Page 8 of Next Level (Royal Bastards MC: Oakland Chapter #1)

CHERRY BLOSSOM

I t’s now fifteen days since Sam was taken. After meeting with Judith, she confirmed what the cops found out. Bo and Garrett did indeed live together, and the cars were registered in their names. We think Jared might be his long-lost brother, but how Sam is involved, we don’t know.

Garrett’s phone is off, so we can’t track it. I stayed in Medford for a day, handing out flyers, and then headed to our Portland Chapter to regroup. It’s beautiful up here on their compound. The views are breathtaking. It was good to come here and clear my head.

“You headed to that address alone?” Fate, our Portland Chapter president, asks me.

I’m hanging out at the clubhouse, having a beer with him and his VP, Raven.

“Yeah, I don’t want to spook the guy or have him tipped off with a bunch of bikers rolling into town.”

Raven speaks up, “I get it. You could get a hold of Guardian or Brimstone. They’re both still up in Washington.”

Guardian and Brimstone isn’t a bad idea. I could shoot a quick text, giving them a heads up.

Raven continues, “Or we could have a few of us hang back a town or two, letting you go in first, but at least you’ll have backup.”

My phone lights up. It’s Dawg. I just spoke with Zoom, so I don’t understand why he’s calling me.

I hit speaker. “Wadsup?”

“We got something!” he yells.

I jump up, grabbing the phone.

“What the fuck do you mean you got something? What? Do you know where Sammie is?”

“RAY!” Dawg shouts.

Hearing him use my real name has me shutting up instantly.

“Brother, Sunshine’s good friend called her and told her that guy Garrett who owns the Pontiac is her adopted brother. She said she’ll help us find him.”

My mind is running in circles, so I take a deep breath.

“So you don’t have her?” I say, disappointed.

“Ray, Cherry is flying to Portland right now to meet you. She’ll be there by morning. She knows all the places he would be. We will find him. She thinks he’s at their parents’ property in Washington.”

“I can leave now. I don’t need her. I’ll go right now. It’s a—”

Dawg cuts me off. “No. Brother. Wait for her. She can get you close without anyone getting spooked. She doesn’t really get along with him, and he’s kind of estranged from the family, but if he sees her, it won’t be suspicious. We need to do this right.”

I calm my mind, taking a few deep breaths.

“Who knows about this?” I say, defeated.

“No one but me and Sunshine.” There’s a pause, and then Sunshine’s voice comes through the phone. “Hi, Level. She’s legit and should be landing in Portland early in the morning. We’ll text you her information.”

I don’t say anything. I just look around and see all the members watching me, waiting for news. It would be better to have someone who knows what the fuck this guy is thinking.

“Okay, send me the details, and I’ll pick her up,” I reply.

“I’m sending you the info now. Keep us posted,” Dawg says before hanging up.

“They find her?” Fate asks, getting up from the bar, ready to take action.

“No, but his sister came forward. I’m picking her up from the airport in the morning, and we’ll head to Washington.”

“His sister? Can you trust her?” Raven asks, still sitting at the bar with a beer in his hand.

“Don’t know, but it’s a solid lead, and I trust the person who knows her, so I’m going with it.”

“Okay. I’d feel better if we went with you,” Fate says, sitting back down at the bar.

“Thank you, but I think it would be better to go alone. The cops are all over this, and now they have the address Judith gave us too, so I need to be quick and quiet. I just hope I can get there before the FBI does.”

“Okay, brother. We’re here if you need us,” both men say in unison.

The next morning, I’m sitting in my truck at the cell phone waiting area. Cherry’s supposed to text me when she’s curbside.

Dawg sent over a picture of a girl standing next to Sunshine. She had sunglasses on in the photo, but I’ll be able to find her just by her hair. She’s got tight little curls like Shirley Temple.

Just then, my phone dings with a text.

UNKNOWN: “I’m here” with a location pin.

She knows to look for my black four-door Chevy Silverado. When I see her hair, I know it’s her. Pulling up next to her, I roll down the window.

“Cherry?” I holler through the window.

When she looks up, she’s beaming. And God as my witness, I’m instantly hard, and my heart skips a beat.

The bitch is beautiful, like goddess beautiful with piercing green eyes.

Fuck me.

Words come out of her plump lips, but I don’t hear anything she says.

Jesus, she is gorgeous.

“Ray?”

I shake my head.

“Ray?”

I clear my throat. “Yeah, jump in.”

As she opens the door, her short ass has to jump to get into the cab of my truck.

“You good?” I ask.

She chuckles. “Fuck, that’s a leap.”

We both laugh, making it not as awkward.

I turn my attention back to driving so we can exit this hectic airport.

“Thank you for picking me up. I told Sunshine I’d take a cab. I knew you’d be worried and want to get to the cabin,” she immediately explains.

I need to focus on the mission, not on the fact that this woman is fine as fuck. Focus.

“Thank you. Can you tell me about Garrett? We have a few hours to go over everything.” I watch the road, not allowing myself to look her in the eyes. I might wreck.

Stay focused, motherfucker.

Where the fuck has this girl been hiding? She can’t live near us, can she?

Christ.

I shift in my seat, trying to calm the big guy in my pants. I need to stay focused on my daughter not getting laid.

The word focus keeps repeating in my head.

“Ray?” Cherry says softly.

Realizing she’s talking to me, I look over and meet those tantalizing emerald eyes.

Fuck.

“I’m sorry. What?”

“Do you like to be called Ray or Level? Sunshine told me your club name is Level, but your real name is Ray.”

“Oh, I…” I clear my throat. “Whatever you want. Most people call me Level, but Ray is fine too.”

“Is Ray your real name?” she inquires.

Without hesitation, I answer, “My full name is Marco Raymond Amato III. My dad was a JR., and my grandfather was Marco, so I went by Ray. But no one really calls me by that, except my ma and family members.”

I think of Tink and Brooke. They’re the only ones who still call me Ray.

What the fuck is happening? I’m spilling my whole life to this person.

I see her turning in her seat to face me.

Don’t look.

Don’t do it.

Fuck me, I glance over, and Christ Almighty, she’s smiling at me.

“Cool, my real name is Jane Blossom Jones,” she says, with her big-ass smile.

“Blossom?” I question.

She giggles. “Yeah, my parents are hippie motherfuckers. I went by JJ most of my life, but when I started tattooing, I became Cherry. Get it, Cherry Blossom. It’s why I have them tattooed all over my body.”

“I like cherry blossoms,” I say, looking straight ahead.

If only she knew how much I like them.

I glimpse over at her again, but damn, I can’t do it for long. This bitch has to have some voodoo powers. I really need to keep my eyes on the road.

I don’t trust myself if I keep glancing over at her.

“Okay, we’ve got the introductions out of the way. Let’s focus on my dirtbag of a brother.” She pauses. “Adopted brother, that is.”

Clenching the steering wheel, I ask, “What do you know so far? Did Sunshine fill you in? Once I know what you know, we can hopefully fill in the blanks.”

I can see her in my peripheral vision, tilting her head like she’s trying to figure me out. “Well, I know what you put out on social media.” I want to look over at her, but I don’t. Instead, I stay quiet, letting her continue. “I saw all your videos, so anything else you have, let me know.”

For the next hour, we chat back and forth about the facts and what she knows, as well as what I know. Luckily, she knows a lot about her adopted brother. She corrects me every time I call him her brother. She definitely doesn’t like him.

Cherry tells me he was a troubled kid and always has been. He made her life hell. He’s older, and when her parents got pregnant with her, I guess he rebelled, thinking they wouldn’t love him as much with them having their own child now.

We talk about their upbringing. I feel the attraction beginning to build between us.

Our banter back and forth is relaxing and electrifying at the same time.

We discuss what we’re going to do once we get there.

Cherry even planned a way for us to check if anyone was at the cabin without alerting them.

Thank God she knows the area well since the cabin is secluded on a lake, making it the perfect spot to hide out.

We both don’t understand why Sam is involved or why he took her. Cherry thinks maybe he’s back on drugs but doesn’t know for sure since she hasn’t spoken to him in over a year. We are relatively sure that Jared is his biological brother. It’s the only real link as to why Sam is there.

I gave Cherry my folder and notes for her to review. She’s been reading through them and reviewing photos and stuff for a while. I’m just focused on driving, giving her time to process everything I’ve recovered so far.

“Thank you for helping me,” I say, still staring straight ahead.

“You’re welcome.” She pauses. “Sunshine shared your video on social media, and as soon as I saw it, I knew right away I had to help. I’m sorry it took me so long to see it. I was at a tattoo convention, so I wasn’t online much.” She sounds apologetic.

“I’m just glad you’re here now,” I reply, giving her a side glance, smiling.

That hair. Fuck me.

I’m itching to touch her. She’s sitting back with all my papers in her lap, resembling a fucking goddess.

“Me too. We’re going to get Samantha back. I promise,” she says, sounding confident.

My heart constricts hearing her so devoted to my kid that she doesn’t even know.

My phone rings, sounding throughout the cab. Seeing it’s Dawg, I answer, and it goes straight to the speaker.

“Wadsup?” I answer

“You two good? Where are you?” he asks.

“Yup. Making good time. We’re over halfway there.”

Sunshine’s voice comes through the speakers next. “Cherry, you good girl?”

“Yes, I’m good. Nothing to worry about. Level has been nice.”

I look over at Cherry with questioning eyes. Like what the fuck. Nice? Like I would be mean to her. And I don’t really know how I feel about her calling me Level compared to Ray. I think I like Ray better coming from her voluptuous lips.

Stop it. I shake my head.

Cherry replies, “She was worried you’d be angry and bruty.”

Sunshine fires off, “No, I said he’d be tired and grumpy.”

Dawg speaks up next. “Level isn’t brutal unless you fuck with him. I told you she’d be in good hands. Plus, she’s fine as fuck. He ain’t going to be mean.”

Fine as fuck is an understatement.

You can tell he’s talking to Sunshine, not us. Cherry and I look at each other and grin.

Focusing back on the road, I say teasingly, “She is fine as fuck. So, yeah, it did take me off guard, but I’m good now.”

Cherry smacks my arm. “Hey.”

Christ, she’s cute.

I chuckle. “What?”

Fuck. I haven’t laughed since Samantha was taken.

I ask Cherry again.

She crosses her arms over her chest, and her beautiful, perky breasts are damn near spilling out of her tank top, giving me an instant woody.

Raising a brow, she asks, “Take you off guard. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

I smirk. Liking this side of Cherry. Feisty.

Dawg and Sunshine, still on the line, cracked up.

Not caring what anyone thinks, I reply, “Oh, Cherry Blossom, it’s a fucking good thing.”

Her cheeks turn a slight pink, making me crave her even more.

I lick my lips, wanting to see how pink I can make those cheeks turn. I blink a few times, trying to control my urge to pull over and fuck her. This woman is drawing me in, getting her claws into me, when I should be thinking of finding my daughter.

Dawg’s voice booms through the speaker, shaking me from my internal fight.

“Oh-kay. We’re gonna let you two go. Call me when you get there. We’re all here waiting to hear from you.”

I answer okay before hanging up.

I’m hoping the sexual tension between us dies down as we drive in silence.