Outlaw's Vow: Grizzlies MC Romance(14)

I didn't say anything, just lowered my eyes.

He really didn't grasp the full insanity of what he was asking me to do. It didn't matter if I even liked the bastard I'd be forced to wed. He'd still be my first husband, the first man I lived with, my first tender kiss as a wife.

That last part was a maybe. It scared me, honestly, especially when I hadn't been kissed since that night with Austin more than four years.

“Darling, listen, it's gonna be okay,” he said, reaching for me.

I jerked away. “Just go. I need some time to process. Not to mention start getting ready for everything with what little notice you've given me.”

“Yeah, I'm real sorry about that. Only finalized the shit last night, when I realized there was no way out of it. That bastard, Blackjack, he's already nipping at my heels, just looking for a chance to eighty-six me and put another puppet in place who'll dance for the Redding club. Greedy, demanding fucks. All of 'em.” He softened his anger before he spoke again. “Look, I already promised you work up here, and that part doesn't change. I'm gonna need you around, helping with the Chinese deal when it's all patched up. You can understand those boys like we can't. They'll never see it coming. We're gonna make a lot of money from this, baby. I'll be a dead man before anybody tries to take your fair share.”

I turned away. He wasn't making me feel better.

For a second, he lingered, probably feeling a pang of fatherly guilt over this whole thing. That should've counted for something. But it didn't. Not when Gil, the Grizzlies MC President, overruled it.

“Okay, Elle Jo. Try to get some sleep.” One more command, and he was gone, gently closing the door behind me. Just like he used to when I was a little girl and he stopped in to check on me while I lay in my bed, pretending to be asleep.

Kind of ironic that money was suddenly the furthest thing from my mind when it was my whole reason for coming home. Finding a man and getting married in Tacoma was last on my list of dreams.

Well, I hadn't exactly found one, but now marriage was in the cards. I had to make myself think he kept his words, that he was serious about sharing the profits from whatever came out of this dirty deal with the foreign mafia.

Just think about the money, I told myself. A few weeks married, a few six figure payments, and you can go anywhere. Do anything. Forget all of this crap forever.

It had its appeal. Now, I just had to repeat it to myself a few thousand times, until I actually believed it.

If I survived the next few weeks – a very big if – I swore I'd walk away rich. And once I had my money and dumped my fake husband, no man was ever going to order me around again.



“Christ, you're beautiful, Elle Jo.” Daddy didn't look half bad in his charcoal jeans and fresh, clean cut.

He hooked his arm over mine as we stood in front of the double doors, ready to be hoisted open any second by the two prospects on the other side.

“I wish it wasn't going down this way. I'm sorry, sweetheart. One of these days, I'm gonna lead you down the aisle in that getup to marry a man you want to be with. Mark my words.”

“Let's just get this over with,” I whined, fidgeting in my heels.

I'd had about half an hour to practice walking around in them, careful not to trip all over my mom's ivory skirt. I knew at least a few of the tears in daddy's eyes weren't because of what he had to do, or because he was still handing off his daughter for a biker wedding.

He had to be remembering his own, the day she wore this, coming down the aisle toward him with love and hope in her eyes. I tried to hang onto that memory, focus on the greater good.

Hell, I tried to focus on all the compensation I'd get from this sideshow – if it worked out.

I just had to grin and bear it, stay out of harm's way, and then do my thing when he went to negotiate with the Chinese. I hadn't begun to plan how I was going to keep my new husband's eyes off what was going on in the club, but daddy said he'd help with all that.

Whatever else, he lived by his word. I had to count on it. I had to –

The doors swung open. Rock and roll blasted in our faces, and several dozen bikers lined up near the pews roared, holding their hands across their chests in a salute.

Two big, burly prospects from Tacoma nodded, their beards waving. We stepped onto the bright red carpet, heading for the trio gathered near the altar. A tall man with long, gray hair who had to be the infamous Blackjack, a brother who doubled as a priest, and...

Fuck. Daddy mouthed it first. I was right behind him.

I practically stopped in my tracks, staring in disbelief.

Even after all these years, I recognized him. Asphalt had gotten at least an inch taller and filled out with pure muscle since the night he kissed me. He'd been handsome at twenty-one, and now he was an absolute panty melter.