Page 103 of Wild Ride

“Because I want you to look good and feel good too. You like the clothes, don’t you?”

“I love them. I love Harley clothes and the smell of the leather, but they’re expensive and I’m not sure you should be spending so much money on me. I never needed any nice clothes before.”

“You need them in your new life—our new life. Let’s get going. We’ve got miles to go before we sleep.”

Tammy had to shove her bags into the footwell. No room anywhere else in the truck. I tuned into a Texas southern rock station and lowered the windows. Wind blew in on me and I felt better than I had in months.

“When are we going to talk about our new life, Travis? We’re in Texas now. Is it time to talk about it?”

“It’s time, Tammy.”

She turned down the radio. “Okay, go.”

“A few years ago I worked undercover for an agency to take down one of the most dangerous bike clubs in Texas and in Nevada. I was a different person then, and for a couple of years my name was Dale Burden.”

“Your name was Dale?”

“It was, and I’ve decided to go back to being Dale for a lot of reasons. From this moment on, my name is Dale again. I want you to practice calling me Dale because that’s what my guys are going to call me.”

“I don’t understand. I like you being Travis.”

“Travis is my real name but in our new life, Tammy, I’m going to be Dale Burden again. This is really important for me.”

“Why?”

“Because after the undercover job was done in Houston and I took the Black Breed down, there was a bounty put on my head. Since that time, I’ve been marked, and a lot of bikers and clubs have tried to grab me to collect the bounty.”

“How much is it?”

“A million bucks.”

“Holy shit,” said Tammy. “So why do you want to be that Dale guy again? Won’t they come to get you to get the money?”

“Exactly right. I figure I’ve been running from them for long enough, and while I was living in Montana and hating it, I made a plan.”

“Okay. What’s the plan?”

“I’m going to build a new club and surround myself with fifty of my own hand-picked guys, and when the bikers from the other clubs come to collect and haul my ass to whoever put up the bounty, I’m going to kill them and re-establish my reputation.”

“I get it. They should be afraid of you, Travis… I mean Dale. You’re the only person who could take Tibor down, so they better watch their asses.”

I smiled at Tammy. “You going to be okay with our new life?”

She laughed. “I’m okay with it as long as I’m with you. I got all new clothes and I might get to ride on the back of your bike. I’m excited for it.”

“Great. If you decide anytime along the way that you’re not okay with the way we’re living, then I want you to tell me and I’ll take you to my wife’s ranch and you can live in her safehouse. She’s a great person and you would love her like I do.”

“Why aren’t we living with her now, Dale?”

“Just for that reason. I have to be Dale and keep the danger away from her and the kids.”

Tammy’s eyes widened. “You have kids?”

“Not of my own, but yes, I do.”

“So much I didn’t know. Does Billy know all of this secret stuff, Dale?”

“No. None of it. I left it all in Texas.”

“Bike clubs have names, right?”

“They do.”

“Does our new club have a name yet?”

“Sure does. I thought of a lot of names and settled on this one. See if you like it.”

“Tell me.”

“Devil’s Right Hand.”

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