SHADES: An Evil Dead MC Story (The Outlaw Series Book 3) (25 page)

There were murmurings of agreement and approval.

“This is a happy day for me. A real happy day. And my daughter wants to see the Quarter, so that’s what we’re gonna do. We’re all going down to the Quarter to celebrate her homecoming.”

To that there was a roar of approval.

Skylar’s eyes connected with Shades, and he motioned with his head for her to come back to him. She moved to comply but Undertaker’s hand closed over the back of her neck, holding her in place and turning her to face him. As he looked down into her eyes, he said loud enough for all to hear, “You end up with a brother, I’d be happy with that. You end up with the right brother, all the better.”

Shades felt the eyes of every brother in the club bore into him before Undertaker released her, allowing her to return to his side. His meaning was clear, and it said that maybe that ‘right’ brother wasn’t him.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

A couple hours later, they were roaring through the streets of the French Quarter. The sound of the pipes of two dozen bikes made a hell of a noise reverberating off the close-set eighteenth century buildings in the narrow brick paved streets. They pulled down St. Peter Street and stopped in front of a bar on the right. They backed their bikes to the curb in a long line that stretched from the middle of the block all the way to the corner of Bourbon Street, chrome gleaming in the night lights.

The brothers all dismounted, stepping up onto the curb and the narrow sidewalk. Tall narrow green shutters folded open to the street, revealing white French doors that also opened to the street, giving the bar an open air quality. A feature Skylar noticed that many establishments in the Quarter had.

Undertaker led the way inside, taking up a spot at the corner of the bar near the street. Skylar took a spot between him on one side and Shades on the other. The bar was long and narrow with a bar running the length on the left and tables along the right wall. The almost empty bar soon filled shoulder-to-shoulder with tall, leather-clad bikers. The bartenders quickly filled drink orders. Many of the brothers wandered out to stand with their drinks on the sidewalk, taking in the scene. Crowds moved down Bourbon and an occasional horse drawn carriage, horse complete with plumed headdress made its way up St. Peter. The music from the Jazz Preservation Hall half a block down, bled down the street.

After a couple of drinks, Ghost, Shades and Skylar all wandered down Bourbon Street. Skylar dragged them into several souvenir shops. She looked but never bought anything. Shades tried to give her some money, telling her if she wanted something he’d get it for her, but she was content to just window shop. She noticed many of the female tourists strolling down Bourbon Street had souvenir feather boas around their necks. When they passed a store that had a large display of them on the wall, she pulled Shades inside and pointed up at the wall.

“I want one.”

A sexy grin pulled at his mouth and he nodded. “Sure, baby.”

A few minutes later, they continued down the street, a feather boa now draped around Skylar’s neck.

When they passed a club playing some good rockin’ music, Ghost dragged them inside for a drink. They found one available stool at the bar and Shades planted Skylar on it while he and Ghost took a spot standing on either side of her. They soon had drinks in hand. Leaning back against the bar, they surveyed the crowd. The place was packed with a mostly young crowd. There were several tables and a tiny dance floor in front of the band.

Something at the end of the bar caught Ghost’s eye. A moment later he turned back to Shades and said, “Go tell that pretty blonde what a catch I am.”

Shades leaned back to check her out. “I would but I don’t like to lie, Brother.”

“Come on, bro. Why you gotta be like that?”

Skylar couldn’t help but giggle. “Tell her yourself.”

“Don’t encourage him,” Shades warned, taking a sip of his drink and watching as Ghost turned and winked at the blonde.

“Why not?” Skylar asked.

“Just watch and see. They’ll be all over him in a moment.”

“Oh, and not you?”

He leaned down and laid a hot kiss on her. When he let her up for air he said, “Nope. Not with you all over me.”

“I’m not all over you.”

He grinned and pulled her hands up, settling them on his shoulders. “Then maybe you should change that.”

She smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked over her shoulder.

“Told you.”

Skylar turned to see the pretty blonde standing before Ghost. They heard her ask in a tinkling female voice, “Are you single?”

Ghost grinned down at her. “I prefer the term ‘independently owned and operated’.”

The girl giggled, a high-pitched irritating sound that had Skylar giving Shades a look that had him struggling to keep a straight face. A moment later, the girl was pulling Ghost off toward the dance floor.

“This ought to be good.” A smile tugged at the corner of Shades’ mouth.

“Why?” Skylar frowned.

“Ghost can’t dance for shit.”

Skylar laughed up into Shades’ eyes and a moment later, his mouth was on hers.

When the song ended, Ghost returned to the bar, the blonde in tow.

Shades shook his head at him. “Don’t ever make me watch you dance again. That shit was traumatizing.”

“Shut up, fuckface.”

Shades downed the rest of his beer. “You ready to relocate?”

“Sure.” Ghost downed his beer, while Skylar slid off her barstool. She watched as Ghost turned back to the blonde. “You comin’, Blondie?”

“Where are you going? Why don’t you stay and party with me and my girlfriends?” She nodded back to a table full of hot women.

“Hell, darlin’ bring ‘em along. I’ve got some friends who’d love to meet ‘em.”

“They all bikers, too?”

“Damn straight.”

A few minutes later, Shades and Skylar were being followed down the street by Ghost and five hot babes. Shades looked back and then grunted, “Christ, he’s like the damn Pied Piper.”

Skylar giggled. “He
is
pretty amazing. Does this happen a lot?”

“Yup.”

“And I’m sure it’s not just him. I bet you’ve had your share of women falling all over themselves over you.”

Shades grinned and pulled her against his side. “Maybe.”

“Um hmm.”

“Babe, I’m all about you now.”

“You better be.”

He leaned down and kissed her as they rounded the corner and strolled back toward the bar where they’d left the MC.

The brothers were happy to see Ghost’s little trail of women following behind him and soon surrounded them with offers to buy them drinks.

****

Several drinks later, Shades rose from his barstool, his torso brushing against Skylar’s side. His hand slid to her nape, his fingers threading through her hair, bringing her face up to his.

“Goin’ outside to smoke. Be back in a minute. You good here?”

She nodded. “I’ll be fine.” Her father sat on her other side.

“She’s fucking fine, for Christ’s sake. I’m sitting right here.”

Shades’ eyes connected with Undertaker’s over her head, and then returned to hers. “I won’t be long.”

Then his head dipped, his lips capturing hers. With a squeeze of her neck, he turned and walked out onto the sidewalk by the bikes. He bent his head and lit up a cigarette. Ghost walked out behind him.

Shades flicked his lighter closed and took a long drag, blowing it out. He looked over at Ghost. “Where’s Blondie?”

“Bathroom.” Ghost looked over at him, taking a sip of his beer. “Do you ever just wanna grab someone by the shoulders, look them deep in the eyes and whisper, “No one gives a fuck.”

Shades let out a huff of laughter. “She gettin’ on your nerves already?”

“Yammer, yammer, yammer, on and on. Christ, I wish women came with a mute button. That way you wouldn’t have to listen to all the bullshit before you got to the good stuff.”

Shades grinned and took a hit of his smoke, looking away.

“You doin’ okay, Bro?”

“Yeah.”

Ghost looked behind him. “Where’s Skylar?”

“With her father.”

Ghost looked at Shades, one brow raised. “Interesting.”

“Hardly. Do you ever have the urge to tell someone to shut the fuck up even when they aren’t talking?”

Ghost chuckled. “You can’t wait to get out of here, can you?”

“You said it.”

Ghost looked back. “She’s havin’ fun, though.”

“Yeah.” Shades took in the crowd moving up Bourbon Street before looking back at Ghost. A pair of punks dressed in full Goth attire passed by.

“The dregs of sin city.”

“I look at people sometimes and think, ‘For real? That’s the sperm that won?’”

Shades snorted. “No shit.”

A pair of arms slid around Ghost’s waist from behind, and he twisted his head.

“I wondered where you’d run off to,” Blondie said.

“Apparently not far enough,” Ghost muttered under his breath.

“What was that?” she asked.

“Nothing, babe.” Ghost tossed his cigarette into the street and pulled her around to his front, wrapping his arms around her. “Been right here, darlin’, waitin’ on your ass. And one sexy ass it is.” One big hand snaked down to squeeze one of her cheeks and she squealed, letting out a high-pitched giggle.

Shades looked at him over her head, his fingers going to his ears to block out the annoying titter, and he rolled his eyes.

****

Skylar took a sip of her drink and looked over at her father. There was a lot she wanted to ask him. The man was practically a stranger to her, after all. “So, do you, um, have any other children?”

His head turned toward her, and her own familiar blue eyes stared back at her. She’d often wondered where she’d gotten the vibrant shade of blue since her mother had had green eyes. She watched his eyes crinkle at the corners with his smile.

“You askin’ if you’ve got any brothers or sisters?”

“Yes.”

He shook his head.

“No or none that you know of?”

He grinned. “Okay, none that I know of.”

“Is there a woman?”

“Not at the moment. Not for a while actually.”

“Why’s that?”

He shrugged. “Guess I’m not the easiest son-of-a-bitch to get along with.”

She grinned and took a sip of her drink.

“I suppose that doesn’t surprise you.”

“Nope.”

“You don’t seem to have inherited your ol’ man’s temperament. You seem just like your mother.”

“I don’t remember much about her.”

He looked down at his drink, clutched between his hands. “She was a good woman. Real sweet. Never gave me a lick of trouble. I didn’t appreciate what I had until I’d lost it all.” He tossed his drink down.

Skylar studied him. There was so much she didn’t know about either of her parents. “Where did you meet her?”

A wistful smile pulled at the corner of his mouth, and his eyes studied the bar top. “I was on my bike, sitting parked at a stoplight. She pulled up behind me in this old VW Bug. The thing had a manual transmission, and apparently she was just learning how to drive a stick-shift. Anyway, when the light turned green, she dropped the clutch, and her car lurched forward right into my back tire. Bam! Knocked me on my ass.”

Skylar couldn’t help the giggle that escaped her. “I’m sorry I shouldn’t laugh. Were you hurt?”

“No. I was pissed. I lifted the bike up off my leg and climbed to my feet ready to tear some guy a new asshole. By that time, she’d climbed out of her car and had run up to see if I was okay. I took one look at her, and I was a goner.” He looked over at Skylar and smiled.

“Love at first sight?”

“Lust anyway.”

She laughed.

He shrugged. “The love followed pretty quickly.”

They were quiet for a few moments, and then he looked back at her.

“I’m sorry, Skylar.”

“About what?”

“About what happened to your mom. And to you. About everything.”

She nodded.

He put his hand to the back of her neck and pulled her close, pressing a kiss to her forehead. When he pulled back, he said, “I’m glad we finally found each other.”

She looked into his eyes and could read the sincerity there. “Me, too.”

He gave her neck a little shake, and then his hand slid away.

She turned back to her drink. A moment later, she felt a heat at her shoulder and twisted to see a solid chest wedged between her and Shades’ empty stool, and a hand sliding an empty glass across the bar. Her eyes followed up the leather-clad torso to see a man looking down at her. He was dark headed, with a dark beard to match. His eyes, a dark brown under slashing brows, were giving her a penetrating look and as he stared, her lips parted, and his eyes dropped to her mouth.

Suddenly, Undertaker was making introductions, sort of.

“Skylar, this is Blood.”

Blood did little more than make an almost imperceptible nod, his eyes dropping down to the neckline of her dark slate tank with its silver beaded trim.

The bartender came over, and Blood nodded toward his glass.

“Set her up, too,” he told the bartender who quickly pulled a short rock glass out from under the bar and set it in front of her. He tipped up a bottle of Crown filling Blood’s glass. Before he could move it to the glass set in front of hers, Skylar held her hand up.