SOLID GROUND: GODS OF CHAOS MC (BOOK TWO) (16 page)

I waited ten minutes, then drove back to the clubhouse, keeping an eye out for the sedan, before I turned onto the unmarked road that led to the clubhouse.

When I got there, Grace and Ryder were on the porch, their heads close together as they talked animatedly.

“What’s up?” I asked, as I parked my bike.

“Susie at the Roadhouse said some reporter had been sniffing around.  Asked about the club. Said they were looking for a girl from Seattle.”  Grace pushed a card at me, and I nodded.

“The reporter from the news we saw the other day,” I said.  “The one with the perky tits.”

“Yeah, and apparently a good nose!” Ryder replied.  “How’d she find us?”

“Good question.  I think Monty’s people are on our trail, too.  I went to Salem, and when I got back, I realized I was being followed.  Some goons in a black van.  They were easy to lose.”

“Fuck!” Ryder said, exasperation growing on his face.

“We’ll figure it out,” Grace said reassuringly. “But there’s one more thing.  I got a call.  On the safe phone.  It was a man, and they didn’t know the safe word.  They hung pretty quickly.  Think you can trace the number?”

“Yeah, definitely,” I said, taking the phone from her.

“You tell Lacey?” I asked.

“No, we just got here.”

“Tell Lacey what?”  Lacey opened the screen door of the clubhouse and walked out onto the porch with us.  

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

“It’s all my fault,” I confessed.

I fucked up big time. And I knew it as soon as I saw the look on their faces as I walked out onto the porch.

“No, it’s not,” Riot said, pulling me into his arms.  They had just explained about the phone call, the reporter, and the people following Riot. 

“It is. I’m so sorry, you guys, but I have to tell you something.”

They all looked at me, waiting.  My stomach sank as I let the words flow from my mouth.  They had tried to save me, and I had screwed it all up.

“The card. I left your card at my apartment. I just realized it this morning, and I looked all through my stuff, but I can’t find it anywhere, I’m so fucking sorry.”

They groaned in unison.  

“Fuck…okay, well it still doesn’t make sense.  Now we know how the caller got the number, but I certainly didn’t give him any information so how does the reporter and Monty’s people know to look here?”  Grace said.

“Unless someone at the crime scene leaked it, which is entirely possible. Monty had friends in the highest and lowest of places,” Ryder replied.

“Okay.  So, however it happened, we need to move you.  If anyone comes sniffing around, it’s important that you aren’t here.”

“Oh,” I replied, my head dropping to Riot chest.  He was still holding me, and the last thing I wanted to do was go somewhere else.

“You can’t go to your new place yet.  All the details aren’t finalized yet, and we need to make sure you aren’t followed,” Grace said. 

“She can go to Eugene,” Riot suggested.

“Who’s Eugene?” I asked.  

“Not who, where. We have a branch of Gods in Eugene, you can go stay at their clubhouse.  We can trust them.  Right, Ryder?”

“Yeah, she’ll certainly be safe there.  That means we have to let the Eugene Gods know what we’ve been up to.  I’m not certain I want to expand our circle.  It’s important that we keep Solid Ground underground.”

“Do we have to tell them the truth?” I asked.

Ryder paused before answering.

“Maybe not the whole truth. I’ll give them a call.”  Ryder stood up and walked into the clubhouse, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

“I’m so sorry, Grace,” I said.  “I feel awful. I thought for sure I had the card, but I must have missed it somehow when I was packing.”

“That’s okay, babe.  That’s why we have the safe word system in place.  You didn’t tell anyone the safe word, did you?”

“No! No way.”

“Everything is going to be okay, don’t worry, Lacey.  You’ll be fine at the Eugene clubhouse.  They’re an…interesting…group,”  Riot said.

“Um…” The thought of being with a whole new group of strangers made me want to scream.  “Can you come with me?”  I asked Riot, staring up at him.

“You bet, babe.”  

He leaned down and kissed me gently.  I felt Grace’s eyes on us, and heard her sigh as she walked back into the clubhouse after Ryder.

☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼ ☼

“You should pack a few things,” I said in between laying kisses on Lacey.

“Thank you for coming with me,” she said, her big eyes turned up to me.  

“I couldn’t let you go alone.  Sorry for leaving you alone this morning, by the way.” I remembered the package in my vest, and pulled it out and handed it to her.

“What’s this?” she asked.

“Your new ID. Social Security card, and birth certificate, too.”

She began to open it, but I stopped her.

“That’s for your eyes only, babe. For security.  It’s one of the rules of Solid Ground.  Only you know your new identity.”

“Oh,” she said sadly.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, peering into her eyes, trying to ignore the urge to shuffle her off to my room and pick up where we left off this morning.

“I don’t know,” she replied, shaking her head.  “I’ll go pack, I guess.”

“Okay, babe, we’ll ride out in a few hours,” I replied, as she walked sullenly back into the clubhouse.  I followed her in, and Grace and Ryder confronted me as soon as Lacey was out of sight.

“Couldn’t keep it in your pants, huh, Romeo?”  Ryder asked.

“Not a good idea, Riot!” Grace said.

“What?”  Fuck, this was the last thing I needed.  Grief from these two.  “It’s nothing.”

“Oh, yeah?  Well, then that’s even worse,” Grace said, her voice rising in anger.

“No! That’s not what I meant,” I protested.  “Look, it’s not what you think.  I’m not just using her or something.  Fuck, give me a break!”

“Look, Lacey needs to be thinking about her future, and starting a whole new life.  She doesn’t need to get mixed up in your life.”

“My life?”  I exclaimed.  “I don’t really have much of one, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Look, man, just keep it together.  She’ll be starting a new life soon. Your job is to protect her until she gets there.”

“Yeah, I got it,” I replied gruffly.

“You got your piece?” Ryder asked, as he slid a box of bullets across the kitchen table at me.  

“Yeah,” I replied, the weight of the gun tucked in my waistband a constant reminder that I was never without my backup protection.  My fists were always my first line of defense.  I grabbed the bullets, and walked back outside.  

I didn’t want to hear their shit, as much as I knew what they were saying was true.  Every step Lacey and I made was designed to get her farther and farther away from me, and now that I had a taste of her, I just wanted to bring her as close to me as possible.

How was I ever going to let her go now that I found her?  Nobody had ever made me feel like that in bed before.  Hell, nobody had ever made me feel anything in bed at all.  There was something real, something basic, some intuitive need between Lacey and I that demanded to be acknowledged.  And as much as I wanted to resist it, I couldn’t help but embrace it.

The fact that she wasn’t mine?  That the last thing she needed was a man, this man, in her life?  Those facts just kept getting pushed to the back of my mind, until the moment came when I had to say goodbye, when I could deny them no longer.

Grace and Ryder left moments later.

“Lacey’s resting.  How about you let her get some sleep, Casanova?”  Grace said, smiling as she and Ryder walked hand in hand back to their cabin.

Hours passed as I waited on the porch for the sun to go down.  It seemed like forever, and the moments inched by, an excruciating reminder that I was that much closer to  that final goodbye I knew I would have to eventually say to Lacey.

As if to remind me that that time wasn’t here just yet, Lacey walked out of the clubhouse, the fading sunlight shining through her flimsy white shirt as the light breeze made it dance around her body.  She was stunning.

I swallowed hard, images of her moaning, writhing body dancing uncontrollably through my head, tempting me to turn her around and lead her back to bed.

But, I didn’t.

No, I went against every instinct I had. I didn’t touch her, I didn’t kiss her, I didn’t make love to her like a starving man.  I handed her a leather jacket and a helmet.  

“You ready?”

“Yep,” she replied, putting her backpack down and placing the helmet over her black curls.

“Can you um…help me?” Lacey asked, turning to me, the straps of her helmet outstretched.

“Sure.”  I lifted her chin, and fitted the clasps together, adjusting the length of the strap until it was tightly holding the helmet to her head.  I looked into her eyes, turning away when I saw the questions in her eyes.

I had all the same questions, and not one fucking answer for her.

“Everything’s going to be okay, darlin’, don’t worry,” I whispered.

She half-grinned, and we mounted the bike.  We rode off down the dirt road, the clubhouse fading from view behind us.

We were about an hour down the road, just getting into Portland, when Lacey tapped me on the back.  I turned my head and she yelled at me.

“Gotta pee!” she yelled.  I nodded to her and she wrapped her hands and thighs around me again, tightening her grip on my body as we thundered through the tunnel that led into the southwest part of the city.  

I stopped at the first diner I found. 

“Thank you!” Lacey said, as she took off her helmet.

“You hungry?” I asked.  She nodded and ran into the diner quickly.  I laughed.

“I’ll get us a table,” I said to her back.  I took a minute to walk around the parking lot, stretching my legs and hands.  Riding for a long time took a toll on your body, and the older I got, the more it hurt.  

The diner shared a parking lot with a motel, and it was filled with empty cars. The streets were streaming with occupied ones.  I hated coming into the city these days.  I had once loved it, loved the electric vibrance of it all, but not anymore.  Now, I preferred staying at the clubhouse as much as I could.  Being alone was comfortable for me.  And those secluded woods provided me with a sense of peace that I craved, even if it was within the chaotic setting of the clubhouse.