million times.
No, it couldn’t be!
“Are you okay, Vanessa?” Riot said, a look of concern falling across his face.
“Um, yeah,” I muttered, trying to shake away the bewilderment. This was no time for me to fall apart.
Yeah, that’s it , I thought. I’m just loosing it, that’s all. I’m not thinking clearly, yeah that’s it, the stress, of course. I shook my head, dismissing my insanity and turned away from them both, staring out the window as Grace walked out, followed by the blonde girl from the front desk and the man that was sitting in the waiting room.
They jumped in the car, followed by Ryder, and as soon as all the doors closed, Wreck hit the gas and we were speeding down the alley, away from my nightmare, away from Royce, away from Travis, away from the death sentence that my father had unknowingly bestowed upon me.
I looked up at Wreck one more time and saw that his gray eyes were focused hard on the road in front of him as the SUV sped down the streets of downtown Portland and headed West on the 26.
I had no idea where we were going, but I didn’t care - as long as it was far away from the nightmare I’d been living.
CHAPTER SIX
Wreck
The sound of the SUV’s wheels hitting the gravel of the road that led to the clubhouse was like music to my ears. I think we all breathed a deep sigh of relief once we were off the main road and headed to our private sanctuary, hidden deep in the forest.
After a few minutes of winding through the trees, we pulled up to the cabin and I cut the engine. Vanessa hadn’t said much on the trip out of the city, silently staring out the window, wringing her hands in her lap. Grace and the rest of our crew had let the silence settle around us, letting her get her bearings and process her feelings at her own pace.
She’s gotta be terrified, I thought. This Randolph asshole sounded like a total fucking piece of shit. She was such a pretty girl, it was a shame she’d had such a hard life.
“Where are we?” she asked, her voice haltingly quiet as she stared wide-eyed at all of our bikes parked in front of the cabin.
“This is the Gods of Chaos Motorcycle Club clubhouse,” Ryder answered.
“Also known as Solid Ground’s headquarters,” Grace answered.
“Bikers?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’re bikers,” Riot answered. “But we’re so much more than that, too.”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, Vanessa,” Grace said, “but I assure you that you are totally safe here with us. Let’s just get you settled, then we’ll talk.”
“Okay, right,” she said, her eyes darting around, trying to take it all in. I could only imagine what she must think. We all hopped out of the car and Grace walked her inside, gently guiding her to the back bedroom that used to be Ryder’s room, but had now been transformed into a comfortable guest room for the women Solid Ground rescued.
I watched them walk away, finding myself entranced by the way she moved, the way her hips swayed with each step, the way her blonde hair swung across her back. Riot caught me staring and punched me in the arm.
“Don’t stare like that, Wreck. This girl deserves respect right now.”
“I wasn’t —,” I began to protest.
“Whatever, dude, I’m not stupid. I’m just saying, give her some space.”
“Dude, I —,” I began again, but he walked away with Lacey, leaving me standing outside the cabin with my mouth open.
For fuck’s sake, I thought. I’d never in a million years be disrespectful to a woman. Riot’s assumptions pissed me off but I knew better than to say anything. He was just trying to train me to be an efficient member of Solid Ground and I had to respect that, too.
I knew I still had an awful lot of proving myself to these guys and that was fine by me.
I wasn’t about to go chasing any skirts, anyway. That was the last thing on my mind and had been ever since I lost Frankie. There were times I was sure I’d never get over her, and so far,
No, it couldn’t be!
“Are you okay, Vanessa?” Riot said, a look of concern falling across his face.
“Um, yeah,” I muttered, trying to shake away the bewilderment. This was no time for me to fall apart.
Yeah, that’s it , I thought. I’m just loosing it, that’s all. I’m not thinking clearly, yeah that’s it, the stress, of course. I shook my head, dismissing my insanity and turned away from them both, staring out the window as Grace walked out, followed by the blonde girl from the front desk and the man that was sitting in the waiting room.
They jumped in the car, followed by Ryder, and as soon as all the doors closed, Wreck hit the gas and we were speeding down the alley, away from my nightmare, away from Royce, away from Travis, away from the death sentence that my father had unknowingly bestowed upon me.
I looked up at Wreck one more time and saw that his gray eyes were focused hard on the road in front of him as the SUV sped down the streets of downtown Portland and headed West on the 26.
I had no idea where we were going, but I didn’t care - as long as it was far away from the nightmare I’d been living.
CHAPTER SIX
Wreck
The sound of the SUV’s wheels hitting the gravel of the road that led to the clubhouse was like music to my ears. I think we all breathed a deep sigh of relief once we were off the main road and headed to our private sanctuary, hidden deep in the forest.
After a few minutes of winding through the trees, we pulled up to the cabin and I cut the engine. Vanessa hadn’t said much on the trip out of the city, silently staring out the window, wringing her hands in her lap. Grace and the rest of our crew had let the silence settle around us, letting her get her bearings and process her feelings at her own pace.
She’s gotta be terrified, I thought. This Randolph asshole sounded like a total fucking piece of shit. She was such a pretty girl, it was a shame she’d had such a hard life.
“Where are we?” she asked, her voice haltingly quiet as she stared wide-eyed at all of our bikes parked in front of the cabin.
“This is the Gods of Chaos Motorcycle Club clubhouse,” Ryder answered.
“Also known as Solid Ground’s headquarters,” Grace answered.
“Bikers?” she asked.
“Yeah, we’re bikers,” Riot answered. “But we’re so much more than that, too.”
“I know it’s a lot to take in, Vanessa,” Grace said, “but I assure you that you are totally safe here with us. Let’s just get you settled, then we’ll talk.”
“Okay, right,” she said, her eyes darting around, trying to take it all in. I could only imagine what she must think. We all hopped out of the car and Grace walked her inside, gently guiding her to the back bedroom that used to be Ryder’s room, but had now been transformed into a comfortable guest room for the women Solid Ground rescued.
I watched them walk away, finding myself entranced by the way she moved, the way her hips swayed with each step, the way her blonde hair swung across her back. Riot caught me staring and punched me in the arm.
“Don’t stare like that, Wreck. This girl deserves respect right now.”
“I wasn’t —,” I began to protest.
“Whatever, dude, I’m not stupid. I’m just saying, give her some space.”
“Dude, I —,” I began again, but he walked away with Lacey, leaving me standing outside the cabin with my mouth open.
For fuck’s sake, I thought. I’d never in a million years be disrespectful to a woman. Riot’s assumptions pissed me off but I knew better than to say anything. He was just trying to train me to be an efficient member of Solid Ground and I had to respect that, too.
I knew I still had an awful lot of proving myself to these guys and that was fine by me.
I wasn’t about to go chasing any skirts, anyway. That was the last thing on my mind and had been ever since I lost Frankie. There were times I was sure I’d never get over her, and so far,
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