Shade's Fall (8 page)

The one with Gaige in a stranglehold turned back, moving closer to his friends.

“I have every intention of letting this sweet thing go. We’re not out for trouble; just passing through.” He nodded his head at Gaige. “Found him giving her some trouble.” Nodding his head at Lily’s car, he then said, “Decided to step in. Seeing she’s yours, we’ll step back.” His arm slid away from Lily, releasing her.

Lily took a step forward toward Razer while none of the men took their eyes off each other. The one with the scar stepped to the side. When Lily passed him, she brushed against him and his jacket moved to the side. Lily saw the gun clipped to his waist. Terror almost took hold of her, yet Lily knew she didn’t want anyone hurt.

“He’s telling the truth, Viper. Gaige was angry that he got fired and they made him leave me alone.”

“Lily, go to your sister,” Shade spoke.

Lily had done what she could, so she went to Beth. Neither group of bikers was interested in her opinion at this point. It was now a standoff between the two groups.

“Are you all right?” Beth asked.

“I’m fine,” Lily answered, turning around to see what was going on.

Seeing the one called Max hand over Gaige to Shade, Lily started to go back.

“Stay here, Lily. Knox is pulling into the parking lot,” Beth said, placing her hand on Lily’s arm. Knox, a former member of The Last Riders, pulled his deputy car into the parking lot close to the men.

Lily, Beth and the other women watched as the men talked. Knox took Gaige from Shade, putting him in handcuffs before placing him into the backseat of the cruiser. They continued to watch as the men talked to the members of the other motorcycle club. Lily bit her lip, not wanting anyone to get in a fight. The other men had only stepped in when they had seen Gaige bothering her.

“What happened?” Evie asked. Lily told her and the women about Gaige breaking her windshield and grabbing her arm, explaining how the men stopped him.

They stood watching as The Last Riders started back toward them with the men from the other club going to their bikes.

Razer was the first to reach her; however, she felt Shade’s eyes running over her, checking to see if she was hurt.

Assuring her bother-in-law that she was fine, they went back into the fair. Lily didn’t want to ruin the fun for everyone, so she changed the subject as she walked arm in arm with her sister through the fair.

“Do you want to go back to the booth and get another figurine?” Beth asked.

“No,” Lily said, aware of the others’ eyes on her. “Let’s play some games.”

Attempting to prove that she was fine, she walked up to one of the booths where you had to throw a ring around a milk jug, handed the worker some money and he gave her several rings. Aiming, she missed pathetically. She tried again with the other two rings, throwing each one carefully, and missed them all.

Afterwards, the others split up, going to different games and playing. The men went to the shooting game while Lily moved on to another game, shooting water into a clown’s mouth. She did well in a race with the other women, jumping up and down when she won, laughing.

They did two more races and Lily finally won a prize, picking a purple monkey. The man behind the counter handed it to Lily.

“Here you go.” Lily handed it to Beth.

“Don’t you want it?” Beth protested.

“You’re the one that likes stuffed animals.” Lily didn’t like to collect items. The only thing she had let herself get in a long time was the flower and Gaige had seen to its destruction.

With their game over, they went to watch the men play. Train and Rider were shooting at the targets while Viper and Shade stood nearby watching. Razer walked to Beth, putting his arm around her shoulder as they all waited to see who would win. Lily stood to the side near Beth as Evie and Jewell came to stand next to her.

It was fun just watching everyone relax.

“Why don’t you take a turn, Shade?” Bliss asked.

Shade’s eyes went to Bliss and the small woman seemed to shrink in on herself. Shade was good at that. Lily felt bad for the woman, throwing Shade an angry glance, which he ignored.

“Let’s go ride the bumper cars,” Bliss suggested.

The Last Riders made their way through the fair, stopping and riding a few rides and playing several more games.

Everyone was waiting in line for a ride that Lily had no intention of getting on.

“I’m going to go get something to drink,” Lily told Beth who was standing in line with Razer, her arms wrapped around his waist. Lily was happy that Beth was so much in love with her husband.

She walked to one of the vendors to get a soda. Unable to resist, she bought a cotton candy, too. Taking a seat at a nearby picnic table, she watched the ride going around and around. Nope, that ride wasn’t for her.

Opening her bag of cotton candy, she pulled out a tuft of the soft confection and ate it. The sugar melted on her tongue. She licked the sugar crystals from her lips.

Shade sat down on the bench next to her. “You don’t want to ride?”

“Not that one, I don’t,” Lily replied, smiling, her anger forgotten.

She sat, eating her candy as The Last Riders got on. Then, seconds later, she heard the women’s screams and the men mocking them.

She pulled out another tuft of cotton candy, letting it melt on her tongue once more as she felt Shade move restlessly next to her, and she looked at him inquiringly. She licked the sugar crystals from her lips and watched as his blue eyes fell to them. Uncomfortable, Lily turned away, taking a drink of her soda.

When she saw The Last Riders get off the ride, Bliss, Jewell and Evie were walking with Rider; Dawn and Stori were next to Train; Raci was walking with Cash; Winter and Viper were walking hand-in-hand; and Ember was mixed in with the rest of the bikers, teasing Nickel for having a weak stomach.

Lily thought about how happy everyone looked.

“What are you thinking?” Shade asked.

She turned to him with a start, giving him a sweet smile. “I was just thinking how happy everyone looked, like they belong together. I can see you all care about each other.” Lily tore another piece of the spun candy off. “You shouldn’t be so hard on Bliss. I think she has a thing for you,” Lily said, raising the confection to her lips.

Shade’s hand snapped out, catching her wrist in a hard grasp. “What did I tell you about me not being your BFF? Bliss knows exactly what I feel for her.” Shade brought her hand to his mouth, taking the bite of cotton candy from her fingertips. His tongue licked her fingers, taking the sugar off.

Lily shuddered, her eyes darkening. Jerking her hand from his, she avoided his eyes. She got to her feet and dumped the cotton candy and drink into the trashcan before making a beeline straight for Beth’s side.

She refused to let herself think or dwell on the incident. It was just one more memory to lock behind her imaginary door when she couldn’t cope with the reaction. She couldn’t handle the spark that had lit inside of her when his tongue glided across her fingertips. She was letting her defenses down around Shade, and she had to build them back. He was everything she didn’t want in a man, everything she couldn’t have. If she failed at keeping him at bay, he could very well be the path to her destruction.

*  *  *

Shade followed behind the group, keeping a watchful eye on his club members. Lily didn’t stray from Beth’s side for the rest of the evening, using her as protection against him. Lily used Beth and Razer as her shield against the world; however, naively she thought that they would protect her from him. They would try.

He had thought that Beth would be his biggest opposition but, surprisingly, Razer was playing the big brother and had laid down the ground rules. Shade was willing to go along with it for now.

He watched as she looked back over her shoulder then moved closer to Beth. His gut twisted as he wondered if she would ever turn to him over Beth, if he would be the one she turned to for protection.

He would lay back. He could wait; he was a patient man. For now.

Chapter 6

Lily kept her head down during service, concentrating on her Pastor’s words, letting them fill her heart and calm her tumultuous mind.

Beth’s hand grasped hers and Lily held it tightly, gathering strength from her sister, as well.

After the service, Pastor Dean’s eyes searched hers. “You and Rachel got a lot done yesterday. Thank you for your help.”

“I enjoyed it,” Lily replied, moving forward to let the other parishioners greet the Pastor.

“Let’s get lunch,” Razer said.

Lily thought about going home, but she remembered the strange experience from last week and decided against it. Following her sister, Razer, Evie, Bliss, Raci, Diamond, Winter and Viper crossed the street and they entered the diner.

Shade, Rider, Train and Cash were already inside drinking their coffee. When Lily took a seat between Razer and Winter at the end farthest away from Shade, she felt his eyes on her.

After the waitress had taken their table’s order and left, Lily listened to the conversation around her, but she didn’t participate. The food arrived and Lily ate her salad.

As she ate, she heard the door of the diner open, but didn’t turn around until the silence at the table had her raising her head to see the concerned look on the women and the men’s hard expressions.

“What’s going on?” Lily asked Winter.

“The bikers from last night just came in,” Winter answered.

“Oh.” She didn’t turn around and make it obvious she was staring at them.

Conversation gradually resumed; however, Lily could still see the men were tense.

Thankfully lunch finished and everyone rose to leave. Lily followed The Last Riders to the door, but stopped at the cash register, opening her purse to take out some money.

“What are you doing? Razer already took care of the check,” Beth told her.

“I know.” She gave her money to the cashier. “I want to pay for the men’s ticket by the window.”

The cashier’s mouth dropped open, yet she took the cash.

“Lily, what are you doing?” Beth questioned in a hushed voice.

“Paying back a favor,” Lily said, taking a deep breath, and before anyone could stop her, she approached the men sitting at the table. There were more of them today, but Lily had been around The Last Riders and the Destructors enough that she easily recognized the leader.

Standing in front of the dark blond man, she spoke in a rush. “I wanted to thank you for what you did last night. It could have gotten bad without your help.”

The man’s eyes went over Lily’s shoulder. She knew The Last Riders were waiting at the door.

“Anytime, sweet thing.” The man’s hard eyes softened briefly when he looked at her, yet they resumed their hardness instantly, so Lily wasn’t even sure she had witnessed it.

Lily smiled, turning back to the door, though her gaze was briefly caught by one of the men. His hair was slightly longer and he had a goatee along with several tattoos on his arm. It was the kindness in his gaze, however, that caught her attention.

“Hi, I’m Colton.” He put out his hand to shake.

“Hi, I’m Lily.” She placed her hand in his, which he shook.

“Hi, Lily. That’s Ice.” He nodded his head toward the blond. “The big guy there is Max, and the ugly one next to him is Jackal.”

“It’s nice to meet you.” Lily smiled before continuing, “I didn’t mean to disturb your lunch. I wanted to thank your friends.”

“I’m sure they enjoyed it, knowing them. Take care, Lily,” Colton said, his gentle gaze the direct opposite of his bad-boy appearance.

“I will.” Lily smiled again, moving away and almost bumping into Shade who had come to stand behind her.

She didn’t appreciate the warning glare he gave the men. He ignored her own glare, though, leading her away from the table and back to The Last Riders who hadn’t moved away from the door.

They waited until she was outside before giving her hell.

“What were you thinking, Lily?” Beth started.

“I was thinking that I would do the polite thing and thank them for helping me out of a difficult situation.”

“You can’t get friendly with another motorcycle club,” Evie said.

“I don’t know why not.” When several would have opened their mouths, Lily put up her hand. “I wasn’t getting friendly. I was thanking them. I can be friends with anyone I want. I’m friends with Stud.” Lily mentioned the president of the Destructors, yet it was a stretch calling him a friend. From the dubious expressions centered on her, she knew she wasn’t pulling one over on them.

Lily noticed Viper and Shade were talking quietly to themselves, and when she and Beth turned to walk home, Razer hung back.

“You two go ahead. I’ll be there in a few,” Razer said.

Lily hesitated, somehow knowing they were going to confront the men inside when they came out, and they wanted her and Beth gone.

Lily faced Viper, touching his arm gently. “Leave them alone, please, Viper. They don’t want trouble and I approached them.”

“They came inside seeing our bikes were outside,” Viper replied.

“Please, Viper.”

“I’ll give in this time, Lily, but don’t ask me to back down again,” Viper replied.

Lily reached up, kissing Viper on his cheek. “Thank you,” she said before moving away.

“Let’s go home.” This time Razer’s voice was amused as he guided the women toward their home.

Lily looked back in time to see Shade punch Viper in the stomach. Gasping, she turned to go back again.

“Keep going, Lily.” This time Razer’s voice held definite amusement.

“Why did Shade just punch Viper?”

“I have no idea.” Lily could tell that he knew perfectly well what was going on, but he wasn’t going to tell on his friend.

Lily looked at her sister.

“Men,” was Beth’s only answer, rolling her eyes at their strange behavior.

*  *  *

Lily didn’t have to worry about eating lunch with Shade the next day--he wasn’t working. It was the first time since she had begun to work at the factory that he hadn’t been there.