Cole snapped his cell phone shut and threw it across the room. It hit the wall and fell on the floor. He lay on his bed in his room at the clubhouse. He’d been staying here ever since he’d walked out on Mandy.

He stared up at the ceiling. Why wouldn’t Angel talk to him? He’d called her every day for six weeks, and she’d refused to come to the phone every time. Natalie kept telling him not to give up, but how much crawling was a man supposed to do? Six weeks ago, when he’d first called, he’d told Natalie that Mandy had signed the papers and that they’d been filed. He told her that the pregnancy had all been fake.

Now he had the final papers in hand, and still she wouldn’t talk to him. Crash had asked him how he’d managed to get the divorce finalized so quickly. Cole had smiled. “Money talks,” he’d told him. “You just have to know the right people to pay off.”

It was early September now. Cole supposed it was still damn near a hundred degrees in Arizona. He thought about making the drive out there. Seven hundred miles was a long way to ride just to have a door slammed in your face. But he didn’t see any other way. She wouldn’t take his calls. He was going to have to go out there and talk to her face-to-face.

Hell, he’d tried everything else. He’d sent her flowers. They’d been refused. He’d written her letters. She’d returned them, unopened. He now had them hidden away in a box in the bottom drawer of his desk. Him? Writing a Goddamn love letter. The guys would die laughing if they knew.

He sat up, leaning his elbows on his knees, trying to get a plan together in his head. He had some stuff he needed to do for Mack, but he could probably leave next week. He felt better already. At least he had a plan of action. It was better than sitting around here hoping, day after day, that she’d take his call.

He got up, walked out of his room, and went downstairs.

Crash and Cajun were sitting at the bar.

He joined them. “What’s up, guys?”

Crash looked over at him. “Just thinking about makin’ a run down to Lucky’s.”

Cajun smiled at him. “Wet t-shirt night, tonight.”

Cole grinned back at him. “Ain’t you a little old for those college girls, Cajun?”

“Hey, dey better lookin’ than those girls down at da strip club. Guaranteed.”

“Oh, and you think you got a shot?”

“I’ll find me a sweet little sugar who wants a ride. Don ya worry ‘bout dat, son,” Cajun explained confidently.

Cole snorted.

“You comin’?” Crash asked him.

“Hell, it’s only four. That shit’s not gonna start until nine at the earliest.”

“So?” Cajun asked.

Cole laughed and shook his head.

“We might make a few stops on the way over there.” Crash grinned.

Cole took a hit off his beer. “Yeah. I’ve got to stop at Red’s. See if that tire I ordered is in. Gonna need it.”

“Why?”

“Road trip.”

Crash gave him a knowing smile. “Arizona?”

Cole nodded. “Yup. Next week.”

“Shit. You sure?”

“Gotta give it a shot.”

Crash nodded. He and Cajun got up to leave. “Well, maybe we’ll see you over there, tonight?”

“Yeah. I’ll try to make it.” Cole laughed. He watched them walk out. He sat and finished his beer. Then he headed out as well.

***

 

Cole stopped at a gas station on his way back from Red’s. He coasted his bike up to a pump and got off, pulling his helmet off and setting it on the seat. He unscrewed the gas cap on the tank and swiped his credit card at the pump. He was reaching for the nozzle when he heard someone behind him.

“Excuse me.”

He turned around. A pretty blonde woman in her early twenties, he guessed, was standing next to a silver Mercedes convertible. She shut the driver’s door and walked over to him. She slid her sunglasses off, looked at him, and smiled.

“You don’t remember me, do you?” she asked.

He looked her up and down and glanced at the expensive car. She wasn’t exactly the type of woman that ran in his circle. “No, ma’am. I’m pretty sure I don’t know you.”

“It’s been a few years.”

He looked at her sideways and shook his head.

“My name’s Shannon. You pulled me out of the back of a van. Remember?”

His eyes widened, and he whispered, “Holy shit.”

She smiled. “Remember me now?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I think I recall threatening to kill you,” he admitted, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry about that.”

“If I recall, I was not being very appreciative at the time for what you’d done for me.”

He nodded. “Glad to see you’re doin’ okay.”

“Yes. I’m doing well. Could I buy you a drink or coffee or something?

“Aw, that’s okay. You don’t have to do that.” He began pumping gas into his tank.

“I want to. It’s the least I can do. Please.”

Cole studied her a moment. “Sure you want to be seen with the likes of me, darlin’?”

“Yes. I’d be proud to be seen with you.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Proud? I think you’ve been out in the sun too long. Maybe you need to put the top up on that pretty convertible you’re driving.” He finished filling the tank and replaced the nozzle.

“I know a place a few blocks from here.”

“Sweetheart, any place you frequent wouldn’t let me in the front door.” He stared at her and could tell she wasn’t the type to give up. Hell, rich girl like her was probably used to getting her way. He blew out a breath. “If you want to buy me a drink, it’s gonna have to be my kind of place. Can you handle that?”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay. Follow me.”

She turned and walked back to her car.

He got on his bike, fired it up, and pulled out, wondering why he’d agreed to this. She’d probably get back in her car and come to her senses.

He looked in his mirror. Nope. She was pulling out behind him. Well, I’ll be damned, he thought.

He pulled into a dive bar a few blocks down the street. He parked, and she parked next to him.

The place was dimly lit, but there was a large picture window that let in daylight. They sat at the bar.

The bartender walked over to them. “What can I get you?”

Shannon opened her clutch, pulled out a credit card, and laid it on the bar. “Would you start us a tab, please?” She instructed the bartender.

Cole turned and looked at her questioningly. “A tab? How long you plan to be here?”

She smiled at him. “Well, just in case we decide to have a second drink.” She turned to the bartender. “Chardonnay, please.”

The bartender looked at her and raised his eyebrows.

Cole smiled. “Darlin’, this ain’t exactly a white wine kind of place. If you’re gonna drink with me, you’re gonna have to have a real drink.”

“Real drink?” she questioned with a raised eyebrow.

A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he turned to the bartender. “Bourbon, neat, Marty. And since the lady with the designer handbag is paying, make it top shelf.”

“You got it, Cole,” Marty replied and moved off to get their drinks.

Shannon fiddled with her handbag, drawing Cole’s attention. His eyes darted to her hands, noting the perfectly manicured nails and the expensive gold bangle at her wrist. His gaze slid over the rest of her. Her long blonde hair was now cut in a pageboy style just below her chin and looked like it had been styled in a salon. She wore a tight fitting black skirt, a white short-sleeve silk blouse and black high heels. Her cute girlish figure was all woman now. She didn’t look much like the frightened young girl he remembered.

Marty returned and set a short tumbler with about an inch of the amber liquor in front of each of them.

Shannon reached for hers and took a small sip.

Cole watched her and took a sip of his drink.

She turned and smiled at him. “I want to thank you for what you did for me that day.”

Cole looked away and shrugged. “Don’t worry about it.”

Shannon could see that having someone thank him made Cole uncomfortable. “Can I ask you something?”

He looked at her and grinned. “You can ask. I might not answer.”

“That day you found us? Were you really there to…buy us?”

Cole shook his head and gave a short laugh. “No! Hell, no.”

She watched him raise his glass to his lips and realized he wasn’t going to say anymore than that. She continued, “I’d just always wondered, you know, how you ended up being there that day.”

He lit a cigarette and tossed his lighter on top of the bar. He turned his head and studied her, wondering just how much he should tell her. “You remember Angel?”

“That girl that was with you?”

“Yeah.”

Shannon nodded.

“The same thing had happened to her.”

“That’s right. I remember her telling us that.”

Cole nodded. “I was there to get Ling. For what he’d done to her.”

“Oh.”

He sipped his drink, and then looked over at her. He tapped his cigarette in the ashtray nervously. “To tell the truth, I had no idea there would be anyone in that van but him. Shocked the hell out of me when he opened those doors and there you all were. Hadn’t counted on that.”

She nodded and took another sip of her drink.

Cole downed his and raised his finger at Marty.

The bartender walked over and refilled his glass.

Cole took a hit off his cigarette and watched Shannon. She had gotten quiet. Maybe it’d be best if he finished this drink and left. It was sweet of her. Hell, it amazed him she’d even acknowledged him. Her kind didn’t usually want anything to do with someone like him. He picked up his silver lighter and toyed with it, flicking it open and tapping it closed.

She spoke, and he turned to look at her. She was staring at the bar top, and he could tell that in her mind she was far away. Reliving it all, probably.

“I was so scared,” she whispered.

Cole stared at her.

She turned to look at him. “And we didn’t even have to go through what your girl went through. It must have been horrible for her. She’s okay, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah. She’s okay.”

“I remember her being really sweet to us.”

Cole smiled. “Yeah. I’m glad she was there to help calm you all down. I guess we kind of did a good cop/bad cop deal with all of you. Me? I was the asshole, right?”

She grinned and raised her eyebrows. “You were sweet at first. But then you did scare the hell out of me at the end.”

His gaze roamed over her face. “Sorry about that, but it was necessary. Did you, uh, ever tell anybody about it?”

Shannon shook her head. “No. I wanted to. I almost told my sister a couple of years later. But then…”

Cole looked over at her when she hesitated. “What stopped you?”

She looked at him and smiled. “You mean other than you threatening to find me and kill me?”

He grinned. “Yeah.”

She shrugged. “I guess I didn’t want her to be afraid.”

Cole nodded, watched her for a moment, and then asked softly, “How’d he get you?”

She looked at him, startled he supposed by the question he’d asked. She swallowed and looked away. “It was late at night. I was walking on campus through a parking lot to my car.”

“You were in college?”

She nodded. “Thought I knew it all, too.” She turned and looked at Cole. “Stupid, huh?”

He shrugged. “Who would expect something like that to happen? You were just a kid.”

She fiddled with the cocktail napkin under her glass. “The van was parked next to my car. I didn’t see him. He jumped out and hit me with a stun gun.”

“My God.”

“I dropped to the ground, couldn’t move, couldn’t talk. He pulled me into the van. When the effects of the stun gun wore off, I was already handcuffed and gagged. There were three other girls already there.” She raised the glass and tossed back the remainder. “It took him a couple of hours to get the other two.”

Cole watched the tormented look on her face. “Hey, you don’t have to talk about it.”

She turned and looked at him. “This is the first time I have talked about it. Ever. With anyone.”

Cole reached over and put his hand on top of hers. “I’m sorry.”

She looked down.

He squeezed her hand lightly. “Leave it in the past. It’s over, Shannon. Let it go.”

She nodded and gave him a shaky smile. “You’re right.”

Cole watched her stare at her empty glass. He wasn’t sure what to say to her. They were strangers, yet they had a connection. And it was a big one, he supposed. Something like that, like she’d been through? It had to be traumatic for her. He signaled Marty to refill her glass.

“Does it bother you?” he asked, wondering if what Shannon had gone through had affected her. And if it had, then how in the hell had Angel ever managed to get past what had happened to her, which had gone so much further?

Shannon looked at him. “I’m okay.”

“Do you think about it?” He wondered why he could ask her these questions he’d never been able to bring himself to ask Angel.

“Every time I walk through a parking lot.”

Cole didn’t know what to say.

She looked down at her glass and whispered, “I still worry that I’ll turn around and he’ll be there again.”

“Shannon, look at me.”

Her eyes met his.

“You don’t ever have to worry about that. He’s dead.” Her mouth parted, and he could see there were a million questions racing through her brain. He shook his head. “Don’t ask me anything more, okay?”

She nodded. “Thank you.”

He squeezed her hand.

“Today, when I saw you at the gas station…it was strange. I couldn’t believe it. There you were. I mean, what are the odds we’d ever run into each other again, huh?”

Cole nodded. “Yeah. Kind of freaky.”

“When I recognized you…it all sort of came back in a flash as if it had just happened yesterday.”

“Sorry to be the reminder of something so horrible.”

She shook her head. “No. Don’t feel like that. You saved me. Don’t you get that?”

He looked away. “Yeah. I guess.”

She watched him for a moment, wondering if he knew how grateful she was for that. She wished she could repay him somehow for what he’d done. “Could you…could you meet me here tomorrow?”

Cole looked at her oddly. “What?”

“Please. There’s something I need to…show you.”

“Show me what?”

She shook her head. “Just meet me tomorrow, please? It would mean a great deal to me.”

Cole shrugged and looked away. Women. He would never understand them. “Yeah, okay.”

“Thank you.”

He downed his drink and stood up to leave. “You okay to drive, Shannon?”

She nodded. “I’m fine.”

“Okay. Well, I’m gonna take off. Thanks for the drink, darlin’.”

“Tomorrow. Four o’clock, okay?”

Cole nodded. “Yeah. Okay. See ya at four.” He turned and walked out, wondering why in the hell he’d agreed to come back.

***

Cole pulled into Lucky’s. The parking lot was full of bikes. On top of it being Wet T-shirt Night, it was also Bike Night. Cole hated those. Amateur night, the club called it. It was nothing but a bunch of guys with more money than sense that thought riding a bike once a week and wearing a black tee somehow made them a biker.

Shit.

Cole bet half of ‘em couldn’t change a plug.

He backed his bike into a spot at the front next to Crash and Cajun’s bikes. He got off and hung his helmet on the handlebar. He glanced around. There was a small outdoor patio where a lot of “bikers” sat and watched their bikes, afraid someone might mess with them.

Cole smiled. He never had that problem. No one ever dared mess with his bike. He walked inside and noticed several women smile at him, and a lot of the men step out of his way. He wandered around, not seeing his brothers.

A pretty waitress noticed his cut as she walked by. “Your friends are out back.”

Cole smiled at her. “Thanks, darlin’.”

“Want me to bring you a drink, honey?”

Cole gave her his order and shoved a five in the tip glass on the tray she carried.

He wandered out to the back patio, which was actually more like a beer garden. He found Crash and Cajun sitting at a table. He noticed Green and Wolf had also shown up.

Crash stood up when he saw him. “Hey, Cole. You made it.”

They slapped each other on the back. “Told you I would, Brother.”

He nodded to the other guys as he sat down. Wolf was busy hitting on one of the waitresses, and Green, who was always successful with the women, had a cute blonde sitting on his knee.

Cole smiled at him and shook his head, shouting across the table above the crowd noise. “Some things never change.”

“Luck ‘o the Irish, my man,” Green shouted back.

Cole lit a cigarette, and the waitress appeared with his drink. She leaned over him as she set it on the table, her cleavage coming level with his face. He smiled up at her. “Thanks, darlin’.”

Crash’s head turned and watched her as she walked away. “Doable. Totally doable.”

Cole glanced at her and looked back at Crash. “You’ll never guess who I just ran into.”

Crash was still watching the waitress’s ass as she walked away. “Hmm, mmm. That strut’s as sweet as honey. Was it anything as cute as that?”

Cole took a hit off his cigarette. “Better.”

That got his attention. Crash’s head swiveled back to him.

Cole smiled. “Remember the girls from the back of Ling’s van?”

“Yeah.”

“Ran into one of ‘em at the gas station.”

“No shit?”

“Remember the pretty blonde that gave me shit?”

“The one you yelled at? Got right in her face, if I recall.”

Cole blew out a stream of smoke and smiled. “That’s the one.”

“Damn, that girl was fine. You recognized her, huh?”

“Nope. She came up to me.”

“No shit?”

Cole nodded. “She gets out of this silver convertible Mercedes and walks over to me. Asks if I remember her. I’m standing there pumping gas, looking her up and down, thinking, how the hell did I forget a babe like that? I was sure she’d lost her mind.”

“And?”

“She says, ‘you pulled me out of the back of a van’, and it hits me who the hell she is. Hits me like a ton of bricks. I about dropped the nozzle.”

“Why doesn’t shit like that ever happen to me?”

Cole took a hit off his cigarette and blew the smoke in the air. “Bought me a drink, too.”

“And you left that to come here? Did you fall on your head?”

Cole smiled. “Meetin’ her again tomorrow.”

“You dog! She got a friend for me?”

Cole grinned and took a sip of his drink.
 

***

 

Cole pulled into the parking lot of the bar at five minutes to four. His eyes ran over the silver Mercedes that was parked near the door. Shannon was already here. He got off his bike and walked inside.

When he stepped through the door, it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. He didn’t see her sitting at the bar.

Marty looked over, saw him, and nodded toward one of the booths.

Cole glanced over and saw her sitting in the second booth. He walked over and slid onto the seat across from her. “Hey, darlin’. How are you?”

She smiled up at him. “Fine. I’m glad you came.”

Cole noticed there were two glasses of bourbon on the table.

“I took the liberty of ordering for you,” she explained.

“I see that.”

“I hope that’s okay.” She suddenly felt unsure of herself.

“Sure. Thanks.” Cole took a sip.

Shannon watched him.

“Been here long?” he asked.

“Just a few minutes,” she replied.

Cole nodded. “To tell the truth, I kinda thought you might change your mind and not come.”

The smile disappeared from her face. “Why would you think that?”

He lit a cigarette. “Come on, darlin’. We’re not exactly drinking buddies. And I can’t see you bein’ interested in me unless you’re lookin’ to go slumming. Is that it?”

“No.” She looked down.

“You tryin’ to piss daddy off?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because that’s usually the only reason little girls like you wanna mess with the likes of me.”

“I’m not a little girl.”

“You’re way outta my league, darlin’. Lookin’ to play with the big boys? You might end up with more than you can handle.”

She got quiet and took a sip of her drink.

Cole studied her. “So, what’s this about, sweetheart?”

She looked up. “You’re right. We come from two different worlds, I suppose. And I guess there’s not much chance that we’ll ever see each other again.”

“No. Probably not,” Cole agreed. “You said you had something to show me.”

She reached down for her purse, which lay on the seat next to her.

Cole watched as she pulled a long white envelope out and laid it carefully on the table. He looked at her face, wondering what this was about, but she was staring at the table.

He waited.

She finally looked up at him. “I want you to have this. It’s my way of saying thank you.” She slid the envelope toward him.

Cole looked from it to her face. What the hell was it? He wasn’t even sure he wanted to find out.

“Go on. Open it.” She nodded toward the envelope.

He felt like he was reaching for a rattlesnake as he picked up the envelope, turned it over, and pushed the flap up. He pulled out the item inside and looked at it. It took a moment for it to register that he was looking at a certified check for…

He looked up at her and then down at the check. His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. There couldn’t be that many zeros. His eyes slid across the line where the amount was written out in words.

Five million dollars.

“What the hell is this for? Is there somebody you want me to kill?” he asked, only half joking.

“No. No, of course not. It’s for saving my life. My way of thanking you.”

Cole stared at her. “Are you out of your mind?”

“No. I assure you. I’m not.”

He stuffed it back in the envelope and pushed it back across the table. “I can’t take that.”

“Yes. You can,” she insisted.

He downed his drink and started to slide across the bench seat to leave.

“No. Please. Don’t go.” She grabbed at his arm. “Please. Let me explain.”

He hesitated. “Explain?”

“Please. Just hear me out.”

He sat back and looked at her.

“I want you to have this. You saved my life. My life. Don’t you understand?”

Cole looked around the bar and leaned closer to her, speaking softly so no one would overhear him. He pointed at the envelope. “That said five million dollars. Nobody gives someone that kind of money.”

She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Look, my parents are very wealthy. I inherited a great deal of money. More than I could ever spend. Much more.”

Cole shook his head.

“You may not think my life is worth that much,” she continued. “But I do.”

“You bought me a drink. Let’s call it even.”

“What, so you don’t think my life has any value? Is that what you think its worth? The price of a drink?”

Cole noticed she was starting to sound indignant. “I’m not saying that.”

“Yes, you are.” Her voice was getting louder.

“Look, Shannon. I appreciate the fact that you want to thank me and all, but—”

“Are you telling me you couldn’t use that money?”

“I don’t need your charity, lady!”

“It’s not charity! Don’t you think you earned it? Are you trying to tell me you didn’t risk anything helping us that day?”

Cole looked away, shaking his head.

“I know that you did. You risked a great deal, and you didn’t have to. We were nothing to you, but you helped us anyway. Please, take the money.”

“It’s your money, Shannon. Your parents gave it to you. And not so you could give it to some biker like me.”

“Don’t you know that if I told them what happened to me, that they’d want you to be rewarded for saving their daughter?”

He shook his head. “This is insane. You’re insane. Hell, your parents hear you’re trying to give away that kind of money to some biker, and they’ll have you committed to a mental institution.”

“Do you want me to tell them? I’ll call my father right now and tell him to come down here for a little chat.”

He glared at her. “The hell you will.”

“I have more than enough, Cole. I have everything I could ever need or want.”

“It’s your money. Keep it.”

“For what? So I can spend it on more useless designer handbags? Of which I already have a closet full.”

“Yeah. If that’s what the fuck you rich bitches do with your money.”

“Why are you being so stubborn? Please, take it. I want you to have it.”

“What would I do with it?” he asked softly.

“Whatever you want. Start a business. Buy a house. Buy a bar. Whatever you’ve always wanted.”

He thought of how that money could change not only his life, but also his kids and Angel’s. He thought of all the medical bills that had been piling up, and all the care that Melissa would continue to need. He felt like he was being tempted by the devil himself. This was insane. Things like this just didn’t happen. He laughed, “Hell, if I even tried to take that to the bank, they’d call the cops, thinking I’d stolen it or something. I’d probably end up in jail for my trouble.”

She smiled and nodded toward the check. “I know the president of the bank it’s drawn on, personally. Take it there. Open a new account with it. I’ll call and tell him you’re coming. Better yet, I’ll go with you to make sure there are no problems. Come on, we can go right now.”

“Just hold your horses. I didn’t even say I’d take it, yet.”

She knew she had him then. She smiled. “You need another drink.”

He nodded. “I’m gonna need more than one, darlin’.”