Chapter Thirty-Three
The doorbell chimed through the house and Kori hustled toward the front door. Unfortunately, Lila beat her to it, meaning she and Lucky would have to endure even more teasing.
“Kori!” Lila yelled as she turned and realized there was only about two feet separating them. “Oh sorry.” She chuckled “Didn’t mean to scream in your face.”
“No worries. See you later, Lila.” She shrugged into a borrowed leather jacket and slipped past Lila out the door to the stoop where Lucky waited. Damn, he looked good in his uniform of jeans and a fitted tee.
So far so good. No ribbing.
“You kids have fun,” Lila called out as they walked quickly toward Lucky’s bike.
And there it was.
“We won’t wait up for you. And I put some condoms in your jacket pocket, Kori. Never can be too safe.” Lila laughed as Striker yelled for her to come inside and stop torturing the kids.
“Everyone’s a comedian,” Lucky muttered then raised his voice. “We’ll see you guys in a few hours at the clubhouse.”
“You sure you don’t need help with dinner stuff, Lila?” Kori asked for what had to be the tenth time that morning.
“No. Go, have fun. Relax. Talk.” Lila shot Lucky a severe look then disappeared into the house leaving Kori and Lucky alone.
Suddenly, she felt awkward, unsure of herself and unable to think of anything to say. Even on their first date, they’d had great conversation flow and hardly any tension—unless sexual tension counted. They’d had that in spades.
Now it was all just a jumbled mess of sadness, desire, pain, and uncertainty. To make matters worse, dark glasses hid Lucky’s deep blue eyes so she couldn’t even see if they were flat and lifeless or filled with emotion. On impulse, she pushed them up so they rested on his head. Emotion for sure, and a deeper blue than usual. But what emotion, she couldn’t determine.
Someone had to say something or she might as well just go back in the house.
“We have so much to talk about that I can’t even decide where to begin.” Lucky said.
Kori’s heart sped up. She hadn’t expected him to break the silence first. “I know we do. It seems an almost impossible task.”
He rubbed a hand over his goatee and she longed to feel the silky fur tickling her skin. “How about we call a truce, shelve the discussion for today, and just go for a ride. I could really use a long ride.”
Oh, man that sounded perfect. The part of her that was so afraid he’d still reject the idea of a serious relationship even after knowing the truth was beyond relieved for the brief reprieve. Even it was only a delay of the inevitable conversation. Holding him for hours while feeling the flex and play of his back muscles as he sped through the beautiful desert countryside sounded like heaven.
“Let’s do it,” she said.
He smiled and her heart seized in her chest. It was a crooked smile. A real smile. Maybe there was still hope.
Lucky drove them far out into the desert. The warmth of the day combined with the vibration of the bike, and the security of Lucky between her legs was hypnotizing. More than once Kori found herself nearly drifting off to sleep.
After about an hour and a half Lucky veered off to the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. They spent about thirty minutes stretching their legs, eating a snack, and hydrating. Conversation was kept light, no talk of their ruined relationship or exactly what they were doing spending time together. She couldn’t have asked for a more perfect afternoon.
Then, it was time to head to the clubhouse for a meeting she’d been trying not to think about all day. A meeting that had her stomach churning and fear clogging her throat.
Lucky must have sensed a change in her because he prevented her from climbing on behind him with a strong hand around her wrist.
With her throat thick, talking was impossible so she raised an eyebrow in question. He lifted her knuckles to his lips and nipped the middle one. It was followed with a gentle kiss that had her blinking away tears. Good thing she had her own dark sunglasses on.
“Don’t worry so much. We’ll find a way to make everything right.” He released her and she mounted the bike.
The words were meant to comfort, but she wasn’t certain what exactly he was referring to. Make what right? The club’s issues? Or their relationship?
Those questions and more swirled through her head on the ride until the peace of the afternoon faded to a nervous tension. They arrived about the same time as others were pulling into the clubhouse.
Lucky didn’t hold her hand or touch her in any way as they walked inside, and she berated herself for the disappointment that coursed through her. They weren’t together. Weren’t a couple. Wishing it didn’t make it so. She needed to remember that.
The moment they stepped foot inside, Lucky groaned and rubbed his stomach. “Oh, man, it smells amazing in here.”
He was right. The women had prepared an Italian feast complete with chicken parmesan, multiple types of pasta and sauces, garlic bread, and a few cakes for dessert. That they’d pulled together such an enticing dinner on short notice was impressive.
Shiv clapped his hands together in rapid succession and the racket lowered to a dull chatter. “Hey, gang. Grab some food, chat for a few minutes, but we’re here for a serious reason, so let’s get seated and started as quick as possible.”
Kori loaded a plate with the mouthwatering food. At some point, she and Lucky had been separated in the rush of hungry bikers to the buffet table. When she didn’t spot him after a quick glance around, she grabbed a seat at a long table that had obviously been set up with this dinner in mind. Lila sat next to her and Emily on the other side. Lucky ended up directly across from her.
While she would have preferred to be next to him, she was now able to view his reactions. The bikers and ol’ ladies dug into their food and silence descended on the group.
“Okay, I’m going to talk while everyone eats. First of all, thanks to all the ol’ ladies who helped put this together with a minute’s notice. Amazing as usual. I know you’re all a little nervous so I’m not going to keep anyone in suspense.” Shiv then went on to explain the reason for calling everyone together.
The women’s jaws dropped as he explained Rebel and Savage’s recent activities and the potential for more club members to be involved. He warned everyone, but the ladies in particular, to be vigilant and watchful.
“If you see anyone from Vegas around here, let one of us know immediately. Try not to alert them that something is going on, but don’t invite anyone to your house. Don’t be caught alone with them. We don’t have reason to believe anyone would come here looking to cause trouble, but we also don’t know who we can trust at this time. A cornered animal will lash out.”
Kori felt like there was a flashing neon arrow over her head pointing down at her, directing every eye in the place to her. She was the unknown in this situation, the girl from Vegas who was supposedly engaged to Savage, the brother turned drug dealer. Did they judge her for being with him? Did they question her loyalty? Her innocence? She had to get over her fear and come clean. It was the only way to earn their true respect.
“I know this is not typical of the way we conduct business.” Striker took over from next to Shiv. “But we felt it was important for you ladies to be in the loop on this one given the fact that on a normal day none of you would think twice about inviting any of the Vegas brothers into your homes. It goes without saying that nothing you hear tonight leaves this room. Understood?”
A chorus of yes rang out from the women.
“I’m going to let Jester fill you in on the plan we have so far.” Striker remained standing while Jester rose.
“Hope you don’t mind if I eat my cake while I talk.” He held a paper plate with chocolatey goodness close to his face. Everyone chuckled and his typical good-humored nature helped loosen a bit of the stiffness in the room. “Next week about ten of us will be heading up to Vegas. It will be a surprise visit so zippa your lippas, ladies. I know it’s hard, but you can do it.” He chuckled to himself.
“Booo,” Marcie called. “You guys gossip way worse than we do and you know it.”
The moments of levity were appreciated except for the fact that Kori just wanted this over with as fast as possible. Every minute she sat there, she felt more and more like a windup toy being cranked. At some point the dial would be released and she’d go spinning out of control.
“While we’re there, we plan to locate the drugs and deal with the offenders in the appropriate manner. That’s all I’ll say about that. Kori?” Jester swung his gaze to her.
Even though she knew how nice he was and what a jokester he was on a normal day, being the sole focus of over six-foot-five, at least two-hundred-fifty pounds of intense male was nerve-wracking to say the least.
“Yes?” Her voice sounded small, meek and it pissed her off. She wasn’t either of those things, at least not in personality. But if people weren’t staring at her before, they sure as hell were now that Jester called her out, and it was just too much. She wanted to crawl under the table and hide until everyone went home.
“We could really use some detailed information about where you saw the drugs, what access is like, the schedules Rebel and Savage have been keeping over the past few weeks. Anything you can tell us that will give us a leg up.” Jester relaxed his stance and gentled his voice as he spoke. Perhaps he noticed the deer-in-the-headlights look she no doubt wore. “You okay to stay a bit after the meeting to go over some of that shit?”
Ugh, no. She couldn’t stay; she had unbreakable plans to cry herself to sleep. “Of course,” she said instead. “I was thinking I should, uh, tag along. You can tell Rebel I came looking for a place to stay and you wanted to return me. Might earn you some brownie points you could use to your advantage.”
The clatter of Lucky’s fallen chair registered before the sight of the over six-foot male who stood across the table starting at her like she asked to dance naked on the tables. “No fucking way in hell will that be happening.”
Jester silenced him with a glower before he addressed her suggestion. The rest of the room remained quiet, but the weight of their heavy stares was palpable. “I appreciate the offer, Kori, but it would be a bit risky. Rebel would immediately suspect that you told us about his drug dealing and we can’t risk anything that will tip him off. If he has any chance to get rid of the evidence, he’ll take it.”
She nodded and pushed her plate away, appetite long gone. It took work to keep her attention trained on Jester rather than Lucky, who still loomed over the table scowling at her. “Okay. What if I go back on my own tomorrow? I can use the week before you arrive to do some surveillance, scout around, and pass information back to you.”
Lucky slammed his clenched fists down on the table sending paper plates an inch into the air and tipping no less than three full plastic cups. “Are you out of your fucking mind, woman?”
His face was dark with rage and she could practically see smoke swirling up from his ears.
Thankfully, Jester kept his cool. “You think Savage is going to welcome you with open arms? It’s too risky, hon.”
“Way too fucking risky,” Lucky said.
The push-pull from Lucky was getting to her. One day he yelled at her, the next he came to apologize and they ended up going at it like animals. Then he took her on a polite motorcycle ride for hours. Now he was back to yelling at her and apparently, he didn’t trust that she wouldn’t tip off Rebel and Savage. Why the hell else wouldn’t he want her in Vegas? Well screw that. She deserved to see Rebel and Savage taken down.
She placed her own palms on the table with much less force than Lucky and leaned toward him. “Fine, then I want to come with you. I’ll stay out of sight until it’s all over, but I want to be there. I deserve to be there.”
His reach was far greater and he was practically on her side of the table by the time he’d bent as far forward as he could. He was breathing like he’d just run a race. “You deserve to be there? Please, tell us why you deserve to be there?”
Her face was so hot beads of sweat popped out along her brow. She pressed her bodyweight onto her hands to keep them from shaking, but it only translated up her arms until her entire body vibrated with a mix of irritation and humiliation. All around the room wide eyes gaped at the show.
“Listen, Lucky.” She somehow managed a strained but calm tone. “I get that you don’t think very highly of me right now. And we can talk privately about everything after the meeting. But I’m not looking to tip them off. I’m not looking to screw you guys over.” Then a thought hit her, something she should have thought of the moment they unveiled their plan. Shit. It was a thought that could ruin the entire scheme.
Rebel and Savage already knew Lucky was aware of their drug enterprise.
“Jesus Christ, you think I give a shit about any of that?” Lucky pushed back from the table and ran a hand through his hair, making it stick out in various directions. “I don’t think you’re gonna sell us out, Kori. I don’t want you there for your own safety. I’m trying to protect you.” Disbelief laced his voice.
Panic clawed at her throat. It didn’t matter, none of it mattered. If Lucky showed up there with Striker and Shiv, Rebel would immediately be suspicious. All of a sudden it was too much. The heartache with Lucky, being blackmailed by her own father, seeing a man beaten, and now circling back around to fear for Lucky. “And what the hell do you think I was trying to do when I agreed to marry Savage?” she yelled.
Her hand flew up and covered her mouth as though she could hold in the screamed words that had already escaped.
Lucky grew as still and cold as an ice sculpture.
Oh shit. There went her chance for a personal talk with Lucky.