Page 14 of Shine: Sins of the Father (Evil Dead MC: Second Generation #8)

Shine—

Climbing the entrance ramp for the interstate heading south out of San Jose, I gun my engine. Exhaustion hits me about three and a half hours into the ride, and I get a motel in Bakersfield. There’s not much at the exit except one motel, two gas stations, and an IHOP.

The room is decent. All I really care about is that the bed is comfortable, the a/c works, and there’s hot water.

I drop my bag and take a shower. The heat of the rivulets running over my body takes away some of the stiffness.

Bracing my palms on the wall, I let it pour over my neck and shoulders.

Visions of Desiree fill my head. No, scratch that.

Her real name is Fiona. I try it on my tongue.

It’s weird to call her that, so I settle on my nickname for her. Sweetness.

Images of her naked, wet body in the shower with me fill my head.

Her touch when she soaped me up was gentle, but she didn’t play shy, and I loved that.

There’s something about a woman’s touch and one who’s not afraid to touch me.

I find plenty of women may want me to fuck them, but they aren’t much into giving back any kind of intimacy.

Maybe it’s the whole MC thing. Maybe I scare them, so they hold back.

Becca was the first one I’d found in a long time who didn’t let the whole badass biker stuff frighten her. At least, that’s what I’d thought. Even she couldn’t handle it when it came down to making it last.

I close my eyes and try not to think of the past. That’s done. It’s over. But I can’t wipe this weekend from my mind. It sure started out great. Sweetness was quite the surprise. I would have loved to spend an entire week with her.

Too bad Donnie Ray and Carl had to fuck it all up.

I wonder where Donnie Ray is right now.

I found the damn tracker he put on my bike when we hit the first pull-over spot I could find once I knew we were safely away from that damn fire.

He’d stuck it under my rear fender. I stuck it on a semi that pulled up next to us, asking if we needed help.

Said he was headed to Reno. Maybe Donnie Ray is still following him.

Or maybe he’s up at the lake, looking for his brother.

Shutting off the water, I grab a thick white towel and wrap it around my waist.

I hit the bed, grab the remote, and find a news channel, wondering about that damn fire.

They’re running a report and show a map.

It’s barely on the screen long enough, but it looks like the fire turned with the wind and is now headed in another direction.

I hope so; I’d hate to see that little cabin burn.

I’ve got some sweet memories of that place.

Grabbing my phone, I pull up Fiona’s photo.

My little sweetness is off limits, but I can still look at her. The fact that she’s forbidden really bothers me, maybe more than I thought it would. Guess that little girl got her hooks in me deeper than I knew.

Eventually, exhaustion overtakes me, and I slip under the covers and let sleep pull me under.

***

The sun is barely up when the road sounds from the interstate wake me. Eighteen-wheelers make a hell of a lot of noise.

Clasping my hands behind my head, I stare at the ceiling and wonder what my little sweetness is doing right now. Probably safe and warm in her bed.

Disgusted that I keep tormenting myself with thoughts of her, I fling off the covers, get dressed, and head out to my bike.

While I gas up, I stare at the IHOP, but the thought of another pancake house will only remind me of Fiona, so I skip it and grab a granola bar, an energy drink, and a few bottles of water for my saddlebag. Last thing I want to do is cross the Mohave Desert with no water stashed.

Flipping the bag open, my eyes hit the garbage bag I’d tucked in it yesterday with Carl’s gun and the other stuff.

Shit. I forgot to ditch it.

I glance at the garbage can, but I know this place has cameras, so I decide to toss it out in the desert along the way.

When I arrive at my clubhouse, I’m exhausted as I trudge up the steps of the porch.

Inside we’ve got a bar to the right, some couches and pool tables in the big center area, but I don’t do more than lift an arm to Lobo and Trick sitting at the bar.

“Daytona in his office?” I ask, and they both nod.

“How was your trip?” Lobo calls out, but I hold up my hand and head to our President’s office through the doors on the left. I tap and hear him yell out.

“Come in.”

When I enter, he leans in his chair and tosses a pen on a ledger on his desk.

“Well, you’re back. You have a good time?”

I take the seat across from him. “Good and bad. I need to tell you a bunch of shit, but first, I need to know one thing.”

He frowns at my serious tone. “What’s that?”

“Did you and the guys arrange for a woman to be at the cabin waiting for me, like some kind of a gift or something?”

He chuckles. “Are you being serious right now?”

“As a heart attack.”

When I don’t crack a smile, his fades from his face. “We did not. Why?”

“When I arrived, there was a girl there. I set my shit down and heard a noise behind me. Pulled my gun, spun around and she’s standing there in the doorway to the bedroom in nothing but an Evil Dead t-shirt.”

“No shit. Who was she?”

“I thought you guys had arranged it. When I said as much, she played along like that’s why she was there.”

Daytona huffs a laugh. “So what happened?”

“I thought she was one of the dancers from Sonny’s, that place San Jose owns. She let me believe she was.”

“You fuck her?”

“Hell, yeah, I fucked her. We had a great time until some other stuff happened that I’ll get back to in a minute. Anyway, last night I gave her a ride to San Jose, and she had me drop her off at Sonny’s, telling me she had a shift to work, so I did.

“I went up there later that night to see her, and when I asked for Desiree—”

“Desiree?”

“Not her real name, I found out. Guess that was made up, too. Anyway, the real Desiree was there, and I was confused, because that was not the girl I just spent the weekend with. I had a photo of her and showed it to the girl, and she told me, ‘oh, yeah, that girl is with the MC.’ I about lost it. I asked her if she meant she was one of the ol’ ladies.

She said she didn’t know for sure. I stood there, confused as hell, so I texted Reckless the photo, and he about had a fit. Told me this girl is Wolf’s daughter.”

“Good fucking Lord.” My president drops his head into his hands. “You fucked his daughter?”

“Not knowingly. I swear. I thought she was a dancer.”

“Let me see her photo.”

“Prez—” I start to object, because I really don’t want any of the guys to see her half naked, but he just lifts a brow and makes a motion with his hand for me to pass it over.

I dig my phone out of my pocket, pull it up, and show him.

The door opens and Trick, our VP, strolls in.

Daytona looks at the photo, and goddamn Trick leans in, too, then whistles.

“Damn, Shine. Who’s she?”

Daytona swipes out of the photo and hands me my phone. “Wolf’s daughter.”

Trick’s brows about hit his hairline. “Are you shitting me? Why the hell do you have a picture like that of the man’s daughter?”

“It’s a long story,” Daytona says. “I’ll fill you in later.” His eyes lock with mine. “All right, she lied to you about who she was, so that’s not on you. I get that, but that’s over. You got that?”

I nod.

He tilts his head. “What was this other shit you were going to circle back to?”

I tell him everything that happened with Donnie Ray and Carl, omitting the part where Fiona shot Carl. I let my president believe it was me. By the time I finish the story, he’s got his head in his hands again.

“Holy fuck, Shine. When you fuck up, you do a job of it. What the hell happened to having a quiet weekend? You were supposed to be up there fishing or some shit.”

“In all fairness,” Trick cuts in, “they followed him back to the cabin and started it all.”

“No, VP. He started it all.” Prez jabs a finger toward me. “He started it the minute he went after that scumbag.”

Prez is right. We all know it.

Trick looks between us. “What are we gonna do about Donnie Ray? We’re killing him, right?”

Daytona drags a hand down his face. “Oh, we’re definitely killing the motherfucker.

But first, we’ve got to find him. I’m guessing he knows you’re after him, so he’ll stay as far away from Vegas as he can get, Shine.

But when and if he puts together that you killed his brother, he’s gonna want revenge.

Your sister and mother may be in danger.

You know cowards like him always go for the weakest link. ”

I nod, thinking about the most important women in my life.

“We can put a prospect on them round the clock,” Trick suggests.

Daytona nods. “It might be best to move them out of that house for now. That’s the first place he’ll look.”

“You’re right.”

“We got room here, but I doubt you want them staying at the clubhouse,” Daytona says.

“Not really,” I reply.

He shifts his gaze to Trick, stroking his chin. “You know any place, VP?”

He grins. “Leave it to me.”

Trick follows me to the bar and throws an arm around me. “Now tell me all about how you fucked Wolf’s daughter.”

I glance to his smiling face. “I really want to punch you in that fucking mug of yours right now, VP.”

He only laughs. “You ain’t never gonna hear the end of this one, bro.”