Page 62 of Single Mom for the Bikers

God, after having been with Sledge, Phoenix and Havoc, it's like being hit on by a pile of garbage. But I flip my hair and give him a look like I know what I’m doing. “I'm looking for Grinder. He’s expecting me.”

The guy raises a suspicious eyebrow that makes me think of a fuzzy worm crawling up his forehead, but he pulls out his phone and backs away from the car, making a call. He nods andmotions to the other guard to open the gate. “Pull in around the back of the church, to the main doors into the low building. He's meeting you there. Just park in front of the doors.” Then he waves me through.

I've done it. God, I've done it. If I thought I was in over my head with the Screaming Eagles, I’m sinking fast here today, caught in a riptide I don’t know how to break out of.

If I live, the guys are going to be so pissed.

Too late now. As I pull up to the front doors of what used to be the school, they open, revealing Matt, a.k.a. Grinder. It's weird seeing him in a cut and motorcycle boots after meeting him in hoodies and dad jeans, but somehow it’s more fitting, like I could sense he wasn’t what he seemed even before I knew why.

Either way, that bastard has my daughter.

Drawing a deep breath, I open the driver door and get out.

“Glad you came to your senses,” he says with a wide grin that makes an icy shiver crawl down my spine.

He leads me into the school, which has been converted into their barracks. On one side, there are windows that look out into a square courtyard. It looks like a hangout zone, with grills and tables set up, but right now it’s full of motorcycles. On the opposite side from where I came in, there's an opening through the first floor of the two-story building that bikes, or even a car, could come in through. On the other side, some of the windows have curtains and look like they are probably where the bikers live, and others have stacks of boxes and crates.

Grinder walks ahead like he’s giving me a tour. “You know, I really didn't expect you to show up, but I'm glad you did. I figured you’d choose the kid over those assholes.”

“Why do you even want us here?” I ask him honestly. “I don't understand. Did you move into the neighborhood to be close to us? Or did you see me after?” If I keep him talking, maybe I’ll learn something useful. Besides, until I know what the heck he’s thinking, I can't really know what to expect.

He chuckles. “You don’t remember me. I think I only saw you once or twice. Maybe if you’d visited your man more often you would have. Dodger and I were cell mates right up to when he got shanked.”

Oh no. That can't bode well.

“He was a good guy. Good friend. Didn’t fucking deserve what he got. None of us did,” he says darkly. “Not from the fucking Eagles and not from the goddamned prison system. They didn’t give a fuck when he died.”

“What's that got to do with me, though? And Mia?”

“Well, I promised him. Didn’t I? He talked about you a lot after we were locked up. He was fucking pissed you took off. Made him look weak to have his woman leave him. I felt bad for him, really did. But Dodger wasn’t fucking perfect, either. He was real fucking good at pissing people off, and eventually he pissed off the wrong person. He bled out in my arms while the guards sat around debating if it was bad enough to bother with. And you know what he made me promise? The thing that meant more to him than anything else in the fucking world?”

I shake my head, but I think I already know.

“Take care of my girls, he said. Soon as you get out, make sure they’re safe. You might not believe it yet, but I’m a model fucking citizen when I want to be, and it costs a lot to keep people locked up. Soon as I got out, I looked you up. Was going to take it nice and slow, but then Badger got in touch and everything kind of fell into place.” He smiles at me like I’m supposed to be thrilled with how neatly everything has worked out for him. “You see it, right? This is perfect. We’re rebuilding this club and you don't have to go it alone anymore. You’ve got me now. I'll help you raise the little girl, just like Dodger woulda wanted. Took you long enough to understand, but I get it. Women can be difficult.”

Oh my God. He's totally loopy.

We reach the end of a corridor and he throws open the doors. Inside is what used to be the gym, though now it’s been broken into lots of separate areas like a cubicle farm. And there, right in front of us at a table, playing dejectedly with crayons, is my favorite little girl. She looks up and sees us.

“Mommy! You came!”

35

PHOENIX

“Think we can trust them?”Sledge asks in my ear as we watch the Outlaw Sons that are supposedly on our side ride up to the front gate. We've got cover behind a nearby house that looks like it was condemned years ago. Not as close as I'd like, but we can watch from here without being observed. I hope.

“As far as I can throw them, but I trust that Eagle-eye’s intel must be good enough for him to risk it. And what choice do we have? They have Mia.” Maybe we're just setting ourselves up for a trap. I don't fucking know, but I don’t have much to lose and a lot to gain.

Sledge grunts in agreement. “Shelby’s going to be fucking pissed we claimed her and Mia.”

“She’s pissed already. Probably best to do it now.”

“If she forgives us,” Havoc adds.

“She’ll forgive you. You were her fucking superhero, remember?” Am I bitter? Fuck yeah.

Me? I know I can never make up for what I did back then, but if I can get Mia outta here and back to Shel, at least I'll have done something good for her. Something besides being a lying asshole and accessory to her stepdad's murder.

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