Train's Clash (The Last Riders Book 9) (16 page)

“Stop. I don’t want to hear you say that again. It’s not your fault I like the dude. I swore I wouldn’t be like my mother, and I fell for a man just like my father, if not worse. I should have left town the day I came back from taking that ride from him, but I knew I would miss you all. I’ll get over him. I’ll find someone I will care about more, and then move back home.”

“What if you don’t? What if you never come back?”

Killyama nudged her with her shoulder. “I’ll be back.”

“You swear?”

“I swear. Have I ever lied to you?”

“Yes, when you swore to me you wouldn’t get involved when you heard Stud and me arguing about talking to Knox about Sasha.” Her eyes dropped to the bandana at her throat. The bitch was smarter than others gave her credit for.

“Well, other than that time?”

“No, you never have.”

“You’ll see. I’ll be back before you know it. It’s not going to be hard to find someone. Hell, my only requirement is a big dick.”

Star came back in, holding enough towels so each doll could be dried separately. Setting them on the counter, she slipped between her and Sex Piston.

Seeing her mother’s sad expression, Star handed her the doll she was about to wash off. “You can do Ken, Mama. He likes his hair washed.”

“You do him, Star. I’m afraid I’ll drown him.” Sex Piston stared at the doll vengefully, as if it were Train incarnate.

“I’ll do him.” Killyama took the doll from Sex Piston, not wanting the girl’s feelings to be hurt.

“Careful,” Star warned. “His head falls off. Mama broke it accidently, and Daddy glued it back on, but it falls off a lot.”

“Does it?” Killyama took her eyes off the doll for a brief second to look at Star. When she turned back, the doll’s head was floating in the sudsy water.

Star fished his head out then took the headless body from her.

“I’m sorry, Star. How about I buy you a new one?” Killyama apologized to the upset girl.

Mollified, she wiggled the head back onto the body. “Can you just buy me a different Barbie I don’t have? I don’t want any more boy dolls. They break too easily.”

Killyama laughed, flicking water on Star’s cheek and starting a water fight. Then the three of them dried off before they finished the dolls.

Killyama enjoyed the afternoon with Star then went into the backyard to play with Rocky as Sex Piston cooked dinner. It was midnight when she drove home to her apartment.

She hadn’t wanted to leave. The love and intimacy in the family always drove home what was missing from her own life, what she never had: her own family.

Growing up, it had been her and her mother, with spurts of appearances from Hammer and Jonas. The only one she had always wanted to be there would show up when no one would know, keeping his identity a secret.

Inside her apartment, she carried her laptop to her bed. After showering, she rested on the bed, letting the cat snuggle next to her as she searched for the doll Star had told her she wanted. Clicking on “purchase,” she checked out before going to another site.

She scrolled down the options available, choosing what she wanted, checking out, and then closing the laptop when the receipt flashed across the screen.

Turning off her bedside lamp, she nuzzled her cat. “Who do you think he’s with tonight? Sasha, Jewell, or both?” The stupid game she played in her mind ripped her to shreds, but she couldn’t help from playing it. The scenarios of what went on in the clubhouse at night played differently every night until she fell asleep. It was a fucked-up way of replacing counting sheep.

Before she had seen Crash and Rider the night she had spent at The Last Riders’ clubhouse, she had imagined Train with only one of the women. Since then, she had begun imagining him with two or three of them a night.

Unable to fall asleep, she reached for the radio on her nightstand, pushing a button on the top. The soothing sound of thunder and rain filled the dark room. She started to count the seconds between the claps of thunder.

She had lied when she told Sex Piston she had ridden Train from her consciousness. There wasn’t going to be any getting over Train. She had instinctively known she would fall in love with him when he had walked across the parking lot the day they had gone for a ride.

She had inherited her mother’s flaw. Only one man had been able to hold her heart. Even in his death, she still mourned him. Though several men had tried to capture the heart that had already been taken, none had succeeded. Her father had made sure of that, secreting her mother away in a small town where no man could live up to the hero worship her mother felt for him.

Train was on the flip side of the same coin. Neither one truly cared about the women in their lives. He would happily share her with any of the men in the club. Hell, probably the women, too.

He was never going to love her. He would only care for her like he did all the women, but there wouldn’t be anything special between them. She bet if the women were grouped in a dark room, none of the men would be able to tell them apart, other than the tits.

Killyama took the thought back. Shade would be able to tell. He watched Lily with a hawk-like intensity. The woman didn’t take a breath before he made sure it was pure enough to enter her body.

Killyama didn’t know if she wanted a man so possessive, but damn, it would be nice to see what it could be like. To feel the warmth of someone’s love battle the frigid emotions that were seeping into her soul.

“I have a better chance of catching Dalton Andrews,” she said out loud to the cat.

Lily had met the movie star when she had visited some friends. He had made the news last year when his wife had succumbed to cancer, leaving him a widower. She would give herself a couple of years to get over Train, and let Dalton Andrews get over the famous fashion model, before she asked Lily if she could hook them up.

“What do you think, Gollum?” She nodded in the dark as if the cat agreed with her ludicrous plan. “I could buy you all kinds of toys if I nabbed him.”

Giving up trying to fall asleep, she turned on a movie that she had watched dozens of times. She was asleep before the first fight scene, tossing and turning as Dalton Andrews and Train fought in her dreams. She could see herself cheering the two men on.

Just as she thought Train was winning, another man grabbed him from behind.

Killyama woke up terrified, gasping in fear. She almost fell out the bed as she searched for her cell phone on the nightstand.

It took five seconds for Sex Piston to answer. “Bitch, do you know what time it is?”

“You don’t sound like you were asleep.” Killyama could hear Stud grumbling in the background, telling Sex Piston to hang up the phone.

“I wasn’t,” she snapped, her voice coming and going as if she were struggling for the phone. “What do you want?”

The terror of her dream was ebbing away like most nightmares do when you wake up. She should have washed her face before she made the call. The shock of the cold water would have saved her from making a fool out of herself.

“Do you need me to come over? Are you okay? Give me time to get dressed—”

“No! I’m fine! I just need you to do something …” Feeling ridiculous, she was also too afraid to go back to sleep until Sex Piston did what she wanted. “Uh … Could you go throw that Ken doll away?”

Silence meant her request.

“Sex Piston?”

“What’d you snort?” The sound of Sex Piston and Stud tussling for the phone stopped.

“Nothing! Just do it. And don’t throw it out in the kitchen trash. Make Stud throw it away outside.”

Again silence.

“Listen, I know it’s crazy as fuck, but just do it, okay?”

Sex Piston’s long drawled out “Okay” had Killyama gritting her teeth.

“Thank you. Tell Stud I’m sorry for bothering him.”

“I will. You know I’m never letting you play with Star’s dolls again, right?”

“Believe me; I won’t be going near them.” Killyama started to disconnect the call. “Sex Piston!”

“What!”

Killyama winced. Sex Piston had cruised past concern for her friend’s mental state and had moved on to aggravation.

“Make sure you don’t forget the head.”

“
G
ood luck
!” Stud hit Train on the back as he lifted his helmet to put it on. Train buckled the strap as the man he was beginning to think of as a friend took his own motorcycle.

He had called Stud and asked him for help getting into the race after Shade had told him that Lily and Beth were planning to take a mommy day off to watch Stud race with Sex Piston and her crew.

He had raced when he had first started riding a motorcycle, wiping out more than winning. He had stopped when he had entered the service and hadn’t picked it up again when he was discharged. It didn’t provide the same excitement he had grown used to after he had been picked for a secret unit controlled by the president.

Members from several different military branches had been hand-selected to try out once a year for the unit. Each current team member also had to be re-invited to try out, with over two hundred candidates chosen to compete. Only twenty-four would be picked for the elite unit. Train had made the unit each time. Hammer had made the team five years before he had and had continued to get picked.

The last time they had been called out, they had rescued a group of four men taken hostage. When he arrived to gather intel, Hammer had informed the fellow members that it would be the last time he would try out if asked.

Losing Jonas the year before that had been a shock. The members had always joked that Jonas and Hammer were attached at the hip. Losing two high-ranking members hurt.

When Train had asked Hammer why he was giving it up since Hammer had lived and breathed the American flag, he had evaded the question, saying he was giving the young guns a chance to make the unit.

Train had figured out the why when he had read Crash’s reports. Jonas had quit the unit when Killyama had begun bounty hunting full-time in the business the three of them had formed. He wanted to be there to protect her from the caliber of fugitives she had been chasing the previous year.

She was taking her life in her hands each time she accepted a job, which was why Hammer had decided not to try out for the unit again. He was placing Killyama over the job he loved, afraid Jonas couldn’t do it alone.

He wanted to know what tied the three of them together. Even Shade couldn’t figure it out. Shade was a member of the same team, except he was given special consideration over which jobs he took and how. He was the lone wolf in the unit; often sent out without other members’ knowledge.

Stud gave Train a thumbs up as he started his bike. Train tightened his gloved hands on the bike he would ride in the race, one Rider had loaned to him from his personal collection. He was going to have to get one of his own if he was going to continue to compete to impress Killyama.

He took a quick look around while he waited for the race to start. Killyama was sitting in the front row on the second floor of the stands next to Sex Piston, who was sitting next to Beth and Lily. Crazy Bitch was sitting on the other side of Killyama, with the rest of the bitches seated down the rest of the row. The women looked excited as they waited for the race to start.

The men seated behind them didn’t exhibit the same of air of excitement. Their set faces showed how much they wanted to be anywhere else. That was, everyone except Rider, who was munching on popcorn, drawing killing gazes from Shade and Razer.

Train readied himself for the race. He would focus on the man in front of him—Stud—whose racing suit was black and covered in sponsors’ logos. His bike was also black, sleek, and made exclusively for him. Stud’s reputation building motorcycles was only eclipsed by his racing.

The suit Train was wearing was one of Stud’s practice suits. It was black without the logos. Stud had told him he usually wore it when he didn’t want others to know he was practicing.

From the yells coming from the stands, Train could see Stud’s problem. The man had a huge fan base, including Killyama, who was decked out in a T-shirt with Stud’s name embossed across her tits.

Train got Rider’s bright red bike in position, waiting for the flag to drop. As soon the leggy blonde dropped it, Train took off, letting the riders in front fight it out for the lead position.

The course had one long turn before leading to a straightway that turned into a series of four intermittent curves. A racer had to repeat the course four times and come in first to win.

Train took the first curve easily, still staying behind the other riders. Taking the rest of the curves, he let himself become more familiar with the track.

As he passed the stands where Killyama was, he shot a quick glance to see that her head was turned to the side, talking to Crazy Bitch. He was risking his neck for a woman who wasn’t even watching him. Meanwhile, Sex Piston, Beth, and Lily were leaning over the rail, shouting Stud’s name.

When Train came out of the first turn again, he hunched over his bike even further, setting his sights on Stud. It took another lap to bring him even to Stud, the two riding side by side through the series of turns.

Leaning into the curves, Train felt his kneepad ride the track due to making the last turn so fast. He expertly righted himself, preparing for the next turn.

This time when he passed Killyama, he didn’t have time to look, the danger and the thrill of the ride taking over.

As they passed the first turn again, they saw one of the racers had crashed. Train skillfully went one way, while Stud went in the other direction to miss the wreck, adroitly handling the bikes until they rode side by side again.

When they passed the stands for the third time, Train accelerated again, increasing speed to pull away from Stud. Stud wasn’t giving the race up without a fight, though, accelerating until they rode at the same dangerous speed.

When they reached the last turn, Train was hanging so low to the ground it wasn’t his kneepad riding the track; it was his elbow pad. The forward momentum gave him the extra inch he needed to win the race.

Using his boot to right himself, he managed to stop his bike before crashing into the stands.

When he took off his helmet, he grinned at Stud, who was there to shake his hand.

Getting off the motorcycle, he pushed it into the winner’s circle. He waited for third place to be given before Stud stepped up to accept his second-place trophy. The screams had Train turning to see Killyama and all the others standing as his name was called.

When Stud stepped down, they shook hands again. Then Train’s name was called to accept his first prize. The huge trophy was held by a buxom brunette with leather shorts.

He turned again to see if Killyama was cheering for him, only to see that the spot where she had been standing was now empty. He hadn’t expected Killyama to cheer for him, but he was disappointed that she hadn’t even watched him receive his trophy.

When the brunette would have kissed him, Train dodged her, turning to leave the stage.

Rider met him at the back gate, helping him load up his borrowed bike onto the trailer while Lily and Beth congratulated him.

“Wow, Train, I was terrified you were going to wreck when you came out of that last turn!” Beth hugged him before letting her sister shyly take a turn.

“I knew you were going to win! You were so awesome!” Lily was barely able to get her compliments out before Shade snatched her back to his side.

“Thanks. Where’s Razer?”

Beth laughed. “I made him go buy some of Stud’s T-shirts. Hopefully, the next time you race, we can buy one of yours.”

Train shook his head. “This is my last race for a while.”

“Why? You won.” Lily’s smile faded. “All of us were cheering for you to win.”

“Not all of you.” Train scuffed his boot as he kicked a rock.

Realizing that Beth and Lily were staring at him quizzically, he made an excuse to give himself time to bury the feelings of jealously toward the exuberant cheering Killyama had given Stud.

“I want to tell Stud I’m leaving to go back to the clubhouse. Rider, if you’re done tying the bike down, I’ll be back in a minute.”

“Take your time. I’m going to go buy myself a couple of T-shirts.”

Train stopped in his tracks. “You’re going to buy some of Stud’s T-shirts?”

“Hell no. I’m going to buy some plain ones. The women can paint my name on them. That way, all the brothers will see who’s their favorite. You want me to buy one for you girls, too?” Rider stared at them expectantly, missing the glowering frown from Shade.

“That’s okay,” Lily delicately refused. “We can wait until Train has some made.”

Shade stared down at his small wife with a gleam that promised retribution.

Rider loved to rile The Last Riders’ enforcer. One day, though, he would go too far. Train hoped he would be there to witness it when it happened.

He found Stud’s trailer where his bike was parked next to, but Train didn’t see him. However, Sex Piston was sitting on the hood of the truck, her legs hanging off the side.

When he approached, her eyes narrowed on him, making no effort to hide her contempt for him.

Braving the woman’s surly manner, he drew closer.

“I wanted to tell Stud I was leaving. Is he going to be back soon?”

“He’s busy. I’ll let him know you left.”

Another man would have cut and run from her attitude. Train wasn’t that man. He had dealt with women long enough to know what made them tick, and he knew what made Sex Piston tick. The bitches watched out for each other.

Train was determined to have Killyama, and Stud’s wife was just as committed to keeping her from getting hurt. What she didn’t know was that he had no intention of hurting her.

“I can wait.” Train stubbornly leaned against the truck door, crossing his arms over his chest.

Her mouth set in a hard line. “If you’re waiting for Killyama, you’re wasting your time. She already left.”

Train’s lashes lowered. He had hoped to see her before she left. “That’s fine. I’ll still wait.”

“Fucker, what are you not getting? Are you stupid? You think you can try to use my man to get back in my bitch’s panties?” She agilely hopped off the hood of the truck. “I’ll rip the pitchfork out of the devil’s hand if I have to, to keep you away from her.” She waved him away from her with a shooing motion. “Go back to those hos you keep your bed warm for.”

“The only woman I’m keeping a spot warm for is Killyama.”

Sex Piston rudely snorted her disbelief. “I’ll believe that when I see it.” She tried to shoo him away again. “You’re wasting your time getting Stud to help you. The only one who is going to talk Killyama into giving you another whirl is me, and that won’t be happening … no matter how many races you talk Stud into losing.”

Dumfounded, Train’s mouth dropped open. “You think Stud deliberately lost the race because I asked him to?”

“My man doesn’t lose.”

“I have news for you. He did today. I’m not ashamed to admit I wanted to win because I wanted to impress Killyama, but I certainly didn’t ask Stud to let me.”

“I can vouch for that,” Stud said, walking up from behind the trailer. “He beat my ass fair and square.”

Train took the hand held out to him. “I wanted to thank you again for getting me into the race and letting me borrow your suit.”

“No problem. I was glad to help. It gave me someone new to race. In this arena, it’s usually the same ones who show up each time. I hope to see you here again. Maybe next time you’ll take it easy on me.”

Train moved, avoiding the truck door that Sex Piston slung open, nearly hitting him.

“She gets easier to tolerate the more you get to know her.” Stud excused his wife’s behavior with a shrug.

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“If you think she’s bad, wait until you have to deal with Crazy Bitch. She’ll drive you over the bend. Fat Louise and T.A. aren’t much better, but you can feed them to get them to back off when they get cranky.”

Train didn’t try to hide his interest.

Stud’s humor vanished. “Killyama is hard to describe.” Leaning an elbow on the hood of the truck, Stud studied him. “I saw her beat the hell out of some of the brothers in the club when they pissed her off. Then she bought Rocky a mini-bike when I told her I wanted to wait. She paid for Fat Louise’s mother’s rehab. When Star got sick and the doctor didn’t want to admit her, she left, and ten minutes later had her admitted.” Stud gave a low laugh. “Sex Piston said Killyama cornered the doctor in the doctor’s lounge.”

“I think she bought me a new wallet. It came in the mail without a card.”

Stud nodded. “That sounds like her. She’s sneaky as fuck, but you already know that, don’t you? If she sent it to you, it means she likes you.”

“How do you know?” Jealousy reared its ugly head. Train had never been jealous over a woman in his entire life. That Killyama could bring out those feeling was going to take some getting used to.

“How do you think I got all those sponsors? Killyama called them when I was thinking of giving up racing. It takes time out of my work schedule, and Sex Piston’s shop was going through a slump when she ticked off one of her biggest customers. With four kids, it was hard to justify my racing.”

“If you need—” Train had started to offer a loan, but Stud stopped him.

“It’s all good now. The money made from the sponsors picked up the slack, and Sex Piston’s customer came back. She’s good at her job, and the rich bitches like to look good.”

“If you need anything, the offer is there.”

“I won’t. Congrats again. I better be going before she rips out my radio.” Stud started to leave then stopped. “I heard what Sex Piston said. She is right about one thing. If you want Killyama, you will have to go through Sex Piston first.”

“I’m figuring that out for myself. Any ideas?”

Stud rubbed a thoughtful finger across the bridge of his nose. “Find something she wants, but don’t let her have it.”

Train drew a blank. “Like what?”

“Damned if I know. I had to use my kids to get her attached to me.” He gestured toward Sex Piston. “And brother, I might like you, but you can’t have my kids. You’re more than welcome to drop in for a beer when you want to see Killyama, but it won’t earn you kudos from either of them. You’ll think of something … You have a clubhouse at your back to bounce ideas off of.”