Twist's Raven, page 5
Britt nodded and headed into the control room. She was going to keep an eye on Twist even if she couldn’t be in the room with him. She wondered who Mace’s contact was.
Movement on the screen that showed the driveway of the clubhouse caught her eye. She checked Twist’s monitor, then headed up. She counted at least five bikers, possibly more, because a car pulled in right behind the bikes in the parking lot. She jogged up the stairs, grabbing her cut from the hall as she walked out onto the porch. Mace, Axel, and Guru were meeting the men and what turned out to be two women, one closer to her parents’ age.
Raven walked down the stairs and waited for Mace to speak.
“We appreciate you making the drive. We would have been fine with a verbal okay,” Mace said, then noticed her. “Pit, this is Raven, who Twist said he was looking for. Raven, this is the Saint’s Outlaws MC, Kansas City Chapter’s President, Pit, his VP, Justice, Stinger, Tack, and Crux.”
“Nice to meet you. Who are the ladies with you?” Raven asked. Mace gave her a frown, but if he thought she was going to have the ladies treated as second-class citizens like some people did, then he’d be disappointed because that wasn’t happening.
“Aww, this is Justice’s mom, Ruthy, and my wife, Ariel.”
“Nice to meet you,” Raven said, shaking hands with both ladies.
“Let’s head in and we can discuss the situation,” Mace said, leading the group into the clubhouse and into the room that was set up as Church.
Raven’s eyes about bugged out when she saw the sign. Mace had gone round with his mother because she’d argued that church was what she attended on Sundays with a sermon. He told her they were a One Percenter MC and that they called their meetings Church. He’d had a sign made for it, and his mom had painted over it. Mace had ordered another one made and just installed it yesterday. Raven wasn’t sure when it happened because earlier today the sign had been fine. Now, the sign still had the C and the last H from Church. The other letters had been painted over, and then someone had meticulously lettered MACE’S HUDDLE.
Raven tried to hold in her laughter, but Axel saw it first, chuckling and smacking Mace on the back.
“Shouldn’t ever piss off our mother. She doesn’t give up or give in,” Axel said, helping everyone find seats.
“I have to ask. That sign looks freshly painted. There has to be a story,” Ariel said, sitting down at the table.
Raven smiled along with all the other members as Mace sat down and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Ruthy, I don’t want to offend you as a mom, but honestly, I don’t know any other way to explain this. You know, I can be the President of the club and everyone listens to me when I make a decision. But our mother,” Mace motioned to himself and Axel, “has decided that we are not to call this Church. I disagreed and thought she was on board. However, this is the second sign I’ve had made that she has defaced in the first twelve hours it was up. I’m not giving in, but I’m not sure exactly how I’m supposed to deal with this,” Mace said.
Raven enjoyed Mace’s irritation because she’d told him how to fix it. What did it matter to the outside world what they called it when they met? If it kept the peace with their family, then so be it. Sometimes Raven wondered if Mace’s mom was just doing it to lighten the atmosphere.
“Fierce women are amazing. I should know, I married one and was lucky enough to have two, my mom and my aunt, in my life growing up. I get the need to be in charge, but you know the saying happy wife, happy life?” Pit asked.
Mace nodded.
“We coined one growing up. Cheerful Mom, Cheerful Calm. As long as we kept my mom and my aunt, who is Justice and Tack’s mom, happy, things were a lot smoother. And I am not ashamed to admit that I may wreak havoc on those who hurt my family, I still adore my fierce mom,” he said.
His VP laughed while looking at his mom.
“Appreciate that. Now, Twist. We know he has a YouTube channel as a storm chaser. I’m just going to put it out there. He interfered in a sticky situation we’d planned. Is there any way that he could be working with human trafficking?” Mace asked.
The Saint’s Outlaws were quite vocal about disagreeing with Mace’s question.
“No. I trust Twist. He’s a nomad for Bluff Creek Brotherhood MC. They’re one of our ally clubs, and my wife grew up in that club. There’s no way Twist would actively fight against it,” Pit said.
Raven watched Mace’s face for indications of what he would do. His facial muscles had relaxed at the group’s loud support of Twist’s intentions. Mace tapped his index finger, which meant he wasn’t quite convinced.
“Why should I trust you? Somehow Twist found Raven when he shouldn’t have been able to place her with the Honey Creek Badgers MC,” Mace said.
Ariel smiled, shaking her head. “He called my sister and brother-in-law, who run the tech for Bluff Creek. If you don’t want your members tied back to the club when you’re running an op, then you should make sure the tag on the vehicle doesn’t tie back to a club business,” Ariel said.
Raven could feel Mace’s glare from across the room. “Listen, I planned for all contingencies except a knight on a steel steed. The tow truck was not on the list of approved vehicles. When the plan changed, someone here decided to send the tow truck for me.”
Raven wasn’t taking the blame for this, but it was good to know that it was a simple thing that had caught them and that it wasn’t her fault.
“I sent the tow truck and didn’t think about the tags. Sorry, Mace. I scrambled when the issue wasn’t on Raven’s list of contingencies,” Axel said.
“We’ll know better next time. I’d like to discuss some more things with Pit and his MC. Britt, you can let Twist out. Tell him what you’d like. I’ll be sharing with Pit. Buzzard and Snipe, accompany her,” Mace said.
“I’m happy to share what and how we do things, but I’m not the one who basically grabbed him, trussed him up, and threw him in Time Out. Don’t you think you owe him an apology?” Raven said.
Mace shook his head no, folding his arms across his chest. He even made sitting at a table look imposing. “I don’t owe him anything. I was protecting our club. Got a problem with it? Then you apologize but I won’t be. If he’s the type of man I’m assuming he is, then he won’t expect one either.”
“Did anyone ever tell you how infuriating you are?” Britt asked.
Mace chuckled. “My wife, every day. Now, we done?”
Raven knew she’d pushed her friend and her President enough. She nodded. Snipe and Buzzard chuckled. “Hey, thanks for sending us. I wouldn’t miss her explaining to him what we do for anything.”
Britt fumed but left the room. Snipe and Buzzard trailing behind her had her back up. Sometimes it was like having a family that didn’t know when to shut up.
Raven opened the door and walked in. One of the guys had removed Twist’s hood. He was calmly staring at them. She wondered what he’d been thinking. She would have been looking at the room to see what could be used as a weapon, but they’d already done that, so he didn’t have any options.
“You checked out, and I’ve been given authorization to explain what goes on here. You’re also welcome to stay.”
Twist looked around the room. “I’ll take the explanation, but if the stay involves your Time Out room, I’ll pass.”
Raven grinned. It was good to know Twist could still joke about being held captive. Maybe this would be easier than she thought.
“No Time Out. You’re free to go. I’d love to treat you to lunch after you find out what we do here,” Raven said.
“Do you think you could untie me for the explanation?” Twist asked.
Snipe and Buzzard immediately cut the ties, but Snipe placed his hand on Twist’s shoulder, holding him down while he whispered something. Twist nodded, and Snipe removed his hand from Twist’s shoulder. Twist stretched his arms and shoulders, then cocked his eyebrow. When she nodded, he stood up.
“Let’s say I work for a group that solves sticky problems. And hypothetically, I might have been going to let those men take me, and then I might be going to help them learn to be better people,” Raven said in a cheery voice.
“Make them be better people in your Time Out room?” Twist asked.
Raven nodded.
“I’m going to need a little more than that,” Twist said.
“Well, that sucks. He was completely calm. I’m a little disappointed. On that note, we’ll leave you in Raven’s capable hands,” Buzzard said, sticking his hand out to Twist.
Twist nodded, shook his hand, and accepted his phone and watch from Snipe. Raven couldn’t believe Twist didn’t seem to be mad, but she was thankful.
Chapter Nine
Twist followed Raven out into the hallway from his Time Out cell. Who knew that when he wanted to get to know the gorgeous blonde he’d rescued on the side of the road, he’d end up locked in a cell. She had tight jeans highlighting her trim curves. Even with him being deemed not a threat, he could still see her checking out the area they entered for threats.
He followed her into a room with a wall of screens that were currently dark. Another wall was a huge corkboard with pictures tacked to it and strings connecting different pictures. Notes were by each picture mixed with notes along the lines.
“This is one of the main control rooms. When I said we solve sticky problems, I was making light of what we do. Six friends and I grew up together in Honey Creek. We dubbed ourselves the Honey Creek Girls and kept in close touch even though we ended up all over the world. I was in the Army. Charity, who was Mace and Axel’s sister, and Lane, who was a member’s husband, were killed because they’d tried a man accused of multiple rapes and murders in two states besides Nebraska, who was also suspected of human trafficking, drug running, etc. You name it, he was accused of it. He got off on a technicality with the rape kits. He, or someone he paid, killed Charity and Lane. I won’t go into how horrible it was. You can look it up online, but it changed all of us.
“And when Mace, who was a Special Agent for the FBI, along with Izzy, known as Quicksilver, who also worked for the FBI, were stonewalled when they tried to investigate, Mace created a plan. We all left our jobs and decided to get the justice that Charity’s and Lane’s deaths deserve. The men who were grabbing me are small fish in the pond of the big fish we’re looking for,” Raven said.
Twist stared at the room with all the pictures and ties to different people. He’d guessed she knew the women killed but had no idea the MC was built on avenging the loss of their friends. He admired the strength and grit he was seeing in Raven. She was a multi-faceted woman.
“It’s a lot to take in, but I admire all of you for choosing this path. You mentioned food, and I skipped breakfast because I was excited to possibly track you down. How about I take you up on lunch?” Twist said, hiding a smile at the look of surprise on Raven’s face.
She nodded and led him down the hall toward a set of stairs. Before she started up them, he decided he needed to make a move.
He grasped her arm, turning her toward him.
“I’ve been wanting to kiss those lips since I first saw you glaring up at me in that wedding dress,” Twist said.
Raven smirked. “I thought I hid my irritation pretty quickly.”
“Oh, you did, but for a second, I could tell I had made you mad. I think you owe me a kiss for being thrown in the Time Out room,” Twist said, waiting with bated breath for Raven’s answer.
Something about this woman had him wanting not only to kiss her but to know her deepest thoughts. The fact she was a member of an MC that worked against human trafficking just made her that much more attractive to him.
She stared into his eyes, and he saw the instant she decided to give in. Her lips came closer, bringing the sweet scent that had been wrapped around him on their ride. He wasn’t sure if it was lotion or what, but he wanted more.
Her lush lips touched his before her tongue demanded entry. He allowed her to take control because, on some level, he knew she needed it. He slid his hand holding her arm down around her waist to pull her close. Raven was tall, and Twist loved that she was the perfect height for him. For a moment, he let himself forget where they were until catcalls from down the hall had Raven pulling back.
“I don’t think this is what usually happens in the Time Out area,” Buzzard called.
Twist grinned at the scowling face Raven was aiming toward Buzzard. Snipe had threatened Twist with a burial on the property by him and Buzzard if he hurt Raven. Twist didn’t need the warning because he didn’t want to hurt her. He needed to get to know her better because the kiss he’d just shared with Raven had made him feel more than any sexual situation he’d ever had.
“Don’t you have work to do?” Raven said.
Buzzard ignored Raven and went back into the room he’d come from.
“Shall we?” Twist asked. Maybe by the time they got over to the diner, his dick would have gone down enough to not be noticeable. One kiss had lit a fire in him. He wasn’t sure having her once would be enough. Something about Raven was different for him.
Twist chuckled as he finished his hamburger. He and Raven had chatted about everything. She’d asked about his storm chasing, and they’d laughed over his last video. When she told him that his passenger who had threatened him was on the property, he’d grinned and asked her to give him a warning if she saw Stinger approaching.
At first, she’d asked more questions than she answered. The longer they talked, the more she opened up.
She was a “bike-riding, Lego-loving, defender of the helpless” woman who had depth. They’d chatted for two hours while they ate, and Twist couldn’t wait to hear more about her. He shared about his time in the military. Raven had shared how Buzzard and Snipe had been her best friends, but her tone had been off. Women weren’t always treated well in the military, and Twist had to wonder if there was something she wasn’t saying.
He was also enjoying how so many people from her MC had dropped by their table even though the diner was across the street from their property and seemed to be owned by one of the townspeople. So far, he’d met Gracelynn, whose club name was Daydream, and was the one who had named their cells the Time Out rooms. Quicksilver was the former FBI agent, and Baylee, known as Fury, had been with the ATF. The women had given him the third degree with their questions. He hoped with all the names and club names he could keep them straight.
They’d all had questions for him about storm chasing, too. He’d let them know his vehicle was being delivered by some friends because Nebraska was looking like it would be a center for some major storms leading up to and including Halloween.
At some point, he was going to need to let Booker know what had happened. He wasn’t going to keep stuff from him, but he also wasn’t going to share everything if the Honey Creek Badgers MC didn’t approve. For the first time, he felt torn, but he was a nomad, which meant he had a little more latitude. Although Booker was his friend, he wasn’t Twist’s President or anything.
“So what are we doing?” Snipe asked as he and Buzzard dropped into the booth, pushing Twist and Raven farther in.
“Well, we were having lunch and chatting. I’m not sure what you two were doing,” Raven muttered, glaring at the guys.
Their waitress, Gladys, was immediately there.
“What can I get you boys? Anything happening I should know about?”
Twist hid a smile. During their talk, Raven had told him one of the waitresses in the café was the kindest woman but also the biggest gossip.
“No thank you, Gladys. Nothing big besides Twist showing up because of bad weather rolling in later this week,” Buzzard said.
“Oh, I hope it doesn’t ruin our Halloween carnival and parade. The kids look forward to that,” she said, walking off.
“On that note, we’ve got some free time, and we heard something about Twist needing someone to pick up his storm chasing vehicle,” Snipe said.
“Heard or snooped on my phone? Since I’ve come here, I’ve only texted with someone about Storm Sweeper,” Twist said. He’d known they’d probably gone through his phone while they had it. If it was him, it’s what he would have done.
“Tomato, to-mah-to. Does it really matter how we found out? We’d be happy to help you get it here,” Snipe said, with a cheesy grin. Twist shuddered because Snipe trying to appear harmless was like a black widow being a cuddler.
“I appreciate the offer, but some friends from Bluff Creek’s Original Chapter are in Kansas City and have offered to bring it. I haven’t texted them back a reply, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they were already on their way,” Twist said.
“What kind of friends?” Buzzard asked.
Twist smirked at his tone. These men were very protective of Raven. “The kind that their men are the President and the Medic of the MC, and they both run Franks and Daughters Bail Bonds with their other sisters.”
The men nodded. Twist could only wonder what would happen if the women of Honey Creek Badgers MC and the Franks sisters teamed up on the quests Raven and her family participated in.
Chapter Ten
Raven was ready to grab a bat and beat up the men of the MC. Twist was a man she was attracted to, and so far, in the hours since he’d been released from Time Out, every freaking man had interrupted their time getting to know each other.
They’d moved from the diner to the bar. Axel had been sitting with them for the last forty-five minutes discussing storm chasing with Twist. It’s not that she didn’t find it interesting, but she wanted to spend time with Twist alone. He’d started to tell her about his family until Axel had butted in.
At this rate, she was going to be lucky if she ever got him alone again. And she wanted him alone again. When he’d asked for a kiss after being let out of the Time Out room, she was more than ready to comply. She’d been wondering what his lips felt like. His hair had come loose from the man bun he’d worn when he walked into the bar. It hung around his shoulders, making him look sexy, like he’d just rolled over in bed.
