“How long were you with Levi?” Jackie asked when they were out of earshot. “You know more biker cuss words than most of the bikers here.”
“Four years.” She trembled as adrenaline continued to surge through her body.
“It took you four years to escape?” Jackie’s voice rose in disbelief.
Lana shook her head. “It took me three years to escape. The first year wasn’t so bad. Levi was the leader of a small motorcycle club in Kelowna. I was sixteen and had dropped out of school. He was charming and exciting, although very insecure about me. He had big dreams. He convinced me to go with him to Seattle so he could pledge himself to a US motorcycle club. They used me to test him, and he did nothing to protect me. I realized then he’d never really loved me. And then they wouldn’t let me go…”
She choked on her last words and Jackie wrapped her arms around Lana. “I’m so sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to bring it all up.”
“What’s going on?”
Lana startled at the sound of James’s voice directly behind her. She spun around and grimaced when she saw Rex beside him. Had they overheard?
“You need to come with us, babe. We’re going to church.”
“Church?” Jackie gave him a quizzical look. “You’re going to church? Now?”
“Full-patch meeting,” James said. “It’s a cross between a courtroom, where Rex is law, and a board meeting where everyone gets a vote. Prospects, mamas, old ladies and guests aren’t invited.”
Rex studied Lana for a long moment. “But you are. I’m sure you know why.” His cold, calculating smile sent a shiver down her spine.
Had she given herself away?
Rex held court beside the starting line and banished the nonpatch members to the far end of the racetrack. James gritted his teeth as Lana repeated her allegations. He knew damn well she wouldn’t have accused Portia if she hadn’t been 100 percent sure. But if Portia swayed the vote, Lana would have to pay the penalty for falsely accusing her. He couldn’t let that happen.
After Lana finished talking, she answered questions from the group. How far away was she when she saw the objects? Did she see Portia throw them? Did she have any reason to be angry with Portia? Could she have made a mistake?
In answer to the last question, Lana pointed to the tack-studded tire and a handful of tacks she had picked up off the track on the way to the meeting. Hard evidence.
Lana’s forthright answers and her willingness to admit to the occasional uncertainty garnered her many nods and smiles. Still, sweat trickled down James’s back despite the cool breeze, and his heart thumped in nervous anticipation of what Portia might say.
“Don’t worry.” Ryder came up beside James and clapped him on the back. “No one’s gonna back Portia over Lana. They know what Portia’s like. They know the truth.”
In the end, Ryder was right and Portia was banished from the club.
“You should be thanking me instead of condemning me,” Portia spat after Rex told her to leave. “I was helping you win the race. I was showing you how much I care. You didn’t have a chance against Ice.”
Wrong thing to say. Rex’s face turned multishades of purple.
“Get her out of here,” he bellowed.
Portia spun around, turning the full force of her fury on Lana. “You fucking bitch. You were angling to be mama from day one. Well, it isn’t all it’s cut out to be. You’re going to pay for this. You’re going to be damn sorry you messed with me.” She stalked over to Lana, hauled her elbow back and threw a punch at Lana’s jaw.
James was running before his conscious mind had even processed he’d moved, but by the time he reached them, Portia was on the grass with a furious Lana twisting her arm behind her.
“Never. Touch. Me. Again,” she growled.
James gently pulled her away and Ryder escorted Portia to her motorcycle. The crowd booed, disappointed they’d been denied what had promised to be an exciting fight.
“You okay?” James slid an arm around Lana’s waist and pulled her into his chest. More for his sake than hers. He was still riding high on the adrenaline rush from the accident and the overwhelming fear that she could have been hurt. He wanted nothing more than to take her away and hide out with her until he could be certain the world was safe again.
Damn protective instinct. He was in too deep and drowning fast.
Lana gave a noncommittal shrug. “Sure. I took a self-defense course and I’ve dealt with worse…in the bars with Jackie.”
James frowned. Her slight hesitation suggested she’d encountered worse somewhere else. Yet another secret he would have to tease out of her. Why had none of these things come out during the six months they were together?