Chapter One
Belle Travis turned the page of her latest romance novel and reached for her first coffee of the day. The fictional bedroom action was getting started and she was eager to find out how the duke performed between the sheets. So far, he’d given the impression of being a real kinky dude.
“Hey! You. We’re going out.”
“What?” She frowned at her brother, Rigor, angry not just that he’d dragged her from the imaginary stately home she’d been visiting, but also the tone of his voice. “It’s early, you know.”
“Come on.”
“No, I’m in bed reading.” Her scowl deepened. “You can see that.”
“We need you. Get up and get your ass out here.”
She slammed down her book. “You can’t speak to me like that or order me around.”
“I damn well can and you know it.” He shoved his handgun into the waistband of his leathers and scooped up his keys. “Get moving.”
“Pa told you to look after me, not treat me like a damn slave.”
“I am looking after you.” He gestured at the messy room. “Got a roof over your head, don’t you?”
“Leaky fucking roof,” she muttered, standing.
“It don’t rain here. So what’s it matter?”
She huffed. “Where we goin’?”
“California, got some business with Hudson.”
“What!” California was hours away. “I have plans here today.”
“No, you don’t.”
“I do.”
“Cancel them. You’re coming with.” He grabbed her helmet and threw it in her direction. “We need you.”
Catching it, she clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth. She knew why they needed her, and it wasn’t because she was a sharp shooter or a shit-hot mechanic. It was because she was fluent in Spanish. There was obviously some meeting going down with a Mexican club and the Devil’s Barbarians needed a trustworthy translator, or rather, a trusty eavesdropper.
And Belle was their gal.
So, she had no choice.
She gulped down her coffee then quickly dressed. She shoved her book into a battered backpack. After adding toiletries and makeup, a few items of clothing, fresh underwear, and her passport in case they took a trip over the border, she wandered into the compound’s main yard, her red heels clicking on the hot concrete.
The heat of the Arizona sun, even in the morning, weighed heavily on her shoulders, and she dropped her shades. At least there would be a sea breeze in Cali, one thing to be thankful for.
“Hey, Belle.”
Turning at the sound of her name, she spotted her cousin, Marie. “Hey, chick.”
“Don’t you be spreading your legs for surfers.” Marie cackled.
“As if.” Belle rolled her eyes and batted a fly from her face. Truth was she’d been single for a while now. Her breakup with Billy had been a long, drawn-out, painful affair, and her heart was still bruised. That was why she was sticking with guys in books for the time being.
The Phoenix chapter of the Devil’s Barbarians kept their bikes undercover for the shade, not because of rain. With the engines now coming to life, it was as if a dragon with a sore head had awoken. The roar blasted around the compound, echoing off the walls of the workshop, through the single-story homes, and over the high, metal fences. With it, a plume of exhaust fumes wafted into the sky, hazing over the orb of the sun.
“Don’t look so fucking miserable.” Teddy drew up beside Belle—a whole head and shoulders taller than her—and squeezed her upper arm.