Prologue
Cash raised his beer to his lips while pulling the woman next to him closer, notching his cock against her ass. Her indrawn breath had him hardening behind the zipper of his jeans.
“Let’s go back to my place, Cash.”
A frustrated groan rumbled from his chest. “Give me a minute. I need to take care of a piece of business first. Then we can leave,” he promised.
Reva leaned her head back against his chest. “All right, but hurry.”
“I will,” he assured the woman who had come into the bar to pick someone to scratch the itch she was obviously wanting taken care of.
Moving away from her luscious ass, he walked from the counter, going to the back of the bar. Pulling out a chair, he took a seat at the table.
“Sorry to interrupt your fun.”
“You didn’t. I just put it on hold for a few minutes,” Cash stated, looking across the table at Stud, the president of the Destructors. “What did you need to talk to me about?”
Stud didn’t waste time getting to the point of the meeting. “Three weeks ago, we noticed a new biker club taking up residence in Jamestown. I left several of my men in charge of the Destructors and everything’s been cool, except a couple of small confrontations have taken place between the two clubs. Since I’m the president of the Destructors, I’m thinking they’re about to challenge me for power of Jamestown. We both know that shithole of a town isn’t worth fighting for unless you’re running drugs; it’s the only back road route to Tennessee and Virginia from Kentucky.”
Cash listened, taking another drink of his beer.
“We don’t run drugs, so I’m not interested, but what does piss me off is they think they can just push me out of the way.”
Cash didn’t think anyone was stupid enough to believe they could push Stud.
“What do you need me to do?”
“For now, can you find out what you can about them and what the fuck they are up to? I’ll decide what to do after I have the information I need. Sex Piston will kick my ass if another club takes over her town, and those crazy friends of hers might try to become involved.”
There is no might about it, Cash thought.
“I’ll check into them in the morning then get back to you as soon as I have something. Any names?”
“Not many, no. One that keeps coming up is Scorpion; another is Vaughn.”
“That should be enough to start with. Anything else?”
“That’s it. Tell Viper I appreciate his help.” Viper, the president of The Last Riders, had developed a tentative friendship with Stud. It was one in which each benefited when help was needed.
“Will do.” Cash stood to his feet, his mind returning to the woman he had left alone at the bar.
“Seems like someone already moved in on your action.”
Cash glanced back at the bar as Reva stood, flirting with Tate Porter.
“Yes, it does. Too bad for him I’m taking her back.”
“Good luck.” Stud’s amusement was apparent as he observed Cash’s tight-lipped reaction. Cash didn’t turn his attention from Reva as Stud left the bar; instead, he swallowed down his anger, determined not to let Tate Porter ruin his night.
Walking back to the bar, he came to stand behind Reva. “Ready to go?”
The provocative brunette looked over her shoulder at him.
Fuck. That wasn’t the first time Cash had seen the same expression on a woman’s face; she wanted to pit the two men against each other. Cash had been in this position too many times to become involved in a fight over a woman.
Cutting his loss, he was about to turn away when Tate’s voice had him pausing.
“Smart move, Cash. Run while you have the chance,” Tate goaded.
“I’m not running; I just don’t feel like whipping your ass over a cunt I can have next week.”
Reva’s angry gasp was ignored as Tate straightened from the bar.
“You couldn’t whip my ass with six of those pussies you ride with helping you.”
Cash’s anger rose, his desire to avoid a fight slipping away. “The problem with you and your brothers, Tate, is you brag more than you can actually accomplish with that small dick of yours.”
As Tate turned red at Cash’s comment, Cash grinned, waiting for the fist to come his way. Surprisingly, Tate only grinned back.
“At least it’ll be my dick in her tonight,” he said, pulling Reva against him.
Cash gritted his teeth, moving away from the bar. His one consolation was Reva didn’t look happy at his withdrawal.
Going outside the bar, he saw Greer sitting on the tailgate of his truck with one of the local women. Cash caught a brief glance at her as he drew nearer. Damn, tonight just wasn’t going to be his night.
His slight hope of passing by unnoticed died quickly when the woman turned her head and saw him, a loud squeal passing her lips. “Cash!”
She jumped off the tailgate, throwing herself into his arms, which he kept to his sides. She wound her arms around his neck, her breath strong with the odor of alcohol and whatever she had eaten for dinner, repulsing him. He jerked his head back as far as he could, trying to unsuccessfully move away from her tight grasp.
“Why didn’t you call? If I’d have known you were going to be here, I would have met you.”
“I was meeting a friend, Diane.”
Greer’s face was reddening with fury. All of the Porter brothers were hotheads, but Greer’s temper was the worst.
Cash tried again to break Diane’s hold.
“Let’s go inside and get a drink.”
“I was leaving,” Cash refused her invitation.
She pouted, attempting to pull his head down to hers.
“What the fuck, Diane? You came here with me.” When Greer stood up, pulling her away from him, Cash was actually grateful to the asshole for the first time in his life.
“Come on, Greer; loosen up. We could all three have a good time,” Diane said suggestively, looking back and forth between the two men.
“That’s not going to happen,” Greer snapped.
No, it isn’t, Cash thought while attempting to leave. He was two steps away from his bike, ready to head home to the club. He was going to be a better man and remember the Porter brothers were the ones who had saved Lily’s life; the club owed them a favor. However, Greer had to open his mouth.
“Don’t be mad, Greer. I was only joking,” Diane quickly tried to pacify the man’s anger. Cash could h
ave told her it would be a wasted effort.
“If you want to be one of his sluts, why don’t you go join the rest of those whores waiting for him? Better yet, why not wait till Friday? I hear they’ll all fuck you,” Greer snarled, jerking his arm away from Diane’s conciliatory touch.
Cash turned on the heels of his boots. “What the fuck did you say?”
“Which part did you miss? The part where I called anyone who fucked you a slut or those women back at your club whores?”
Cash angrily paced back to face him. “Your mouth is shooting out shit that’s going to get you hurt if you don’t shut up, Greer. The only reason I’m not already beating the shit out of you is because you’re drunk as hell, and we owe you for saving Lily.”
“Because you pussies can’t do anything but fuck,” Greer retorted harshly.
“Jealous, Greer? All you and your brothers get are our leftovers.” Cash was fed-up with the Porter brothers thinking they could mouth off without repercussions.
“I’m not jealous of you, Cash.” Greer laughed mockingly. “There’s not a whore of yours I would want.”
“No?”
“Fuck no!”
“Cool, then let’s go, Diane.” Cash took Diane’s arm, leading her toward his bike. He was expecting what would happen next.
When Greer pushed him away from Diane with a hard shove against his shoulder, Cash pivoted on his heel, his fist smashing against Greer’s cheekbone. Satisfied that Greer would have a black eye staring back at him in the mirror for the next week, he dodged the fist coming back his way.
Cash dropped Diane’s arm, stepping away from her so she wouldn’t get hurt, before slamming into Greer and taking him down to the ground. He was so intent on beating some manners into Greer he didn’t hear anyone coming out of the bar. The foot that kicked into his ribs, driving the air out of his lungs, had him falling to the side.
Greer took instant advantage and began striking at his body before Cash could stop him. Cash felt the iron taste of blood in his mouth as his lip split. Trying to throw Greer’s weight off, he then felt a searing pain in his side; the motherfucker had broken his rib. Forcing himself to ignore the excruciating pain, he hit Greer back as best he could. He brought his hand to his pocket right before it was smashed down under a booted heel.
“This is a fair fight, Cash. Those brass knuckles of yours are going to stay in your pocket.”
“You think you butting into our fight is fair?” Cash gasped, bringing his legs up to throw Greer off.
“I call it leveling the playing field,” Tate said without remorse.
“Stop it, Tate.” Reva’s and Diane’s screams were drawing the rest of the customers out of Rosie’s bar.
Cash managed to strike Greer several times before Mick, the owner of the bar, pulled the two men apart.
“Stop! You three need to go on home.” Mick stood between the men, his hand on Greer’s chest, keeping him in place.
“That sounds like a good idea. Let’s go, Diane.” Greer gave him a triumphant look as he helped the woman who had started the fight into his truck. Diane sent him an apologetic glance before sliding in.
“Reva?” Tate asked, holding the door open. With a regretful glance, she slid into the truck, as well. The brothers then gloated as they pulled out of the parking lot by honking their horn.
“Ignore them, Cash. They’re both drunk off their asses.” Cash gave Mick a skeptical look while holding his ribs, watching as the truck sped off into the night.
The Porter brothers had pissed him off for the last time.
“Come on. I’ll buy you a beer and wrap up those ribs for you,” Mick offered.
Cash followed him back inside.
The Porter brothers would go home and get laid and forget tonight had ever happened, but Cash was determined to repay them for the insults thrown his way. He never looked for trouble; however, if the opportunity ever presented itself to him, he sure as fuck wouldn’t walk away.
Chapter 1
Rachel dug down into the rich soil, her small hand trowel helping her to remove the Ginseng root she had been cultivating. A smile passed her lips when she saw the size of the root; this one would make her some money.
She never fussed at her brothers for their lucrative business of selling pot, but she made more from her medicinal herbs than they did. If the jackasses would listen to reason, she would be able to triple her revenue with their help.
It wasn’t going to happen, though; they refused to listen. Rachel thought they enjoyed the danger and excitement they experienced, growing and selling the illegal crop.
Pushing aside those thoughts, Rachel put the root into the canvas bag she had brought with her then began to delicately dig for another one. The sun was just beginning to rise. She always came out first thing in the morning, after she’d drunk her cup of tea and before the day began to get hot with the summer heat. She had two appointments this morning, and then she was going to volunteer at the church store for a few hours this afternoon.
A sound from behind her had her turning and reaching down for the rifle she kept by her side. Carefully rising to her feet, she pointed the weapon at the man staring nonchalantly back at her.
“What are you doing out here, Cash?”
“Hunting.” His terse explanation had her temper rising.
“You’re trespassing. You’re lucky it’s not one of my brothers you walked up on.”
“It must be my lucky day.”
Cash and her brothers had been having a feud since Cash and Tate had attended high school together. The two men had often found each other in a conflict over a woman. Tate’s grudge had begun when Cash had stolen not one but two of his girlfriends.
“If you’re hunting, then where’s your gun?” Rachel asked suspiciously.
“Never said I was hunting game.” His smile quirked to the side as a feminine giggle sounded from the nearby woods.
Rachel rolled her eyes, lowering her rifle. “Play your games on your own property, Cash.”
About a half mile up the mountain was a lookout point that was the local Lover’s Lane. It wasn’t the first time a couple had moved their games to the nearby woods.
“I’ll keep that in mind.” In other words, he would keep doing what he wanted to do, regardless that he was trespassing.
“Cash!” an impatient voice called.
“Don’t keep the lady waiting,” Rachel mocked. Ignoring him, she kneeled back down and started delicately digging again.
“You shouldn’t be out here by yourself.”
Rachel kept digging. She had learned a long time ago it was better for her equilibrium if she didn’t stare at him for long periods of time. His dark-blond hair was slightly curly and always ruffled, as if women were constantly running their hands through it, which they probably were. His shoulders were broad, tapering down to a muscular chest. Lean-hipped, his jeans constantly rode low, drawing attention to the considerable bulge that was hard to miss.
She turned back to him, seeing Cash had crossed his arms over his chest. Rachel swallowed hard at his bulging biceps. He was one of the most sexually charismatic men she knew and totally off-limits because of her brothers’ hatred for him.
“I’m not.” As Rachel blew a faint whistle, a dog lying half-asleep, perched on one of the large rocks, got to his feet, ambling down the mountainside and coming to plop down next to her.
“I can see he’s ferocious.” Rachel ignored the amusement in his voice, reaching over to scratch Samson’s belly.
“Samson and my rifle are the only protection I need.” Rachel returned to her digging.
“Samson.” When Cash took a step forward, a low growl came from her side.
“I wouldn’t come any closer. He doesn’t like it when anyone gets near me.”
“I can see that,” Cash replied, taking a step back. Rachel was glad her back was to him so he couldn’t see her smile.
“Cash!” The feminine voice was coming nearer.
Rachel c
arefully placed another Ginseng root into her canvas bag, brushing a tendril of hair from her cheek. She then carefully replaced the dirt that had been covering the root, smoothing it out before placing small twigs and leaves on top.
“I better go; I don’t want to keep the lady waiting. See you around.”
Not if she could help it, although she wasn’t sure whether she’d imagined the note of promise in his voice or not.
Rachel didn’t bother to reply as he strolled into the woods, seemingly in no hurry. She wondered if it was one of the town’s women or one of the club’s that was waiting to be found. Deciding it was none of her business, she gathered her things to start her hike back up the side of the mountain with Samson following close on her heels.
It took twenty minutes before she reached the cabin she and her brothers shared. Rachel had threatened to move out on numerous occasions, but each time, one of them always managed to talk her into staying.
After her youngest brother had found out he was a father and had moved his young son and surrogate mother into the cabin, it had created an even-tighter fit. Their home was bursting at the seams; however, their solution was to build onto it instead of relinquishing control of their baby sister.
She was twenty-three now and determined to set her foot down in the near future. She was only staying now because Holly still felt uncomfortable being left with the men alone. Her brothers were building her a small cabin next door to theirs, and once it was completed, Rachel planned to move into town, despite her brothers’ protests.
Leaving the Ginseng roots outside in the barn, she went into the cabin to get breakfast started. As she started the coffee, her mind went back to Cash.
He had grown up in Treepoint, attending high school with her older brother. The enmity between them had started then. When Cash had left the area after graduating, many had thought he had been killed by someone’s jealous boyfriend or lover. However, he had returned years later amongst The Last Riders motorcycle club.
The group stayed to themselves at their clubhouse on the edge of the state line. This didn’t stop the women in town from chasing the bikers, many of whom had been taken up on their offers. Four women had even found their husbands among the dangerous men, while others envied them their happiness.