PYRO

The bike takes off down the street. Whoever owns it, isn’t an Angel and curiosity got the better of me after I saw it this afternoon. So, I’m hiding down the street when I see it rolling down the driveway before peeling out.

“Fuck,” I growl as she roars past me.

I give her a head start, long enough to get through the light at the entrance to the neighborhood. No need to follow her, though. I know where she’s going. Loki on the other hand?

I turn the opposite direction of where she went and head straight for his house.

I pull up in front of it and park behind Loki’s car. Loki and I took it back to Iron Wings to get his wheels this afternoon and I reamed him a new asshole about taking home bar sluts. Loni is an absolute ballbuster when it comes to her girls, and a new one is no exception.

Loni is Cowboy’s old lady. She’s been running Iron Wings for the last twenty plus years and has no qualms about busting your ass if you fuck with one of her girls, especially the new ones. Even ones, like Skit, who’ve had a long-standing career as a bar wench.

Loki opens the door as I climb the steps. “Back to bust my ass again?”

“She rides.”

“Who?” He narrows his eyes at me.

“Skit, that’s who. She rides, man.”

“No shit?” he says skeptically. “What’s Rooster gonna do?”

I shrug. “I’m not telling him. But to be fair, she’s riding to work, so it’s her ass if anyone sees it and you know damn well Loni will.”

“Then let her deal with it,” he grumbles.

“What’s your beef?”

He shakes his head. “I can’t stop comparing her to Kiwi.”

I stiffen at the name. “Why would you be comparing her to Kiwi?” I say through gritted teeth.

“Don’t fucking start with me, dick,” Loki snaps.

I debate on telling him about the little girl’s bicycle I saw in the front yard of her house, but I let it go.

Then again, if he knew she had a kid? He’d never have taken her to bed. That’s his number one rule. Maybe if I tell him, he’ll leave her the hell alone. “She’s got a kid, dude.”

He freezes and turns back toward me. “What?” he says harshly. “How the fuck you know this?”

“The same way I know she rides. When I was coming up here this afternoon to get your shit, there was a new bike on the street, well, in the driveway, and I stopped to check it out. Didn’t want anyone riding in on us unannounced. So, I went back and watched, waiting for it to leave.”

“Where?”

“The old Mason place.” I jerk my head north.

“How old’s the kid?” he asks.

“You’re asking a lot of fucking questions,” I snap at him.

“How old?” he growls

“Fuck if I know. I didn’t see her.”

“How do you know it’s a girl?” He widens his eyes at me.

“The bicycle, moron. It’s a girl’s bicycle,” I snap back at him. “Why the fuck you care, asswipe?”

“I don’t” he answers quickly.

“And your shit don’t stink either,” I counter.

He glares at me and shakes his head.

“What are we doing tonight?” I ask.

“I’m going to I.W.”

“What in the fuck for?”

“I think I owe her an apology,” he says.

It’s my turn to narrow my eyes. “I say again, what the fuck for?”

He sighs, “Forget it.”

I roll my eyes. “Grab your shit. Let’s bounce.”

He nods and heads into his bedroom. I want to punch his fucking lights out. What in the fuck is his deal with this chick?

I admit she has some familiar qualities about her, but there are a lot of Beaumonts around these parts, so for all I know, she’s a family kid. She certainly doesn’t look like her. I don’t say the name, I can’t.

“Hey, you talked to Pixie lately?” I call down the hall.

“Nah, why?”

I shrug, even though he can’t see me. “No reason,” I tell him.

He comes back into the living room, his cut on, his boots half-zipped. “Bullshit, why?” He narrows his eyes at me.

“Forget it.”

He shakes his head. “She’s fine,” he tells me.

I nod before we take off.

I park around the back of the bar, like I did last night when I got here. There are several cars and several more bikes in the lot, considering it's just before six. The backdoor to Iron Wings swings open just as I’m throwing my leg over. “Girl, you got brass balls in there I don’t know about?” Loni, my new boss, asks.

I narrow my eyes at her. “No, why?”

She shakes her head. “Take that shit home and get your car,” she snaps.

“What the hell for?” I ask.

“Rooster or anyone else sees you riding that, you’re gonna have hell to pay. Girls don’t ride in these parts unless they riding bitch on their old man’s bike.”

“I rode in Colorado, what’s the big deal?” I ask. Though I get the impression I already have the answer.

“Sticks let you ride?”

Oh shit. “Yeah,” I tell her hesitantly.

“Well, Rooster ain’t gonna let it fly here. So, get it home before he sees you.”

“Loni, I can…”

“No, Skit, you can’t. Trust me on this one, please. You can ride that shit anywhere you want, just not on MC property. Get me?”

I nod. “I get you.”

“Take it home, come back, and get to work, yeah?” she says, though I can tell she’s really not mad at me, just giving me a heads up.

I flip my shades back on, sling my leg over and turn over the engine. I’m thankful for the bandana covering my hair, at least if someone sees me, they’ll know it’s a girl, but not necessarily me.

Within ten minutes, I’m pulling back in front of the house when I hear the roar of bikes, two to be exact, coming from the direction of Loki’s house. “Shit,” I sputter as I run for the door, but I’m not fast enough.

The next thing I know, two bikes are pulling onto my lawn and their engines cut out.

I pull the bandana from my head before I freeze when I hear their stands go down. “Brave, bitch.” It’s Pyro’s gravelly voice.

“Excuse me?” My heartbeat is racing a million miles a minute and fear grips at me when I realize that Piper is inside.

“Brave bitch riding in Roswell,” Pyro says and I turn toward him.

“I take it someone tipped you off?” Loki asks. His hair is pulled back into a…I have no idea what he’s doing with his hair and Pyro’s is braided down his back.

“Loni, when I pulled in,” I share with narrowed eyes.

“Good,” Loki says. For some strange reason, Pyro is staring daggers at me and Loki looks like he’s ready to tackle me to the ground and fuck me.

“Message received, boys, no riding to Angels’ territory. Got it. Now I need to go change.” I turn toward the door.

“Where’d you learn to ride?” Pyro asks me. My heart stills again before I turn back around.

“Someone who could kick both your asses. He told me if I could learn to ride a bike and drive a stick, I’d never be stranded.”

Pyro freezes in his tracks. His eyes turn from daggers to murderous in a matter of seconds.

“Mommy…” Piper’s voice reaches my ears as the screen door slams shut.

Fuck.

“Hey baby, can you go back inside? I’ll be there in a minute.” She looks from me to Pyro, then to Loki and then back to me.

“Okay,” she says, slowly backing away toward the door. No one says anything until she’s inside.

“Skit, who is that?” It’s Loki’s voice, but it sounds, I don’t even know, freaked out?

“My daughter.”

“How old is she?” Loki asks.

“Five,” I answer automatically and he relaxes. I don’t tack on that she’ll be six in a couple months.

Pyro on the other hand looks like he’s about to spit nails. “Message received?” he says through gritted teeth.

“Yes, Pyro, I got it from Loni,” I tell him. My heart still hasn’t found a normal rhythm in my chest.

I don’t say anymore, I just walk into the house and close the front door. “You alright, Lily?” Emily asks me. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

I suck in a deep breath but I don’t move. I wait patiently for the sound of Harleys kicking over. It takes a few moments before the bikes roar to life outside. “I’m fine, I just need to change and swap my rides.”

“Something wrong with the bike?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Nope, not at all.” I leave it at that and I head for my room, Piper follows behind me.

“Mommy, who those guys?” she asks.

“They’re just friends, baby.”

“Oh, okay,” she says before heading into her room. I sit down on the bed waiting for my heart to return to normal. Once steady, I exchange my pants for a short skirt and black fuck-me heels before saying my good-byes again and leaving for Iron Wings.