Chapter 1
“Tell me again why I’m doing this,” Axel said.
His head was pounding, his hands hurt from another round in the ring with Fury, and Ox’s plea wasn’t going unheard.
“Remember not so long ago when you called in a favor and dropped off a bereaved widow on my doorstep? Well, now it’s your turn.”
Axel’s dark gaze didn’t leave his friend’s face as he pondered that.
“I don’t get it. Why does Laney need to stay here? What’s wrong with your clubhouse?”
Ox rolled his eyes and pointed to his cut, his fingers just barely grazing the logo Axel had practically burned into his brain after so many years of being allies.
“Her brother just died. My clubhouse is practically a fucking memorial dedicated to Rider right now, man. I swear she won’t cause you any trouble and even though you and I both know I don’t need to beg, I will.”
Axel swore under his breath and eyed his friend as he found himself nodding his head yes.
“She can stay here as long as she needs. I’ll be up front with you, Ox. I’m havin’ problems with Pierce as of late, but that ain’t nothin’ I can’t handle. I just wanted ya to know that my plate is a little full with that and with the new business taking off, so I don’t know how watchful I can be at the moment.”
Ox smiled, his tongue piercing peeking at Axel who was busy rubbing his fists together in an attempt to get the perpetual ache to stop.
“I hear ya loud and clear, brother. She’ll be no problem, and if she is, just remember you handled Esme for six long ass months before you shipped her off to us.”
Axel only nodded in agreement because if he could handle that crazy broad- romantic feelings be damned- he could handle just about anything.
“It’s settled, then. Drop her off here whenever she’s ready and I’ll make sure we have a room prepared for her,” Axel offered.
Ox smiled wide and banged a fist on the top of Axel’s handmade table, fitted with their logo featuring two revolvers overlapping one another that had taken the carpenter a very long time to carve by hand.
“I really appreciate this, man. I do. I wish I could help her, but she’s moved here only to be closer to baby Miles and the last thing I want is to make it harder for her to grieve properly.”
Axel understood that concept better than most and silently vowed to do whatever he could to make the young girl’s stay as comfortable as possible.
“I understand. I’ll be busy manning the bar up in the mountains tonight, but I’ll make sure I check in on her before I leave. Okay?”
Ox nodded and stood beside Axel, his arm outstretched. After a quick slap on the back, Ox was waving as he headed towards his bike parked outside.
Axel only had a few minutes to himself before the door to their church room was banging against the wall, nearly falling off its hinges. Tango came barging in, his wide shoulders nearly eating either side of the door frame as he sauntered towards Axel, a smile on his face.
“We got a pretty little birdy on the lot,” He spoke.
Axel rolled his eyes and tugged on the hem of his black t-shirt as he stepped into the hallway that would lead him to said birdy. The back exit was dark as he stepped out into the rain, his eyes scanning the parking lot for Laney Jackson.
Tango was close behind, as he usually was, always at the ready to help his president with whatever he may need.
Sometimes it pissed Axel off, like now, when he was trying to keep his head from splitting in two so he could greet their guest, who was arriving earlier than he expected.
Which meant Ox knew he would say yes, the presumptuous bastard…
When Axel’s eyes landed on her, he wasn’t quite sure he was seeing things right. The woman he’d seen at Rider’s funeral wasn’t the woman he was looking at now, she couldn’t be…
Could she?
Tinier than most and as skinny as a rail, she looked like the steady rain may blow her over. She had long dark hair and although he couldn’t see the color of her eyes, he was willing to bet they’d be just as pretty as the delicate face they were set in.
High cheekbones, a tiny button nose and the sexiest mouth he’d ever seen greeted him as he stepped closer to Laney. He hadn’t expected her to be prettier than he remembered, but if Axel were being fair, he couldn’t remember what the fuck he ate for breakfast.
“Laney?”
She startled so hard, he thought he’d have to catch her as she looked up into his face.
Green.
Her eyes were a dark green that bordered hazel, but their emerald color was one he’d never seen the likes of before. He could see the similarities between her and her brother, but there weren’t many.
“Hi,” She all but whispered.
Axel glanced around the lot, knowing full well it wasn’t nearly as large as Ox’s, but they had no need for it. They didn’t own a garage, only a bar and a couple of businesses in town that made them most of their money…apart from the guns and drugs, that is.
“I’m Axel. I’m the president of the Lone Rangers.”
She only nodded, like she already knew that, and he guessed she probably did.
“Let me get your bags for you so you can get inside and out of the rain,” He offered.
When he reached for the duffle that was nearly tipping her forward, she lurched away from him, nearly hitting her head on her car door.
“Jesus, I’m sorry-,” Axel stopped himself when she shook her head.
“It’s okay. Thank you, but this is all I have.”
With that said, she moved around him and headed right for the doors that would lead her to warmth. Shit, but Axel couldn’t complain about the view she presented from behind, could he?
As he followed in her wake, he found himself yet again questioning this decision- could he really take care of another Esme? Did he have the patience and time it would take to keep an eye on someone in that state of mind?
“Fuck,” He said under his breath.
As he stepped inside the clubhouse, he caught sight of Laney standing near a wall on the farther side of the room, her fingers caressing a photo he couldn’t quite make out. As quietly as he could, he made his way closer to her, hoping to see what exactly had her transfixed.
“He looks so young in this picture,” She murmured.
He had no idea she knew he was there, but he supposed he couldn’t be surprised; someone so little was bound to recognize when someone as large as him entered their space. He almost felt like a predator stalking its prey, but he would never hurt a woman.
Rider’s face became visible as Axel moved in closer to see what had her eyes filling with tears and her fingertips shaking. It was a photo he knew well, taken the night he was patched into the Seven Deadlies.
“The night he was officially patched in. We partied all night long to celebrate,” Axel said softly.
She glanced at him, a damp lock of hair falling over one of her pretty eyes.
“He loved this life.”
One simple, four -word sentence, and Axel felt her grief all the way to his bones.
Loved…
Because he’s dead…
“I’m sorry, Laney. We all miss the fuck out of him.”
She choked out a strangled sound and rolled her eyes, her teeth tugging on her bottom lip.
“Yeah, right. Ox told me you have a room ready for me, could you show me to it, please?”
Axel would have been offended by her biting tone had he not seen Rider’s dead body himself. Had he not known the pain she was feeling first hand, Axel may have found himself reminding her of who he was, and how the hell he should be spoken to…
Instead, he led her to the only room he knew was clean and empty, hoping it would live up to her standards.
“I was going to have someone run out and get some new sheets and shit, something a little more inviting, but you got here before I could arrange that.”
Laney nodded in his direction as she took in the full-sized bed, the white walls, the cream-colored sheets. There was a small desk in the corner with a TV perched on top.
“This is fine, thanks.”
Axel hesitated before nodding back at her, his long hair falling into his eyes.
“Look, Laney, I…I know this probably isn’t what you had in mind when you moved here, but if I can get you anything please let me know.”
Her shoulders fell for the slightest of seconds before she turned to face him, her hands pushing her hair out of her face. When he saw the full effect of that, Axel had to remind himself that staring was rude and that Laney fucking Jackson was not the kind of woman he wanted. Not in the fragile state she was in…
“I’m sorry I’ve been so rude. I really appreciate the room.”
She dropped her hands at the last second and her hair fell forward, once again hiding her face from his view. Axel’s bruised fingers itched to move it, to stare at her for just a little longer, but the moment was over.
“I get it, okay? We’ve all been where you are. Do what you need to heal.”
Her eyes widened for a split second before she was facing the opposite direction, effectively dismissing him.
Axel hadn’t felt so confused in a long, long time. As he entered the hallway after making sure to close her bedroom door behind him, he glanced at the dark tile and the light walls.
This is no place for a woman like her.
Axel didn’t know anything else about Laney other than what Ox and Emily had told him days prior when Ox had first brought up her staying with the Lone Rangers.
“She’s been through hell, Axel. Losing Rider was just the beginning for her.”
“She’s fragile right now, she needs a place that will make her feel safe.”
“Laney isn’t like the rest of us, Axel. She’s soft inside and out, this life isn’t for her…”
Yet, here he was, letting her stay in his clubhouse that was filled with all sorts of things that would make a ‘soft’ woman go mad.
The Lone Rangers weren’t the worst MC out there, but they certainly weren’t as clean as the Seven Deadlies, and Axel had no intention of hiding that fact.
“Hey Axel, you busy?”
Axel turned to see Rebel watching him from the end of the hall, one of his large hands resting on the bar top.
His mismatched eyes were wide with wonder and confusion, more than likely because Axel had been standing in the hallway thinking about Laney for who the fuck knows how long.
“No, what’s up?”
“We got a new shipment coming in tonight, gonna need you to help sort through the cargo.”
Axel ran his hands along the length of his face as he sighed deeply, his exhaustion settling in like a train wreck.
“Got it. I’ve got to stop by the bar before we go, wanna call and check on Sexy Sinners, and then we can head out to the warehouse and check it out.”
Rebel glanced at the hallway behind him before he nodded his dark head.
“Roger.”
Before Axel followed, he turned to look at Laney’s bedroom door one more time, wondering what the fuck he’d gotten himself into this time.