Page 69 of Grace's Redemption
“Nice to meet you, friend.” James said.
I waved without looking back.
Creepy guy.
I mounted my bike, secured my helmet, and backed it up. I revved the engine and peeked at the door. James stood in the doorway with his phone in his ear. His concerned expression had my thoughts jumping back to Grace. Did he know her? Was he protecting her?
Legion of Guardians.
I pulled out and drove down the road a couple of miles. I stopped at a little convenience store and parked on the side.
As I suspected, two minutes later, James sped by on his Roadster with no helmet on.
Was he tailing me?
I followed him. He drove around a bit and then double backed to the bar.
By the time we returned, the crowd had thinned out.
I headed in my own direction, on the interstate up 195 towards Jersey.
The four-hour drive took me three. Not much traffic on the roads at night. When I arrived, I checked into a roadside motel and got some sleep.
I dreamed about her.
I pictured her, in her black and pink leather cut, straddling her bike. In my dream, the bike wasn’t the same.
I had no clue what happened to Grace’s bike. I suspect my father destroyed it. We weren’t even allowed to say her name in the club anymore.
His only hope for a future namesake died with her. It wasn’t like I was going to breed spawn in this fucked up life of mine.
I drove her bike a few times, with her on the back. God, the way she felt sitting behind me, her heat up against me, her arms wrapped around my waist tighter than necessary.
Her hands would roam up and down my chest.
She’d play with my belt buckle.
Why the fuck did I resist for so long?
When I sped up, she’s squeezing her thighs against my hips and I grip them, and held her to me when we turned.
Her throat would hitch as she leaned with me.
I’d find an empty parking lot and taught her how to ride with me riding bitch until she got a feel for the bike. We’d ride up and down. I gave her directions and she followed them, concentrating while biting her top lip.
When she was comfortable, I would get off the bike and let her go. The smile on her face the first time she rode solo, I knew it, she loved it.
I’d wanted to take her out for a ride, just the two of us before I left, but it never happened.
Grace made me feel special, like I was her man even long before I had a right to claim her. When I didn’t claim her, part of me thought I did it because I knew I’d never be able to move on. When I came back, she desperately needed me to comfort her, but my guilt wouldn’t allow it. She desperately wanted to comfort me, but I didn’t deserve anyone’s comfort.
Losing Mattie broke me. It broke us.
I deserve to be miserable for the rest of my life, but I want more than that crushing emptiness for her.
I sat at a diner down the street and had some coffee while I made a call.
“Tech.” The high-pitched voice on the other end said.
