“I talked with Z earlier,” Brooks begins. “We came up with a plan that needs a vote.” As he explains everything to them, I keep my eyes on the table in front of me. I’m already pissed that Brooks said ‘we’ like I sat there with him and planned this. He wants to make sure if shit happens, they all know it was partly my idea. “So let's vote.”
It’s all yesses around the table. Enzo, Porter, Reid, Damon. Then it comes to Kace. He stalls, making all of us look at him.
“Kace,” I say, catching his attention.
He says yes and it continues on to Alex, then me. It’s unanimous. We leave the room and Tyler and Finn, the new prospects, start handing out drinks.
“You really good with this, brother?” Damon asks, sipping his beer.
I glance at Kace before turning to Damon. “I’m good with it, brother.”
“Here’s to taking down Kingsley,” Enzo toasts.
Here’s to losing my life for this club, I think to myself. I knew I’d die for this club, one way or another. Better me than her though.
Chapter 4
Harper
I pull into my driveway and my lights hit Z’s bike. My heart skips a beat, but when I smile, I’m reminded by the pain in my face why this is a horrible idea. I slam my car door and he crosses to me.
“Have you lost your goddamn mind? Get out of here,” I demand, trying to walk past him.
He doesn’t allow it and gently grabs my arm, keeping me to his side. “Relax, Harp, no one saw me.”
“Oh well thank fuck, all is right in the world now,” I say, yanking my arm from his hold. “Between my father and your uncle, someone knows you’re here. I know damn well you aren’t that stupid.”
He gives me that smile of his that makes my panties wet and runs his hand down my arm, slowly sending chills along my skin. “What the hell happened to the girl who didn’t give a shit? The one who once told me that what we had was worth risking it all?”
“She’s long gone,” I whisper, sad at the thought. “Go, Z, before you make shit worse.”
“Come on, Harper. One night. I’ll make sure nothing bad happens,” he says, turning my face to his. “What the fuck?”
I push him away from me and turn my head. “Bad shit always happens, Z. Now go.”
“Who did that to you?” he nearly shouts.
“Same person who’s gonna make it a lot worse if he sees you here. No one night, no more stopping by my house. Please, Zane, just stay away,” I plead.
“I’ll fucking kill him,” he hisses, jumping on his bike.
I rush to stand in front of it and place my hands on his. “You know damn well that will just make shit worse. I’m fine. It’s not the first time or the last I’ll take a slap.”
“Get on,” he says, handing me a helmet.
“Are you fucking deaf or just stupid?”
He revs his engine and grins. “Get on or I’ll ride this bike into your fucking strip club right now.”
I’d like to say he’s full of shit, but I know all too well he isn’t. I close my eyes and think for a second. “I need to go turn some lights on. Dom will be driving by at some point and if it’s dark he’ll come knocking.”
He doesn’t say anything, just nods. This is a horrible idea, I’ll get more than just a smack across the face this time. But, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to see where he takes me.
Once I get everything taken care of, I lock the door and grab the helmet from him. I slide on behind him and when my arms wrap around his waist I’m transported back. Back to when this was what we did every night. We’d ride around for hours, staying away from everyone. It was time to think, time to clear our heads, time for just us. Eventually, he’d take us to this small lake, far out of town. No one ever knew about that place, it was ours. When shit went bad, that’s where we’d find the other one. We had sex for the first time there, had our first real fight. Laughed, cried, dreamed.
I haven’t been there in a long time and as we continue to drive, butterflies erupt in my stomach when I realize that’s exactly where we’re going. I hold on tighter and he rests his hand on mine. I don’t know what the hell this is all about, but at the moment, I’m just going to enjoy being pressed against him.
He pulls into the secluded area and when he shuts off his bike, the only sound around us is the water and crickets. We climb off and I hand him my helmet. He takes my hand and silently we walk toward the water. The moonlight is bouncing off of it, giving us an abundant amount of light. He directs me to a tree, our tree.
“I can’t believe this tree is still standing,” I say, looking up at it in wonder.
“Some things stand the test of time, babe.”
I laugh and turn to face him. “Is that a new line?”
His shoulders shrug and his mouth turns down. “Not a line, just the truth.”
With that, he steps toward me until my back hits the tree. It’s rough on my bare shoulders, but Z’s eyes boring into me hurt more. There’s pain and sorrow in them. Before I can question him, his mouth collides with mine and I don’t fight it. I’ve done nothing but crave it since the other day. My hands wrap around his neck and his grab onto my hair. He deepens the kiss and it makes me feel things I’ve long buried. Not just for him, but feelings all together. I can’t have them or I’ll never survive. But, right now. I’m feeling it all.
He
