Page 11

Lizzie—

We head northeast up highway 240, and I realize we’re headed toward Vallecito Lake.

It’s beautiful rolling low mountain terrain, and the ride is stunning with the fall colors all golden and the sky bright blue. We eventually come to the end of highway 240, and Darko turns left onto route 501, heading north. We pass tall pines and farms with red barns.

It’s an unusually warm day for this time of year, but the ride is chilly, and when Darko stops to get gas, he digs a leather jacket out of his saddlebag.

“Put this on. The ride could get cold.”

Slipping my arms into the sleeves, it’s obviously too big.

“C’mere,” he says, stepping in front of me and taking one hand. He patiently folds the leather cuff back, then repeats it with the other one.

I like the way he takes care of me, making sure I’m good.

He taps my nose and grins, then steps away to pull a fleece lined denim shirt out of his saddlebag. He puts it on under his cut and soon, we’re off again.

Thirty minutes later, we arrive at the lake and do a loop around it. Then Darko pulls into a place called the Woodfire Grill.

There are three other motorcycles parked near the front.

Dismounting, I pull my helmet off, a huge smile on my face.

Darko grins at my expression. “Well, how was your virgin ride, pretty girl?”

I bounce on my feet. “God, I loved it.”

He chuckles and turns toward the building. “Come on, newbie. Let’s get some food.”

The restaurant is built of golden-hued logs, and inside is a giant fireplace.

I see a few men in leather sitting at a bar off to the right, but they’re not wearing colors like Darko.

We’re led to a booth with tall wooden backs, giving us privacy and a good view of the roaring fire. There are only a handful of people here.

Darko orders a beer and a steak, and I get a burger and beer as well.

“That was so much fun,” I squeal, still riding high.

“I’m glad you liked it. I had a feeling you would.”

The waitress brings our longnecks, and I watch the crackling fire. It’s warm, and I shrug out of the leather jacket. My eyes drop to Darko’s cut. “It’s strange seeing you in that.”

He lays a hand on his chest. “Is it?”

I glance around the place. “Do people, I mean…?”

“What, Lizzie? Spit it out. You can ask me anything. Unless it's club business, I’ll tell you. I want to be straight with you in everything, if I can.”

“How do people respond to you when you wear it?”

He shrugs. “Some give me a wide berth, others are curious, and occasionally some drunk bastard will challenge me, wanting to prove he’s tougher than the Royal Bastard. Especially when I’m alone.”

“You’ve been in fights?”

“I’ve been in a lot of fights, sweetheart, but you can relax that worried frown. I can take care of myself.”

“Have any of them ever injured you?”

“Had a guy come at me with a broken bottle once.” He pulls back his hair, showing me his forehead and a thin white line. “Got this scar from that night.”

“Are there more?”

“More what?” He takes a sip of his beer.

“Scars.”

“Babe, we ever get intimate, I’ll show you.”

“You’ve been hurt?” I skip over the implication of a sexual relationship, like it’s a possibility, but my heart rate jumps at the look in his eyes.

“Guy in another club started a knife fight with me in Sturgis one year. I survived.”

“Oh my God.”

“I’m still standin’, Lizzie. So, don’t fret about it.”

Our food comes, and the steak is slid in front of Darko.

He reaches for the hot sauce in the condiment caddy, and my mouth goes slack.

“Matt used to do that,” I say. “Put hot sauce on his steak.”

“Because it’s damn good,” Darko replies with a grin, totally unphased that I’ve brought Matt up. He cuts into his steak. “Nothing like a good, rare steak.”

“Matt liked rare, too. If it ever came out pink, he’d send it back. I can’t tell you how many times we had to wait for a meal to be made over.”

“Yeah?” Darko says, shoving a bite into his mouth. “How ‘bout you? How do you like your steak?”

“Medium.” I reach for the ketchup and put some on my plate, then drag a fry through the blob. “I love coffee, but Matt never drank the stuff. But boy, did he like his energy drinks.” I suddenly look at Darko. “Sorry. Maybe I’m talking too much about Matt.”

“Go right ahead, sweetheart. I get the need to talk about him.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“I’m not in competition with him, though I do envy him the time he had with you.” He tips his head to the side. “But I get to enjoy a meal with you, so today, I’m the winner, huh?”

I look around the restaurant, thinking about his words.

“You having fun today, Lizzie?” Darko’s question pulls my eyes to him.

“Yes, but now I feel like I’ve ruined it. Every time I think I can relax and enjoy something, the guilt hits me. How can I be happy when he’s gone? How can I allow myself to feel joy?”

“Because you are not dead, babe. You are very much alive, and that’s God’s plan. You’ve got a whole life left to live. Years and years. You should allow yourself some grace. Cut yourself some slack. You’ve been through hell. I imagine you’ve had some really dark days, am I right?”

“So dark.”

“You don’t have to stay there. You need to rejoin the living. You need to give yourself permission to find joy again.”

My eyes sting. Waving my hand at my face, I try to dry my tears before they spill. “I hate you right now. Don’t make me cry in front of everyone.”

He reaches across the table and brushes my lips with his thumb. “And what if you did? Fuck these people. You want, we’ll go out and get on that bike right now and get out of here.” He grins. “But this is a really good steak, babe.”

He somehow knows how to drag a smile out of me, and then a huff of laughter.

We eat, and just as the waitress brings the check, his phone goes off. He looks at the screen, then puts it to his ear. “Yeah?”

He listens for a while.

“Right now? Goddamn it. Okay. I’m at least thirty-minutes out, but I’ll meet you there.”

He disconnects and sets the phone on the table. “Gotta head out. You through?”

“Yes. What is it?”

“Just some club business. Ever heard of The Cherry Bomb?”

“The strip club outside of town?”

“That’s the one.” He stands, peeling some bills off for a tip and dropping them on the table. “I’ve got to go deal with something. There’s no time to drop you off. You good with that?”

“Sure.”

“Great. Let’s go.”

Half an hour later, Darko turns the bike into the gravel parking lot, and I glance at the neon sign, two cherries flashing like they’re swinging. The marquis claims to have Colorado’s most beautiful women.

A couple of semi-tractor trailers are parked off to the side, and a half-dozen cars closer. Right in front are three motorcycles, and I wonder if they belong to more Royal Bastards.

When Darko parks right next to them, it confirms it for me.

We dismount, and Darko takes my hand, pulling the door open and leading me inside.

The bouncer at the door sees him and waves us in. “They’re in the office.”

Darko lifts his chin to the big man, and we walk around a partition.

I’ve never been to a strip club before. There’s a stage, and a girl dances to a driving beat, putting on quite a show. She’s down to a g-string, and her breasts are phenomenal.

The room is dark with purple mood lighting.

More topless women are scattered around the room, giving lap dances.

A bar runs along the right wall, and the stage and tables are on the left.

Darko leads me along the barstools and down a long hall, his broad shoulders barely clearing the walls of the tight hallway. He stops at the first open door on the right, and it only takes a glance to realize it’s the dancers’ dressing room. One girl sits before a mirror, applying makeup. Her eyes lock with mine in the reflection, and she turns, giving me a once over.

“You new talent?”

My eyes widen, but before I can answer, Darko sets her straight.

“She’s none of your goddamn business, Kiki.”

She makes a face and returns to applying her makeup.

“Where’s Gigi?”

Kiki rolls her eyes. “Ms. High-and-mighty is in the office.”

Darko leads me to another room on the left

It’s a small office, and it’s crowded, with barely room for us to get more than a step or two inside. Three other Royal Bastards fill the room, and an older woman sits behind a desk, a beautiful blonde with an ice pack to the side of her face stands in the corner.

One of the men straightens from the wall and turns, seeing me.

“What the hell is she doing in here?” he snaps.

“Shut the fuck up, Memphis. She’s with me. That’s all you need to know.”

Utah winks at me but doesn’t say my name.

The third man I recognize as well. He’s the club president. Rock.

“Nice of you to join us, VP,” he says with an arched brow.

Darko bends, pulls the ice pack from the blonde’s face and examines it, then whistles. “Who did this to you, honey?”

“Dave.”

“You okay?”

“I’ll live.”

“More than you can say about that asshole,” Utah bites out.

“You find the son-of-a-bitch?” Darko asks.

“Not yet, but we’ve got a couple of places to run down.”

Rock folds his arms and lifts his chin at me, his eyes on Darko.

“Gigi, could you take Lizzie to the bar and get her a drink?” Darko says.

The girl with the ice pack stands. “Of course.”

Darko brushes the hair from her face and dips his head, locking eyes with the woman. “You are never gonna have to worry about him again, understand?”

She nods and slips past me.

I follow her down the hall. We take a seat at the end of the bar, and a female bartender approaches.

“What would you like?” Gigi asks me.

“Um. A screwdriver, I guess.”

“Sure thing, hon.” The bartender retreats to make the drink.

I glance around the room and then at Gigi. “Who hit you?”

“A guy I was seeing. He seemed really great at first, but then he started to get really possessive.”

“Is this the first time he’s hit you?” I whisper.

“I wish I could say yes, but it's not. I didn’t want to tell the club, because I knew what they’d do, but this time, he left evidence I couldn’t hide.”

“Did he hit you here?”

“He caught me in the parking lot when I got out of my car. Luckily, Tiny was watching the cameras and ran outside and stopped him, but he got away. Tiny is under strict orders to keep the club informed of everything, so he called them.”

“Oh.”

“God, this is so embarrassing. I never saw myself as the kind of woman who would put up with this, who would allow this, but I didn’t put a stop to it after the first time, or even the second. He’d apologize and swear it would never happen again. God, I feel like such a fool.”

I squeeze her hand. “This isn’t your fault. And you’re not a fool.”

“Thanks.” She studies me. “So, Darko and you?”

I shake my head. “I just work for him.”

The dancer from the dressing room approaches us. She smirks at Gigi. “Always have to be the center of attention, don’t you?”

“Fuck off, Kiki,” she replies.

Kiki shifts her attention to me, lifting her chin. “So you’re the flavor of the month.” She eyes me up and down. “He always comes back to me.”

“Get out of here, Kiki, before I tell Darko exactly what you just said. This one’s special to him, and you’d do well to keep your fucking mouth shut.”

The dancer flips Gigi off and heads to the floor to solicit customers for lap dances.

“Don’t listen to her,” the bartender says, setting my drink in front of me.

“Exactly,” Gigi adds. “Kiki wishes she could get a man like Darko.”

I believe her, but I still wonder how many of these women he’s been with. The comment Gigi made plays in my head. This one’s special to him.

It’s not long before the men file out, and Darko stops at my barstool.

“I’ve got something to do. Hang here with Gigi, okay?” He looks over my head at the bartender. “Anything she wants, okay?”

“You’ve got it, hon. I’ll take good care of her.”

He connects his eyes with mine and squeezes the back of my neck softly. Then he’s gone.

“Where are they going?” I ask Gigi.

She exchanges a look with the bartender.

“It’s club business, Lizzie.”

“They’re going to get that guy. That much is obvious. Is he dangerous?”

She huffs a laugh. “Only to those weaker than him.”

“What will they do to him?”

Again, the two exchange a look.

“They won’t kill him, will they? I mean, I know he’s a bad guy, but—”

“I imagine they’ll beat the shit out of him,” Gigi admits.

It’s the first time I’m actually exposed to a side of the club I’d never seen before, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.