. Let ol’ Pete show you a thing or two.”
I slid out of his grasp, wishing I could shoot him. Then Sydney would have to arrest me, and probably no amount of work done by our legal counsel would be able to keep me out of jail. Besides, there were too many witnesses around.
“Hands off buddy, unless I say so.”
“Aw, come on,” he said, reaching for my arm.
I reacted, grabbing his beer and throwing it in his face, before skirting the table quickly. I couldn’t fight, though I could probably drop him with a few well-placed kicks.
His roar was enough to get me moving faster, and I headed for the door, pulling out my car keys as I did so. This was so not the reason I had come tonight.
“Hey bitch, come back here!”
I picked up the pace, making it just outside the door of the bar when he caught up with me, his meaty hand closing around my arm and swinging me around.
“You are going to pay for that,” he sneered, his face mottled.
I struck out with my foot, attempting to kick him in the groin, so that I could distract him enough to run. Thank God I had worn flats tonight.
“A fighter, are you?” he laughed, his hand tightening on my arm. “You and me are gonna have some fun together then.”
“Let the lady go.”
My knees nearly buckled with relief as I heard Eric’s voice shatter the night, never so glad in my life to hear those words.
The biker growled and spun me around, facing me toward Eric.
“This is between me and the lady, not you.”
“Oh no,” Eric said with a chuckle. “I believe you are having a moment with my lady, and that means you deal with me. Come on, show me what you got, you fucking asshole.”
I let his words cascade over me, attempting not to let them soak in to my soul. I wasn’t his lady, and we couldn’t be together. After the shootout, all bets had been off, and I couldn’t even begin to explain my relationship with him, nor could I afford to let anyone find out.
They wouldn’t understand.
“Big words,” the biker growled, releasing his hold on me.
I stumbled to the side, barely able to catch my balance as he barreled toward Eric, who was anticipating the attack.
I watched, in part awe, part heart-in-my-throat concern, as Eric swiftly dealt with the biker, landing a few blows on his face and stomach before the big man was rolling on the ground, groaning.
Eric crouched down beside him, his face stone cold.
“Don’t mess with what’s mine again, or next time I will bury a knife in your gut, you understand?”
The biker said something unintelligible before Eric straightened and walked toward me, his jaw clenched.
“You okay?”
I nodded, my heart racing against my chest as I took in his familiar form. God, I had missed him.
“I’m fine.”
“Good,” he said. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
He had been coming here. Though I would liked to have lied to myself all night, I knew the real reason I was here was to see him.
“You came.”
Eric nodded, holding out his hand before wincing.
I became instantly concerned, hurrying to his side and attempting to give him a good look over.
“You’re hurt.”
“Just a twinge from an old wound,” he replied, rolling his shoulder. “Damn that hurt.”
I should just walk away. It wasn’t my business any longer. He had brought this on himself. He wasn’t my concern.
Hell, I couldn’t even lie to myself.
“I-I can look at it.”
Eric looked at me, and I could see the naked hunger in his eyes. I felt it too, no matter how much I wanted to ignore it. We were like a fire waiting to be stoked, one that had been simmering since the night he had walked away.
“Are you sure?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “But it’s the least I could do.”
He looked at me before blowing out a breath.
“I think it would be good for us to talk.”
That wasn’t what I had in mind, but I knew it was something we needed to do.
“My car is over here.”
“You don’t want to ride on the bike?” he asked, the corner of his mouth lifting into that familiar grin of his.
“Not unless you want me to flash my ass to half of Cibolo going in,” I shot back before turning toward my car, my cheeks burning.
“Damn right I don’t,” he grumbled.
I hid my smile as I reached my car, knowing that was the answer I had been expecting. Though he liked the short dresses and skirts, he didn’t like everyone else looking at me in them.
I walked over to the car and opened the door, a sense of familiarity coming over me. How many times had we done this? How many times had I felt the heat burning, in anticipation of what was to come.
Eric slipped into the passenger seat, his cologne filling the air as I started the engine.
This was all sorts of wrong, but I couldn’t say no.
I was weak when it came to him.
“Well,” Eric started as I pulled out of the parking lot. “I take it that guy back there didn’t just want to get your opinion on his set.”
I snorted.
“Not so much. I think he believed I was his true love.”
“Good thing I came along, then,” Eric replied. “I would hate for him to think you belonged to anyone but me.”
I stopped at the stop light and glanced over at him, arching a brow.
“What makes you think I belong to you?”
There was no humor on his face, his eyes serious.
“Because you do.”
I turned away, my throat suddenly tight.
“I think some things have changed since the last time you said that.”
He had told me those exact same words before, right after I had told him who I truly was. At the time, I had been head-over-heels in love with the man.
Who was I kidding? I still was in love with Eric. But our recent hiccup wasn’t something I could just brush under the rug and pretend hadn’t happened. It had happened, and some people close to me had almost gotten killed that day.
“You will have to explain yourself,” I finished, turning toward my house.
He blew out a breath. “I plan to.”