Shade didn’t know how to answer; it was something Razer and Beth would have had to deal with sooner or later.
Seeing the hurt in her eyes, Shade told the woman, “I’d say she’s more pissed at Razer right now. Does it really matter, though? I thought I told you to keep becoming a member on the down-low after Viper left this morning?”
“You did,” Natasha said miserably. “But she saw the bandage covering my tattoo.”
Shade’s face hardened. “Go downstairs to my room. I’ll be down in a minute,” he ordered the shivering woman, seeing more desire than fear in her face.
Natasha took off running toward the kitchen.
“You really going to punish her for an accident?” Evie asked.
“No, but I plan on taking her mind off whether or not Beth is mad at her.”
The door opened, and the amused group watched as Razer packed Beth upstairs. A minute later, his bedroom door slammed shut.
“I accidently bumped Natasha. That’s how Beth saw the tattoo,” Ember confessed with a grin.
Shade’s cold blue gaze went to Ember. “Then I guess you get to share her punishment.”
* * *
Shade felt like shit warmed over when he walked through the back door into the kitchen after cleaning the remains of the party from the backyard. He had been up all night fucking. He’d pulled clean up duty as punishment for not telling Razer about Beth’s brakes.
Determined nothing was going to stop him from going to sleep, he paused when he found Beth and Razer in the kitchen. Deciding to let his rolling stomach settle down before going to bed, he sat down next to Razer and swiped the coffee he had been about to drink.
“Hey, Shade, where were you last night?” Beth asked.
Shade paused, wincing when Beth laughed at his reaction.
“Yeah, Shade, where were you last night?” Razer joked as Beth set down a new cup of coffee in front of him.
Shade wanted to punch Razer in the face for aggravating him. “I was visiting a sick friend,” he said with a straight face.
“That was kind of you. Do they need any help? I could go down before we go for a ride,” Beth offered.
“No, thanks,” Shade managed to get out.
The innocent woman would run screaming from the house if she saw the sick friend of his still tied to his bed downstairs. He planned to untie her and send her away before going to sleep.
“Are you all right? You sound as if you’re coming down with something. Is your friend contagious?”
“No. If I need any help, I’ll ask Evie. They know each other very well.”
“You do that. Evie will stay on top of the situation.”
“Yes, she will,” Razer heartily agreed.
Shade’s shoulders slumped. He wanted to pound Razer into the ground because he liked to brag that Evie’s favorite position when she fucked him was being on top.
“Why are you both up so early?” Shade questioned while wanting his sunglasses to dim Beth’s blinding smile.
“Razer is taking me for a ride this morning.”
Shade stared down at the plate of food Beth set in front of him.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
Shade almost lost the contents of his stomach at the sight. He started to slide the food away yet stopped when he saw her disappointed expression. Instead, he picked up the fork, gingerly taking a bite.
Seeing Razer in his riding clothes, he had been curious as to where they were going, but by that point he was wishing his boots had kept on walking.
“Where to?”
“If it’s okay with Razer, I thought we could ride to see my sister.”
“Cool with me,” Razer said as Shade almost vomited up the bite he had taken. Razer saved him the humiliation when he slid the plate toward him and began eating Shade’s food.
“Mind if I ride along?” Shade asked, trying to keep the small bite of egg he had forced down to stay in his heaving stomach.
“I don’t mind, but…” Beth frowned, trailing off.
“What?” Shade asked.
“Don’t be surprised if my sister is a little nervous around you.”
Shade’s lips tightened. Had Lily told Beth she didn’t like him after he had carried her into the house?
“Any reason why?” Shade probed, his stomach twisting tight.
Beth’s face went blank. “Probably the whole biker aura.”
He relaxed. His appearance intimidated a lot of people; as a result, it wouldn’t surprise him if a girl as young and innocent as Lily was frightened of him merely from seeing his tattoos.
“Finish eating, Beth, so we can get on the road. Lily will be fine. She needs to get used to the biker aura. The sooner, the better.”
Amen to that, Shade thought to himself.
Shade finished his coffee then got up. “I’ll meet you at the bikes. I need to get my sunglasses from my room.”
Razer gave him a mocking look as he went downstairs to get his sunglasses and untie Bliss who pouted at him when he did and tried to tug him down to her.
Shade pried her hands loose. “Let go. I’m going for a ride with Razer.”
“Can I go?”
Shade picked up his sunglasses and wallet from his nightstand. “No.”
He left without giving her any further explanation. All the women knew their place with him—it was in his bed, not out of it.
Once outside, Shade climbed on his bike and started the motor. He was bat-shit crazy to be going out as tired as he was, but the opportunity to see Lily up close was too good to pass up.
Within a few miles, the sleep fog disappeared with the wind hitting him in his face.
As soon as they rode past the city limits, Shade heard Razer’s yell. “Wide fucking open, brother.”
Shade increased his speed, riding beside Razer’s bike on the narrow, two-lane road. A little ways later, Razer motioned down at his tank as they neared a gas station.
Shade got off his bike to pump the gas.
“I need to go to the restroom,” he heard Beth say; however, Shade wasn’t taking his eyes off the bikers pulling into the station as they parked to the side of the building, wearing their colors.
“Fuck,” Razer grunted when the women got off the bikes and followed Beth into the store.
“Be prepared,” Shade warned as the over-bloated bikers managed to get off their bikes and then came toward them.
“This is the Destructors’ territory. Why are you wearing your colors through our town?” one dumbass said who Shade thought actually believed he was Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.
“We’re just passing through. We’re not looking for a challenge.” Razer tried to prevent the fight he could see brewing. Shade could have told him it was a wasted effort, though.
“Then take off your colors until you’re out of our territory.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Shade said, taking the nozzle out of his gas tank.
“It is, mother fucker, or we’ll take them. It’s your choice.”
“The choice is yours. Go back to your bikes and wait for your bitches, or I’ll shove my boot up your ass,” Shade warned.
“Fuck you.”
Three of the five men took him on while two went for Razer. Shade wondered why the larger numbers always went for him when Razer was the bigger of the two of them.
Cars in the lot started peeling out when they saw the fight break out. Shade felt his lip sting as one of the bikers managed to slam a fist into his face while he was taking down the fat-ass Dwayne.
Pinning the dumbass down with his boot on his throat, Shade swung his fist at another one, knocking him back long enough to grab the third one by his neck, twisting him until his back was to Shade’s front. He wrapped his arm around the biker’s throat then twisted his neck until he cried out in fear.
“Tell them to back off, or I’ll break his fucking neck.”
“Ace?” the one he was holding whined down at the one he had pinned to the dirty con
crete.
Shade lifted his foot just enough to let him gasp out the order. “Back off!”
The bikers all pulled back except the two Shade had in control.
“Razer?” Shade didn’t take his eyes away from them as Razer moved to where he could see them.