Red Eyes MC: Books 1 - 3 Page 4

  Of course, there was this whole thing about the money. There was nothing in the will, or at least nothing that I understood, that stipulated I had to stay together with the woman for any length of time. Maybe I could find someone, tell her about all the money I had riding on this, agree to give her a cut of it, and then get married. That wouldn’t be so hard, would it?

  Trouble was, it would have to be someone I trusted. I didn’t want this information about the money getting around town. If I was going to cut out of the MC and start a new chapter for myself, I didn’t want Ray hearing about it until I’d figured out just what I wanted to do and set the wheels in motion. Otherwise, I was afraid I might never get around to it.

  I put my bike in drive, and instead of heading toward the highway back to New Mexico, I headed into town to find a place to stay for the evening. I knew that the sooner I got back to Las Cruces, the sooner I could figure out what to do about this whole fiancée situation. The sooner we were married, the sooner I could get back here and collect my money.

  But at the same time, I wanted to figure things out a little better before I headed back. Do a little planning, figure out what my options were. I booked a room at a tired, rundown motel and headed immediately for the local bar.

  6

  Belle

  I was a little disappointed not to see Will around again on Wednesday. I tried to remind myself that he’d only been gone since Tuesday morning, but I was impatient to see him again. I really did want to ask him out. Even though the more I thought about it, the more I knew it was a terrible idea.

  I was afraid that if he was gone for too long, I might chicken out again and never ask him.

  Nicole stretched broadly as I locked the door to the diner. “I need a drink,” she said. “What about you?”

  “I wish,” I said, rolling my eyes. We’d had a birthday party come in that afternoon, and keeping up with the dozen yelling, running, excited children, not to mention the parents who wanted this party to be perfect, had taken all of my energy.

  “Come on, just one,” Nicole said. “We won’t chat up guys or anything. Coworkers are allowed to go out together every once in a while. I’m sure even your dad would agree to that.”

  I laughed. “I actually would if it was any other day,” I admitted. “But it’s Wednesday.”

  “All day,” Nicole agreed, looking confused. “Why is Wednesday a problem? You can only drink on Fridays? It’s not proper to drink on other days of the week?”

  “Nicole,” I said, rolling my eyes. “You know dad and I have dinner together on Wednesdays.”

  “Oh yeah,” Nicole said, looking bashful. “Sorry, I forgot about that.” She glanced at her watch. It was going on seven thirty. We usually closed up by seven, but with the party in there, it had taken us a little extra time to get everything cleaned up and ready for the following morning. “I guess there’s no time for you to sneak out for a quick drink before your dinner, is there?” But it wasn’t really a question.

  I bumped my shoulder against Nicole’s. “Rain check,” I said. “I promise we’ll grab drinks sometime soon. But only if there are no boys involved.”

  Nicole laughed, looking happier. “All right, that’s a deal,” she said, holding out her hand so that I would shake it. I rolled my eyes but did so.

  “Think I’m going to stop in here, but I’ll see you later,” Nicole said, giving me a quick hug as we reached her favorite bar. I hugged her back and then headed home.

  When I got there, it was quiet in the house, and I grinned to myself. I loved it when we grilled out for our Wednesday dinners. Grilling with a beer in hand always put dad in a great mood. Plus, there was just something nice about eating outside every so often. The food tasted better out there, somehow.

  My grin flickered a little when I got out on the deck and found Marcus there lounging against the railing next to my dad. I tried to hide the blip of hurt I felt. Not that I had anything against Marcus. I liked him, and he was pretty much part of the family, anyway. But these Wednesday night dinners were a chance for Dad and me to spend time together, away from all the MC stuff. It was my chance to tell him all the gossip from the diner and a chance for him to tell me about some of the stuff he’d been up to in his free time.

  I couldn’t help but feel that Marcus was intruding on that, but I wasn’t about to make a scene about it in front of him. I smiled as he handed me a margarita. “It’s taco night,” he told me, grinning. “Hope you don’t mind me crashing the party, but I had some business I needed to talk to Ray about, and I figured if I brought a couple bottles of nice tequila that I picked up on a recent trip, then maybe you wouldn’t mind so much.”

  I laughed and gave him a quick one-armed hug. “Hey, I never mind seeing any of you guys,” I said cheerfully.

  But during dinner, I couldn’t help feeling left out.

  “Will and I headed over to see our buddy Roger at the Mercantile,” Marcus was saying. “He was very cooperative, paid up with hardly any show of force. It seemed he knew we’d be coming.” He passed the envelope over to Dad.

  “Where is Will, anyway?” Dad asked. “I heard he headed out of town again yesterday and hasn’t been back since.”

  Marcus shrugged. “He had some family business to take care of in Texas. Something about his grandmother’s will. I talked to him earlier, and he was planning on being back either tonight or tomorrow.”

  “Good,” Dad said, nodding.

  “How’s Grant doing since I’ve been gone?” Marcus asked. “Is he finding his feet yet?”

  I didn’t even know what he was talking about. I had met the other members of the MC at various times, and I knew that Grant was the newest member, but I didn’t know he was having any problems ‘finding his feet.’

  And yet they continued chatting about business matters. I kept expecting Marcus to bring up whatever it was that he and Will had been so concerned about on Monday at the diner. But whatever it was must have been resolved already because neither of them mentioned it. Maybe they had gotten that all out of the way before I’d arrived.

  I drank down another margarita while we ate. There wasn’t really anything else for me to do but eat and drink in silence, after all. I wasn’t part of the motorcycle club, and I had nothing to contribute to the conversation.

  The thing that bothered me the most was the fact that neither of them made any effort to include me in the conversation. It was like I wasn’t even there, but I tried not to let it upset me. I knew Dad’s business was important, but I couldn’t help wishing that Marcus had come over at another time when I wasn’t around. I felt stupidly jealous, as though by taking this family time away from me, Marcus was rubbing my face in the fact that the MC always came first as far as Dad was concerned.

  That wasn’t fair. I knew that wasn’t the case. Dad would do anything to protect me.

  But that thought made me feel even sourer. All these restrictions on me because of choices he had made. I had nothing to do with the MC, but I still had to follow all his rules or else there might be terrible repercussions because of Dad’s role. I wanted something more than this.

  Maybe my first move shouldn’t be to ask Will out. Maybe I should aim for something higher than that, even.

  After dinner, Marcus left. Dad waited until he was gone before turning toward me. “And what, my princess, has you so upset this evening?” he asked.

  I sighed. But there was no point in lying to him. “Nicole wanted to go out for drinks with me tonight, and I begged off so that I could come home and have dinner with you,” I said. “I might as well have not been here, though, for all the attention you guys paid me.”

  Dad frowned, but he looked contrite. “I’m sorry if you felt like we were neglecting you,” he said. “But Marcus came over to talk about business with me. I couldn’t tell him to leave.”

  “No, I know,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s just, I don’t know. I’ve got nothing to do with the MC. But I still feel like it’s governing my whole lif
e. I work at a diner that pays its dues to you. I’m not allowed to date because everyone knows what you would do to the guy who got involved with me. I can’t go out partying with Nicole because someone might take advantage of me to get back at you. I’m just sick of it, that’s all.”

  Dad thought about that for a moment. “I know it hasn’t always been easy on you, sweetheart, but the MC is what allows us to have this nice home and this easy lifestyle.”

  “I know,” I said, an edge of frustration to my voice. I tried to calm down a little, knowing he wouldn’t react well to that kind of tone. I was trying to remind him that I was an adult; I didn’t want to sound bratty. “But it’s not the life that I chose. I just feel like there’s got to be something more for me out there. I want to fall in love.”

  Dad laughed and lightly squeezed my shoulder. “Don’t be silly. You know you don’t need a man. You’re a strong, independent woman.”

  “Strong, independent women do fall in love sometimes, you know,” I joked.

  “There isn’t a guy in this world who’s good enough for you,” Dad swore.

  I sighed. As much as I appreciated how highly he thought of me, it sometimes made me want to scream. “I just want a little more freedom, that’s all,” I said.

  Dad shook his head. “Belle, you know I’m only protective because I want the best for you,” he said. “You’re right; you didn’t get to choose this life. But I made my choices a long time before you came onto the scene. And it’s a little late to change things now.” He paused. “I understand that you want some more freedom. But I don’t think chasing boys around town like your friend Nicole does is really going to help you feel freer.”

  I wanted to say something in response to that, but I didn’t even know where to begin. First of all, I wanted to defend Nicole. I knew Dad didn’t mean that in a bad way, but he was just a step away from calling her a slut. I didn’t appreciate that.

  Nor did I like the implication that things were never going to change, that it was going to be like this for the rest of my life. I didn’t know if I could handle that.

  Maybe it was time to change things.

  I remembered what Nicole had said, about how it was better to beg forgiveness than to ask permission. Dad clearly wasn’t going to listen to reason. So maybe I just had to show him that he could trust me.

  For now, I smiled at him, kissing him on the cheek and setting down my drink. “Sorry, I’m just in a weird mood tonight, I guess,” I said, shaking my head. “I think I’m going to head in.”

  “All right,” Dad said, nodding at me. “Remember, I love you. More than you’ll ever know.”

  I laughed. “I remember,” I told him. “And I love you, too.”

  But as I headed back to the mother-in-law house, I couldn’t help thinking about how I would love him more if he would just let me have a life. To hell with falling in love; I just wanted to have a little fun. It couldn’t be so difficult.

  I paused in the living room, fingering my phone. Did I dare do something that Dad wouldn’t approve of?

  I took a deep breath and called Nicole.

  “Hey, what’s up?” she asked, sounding surprised I was calling.

  “Hey,” I said, then paused. “Are you already home?” It was quiet, wherever she was.

  Nicole giggled. “I am at a home, but it’s not mine,” she said, which I took to mean she had a new flavor of the week. “Talk fast—he’s just getting drinks. You called at the perfect time.”

  I grinned and shook my head. “I was calling about that rain check from earlier,” I said before I could give myself time to chicken out about it. “Let’s go for drinks tomorrow. Okay?”

  Nicole cheered, and my grin widened as I heard some guy in the background say, “It’s just a beer, god.”

  Nicole’s response was muffled, like she was holding the phone away from her mouth, but I heard every word. “Not the beer—my friend just agreed to go out for drinks with me. Not on a date. She’s a girl.” She turned back to the phone. “That’s great, girl,” she said. “And absolutely. I’m so glad you got permission!”

  I thought about telling her that I hadn’t exactly gotten permission, but she was clearly busy at the moment. Best to let her get back to her boy. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I told her.

  “Yes,” Nicole said vehemently.

  As I hung up the phone, I couldn’t help smiling goofily. Even that, agreeing to go out with Nicole, felt like a small victory. I’d have to be careful not to let her drag me into being too wild. I wanted to show Dad that I could be responsible; the last thing I wanted was to prove all his fears had a good foundation.

  But this was going to be fun.

  I headed upstairs to my room to find something to wear. Already, I couldn’t wait for it to be tomorrow night.

  7

  Will

  I nodded at Marcus as I met him outside Ray’s office. “Hey, good to see you,” Marcus said, a teasing glint in his eyes. “I half expected that you were off on another adventure and were going to stand me up.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I wouldn’t do that. Not to you, anyway.” I had ended up staying in Texas for Tuesday night and Wednesday night, just trying to sort things out. But I hadn’t been gone that long. Even if I was questioning my place in the MC at the moment, I wouldn’t just disappear for good without saying anything. Especially not with a rival MC trying to move in on our territory.

  “I know. Just joking.” Marcus paused. “I already dropped off Roger’s money with Ray. Last night.”

  “And you had to explain to him that I was out of town again, didn’t you?” I asked, sighing.

  “Sorry, man,” Marcus said, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “He asked. I wasn’t going to lie to him.”

  “I would never ask you to,” I said. “So how are we going to tell him about the Unknowns?”

  “We’ll tell him what we know from Roger. I’ve done a little digging around since you left, and I’m pretty sure I know who their leader is. Some guy named Lex. Sounds like a little snake just from the name, doesn’t he?”

  I laughed and shook my head. “Come on, let’s just get this over with,” I said.

  I didn’t really get nervous about this kind of stuff anymore. Ray would have a plan, and I’d do whatever he asked of me. I doubted this was a serious threat or else Marcus would have wanted to tell Ray about it sooner. And we probably would have heard more about it than what Roger had told us at the Mercantile.

  Marcus knocked on the door, and Ray answered a second later. He raised an eyebrow at both of us. “Well, to what do I owe this?” he asked. “Will, good to see you’re back.”

  “Thanks,” I said. “Sorry I didn’t tell you I was headed out again. I figured it would be a quick trip.”

  “Hope everything was okay.”

  “Yeah, just my grandmother’s will.” I tried to decide how much to tell him. I still didn’t have a firm plan for how I was going to get the money. “She might have left me some money, but I have to sort through all the paperwork first.”

  “Hmm,” Ray said, studying me for a moment. “If you need any legal help, let me know. I’ll find you someone."

  “Thanks,” I said, grateful even though I didn’t plan on taking him up on that offer.

  “So, is there a reason for this surprise visit?” Ray asked, getting down to business.

  “I didn’t want to say anything last night in front of Belle,” Marcus said slowly, “but there was something interesting about our visit to Roger at the Mercantile. It seems that we weren’t the first people to visit him.”

  Ray frowned. “Someone had told him to expect us?”

  “No, actually,” Marcus said. “Some other MC, ‘The Unknowns,’ had apparently shown up a few days before that and demanded money.” He paused, grinning. “Apparently, they didn’t do a very good job of it, though. They left him with just a warning that they wanted his money; he didn’t give them anything. So it was easy enough for us to convince him that we were the
ones he wanted to hand his cash over to.”

  “We did promise we’d deal with the Unknowns, though,” I added.

  Ray was quiet for a moment. Then, he shrugged. “I guess it was only a matter of time,” he said. “Business has been good; someone was bound to want a piece of it sooner or later.”

  “Yeah,” I agreed. “Marcus says he might know who the leader is.”

  “Good,” Ray said, nodding approvingly. He grinned sharply at Marcus. “I guess you’re forgiven for not telling me about all of this sooner.”

  “I was looking into it,” Marcus said, shooting me a look. “What’s the plan, boss? You want us to go after him?”

  “Not yet.” Ray shook his head. “We’ll set up a meeting first, with this leader of theirs. We’ll give them a warning. A chance to back off. I don’t want things to get ugly.”

  “We don’t owe them anything,” Marcus said. “Why not make an example of them?”

  “I don’t play like that,” Ray said firmly. “It’s common courtesy to give them an opportunity to realize that they’re in over their heads. We’ll talk first.” Marcus looked like he wanted to say something else in response to that, but Ray was already getting to his feet, signaling that this meeting was over.

  “I’ll do a little more digging and see if I can get some more information,” Marcus promised, shaking hands with Ray.

  “Good,” Ray said. He turned toward me, narrowing his eyes. “And you give me a heads-up the next time you’re skipping town, do you hear me?”

  “I will,” I promised quickly.

  Marcus and I walked out. I quirked an eyebrow at him once we were outside. “You bloodthirsty or what?” I asked him. “Why do you want to fight them so badly?”

  Marcus shook his head. “I just don’t want us to look weak,” he said. “Otherwise, two months from now, we’re going to have twice as many idiots trying to move in on our territory.”

  “Ray knows what he’s doing,” I said, giving a little shrug and hoping that was true.