Smolder: Trojans MC (16 page)

Shayla was a bundle of nerves for her first daytime interview, but she was so excited to see Luke again that she nearly ran out the door in the morning. She drove to the station first to pick up the news van, then hopped in the back with the camera guy Amy had picked out for the week.

Both the camera guy, Pierce, and the guy driving the van, Bernard, looked sleepy and not nearly as excited as Shayla. She wished them a merry good morning anyhow, and began touching up her makeup in the back seat. She wanted to look perfect, both for her field reporting debut and for Luke.

Pierce drove the van through the downtown hub of Templeton. It was a quiet morning, and the shops along the street were just putting out their signs. People walking along the cement sidewalk stared warily at the sky above, wondering if it was going to rain today. According to what Sam Gardener had told everyone on the news last night, there was a sixty percent chance of it. The sky certainly looked grim—all gray and mottled with clouds.

But Shayla’s good mood could not and would not be shattered by some lousy weather and a motley camera crew. She kept on smiling the whole way to Luke’s auto shop. Admittedly, Shayla hadn’t expected his shop to also have a tattoo parlor running out of it, and that threw her off her game a bit. She wasn’t sure what angle to use to approach that, considering he’d picked the two roughest businesses to combine, but settled on idea rich entrepreneur.

Luke greeted her out front, standing by that tattoo parlor portion of the establishment. Behind him, Shayla observed a hulking mass of a man with a long, gray beard stepping into the tattoo shop. Through the open door she saw that it looked clean inside, at least.

“Hey beautiful,” said Luke, pulling Shayla toward him for a kiss.

She squirmed and looked back at Pierce and Bernard, but neither seemed to care. She and Luke could probably have dropped to the ground and started rutting without either of them taking much notice. Where had Amy picked these guys up from?

Luke gave her a peck on the lips and released her with a devious grin. “You look gorgeous.”

Shayla flushed. “Thanks.” She looked back at Pierce and Bernard. “How long do you guys need to get set up?”

“We’re good now. Just let us know when you’re ready,” Bernard replied.

She turned back to Luke. “Did you look through the list of questions I sent you?”

At work yesterday she’d emailed Luke a list of detailed questions that covered every base she might want to cover during the initial interview.

Luke shrugged. “I skimmed it.”

Shayla rolled her eyes and smacked him on the arm. “You better not mess up! I don’t want to do fifteen million takes!”

He reached behind her and gave her butt a little squeeze. “Don’t you worry, little one. You don’t get to where I am in life without being able to breeze through a few questions.”

Despite her surface irritation, Shayla’s heart fluttered. She gathered her wits and began looking around the area, trying to ascertain the best spot for an interview. She decided on in front of one of the open garage doors, where viewers would see both the flowering bush out front and the hive of activity in the shop.

“Let’s set you up here,” Shayla said, moving Luke into place. She ran back to the van and grabbed Pierce and her microphone, and they conducted a short sound test. Then the interview began.

Pierce counted them in, and Shayla plastered a smile on her face as she stared down the lens and hoped that Luke was doing the same.

“Hello, and thank you for joining us on this KTMA special: A Week in the Life of a Biker. My name is Shayla Queene, and I’m joined here by Luke Cinder, leader of the Trojans Motorcycle Club and visionary entrepreneur.”

There was a low chuckle from the man to her left, and Shayla resisted the urge to stomp on his foot. She turned her body slightly toward Luke.

“Luke, how are you today?”

His mouth was innocent but his eyes spoke of sin. “I’m excellent, Ms. Queene. How are you?”

“I’m excited to get a glimpse into your life and culture,” she responded. “What kinds of things will you be showing us today?”

“I thought I’d give you a tour of the shop, and you can meet some of the guys who work for me and ride in my club. Then I thought I’d take you for a ride, Ms. Queene.”

The formality of his statement battled with the glint of mischief in his eyes. Shayla’s core began to heat up, despite herself. How was she going to make it through the day without jumping his bones?

“That sounds great. Let’s see what you’ve got in the shop.”

Luke began walking through the garage doors, and Shayla and her team followed. Shayla tried not to gawk or drool at all the burly, tattooed guys that were scattered about the place. Luke took them around and introduced them to the guys, each one just as polite and congenial as their boss. In the tattoo parlor, a young woman around Shayla’s age was getting a tattoo in memory of her deceased mother. Shayla wondered if Luke had planned that or not. Either way, it was great TV.

Outside again, Shayla prepared for the interview portion. Now that the viewers knew a little about Luke’s business, they would be more engaged with what he had to say as a person.

“So Luke,” she began. “There are a lot of misconceptions and taboos concerning bikers. What kind of untruths would you like to expose?”

Luke replied without a missing a beat. “I think the most important thing for people to know is that we’re just ordinary people who happen to love riding bikes. We don’t wake up each day wondering how we can scandalize people next.” He smiled at Shayla. “We just want normal things in life, you know?”

“And what kind of normal things would you like, Luke?”

Luke turned his smile up to a dazzling degree. “I think I’d like a wife and kids someday. Maybe some acreage out in the country and some chickens.”

Shayla tried not to let her face go flat. He was messing with her. At least he seemed completely genuine though, so the viewers wouldn’t know the difference.

“That certainly sounds like one way to retire,” Shayla replied. “Is there anything else you’d like to let people know about you or your organization?”

Luke put an arm around Shayla’s shoulder. “Just that we’re excited for you to see what we’re all about.”

“Well I’m sure our viewers can’t wait to see for themselves. Hang tight.”

The cameras cut, and Pierce and Bernard went back to the van to download the footage. Shayla turned to Luke with a scowl. “Did you have to be so saccharine?”

Luke put on his best impression of innocence. “I was totally genuine, sweetheart. I’ve never seen a gun in my life.”

Shayla smacked him on the arm, though they both descended into laughter.

“So you’re going to come for a ride with me?” Luke asked. “I think it would make great footage.”

Shayla nodded. “We brought a body cam just in case. And the guys can film us from the side of the van.”

Luke grinned. “Good, because I’ve got a surprise for you and for your viewers.”

***

Shayla felt like she was flying. She longed to swing her arms out and cackle like a madwoman, flying toward the sun as it began to sink into the horizon. There was nothing and nobody that could get her on the back of Luke’s bike. She understood why he loved it so much now.

Each turn was a little adrenaline rush. Each time he throttled the engine sent tremors through her. And with her face pressed against Luke’s back, her arms wrapped tight around his middle, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

They weren’t, of course. Every once and awhile the van would pull up for another shot. They were thinking of using the footage for filler between episodes, or as an intro piece. For all Shayla cared, they could do whatever they wanted with the footage. She was beyond a place where her job could reach her. She was with Luke.

She was safe.

She had no clue where Luke was taking her, but that hardly seemed to matter. Somewhere suburban, by the look of it. Which was just as well for her. It would probably look good if Luke had some sort of hideaway in the suburbs, or if he was taking her to see his parents.

Wait. Hold the phone. Was Luke taking her to see his parents? Surely not! He’d never mentioned anything about them, and anyway it wasn’t like they were actually dating. Were they? No. Maybe.

Whatever the case, Shayla was not ready to meet his parents. She was relieved when Luke pulled up in front of a white-stucco single family home with a swingset on the front lawn. It didn’t look like the kind of place two people in their late middle ages would live.

The rumbling of the bike must have attracted the attention of the home’s residents, because before Shayla even had her helmet off a little girl was running out onto the front lawn. Was that? Oh! It was the girl with the kitten. Jacklin.

“Luke!” the girl cried. “You made it!”

On the girl’s shoulder was a little white ball of fluff. The kitten seemed to have fared well since being returned home, and Shayla thought it was adorable that the girl was carrying him in the same way that Luke had.

“Hey, munchkin. How’s the little warrior?” Luke stepped toward the girl and crouched down on the balls of his feet, giving the kitten a scratch with his index finger.

“Achilles misses you! I’m glad you came to visit.”

Shayla doubted very much that a kitten as young as Achilles, who had known Luke for only a few hours, could miss him, but she thought it was adorable anyway. She also noticed the girl’s name for the cat, which she doubted Jacklin would have been able to think of by herself.

Luke stood back up, and glanced back at Shayla with a smile. He looked so perfect, standing in front of that nice house next to the cute little girl and her kitten. She could picture him actually having the life he said he wanted in the interview.

Abruptly, Shayla turned her head to make sure that the cameras were rolling. This would be great material. They were, thankfully. Despite how sleepy Pierce was, he was incredibly on the ball.

Jacklin’s mom peeked her head out the door. “Are you guys coming in or what?” Her tinkling laugh floated over the lawn.

“Coming!” Luke replied, giving the girl a little pat on the head and gesturing for Shayla and the crew to follow him inside. Shayla gave the camera a surprised grin so the viewers would know she had no idea what was about to happen.

The house smelled of garlic and rosemary. Shayla’s stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d skipped lunch in favor of getting roll footage of Luke’s shop. She practically floated over to the dining room, where Jacklin’s parents were setting the table.

“Take a seat,” the father instructed. “We’re just bringing out the chicken.”

Shayla and the others did as they were told, eyeing the perfectly suburban surroundings with awe. The dining room was tastefully decorated in hues of lavender and white, with a sideboard that held several bottles of red wine and fancy wine and cocktail glasses. The table was neatly laid out, like something out of a magazine.

Jacklin’s parents brought in the food and sat down themselves, introducing themselves as Gary and Judith. They served a meal of roast chicken and vegetables, and promised that there was apple pie for dessert. It was the most American thing that Shayla had ever done, minus the biker at the table who clearly was not a symbol of the all-American family unit. But it was nice.

Gary and Judith talked about their jobs and their daughters, and asked questions about Luke and what it was like to be on TV. Jacklin peppered both him and Shyla with her own questions, including asking them if they were married. When they said they weren’t, she told them they should get married, much to her parents’ chagrin.