Burned Rebel (Comanche Sons Motorcycle Club Book 3) (7 page)

This was her moment.

Riley bit down hard on his hand. He screamed, and the knife’s edge slipped off her skin. Chance shoved into him, and Wesley stumbled. Even though she wanted to help, Riley was quite aware that Wesley still gripped the knife—and if she distracted Chance, he might get hurt.

Chance moved towards Wesley, but he swiped at him with the knife. Chance leapt away before he was hurt. Seeing his chance, Wesley jumped towards her. She screamed and stumbled back. Riley pushed a chair down between them, and Wesley was so intent on catching her that he didn’t see it in time and stumbled. He fell to the ground with a resounding crash and then groaned.

Riley slithered back, sure that he would get up and come after her. Chance grabbed her hand drew her in an embrace. He pushed her behind him as he faced the man. Wesley raised his head. Sweat shone over his forehead, and there was a glazed look in his eyes. His hand slipped over the floor. Riley was shocked to see that it was covered in blood. His head dropped to the floor, and a line of blood tricked out from under his body.

“What happened?” she stuttered out the words. It felt unreal, like a nightmare, but it was not.

“Call 911,” said Chance. “I think he slipped on the knife, and it stabbed him.”

  Walking over to the man, he turned him around and sure enough, the knife was deep inside his body and only the handle stuck out. Riley gasped. She ran for the phone. Luckily, they had service, and she was able to call the police and the paramedics. As she did that, she noticed Chance giving CPR to the man who had tried to kill her.

If she ever had doubts about this man, all of them vanished, as she saw him struggle to keep the murderer alive. She didn’t know if he would succeed or fail, but she loved that he was trying. The man rose high up in her estimation, and from now there was nothing he could do wrong as far as she was concerned.

Chapter Eight

  Wesley was dead. Chance saw his blood spill out, and he saw the medics do their best to revive him and keep him alive, but he didn’t make it. The police came, and it took them a long time to give explanations and to make their statements. In the end, they opted not to stay at the cabin. It was impossible to sleep in a place where someone just died. He didn’t think Riley could do it, and neither could he.

They made their way to the city. Riley was quiet, unnaturally so. He understood that she’d lost the last member of her family. Even though Wesley spent the last decade chasing her and she running from him, in the end, he was her only link to her past. He was relieved, but he hadn’t expected this to be the end. Now, Wesley wouldn’t ever bother her, but the man paid for his mistakes with his life. Chance couldn’t be happy at someone’s demise—even though it meant that Riley wasn’t in danger anymore.

Somber, they went to the apartment. “Are you ok?”

She sighed and dumped her bag in a corner. “I think so…I guess…I don’t know.”

“It’s a lot to take in,” he admitted. “Honestly, I never expected that he would follow us there.”

“I did.”

“What?”

She ran a hand through her hair and then turned to face him. “I knew he wouldn’t ever leave us. I expected that he would follow us if we ever left the city.”

“Why the hell didn’t you warn me?”

“If I had done so, you wouldn’t have ever taken me anywhere. We’re starting a new life, and I just wanted to start living without this fear. There was only one way to confront it, and that was to allow him to catch up.”

He was so annoyed that he couldn’t think straight. “Are you fucking mad? He could have killed you.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I never expected that he would come so fast. Perhaps he just didn’t want to wait. I thought he would come after a day, after studying a situation, and I was planning to discuss it with you. I guess it was stupid of me, but I just wanted to have a few moments to ourselves, to have fun, and to enjoy. If I had known he would jump the gun like this, I would’ve told you.”

He wanted to rail at her and to tell her that she took a stupid risk, but how could he berate her after such a shock? And it was his fault that he didn’t realize the danger. “He probably didn’t want to stick around for long because the police were after him for Simon’s death. His plan must have been to get out of the state after killing you.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

He looked at her for a moment and then walked over. Chance enveloped her in a hug. “I am sorry about his death.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” she said. “If I had known…”

“We couldn’t have predicted his moves. He was the one responsible for this decision. He lived with it for ten years and more, and now he paid the price for it.”

They stood still for a long time, both of them quite in shock over what happened. It was hard to believe that they wouldn’t have to worry about Wesley now. He was no longer a factor in their life. They could both move on and live as they wanted, and he wouldn’t ever hurt Riley. It could have gone either way. She took a big risk by not telling him that she expected that Wesley would follow, but then he was silly to make such a decision and not analyze the risk.

“That cabin is jinxed,” he said. “We’re never going back there.”

“We have a lot of work ahead of us.  I don’t think we will get the time to take a vacation soon.” 

“I am looking forward to the work. We will make a success of it.”

She raised her head and looked into his eyes. He saw the play of emotions and knew it would take her time to get over the shock she got today. Chance was determined to help her as much as he could. He’d already made a mistake by not anticipating the danger he was putting her in, and he didn’t want to be careless with her ever again. “I want to claim his body and cremate him. I think it’s important for me to do that to get closure.”

“I will check with the police as to when we can claim it.”

That night, he tucked her in bed. When he lay down next to her, it was then he realized how close he’d come to losing her. If Wesley was more careful, or if he hadn’t wanted to go outside with her away from Chance, he could have killed her in the cabin. It was sheer luck that he managed to plunge the knife in his own stomach, he could have easily done it to Riley also. Either one of them could have died, but it was Wesley who bit the bullet.

That chapter was over. He wouldn’t have to worry about Wesley anymore.

Chance hardly slept that night, and he was quite sure that Riley didn’t either, but they didn’t speak. The next morning, they had a light breakfast and then went out. Now that the location was decided, the hard work was ahead. That day, they spent their time painting the place. Since the kitchen was ready, they didn’t have to do much. Whatever little furniture they needed, they ordered, and it would be delivered soon. Riley was too quiet, and he could understand she needed some space.

Knowing her, she would bounce back soon enough.

The next day, he told Riley about his conversation with the police. “We can take back the body after two days. The autopsy has been completed. The report will come later, but the police officer assured me that it was a clear cut case of defense. They are not going to hold either one of us responsible for his death.”

She nodded. “I’ll have to check where we can cremate him.”

“I already know a guy. It’s a simple process. If you want, I can call him and take a time.”

“Thanks. I appreciate it.”

Walking over, he put his hand on her cheek. “It’s ok to regret that it happened.”

Tears sprang into her eyes, and he saw her battle them back. He was amazed at her resilience and her ability to live with different situations. No woman was stronger than her. “I wish he wasn’t…so intent on this, you know. If he’d given life a chance, maybe we could’ve put the past behind us and forged a good bond.”

“There was something missing inside him,” he said. “The police officer said that he was doing quite well for himself by taking on computer assignments. The guy was smart.”

“He was a genius. If my parents had nurtured him, he could’ve done so well in his life, but they never gave him an opportunity.”

“They didn’t give you an opportunity either, but you still managed to make a good life. It’s important to realize that he made a decision when he stepped out of the jail. If he wanted, he could have done well. Sure, he didn’t want to forgive you, but that didn’t mean he had to pursue you with such vengeance. If he hadn’t done that, he would’ve been alive and doing well.”

She nodded. For a moment, she leaned against him and put her head on his shoulder. He patted her back, knowing that she was struggling with a lot of emotions. It wasn’t easy to know that her brother was dead, and now she had no family. “Thanks, Chance, for everything.”

He brushed his lips over hers. “You’re welcome. Now let’s get back to work. We’ve got days of labor ahead of us.”

“I didn’t know you were such a hard task master.”

“Oh, I am worse, love. You just haven’t seen the nasty side of me as yet.”

“Yeah?” she raised an eyebrow and then kissed him on the lips. He felt the warmth of her body seep into his and knew that already she was making an effort to move past the incident that shook them both. He admired her courage and her resolve. “I look forward to see that.”

They both got busy with work, and much to Chance’s relief, the pressure of it kept them sane. In the midst of it all, they managed to claim Wesley’s body and cremate him. Later, they walked to the harbor and released his ashes. Once it was done, he could see that Riley was more relaxed. He was, too. It was nice to know that they didn’t have to worry about any other thing. From now on, the only matter that concerned them was the outcome of the bar. It was coming along nicely. The décor was done, and they had the furniture. He’d ordered the signboard and the supplies.

“We’ve got the invitation cards for the opening,” he announced, as he walked into the kitchen one day.

She was talking to the chef. They had hired someone with tons of experience and attitude. Kathy was fifty-two. She had just been released from jail where she was housed for ten years because she was convicted of her husband’s murder. It shook Chance when Riley wanted her after the interview, but he understood where she was coming from. Kathy wanted to make a new life and to start over, and by giving her that chance, Riley was making up for the mistakes that her brother made. Wesley could have made this decision, but he didn’t do so. Chance was a little shaken by Riley’s insistence, but now he was glad that he gave in. Kathy was definitely an asset.

As he talked to Riley, Kathy took the card from his hand and inspected it. “Looks nice, but I think you should've gone with the cream border as I suggested.”

Riley grinned. They had spent an hour arguing about it when they ordered it. Despite knowing that it was none of her business, Kathy put forward her point as if it was the most important thing in the world. “This one matches the theme of the bar.”

Kathy turned and began to set the plates in the shelves. “I hope you don’t expect me to prepare the food according to that color scheme, too.”

“All red and gold,” Riley teased as she surveyed the card. “I might just do that.”

Kathy snorted, but she also smiled. The women had bonded, and he was pleased to see that Riley was happy with Kathy. Maybe by helping her, she would be able to relieve some of the guilt she felt over her brother’s death. It hadn’t been their fault, but still she would always regret what happened.

“So what is next?”

“We have to decide on the menu for the opening night, and I suggest we keep it simple. A lot of people are going to show up, and it’s important to show them that we have good quality stuff. And we can deliver if we have an easy menu,” said Riley.

“I can serve two hundred people in my sleep,” said Kathy. “Cooked every day in the jail. I bet the prisoners are still weeping that I left. You guys got me for a salary that is joke. If I hadn’t killed that damn man who abused me for seven years every single day, I would have been one of those celebrity cooks.”

“I am sure you can still achieve that aim,” said Riley with a smile. “And soon we will have to beat back the owners of the great restaurants who will want you to join them.”

Kathy sniffed. “We will see about that.”

Chance and Riley exchanged a smile as they walked out of the kitchen. “The woman is nuts,” he whispered.

“You have eaten her food, and I doubt you can lie and say that it wasn’t the best you have ever tasted.”

He had to admit that she was right. Kathy was a fantastic cook, and soon they would literally have to keep her hidden or else someone would steal her from right under their noses. But for now, he was happy that she was getting a new start along with them. If they all worked hard, this could turn their lives around. “We need to go over each detail and make sure we have not forgotten anything.”

“Let's go in the office and start with the invitation list. I want to be sure that we have not forgotten anyone important. The opening is important. If we make it through the first few weeks, we will have a great time ahead of us.”

They walked into the office, and Riley pulled out the list. Since she barely knew anyone, most of the people whom Chance invited were those whom he knew. He’d also invited the police officers who were so instrumental in helping them. More than that, he had invited his family, but he wasn’t sure if they would come. Whatever happened next, it was important that they gave it their all. He didn’t want to have any more regrets.

This was a fresh start, a clean beginning, and he just wanted to make sure that it ended the right way.