Page 12

CHAPTER 12

Camila

I t’d been about five days since my date with Kilo, but I wasn’t worried. He was texting me every day. He hadn’t asked me out again though, so I wasn't sure what to think about that. I sat down at the table in the break room next to Mary. “Do you know much about motorcycle clubs?”

“Girl,” she sighed, a happy look on her face. “Do I ever. Used to date a biker back in my prime.”

My eyebrows shot up. “Terry was a biker?”

“No,” she replied with a laugh. “My husband is definitely not a biker. That was a lifetime ago.”

“I have a few questions.”

She focused on me with a smile on her face. “The hot neighbor?”

I nodded. “He fixed our window for us.” She was staring at me with hearts in her eyes and I couldn’t blame her because… same. “And then took me out to dinner.” I didn’t mention the gun range because that would bring up far too many questions.

“Did you ride on his motorcycle?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh, yeah. He’s into you,” she said with a cackle.

“I read that they don’t really let a lot of people onto their bikes.”

“That’s true. Usually they only let their old lady ride on the back of their motorcycle.”

“Old lady?” I asked.

“Girlfriend or wife,” she clarified. “It’s an honorable title for their woman.”

“What else can you tell me?”

“Where to start?”

My eyes got wider and wider as she told me what she knew about what she called club culture. When our lunch break was nearing an end, she took a look at my expression and laughed. “Don’t worry, Sweetheart. Kilo will fill you in on everything you need to know once he decides to make his move.”

“Taking me on a date isn’t his move?”

She laughed. “Not even close. Though, it’s a step in the right direction.”

My phone rang and I took it out of my apron pocket and stared at Kilo’s name on the screen.

“Take it, I’ll cover for you for a few minutes,” Mary said, giving me a wink.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Camila.”

A thrill shot down my spine at hearing that deep voice again after so many days. I’d dreamed of flying down the highway on the back of his bike almost every night. I wasn’t sure if the fascination was with the machine, the man, or both. “Hey, Kilo.”

“I was wondering if you were busy Saturday night?”

“Not really,” I told him. I worked the early shift that day and had Sunday off.

“My club is having a barbecue and a party afterward. Want to come with me?”

Mary had just gotten done telling me about the wild parties guys like this tended to throw. But she’d also said they'd always been a lot of fun. I had a feeling I was getting in over my head, but I wanted to spend more time with Kilo. “I’d love to.” If this was the way that was going to happen, I’d go wherever he wanted.

“Good. I’ll pick you up around five.”

“Okay.”

“See you later, Camila.”

The words were a dark promise and despite everything going on in my life, I was excited. My pulse was racing as I hung up the phone and gave a little sigh. I’d never been the type to like bad boys. The way I was raised had sort of discouraged it. But suddenly I was understanding the fascination that women had.

I floated through the next three days. It was like they were a dream and it wasn’t until I was walking out my front door with Kilo that I was awake. His bike was sitting in his driveway and I didn’t have to wonder long whether we were taking it, or something else, to the barbecue.

“I got you something,” he told me with a grin. He grabbed a helmet off the seat and held it up. It was black with light purple swirls.

“That’s for me?” I asked, shocked.

“Yeah, that way we don't have to fight over helmets.”

“How did you know I love purple?” I asked, reaching out to take the helmet from him.

“I may have asked Carmen,” he admitted with a sheepish smile.

Going onto my tip toes, I pressed a light kiss to his mouth. “Thank you so much. I love it.”

He grinned at me and helped me put it on. “Once we’re not in your front yard, I’m going to want another kiss,” he warned.

I laughed as he tightened the helmet strap. I’d already talked to Mama about the motorcycle, and she wasn’t thrilled, but she wasn’t outside stopping me. She was starting to understand that I was old enough to make my own decisions. That I deserved the chance to make my own mistakes. I’d learned from hers, it was hard not to, but I didn’t consider Kilo a mistake. If we had to run again, I’d cherish every moment I got with him.

We pulled out onto the road, and I relished the experience once again. I wasn’t sure I’d ever get used to it. I didn’t want to. It was so freeing and should stay that way.

He pulled into a fenced off area. I was surprised how big it was, at least ten acres. We were on the outskirts of Phoenix, but still, it was a fantastic spot. The parking lot area was paved, but the rest was reminiscent of the desert surrounding the city. There was a building, and it looked like another being built.

“This belongs to my club,” he told me as we got off the bike and took our helmets off.

“It’s really nice,” I told him.

He grinned at me, then dropped his hand to the small of my back and led me toward the back of the buildings. My steps stuttered as we came around one of the buildings and in one move every eye was on us. “It’s fine,” Kilo said in a soothing tone. “These are my brothers. They’re excited to meet you.”

I swallowed and gave everyone a shy smile. Being the center of attention wasn’t really something I liked. I was used to blending into the background, not standing out. But there were only men here. So it wasn’t like I had anywhere I could hide.

“Everyone,” Kilo called out even though he didn’t need to raise his voice since they’d fallen silent when they saw us. That wasn’t nerve wracking at all. “This is Camila.” Kilo started rattling off names of his brothers and I scrambled to keep them straight. The fact that no one had an actual name, just descriptions, wasn’t something I was ready for.

These men were all gorgeous. I was blown away because there were white teeth flashing, muscles, and tattoos everywhere. I was shocked the female population of Phoenix wasn’t charging the gate out front to get into this place. The man I’d met at Kilo’s house, Overdrive, came up to us. There was a huge grin on his face and before I could say anything, he grabbed me and planted two kisses on each of my cheeks. I blinked at him in surprise.

“Dick,” Kilo muttered, shoving him away from me.

“Does that mean you’re claiming her?” Another man asked with a sly grin.

Kilo’s jaw dropped open. “I- Uh-”

“Give him a break, Bolo,” the man who Kilo had addressed as his president ordered. “Tonight, Camila is his guest and no one touches her.” He gave Overdrive a pointed look.

“Like I’d do that,” Overdrive said with a roll of his eyes. “That was just a thank you for her amazing tacos.”

I frowned up at Kilo. “Huh?”

“He stole the tacos you made for me,” he told me with a dark frown at his friend.

I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh. It wasn’t hard to see that these men bonded by needling each other. I wasn’t sure what to think about Bolo’s statement about claiming me. Filing that away to ask Mary about later, I tried to relax as Kilo dragged me into the middle of the guys. Everyone started talking all at once and someone shoved an opened beer bottle into my hand. It made me feel at home in an instant. They were open and kind. I didn’t know what I was expecting from Kilo’s MC brothers, but they were far exceeding any preconceived notions I might have had.

After what had happened I’d been a bit leery of men. Which was why I’d been so hesitant to give Kilo a chance when I first met him. But he’d set himself apart so quickly with his kind actions that I started realizing he wasn’t like the men who were after us.

Dangerous and kind. I hadn’t thought that was possible. But he’d proven it. I had a feeling if I hung around long enough all these men would be the same.

He and his brothers had that same tough and dangerous vibe, but I could see the way they gentled themselves a bit for me. How they made sure to include me in their conversations while they all spoke so that I didn’t feel left out. And it was obvious the love and respect they had for Kilo. Which then was extended to me as well because he’d brought me here.

I was safe here with them. That was an important distinction. I wasn’t safe from them, but with them. They wouldn’t hurt me, and I felt down to my bones that they would stand between me and any threat. That was a new realization, and I liked it. What must it be like to go through your day knowing nothing could harm you? That there were no enemies who could reach you? I certainly wouldn’t know.

My shoulders lost all the previous tenseness they’d held and I began to really enjoy myself. I noticed a man eyeing every beer—and scribbling in a notepad—the brothers consumed and tilted my head. “Are you making sure they don’t get too drunk?” I asked him. I couldn’t quite remember his name.

He barked out a laugh and shook his head. “There’s no keeping this group in line when it comes to drinking,” he told me. “No, I’m calculating how much money we’re spending for the barbecue and party later.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t remember your name…” I admitted.

“I’m Flir,” he told me, holding out his hand and shaking mine.

“F-” I stopped and my brows drew together. His name was pronounced Flee-ir. “What does that mean?”

He chuckled. “It’s an acronym for Forward Looking Infrared.”

I blinked at him, making him laugh again. He was probably in his mid-thirties, had sandy brown hair and intelligent blue eyes.

“They’re a type of thermal camera,” he explained. “At least that’s the easiest description. You know in the movies when they look at people in the black and white heat images?”

I nodded, eyes going back to his notebook. The last thing I wanted to do was pry too much into these guys’ lives, because I didn’t want them asking me too many questions. But I had a lot of things I wanted to ask. Like why was his name Flir? And why weren’t there other women here? Far too many questions to name, but I swallowed them back.

He must have seen the curiosity in my eyes because he answered one of them. “I’m the club treasurer. It’s my job to keep tabs on how much we spend.”

“That makes sense,” I told him. “How does the club make money?”

His smile spread over his face into a large grin. “That’s one of those things that I’m going to leave unanswered.”

My eyes widened. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t trying to pry.”

“Don’t be,” he said with a shake of his head. “Motorcycle clubs are private. They don’t share a lot with outsiders. I understand your curiosity, but simply put, it’s not your business, not yet.”

“I understand.” And I appreciated that he was telling me this without sounding angry or offended that I didn’t already know this.

Did he say ‘yet’? What does that mean?

“Hey,” he said, catching Kilo’s attention.

“Yeah,” Kilo stepped over and draped his arm over my shoulders.

“I like your girl,” Flir told him.

With that, he walked off to return to his counting.

Kilo smiled down at me. “Well, that was unexpected.”

“Was it?” I asked. “He seems really nice.”

“He is, but Flir isn’t big on meeting new people. He’d rather let the rest of us do the talking. He’s more into numbers.”

“I noticed that,” I replied with a smile. “I like your friends.”

“Good, because they’re more like family.”

I nodded. “I have a lot of questions.”

He chuckled. “I’ll bet you do. Why don’t we go get some grub, and maybe I can answer a few for you.”

He reached down and linked our fingers together, pulling me toward the table where plates and food were sitting. My cheeks heated because we were holding hands in front of the men he considered family.

It was already hard enough to convince myself that this wasn’t anything serious. A fun little fling for him and a way for me to dip my toes into the dating world. The way he kept making me feel was threatening to have my heart completely invested in him though. I wasn’t sure that was the smartest thing, but I also knew I wasn’t exactly in control of my heart. She was going to do whatever she wanted and I was going to have to deal with the consequences.