“I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to show me your true self.” He tugged on the end of my hair before releasing it. “You will always be safe with me, Erin.”
My head felt as though it was spinning, and my voice was shaky as I asked, “What do you mean ‘always’?”
“Hop on the back of my bike and find out.” Patriot pointed toward a row of motorcycles on the edge of the parking lot closest to the road. “We can be out of here in under a minute. All you have to do is tell me you want to go.”
“You’re a complete stranger. I can’t just ride off with you,” I protested softly, stunned to discover that I was actually considering his suggestion.
“I get that you have reason to be cautious, but I can’t be any worse than the assholes you’ve been dealing with in there.” He jerked his chin toward the bar. “My club isn’t anything like the Devil’s Jesters. Our president would beat the shit out of any member who pressured someone into sleeping with them. Then he’d take their cut and kick them out of the Silver Saints. That shit doesn’t fly with him—or any of us. If it did, I never would’ve gone for a patch because no way in hell would I ever be okay with a club who treated women like shit.”
A kernel of hope took flight inside me. I doubted that his club would really kick a member out just for disrespecting a woman, but I could almost believe that they had more respect for them than the members of the Devil’s Jesters. He could’ve just ignored what was happening between Vinny and me, but he’d chosen to step in instead. “Even if I agreed to go with you, it wouldn’t do any good. As soon as the fight is over, my sister is going to notice I’m missing. Razor will come after me, and he won’t be alone.”
The grin he flashed at me sent butterflies swirling in my belly. “I might not be as good of a mechanic as Dom, but any biker worth his patch knows how to disable a hog.”
Before I could ask who Dom was, Patriot crouched next to the bike closest to us and yanked some wires out. I clapped my hand over my mouth to stop myself from making any noise while he moved down the line until he’d done the same to all of the motorcycles parked in the spots reserved for members of the Devil’s Jesters. Then he jogged to the corner of the building and tossed all the wires before returning to my side.
“What did you do to the bikes?”
“Pulled the spark plugs. I wanted to make sure they couldn’t follow us without causing any permanent damage. If I had, there would be no avoiding war between our two clubs,” he explained.
Being the member of an MC, I figured he already knew, but I felt as though I should offer a warning anyway. “Taking me with you might be enough to cause one.”
“Not how it works.” He shook his head. “You’re not a member’s old lady, and you can’t be a club bunny if you’re still a virgin. The Devil’s Jesters have no claim on you.”
I rubbed my hands up and down my arms to ward off the chill that went up my spine at the thought of what my life would be like if I took my sister’s advice. “I’ve lived with Alice and Razor for five years. Claim or no claim, they’re going to come after me.”
“I’m more than willing to face whatever happens next if you are.” He held his hand out to me. “What do you say? Wanna get out of here?”
4
Patriot
Erin stared at my hand, her face filled with conflicting emotions. It was the hope that kept me from backing off. If I’d thought she really didn’t want to leave with me, I would have respected that. But I saw the spark of desire when she looked at my body, and the hope swimming in her pretty green eyes as she looked from my hand to my face.
It took a fuck ton of control to stand there and wait when all I wanted to do was toss her sweet ass on the back of my bike and take off. Which was exactly what I would do if she said no. I couldn’t leave her behind to face the wrath of the Devil’s Jesters. They’d blame her for the fight if she was the only one around to take the heat.
The door to the club slammed open, and my brothers began to pour out wearing giant grins as they jogged to their bikes. “Left enough of a mess to give us a lead,” Breaker told me as he climbed onto his motorcycle, parked next to mine. “Gotta go, though.”