Outcasts MC (Complete Series), page 10
Either way, I wasn’t one to shy away from confrontation. And I was determined to get my hands on that necklace. I walked up to the two men, knowing they were sizing me up as I approached. “You two looking for Olivia?” I asked.
The guy on the left narrowed his eyes at me. The guy on the right took a step forward. “Who the hell are you?” he asked, as though I had no right to be there. If only he knew. Molly had brought me to this apartment. She had trusted me with this. These fuckers were the interlopers.
I raised a cool eyebrow at him. “Who the hell are you?” I asked. “Probably the same thugs who tore up the apartment, aren’t you?” I let that hover, the realization that while they’d had their backs turned, I’d gone into the apartment. Their club had probably charged both of them with watching the area, making sure they caught Molly when she came back. But she had been back the previous day, and neither of them had been there.
Probably off drinking, bored of doing the surveillance duty. I couldn’t blame them for that; surveillance was boring work. But that didn’t make it okay to turn your back on your duty, just because you were bored. Idiots. They wouldn’t have lasted a day with our MC.
But then again, they probably didn’t realize that, not yet. Stakeouts usually fell to the lowest-ranking members of a club. The new guys. No one else wanted to do that job, after all. But once it became clear that these guys couldn’t hack it, the club would look toward someone else.
Still, they tried to act like they had a right to be there. “Who the hell are we? That’s none of your business,” one of the guys snarled.
But the other guy couldn’t resist telling me what he knew about Molly. “That bitch owes us a lot more than that necklace we found,” he added, a sneer on his face.
I could tell exactly what they thought about Molly in that moment: that she was poor, that she was hopeless, that she was worthless. It was the same thing I had seen in Molly’s face, in reverse, when we had come to the apartment the previous day. A sense of acute sadness, a sense that she was never going to amount to much. And that pissed me off.
The guy pulled out the necklace, dangling it in front of me. “Look at this cheap piece of shit,” he said. “Probably not even worth anything. Just some tacky costume piece.”
I barely glanced at the necklace, intent on the two men. It didn’t matter to me if the necklace didn’t have any resale value. The important thing to me was that it had value to Molly and that it was here, right in front of me.
I launched myself at the guy with the necklace, catching him by surprise. He reeled to the right to avoid the punch I aimed at his head, knocking into the other guy and sending them both stumbling for a moment. It had been a while since I was in a good two-on-one fight, but I had the height advantage, and I could tell that these guys didn’t really know what they were doing. They relied on the fact that they were usually bigger than their opponents, fighting without any finesse.
That wasn’t going to work against me.
I kicked the one guy’s feet out from under him, and while he was on the ground, I got a vicious punch to the other guy’s face, sending him sprawling backward. By then, the first guy I had knocked over was back on his feet. I ducked his punch, giving him a slight nudge to redirect him so that his punch actually hit his companion.
It was just too easy, really.
It wasn’t long before I had both of them down on the ground, blood gushing from one guy’s nose and the other’s eye already purpling. I flexed my knuckles. They had gotten a couple of hits in on me, but nothing too serious. I reached up and touched my sore jaw. A little blood, but mostly a superficial cut. Nothing to be worried about.
I scoured the ground for the necklace, finally finding it in the grass sprouting between two slabs of the concrete. I inspected it as I picked it up, hoping beyond hope that nothing had happened to it during the fight. But there wasn’t even a scratch on it.
Satisfied, I spat on the ground near the guys’ feet and then went back to my truck, peeling out of there as quickly as I had come. Not that I thought I had anything to worry about. These guys were the picture of city complacency. They had owned their territory here in Boston for so long that they never really expected to fight for it anymore.
And what’s more, they didn’t want to fight with someone like me. They picked off the smaller fish, because there was less risk there. They weren’t going to bother me again.
I smiled to myself as I arrived back at the hotel. No, this was the last that I was going to see of those idiots. Still, I wanted to get out of Boston as soon as possible. Just in case. I was already going to be in enough hot water with Dad; I didn’t need him to hear about this as well. I touched my jaw again, already coming up with some kind of story I could tell him about it. Maybe an attempted mugging on an early-morning jog? He’d probably believe that. If he asked about it at all. It wasn’t like he was the usual caring father.
None of that could sour my mood now, though. I could already imagine Molly’s face when she saw that I had managed to get her necklace back. I knew I had done the right thing.
18
Olivia
It wasn’t really surprising that I slept so well on Friday night. I had slept poorly the night before, and the good round of fucking had pretty much taken it out of me. Plus, there was something about being there in Dax’s arms, feeling safe and cared for. It was like this whole nightmare melted away.
But my good dreams were interrupted by Dax’s hand on my shoulder Saturday morning, shaking me awake. “Time to get moving,” he said.
I blinked at the window, frowning as I noticed that it was barely light outside. “Why so early?” I groaned, pulling the covers up around my chin. I reached for his hand, trying to tug him back to bed. “Why are you dressed already?”
“We really need to get going,” Dax said. “We should be back in Greenboro already.”
I could tell there was no swaying him. He wanted me up and moving now. I forced myself to sit up, pouting a little. “Can we at least stop for breakfast before we go? There’s a diner here that does the best blueberry pancakes in the world.”
Dax shook his head. “We don’t have time,” he insisted. He paused. “I have to get back. Something with Kane.”
I sighed but got out of bed. I supposed I couldn’t argue with that. I was already interrupting his life in so many ways. If there was something in Greenboro that he really needed to do, I couldn’t keep him away. I got dressed and, yawning, followed him out of the hotel.
A rush of sadness hit me as I watched the city skyline disappear in the sideview mirrors. “I really can’t ever come back to Boston?” I couldn’t help asking.
Dax glanced over at me, sighing. “It’s better to stay away. At least for now.”
I swallowed but nodded. Where I originally had been planning all sorts of escapes, ways of getting away from him and from Greenboro, I was starting to understand that this was what was best for me right now. I needed this. That, of course, didn’t make it feel any better, but I had to do this.
“Why was your mother so important to you?” Dax asked suddenly. I gave him a questioning look and he continued. “Just, that necklace that you wanted to get was hers, right? But you said you understand when I say that my relationship with my family is complicated.” He grimaced. “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t pry. I was just curious.”
I shook my head. “She was my whole world, for better or worse. And she worked so hard to support us. We might still have been dirt-poor, and there might have been a strain on our relationship, but she was always there for me. She never turned her back on me, not until the day she died.” I paused. “And she was caring in her own way, I guess. She never forgot my birthday. I didn’t always get presents, but she made sure to tell me happy birthday. She wasn’t a terrible mother; it was just a bad situation.”
I was quiet for a long moment, thinking about that. Thinking about a potential future I had never allowed myself to dream about. I cleared my throat. “If I ever have kids, I’d hope that I could be as dedicated to them as my mother was to me.”
Dax raised an eyebrow at me, and I knew he hadn’t forgotten about yesterday’s conversation about having children. But he didn’t press. Still, there was more I wanted to say. I looked back into the sideview mirror, watching the traffic behind us, watching the last of the city slip away as we headed on toward Greenboro. A new chapter in my life.
Maybe I could leave behind all of that. Have a better life for myself out here. The cost of living had to be cheaper, and maybe I could still find some sort of work. It had been easy enough for Becca to slip into the role of secretary. I was prepared to work hard, and I wasn’t opposed to learning new skills. I just needed someone to give me a chance.
I just needed someone who could see past everything I had always been. Somehow, Dax seemed to be able to do that. And if he could do that, what was stopping anyone else? Maybe I’d just been in Boston for so long that I had given up hope on ever changing my situation. Maybe it was a self-fulfilling prophecy, in the end.
“I want a better life,” I said quietly. “Maybe Boston was the thing that was holding me back.”
Dax reached over and caught my hand, tangling his fingers in mine. “Things are going to get better,” he said, the words a promise. But this time, it wasn’t a promise I felt he was doomed to break. Maybe things really could get better. It was going to take work, but it would all be worth it in the end.
I wanted to talk more about it, the specifics. Would I continue to live with Dax? Where was I going to work? Could Dax help me out with finding something just to get me back on my feet? I held off asking all those questions. I was trying not to think about it. Trying not to worry.
Maybe that was selfish. I knew I couldn’t just let Dax carry me along for the rest of my life. I had always been independent, and there was still part of me that cringed at the thought of relying solely on him. No, I couldn’t do that, even if he would let me, which I still wasn’t sure of. I had no idea where we stood.
But right now, it was nice to be like this. Comfortably together, not worried about what was going to happen in the future. As long as we weren’t talking about it, then maybe things could continue as they were. It was working for us after all. Wasn’t it?
I glanced over at Dax, and he smiled, his thumb stroking over my knuckles. It sure seemed to be working for him anyway. Maybe I could let myself relax a little. Maybe I could let myself have this. I had gotten so used to never having anything handed to me that maybe I just needed to let something be handed to me for once, without getting too suspicious about it.
So I didn’t risk talking about the future, not yet. I just enjoyed the drive away from Boston. A week ago, I had been itching to go back home, to go back to the life I’d always known. But now, I was starting to accept that maybe there was something better for me in tiny, quiet Greenboro. If I just let myself believe.
We got back to Dax’s house and had barely kicked our shoes off before the front door swung open. “There you are,” the newcomer said.
I could immediately tell that this was Kane. I could see the brotherly resemblance between him and Dax, the familiarity between them. I remembered what Dax had said before, about how things were complicated between them. I wondered how that was, what those complications were. But I hadn’t asked; I hadn’t wanted to pry.
If I was going to stay here in Greenboro, though, and if Dax and I were going to explore this thing between us, whatever it was (because I hesitated to call it a relationship already), then I was going to need to meet Kane at some point. Besides, maybe learning more about Kane would give me some clues about Dax. About what was there beneath that steely exterior of his.
Already, I could tell that Kane was a lot more open than Dax was. A lot less reserved. He gave Dax a hug, clapping him on the back, and then turned to me, his eyebrows raised. “And you must be Olivia?”
“Molly, actually,” I corrected, holding out my hand to him.
Kane shook my hand, and I could see him assessing me. I wondered what he thought. If I was good enough for Dax.
I wondered why I was worrying about that.
I cleared my throat. “Why don’t we all get lunch?” I suggested, looking over at Dax. That would be the perfect way for me to get to know Kane a little better. And also to see the way he and Dax interacted.
Dax frowned immediately at that suggestion. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea,” he said.
“Well, I think it’s a great idea,” Kane said, smiling at me. He glanced at Dax. “And if you don’t want to come with, then I’m just going to take this babe of yours with me. Alone.” He winked at me, and it was all I could do to sputter out a laugh.
Dax grumbled but followed us out the door.
19
Dax
I really wasn’t on board with the idea of getting lunch with both Kane and Molly. Kane had messaged me that morning when I was on my way back to the hotel after dealing with the Vipers. No details, just where the hell u at, man?
I’d immediately been worried, wondering if something had happened to Kane while I’d been preoccupied there in Boston with Molly. It hadn’t been that long since he had killed the member of the Savages, and yet I hadn’t really followed up on any of that. Not that the Savages had made any moves either; I would at least have heard about that. But I still felt like I had dropped the ball there.
It was why I wanted to get back as soon as possible with Molly. That and the fact that I still wanted to minimize the amount of anger I had to face from Dad. Show him that I was doing my best to get back to Greenboro as soon as possible, that sort of thing. I didn’t think the Vipers were going to come after us, but I supposed it was good to get out of town sooner rather than later. I didn’t want to find out what they might do if I was wrong.
I’d responded to Kane, telling him I would be there as soon as I could from Boston, and then I had messaged him from the road to let him know that we were close, but he didn’t share any more details.
So I was worried that at lunch with Molly, he might tell her about the guy he had killed. The guy I had helped hide after his death. I didn’t like the idea of that.
I knew Molly wasn’t naïve. She knew I wasn’t one of the good guys. She knew I was a member of the Outcasts, and having seen firsthand what a gang could do to her life, she had to know something of what that meant. It didn’t just mean scaring money out of the local businesses. There was a darker side to it as well.
But I didn’t want Molly to associate me with murder. I didn’t want her to be worried that staying with me was going to bring yet another vicious motorcycle club down on her head. Whatever happened with Kane, or with me, I wasn’t going to let the Savages go after Molly. She wasn’t part of the game.
But even more than that, I didn’t want her to be afraid of me. I didn’t want to look into those clear blue eyes of hers and see a hesitation there that was born of fear, because she knew that I could kill her too, because she thought I wouldn’t think twice about it.
It wasn’t that I had never killed a man before. But I just wanted to protect Molly from all of that. I wanted her to think that the worst I ever did was rough up other gang members when they were doing wrong.
I didn’t want us to go to lunch together with Kane. But I guess I didn’t have a choice in the matter.
It turned out, that shouldn’t have been the only thing I was worried about.
“So you fell madly in love with my brother here the first time you laid eyes on him?” Kane asked Molly conspiratorially as we waited for our lunch orders to be brought to the table.
Molly sputtered and looked over at me, her eyes wide. For my part, I was glaring daggers at my brother, imagining a dozen ways to decapitate him and trying to think of a delicate way to remind him that he was in my debt.
Kane snorted. “Come on, don’t act coy,” he chided. “It’s pretty obvious that the two of you are banging.” He winked at Molly. “And to be honest, I approve. Dax has needed a good woman in his life for a long time.”
“Oh, fuck off,” I snapped, attempting to use exasperation to cover up my embarrassment. God, what must Molly be thinking? It wasn’t even like she and I were dating or anything. There was no reason for her to be meeting my brother already. This was so awkward.
But Molly just laughed and shrugged. “Honestly, I think I need him more than he needs me. But I’m glad that you approve.” Her eyes twinkled, and I just shook my head.
“Enough of that,” I growled.
“Speaking of club business,” Kane said, narrowing his eyes at me. “Xander called me.”
I blinked in surprise. “Called you or called you as he tried to get in touch with me?” I asked, automatically looking at my phone. But I wasn’t missing any calls from anyone, nor did I have any new texts from Xander. But although Kane sometimes came out with me when I met up with some of the guys from the club, he and Xander were far from the kinds of friends who just called one another to chat.
“Apparently he heard through some of his contacts that the Savages are trying to get their hands on the surveillance tape. You know, from the other day.” He glanced over at Molly, but then he looked quickly back at me, giving me a small shrug. I could tell that he wasn’t about to blurt out what he had done, or what I had done. He was at least that smart. But I knew that Molly would be wondering now. He had put me in a position where I felt like I had to lie to her.
And I hated that. But what was I supposed to do?
“I’ll take care of it,” I promised Kane, already wondering why the hell Xander hadn’t called me as soon as he’d heard that. What did he expect Kane to do about it? Kane had never had to clean up one of his messes in his life. He had never even tried to. Surely Xander didn’t think that was going to change anytime soon.
