Outlaw's Vow: Grizzlies MC Romance(122)

“No need. We can't waste any time. I'll do it.” I looked at him. “Just give me a day or two to call the clubhouse before I head over there. I'm supposed to give them advanced warning before I show up.”

I hadn't called Blackjack last time before I'd marched in and confronted Roman. I wouldn't tell my cousin that two days was the minimum I needed to walk in without screaming, without losing my mind after he'd slammed the door in my face.

“What the hell?” Norm stretched back in his seat, looking stunned. “What brought you around so fast?”

“Caleb,” I said. “He's all that really matters here, more than the farm.”

We shared a heavy look. His eyes were dark, understanding, sympathetic. For the first time that day, maybe my cousin wasn't such an enormous asshole after all.



A few days later, I stopped in front of the MC's clubhouse gates. None of the prospects recognized me from a couple weeks ago, and I didn't recognize them.

They mumbled something about having to check with a full patch member. Mentioning Blackjack's name gave me a shred of leeway. Probably the only reason they didn't tell me to fuck off.

What the hell's going on? Why all the strange new faces? Was the club running through men like a bad retail job?

I recognized a couple locals wearing the prospect cuts. None of them nodded or gave me the smallest wave. They were all too busy looking tough and manly. Guess they feared their dicks would shrink an inch or something if they said hello to a neighbor.

There were definitely things I'd never grasp about the MC life.

“You again? Shit, I didn't think you'd be back so soon!” The tough guy named Rabid shouted to me when he was only a few steps away behind the gate. “Let her the fuck in.”

A couple seconds later, the high metal bars pulled open. I drove through the gap, parked, and got out, staring at the clubhouse with dread.

Maybe I'd get lucky. Maybe Roman wouldn't be inside if they've sent him on a run or something.

“Sally, right?” Rabid said, stepping up to me with another man at his side.

“Good memory. You're Rabid. Can't forget a name like that.” We exchanged a smile, and then he pointed at the new man.

“This is my brother, Beam. He's gonna take care of whatever you need inside. I'd handle it myself, but I'm about to head out on a run with our Veep.” He started walking toward the big garage where they kept their bikes, but then he turned around to add one more thing. “Give Goliath some hell in there. The poor bastard could use it. Knock some fucking sense into him.”

Beam chuckled at my side, leading me toward the main door. My heart thudded at about a hundred miles per hour in my chest, running on a vile anger and anxiety hybrid fuel.

The thought of coming face to face with Roman again turned my stomach. After what he did, growling in my face and pushing me away, he didn't deserve to see me, much less speak to me.

We'd already said everything we needed to. He'd proven he wasn't worthy to see his son.

I couldn't imagine ever introducing my boy to his father. For some reason, the cold reality it would never happen hurt like hell too. As screwed up as my family had been, they've always been there for me.

Uncle Ralph bailed me out when I was fifteen, right after mom overdosed on shitty sleeping pills. He finished raising me, turned me into a country girl, probably the only thing that saved me from following mom's filthy footsteps. Norm, as insufferable as he was, taught me a lot about hard work. And the extended family was always happy to pitch in, babysitting Caleb when I needed them to, or just making me feel like a human being at our holiday dinners.

No, it wasn't perfect. I'd never been incredibly close to anyone. I probably never would be.

That's the price when you're a black sheep, the girl who threw her youth away making a baby with a badass who wasn't fit to be a dad. But I'd be crazy to leave the only kin I had – reason number one hundred and one I couldn't seriously dream about fleeing to another state to escape the hell coming down.

“Shit, baby,” Beam said when we got to the door, catching my attention. “I think you're about to be the best dressed lady we've had in this clubhouse for months.”

His grin made me stand up straight. He looked me up and down, a slow hunger in his eyes like I hadn't seen since my long lost summer paradise with Roman.

Holy shit. A man was giving me the kinda attention I hadn't had for eons. I couldn't decide whether to smile sweetly or slap him across the face.

He was kind of cute, in his own weird way. Short spiky hair trimmed a little too close on the sides, almost like a rock star, or an overgrown skater kid. His lean, hard muscles weren't hard on the eyes either, even if they weren't as massive as Romans.

He definitely had the biker bad boy vibe, the wild energy that makes a woman want to crawl on the back of a Harley anytime, even if it led straight to his bed.