I feel my eyes flutter open.
"Good morning, sleepy head," Shane says, smiling at me before leaning down for a nice, long, good morning kiss. His hand is still gently caressing my breast. My arms snake around him, pulling him into the kiss. "Wow!" Shane says softly, a loving smile on his lips as we part. "Good morning to me, too!"
I snicker. "Yeah," I murmur. "It"s a shame we have a meeting to attend this morning."
"And why is that?" Shane asks, slowly dragging a finger along the curve of my breast.
"That"s why," I say before I stretch, working the kinks out with a groan. "What time is it?"
"Nearly six."
We need to get up," I groan, still trying to claw my way up out of sleep.
"We have a few minutes," Shane says, as he pulls me into a snuggle.
I take a deep breath and snuggle in. "Why the h.e.l.l do we have these meetings so early?" I grumble.
"Now that you are going to be the president, you can change it if you want to," Shane says lightly. "What"s the point of power if you can"t abuse it? It can be your first official proclamation this morning after Philip swears you into office."
I snicker. "Nothing, I guess. But the meetings have been held at eight o"clock for forever. It seems a shame to break such a long tradition," I say. "It"s only once a month."
"I know. I guess I can give you up for a few hours one Sat.u.r.day morning a month," Shane says with a grin. We are silent a moment, then Shane speaks to me quietly, "Mags?"
"Hmmm?" I murmur as I lie in his arms, enjoying the closeness.
"I just wanted to tell you, before we get busy this morning, how proud I am of you."
"You"re just saying that because I"m about to be your boss," I tease.
Shane chuckles. "No. I mean it," he says softly. "The first woman member of the 417s. The first woman officer. And now the first woman president. That"s something to be proud of. Now look at us. Over four hundred full and a.s.sociate members. We have twenty or twenty-one full women members, if I remember the count correctly. We are one of the most respected clubs in South Carolina and we go good works. Most of it is because of you. You"re the one that first started speaking to kids in school, remember? I think your dad, if he were still around, would be proud of you too."
"You think so?"
"Yeah, I do. I know he said he didn"t want you riding bikes or joining the club, but look at what you"ve done. You"ve taken his little motorcycle repair business and made it into the most respected restoration shop on the east coast, if not the entire country. And now you are taking over the club he founded. I wish he could see you now."
I smile. "Yeah. Me too. I just hope I"m up for this."
Now, it"s Shane"s turn to snicker. "You run a multi-million dollar business that employs fifteen people. People ship in bikes from all over the country, just so Maggie Perry can give them her magic touch. Not to mention you are in discussions to have the Velocity Channel come in and make a television series about your shop. I think you can handle this. It was a unanimous vote, remember? Everyone thinks the club is in good hands."
"With one abstention as I recall."
"It didn"t seem kosher for me, as the sitting vice-president, to vote for my own wife. How would that look?"
I snicker, as I sit up and stretch again. "But you nominated me."
"Well," Shane says with a shy grin, "the club functions best when we have the best people in office."
"Get up. I"ll get the kids up and fed while you shower. Then, you can run them over to Mom"s while I get ready. Oh, and remind me...no more chips and salsa while we are watching a late movie. I had the craziest dream last night."
Shane snickers. "I don"t think you need the salsa for those. You"ve been having them for as long as I have known you. Since before we were married. What was it this time? Bears on motorcycles chasing you through the woods again? Or was it the working in the shop while everyone is naked and a customer arrives one?"
I giggle at Shane. He has been making me laugh since high school. "No, nothing that crazy. You were in it this time." I slink up to him and take him into my arms. "And we were involved in some pretty crazy s.e.x. Oh, and motorcycle racing. In the nude." I pause and stare into his eyes for a moment. "I think after the meeting we should just leave the kids with their grandmother for a while. What do you think?"
"I think your mom would love to have the kids for the day. I know I would love to have you alone for few hours. I"ll leave some money and they can all go out for lunch."
I grin at my husband of fifteen years, warming at the thought of some alone time with him. "Yes. I would like that, too."
Stolen Ride.
Sophia Hampton.
CHAPTER ONE.
She could hear their voices. That meant they were close to her. Too close. She had to move fast. Picking up the speed, she darted through the dark hallway. It was d.a.m.n hard to run without being heard. If they knew how close she was, she"d be in the kind of trouble she tried to stay out of.
The plans for the building were going through her mind. Little did she know when she studied them that it would end up saving her life. She twisted around the first corner. If her memory served her correctly there would be another turn before her destination.
She thought it funny that, even as she was d.a.m.n near running, it seemed as though everything was moving in slow motion. What was probably only minutes felt like it was taking hours. She guessed that"s what happened when you had a gang of bikers trying to kill you.
Not long after the second twist in the hallway, she found exactly what she"d been looking for. A wall of shelves, lined end to end and top to bottom with old books. She couldn"t help but wonder if any of them were valuable, and with a grin debated on coming back another time to check them out. Preferably when she wasn"t running for her life.
For now, she had to stick to the current plan. Which meant finding the book that would make this wall spin and let her into the hidden escape route. Got to love these old plantation homes. They were prepared for things they didn"t even know would happen.
She was two rows of books in, frustrated and wondering if this idea was futile as the voices grew closer, when she pulled out a book about the Underground Railroad from the slave days.
The wall slid open slightly and she climbed in behind it, but the irony of the choice was not lost on her. She pushed the wall back into place and took off running down the corridor in front of her. According to what she"d read, there was a long tunnel and then an exit that would allow her to escape freely off the property.
"What the h.e.l.l? Where did she go?"
Jake had known that Logan wouldn"t be happy when he went back to tell his friend he"d lost the girl. His only job had been to catch her and bring her back for the guys to handle. He kicked his toe against the ground and looked across the expansive property. Must be nice to have the kind of money a place like this cost.
Then again, maybe not. He may have been lucky to pocket fifty bucks at any given time, but he had his freedom and his friends and he was happy. He bet whoever owned this place didn"t have any of that.
"Man, I wish I knew. It"s like she f.u.c.king vanished." Jake walked over to his bike. "f.u.c.k it. Let"s go grab a beer and get back on the road." He swung his leg over the bike and sat down, preparing to start it up and take off.
"We won"t be leaving this place yet. We"ve gotta find that girl." Logan lifted his leg and climbed onto his own bike.
Jake wondered what was so important about this chick. He wasn"t sure, but if Logan was caught up in it, then it had to be important. He sure wasn"t gonna argue with the man. Logan was his brother. His friend. They all were.
The Dixon Crew. They"d taken him in when he had no one. He wouldn"t turn his back on them now. Even if it seemed silly to waste so much time chasing a chick that obviously was smart enough to make it hard. He"d do what Logan wanted. He owed them. They both started the bikes and headed back into town to meet up with the guys. Apparently they had some plans to make.
Jake just wanted a cold beer. This town was hotter than the pits of h.e.l.l.
Allison couldn"t help but think of how backwards and pathetic this entire town was. A far cry from where she"d grown up. Not that she really lived there anymore. Still, this place was like stepping backwards in history. And not to the good parts. She wouldn"t have been the least bit surprised if she"d seen separate drinking fountains in the middle of town.
She wasn"t even totally sure what she was looking for. A place to be, perhaps? She needed to sit down and sort some s.h.i.t out. A big part of her wanted to say "f.u.c.k it." She wanted to leave this backwoods place and get on with life. Make some money. A new adventure.
Being in a real life version of Mayberry with a gang of bikers trying to kill her was not the type of adventure she preferred. But she was stuck. At least that"s what she told herself. This may have been accidental, but there was enough money in this to make it worth it. Unless she died. So she really had to make sure that didn"t happen.
The problem was that the only answer she had seemed pretty d.a.m.ned hopeless. In order to stay safe from the Dixon Crew, she had to get close to one of them. She hoped that what she knew would be enough to help her. But she feared that brotherly bond between them all would make the entire plan more dangerous than she wanted to toy with. Life was nothing if not exciting. She rolled her eyes as the thought went through her mind and opened the door to the bar and walked in.
Jake saw her enter. He thought about telling the guys, but he really didn"t much feel like the excitement. For just a minute he wanted to enjoy the beer he was having. If he had his way, they"d just take off and leave. He couldn"t imagine what the h.e.l.l was so important about her.
He didn"t know what they wanted her for. He"d just followed instructions and tried to catch her. As he watched her walk up and order a drink he couldn"t help but think how he"d like to catch her, and what he"d like to do with her when he did.
She was a hot little mess. The last swig of his beer reminded him it was time to go get another. As he walked up towards the bar, he went over in his head what exactly he was going to say to the girl he"d just chased through someone else"s mansion.
CHAPTER TWO.
"I could have saved myself the trouble and just sat here drinking "til you walked in." Jake was standing beside her, hoping she"d look at him and see the smirk on his face. But she didn"t.
Allison continued to stare at her bottle. She"d heard him. She just didn"t want to look at him. This may just be the end of the road for her.
"So, is this the part where you hand me over to your friends so they can get rid of me?" Allison chugged on the beer. If she was going to die tonight, she was going to die drunk.
"Maybe." Jake paused and looked at her. She was even more beautiful up close. He did have to admit, though, that under the bar lighting she looked rough. Not bad. Just rough. Tired. Frantic. Scared? Was that fear on her face? But on a normal day, in normal clothes, she"d be a knockout. "But first I"d have to tell "em that you are here."
That had made her look at him for the first time. She was surprised. He"d bypa.s.sed that whole pact of loyalty. But why? She had to admit, he wasn"t a bad looking guy. For a biker. They weren"t generally her type.
But he had a softer appearance than most. Even with the stubble on his face and the leather jacket. He didn"t look as hard as his buddies. She glanced towards their table but made sure it wasn"t noticeable. She didn"t need them looking over and seeing her. That would take bar fight to an all new level.
"Doesn"t that violate some type of biker gang code of conduct?" Allison ordered another beer and he watched her put the bottle to her lips.
Lips that were full and pink, tinted even without makeup. She really didn"t need makeup. Her complexion was d.a.m.n near perfect. His only complaint was the hair. It was silky and blonde and too f.u.c.king short for a woman. They should have longer hair. Hair that you could run your fingers through. Hair that you could grab and pull while they moaned. He couldn"t imagine yanking on her hair. But then again, maybe he"d like to try.
"Didn"t say I wasn"t gonna. Said I hadn"t yet." Jake decided to grab the seat by her.
Allison didn"t like him being that close to her. It made her feel weird. She chalked it up to fear of death. It wasn"t that she"d never been in danger. It was that she"d never stuck around to see how that story played out. Her job was simple. Get the goods, make the money, get the f.u.c.k out. Why the h.e.l.l was she still here?
"Well, pardon me if I don"t wait around on you to change that." She was digging money out of her pocket.
That made him laugh. A girl that didn"t carry a bag. That was new. She threw the cash on the bar and headed out the door, leaving Jake to wonder what her deal was and why he"d never told the guys that she was here.
Allison stood outside the seedy bar and tried to regain her composure. Who would have thought the one place she chose to walk into would be filled with the guys who wanted her dead? G.o.d, she needed help on this one. But the one thing she was beginning to think was that her plan might work.
If Jake hadn"t told them she was here and she wasn"t even trying to get close, she might stand a chance on getting to him and having him help her. But first, she had to find somewhere to be. Apparently the Dixon Crew was going to hang around, and that meant she couldn"t be seen.
Jake wanted to follow her. He wanted to ask her questions and find out what was going on. He wanted to know where she was and what she was doing. What he didn"t understand was why. She was right. He should have told them. He"d do anything for those guys. But he hadn"t.
They could have taken care of things and then been back on the road. They had gotten what they needed from here. They"d already sold it and cashed in on the dough. It was time to leave. Time to head to their next destination.
This girl and whatever beef the guys had with her were delaying them. Which was costing them money. Him money. And he wasn"t having much fun around this hick town. He was ready. So then why"d he let her walk out?
"Guys I gotta run out for a minute. I"ll be back." Jake had hurried to the table and let his brothers know he was leaving. It wasn"t required. h.e.l.l, how many times had they spent days wondering where Logan was hiding? Usually turned out he"d met some babe that he took a liking to.
He"d disappear for a few days and he"d come back when he was bored. One had come with him and she spent months on the road with the gang. Then she just left one day for a man she"d met at a truck stop on the road. Beautiful women were a problem waiting to happen. Best to have a little fun and walk away. That was Jake"s motto and he stuck to it pretty well.
Until now. When he was searching outside the bar for a woman he didn"t know. A woman his buddies should know had been here, but didn"t. A woman he wasn"t even really sure why he wanted to find.
"They are trying to catch me, so I don"t talk to you." Allison walked out of the dark alley after she watched Jake pa.s.s by for the third time. If he went around three times and none of the others followed then chances are he hadn"t told them. This was her chance to try and complete this job. "Allison Russell," she said, holding her hand out for him to shake.
He didn"t. He just glanced at it and stood there.
"Jake Brighton." He studied her face. "But I"m a.s.suming you already know that." She nodded. "Talk to me about what?"
Allison thought this over for a minute. She knew what she was about to do was dangerous. But could it really be any more dangerous than running from a gang of bikers? Wasn"t like the Dixon Crew would stay put and she could escape. They travelled almost as much as she did. And what Logan Dixon wanted, he got.
Right now, he wanted her dead before she shared the information she"d found. "Can we go somewhere else to talk? Standing in the dark shadows outside a building filled with people that want me dead makes me a little nervous."
He nodded and she turned to walk off, a.s.suming that the hot little biker man was following her and praying his friends wouldn"t be next on the trail.
She had a nice a.s.s. That was the thought he had as she climbed the stairs of the motel she"d taken him to. For some reason, Jake had thought that she"d be staying in at least a three star place. She didn"t seem the type to climb over drunks and crack heads to get to her room. Of course, he really didn"t know her. But as her hips swayed at practically eye level in front of him, the tightening in his pants told him he sure might like to.
"Nice room." Jake rolled his eyes. The place was dirty and small. There was no air and he"d bet there was no heat. But with the temps he"d experienced in this town he wasn"t sure heat was needed. The bed was small and looked to be less than comfortable. He actually felt kind of bad that this woman had to sleep on it.
There was no dresser and he wasn"t positive by looking, but the bathroom seemed barely big enough to take a p.i.s.s. It looked like the kind of place you"d rent by the hour, if you did the sort of things you"d need only an hour or two for.