Blayd: A Bad Boy Biker Romance (The Reckless Riders MC Book 1) Read online

I followed him for what felt like ages until we were making our way out of the city. I had a feeling I was coming up on something that would help me answer the questions flitting around inside my mind, keeping me from understanding why these bikers were the way they were. I did not intend to piss off the people that employed me until I felt sure I had reason to believe they were after the wrong guys. It was evident that Scotch’s reputation preceded him, and he was known across the country as the leader of a biker club that no one wanted to run into, and he’d gotten quite good at covering his tracks over the years, because Las Vegas hadn’t been his first stomping ground. This had become home for him, and I wanted to know just how far he was willing to go for the people who had his back.

  I turned my attention to the bike in front of me that had begun to slow down, and I made sure to follow suit, because the sheer sound of my engine would be enough to throw him off, if he even so much as heard it.

  I parked my bike, pulling the helmet off of my head while I watched him enter what appeared to be a warehouse that sat comfortably in the desert, away from the rest of the world. Not many people would think to come all the way out here looking for this place, especially because of just how fucking hot it was. I had to strip out of my jacket so I wouldn’t end up completely soaked in my sweat. I felt my skin begin to heat up, trying to stay far enough away, while I watched him meet with a few of the bikers that were keeping watch outside, heading through the large metal doors just as a small minivan pulled up.

  The driver got out, opening the door, while the man I’d been following helped the rest of the bikers load a few crates into the back… they were getting ready to deal. It amazed me how much product they were pushing in a single van, making it quite clear that Scotch and the rest of his bikers were well off enough to afford what they needed to make sure no one came looking for them. It isn’t enough to keep me away it seems. I noticed the driver in the front seat had been looking in my direction, but I had managed to keep myself hidden long enough for him to pull out and drive away.

  I breathed a sigh of relief, realizing I wouldn’t possibly have enough bullets to protect myself against them all, because I spotted a few military-grade weapons in their possession, ready to be used to fight off anyone that got in their way.

  I’d been following the biker all day, noticing the sun was beginning to set. So, it was finally time for me to head back to the Lazy Pint, hoping the Reckless Riders were going to gather, having a lot to talk about after the stunt I pulled, getting the police involved. I truly wanted to know what they had to say about that, but this time I couldn’t show up looking like myself.

  I headed back home, searching through my closet for something that fit a bit tighter, making sure to have a shower. I brushed a bit of mascara over my lashes, then a light wash of pink over my lips, so I’d hopefully be able to catch the attention of one of them.

  Alright, let’s do this.

  I drove out to the bar, parking my bike outside, tousling my hair the moment I tore the helmet off of my head. There were eyes on me tonight. I noticed the crowd was much different at this time than during the day. Everyone seemed to be minding their own business for the most part, enjoying their smoke breaks outside, while the rest were drinking in the back booths of the bar.

  It had become a lively place at this time of night, like I’d ventured off to a completely different place, not the one I’d been at when questioning an off-duty police officer. There were bikers everywhere. I looked around trying to find Scotch or any of the familiar faces I had spotted at the strip club the night I was there asking questions. I tried to remember what their emblem looked like, the shape of it, and just as I did, I laid eyes on a face I recognized. I was making my way over to him, hoping he would indulge in a little conversation with me, maybe buy me a drink, so he could get drunk enough to start spilling some of his darkest secrets.

  I felt like I was running out of time, like the longer I waited to get in with the Reckless Riders, the more danger I was putting myself in. I did not take those threats lightly. I still had to figure out who those people were, and what they were planning on doing to me if I didn’t give up my search.

  I had absolutely no idea what I was about to walk into, but I knew I couldn’t let that deter me from what I needed to get done. I was here to charm a Reckless Riders member into telling me everything I needed to know, and I wasn’t going to rest until I was finally getting somewhere.

  Right as I was walking towards the man I’d recognized, someone stopped me in my tracks. He looked at me up and down, scanning over every inch of my body before deciding whether he wanted to engage with me or not.

  I took a glance at his yellowing teeth, the cigarette in his mouth, and the tattoos that cascaded down his neck. He didn’t seem too friendly, and I didn’t have the time to waste talking to him, but something told me he wasn’t going to give up without a fight.

  “I haven’t seen you around here before,” he said, his voice deep and menacing.

  “I’m new to town. I’m actually here to see someone, so if you’ll excuse me,” I said, trying to push past him.

  He refused to get out of my way. “Let me buy you a drink,” he said.

  “I’m sorry, but you’re just going to have to find someone else to bother,” I said, rather rudely. Then I glanced down to see the little knife sticking out of his pocket. He seemed to be the kind of man that didn’t take too kindly to not getting his way.

  He cornered me near the bathroom, out of sight of virtually everyone else, and reached into his pocket. “Let me ask you again, will you allow me to be a gentleman and buy you a drink?” he asked, taunting me.

  “If you were a gentleman, you wouldn’t have to threaten me to get my attention,” I said.

  This only provoked him further. His fingers wrapped around the lengthy piece of metal in his pocket.

  Just as I reached into my clutch to defend myself, a man intervened. He took one look at the man who’d been threatening me, snatching the knife from his hand and turning it around on him. “If you don’t get out of here right now, I’m afraid I’m going to have to report you to Scotch.”

  I recognized that voice.

  He turned around, taking one look at me, and acted like he recognized me too.

  7

  Welcome to the Family

  I needed to see why Scotch had been so tight-lipped about the police showing up at our door, why we couldn’t go into detail right then when we were about to embark on the one little mission that would solidify my place as part of the club. I sat in the back booth of the Lazy Pint, waiting for him to finish up a meeting he had with another member, hoping we were going to be able to discuss the police incident in more detail, but in the meantime, I was trying to put the pieces together myself. I hadn’t been around for long, but I got used to the faces I was beginning to see just about everywhere I looked, all seemingly after the same thing, to secure and maintain their freedom.

  I thought back to the night I was at the strip club, taking in the sight of a beautiful woman who was clearly after something specific. I thought I was just being paranoid, and she was probably looking for someone important personally to her, asking anyone she could find whether they’d seen them or not.

  So here I sat tonight with my glass in hand, trying to blow off steam after the last run I did with Scotch, when I saw her enter.

  She looked as beautiful as ever, her hair swooshing as she walked past a sea of strangers appearing as though she was looking for someone in particular. I could’ve sworn I saw her look over at me for a moment, but I wrote it off, telling myself she had to be here to meet another biker or a guy she was happily seeing. But when she seemed to mysteriously disappear moments later, I had a feeling something wasn’t right. I got up from the booth, slamming my glass down on the table, heading towards the back where the bathrooms were.

  There I saw her being held up by a man that had a knife to her throat, and I imagined it was due to the fact that she’d turned him d
own. She didn’t look scared in the slightest, but I intervened anyway, making sure the biker knew that while he was on Scotch’s property, he couldn’t act that way around anyone. I diffused the situation, as the biker turned around, scoffing at us both before he took off. I glanced back at her, trying to figure out why instead of fear behind her eyes, it was like she’d found what she was looking for all along.

  “I don’t know how to thank you,” she said, her voice warm like honey.

  I found myself incredibly attracted to her, but I felt like she was hiding something, like she already knew who I was. “Don’t worry about it. Bikers like him don’t take rejection well and especially, from a beautiful woman like yourself,” I said.

  She smiled.

  I could feel a spark between us, but I couldn’t seem to shake the feeling that there was more to her than met the eye. I decided the best course of action was to buy her a drink to take the edge off of what just happened. “Would you like something to drink?”

  “I do,” she said. “But after what I just told the last guy that offered to buy me one, I think I’ll be handling that myself.”

  I chuckled. “Sounds fine to me.” I led her back out to the front and we both took a seat at the bar.

  The bartender came over and took our orders, pouring us both a glass of whiskey.

  It wasn’t a drink I would’ve thought she would choose. “Rough day?” I asked.

  “Rough few days more like it. I only recently moved into town. And since I’ve been here, all I’ve heard about were how the bikers around here really dictate how things go. I thought it was all just rumors until tonight,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

  “Well, I have to say that not all bikers are that aggressive,” I said.

  She shook her head. “After tonight, that’s a hard one to believe.”

  “Around here, you’re probably going to run into a lot of bikers who all seem to want different things.”

  She stared back at me, a familiar glimmer in her eyes, like we were both on the same page. “And what kind of biker are you?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

  “Is it that obvious?”

  “This place is absolutely crawling with bikers and I saw the crowd that you were over there with, and the mention of Scotch,” she said, leading into conversation about the Reckless Riders.

  I wondered for a moment if he had been the person she was searching for. I instantly put my walls up, having heard so many stories from Scotch himself about how the Dawn Vultures members would infiltrate our main stomping ground, trying to get more information on us. Though, she didn’t strike me as the menacing biker type, so I was left feeling curious. “Ah, so you know the Reckless Riders,” I said.

  She nodded. “To be honest, I wasn’t even aware of how much of a reputation you all have here until I found myself in this bar. It seems that Scotch has quite the band of bikers on his hands, and you all don’t strike me as the hungry, devious kind,” she said with a smile.

  “We do what we have to when the situation calls for it, but we don’t usually like to get involved in the chaos just for the hell of it. Scotch likes to keep us out of trouble, or so I’ve heard. I’m as new as can be, and I have a lot to learn. Though, something tells me that you already knew that,” I said, fishing for more information.

  “You caught me. You’re much different than the other bikers I’ve run into over the last few days. It has been a terrifying experience just about everywhere I turn,” she confessed.

  “You ran into trouble with bikers?”

  “Apart from being cornered at this bar, yes I have. I don’t know who they are, but all I know is that they seem to be dangerous. I felt like someone has been following me for the last few days, keeping an eye on me, but I haven’t been able to figure out why.”

  It felt like she wasn’t telling me the whole truth. Though, the fear behind her eyes had been genuine. Whatever involvement she had with this mysterious group of bikers, did scare her enough to tell me about it. “Do you need protection?” I asked, unsure of whether I was even allowed to be offering that to her.

  “Are you applying for the job?” She cocked her head at me.

  “I’m offering to help you find out the truth about the people threatening you. I’m sure Scotch might feel the same way, seeing as all he ever wants to do is keep the peace around here.”

  “If you’re willing to do that for me, I’d certainly be grateful,” she said.

  She seemed lost, trying to find something, but unsure of where to look. I remembered my experience before moving to Las Vegas myself and I wanted nothing more than to show her that not all bikers were bad. She had a preconceived notion about us, about the trouble we got into, but according to Scotch, it wasn’t anything like what our enemies got up to.

  The last thing I wanted was to put the Reckless Riders into any danger due to my piss poor judgment, so I needed to tread carefully here. “What’s your name?” I asked.

  “Angelina.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Angelina.”

  “And what can I call you?” she asked, gazing deeply into my eyes, like she’d been studying every inch of my expression, trying to figure out if I could be trusted or not.

  “You can call me, Blayd.”

  We talked a little about Vegas and the strip.

  A few minutes later, she moved away, checking her phone to see an incoming message, telling me she would have to make it up to me some other time.

  I didn’t want the conversation to end, but I had other business to attend to. I had to get back on track. What she said about the bikers she came into contact with rubbed me the wrong way, and it made me even more curious to find out what she was all about. I convinced myself that it wouldn’t be the last time I’d be seeing her.

  I felt sure I’d be facing the heat for even offering Angelina the protection of the Reckless Riders without Scotch’s consent, but I was still new to how all of this worked. A part of me wanted to help her, but there was also the part of me that believed she was here on her own mission. It wasn’t strange to hear her bring up Scotch’s name, especially because of the reputation he had around here, but I couldn’t allow her to toy with me. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a genuine conversation with a woman where I wasn’t solely looking for a one-night stand. But something about Angelina intrigued me and I would find out what it was. Are you even in trouble, Angelina? Or am I walking right into your trap?

  “Who was that? She’s new.” Scotch sat across from me in the ripped leather seating of the back booth while he called over a waitress to bring him another drink.

  “I had an interesting conversation with her after I kept her from getting involved with a dick that just couldn’t accept no for an answer.”

  He looked at me, angling his head as he listened to me attentively. “Did you save a damsel in distress on your first real day being a part of the Reckless Riders?” he asked with amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “I did more than just save her, I offered her protection,” I said, then waited for the backlash.

  “You did what?”

  “She started talking about getting involved with some bad bikers. Then I offered to help her find out why they were even interested in her in the first place.”

  “Blayd, let me tell you a little something about how things work around here, you cannot offer anyone the protection of the club without coming to me first. You’re going to have to get that through your head right away. Who is this girl anyway?”

  I knew I was already screwing things up, but I had a hunch Angelina was in trouble, and I thought back to how she was constantly glancing at the door while looking worried, or rubbing the inside of her palm to calm herself down. “I saw her the same night I met you at the Hidden Apple. She was outside looking for someone, and I don’t know why, but I feel like it might be you,” I said, trying to justify my actions. “You should’ve seen the way her eyes lit up at the mere mention of your name. I don’t know, Scotch but she m
ight be someone that can offer you some valuable information, or she could just be someone that got wrapped up in the wrong crowd.”

  Scotch wasn’t having any of it. “You have a lot to learn about how easy it is for one biker to trick another, especially when they don’t know what to look out for. If you really think that this girl is worthy of our protection or that she can offer us something, I’m going to have to send you to find out what she’s really up to. I’m not going to sign off on that until I’m sure she’s not working for a rival club. Get close to her, find out what she’s really doing here, and if she’s asking questions about me, then she does know something. You’re going to need to do some digging, but I’ll be happy to listen to whatever you find out.”

  I nodded, realizing I just got myself into something that would take up a big chunk of my time. I could only hope that it would be worth it. I had a feeling she would show up at the Lazy Pint again, one evening. I wondered if the bad bikers she was referring to had been the same ones I’d been hearing about all over town, the same ones, Scotch had me steal from to prove my loyalty to the club.

  What’s your story, Angelina? What would a Club want with you, much less the Dawn Vultures?

  I went home. I thought about how calm and collected Angelina had been even though she had tried to mask her fear with pure curiosity. It was the oldest trick in the book. It’d been the very same thing I used to do when I had to get close to someone that would lead me to what I really wanted, a tactic I liked to pull out when I was a lone rider trying to make ends meet for myself. Although it had been the kind of strategy that helped me to swipe wallets, not make waves.

  I’d heard enough about the Dawn Vultures to know how ruthless they were, but she didn’t strike me as someone who could ever be a part of them. But like Scotch had said…I had a lot to learn about how things worked around here. I intended to start by finding out what Angelina’s motive was.

  I’ll be seeing you again, sweet Angelina.