Bishop

 

Bishop sat in his office with his feet up on the desk, staring at the ceiling. He had felt completely adrift since his last encounter with Lola. That was usually a feeling that a biker liked, not being attached to anyone or anything. There was a certain kind of freedom that came with being alone, and it gave him the ability to go anywhere and do anything without consequence.

 

But for the first time in his life, he wasn’t satisfied with that. Bishop had fallen in love with Lola, despite his better judgement. He hadn’t been able to help himself. He wondered if other men had felt the same way about her, and if it was just an infatuation with her beautiful body that kept her in the forefront of his mind. Only time would tell, and it didn’t matter anyway. She would never have anything to do with him again.

 

He sat up when someone knocked on the doorway to his office. “What is it?”

 

“Sorry to bother you, Boss.” It was Sluice. He slunk into the office and sat down. “I had a few things I wanted to go over with you, if you have time.”

 

Bishop knew what he meant. It wasn’t about whether or not Bishop had any time but whether he felt up to it or not. Though he’d made no announcements, he couldn’t hide the fact that this whole thing had affected him. Bishop might have a kid out there, and yet he might not. The press had been calling and coming by on a regular basis, and a detail had had to be assigned to keep them at bay. The only reason Bishop kept his cell phone nearby instead of shutting it off and locking it in a drawer was on the small hope that Lola might call. She wouldn’t, but he kept it in his pocket anyway. “Go ahead.”

 

The vice president consulted some notes he had made on his tablet. “Archie Reynolds says he wants to retire from the club. I didn’t figure you would have any problem with it, but I thought I would check with you on scheduling a retirement ceremony for him.”

 

“Sure. Not a problem. Any time that sounds good to you is fine with me.” He would miss Archie, but he had no objection when one of his loyal followers decided to retire. The club life wasn’t for everyone, especially as they got older. “What else?”

 

Sluice shrugged and rubbed his hand through his hair. He shifted in his chair and cleared his throat. “Um, you know, just typical club business. Uh, the roof needs a little bit of maintenance on the northeast corner, so I wanted to see if you want us to just fix it ourselves or just hire someone. And I have a few reports on some of our latest business dealings. Just little stuff. I can leave it on your desk for later.” He stood up and went toward the door.

 

“Sluice?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

Bishop dropped his feet to the floor and leaned forward in his chair. “Don’t bother trying to protect me. I appreciate it, but I don’t need it. Just tell me.”

 

With a sigh, Sluice sat back down. “Okay, but I don’t think you’re going to like it.” He poked at the tablet and set it on the desk.

 

Picking it up, Bishop recognized the popular news app. It was on the entertainment tab, and every story was about Lola. He wouldn’t have been surprised if it had been the typical stuff he had already seen, things about her being in Rolling Hills or the fight at the bar. But it was so much more than that. There were links to videos where supposed journalists speculated over her pregnancy and who the father might be. “Damn it!”

 

“Uh, boss, I know it isn’t really any of my business. But it’s you, isn’t it?”

 

Bishop didn’t have to ask him to clarify. “Yeah, it’s me. Or at least, that what she says.” He had no real reason to believe she was a liar, other than the way that Chris had looked at her in the bar. Maybe that wasn’t really enough to go on.

 

His doubts were intensified when he scrolled down to the next headline. Lennox Fires Bodyguard Over Fight. She had let Chris go. If he was the father of the child, or if Lola had had any feelings for him, then Lola wouldn’t have fired him.

 

“I’m afraid it only gets more intense the more you go on,” Sluice said apologetically. “I don’t think I’ve ever read the entertainment section as much as I have today, and they just can’t get enough of Lola.”

 

Bishop read on. Lola Reduces Entourage with Another Firing. Big-Time Star, Small-Town Girl. Lola Lennox’s Secret Beauty Tricks Revealed! Top Ten Bad Habits of Lola Lennox: Makeup Artist Tells All. Everything was there. Most of it he hadn’t known before, except for the fact that she was from Rolling Hills. He dismissed the beauty secrets and the bad habits. If Lola had fired her makeup artist and her bodyguard, then there was no doubt they were selling as many lies as they possibly could.

 

“I know you didn’t ask, but I’ve checked with the entertainment blogs to see if I can figure out what her schedule is like. You know, just in case you wanted to know.” Sluice studied the floor. He was a good man, but the Cobra Kings didn’t make a habit of discussing romantic matters.

 

“And?” Bishop shouldn’t care. He had messed things up with Lola big-time. Even if the child was his, she would probably tell him to fuck off and forget about it. Still, he couldn’t help wanting to know.

 

“Her plane is scheduled to take off this afternoon.” Sluice checked his watch. “In about an hour, actually.”

 

The details spun through Bishop’s head. Everyone knew that Lola was here, and now they knew that she was from here as well. They knew about the pregnancy. They probably knew when her plane was leaving, if Sluice had been able to find that information. Perhaps most importantly, they knew that Lola had recently let go of one of her bodyguards. She was heading to a busy airport with only the big bald man to protect her. There was no way that was going to be enough.

 

Bishop jumped up out of his chair and grabbed his keys. “Round up everyone you can. We’ve got to head to the airport.”

 

Sluice didn’t stop to ask why or for details. “Not a problem. We’ll be right on your tail.”

 

His head was spinning as he fired up his bike and hit the button that opened the garage door. Lola would probably sic her man on him when he showed up. She might just march right up to Bishop and punch him in the face herself. He deserved it and he knew it. But he just had to see her one more time.

 

He made it to the airport in record time. As he pulled in and shut off his engine, he heard several other bikes nearby on the road. Bishop hoped they were his men, and if they were he could only be impressed by how quickly Sluice had gotten them to act. He shot into the airport and looked around.

 

It was far more crowded than it should have been during the middle of the week, but it was obvious that most of the people weren’t there to board a plane. They milled around, poking their heads up above the crowd, searching for something. They were waiting for Lola.

 

Baggage check was to his right and the security checkpoint to the left. Lola would have to get through those gates before she could get to her plane. Bishop waited for a moment, monitoring the crowd and trying to determine where Lola might be based on that. He sighed and rubbed his hands together. This would have been so much easier if she was just a normal girl. Nobody would have paid any attention to her in an airport or been interested in spreading her personal information on the Internet. It would have made it incredibly easy to have time alone with her, but he had to turn his mind away from that.

 

A scream shattered the air and Bishop turned on his heel. It was followed by more screams from the far entrance of the airport. The crowd surged that direction, cameras flashing and fans screaming. They surged behind him like a wall, and he let himself be carried along since it would only bring him closer to Lola.

 

“There she is!”

 

“Oh, my God!”

 

“It’s really her!”

 

People shouted and screamed all around him. Bishop thought he caught a glance of her bodyguard’s shiny bald head, but he couldn’t be sure. He hoped his men were on their way, because even he couldn’t hold back the crowd on his own.

 

As loud as the airport was, he couldn’t miss the deafening crack that filled the air. The crowd swelled, panicking, swirling around him like a whirlpool. Bishop fought to get closer to Lola. He shoved past elbows and handbags, jumping through the stampede even as it tried to trample him. Bishop was swimming upstream, but he would fight however hard he had to if it got him to Lola.

 

The crowd around him was beginning to thin, and he saw that he wasn’t the only one heading against the crowd. A young man moved down the opposite wall of the airport, shoving people out of his way and shouting. Bishop wouldn’t have been surprised to find any number of people who wanted to come to her aid, even if that only meant they would get a television interview or a made-for-TV movie, but he had seen this guy before. His short brown hair and thick glasses were too familiar. It was the guy from Lydia’s Café, and he had a gun.