Page 44 of The Vows We Keep
It takes a few minutes to get organized and finish our coffee, but once we’re ready to ride, I hold out my hand. “You still have the keys to my bike.”
He drops them in my palm. “Follow me and Bates.”
It’s a bitter pill to swallow, to know they are off on club business without me, when I know I’m just as capable and deadly as they are. I’m constantly underestimated. I even debate asking to go with them, to tell them I can help with whatever club business they are going on, to show them what I can do. But there’s no way they would take a woman or a member of a rival club with them.
When we reach our bikes, Bates is already there. His skin looks pale and almost clammy despite the cold temperatures. “Are you okay?” I ask.
“Golden,” he replies and climbs on his bike.
He looks anything but.
I don’t complain about riding behind the two of them. I respect the order to a club ride out, even when there are only a few people. The two of them are fully patched-in members, and I’m just ... nothing. The way they ride alongside each other so seamlessly it’s like they are connected tells me they do it often.
The moment we reach Niro’s house, Bates grabs the keys out of Niro’s hand and runs up the steps, lets himself in, then disappears. “His stomach was fucked earlier. Looks like it still is,” Niro says.
His house is cute. A split level with wooden shutters and a simple yard. The skeleton of plants that will blossom in spring frame the edge of the property.
When we get inside, I hear Bates groan in what I hope is the bathroom. His bike keys were thrown on the floor.
“Fuck it,” Niro mutters. “Must have been the leftovers he ate.” He looks to the bathroom door, then to me. “Want to cause chaos?”
“As a general rule, yes. What did you have in mind?”
He grabs Bates’s keys and disappears with them before reappearing with a thick, heavy-duty jacket. “I hid them. Let’s go. I’ll tell you where we’re going on route.” He hammers on the bathroom door. “Cat and I have got this.”
“Don’t you fucking dare, Niro,” Bates yells. “That’s the most ...”
I don’t hear the rest of it as Niro drags me out of the house and back to our bikes. “You want to live this life, yeah?”
I nod. “More than anything.”
He holds out the oversized lined leather jacket for me to slip my arms in, and I do. On the drive over here, the bitter wind stung as it cut through my layers. “Then follow me.”
We wind through the city Niro lives in. We skirt the edges of a long shoreline. There are a few people out walking. The properties start to thin out as we veer away from the coast. The gaps between homes begin to grow, and we finally pull up to the edge of a wooded area.
“What are we doing here?” I ask.
“The guy who owns this land and the house on it is blackmailing someone on our payroll, and it caused a huge shipment delay.”
My heart starts to race. The rush of excitement is thrilling. “What are we here to do? To stop him from blackmailing or stop him from breathing?”
Niro grips my chin, hard, and pulls me to him. The kiss he delivers makes me stumble back toward my bike. I reach for his biceps to steady myself as his hand slides around the back of my neck and keeps me pressed to him. His tongue dives into my mouth, and I can’t help but respond. My nipples grow tight beneath the cotton of my bra.
And I’m sure my panties are wet. “Fuck. A boner is so inconvenient right now,” he mutters.
“We passed a motel about thirty minutes ago. Let’s get this done and then stop there for the night.”
Niro closes his eyes. “Could you be any more perfect?”
“No one has ever called me perfect before.” Not even Felipe, who professes he wants me as his old lady.
“Then all thoseno onesare fucking idiots. How do you want to do this?”
I look at him, stunned he’s asking my opinion. “Does our target live alone?”
Niro nods. “He has a wife who tried to get restraining orders against him. Three unsuccessfully, once successfully.”
“Then I have no issue with what we’re about to do. Is she likely to be there?”
