Banger's Ride: Insurgents Motorcycle Club (Insurgents MC Romance Book 5) (61 page)

“Are you going to ask me to come in?” Luke said, putting his arm around her.

Shaking his arm off, she replied, “Not tonight. I’m very tired.”

“If I was that badass biker, you’d let me in, wouldn’t you?”

“No, I wouldn’t. I’m tired and want to go inside,
alone
. Thanks, Luke. I had a nice time tonight.”

“Will I see you tomorrow?”

“I don’t know. Call me. Goodnight.” She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. Before he could react, she was out of the car and on her porch, opening the front door. She waved at Luke and closed the door.

Cara breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Luke’s car leave; she wanted to be alone. Replaying her encounter with Hawk in her mind, his mean but truthful words echoed over and over. His harshness hurt her.

After she washed off her makeup, hung up her clothes, and slid under her comforter, she cried herself to sleep.

*     *     *

Pissed, Luke sped
out of Cara’s driveway. The night hadn’t ended the way he’d wanted. The plan was to fuck Cara after the event so he could cement their connection, believing a nice girl like Cara would take the fucking to mean more than it did. He was mad at that outlaw biker for ruining his plans. Luke gathered Cara was smitten by the biker, and he also suspected the dirt bag said or did something to her to cause her to shut down, because when she came back to the table she was different, sullen and sad.

Luke was a little surprised the biker was interested in Cara since he had his pick of sexy, nasty women who loved hanging around bad boys. He wondered why the outlaw biker would be interested in a goody-two shoes like Cara. Luke had a hard-on just thinking of the nasty women who hung around biker clubs.

Looking at his watch, he noticed it was a little past midnight. He could still go to his main strip club, Dream House, see his favorite dancer, Missy, and if he tipped her well enough, he may score a blowjob from her. Forgetting about Cara, Luke raced toward downtown.

*     *     *

Hawk and Jax
watched the new dancer grind and shimmy around the pole at Dream House. As the girl spread her legs wide and blew a kiss at Hawk, Jax poked him in the ribs, laughing. Obviously, she didn’t know Hawk was one of her bosses. The Insurgents owned the strip club, and Hawk, who handled the books, came by to check out the crowd, since earnings had fallen off in the past several months. Looking around, the club was packed, and Hawk’s stomach tightened as his suspicions of someone skimming off the top were confirmed.

Stealing from a club owned by an outlaw MC was not a smart move. Hawk hoped like hell Emma wasn’t the thief, because he liked her and didn’t want to hurt her. Emma had been a club whore for several years until she hooked up with Danny. She didn’t wear his patch, but she had been with him for a long time. After she and Danny got together, the Insurgents promoted her to manager of the strip bar. She was in charge of all the women and handled the money. When Hawk came in a few days before to go over the books, he’d noticed someone had dummied them up, and he seethed. He’d find out who was cheating the club, and there’d be hell to pay.

“This bitch is hot, don’t you think? She’s a great addition to the line-up,” Jax said.

Hawk looked at the woman gyrating on the pole. “Yeah, she’s good with her moves.”

“Are you going to initiate her into the club?”

“No, I’m not here for that.”

“Then I have free rein?”

“Yeah, go for it.”

Hawk noticed the way the stripper was eyeing him, and he knew all he had to do was wink at her and she’d have her full lips around his cock. He should fuck her; it’d serve Cara right if he fucked this bitch. He couldn’t believe Cara admitted he wasn’t good enough for her. Her words had cut him like a knife.
I knew she just wanted a fuck and nothing more. She’s so stuck-up. She thinks that fucking suit is the better match for her. She doesn’t know shit about herself. She’s a smoldering fire who needs a man to ignite her, and pansy-ass doesn’t have a clue how to handle such a woman
.

“Hey, Missy, come give me a dance,” Jax said to a pretty brunette dancer.

“Hi, Jax.” She smiled as she looked across the room.

“How’ve you been?”

“Okay. Can I catch you the next time? I have a customer waiting. You know, I need the big tip he gives me. Rent’s due, and I’m short this month.”

“He can wait. I’ll give you a bigger tip,” Jax said as he stared at her tits.

Hawk said, “Go on to your customer.”

Missy threw Hawk a relieved look. “Thanks. See you around, Jax.” She walked across the room to a corner table.

“What the fuck did you do that for?” Jax sniped.

“This is a business, not a whorehouse. If you wanna fuck one of the dancers, then do it after hours, not on the Insurgents’ clock, got it?”

Jax mumbled something under his breath. Standing up, Hawk said, “I’m gonna find Emma to talk to her about the books. Don’t bother the dancers while they’re working.”

As Hawk walked toward the office, he passed the table Missy sat at with her customer. He jerked his head back when he saw Luke give Missy money for a lap dance.
Fuckin’ suit is her big-tipper.
What the fuck is he doing here?
Hawk realized that if pansy-ass was there with his tongue hanging out for Missy, then Cara must have sent him packing. All of a sudden, the darkness that had been hanging over him since his encounter with Cara lifted.

Entering the office, he looked back at Missy. Her pussy was inches from Luke’s face, and he had his hand in his pants, rubbing his dick. Hawk turned away in disgust.
There’s no way Cara wants that fuckin’ suit. She’s too proud to admit she wants me. I’ll give her some space, but I’m not letting her outta my life. No fuckin’ way.

Hawk closed the office door.

L
ooking at her
ransacked office in disbelief, Cara asked, “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I just got here,” Asher said.

Glancing around the room, Cara noticed files strewn over the floor in the reception area and in her office. “Someone broke in. Have the computers and printers been stolen?”

“No, nothing expensive is missing,” Asher said.

“It seems like whoever did this was looking for something, but what? What do I have that anyone wants? What a mess,” Cara said.

“Maybe it’s a warning.”

“You think? That asshole already came by and ‘warned’ me. Why would he trash my office?”

“Probably to see if you had any files on the case. He’s also a fucking psycho, so I don’t think he needs a reason to do stuff to you.”

Cara picked up some of the papers. “We might as well get this mess cleaned up. It’s going to take us hours to get the documents in the right files. Damn, like I need this crap. The last few days have been totally shitty.”

“You didn’t have a good weekend? How was the charity ball?” Asher asked while sorting through the papers.

“It was a disaster. Hawk was one of the speakers there. I couldn’t believe it. Boys Hope helped him out when he was a teenager on the streets. He never mentioned to me who helped him out.”

“How did Luke like his competition?” Asher asked with a twinkle in his eye.

“It was a fiasco.”

“I hope you chose Hawk.”

“You, too? Are you and Sherrie conspiring against me? What’s wrong with Luke?”

“If I have to tell you, then you’re more clueless than I thought. So, Sherrie thinks you belong with Hawk?”

“Her libido is always in overdrive, so yeah, she would pick Hawk. He’s got the whole physical package, you know?”

“You’re the only one who can decide who is best for you.” Pausing, Asher put his arms on Cara’s shoulders, looked at her intently, and said in a low voice, “You need to call Hawk and tell him what’s going on with these Deadly Devils.”

“Deadly Demons.”

“The operative word here is
Deadly
. Your biker guy knows this world, and you don’t. You need to let him in on this. This isn’t small stuff, Cara.”

“I know, but I’m out of the whole thing. I’m done with it. Once Viper sees that I’m finished with anything biker, he’ll get bored and move on. The last thing I’d do is call Hawk.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing.” Kneeling, Asher scooped up pages of documents.

“I do.” The truth was she was in over her head, and she had some vicious outlaw biker fixated on her. Her instinct told her to lay low for a while. “I may take a few days off next week.”

“You should do it now,” Asher said.

“I can’t. I have the Morrison trial starting tomorrow, remember?”

“With all this outlaw biker junk, who can remember anything?”

“Let’s get through this week. I know this will all pass.”

They worked most of the day putting all the files back together, and by the end of the afternoon, Cara was exhausted.

There was a chill in the late October air as Cara walked to her car. Wisps of smoke curled around the town like ghostly fingers while streams of it drifted from the chimneys of the houses dotting the hills around the town center. The thick scent of hickory permeated the town, and the streetlights lining Main Street cast eerie reflections in the dark, misty night.

As Cara approached her car, footsteps echoed behind her. She paused. The footsteps paused. She took a few steps. The footsteps took a few steps. As the hair lifted on the nape of her neck and arms, iciness weaved throughout her body, making her muscles tighten and her nerves jump. Stopping in the parking lot with a few steps to go until she reached her car, she froze while her heart pounded and her pulse raced. Behind her, a shuffled step scraped the asphalt. She sucked in her breath as she willed herself to move, but she couldn’t. Small sparks reflected on the mist-coated pavement, then the sliver of a flickering flame danced against the wind. Lighter fluid invaded her nose, and she swore she felt the heat from the narrow flame. Cold sweat poured down her back as she swallowed hard, heaving her body forward in an unexpected burst of energy.

Clicking on her car’s keyless entry and remote-start buttons at the same moment, her door unlocked and her engine sprang to life. With stinging eyes and pumping adrenaline, she leapt to her car door and flung it open. From the corner of her eye, she saw a shadowy figure stretching out a thin arm toward her. Yelling, she threw herself into the driver’s seat, but before she could close the door, a strong hand yanked her hair and pulled her backward. With a force she didn’t know she possessed, she shoved the hand away from her, slammed the car door, and floored the gas pedal.

As her car surged forward, a macabre scream bounced off her car windows, and a deep, creepy voice screamed, “Bitch!” Rubbing her aching scalp, she glanced in her rear view mirror and observed the silhouette of a tall man holding a cigarette in his hand, its tip glowing in the night. Shuddering and her teeth chattering, she exited the parking lot.

Driving around for a long time, she debated whether she should go home since she lived alone and had no doubt Viper knew her address. Not wanting to involve her parents, she dialed Eric’s phone number.

“Hey, Eric, it’s me.”

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing. Why?”

“Come on, Cara, I can hear it in your voice. Something’s wrong.”

“Can I come over?”

“Sure, you don’t need to ask.”

Fifteen minutes later, Cara found herself curled up on Eric’s couch in front of a spitting fire, sipping hot tea. Eric stared at her.

“Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” he asked.

Cara told Eric about her ransacked office and her scare earlier that night.

“Are you sure whoever was following you was part of this biker gang? I mean, you
do
have a lot of shady people for clients. Maybe it was one of them?”

“I don’t think so. I know it was Viper. The way he grabbed my hair and his damn fingernail cutting me, it felt like the time he did that crap to me at the office. The guy following me was also tall and lanky, like Viper, and he had a cigarette. No, I’m sure it was that asshole.” Cara shuddered as she thought of what could have happened if she hadn’t made it to her car.