The Last Riders - First Four Votes (86 page)

As the lights flickered briefly then came on, she turned to Shade, who was also sitting up, and lay her head on his shoulder, crying in relief.

“I have you, Sweetheart. Shh… I have you.”

The rocking motions of his body soothed her as her arms circled his neck and she burrowed closer to him, trying to get warm. She was always so cold. So cold.

Fine tremors shook her body while his firm hand stroked her back as he continued to rock her with his soothing words, repeating over and over that it was a storm. She gradually relaxed, exhausted, lying limply against him and falling back asleep.

A man stronger than the shadows of her memories had held her demons at bay.

L
ily woke the next day
, feeling like she hadn’t slept. She glanced over at the clock, realizing it was going to be a rush getting ready for church. As she started to slide out of bed, she noticed Shade was lying on his stomach, where she could see his bare back covered in a large tattoo.

In the middle of his back was the Navy Seal emblem with a large snake coiled around it from top to bottom with the head actually appearing as if it was about to strike. At the base of the tattoo were two revolvers that had a chain wrapped around both barrels. To the side and higher up was a pair of brass knuckles. Lily also saw a hand of cards and a long-handled razor. The entire tattoo had a shaded appearance.

While the tats on the rest of his body were clustered together, he only had that single large one on his back. Lily had a sense of its importance to him.

Pulling her attention away from the tattoo, she got off the bed, rushing around the room to get ready for church. Sliding on a navy dress and flats, she brushed her hair, ready to leave.

“Ride in with Evie and Winter.” Shade didn’t rise, merely rolled over in the bed with his arm over his eyes.

It was then that Lily realized that not only had the overhead light been on but the two lamps on each bedside table and the bathroom light. She took the time to turn off the lights before leaving the room.

Pulling out her phone on the way upstairs, Lily saw that Evie had texted her that they were in the car with Bliss, Jewell and Raci all waiting for her. She rushed out and climbed into the backseat next to Bliss.

“The storm was terrible last night,” Evie remarked as she turned onto the road. Lily thought she must have slept through the storm.

“I didn’t notice,” Bliss said. “Train and Cash kept me too busy.” Lily saw Evie throw Bliss a warning glance in the rearview mirror.

The car grew uncomfortably quiet. When Winter looked over her shoulder at her, Lily turned to look out the window as they drove down the mountain. Gradually, conversation resumed with Raci breaking the silence, discussing the Halloween party for next week.

Lily tuned out the discussion, trying to remember back to the night before. Her head started aching, and she wished she had thought to put some ibuprofen in her purse.

The church was already filled when they walked through the door. Looking around, Lily saw Beth and Razer had saved her a spot next to them, so she slid onto their bench.

Beth searched her face, reaching for her hand. Lily—forgetting her resentments for a while—held her hand throughout the service, listening as Pastor Dean presented an eloquent sermon on giving to the community. He ended the service and went to the doorway as usual.

As everyone filed out the doors, Willa was in front of Lily, and she was glad to have the opportunity to speak with her.

“Thank you for the cupcakes yesterday.”

Willa smiled back as the line moved forward. “I enjoy baking.”

“Obviously,” Georgia said from behind Beth, making no effort to lower her voice.

Lily rushed to talk so that Willa wouldn’t overhear the rude woman, but she didn’t need to worry as the sound of several motorcycles coming from outside was loud.

“I hear your friends arriving at the diner. It’s nice to always have them save a table for you before church lets out,” Willa teased.

Lily laughed. “They usually beat us and get the biggest table. Would you like to join us? We could give you a ride home afterward.” The line moved forward and Willa reached out to shake Pastor Dean’s hand.

“Like her fat ass would fit on the back of a bike,” Georgia snidely commented.

When Willa’s face turned bright red, Lily had to give the embarrassed woman credit for not losing her composure. Pastor Dean started to speak to her, but with a quick word, Willa moved away, not letting him finish.

Lily bypassed her Pastor, quickly going after the humiliated woman. “Willa.”

She stopped, turning back to Lily. “I’m sorry, Lily. I didn’t mean to ignore your invitation, but I have an order to get out. See you later.”

“That’s all right. Stop by the store next weekend if you get time.”

“I will.” With that, the woman rushed down the sidewalk toward her home.

Lily spun around, furious. Beth and Razer were waiting for her, but Lily walked back toward Georgia and her friends from work, who were just then leaving the church. She could tell that Pastor Dean had already said something from the expression on both of their faces. She had known he would. She admired and respected Pastor Dean for just that reason; he didn’t let acts of unkindness go by unnoticed.

“That was terrible.” Lily stepped in front of Georgia, blocking her path.

“What business is it of yours?”

“We were in God’s church, Georgia. Why do you go if not to be a better person?”

“I wouldn’t talk about people being in church who shouldn’t be there. Hell, half of the congregation is headed for God’s judgment and your sister is one of them.”

As soon as the words were out of Georgia’s mouth, Lily could see she realized she had gone too far. It was one thing to insult an acquaintance, but not the hand that pays the bills and puts food on the table. Razer was one of the owners of the factory who gave her a paycheck every week, and she had just insulted his wife.

“I’m sorry, Beth. I let my mouth run away with me,” Georgia said as Beth came up to stand next to Lily.

Beth nodded her head but refused to respond. On the other hand, Lily was happy to see Razer had no problem voicing his own displeasure.

“Georgia, no one cares about your bullshit apology. I would fire you here and now, but despite your ignorant belief that we’re all going to Hell, I’ll give you one more chance. If I hear your ugly-assed comments again, you’ll be on the unemployment line.” Razer’s harsh expression left no doubt he was delivering her a promise.

As Razer took Beth and Lily’s arms, leading them across the street, Lily was still simmering with anger at the woman. Willa hadn’t deserved her ugly comments. Georgia had wanted to humiliate her and she had succeeded; it had been completely uncalled for.

Lily took a seat next to Beth, avoiding Shade’s sharp gaze as the others talked about Lily confronting Georgia. His expression remained passive as he let Razer grumble about firing her.

Thankfully, the waitress taking their order succeeded in changing the topic of conversation, yet Lily had a hard time getting her temper back under control. She couldn’t understand why her temper was flaring lately when she had always been so calm and never let anyone bother her before. Usually, she was an extreme pacifist; however, it had hurt something deep inside of her to see that wounded look on Willa’s face. She hadn’t been able to stand back and let Georgia get away with hurting the kind-hearted woman.

She took a sip of her iced tea, her fingertips rubbing her temple after she placed the glass back down, and caught sight of the rubber band on her wrist. She was becoming less and less dependent on it since she had begun staying with The Last Riders. Lily was happy she needed it less frequently, but wondered if it was because she was becoming more confident in herself or because of the sense of safety The Last Riders provided.

The food arrived hot, yet Lily just picked at her salad. Shade and Razer had both gotten burgers and fries while Bliss and Raci had both ordered breakfasts, though they were complaining that the men’s food looked better. As Bliss reached onto Shade’s plate, taking a French fry, Lily took a bite of food, ignoring Bliss.

“How much longer before the church store will be able to open?” Beth questioned.

“A few weeks. Not only are Rachel and I sorting through everyone’s recent donations but also years of clutter. We’ve boxed things up for Pastor Dean to decide whether to throw them away or store them.”

“Dad was a closet hoarder—he saved everything—and I’m sure Pastor Dean didn’t want to throw things away immediately,” Beth said.

“Dad saved every sermon he ever wrote. I expected to find all the video tapes he recorded, but I haven’t come across them yet. I was looking forward to destroying them,” Lily commented.

“I’m sure you’ll come across them before you’re finished.” Beth’s lips tightened as Bliss took another French fry from Razer’s plate. She then turned her attention back to Lily. “If you find them, let me know. I want to help you burn them.”

Lily smiled ruefully. “I’m sure there will be enough for both of us. How’s Mrs. Langley?”

“She’s having a harder time recuperating than I had hoped. I’m going to stay with her for the rest of the week. Razer and I are staying in her guest room. Logan and Holly have both moved in with his father so that she can get plenty of rest.

“Are you sure you don’t need me to sit with her during the day or night to give you a break?” Lily offered.

“No, I have it covered. I don’t want to have to worry about your safety and I know at the clubhouse you’re protected. Have you managed to get any school work done?”

“I’m going to make a start on it tonight.”

“Let me know if you need anything. We should be getting back. Holly sat with her so we could go to church.” They stood up from the table as everyone finished. Lily hugged her sister and brother-in-law goodbye.

As they also headed out of the diner, she started to go back to Evie’s car, but Shade caught her hand as she passed his bike. Not feeling like arguing, she climbed on the back, tucking her dress around her so it wouldn’t blow up as they rode.

It didn’t take long for them to get back to the clubhouse. Once there, Shade let her use his computer as he worked out so that she could get caught up on her schoolwork, which took her a couple of hours to complete.

She hadn’t been paying attention when Shade had come into the room and gone into the shower, but she found her attention wandering as he reentered the room shirtless.

“Hungry?”

“A little, but I want to finish this.”

“Go ahead and finish. I’ll bring you a plate.”

“Sounds good, thanks,” Lily said absently.

Shade left the room and Lily continued working. She was almost done when he returned, setting the plate down in front of her. When he did, she smelled the faint scent of perfume on him as he leaned close to her. Lily’s concentration was broken, and she had to force herself to finish the work.

“Is the television distracting you?” Shade asked when she gave a frustrated sigh at a stupid mistake she had caught when she was rechecking her work.

“No.” She hadn’t even realized he had turned it on; her mind had been so unfocused.

Eating her food, she ignored Shade. The food was good, but again, she had no appetite. If she didn’t begin feeling more like herself, she was going to have to see a doctor. Maybe she was getting an ulcer or becoming allergic to certain foods? She couldn’t understand why she had lost her healthy appetite. Shrugging it off once more, she told herself it was only worry from the unknown identity of the person watching her.

She stood up, grabbing her plate from the desk. “Do you need anything while I’m upstairs?”

“A beer would be great.” Lily wanted to refuse, yet he had been nice enough to bring her dinner; she didn’t want to come across as petty. She was so tempted to snap at him that whoever’s perfume he was wearing could bring him his darn beer, though.

Going upstairs, she opened the door to the kitchen and went inside. No one was in there, so Lily placed her plate in the sink and was about to rinse it off when a noise from the television room had her head turning in that direction. The unobstructed view let her see exactly what had made the soft noise.

Bliss was riding Train’s cock, sliding up and down. Train hadn’t paid attention to her in the kitchen, but Bliss had—her eyes were on Lily as Train suckled her breast—she was watching Lily for her reaction.

Lily bolted back downstairs, making sure her eyes didn’t return to the two on the couch.

“Where my beer?” Shade asked when she returned empty-handed.

“I forgot it.” Lily, a second too late, realized she had forgotten to get him the beer he requested.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Lily said, grabbing her pajamas and then disappearing into the bedroom. She took her time trying to wash away the memory of what she had seen.

When she went back out to the bedroom, the first thing she noticed was Shade drinking his beer.

“It’s a little early to go to bed, isn’t it?”

“I have a headache. I guess it’s from staring at the computer screen.”

“Possibly. Will the television disturb you?”

“No.” Lily was about to climb into bed but stopped herself, going instead to Shade.

“You need to let me go. I’m never going to fit into this club.”

“What makes you say that?”

“You know why.” She waved her hand at the beer. “Bliss doesn’t try to hide that you both have shared a relationship. She doesn’t want me here. She belongs here, I don’t.”

“You will.”

“No, Shade, I won’t. You’re only going to hurt everyone involved. I’m never going to adjust to your lifestyle. You’re not a one-woman man.”

“I already am,” Shade said softly.

Lily wanted to kick the stubborn man. “Don’t claim I’m the woman for you when you smell like another woman’s perfume.”

“I smell like perfume?” Shade asked, not trying to hide his amusement.

“Yes,” Lily said angrily.

“That’s because Winter hugged me when I told her I would pay for the computers for her school.”

“Well… heck.” She was going to have to apologize. She felt terrible he had done something so nice and she was jumping on his case. She felt ashamed. She was no better than Georgia.

“I’m sorry,” Lily apologized and meant it.

“You were awfully harsh to me, don’t you think? I mean, I was nice enough to fix your dinner and bring it to you, and then you forgot my beer. Then you rant at me about other women. I’m beginning to think you’re jealous. I never took you for the jealous type.”

“I’m not jealous,” Lily snapped.

“I believe you are, and I don’t believe you’re sorry. Do you know how much those computers are going to cost me?” Shade tried to appear affronted.