Horse (Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club Book 6)
Read Horse (Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club Book 6) Online
Authors: Candace Blevins
eXcessica publishing
Horse
© February 2016 by Candace Blevins
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First Edition February 2016
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Horse
Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club, Book 6
Candace Blevins
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Horse…
Horse is one of the first non-wolf shifters to be patched into the RTMC after the rule change. He’s a Grizzly Bear, and his old pawnshop has become the MC’s new gun store in a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Gabby is a rabbit shifter with a complicated history. Rabbits live in Faerie, but her parents chose to escape to the human realm so they could be together. Tragedy struck twice though, and she was taken to The Summerlands at fifteen to be raised by extended family. She’s grown now and has chosen to come back, even though it means she’s alone in this world.
Bears are loners who are used to getting their way. Rabbits are sexual, social creatures who need a wide variety of partners in their lives if they go outside their own species.
And Gabby’s past is on a trajectory to keep her from the future she wants.
Gabby
I looked into the gun store from the outside, trying to get up my nerve to go in. I was tired of being afraid all the time, but I was also terrified of owning a gun.
This was the third time I’d come this week, but I just couldn’t bring myself to go in. Sighing, I turned to walk away, and bumped into a heavily muscled wolf-shifter. How had I not smelled or heard him come up behind me? Terror shot through my veins, but instead of running, I froze.
“
Whoa
, little bunny. I’m not going to hurt you,” said the big, bad, wolf.
I wanted to apologize for being on the sidewalk, but I couldn’t make my voice work.
“
Damn
, little one. I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did to startle you, but I promise I won’t hurt you. I’m Ghost, and I’m here to relieve Horse so he can go eat. If someone else has scared you, I’d like to take you inside and make sure you’re okay.” He dropped his voice. “Horse is a bear, which may scare you more, but if you just have a problem with wolves in general, maybe not?”
Finally, I found my voice. “I… I… I’m sorry. I was just, just, just… just leaving.”
“Did you want to buy a gun, little bunny? Is someone scaring you? I mean, besides me?”
The door opened and I smelled the bear. “For fuck’s sake, Ghost, I can smell her terror from inside. Pick her up and bring her in, let’s find out what’s scaring her so bad.”
Finally, my body obeyed and I turned to run. Unfortunately, I ran right into the bear, who picked me up and carried me inside. My body was once again frozen in terror as he took me behind the counter, sat me in a chair, and kneeled before me.
Even kneeling, he seemed larger than life.
“Just for a second, pretend we’re both human. I’m not a bear, you aren’t a rabbit. I’m a man who saw a terrified woman, and I want to see what’s scared you so bad.”
“I’d like to leave now, please.”
His eyes were kind, but he was so damned
big
I couldn’t tamp down my terror. My inner Rabbit knew the Bear was a predator, and no amount of trying to pretend we were human was going to erase that. He kept his hands and body still, and his voice soft as he said, “You’ve come three times while I was here, looked in the window, and left. Do you want to buy a gun?”
I nodded, and he moved a good two feet farther away from me and knelt again, as if seeing if he could reduce my fear, maybe.
“Have you ever shot a gun?”
I shook my head and he kept his voice gentle as he said, “You get fifteen minutes of instruction and an hour in the range, when you buy a gun from us. I’m not a stickler on the instruction time, though. If you need a little more to be safe with it, I’ll take the time to be sure you’re comfortable handling it. Is there a specific reason you want a gun, little bunny?”
“My name’s Gabby.”
“I’m Horse.”
I shook my head and tried to grin. “A Grizzly Bear named Horse?”
He rolled his eyes and grinned back. “Yeah, and a black man named Ghost,” he said as he nodded towards the Wolf. “Why do you need a gun?”
Because I can’t sleep at night. Because every noise makes me think a monster is about to get me. I eventually felt mostly safe in Faerie, but I missed this realm and wanted to come back. Now that I’m here though, old memories keep me up at night.
I couldn’t tell him any of that, so I merely said, “It’s personal.”
“Okay. I get that. Are you going to carry it, or leave it at home?”
“I think probably leave it at home most of the time. I get the most scared at night.”
He explained how bigger guns are easier to shoot, but said I’d need something smaller if I wanted to carry it. The wolf got a few guns out of the case and brought them to us, and Horse explained the pros and cons of a half-dozen types of guns before asking my price range. As he spoke, my libido peeked out around my terror and pointed out a bear-shifter would be able to satisfy my needs as no human could. Thankfully, I was able to mostly ignore my libido and pay attention to the conversation.
“I didn’t know it would be this complicated. Maybe I need to go home and do some research.”
“The Ruger I carry would probably be a good choice for you for home defense, and if you planned your outfit you could possibly carry it without it being seen. Would you like to shoot it?”
My terror came back with a vengeance at the idea of going into an enclosed range with the bear, and I leaned forward and put my face in my hands. “Yes, I want to shoot it, but I don’t think I can go into a shooting range with you.”
I felt the two of them looking at each other, and Horse said, “I was about to eat, can I buy you lunch, Gabby?”
Horse
Rabbit shifters usually stay in Faerie. I’ve heard of a few visiting this realm, but I’d never heard of one living outside of The Summerlands. I wasn’t sure why this one was here, but something inside me wanted to make her feel safe.
Unfortunately, she seemed terrified of
me
.
I’d intended to go to the Rolling Thunder Bar and Restaurant for lunch, but I instinctively knew taking her into a room full of wolves would be bad. I also didn’t know if she’d be a vegetarian as a human, or if she’d eat meat, so I needed to come up with a place for lunch with good salads. And, I needed to make it tempting enough, she’d agree to let me buy her lunch.
I’d heard some of the ol’ladies talking about a new farm-to-table organic place, and when I asked if she’d like to eat there, she gave me the biggest doe eyes
ever
as she nodded her head.
She was a tiny thing, probably not even five feet tall. She was curvy in all the right places, but I doubted she was anywhere near a hundred pounds. I’m six foot five and well over three hundred pounds, but I’ve heard rumors about how rabbits’ bodies adapt to their partners. It’s supposedly one of the reasons they can charge so much as sex workers in Faerie.
“I rode my bike today, little Gabby. Have you ever been on the back of one?”
For the first time, she seemed relieved at something I said. “I have mine, too. We can ride together.”
I nodded, though I wondered why I hadn’t seen her arrive on it. “I’m parked around back, where’s your bike?”
“There’s a park down the street with a bike rack.”
I closed my eyes a second as I tried not to laugh, and opened them to tell her, “I’m on a motorcycle, Gabby. Not a bicycle.”
Her terror came back tenfold, and I sighed. “I have an extra helmet in the back. Let me take you to lunch and I promise I’ll bring you back to your bicycle when we’re done. Or, if you want to look at more guns, we can come back here. Whatever you want.”
“Why do you want to take me to lunch?”
The front door opened and I recognized the smell of one of the officers who patrolled this beat.
I stood and greeted him by name before asking what I could help him with.
“Need a few boxes of nine mil. Target rounds.” He smiled at Gabby and looked back at me. “Did you hire someone new?”
I shook my head as I told him, “No, she had me worried when she first got here and I thought we needed to get her sat down for a minute. She’s okay now, and I think I’m going to take her to lunch while Ghost stays here to handle business.”
We chatted as I rang him up and mentioned the ten percent discount. When he left, Gabby asked, “Why did he get a discount?’
“We give it to all law enforcement, military, and first responders.”
“Okay,” she said as she stood. “I’ll go to lunch with you.”
I wanted to know what had changed her mind, but I was afraid she’d change it again if I asked.
Gabby
I had to keep from moaning in bliss as I ate my salad. It was the best I’ve had in a restaurant while in this realm as an adult. Granted, I’ve only been here full time for three weeks, but still.
I’d quickly learned where to buy organic greens and other veggies, because the produce in the normal grocery stores is hideous. My dad had bought from farmers instead of stores, but thankfully some specialty stores now stock organic goods.
Horse was eating a large platter of duck, and I asked, “How did you know I’d want organic greens?”
He shrugged. “Just a hunch. I honestly don’t know much about your kind, other than the fact you usually stay in Faerie.”
I rolled my eyes and brought up the thing all shifters seemed to know about us. “And the fact we fuck like rabbits, probably.”
He seemed uncomfortable with my blunt talk, but he didn’t look away. “I’ve heard rumors.”
I waited for him to ask questions, but he changed the conversation. “I’m guessing since you’re prey and not predator, you don’t have a fight or flight response?”
I nodded. “Yeah, it’s a flee or freeze response, for us.”
“Which probably explains why you came looking to make a purchase? My questions about why you need one were serious — is someone after you?”
I shook my head as I assured him, “Not to my knowledge. I’m just skittish. So many noises in this place — I wake up terrified at night. I think I’ll sleep better if I know I can defend myself.”
He shook his head, his eyes sad. “A partial truth, but I’ll take what you’re willing to give me. Where were you before you came here?”
“I grew up in a small, rural town in the human realm, and moved to Faerie when I was fourteen. I lived there four years, and I’ve come back here to go to college.”
“What are you majoring in?”
“I’m double majoring in psychiatry and criminal justice.”
He leaned back and his eyes cooled. “You want to be a cop?”
No, not a cop. I want to be an FBI analyst, the kind who catches the really, really,
really
bad guys. I don’t want to go out into the field, and I don’t want to be the one to arrest them. I just want to help catch them from behind the scenes, and then study them once we catch them, so I can help catch even more later.
I wasn’t prepared to explain this to Horse, though, so I just told him, “More of an analyst than a cop. I don’t think I’m cut out for coming face to face with bad guys until after they’re locked up, but then I’d like to study them and see what makes them tick.”
I could almost feel distance forming between us as he asked, “You want to study the bad guys while they’re locked in a cage?”
“This troubles you. Why?”
He shook his head, looked out the window a few seconds without seeing the traffic, and finally looked back to me. “Probably a discussion for another day, because there’s much you aren’t telling me. Let’s see if we can’t make it to safer conversation territory. Do you live on campus? Where do you work?”
“No offense, but I’m not in the habit of telling men I don’t know where I live. As for work, I’m fortunate to have a trust fund in this realm, so I can afford a place to live and tuition, as long as I live frugally.”
“What brought you to Chattanooga? Do you have family here? Where are your parents?”
“My mom died when I was a kid, and my dad is missing and presumed dead. I’m in Chattanooga because my great-aunt knows The Dragon King, and she said if I insisted on leaving Faerie then I should go somewhere I’d know at least one person. I’ve only spoken with His Majesty once since I’ve been in town, but I have a phone number he gave me to call, should I get into trouble and need someone.” His wife, Sophia, had met me for lunch once, and had picked me up and taken me to brunch the previous weekend, but it seemed too much to tell Horse because I wasn’t sure I wanted him to know who my family is. Just telling him my aunt was close enough to Aaron Drake to ask the favor might have been saying too much.
Horse leaned forward and smiled. “If I could get a personal recommendation from Aaron Drake, assuring you I won’t hurt you, could I talk you into going out on a date with me?”
“You know The Dragon King?”
He nodded. “Ghost’s dad works for him, but our organization also has close ties to him. Duke and Brain are close to his wife, and Aaron and Sophia come to our parties, sometimes.”
“Who are Duke and Brain?” And what the hell kind of name is Brain? But I didn’t ask the last part.
He shook his head. “Long story. Give me a few minutes.”
He spent a couple of minutes typing on his phone, and looked back up with a smile. “Sorry, my big fat fingers make me have to slow down if I want my texts to be legible.”
“How often do you
change
?” If his wild beard was any indication, he’d
changed
recently.
“Not much in the winter, when my counterparts are hibernating, but quite a bit in the summer. Most of the time I stay in my house or on my property. Grizzlies aren’t indigenous here, so being seen by a stray human would be bad.”
We talked perhaps another five or ten minutes when my phone rang. I don’t have any friends here and bought it mainly so I could call for police if necessary, so I pulled it out in consternation, wondering who it might be.
And was surprised to see Queen Sophia’s picture.
I answered the phone with, “Your Majesty?”
“None of that here when it’s just between us, Gabby. Aaron is busy right now, but he says Horse asked him for a personal recommendation to assure you he’s safe.”
Horse’s grin told me he could hear Sophia, and I looked down so I didn’t have to make eye contact with him as I spoke to the Swan Queen. “I’m so sorry he bothered you, Your Highness.”
“No bother at all, I’m glad you’re making friends. Aaron and I will put out the word to all of the RTMC that you’re under our protection, but you’d likely be more than safe with them, even if we didn’t.”
“What’s the RTMC?”
“Rolling Thunder Motorcycle Club. You didn’t know?”
“No.” My gaze met Horse’s as I realized why he hadn’t been happy about the criminal justice thing.
“I can’t explain it over the phone. If he doesn’t tell you about them, and why they aren’t with the local Alpha, I can make arrangements to have lunch with you in the next couple of days and explain it.”
“Oh, no, Your Majesty, you must be much too busy to—”
“Nonsense,” she interrupted. “I feel a kinship with you, and I know why you’re choosing the studies you are. If my life weren’t planned out for me, I might’ve gone in a similar direction, to try to figure out where my father’s crimes ended and my life began.”
I didn’t want Horse hearing any of that, and I stuttered to try to figure out how to respond. “That’s not why… Thank you, Your Highness. I appreciate the phone call.”
I waited until she’d hung up before I pushed to disconnect the call, and put my phone back in my jeans pocket.
“You’re in a motorcycle gang?”
“
Club
, Gabby. It’s a club. I have a license to sell firearms legally, so you have to know I have a clean record, right?”
My freeze or flee response kicked in, and I stood and ran from the restaurant.