Page 66 of Desperate Justice

“She’s gorgeous, Aldie. I bet if bikes could talk, she’d tell many stories about where she’s been.”

Cocking his head, Rafe smiled at her. He liked seeing this part of her. “Didn’t know you were so imaginative, Ally.”

She waggled her eyebrows. “Stick with me, Rodriguez. I’ll show you how imaginative I can be.”

I bet. He tried to keep from thinking of a slow ride with her in his bed, but his imagination won that battle.

Turning her attention back to Aldie, she gestured to the bike. “How long have you had her?”

“Since the early ’80s, I think. Can’t remember that far back.” He guffawed.

“We’ve been on adventures, this baby and me. She used to be a cop bike with a windshield, but the windshield was removed before I bought it. Wish it wasn’t. Rode from Florida here with bugs in my face and one flew in my mouth. Had it open at the time. Ever taste a fly? Don’t taste too good.”

Allison laughed. Rafe grinned at the picture of Aldie riding with his mouth open, spitting out flies.

“When I go back to Florida, this will be our last ride.” He gazed at the motorcycle as if fondly regarding a longtime partner. “I’m too old for this anymore. Reckon we’re both destined for the junkyard soon. Told my kids I’d like to be buried with her.”

Thinking of his beloved Tita, and how he’d nearly lost her, a lump formed in Rafe’s throat. Allison shook her head with a fierceness he also felt. “You’re not destined for the junkyard, and neither is this beauty.”

His smile was sad. “Thanks, pretty lady, but I know when my time is up and it’s soon. Wish I could ride back in style, but these old bones will need a few more rest stops. I’ll make it.”

“I have no doubt you’ll do well,” Rafe said, and his tone was firm with conviction.

A gleaming yellow motorcycle roared up to them, bearing a younger man and a woman. “Thanks for holding my spot, Aldie.”

“Welcome.”

Aldie nodded at them. “Gotta get back to my group. They’re probably belting down beers at the bar. Baby of our gang is seventy-six. And they say you youngsters can party? We could teach you lessons.”

They watched him mount his bike and ride off.

She pulled Rafe aside. “I have an idea. I have money. There’s a bike repair vendor here at the show...”

“We could swap out the seat with a new leather one and put a windshield on,” he finished. “Split the cost. Give him a gift certificate so he can select what he wants.”

Rafe’s grin equaled her own.

“But he has pride. What will we tell him?”

He considered. “How about we tell him it’s our way of paying him back for his years of service to our country?”

Beaming at him, Allison nodded. “Can’t go wrong with that.”

She shocked him when her palm slid into his as she tugged him toward the vendor who could repair Aldie’s bike.

But more than surprise, he felt a warm glow and a surge of unexpected joy mingling with desire.

Whoa, Rodriguez. Best to put the brakes on this right now.

And yet he didn’t.

CHAPTER 16

That afternoon, after they presented a delighted and grateful Aldie with their gift certificate from the bike repair shop, Rafe watched Allison compete in the slow cone competition.

Impressed, he studied the way she maneuvered Phoenix around the cones. The big bike was awkward and heavy, and he knew from experience those twists and turns were a bitch, but Allison wove through the cones with skill. Mastering the course as easily as most riders drove on a straight line.

The orange cone formation became tighter, with little room for maneuvering, but Allison drove her bike on, not knocking over a single cone or falling off her bike.