BEAST (A Coyotes of Mayhem MC Novel) (Motorcycle Club Bad Boy Romance) (2 page)

“What’s my name, Prospect?”

“Beast,” he stuttered. “Your name is Beast.” He looked like he was going to shit his pants.

“Right, so why are you calling me a bitch?”

“What?” his eyes widened. “I didn’t call you a bitch. I didn’t say anything.”

“Fair enough. Let me ask this a different way. Do you think I’m a bitch?”

“No, not at all. I have nothing but respect for you.”

“I see. If you have all this respect for me, why in the fuck do you think I’m gonna sit in the bitch seat? Get your ass back there. I’m in charge bitch!”

§

I’m absolutely fucking amazed that we made it to Texas without getting busted. These two dickheads couldn’t have been less prepared if they tried. We got about four hours out of the desert before they realized that neither of them had any cash. Of course, they didn’t bother telling me so I could figure something out. No, these assholes thought it would be a good idea to rob a convenience store to fund the rest of our trip. How stupid can they be? Are they oblivious to the heat that’s already on me? We still had more than 9 hours left in our trip and now the pigs were going to be on the lookout for bikers who committed an armed robbery. Fortunately, we didn’t get stopped but I still wanted to punch ‘em right in the throat.

After I ditched the prospects once we arrived, everything was up to me, which is the way I like it. I had them give me the money from the robbery, leaving them just enough for gas and grub on the way home. I figured that since I was about a quarter mile from the port, I should go ahead and get some supplies before I try to board the ship. I slipped into a convenience store and put my head down, not wanting to draw any unnecessary attention to myself. I bought some food and smokes, just enough to last me a few days. As I was checking out, I got the feeling that the girl behind the register was eyeballing me. All I wanted to do was ask her what the fuck she’s looking at, but that’s just asking for trouble. With supplies in hand, there is only one thing left to worry about: figuring out how to slip past security and board the big ass cruise ship. It’s my one shot at getting out of the states and avoiding a long prison sentence. If I fuck it up and get caught, it’s over for me.

CHAPTER 2

PAIGE

Ever since I was a little girl, there were only two things I dreamed about. First was meeting my Prince Charming. I always wanted to find the perfect man who would sweep me off my feet and make me his wife. This, I later found out, would prove more difficult than I
’
d ever expect in my existence. The other thing I wanted to do was travel. There was nothing that excited me more than home and seeing a multitude of exotic locations. I was able to make the marriage thing happen. I met what I believed to be the man of my dreams. Unfortunately, my prince became not so charming shortly after we were married. Instead, he turned into a toad
—
or jackass is more like it. All the promises he made about the fun and adventures we would have were thrown to the wayside. He had plenty of money so he insisted that I quit my job so he could take care of me. I didn’t want to, but he talked me into it. That was exactly what he wanted. Once I was at home, he became exceedingly controlling—and greedy with the money, basically cutting me off from cash other than what was needed for the household. But that’s over now. It’s been over for almost a year and I was finally going to get the vacation I’ve always wanted. Before I left, I had lunch with my best friend, Brandy.

“I can’t believe I’m finally getting to go on this cruise! After all the hell that Jeremy put me through, this vacation is very much needed. Just me, six nights at sea, beautiful beaches and probably a good amount of alcohol.”

“You’re so luck Paige. I wish I could go on a cruise. Of course, with two kids and no money, that’s just a pipe dream. You’ve got it made.”

“Hey, I had to go through a lot of crap and dealt with way too much of Jeremy’s shit to make this happen. He didn’t make any of this easy. The divorce should have been easy, but he made it drag out for eight months. It took me almost a full year to be where I could even do this. It was a lot of hard work. Hell, the arguing between the lawyers alone would be enough cause for anyone to go on a vacation!”

“That’s true. If anyone deserves a break from it all, it’s you. Where is your cruise going anyway?”

“I’ll take a flight to Texas in the morning and get on the ship. From there, I’ll travel to Roatan, Honduras, Belize City, Belize, Cozumel, Mexico, and back to Galveston.”

“What does Jeremy think about you going?”

“He’s pissed. He says it’s bullshit that he gets to fund a cruise for me. I’ve told him that if he hadn’t made me quit my job, the judge wouldn’t have awarded me any alimony. I gave him two of the cars, the condo and most of what was in the bank account. All I kept was my car and the house. I was entitled to half, but I let him have what he wanted. He made out like a bandit.”

“I’m just glad you get to have some time for yourself. The way he kept you cooped up in the house all the time, I’m sure you’re more than ready to get out for a little bit. You better bring me something back.”

“You know I will. How about some real Caribbean rum?”

“That’s what I’m talking about! Medicine to deal with the kids!”

§

I’m a stickler for details. Before I left the house, I triple checked to make sure I had everything I was supposed to have. I have my driver’s license, my birth certificate, my passport, and social security card. I know that it’s overkill, but I wanted to make sure I had more than what was required so there wouldn’t be any unexpected problems. After the hour-long drive from the airport to the port, I went through my purse to fish everything out. My ticket was nowhere to be found. I don’t know if it I dropped it on the table next to the front door or if it fell out along the way. I’m sure I had it when I was getting all my paperwork together.
This is just great! First vacation I’ve had in a long time and I lose one of the most important things I need—my ticket!

I was so embarrassed when I got up to the agent and had to explain my predicament to her.

“I don’t know what happened. I could have sworn that I had my boarding information when I left the house but now it’s just gone,” my face flushed with embarrassment. I could practically feel the heat radiating from my cheeks to my forehead.

“Ma’am, you were instructed to bring all the required documentation for a reason,” the hefty woman said, obviously annoyed. “Let me see what you have. I’ll figure out if there’s anything I can do for you.”

She took the documentation that I brought with me and punched some things into her computer. After looking up at me with disdain, she walked to an older woman in the back and started speaking to her. The original agent made no secret that the conversation was about my situation as she kept pointing in my direction. After what seemed like an eternity, she returned to the counter.

“Well Miss Wheeler, it looks like it’s your lucky day. I didn’t think there was anything we could do for you but my supervisor said we can bend the rules. Since we can see that you have a booking with us, we’re going to let you board the ship.”

“Oh good, thank you so much,” relief began to wash over me as my body relaxed.

“Don’t get too excited yet Miss Wheeler. I’m able to see that you have a booking but without your information, I can’t see exactly what you booked. This is a full ship so I can’t risk putting you in a cabin that someone else reserved. We’re going to have to put you in one of our overflow cabins. It’s the best I can do. Take this over to security and they’ll get you boarded,” she looked to the left of me and yelled, “Next!”

Standing in awe, I looked at her as if she were crazy. I’d paid damn good money for what I’d reserved.
Now they want to put me in an overflow cabin?
The woman glared at me.

“I said ‘Next’, ma’am. You’ll need to move out of the way so I can help the couple behind you,” she blurted.

I took the boarding ticket from her and made my way over to security. The line was long and looked like it was standing still. The only movement was coming from my left as a long line of ship employees boarded without having to go through these scanners. As much as I hated waiting in the long line for my
overflow cabin,
I kept reminding myself it was a minor setback. In just a couple of hours, I would be in the middle of the ocean with a drink in hand and well on my way to relaxing on a beach.

§

An hour and a half later, I was standing in the security line. It amazed me how many adults could not grasp what could and could not get through a metal detector. I witnessed several people have to go through four or five times before they finally got it right. Of course, most of the people having problems were older so I’m willing to give them a pass.

Once I was finally able to board the ship, I sought out a cute Mexican guide to help me find my room. He spoke quite a bit of English, though it was hard to follow his accent. I was a bit disappointed when he took me below deck and into an inner hallway. My original reservation was for an upper deck suite with its own balcony. I wasn’t going to complain, though. It was my own fault that I didn’t ensure I had my boarding pass. Besides, how much time was I really going to be spending in my room anyway? I planned to mingle and have fun. My goal was going to hang out by the pool, go to the casino, see a live show, visit a couple of the clubs, and just meet some people. Doing all the things Jeremy would never allow me to do made my inner Goddess smile.

My room was located at the end of the long hallway. Upon opening the door, it was clear that it was an extra room. It was also obvious that it hadn’t been used in quite some time. The air reeked of a stale, pungent odor. The attendant who helped me find the room told me he would send someone in to freshen the room up for me. He also said that once everyone was boarded and in their rooms, we’d be able to figure out what my original room assignment was supposed to be and, hopefully, place me in it.

I thanked him and handed him a $10 tip. I wasn’t sure what was proper as far as tipping went, but I intended to tip everyone as I wanted the best service possible. It would still be a little while before everyone boarded so I was going to check out the room, use the restroom and go up to the deck to wave at all the people I don’t know before the ship set to sail.

CHAPTER 3

BEAST

As soon as I came up to the port, I knew I was fucked. I had serious doubts about whether I was going to make it onto that ship. There were a few stops you had to make before you could even board. First, you had to go check in with some broad to show her your ticket and shit. Then you had to go through security. After that, there was more security. The whole place was crawling with fucking guards. I had to figure out what to do and figure it out fast. I had half the mind the get out of dodge and hitchhike over to the East coast. The plan was decent but then what? I had pigs looking for me everywhere. The only thing that would save my nuts is getting the fuck out of the states and laying as low as possible. I had to find a way onto that ship.

I sat back, watching the people go by as I tried to come up with a plan. Everyone was so damn happy. Their lives were just so fucking perfect. These people with their fake smiles and happy-go-lucky lives are exactly the type of people that have always annoyed me. Now I envied them. I begrudged them so fucking much. They didn’t have a care in the world and there I was, sitting with my hat pulled down over my eyes and my cut shoved into a duffel bag. As I sat there figuring out my next plan of action, I saw the opening I was looking for. I saw a line of people filing into one of the back rooms in their street clothes. Slowly, they emerged wearing red uniforms. It was the crew that would be working the cruise. I waited until a fairly large group started going into the back room and made my move.

The back room was actually a locker room. It was just like we had in high school, only bigger. There were also no asshole jocks who thought they were hot shit. Most of the crew were foreigners and hung around in big groups. That wouldn’t work for me. I had to find someone who was there alone. Someone who didn’t really talk to anyone. Someone who might not be missed. It only took me about five minutes to find the guy. He walked in alone. He showered alone. He grabbed a locker at the complete opposite side of the room, and was roughly my size. I walked up behind him, wrapped my forearm around his throat and put him in a rear naked choke.

“Nothing personal buddy. You’re just gonna take a little nap.” I whispered into his ear. Once I choked him out, I slid him into a supply room that was right next to the locker and locked the door from the outside. I couldn’t risk him waking up before the ship left. I took a look around to make sure there were no accidental witnesses to what had just happened. When I knew I was in the clear, I grabbed his red shirt off the hanger in his locker and slid it over my black t-shirt. I stripped off my jeans and threw them into my duffel bag, sliding his God awful pants on instead. They were a little loose on me, but the belt made them work. I didn’t plan on wearing them long anyway.