Barely Undercover: Legal Heat Book 2(94)

James nodded and waved the waitress over. Fuck the thirty minutes. Jackie was right. They had to get a move on.

“Did you know?” Jackie asked softly as James tossed a wad of bills on the table. “Did you know right away Lana was the one?”

James met her curious gaze full-on steady. “Yeah, I knew. But I was too afraid to accept it. And look what happened. I almost lost her. I might lose her still.”

They slid out of the booth and wove their way through the empty tables to the door.

“You won’t lose her,” Jackie said over her shoulder. “If she’s the one, you’ll wind up together, no matter what. That’s how love works.”

James’s throat tightened. “Didn’t take you for a romantic.”

“Didn’t take you for one either, J, but here you are, ready to risk your life to get my girl back. Doesn’t get more romantic than that.”

A thunder of motorcycles echoed in the valley as they stepped out the door. Jackie took an involuntary step behind James, and he reached for his gun. If Rex’s boys had found them, they’d better not get in the way. James had Angel’s number and he knew what to do with it.

Sunlight glinted off the lead motorcycle as it swooped into the parking lot. James threw an arm up to shield his eyes and recognized Ryder’s bike as it pulled to a stop.

“Ryder,” he said over his shoulder, his tension leaving his body in a rush.

Jackie stepped out from behind him and frowned at the sea of motorcycles in front of them. “Who does he have with him?”

Ryder dismounted and quickly closed the distance between them. He shook James’s hand and gave Jackie a warm smile. “Sorry we’re late. We’ve been looking for Kickstand but he disappeared. We found his bike in a field near the clubhouse, but no trace of him.”

“Wolverines have him,” James said. “They’re holding him hostage for Lana’s good behavior. They have her too.”

Ryder’s face tightened. “Damn. I knew we’d waited too long. Well, we’re here now and we’ll get them back. You have my word on it.”

James surveyed the sea of black in front of him. “What is this? The guys aren’t wearing their colors.”

“My new club.” A smile ghosted Ryder’s lips. “Hades split over Rex’s decision to call the Wolverines. A lot of them didn’t take kindly to watching Lana being abused or to Rex’s involvement in what they saw as human trafficking. Strange moral code. Drugs and murder are okay, but abusing and enslaving women are not. I convinced another eight to join my original ten.” He waved his hand over the assembled crowd. “Everyone is briefed and ready to go.”

“What do you call yourselves?” Jackie asked. “Right now, plain black jackets don’t really scream badass bikers to me.”

“We haven’t decided on a name or a patch yet, so we’re riding bald,” Ryder said. “Got any ideas?”

“How about Hot Pieces of Ass?” Jackie murmured, looking over the vast array of leather and chrome. “You seem to have picked the best of the bunch. Something you forgot to tell me, Ryder?”

Ryder snorted a laugh. “Yeah. I forgot to tell you you’re joining the club. I need an experienced PI. Part-time or full-time, it’s up to you.” He pointed to a tall, blond giant in the thick of the crowd. “We’ll talk more about it later. We need to get on the road. Go talk to VD. He’ll set you up with a jacket and helmet. I’m guessing you want to come along on the rescue mission, so you can ride with him.”

“VD?” Jackie muttered as she stomped away. “All this man candy and he hooks me up with someone named VD?”

In response to James’s quizzical look, Ryder said, “Viking Dan will be able to handle her. He just moved over here from Norway. Doesn’t talk much, but when he does, people listen.”

He pulled a leather jacket out of his pack and held it out to James. “Yours, if you’re interested. I’m running a clean club. No drugs. No murder. We’re about justice where the system isn’t working. But we’re willing to step into the gray zone. We’ll hurt only those people who deserve it. We’ll steal only from those who can afford it. We’ll protect those who need it and help those who want it.”

“Vigilantes.”

“More like Robin Hood and his merry men. I also managed to bring on board a few ex-military specialists to run a Special Operations Department.”

Military? Special Ops? James frowned. Who the hell was Ryder? Not an ordinary biker. Was he the deep-undercover operative who had arranged for James to join the club? The one who had called with the now-or-never opportunity? The one he’d never met?