Surviving The Biker (Motorcyle Club Romance) (14 page)

After hanging up with The Judge, I called Tank and told him what had happened.

“So, Mud’s dead. What about the girls? Where are they?”

“I don’t exactly know.”

“Don’t you think that Adriana would call her mother, and let her know where she is?”

“Yeah. Good point. I’ll call Vanda and see if she’s heard from her.”

“Why don’t we stop somewhere and grab a bite to eat while we figure out what to do next?” said Tank. “I’m tired and need food before I pass out.”

“Okay. Next diner or drive-thru we see, we’ll stop and grab something.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We hung up and I called Vanda. Unfortunately, she hadn’t heard from Adriana yet.

“What? She’s okay? How do you know?” asked Vanda.

“I just know,” I answered.

“You just know,” she repeated dryly. “Trevor, that answer isn’t good enough for me. If you don’t give me proof that my daughter is alive and well, I’m sending the police your way, since you
know
what’s going on.”

“Don’t come down on me, Vanda. I wasn’t involved in kidnapping her and I wasn’t the one who helped her escape,” I said, frustrated. “All I know is that someone called to let me know she was fine. You want more information than that, you’ll need to talk to her when she comes home.”

“And you trust this individual?”

“Very much,” I replied. “Believe me, if he said she’s safe, then she is. I just don’t know exactly where she is at the moment.”

“Wait a second, I have a call coming in,” said Vanda, excitedly. “I have to go.”

“If it’s her, have her call me,” I said.

“Okay,” she said and then hung up.

I put my phone down and kept driving north. Less than three miles later, we pulled into a truck-stop diner and went inside. As the waitress was pouring me a cup of coffee, my cell phone began to ring. It wasn’t a number I recognized, but the voice on the other end choked me up inside.

“Hello, Trevor,” said Adriana softly.

I closed my eyes and let out a ragged sigh. “Hello, Kitten.”

Three Weeks Later

Maui

“Is that Jessica?” I asked Trevor, as we stood in line at the Luau. We were in Maui, at Slammer and Frannie’s wedding reception. It was shortly after seven o’clock and from where we were standing, you could hear the sound of the ocean waves over the tropical music. Talk about paradise.

Trevor, who I’d actually gotten to wear a black Tommy Bahama camp shirt under his cut, with a pair of white shorts and flip-flops, turned around and looked at the girl I was referring to. “Yeah. That’s her.”

Jessica, who was sitting next to her mother, the bride, at the main table, looked up and our eyes met. She smiled warmly and I smiled back. I’d seen her at the wedding but hadn’t been sure.

“She seems nice,” I said, looking back at Trevor. “How is she doing?”

“Okay, I guess,” he replied, filling his plate with Kalua Pua’a, which was roasted pork. He handed me the tongs. “Tank’s been her shadow for the past couple of days. He’s really taken it upon himself to be her new overprotective brother.”

“That’s sweet of him,” I said, grabbing some pork for my own plate. “I know I’d feel protected, having a brute like Tank following me around.”

“You don’t feel protected with me?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Oh, you know what I mean. I’m just saying that she’s in good hands.”

“So will you be, later tonight,” he replied, smiling wickedly.

A teenaged girl who was standing on the other side of him looked over her shoulder and giggled at us.

“Good going,” I whispered, smiling sheepishly at the pink cheeked girl, who quickly looked away. “Now everyone knows what’s happening in our hut.”

Trevor leaned in to me. “I think they already know, especially after the way I had you screaming last night,” he whispered near my ear.

I couldn’t help but smile at that memory. If there was one thing he was good at, it was making me scream. Thankfully, it was only in good ways lately.

“Let’s go sit over there,” he said, pointing to a table away from everyone.

“Don’t you want to visit with some of your buddies?” I asked, a little surprised. Most of the Gold Vipers had made the trip with their Old Ladies and were sitting together.

“We have all week to talk. I just want to relax and enjoy your company for a while,” he said, grabbing a beer from a bucket of ice.

“Aww…” I replied, staring up at him lovingly. “You must be looking to get lucky again tonight.”

“I have to admit, that was in the back of my head, too,” he teased as I grabbed a bottle of water.

“Really? Well, don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched.”

“I don’t need to. I’ve got the cock,” he whispered. “To get things moving.”

I laughed. “You’re so full of it.”

“I’m surprised it took you so long to figure that out.”

“Believe me, I knew it the first time you opened your mouth.”

Chuckling, he grabbed my hand and led me over to a picnic table. Putting our plates down, we sat next to each other.

“Talk about paradise,” he said, looking toward the ocean. “This is pretty amazing, isn’t it?”

“It certainly is,” I replied, pushing my hair behind my ears. “I keep wanting to pinch myself, to make sure it’s not some kind of a dream.”

“You and me both. Especially, after everything that’s happened. And now we’re here together. In tropical paradise.” He smiled. “Damn, if I had the money, I’d never go back to Iowa. Hell, I wish we could stay here forever.”

I nodded, still so grateful that we’d been able to pull through all of the obstacles that had tried to separate us, including Brandy. When Trevor had found out that she wasn’t pregnant, he’d been so furious that I thought he was going to add to the bruises on her face. But once he’d calmed down and realized that Brandy’s lies were just a symptom of a more deeply-rooted problem, one that needed professional counseling, he cut her some slack and even helped pay for the surgery that was needed to fix her broken nose.

“How are you feeling?” he asked as I stared down at my food.

“Fine,” I replied. “Very hungry and this pork smells amazing.”

“All of the food here has been pretty good,” he said. “That mahi-mahi we had last night was out of this world. Never thought I’d like fish until this trip.”

I had to agree, the meal had been outstanding. “If we keep eating like this, though, I’m going to have to buy some new clothes before we get back to Iowa. Things are already getting snug.”

“That’s okay. Vacations are meant for eating and shopping. In fact, let’s do some tomorrow. I’ll even chip in to buy you some of those colorful muumuu dresses,” he teased.

I groaned. “Those shapeless things that the old ladies were wearing on the bus yesterday?”

“Exactly. Every woman needs a muumuu,” said Trevor, taking a swig of beer.

I raised my fork in the air. “Fine. I’ll just keep eating and not worry about my figure for the rest of the trip.”

“You do have an impressive appetite,” he replied. “Which is good, because now you look healthy again.”

“Healthy? I feel bloated.”

Now that we were on vacation, my appetite had returned and neither of us had stopped eating since we’d arrived in Maui.  I’d lost some weight during the time Brandy had been living with him, which I’d chalked up to stress, but now, I was finding it harder and harder to button the top of my shorts.

“You probably just have gas. If you want to feel better, just go ahead and let one rip.” He gave me a goofy smile. “There’s a good tropical breeze blowing away from us. Nobody will know.”

I smirked. “Believe me, I’ve already tried it.”

“I thought that was you earlier,” he joked. “Good push, by the way.”

Laughing, I elbowed him in the ribs. “I didn’t fart around you. That was manure from that horse pulling the couple in the carriage. I even pointed it out to you.”

“Now who is full of it? Even a horse couldn’t have made that smell. Nice try, blaming it on some poor nag.”

“Oh, my God… It wasn’t me! I swear.”

Trevor roared with laughter. “I’m just teasing you, Kitten. I love watching you get all flustered.”

I groaned. “Your sense of humor… I don’t know.”

“You still love me and you know it.”

I leaned over and kissed him. “Of course I do.”

“Speaking of ‘I do’, aren’t you glad that I talked you into flying out here to see Slammer get married?”

I nodded. “Yes. I almost didn’t make it. My mother was set against me flying out here.”

“I know she was.”

After we’d returned to Iowa and Trevor had driven me home, my mother had cried for hours, all the while trying to convince me to never see him again.

“He saved my life,” I reminded her.

“He’s the one who endangered your life in the first place,” she countered, frustrated that I still wanted to see him.

“It really wasn’t that bad,” I replied, the lie sounding pathetic even to me.

“Not bad?! You were kidnapped. The neighbors saw it all! For God’s sake, Adriana, nobody thought they’d see you alive again, including me. It was one of the worst nights of my life.”

Mine too.

Fortunately, there was one upside to the entire ordeal – it had brought Trevor and I back together. I could still remember that morning, when we’d reunited somewhere between Iowa and Minnesota. We’d met up with them at a diner, and he’d swept me off of my feet. Literally.

“I’m so sorry, Kitten,” he said, his voice full of emotion. “This should have never happened to you.”

“It’s okay,” I whispered, feeling such relief in his arms

“Mud will never bother you again. I promise you that.”

“I sure the hell hope not.”

“He can’t. He pissed off the wrong people. He’s already been dealt with.”

“I believe it,” I said before telling him about what had happened to Skull. “The man who did it obviously got to Mud as well.”

Trevor had confirmed to me that they’d sent the stranger to help rescue us and how important it was to keep him a secret. I promised not to say anything and in the end, after giving the police a vague description of the men that had taken me and leaving out both Brandy and April’s names, the cops weren’t able to do much more than fill out a police report. All they really knew was that I’d been kidnapped and dropped off on HWY 35, just north of the Minnesota state line.

“Why did they let you go?” asked one of the cops.

“I have no idea. Maybe they had a change of heart or just realized that they’d eventually get caught?”

I could tell that they didn’t believe either of my theories, but since I was home and unscathed, they decided to let it go.

“I know,” said Trevor, after plopping a piece of pineapple into his mouth. “Who can blame her, though? Three weeks ago you were kidnapped by a group of bikers. Now, you’re stuck on an island, far away from her reach, with more of them. She must be going nuts right now.”

I laughed. “This is quite different.”

“Oh, I don’t know. I might kidnap you myself. Lock you in our hut and have my way with you the entire rest of the trip.”

I raised my eyebrow. “And skip that snorkeling excursion you’ve been obsessing about? The one we’re supposed to go on tomorrow?”

“Okay, maybe we can take a small break for that,” he replied, his eyes sparkling in the moonlight. “Since you’re so bent on snorkeling.”

I laughed. “Right.”

Trevor had been talking about it for days, so excited to try it. Neither of us had ever snorkeled and now I was even looking forward to getting my feet wet.

We spent the rest of the night enjoying the ambience of the luau and talking about what I wanted to do after I finished college.

“What I’d really like to do is find a job and hopefully move out of my mother’s place,” I told him.

“I think you should move in with me,” Trevor said. He had been asking me to for the last week, and now that Brandy had moved out, it seemed like an interesting idea. But, I also knew that it was a little too soon, at least in regards to my mother. With the difficult time she was having with us dating, especially after the kidnapping, I could only imagine her reaction of me moving in with him.

“I can’t. At least not now. It’s just too soon after everything that’s happened. I don’t want to rush into it, you know?”

As usual, he just nodded and told me that he understood, which made me love him even more. I could tell that he was used to getting his way, especially with women, but he was being very patient with me.

“Thanks,” I said, staring at him. A tropical breeze blew his hair back and away from his face. With his blonde hair, golden tan, and clear blue eyes, I couldn’t remember him looking any more handsome.

“For what?”

“For not being pushy.”

He grabbed my hand and rubbed my knuckles with his thumb. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to keep you in my life for the long haul, Kitten. If giving you space is what you need right now, it’s all yours. I’m just happy that you agreed to be my woman and wear my cut. You know how much that means to me.”

“I know,” I replied.

He’d presented me with it the week before, asking if I’d take on the title of being his Old Lady. His one and only. But, I had made a couple of things clear. I’d be his Old Lady, but I had demands of my own – no other girlfriends or club whores on the side. He agreed and promised to never cheat on me, expecting the same on my end as well. It was an easy promise for me since I couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

We finished eating and then went for a stroll along the beach. It was a beautiful night, with the waves rolling in and the stars twinkling above. 

“Question – have you ever been skinny dipping?” he asked when we reached a part of the beach that was private.

“No,” I replied.

He grinned wickedly. “Then we’d better pop your cherry.”

“What if we get caught?” I replied, intrigued with the idea.

“Have you not noticed how far we’ve walked?” he said. “Nobody is going to catch us, unless we’ve been followed, which we haven’t.”