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  At first, he’d gone a little wild. He’d thrown himself headfirst into the lifestyle, thinking he had to prove himself to anyone who looked at him sideways, and sleeping around with every bike bunny that hung around the crew. That was, until he met Kayla.

  She’d caught at him from the very first, with her blatant sexuality and sinful curve. He’d thought she was everything he’d ever wanted in a woman, but he’d been so wrong. She was selfish and self-absorbed, incapable of empathy or much human decency. She’d only been interested in using him and, for a while, he’d been perfectly all right with that. But, secretly, he had been relieved when she left. He hadn’t realized how toxic things had gotten and he considered himself lucky for getting out of the relationship while he could.

  Unbidden, the image of the too-sweet strawberry blonde bartender from the Reaper Club filled his thoughts. For some reason, she’d kept doing that over the past few days, popping into his head when he least expected it. It was damned disconcerting.

  Sudden movement ahead of him caught his attention. Porky took a quick. unexpected turn to the right and pulled off the road. His brows furrowing in concern, Tex followed after him, worried that something had happened or gone wrong with the other man’s motorcycle.

  Tex slowed to a careful stop on the loose gravel of the shoulder just in time to hear Porky’s shout of dismay.

  “Damn it! Damn it all to hell and back again!”

  “What the fuck happened?” Tex asked, leaping off his bike and rushing towards the other man. “Are you alright?”

  “No! No, I’m not alright.” Porky was shaking his head, his face twisted into a look of utter despair. “I’ve been waiting for Carrie to call me for days and, when she finally does, I miss it! She didn’t leave a message. What do you think that means? That she’s waiting for me to call her back? I should call her back, right?”

  Tex froze mid-stride, one foot still in front of the other, his arms pumping as Porky’s words washed over him.

  “Fuck, Porky!” Tex said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. “I thought you were really in trouble. This is about a girl?” He turned back towards his motorcycle, which he’d parked haphazardly on the side of the road. “Put your phone away, man. We can’t stay out here on the side of the god damned highway with all of our merchandise. You can call her when we get to the safe house and deliver the goods to Robbie.”

  “But… But Tex! What if she doesn’t answer?” Porky asked, obviously distraught over the prospect. “What if she thinks I’m blowing her off?”

  Tex couldn’t hold back the laugh at his friend’s expense.

  “I guess that’s just a risk you’re going to have to take,” Tex told him, humor still ringing in his voice at seeing his friend, the big tough biker, all tied up in knots over a girl. “I sure as hell don’t want to get caught out here loaded with all of this product. Come on, let’s get moving.”

  Tex didn’t spare Porky another glance as he threw his leg over his bike and revved the engine, the sweet purr warming in the early dawn light. With a shake of his head, he pulled out onto the long stretch of highway that would lead them back to the safe house where the Devil’s Martyrs stash was kept. A moment later, he heard Porky’s bike pull up abreast of him.

  Tex could tell that his friend was still arguing with himself about what to do, and he couldn’t hold back another laugh. A grin hung from his lips all the way back to the safe house.

  Tex turned onto the hidden drive he would have missed completely if he hadn’t known the way. The path twisted and turned, narrowing almost to a single bike width before widening again and opening up into a large flat piece of land scattered with sparse tufts of grass. An old single-story farmhouse, which looked like it had seen better days, hove into view.

  Tex knew that it was much better kept on the inside. The outside had been distressed to make the farmhouse look abandoned to the unknowing passer-by, not that they got many passers-by that far out in the middle of nowhere. The security system they’d rigged around the area would alert the Devil’s Martyrs members to anyone who was approaching when they were still miles away.

  Tex parked his bike near a shed that leaned precariously against the farmhouse and looked up to see Porky hopping from his motorcycle and walking a few yards off. His cell was pressed nervously to his ear as he called back his girl. All Tex could do was shake his head. His friend had it bad. Real bad.

  “Carrie? Uh, this is Porky. From the other night.” The big man stumbled over his words as he spoke rapidly into the phone. “Of course, you know that – um. You called me. I mean, I called you. I’m calling you back.”

  Tex rolled his eyes at the small bit of conversation he overheard. It was enough to let him know that the girl is asking something of Porky and that she’d already got him wrapped around her little finger.

  He tried to stop listening as he untied his saddle bags, then Porky’s, and carried them inside the house.

  From the outside, it looked like a totally abandoned old farmhouse, with peeling paint and boards over the windows. But, as he walked inside, it was transformed into a completely modern space. A couple of couches sat in the living room, with a big-screen TV and an overstuffed chair. Tex kept walking down the hall, deeper into the house, until he reached the pristine kitchen.

  At first glance, even the kitchen seemed normal, but it was easy for Tex to spot the essentials for running the massive drug operation the Devil’s Martyrs was a part of.

  He poked around a little bit, looking at everything and marveling at the amount of money that must move through the old farmhouse. Then a voice sounds behind.

  “He who seeks will never find.”

  Tex jumped at the softly spoken words and turned to find Robbie, the senior member in charge of managing the crew’s drug supply, standing calming behind him.

  The man was older than most of the other members of the crew, but it was hard to put an exact age to him. Tex had heard Robbie being described as anything from between fifty all the way up to ninety, although either end seemed far-fetched. The guy himself was thin as a rail but with a sinewy strength that was evident in the muscles of his arms and the neck that poked out of his Hawaiian shirt. He had a long narrow face, accentuated by the beard that grew down to his chest and the bald head that was currently hidden underneath a boat hat.

  Tex just shook his head. He never knew what Robbie would be wearing. The older man usually eschewed the normal leather jacket that most of the other patch members wore, but he was the best drug supplier in North Texas. The Devil’s Martyr president, Capone, didn’t care what the hell the man wore as long as he kept bringing in drugs for cheap that they could resell for a massive profit.

  “Hey, Robbie, how’s it going?” Tex said, setting the saddle bags down and pulling out the four packages sealed in plastic and brown paper. “Brought you the newest shipment.”

  He set them on the large kitchen table before turning back to the older man.

  Robbie had his head tilted to one side. His eyes looked glazed and their pupils were dilated. Besides his unusual clothing choice, Robbie was also known for saying crazy shit at the most random of times. Kind of like now.

  “You’ve been dipping your toes in another pond, Tex,” Robbie said softly, almost as if he was reciting a chant or something. “You’ve been grim.”

  Tex started, surprised at the way the other man emphasized the word, obviously referring to the night he and Porky had spent at the Grim Rider’s bar.

  After a moment, Robbie spoke again.

  “It will change your life forever. Your decision will change everything for you. You won’t ever be able to go back again.”

  “Back where? What decision?” Tex asked before he could help himself.

  It was all just crazy shit from a guy who sampled way too much of the merchandise. That was all.

  “Just remember, Tex. Chang is coming. Keep an eye out for it or it will knock you on your ass.” Robbie tilted his head to the other side. “Or maybe it al
ready has and you just haven’t realized it yet.”

  “Uh, thanks Robbie. I’ll keep that in mind.” Tex said tentatively, confused and slightly wary of the man’s words despite his own doubts.

  He was grateful when Porky walked inside, breaking the odd silence that had fallen in the kitchen. But one look at his friend’s bashful face told him he wasn’t going to like the next thing out of Porky’s mouth. Before he even said a word, Tex already knew it was about the girl.

  “Hey Robbie.”

  “Your aura is cloudy,” Robbie hummed seriously with a sharp look in Porky’s direction. “What’s on your mind? Somethings wrong, yes?”

  “Yes! Yes, something’s wrong,” Porky said as he dropped into one of the chairs pulled up around the table. “So, I just got off the phone with Carrie. She said her friend’s in some sort of trouble. Like, the bad kind of trouble. Real bad.”

  “Hmm. Yes, I see.” Robbie nodded for Porky to go on and Tex barely held back another eye roll.

  “So, Carrie’s friend needs to make a lot of money, fast, so she can get out of this bad situation she’s in. I may have told her about what I did with the crew and she wants to sell a shipment and split the profits. She was hoping for… Well, actually, I kind of told her… Look Robbie I promised her I would help her out. Is there anything you can do?”

  Porky stared at the older man with a painfully hopeful expression on his face and it was all Tex could do to bite his tongue and not chew him out the way he wanted. He’d told a chick he’d just met that he was a drug runner for the Devils? And on top of that he’d promised he would float her some merchandise without even knowing if she was trustworthy!

  “She must be some piece of ass,” Tex said, unable to help himself.

  “Shut the fuck up, Tex,” Porky growled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I know enough not to spill all my secrets to a girl I just met because I want to get her into bed.”

  “Enough! Enough!” Robbie said, breaking up the moment of tension between the two men. “I can help.”

  Tex and Porky both shot the other man a startled look, but Robbie didn’t seem to notice. He had already reached over towards the table and was hefting one of the packages in his hand as if weighing it. A moment later he tossed it to Porky.

  “This is an act of kindness,” Robbie said, directing his words at Tex, who just shrugged, confused. “That girl needs help and she doesn’t have much time. I can sense it. Make sure you keep it to yourself, though. No need to advertise. And make sure it doesn’t get tracked back to the Devil’s Martyrs, got it?”

  Both men nodded dumbly, Porky smiling like a fool at the hefty package of pills in his hands.

  “Thanks, Robbie,” Porky said, getting to his feet.

  They made quick work of saying goodbye, Porky tucking the package safely inside his saddle bag before they walked outside to their bikes.

  Tex got on his and kicked the kickstand up, but Porky’s voice stopped him.

  “Hey, Tex, I know you think I messed up, but I could really use your help on this one.”

  Porky was begging him, his eyes serious. After a brief hesitation, Tex let out a giant sigh.

  “You know I always got your back, Porky,” Tex finally said, even though he still felt uncertain about the whole god damned thing.

  It smelled like trouble. And he hated trouble.

  “Thanks, Tex. You won’t regret it. I swear you won’t regret it.”

  “I already regret it,” Tex muttered under his breath as he revved the engine of his bike, the loud sound drowning out his words. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  Porky shot him a grin that had an answering one tugging at one corner of Tex’s lips. But, as they rode away, Tex couldn’t get Robbie’s cryptic words out of his head. What decision was he talking about? And how would it change his life?

  He didn’t want to change his life. He was perfectly happy with things just the way they were. And it was going to stay that way, no matter what he had to do, damn it! He’d make sure of that.

  Chapter 6

  Lori paced back and forth, wearing a path in the old shag rug that ran the length of her small living room. With a sinking feeling gnawing at her insides, she couldn’t help chewing her fingernails, a nervous habit she’d picked up years ago, as she glanced around the tiny space.

  Carrie had driven her home earlier that morning, so she could shower and get changed before the meeting she had set up. Lori’s car was still stranded at the parking lot of the bar, but she could pick it up later. Carrie had been insistent on driving her home and sticking around with her. She had even gone so far as to vow not to leave her side until they’d got everything figured out with the money and how to handle Gears. It was a sweet gesture, even though Lori didn’t know how long it would last. She knew Carrie. Nothing kept her still for long.

  The house she had rented from Gears was little bigger than Carrie’s one-bedroom apartment. It was a dilapidated older property, but to her it seemed like the Ritz Carlton after living on the streets and surviving off scraps for a year.

  One tiny couch, little more than a loveseat, took up most of one wall and old T.V. with a rabbit-ear antenna sat on top of a small cart pushed into the corner. She didn’t have cable and only got a few local channels, but it was still a nice luxury for her to have.

  Lori turned when she reached the far wall and began to walk back the way she had just come.

  “Honey, you have to stop pacing. You’re making me nervous.” Carrie told her from where she was draped over the pinkish velvet armchair across from the couch.

  “I’m sorry. I can’t help it. I’m nervous.” Lori spit out, her feet still moving. She couldn’t seem to make them stop no matter how hard she tried. “I hate all this waiting. When is your contact going to be here?”

  “He said it would take him a few hours to get the stuff and then he’d be here.”

  “You gave him my address? He knows where to go?”

  Carrie rolled her dark eyes at Lori, part in humor, part in frustration.

  “Yes. I told you, Lori. I’ve got everything figured out. Now if I could just figure out a way to make you stop wearing a hole in that rug.” She contemplated the dated beige shag carpet. “You know what? On second thought, wear away. That thing is awful!”

  Lori let out a brief chuckle and shot a grateful look at her friend. Carrie was wild and often ridiculous, but she could always make her laugh. Even when she felt like she was going to vomit.

  The sudden knock at the front door make Lori jump and she cursed at herself as she turned. She gave herself a shake, trying to get her haywire nerves under control, and forced herself to take a deep breath before she reached out and grasped the doorknob.

  Lori yanked it open and froze, shocked as hell to be standing toe-to-toe with her cowboy from the bar the other night. He looked just as sinfully handsome as he did that night and, she noticed, just as surprised as she was.

  Her gaze landed on his own wide-eyed green. His look filled with instant heat and immediately had an answering lust burning inside her.

  Lori took a hasty step back, trying desperately to put distance between them.

  She finally forced some panicked words out through her shock-numbed lips.

  “What the hell are you doing here, cowboy? How do you know where I live?”

  “You asked for us to come over here, sweet thing,” he drawled, giving her an insolent look up and down.

  She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest to form a barrier between them. Not that it did anything to dim the heat that flared up in her like a bonfire.

  “And your friend gave us your address. And it’s not ‘cowboy’, by the way. It’s Tex.”

  “Us?” Lori muttered, still trying to get a handle her wayward emotions as she ignored his last comment.

  Tex stepped back and, for the first time, Lori saw that he wasn’t alone on her small front porch.

  She still wasn’t sure a
bout Carrie’s plan, but she couldn’t leave those men standing out in front of her house. The last thing she needed was for Gears to spy them coming over and barge in demanding why she had guys meeting her. He was so unhinged that she wouldn’t put it past him, and she couldn’t say what he’d do if he saw them in the house with her. It wasn’t a risk she was willing to take.

  With another silent curse, Lori grabbed them and dragged them inside, shooting a nervous peek outside before shutting the door behind them and making sure all the drapes were pulled over the windows.

  Tex watched her with curiosity shining bright in his green eyes, while the other man made a bee-line straight towards Carrie.

  “Porky!” The woman squealed, throwing herself into the big man’s arms.