Chaos Bound (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #4)(54)
Holt pressed a kiss to her temple. “But it’s never been like that.”
“For me either.” She cupped his jaw, bristly with a five o’clock shadow. “But now I can add f*ck a biker outside a bar to my list of skills on my resume.”
He kissed her lightly and they straightened their clothing. He disposed of the condom in a nearby garbage can and returned to kiss her again. “Seeing you with that cop drove me f*cking crazy. I woulda happily gone to jail to get his hands off you.”
Shoes crunched on the gravel around the corner. Holt spun around, pushing Naiya behind his back.
“Oh, there you are.” Michael’s voice rang out in the semi-darkness. “The bus driver said you hadn’t boarded yet.”
Holt held her firm behind him with one hand, while the other slid beneath his leather jacket to the gun holstered at this back.
“I forgot to give you my card.” Michael held out his hand as he walked toward them. “Just in case you remember anything that might help. I’m giving them out to everyone who was in the area at the time.”
“Su—”
“Neither of us was in the area,” Naiya said quickly, interrupting Holt. She stepped out from behind his back. “And we won’t even be in the state after tonight. Sorry we can’t help.”
Michael stared at her, his eyes narrowing every so slightly. “My mistake.” He tucked the card into his jacket pocket, and looked around. “Not much to see back here in the dark.”
Naiya put her hand on her stomach. “Still in the throwing-up stage of the pregnancy, and the restroom was occupied.”
Beside her, Holt choked back a laugh.
Michael’s gaze flicked to Holt and then back to her. “Ah. I guess with five kids it’s old hat for you.”
She pressed her lips together and met his challenge head on. No one would ever trip up a scientist on details. “Four kids. Tim, Fiona, Pat, and Louis.” She rattled off the names of her co-workers at the science center where she volunteered during the summer. All one year apart. We didn’t want to waste any time.”
Tension crackled in the air between them. Holt slid one hand around her waist, the other resting at his hip near his weapon. “Good luck with your investigation.”
Michael hesitated and then nodded. “Good luck with the baby.”
Naiya’s heart thundered in her chest, and she focused on slowing her breathing as Michael walked away.
“Kinda like the idea of gettin’ you knocked up,” Holt murmured when they were alone. “Then there’d be no doubting you were mine.”
Naiya let out the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. “There would also be no mission of revenge because you’d be too busy changing diapers and rocking your daughter to sleep. Doesn’t really fit with the big, bad, outlaw biker image.” She pulled away and gave her clothing one last check.
“Lots of Sinners got kids,” Holt said. “Dax has five boys and he goes to the school and their sports games wearing his cut, not hiding who he is or what he does. And Cade’s got three kids. They moved to a house on Dax’s street ’cause the people there were accepting of Dax’s biker ways. Zane’s got a boy he didn’t even know he had, and there’s rumors Shaggy’s got kids all over the place with different women, but he never sees them ’cause his life is about the club…”
His voice trailed off and Naiya caught a flicker of sadness in his eyes. “You’re talking about them as if they’re still your family,” she said gently.
“They were my family. Not any more.” He shook himself and slid an arm around her waist. “Guess we gotta get on that bus. He’ll be watching. I think we put him off, but guys like that don’t give up easy.”
“Where will we go?”
“Conundrum.”
“Isn’t that where the Sinners are based?”
He leaned down, nuzzled her neck. “It’s the only place you’ll be safe. Black Jacks can’t cross the border without risking death. Sinners own the cops since we got Deputy Sheriff Benson on our payroll and a coupla others, so they don’t do much except handle civilian problems and petty crime. We’ll lie low until I’m ready to move. I got some ideas about how we can spend the time.”
“I thought your plan was using me as bait,” she said dryly. “That’s not going to work if the Black Jacks can’t get to me.”
Holt’s face tightened, and he pulled her into his chest. “I got a new plan. One that doesn’t put you in danger and keeps you close.”
“Lucky me.”
A slow smile spread across Holt’s face. “You are lucky, ’cause once we find a place to stay, we’re gonna pick up where we left off, and this time no one’s gonna interrupt us.”
FOURTEEN
TANK
“What the hell happened to you the other night?” Banks handed Tank a beer, raising his voice above the roar of the crowd as Rider’s house band took to the stage. “Never saw you drink so much before. I went to find someone to take you home, but when I turned around you were gone.”
Tank put the bottle to his lips trying to come up with a suitable lie. After being warned off Ella, he could hardly tell Banks he had spent the night with her, albeit he couldn’t remember anything. He’d been drunk before. Hell, he’d spent the years before he met T-Rex half cut. But he’d never passed out. Never lost his memory. Never f*cked a woman and not remembered it the next day. Something was definitely off about that night. And the worst thing was, he didn’t even know if he’d said anything that could get him into trouble with the club.