Chapter 7

TRAX

The workday at Road Devils Motors was just getting underway. I sat with my usual cup of black coffee looking over yesterday's receipts. They looked good just like the rest of the week had been. Even though this was the club's garage, it felt like mine. I ran it my way with guys I handpicked myself. It was losing money, lots of money when I took over. Strut has no business sense whatsoever. My previous boss almost ran this place into the ground, but Bear gave me the reigns and I made it my goal to turn this place around.

The numbers every week proved I had. I was looking forward to church today when Code went over the money each of our business enterprises earned. The garage was not going to make us millionaires by any means, but it was a steady legitimate form of income that the club needed.

Code was our resident math whiz and computer genius. Bear let him work a little differently than the rest of us. All patched members of the club earned an income from either businesses owned by the club or by someone else. We all needed to be legitimately employed. It made the club look legit and helped us sometimes out when we needed it. Code was not only the Treasurer of the club, he also developed computer programs that he sold on the side. The kid probably brought in more money than the rest of us combined.

I had worked here at the shop since before I joined the Road Devils over way too many years ago. I had always been good with my hands and fixing things were easy. Tinkering with cars was what I had always done. RDM, Road Devils Motors, allowed us to make money by fixing any motor vehicle that came in, plus we had a place to work on our bikes.

Before I took over this place was a dump and people from town rarely brought their cars here. Strut was also a mean son on a bitch to everyone and ran a half-ass garage. I never bitched to Bear about the conditions in the garage. It wasn't my place to rat out a fellow brother even though working for him was shit.

When Strut was encouraged to retire, I became the boss. I spent the first-week cleaning and organizing the garage. It had driven me crazy for years not being able to find anything. The space was looking more professional from the start. I had the guy wear work shirts with the names on it so we didn't look like some rinky-dink fix-it-up place.

Customer service improved and by that I mean we were no longer calling the customer assholes and fuckin' morons when they brought in their vehicles. I convinced Bear to let us take credit card payments instead of just cash and the business began to pick up. It made me feel good. So did that extra two grand I got as a bonus a few weeks ago. That was still sitting locked up tight in my safe.

I drained my coffee cup before turning my attention to the computer on the messy desk. I two-fingered typed my way into the computer program Code had developed for us. At times it still confused me but I could usually get to where I needed to go without too much cursing. Today's schedule popped up and I couldn't help but smile that it was full. As our business increased, and I ran out of brothers that wanted to work here, I also convinced Bear to let me hire a few guys from town. Club business was kept away from here unless it was after hours, and I had hoped having some local guys would bring in more business from the town.

And it did.

So much that we had a waiting list as times to get work done.

I was reviewing the work schedule to see if I could pitch in before we had church this afternoon. Once I left for the club, I rarely came back. I had a local guy, Mickey who had proved dependable. He ran the place when I wasn't here. There was a car here for an oil change that I could see the guys maybe not getting to. That's where I was going to pitch in.

The car belonged to an older woman who had been using us for years. Apparently, Strut never scared her off. After I changed her oil, I ran a check on a few other things. I tightened a hose along with a few other odds and ends that should help her keep her '90 Buick Riviera humming along a bit longer.

I was placing the keys back on the hook when Mickey walked over to me, wiping his hands on an equally dirty rag. "Got a little bit of a dilemma, Trax."

"What's that?"

"The Pathfinder needs a new muffler and we ain't got one."

"Did you call Willie's?" I wasn't sure why he was telling me this. Mickie knew how to order parts in his sleep.

"Yeah, but that's where the problem is. Willie has one, but his delivery guy is out and he can't get it here. Me and all of the guys are working on cars, so I don't know who to send to get it without everything backing up. The owner needs his car for tomorrow to take his family away on vacation. I didn't count on Willie not delivering it."

I glanced at the clock on the wall. I still had an hour to church. Unless you had a really good excuse, like you were dead, no one was excused from church every Friday. I could make it there and back in time, but I had to use a cage to do it. I couldn't carry the muffler on my bike.

"I'll go. Tell Willie to have it ready. I'll ride over to the clubhouse and borrow the van," I told him. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Boss."

"Mickey." My voice was hard and firm and he knew why.

Instead of intimidating him, he laughed. "Thanks, Trax."

I hated being called boss. I told all of these guys never to call me that, but once in a while, Mickey or one of the guys slipped up. Strut wouldn't answer to anything but boss when he was at the garage. Except, for me. I refused to call him that and I knew it pissed him off all the time. Just another reason I enjoyed calling him Strut at work.

It took less than five minutes to get down to the clubhouse on my bike.

I headed into the darker interior and it took a second for my eyes to adjust from the bright outside. The keys were most likely in ignition since no one in their right mind would dare steal anything from The Road Devils. If they did, they would never be around to steal anything from anyone again.

Except, I needed to tell someone I was taking the van.

That's when I heard voices coming toward me.

"Did you get the money from Code?" I'd recognize that deep voice anywhere. It was Bear.

"Yeah. Maddie keeps charging us $50 but I give her the whole $100 like you told me too." That was a prospect.

"Good. Now get going. I want time to check out what she sends before those hungry Neanderthals hit the bakery boxes."

Now that made me smile. Our very large and mean looking President definitely had a sweet tooth. Word is he may also have an eye on the bakery's owner, Maddie too. Seems like the guys liked to gossip worse than a bunch of damn teenage girls. I stayed out of it but that didn't mean I didn't keep my ears open.

I headed over to where they were standing. "Hey, I'm gonna take the van into town to get parts from Willie's. Seems his deliveries are down for the day and we need some shit that can't wait."

"Brick here was just gonna take it to pick up the food for Church. You two might as well go together unless you want to do the bakery run?"

"Oh, hell no," I replied. Brick was twirling the keys on his finger so I grabbed them and headed toward the door. "C'mon prospect. We don't got a lot of time."

Brick caught up to me outside, "Can I drive?"

"Fuck no, are you crazy? Get in and shut up."

Brick did as he was told and twenty minutes later I pulled into the auto supply store. All I had to do was pick up the parts that Willie had waiting and be on our way. We had an account that we charged everything to and Code paid off each month.

"Now where the fuck is this bakery?"

"It's on Main between the dry cleaners and that fuckin' vegan restaurant. I'm surprised that place is still open. This is fuckin' Georgia. We live on bacon so who the hell lives here and doesn't eat bacon?"

I didn't let Brick see the one side of my mouth curve up. He was right. Who the hell didn't eat bacon? How could anyone not eat meat? It made no fuckin' sense that some people thought they could survive on plants and shit like that. That definitely wasn't the southern way.

"Oh man, did I tell you about the babe the works the counter? She is so hot that I get hard just looking at a donut these days. And I wearing her down, I swear I am. I ask her out every time I'm there and I think she's starting to come around to the Brick way of thinkin'."

"Brick, what did I tell you about talkin'? Shut the fuck up." I wondered if this was Maddie's bakery. I had worked on her car a few times and she had dropped off cookies and even a cake once as thanks. I forgot what it was called, but I think it the word Angel in it.

"No problem, Trax. But I swear when you see her, you'll know what I'm talking about."

I planned to stay in the van and let him take care of the donuts or whatever he was picking up. I had seen his idea of what a hot girl looked like in the past and I wasn't impressed in the least.

When we hit Main Street, he pointed out the bakery. We were lucky there was a parking spot right in front. I pulled in. "Make it quick or you're walking back."

"Got it." Brick stepped out of the van and shrugged into his cut. There wasn't anyone behind the counter until Brick walked into the store. I assumed there was a system to alert them when a customer walked in as I saw someone come right out.

My heart stopped. There smiling at Brick was Sophie. I knew she was somewhere here in town, but I hadn't seen her since that night at the club when I was a fuckin' moron. I had sought out Wolf the next day to apologize for cold-cocking him. The dude was way too nice about it. He had a black eye that was partially swollen shut and he told me it was okay that he understood it.

He told me, "Trax, I ain't never seen you react to a girl the way you did Sophie. I had no idea that you had anything going on with her or I would've stayed clear. She's a great girl and I stepped away once I knew what the score was. Don't let someone like her get away." Then he grabbed us two long necks and we toasted to brotherhood.

Sophie was a great girl. I figured that out within minutes of meeting her. She was easy to talk to and even though we certainly clicked when it came to fucking, it was something more that I couldn't put my finger on. Wolf saw it too.

Except, I figured there was no way that she'd want to give us a chance. It wasn't even a second chance as we barely had a first, so instead of me manning up and tracking her down, I left her alone. And now she was in that damned bakery smiling at a prospect.

Over my dead body.

I jumped out of the van pulling my cut on. There was no way I was going to let her smile at any Road Devil except me. I saw her head into the back as I opened the door. The tinkling of bells above the door let her know someone else was walking in.

"She's hot isn't, she? That's why you came in to get a better look, right?"

Before I could tell him to shut the fuck up again, Sophie came out from the back with two big bakery boxes. When her eyes hit mine she froze. Damn, she was still fuckin' gorgeous. Sophie looked away first, and I saw her try to shake it off. We had some sort of a crazy connection that wasn't going away. She knew it as much as I did.

"Hey Sophie, this is…"

"Shut up, prospect." He needed to know his place right now.

"But…"

It took only a look from me for him to zip it. "Hey, Sophie."

"Trax. What are you doing here?"

"You guys know each other?" This kid was never gonna get his patch if he kept this up.

"Get. Gone. Now."

Sophie put the boxes on the counter. Brick quickly grabbed them before taking two steps toward the door. I growled, "You gonna pay the lady or do we steal the fuckin' donuts each week?"

Brick pulled the c-note from his pocket and quickly handed it to Sophie mumbling, "Sorry Sophie," before practically running to van.

"That was unnecessary you know." She had her arms crossed against those beautiful tits of hers.

"He's a prospect who has the hots for ya and I'll be shutting that shit down right now."

To say she looked pissed was an understatement. I didn't give a shit. "And why is this any business of yours, Trax?" I hated the way she emphasized my name when she said it.

Was there a way I could turn this around?

There was something I owed her. Owed her big time.

"Sophie, listen I'm sorry about how everything went down. I lost my mind when I saw you with Wolf. He's a player, fuck most of the guys in the club are, but not as bad as Wolf."

"Like you?"

"Used to be but not that much no more. That ain't we're talking about that here."

Sophie shifted her weight from one foot to the other with her arms still across those perfect tits. "Eyes up here, mister."

Fuck. She caught me staring at her tits in that tight white t-shirt with the bakery's name on it. I apologized once, so I wasn't gonna do it again for looking at shit she should be proud of. "I was surprised to see you there."

"I was surprised to see your there, too," she repeated. Not a hint of softness in her voice. Damn.

"Why? I didn't know where you were headed, but you had to know I was a Road Devil. You show up at my clubhouse hanging onto Wolf like you didn't give a shit about that day. Of course, I was fuckin' mad as a hornet! You shoulda been with me!"

She closed her eyes and shook her head at me. "How on earth as I to know you were a Road Devil? I knew your first name, and you knew mine. That was it. We didn't exchange our life histories while we fucked, Daryl. And you never asked me for my number or anything. As far as I knew, I was a good time, and it ended that day."

"Sophie, I had my cut on that day just like I do now. Road Devils is all over this. Even a blind man can read the back!" I turned to show her my back. The top rocker said Road Devils. The middle patch was the winged skeleton with the bottom rocker saying Georgia. How could she have not known?

"Everything okay out here?" Maddie, the bakery's owner, and Bear's secret crush walked out from the back wiping her hands on her apron. "I heard raised voices. Oh hi, Trax. Is anything wrong?"

"No, I'm sorry, Maddie. Trax was just about to leave, weren't you?"

"No, not really," I smiled leaning up against the tall cake refrigerator.

Maddie looked at me and then at Sophie. "You two finish whatever this is, but if a customer walks in, it stops and you are gone Trax. Got that?"

"Got it." I couldn't help the smile that came across my face.

"Tell Bear I hope he likes what I'm sending this week." Was that a hint of color I saw in Maddie's cheeks?

Maybe this crush thing wasn't so one-sided?

"Will do. Appreciate this Maddie."

"I don't."

Maddie patted Sophie on the shoulder before whispering something in her ear that had her smiling. I could only imagine what that was. "So how could you not know I was a Road Devil?"

"Are we back to that?"

"Fuck yeah." She was really starting to annoy me.

Then suddenly I could see some of the fight go out of her. "Trax…Daryl, honestly I didn't know. I never saw the back of your cut and when you had it on. I saw more of you than it. I wasn't familiar with MC's until I moved in with Chrissy and Diesel. This was all new to me."

I looked down at my feet for a second or two. I could see what she was saying. I remembered Diesel's ol' lady and her being confused over my name or make that names. Why did I tell her my name was Daryl? It is, but that's not what everyone calls me. Why I didn't give her my MC name, I don't know. Maybe all this fuckin' mess is completely my fault?

We never talked about the MC or much at all and she never asked. We were too busy fucking around to do much talking. She was right, she had no idea I was in an MC. Wearing a black leather vest while riding wasn't uncommon. Not everyone belonged to an MC.

Should I have let her drive off that way? No.

Should I have gotten her number before we left? Hell, yes.

Did I think she'd have given it to me? No at the time, but maybe I was wrong about that.

Did I think I fucked this up? A definite hell yes.

And instead of me taking this further with her, I was nothing short of being a total dick to her that night. "Hey, I never should've said that shit about you to Wolf. I was a total dick. I'm sorry about that Sophie. Can we start again?"

I finally find a chick that I'm seriously interested in and I have to go and fuck it up. I was looking into those beautiful whiskey-colored eyes of hers praying she'd give me another chance. And just when I thought she was gonna say "yes" she shook her head instead.

"I'm sorry, Daryl. I don't think I could live the life Chrissy does. I need to be the priority in my guy's life, not his club. Diesel comes and goes at all hours and Chrissy can't ask why. All she knows is that it's 'club business.' I don't think I can do that."

"The MC life isn't for everyone, but it is mine. Can't change that. MC life is MC for life. And if that ain't your thing, then I'll see ya around. Just think about one thing for me."

"What's that?" she asked.

I walked over to her standing as close as I could while looking down into her sad eyes. "If it was that fuckin' good between us cramped in the backseat of your SUV in all of that fuckin' heat, imagine how good it would be in a soft bed where I could take my time with you. Taste you and make you come more times than you ever imagined. Think about that."

I dropped my lips to hers in a soft lingering kiss that was so unlike me, and then I turned and walked away. I stood next to the van taking off my cut before I slid into the driver's seat and turned the ignition. Sophie was still staring at me through the front plate glass window. She hadn't moved an inch.

The dash lights came on and with that, the clock told me we were going to be late getting back to the clubhouse. Nobody was ever late for church and I was going be.

But I couldn't leave yet.

I reached into my cut and pulled out a pack of smokes, shaking one out. I dipped my head to light it with my favorite silver zippo. Nicotine surged through my veins but did little to take the edge off. I rested my head back on the seat and closed my eyes.

I hadn't seen her in over a month. It was essentially six weeks and four days, but who was counting. Six long motherfucking weeks since that night at the clubhouse where I drove her away. This was the second Goddamned time I'd lost her.

Six weeks of having my brothers asking what the fuck as wrong with me. I did my job during the day and drank myself stupid each night. They all knew what happened, but no one knew how much she meant to me. How can someone I barely knew affect me like this? I have no idea, but she did.

And now she wanted nothing to do with me or my MC. It was like getting stabbed in the heart.

"Fuck!" I yelled as I slammed my hand on the steering wheel. I hated me right now but I had to pull it together.

I looked out my side-view mirror before pulling a U-turn in the middle of the street. I headed us back to the clubhouse as quickly as I could without running down all of the people who chose to cross the street in front of us. It was a fuckin' conspiracy.

Brick kept apologizing to me for hitting on Sophie until I finally told him to shut the fuck up and hold on. We made it back to the clubhouse without a minute to spare.

The first rule of being in a motorcycle club is – Don't piss off the president. And if Bear said anything, I still had that message from Maddie to soften him up. Thank the fuck for that.