Chapter 18
Zoe
When I looked around the room, seeing all of Seth’s brothers talking and planning, I was blown away. I’d been around all kinds of bikers, good and bad, but I’d never come across any that were quite like the men of Satan’s Fury. They were each so vastly different with their own dominant personalities, but even with all their differences, they each had an undeniable sense of loyalty to their brothers. It was something I’d missed since my father died. The Chosen were far from loyal. They only thought of themselves and what they could grab with their greedy hands. It sickened me, and knowing it was all about to end gave me a great feeling of satisfaction. They would no longer have control over my life.
But I was still left with one problem: I was flat broke. Without my job and my only connection to my father’s money, I had nothing, and no matter how hard I wracked my brain, I had no idea what I was going to do about it.
I figured I could do like Kat had suggested and embezzle the money from the club. While a part of me felt guilty just thinking about it, I knew my father’s money bought and paid for Nudie’s and everything in it. They wouldn’t even have that place if it wasn’t for the money from the shop, so maybe I shouldn’t have felt guilty. But when I thought about those girls and all they had to do to earn a dime, it just didn’t feel right. In the end, none of it would matter. As soon as Satan’s Fury was done with them, there’d be nothing left.
I was still going over it all in my head when Seth walked over to me. “Something wrong?”
I shrugged and tried to play off my worries. “No. I’m good.”
“How ‘bout we try that again?” He sat down next to me and repeated, “Something wrong?”
“This is a lot to take in. That’s all.”
“You have regrets?”
“No. Not at all. It’s just… when this is all over, where does that leave me?”
Confusion crossed his face. “What do you mean?”
I sighed. “I cleaned out my savings to pay this semester’s tuition, and without my job at Nudie’s, I won’t have any income rolling in. With another year left before I graduate, I’m screwed.”
“That’s not something you have to worry about, beautiful,” he answered nonchalantly.
“And why’s that? I just told you, I’m broke as a joke. How can I not worry about that?”
With his eyes locked on mine, he leaned towards me. “I take care of what’s mine, Zoe.”
Butterflies immediately rose in my stomach. I knew I was falling for him, and every second I was with him, I fell harder and deeper. Knowing he felt the same set my mind at ease, but I didn’t want him taking on my burdens. They were mine to bear, not his. “I don’t want you to have to take care of me, Seth. I just have to think things through.”
“What’s there to think about?”
“I don’t know. Maybe how am I going to pay for next year’s classes? Where am I going to live? I can figure it out. I just need—”
“We’ve got a good thing going here, don’t we?”
“Well, yeah. But we’ve only known each other for, like, a minute. Who’s to say you’ll even like me once you really get to know me?”
“I will.”
“But how do you know?”
“Because when I’m with you, nothing else matters. You’re it for me, Zoe, and I’ll do everything in my power to prove that to you.”
“I think you might be a little crazy,” I teased.
“Are you saying you don’t feel the same?”
“No. I’m not saying that at all, but then, I know I’m crazy.” I giggled. “Crazy about you anyway.”
He leaned forward and quickly kissed me on the lips before he said, “Let the muddy water settle, and then we’ll figure out what to do from there.”
My attention was drawn over to Big and the others when they all started to shuffle around Big’s laptop. The rumble of their voices grew louder by the minute, and from the look on Cotton’s face, it was clear something was up. “What’s going on?”
Seth got up, and I followed him over to the others. I looked over Big’s shoulder so I could see the computer screen. I hadn’t realized they’d also hacked into the security cameras at the shop, so I was surprised when I saw several of the guys standing around in the garage. I was surprised when I heard Hawk say, “Hey, Snake. We need to make room in the back. We’ve got a delivery coming in later.”
On his way to the back, Snake grumbled, “Something’s up, bro. I’m telling you. Last night was just the beginning.”
“He’s right. We all know somebody planted that coke in his saddlebags. The question is who,” Dodger interjected.
“Tank and I will get to the bottom of it. You can count on that,” Hawk snarled.
My chest tightened with panic, knowing it was only a matter of time before they connected the dots and came looking for revenge. Unable to control my fear, I mumbled, “Shit.”
Cotton looked over at me and gave me a confident wink. “We’ve got this, Zoe. We knew they’d get riled up after last night. We just need to get moving before they find a way to get Slider out on bail.”
“I could go over there now. Just tell me what you need me to do,” I offered.
Cotton turned to Big, and when he nodded, he said, “Two Bit, follow her over to the gate. Wait ‘til she’s done, and then head back here.”
“Will do.”
Big handed me two additional microphones. “If you can, we need one in their clubhouse bar and one in their meeting room.”
“I can do that.”
“I’ll do what I can to freeze the cameras, but it’s a different system, and there are no guarantees, so…”
“I’ve got it,” I interrupted. I put the microphones in my back pocket and motioned to Seth. “Let’s get this done.”
I was consumed with dread as I drove over to the clubhouse. I hadn’t been there since the day I’d agreed to be with Slider, and before that, it had been months since I’d even stepped through the door. I hoped it wouldn’t happen, but if anyone saw me there, I knew they’d have questions. I had to come up with a reason for being there, a reason they’d actually believe. By the time I pulled through the gate, my heart was racing out of control. I took a deep breath as I parked the car and headed inside. All the memories, good and bad, came rushing through my mind as I walked through the side door and down the hall.
Thankfully, there was no one in sight as I headed into the club’s bar. Remembering what Big had said about the cameras, I acted like I was getting a cold drink from the cooler as I pulled one of the mics out of my back pocket. My stomach churned with nerves as I carefully stuck it under the counter while pretending to take a drink of my soda.
Knowing time wasn’t on my side, I tossed the drink in the trash and started towards the conference room. My breath quickened as I approached the door. I looked both ways before opening the door.
As soon as I walked in the room, I spotted the chair where my father once sat. I could almost imagine him sitting there, his kind eyes staring back at me, and seconds later I found myself walking towards it. With him on my mind, I ran my hand along the worn wood on the back of the chair. I wondered what he would think of me having a hand in taking down something that he’d created, and while I had my doubts, I had to believe that he’d understand. I took the remaining mic and attached it to the bottom of the chair, then started towards the door. Before I walked out into the hall, I looked back one last time, trying to find closure on what used to be an important part of my life.
My focus was still on the past when I heard, “Zoe? What are you doing here?”
I quickly turned and found Kat standing out in the hall with a puzzled look on her face. I felt awful lying to her, but I didn’t have a choice. “I was looking for you.”
“In here?”
“Well, I thought I’d see if Tank was around and ask him about Slider. I figured I needed to check on him or something, but once I came into this room, I started to think about my dad. For a second, I could almost see him sitting there, you know?”
The expression on her face changed from suspicion to understanding. “I can imagine, especially since it’s been so long since you’ve been here.”
“I guess. I figured it would be easier, but it’s not.”
“Hey, isn’t your class about to start?”
With everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, I’d completely forgotten about my lit class. Knowing I didn’t have much time, I replied, “Yeah. Just stopping by here first. I thought I’d see if you wanted to grab a bite to eat before work.”
“And you couldn’t have just called?” she pushed.
“I guess so, but after last night, I wanted to make sure you were okay.” The lies were piling up, and I was feeling guiltier by the minute.
“We’ll talk about it at lunch. I’ll meet you at the coffee shop around twelve-thirty.”
As I started towards the door, I told her, “Okay. I’ll see you there.”
I was still a bundle of nerves as I rushed out of the clubhouse and into the parking lot. While I’d done what needed to be done, I knew there would be consequences for my actions. I just prayed losing Kat wouldn’t be one of them. Our friendship meant the world to me, and I wasn’t sure she’d understand. I made it out to my car and was about to get inside when I heard someone call out my name.
“Zoe?”
My breath caught in my throat as I turned to see Scotty walking towards me. “Oh, hey.”
His blue eyes were filled with concern as he asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. I was just… I was just checking in with Kat.”
“I heard about last night.” He ran his fingers through his tousled blond hair and sighed. “Didn’t see that coming.”
“I don’t think anyone did.”
“So, everything’s good with you? Nothing’s wrong?” he pushed.
“Nope, everything’s fine… but I better get to class or I’m going to be late,” I told him as I opened my car door and got inside.
“Take care of yourself, Zoe.”
“I’m trying,” I scoffed. I shut my door and quickly started the engine. I gave him a quick wave before leaving.
Once I was on the main road, I called Seth to tell him everything went fine and I was on my way to class. I was a little frazzled, but I made it to class on-time. As I made my way over to my seat, I noticed that Josh wasn’t next to me. When I glanced around the room, I spotted him sitting over in the corner next to some girl. He was smiling ear to ear as they bantered back and forth. I was glad to see that he’d finally moved on and found someone who made him happy.
As soon as class was over, I went straight to the coffee shop to meet Kat. Usually she was the one who was always late, but she was already there waiting for me at the door when I arrived. After we placed our order, we sat down at one of the tables in the back. Kat didn’t bother with the small talk and went straight in for the kill. “What the hell is going on with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t give me that bullshit, Zoe. You and I are best friends, and best friends don’t keep shit from each other. Now tell me what the hell is going on?”
I glanced around the room, hoping to find some form of escape, but there was no getting out of this. She wasn’t going to just let it go, so I had to tell her something. I bit my bottom lip, then said, “I told Seth about my situation with Slider and how you and I talked about getting him arrested.”
“So, you’re saying he’s the one who got Slider arrested?”
“He hasn’t exactly told me that, but I can only assume it was him.”
“Well, that’s just great.” Her words dripped with sarcasm as she leaned back in her chair with a huff. “So, you’re his damsel in distress, and he comes running in here like he’s your fucking knight in shining armor.”
“He was just trying to help. He didn’t want either of us—”
“For fuck’s sake, Zo!” Her face flushed red with anger. “He was trying to get in your pants. You do realize that, right?”
“Why are you being like this?” I couldn’t understand why she was so angry. It didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t imagine how she would react if I told her everything. “He’s a really great guy, and he actually helped me. Neither of us could’ve done what he did.”
“I’m just trying to tell you the way it is. I knew from the start he was going to be trouble. I tried to warn you about getting involved with him, but you wouldn’t listen!”
“I did listen, but after I got to know him, I realized we were wrong about him. We were wrong about a lot of things.” I swallowed hard, knowing she wasn’t going to like what I was about to tell her. “He’s a member of Satan’s Fury. They helped him—”
Her voice continued to rise, hitting an all-time high. “Satan’s Fury?? You’ve got to be kidding me! Now you’re mixed up with a member of Satan’s Fury, Zoe. Do you have any idea how fucking bad that is?”
“It’s not like that!”
“Of course, it is! You’re setting yourself up for a fall—a huge, life-altering fall, and I won’t be able to help you when it all blows up in your face. The guys will kill you if they find out!”
Before I realized what I was saying, I looked at her and said, “Kat… I love him.”
It was clear I surprised her when her angry expression quickly faded and was replaced with defeat. She let out a sigh as she leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. “Well, damn it all to hell.”
“I didn’t mean for it to happen. He… He makes me happy. I think you’d really like him.”
“I’m sure he’s great, but…”
“Just trust me on this, Kat. Please,” I pleaded.
“Oh, good grief,” she grumbled. “You promise to be careful?”
“I do.”
“And you won’t keep anything from me?”
“I’ll do my best,” I promised.
The waiter brought our lunch over to the table, and once he was gone, Kat reached for her sandwich with a mischievous grin. “So, tell me about this Mr. Wonderful. Is he all that and a bag of chips?”
“You have no idea,” I teased.
I spent the next hour telling her all about Seth and the time we’d spent together. The more I talked, the more she started to realize that he really meant something to me, and talking to her about it made it seem more real. I meant it when I told her I loved him. He never left my mind, and while the feelings I had for him scared the hell out of me, the thought of not having him in my life was even more terrifying.