Shadow touched, p.4
Shadow Touched, page 4
She rolled her eyes.
A brief moment passed while they all looked at one another. Leia kept smiling, looking like a blank doll, but Brim knew it was all an act. He cleared his throat.
“I didn’t expect you to personally greet us,” Brim said, changing the subject.
“We’ve had to step-up our patrols,” Kix said.
“Problems?”
“A new gang decided to muster in on our territory. Thought we’d turn a blind eye on their racist shit antics. Big trucks flying big fucking Nazi flags. Pretty sure they’ve got tiny dick syndrome.”
Brim chuckled. “If you need any help, let me know.”
“Might take you up on that. Striker is leading a run and Slade … well, he’s moved into another position.”
“Not sure what that means,” Brim admitted, raising an eyebrow.
“He’s become his wife’s lieutenant in her Borgata.”
Brim blinked. “Borgata? Wait, Slade’s married?”
Kix nodded. “To Normandy DiLuca.”
“No shit!” He’d seen on the news what had happened to Tony DiLuca and his sons. “Pretty unusual for a woman to take it over.”
“And Slade took her name. It sent a message.” Kix gave Leia a pointed look. “But we can talk about other stuff later. Why don’t you follow me back to the grandstand?”
Brim nodded and then handed over the helmet to Leia. Kix waited on his bike until they were situated and then he took off. Brim followed, leaving the small town behind. They drove by fields with tall cornstalks swaying in the light breeze. Brim knew that the MC was self-sufficient, and it was something that he hoped his own club could achieve one day. A stone wall gave a modicum of safety. The gate to the compound was open, and one of Kix’s men waved in greeting as they rode through.
The three-story grandstand of a home was painted a fresh white. Black shutters contrasted sharply. Several large garages lay nestled around the house, each with bikes resting in front. Brim parked his bike and cut the engine, then waited as Leia dismounted.
“Wow, I would’ve never thought this was the home of a biker gang.”
Brim frowned. “You really have a bad perception of us, don’t you?”
“Well, kidnapping me didn’t help,” she muttered.
“You really don’t trust me, do you? Just remember we’re here because you said this was a good idea.”
She waved away his words. “I know. And I know my job. But… Look, for what it’s worth, I am beginning to trust you. I’m just not entirely there yet. This whole thing has me anxious.”
He didn’t know why her words eased some of the tightness in his chest. “Come on. Let’s get this over with.”
Kix waved at them from the porch steps of the grandstand, indicating they should follow him. Brim took hold of her elbow, but Leia tried to pull away.
“Remember that we have to convince people we’re a couple,” he muttered. “And that can’t happen if you’re fighting me.”
She looked up at him. “Remember our bargain.”
“I will always look out for you. Trust me in that.”
They stared at one another, and slowly, the barest hint of a smile turned up the corners of her mouth. He glanced at the plump lips, and the thought he’d like to see them wrapped around his cock unexpectantly flashed through his mind. He’d found her interesting the first time he’d seen her, and that interest had only increased. Yet now, something inside him shifted precariously. Lust certainly, but also an intangible element that had him lifting his hand to move a strand of hair off her cheek. Their gazes locked, held. The world tilted, throwing him off balance, and he had an unwanted suspicion that he’d never be the same again.
“Come on, you two!” a female voice called out, breaking the spell.
Leia blinked and turned away, leaving Brim with a feeling akin to loss. Didn’t she feel the same way? A little unsettled, he pushed whatever it was aside. Kix’s wife, Piper, waved at them from the top of the grandstand’s porch. Leia returned the wave and headed toward her. Brim eyed her ass as she walked away, acutely aware that his dick had decided it liked what it saw. Luckily his jeans were tight enough to half conceal his damn boner. What a time to suddenly get hard.
He followed Leia into the living room of the house. It had been a while since he’d last been there and he noted the changes. The enormous three-story farmhouse was where Piper and Kix lived, taking up the entire first floor. Toys were everywhere. A baby gate blocked off the staircase leading up to the next floor. The very pregnant belly of Piper seemed to precede her into every room.
“Welcome!” she said with a gentle smile. “Kix called to let me know you were here, Brim. I’m sure your mom is on her way. She and Striker are now living in our old home. Once the babies started coming, we had to move into the grandstand. More room.”
“Thanks for having us,” Brim replied. “This is Leia.”
“Thank you so much for inviting us into your home,” Leia said. “It’s absolutely breathtaking! Modern homes are so cookie-cutter nowadays. I appreciate homes with more personality.”
Piper beamed and placed a hand on her belly. “I agree. Most MCs only have a clubhouse, but this is more like homebase. The men outfitted one of the garages to be their quarters and party den. We redecorated a bit. Updated the kitchen. I didn’t want to be under construction when the twins came along.”
“How many children do you have?” Leia asked.
“This is number three and I think I’m done after this fella is born. Tubes will be tied. I’m getting too old to be chasing after three kids under five.” Piper chuckled. “Please sit. What would you like to drink?”
“Oh, please let me help you,” Leia said. “You shouldn’t be lifting anything too heavy.”
“I’m okay—”
“I agree,” Kix said from the doorway. In his arms he carried two toddlers, a boy and a girl. The little girl had her head on his shoulder. “Sit down, Piper. I’ll pour us some iced tea.”
He set the kids down and they promptly hurried over to their mom. Kix went into the kitchen and Leia followed, leaving Brim with Piper and her children.
“Seems odd seeing him with the twins, doesn’t it?” she asked as she sat on the couch. The two kids snuggled into her, with the boy sucking his thumb. The action brought an aching pain to Brim’s heart.
His son used to do that.
“Yeah, it does,” Brim replied, clearing his throat.
Piper glanced between him and her son. Sympathy lit up her face. “I’m sorry about your loss. Martha told us.”
He nodded, too choked up to say anything. He hated sympathy. Hated any type of sentiment that made him remember that it’d been his fault his son was now dead.
****
“Glasses are over in that cabinet,” Kix said, pointing.
Leia followed his direction and pulled down four glasses. “I hope we’re not imposing. I was expecting to see Brim’s mom and then be on our way.”
“Oh, she’s on her way, all right,” he said, grinning. “You’ve been warned.”
“She can’t be that bad.”
He opened up the freezer and pulled out an ice tray. “She’s endearingly sweet. Like eating too much candy after the dentist has drilled out six cavities. I have to admit, I was a little shocked to see you with Brim.”
“Oh? Is that a bad thing?”
Kix shook his head. “Just, his ex was, how should I put it, a woman who understood the biker world.”
Leia raised an eyebrow. “Club pussy?”
He chuckled. “I see he told you.”
No, he didn’t, but Leia didn’t reveal that bit of information. So far, the MC life was far different than what she expected. Kix dropped a few ice cubes in each glass then placed the tray into the sink.
“Did you know Brim’s son?”
“No,” Kix said as he poured iced tea into the glasses. “Never had the opportunity to meet him. He was deployed when Martha married Striker. I’m not sure how Brim has survived that. If anything were to happen to my kids or my wife, I’d think I’d go insane.”
Maybe Brim did go a little insane. After all, he admitted that was why he’d gone off on his own. A parent should never have to bury their child.
“I know he feels guilty since it was his suggestion that Nate join the military,” Kix added. “He wanted something more for his son, and I can’t blame him for that. Here in rural Missouri … well, there aren’t many opportunities.”
Just then the back door slammed open, and a small woman barreled into the kitchen. Her obviously dyed black hair was up in a ponytail and the air around her shimmered with energy. She came up short when she spotted Leia, and when she raised an eyebrow, Leia immediately saw the resemblance to her son.
“Martha, this is Leia,” Kix introduced. “Brim’s woman.”
Martha stepped closer, looked her up and down, then smiled. “’Bout time he found someone decent. Welcome to the family!”
Chapter Six
Martha hurried over, pinning Leia’s arms to her side in a bear hug. Leia blinked at Kix, who gave her a helpless shrug. The scent of beer and old cigarette smoke wafted from her. When Martha eased back, she grabbed hold of Leia’s hands.
“Thank you for bringing him back to me.”
“Oh, okay,” Leia said weakly, not sure how to respond. “You’re welcome.”
Martha patted her hand. “He went off the deep end. Been nomad for too damn long.”
“How long has it been?”
“Nate passed a year ago.” Marth shook her head. “Brim tried to conceal his pain. Go on like he didn’t have any feelings, but I know my boy. Couldn’t deal, so a couple of months ago he ran. No one should bottle that up for so long.”
Personally, Leia knew what it was like to want to hide. She’d been doing the same thing for quite a while. Sometimes hiding was easier.
“But that’s all over now,” Martha said, beaming. “I can tell right away you’ve got a good heart. It’s in the eyes, you know. You brought him back to the living and I am so glad you’re my new daughter-in-law.”
“Oh, well, we’re not married yet,” Leia said weakly.
“Pshaw. Only one reason a man brings his woman home to meet his mother.” Martha winked. “Let me tell you, his ex, Cindy, was a headcase. I bet you anything she poked a hole in the condom to trap Brim.”
Leia blinked. “Does that really work?”
“Brim is too good a guy,” Martha replied. “Married the little viper when she got knocked up. I insisted on a paternity test, of course. Nate was Brim’s all right, but Cindy had this mean glint in her eyes. Nasty little bitch, I tell you. Blamed Brim when Nate got killed.”
“Ma,” Brim said from the doorway.
Martha spun around, arms out. “There’s my boy!”
Mother and son embraced. Over her head, Brim mouthed the word sorry. Leia gave a one-shoulder shrug. She wasn’t bothered at all by Martha’s assessment of Brim’s ex-wife. She wasn’t here to form any type of opinion. By the time they left, Martha would unknowingly be their perfect relationship alibi.
“You are such a bad son,” Martha said as she pulled back to stare up at him. She waved a finger under his nose. “You’ve been gone a long time.”
“Stop it, Ma.”
“You’re the president of the Death Riders. You need to get your ass back in that seat. Your men need a leader.”
“Stop, Ma. I’ve been talking with my V.P. every week.”
“Ma … what a horrible word,” the pint-sized woman said. She looked over at Leia. “Do you call your mother ma?”
“Um—”
“Her mother is dead, Ma. Stop.”
Martha’s face softened. “I’m so sorry, my dear. Loss is so hard.”
“Yes,” Leia murmured. She didn’t elaborate that her parents basically ditched her, and thankfully, Brim kept quiet.
Martha patted her hand. “You know, Nate looked just like his father. I’ll bring over baby pics of both of them after dinner.”
“Ma, no. God, no!”
Martha waved off his concern. “After dinner, I said. Which reminds me, I thought we could do a cookout tonight since you’re back. Let me talk with Piper and see if she agrees.”
She hurried from the kitchen. Brim’s mother wasn’t anything like Leia had envisioned. She expected an aging, grey hair old lady. Instead, Martha was a little dynamo who definitely did not look her age.
“Hope you had nothing planned for the rest of the night,” Kix said dryly. “She’s going to show you album after album of people you’ve never met.”
Leia smiled. “It’s okay. I understand the need to look at pictures. It helps us deal with grief.”
“No, it doesn’t.” Brim folded his arms over his chest. “The past is in the past. I thought you, above all, would understand.”
“I do,” she murmured. Leia and she laid a hand on his. She meant it as a comforting gesture, but Brim entwined his fingers with hers.
“We’re a pair, aren’t we?” he asked.
He stared at her intently, and for a moment, she forgot to try to pull away. His blue eyes filled with understanding. A shared pain. They both had secrets and it somehow made them equal. Captured in his mesmerizing gaze, everything around her faded into a hazy grey blob. It was just her and him, two against the universe. Then a little tyke ran in from the other room and bumped into Brim’s leg. He looked down at the little boy, breaking the spell that entwined them together. Leia blinked as the world came back into focus. Brim bent and picked the little boy up. Piper’s son tugged on Brim’s beard, and heartache brought painful shadows through his blue eyes. He may try to act tough and resolute, but Leia sensed he was hurting deep in his soul.
“Come back here, you little minx,” Piper muttered as she waddled into the kitchen. She gave a rueful smile when she saw her son in Brim’s arms. “Just like him to play all nice around strangers. Kix, take him outside and let him run around.”
“On it,” Kix said, reaching for his son. “Come on, Brim. I’ll show you some of the improvements we made to the mechanic’s garage.”
The men left out of the back door. Piper sighed and rested a hand on her belly.
“I’m looking forward to being me again, and not a host body,” she said. “I just can’t keep up with them. I’ll ask one of the other wives to help prepare one of the upstairs rooms for you and Brim.”
Panic filled Leia. She wasn’t ready for a sleep-over with Brim. She tried to think fast. “Um, he actually expressed he wanted to spend time with Martha. I’ll sleep here in the grandstand, and he can sleep at his mom’s.”
Piper frowned. “Are you sure?”
Relief filled Leia. “Positive. It’s just one night. Want me to help with cooking?”
“Know how to shuck corn?”
“Yep.”
“Good. ‘Cause we eat a lot of it around here.”
****
“What’s really going on?” Kix asked as he headed toward one of the large garages on the property.
“Not sure what you mean,” Brim replied.
“I remember your words at your mom’s wedding.” Kix shot him a sardonic look. “No more commitment for you. And you two aren’t acting like you’ve fucked, so I’m not buying this touchy feely act.”
Brim looked around and halted the other man. Kix sat his son on the ground and the little boy immediately picked up a stick.
“This stays between us,” Brim said.
Kix nodded his agreement.
“Leia helped me avoid getting a bullet in my head.”
Kix’s gaze narrowed. “A hit?”
“The man who tried to assassinate me was my own fucking man.”
“A coup?” Kix asked as he bent and took away the stick his son was trying to eat. The little boy blinked up at him before waddling over to another stick.
“I don’t know,” Brim said. “I’m going back to figure it out.”
“You’re with her out of gratitude?”
“Not exactly,” Brim said. “Leia is coming along to help me not get killed. She said we had to establish her identity in my life and suggested we act as a couple.”
“That explains the tension. How can The White Death help?”
“You’re already doing it by inviting us here. I don’t know how deep the betrayal goes.”
“I can get Mac to scan for chatter,” Kix offered.
Brim nodded. “I’d appreciate that.”
“Let’s go talk to Mac and afterwards, we can get your bike tuned up. It sounded a little clogged.” Kix picked up his son, who munched on the end of a new stick. “Don’t tell his mom I’m letting him eat this. If I take it away, he’s going to start screaming and I do not want to hear that. His voice is so shrill it’ll melt your eardrums.”
Chapter Seven
“Tell me how you met my son.”
For a moment, Leia’s mind went blank. She and Brim hadn’t really gotten into discussing their backstory, so she decided to stay as close to the truth as possible.
“I worked in a bar,” she said. “A drunk was harassing me, and Brim stepped and told him to scram.”
“I bet he used more colorful language,” Martha said with a smirk.
Leia smiled. “Yes, he did.”
Martha clasped her hands together and got a dreamy expression on her face. “So, it was love at first sight.”
Leia’s smile faltered. “Um … let’s just say Brim is very persuasive.”
“That he is!” Martha laughed. “His father was the same way, rest his soul. When he died, I thought my love life was done, but then I met Striker. He showed me life doesn’t end at my age.”
She winked at Leia.
Piper’s little girl waddled up to her and Leia bent down to smile at the little girl.
“Hello,” she said. “What’s your name?”
The little girl put a finger in her mouth and smiled around the digit.
“That’s Bexley and her brother is Knox,” Piper said as she grabbed a juice box from the fridge. She handed it over to her daughter. “Kix insisted we use the letter x somewhere in their names since his has one in it.”
