Chapter 12

TRAX

Jacob Gentry.

That was Limp Dick's name. I had Code run a check on him and even though I didn't know his last name Code is just that good with computer shit. He gave me the profile he came up with him an hour ago and I already had it memorized.

I was sitting at the bar in the clubhouse slowly nursing my second beer of the night. Normally, I'd be well on my way to being lit, but not tonight. Sophie was going out on that date with Gentry tonight and something just wasn't sitting right with me.

And that was beside the whole fact that she was seeing someone other than me. That pissed me off a whole hell of a fucking lot, but that wasn't it. His past had quite a few sketchy parts to it that didn't add up. He grew up in Denton which was a few towns over. His old man died when Jacob was twelve in a fall down the stairs. Seems the kid was the only witness stating that his father tripped on the way down.

As I said sketchy.

He and his mom bounced around for a few years with him going three separate high schools. After he got his accounting degree at some no-name college he worked at no less than four accounting firms all over Georgia. This asshole moved around a lot and while that ain't any crime, it just struck me as suspicious.

I knew what moving around a lot meant. Hell, I did it myself. Usually, you're running from something or it's because of money. The guy had a halfway decent job so that's had me wondering why. He moved to Angel Valley two years ago with his mother and they rented a house out in Rt. 68. Why does a dude his age live with his mother?

Code couldn't find any job history for her in the last year and before that she always had at least two menial jobs. Yet, everything with the house was in her name. It was rented in her name, the power and water were in her name, and so was the phone. Something wasn't adding up for me. It could have been my jealousy that he was out with my girl, but even Code said something didn't feel right.

I just didn't know what to do so I did nothing…for now. Mace walked up next to me and ordered a beer and a shot from Dutch. "Hey bro," he said looking at me. "Wanna shot too?"

"Naw, I'm good. Taking it easy tonight." Mace was a good guy and our Road Captain. Even though I could be a grouchy son-of-a-bitch a lot, these guys put up with my shit. Mace was built like a tank and always wore his hair in a short military-style crew cut. His whole body was covered in tats except on his face which was covered in a full beard that any woodman would envy. I always figured he loved pain as he had more piercings than anyone I ever knew. They were all over him in his ears, lip, tongue, nose, eyebrow, nipples, and even his dick. He even pulled it out one day to show us saying that the women loved the feel of it. The dude had a bar going through the damn head and something called an Apadravya. I swear it made me queasy just to look at it.

He could make you laugh as easily as he could stick a knife in your gut. He fit right in with the club right from the start.

"That new seat you ordered came in this afternoon. Drop by the shop anytime and we'll put it on for you." Any club member got free repair work at the shop. If they were looking to customize their bike more than an easy change out like Mace's seat, either we charged them or they did it themselves.

Sounds good," he said. "I'll be by Monday sometime. Wanna play a game of pool with us?"

I was about to say sure when I felt a text come in on my phone. "Let me check this and I'll be back there."

Most of the club was here tonight so I had no idea who would be texting me. I pulled the phone out of my cut and was surprised to see that it as Brick. I knew he and Cage, one of the new prospects, did a delivery tonight. I immediately thought something had gone wrong, but if it did why was he texting me?

BRICK:

yo, man I got ur girl with me

ME:

Sophie? What the fuck r u doing with her?

BRICK:

found her alone in south sutton after she ditched her date not where she should be

ME:

South Sutton? Shit. Where u at now?

BRICK:

stopped at the angel diner to grab something to eat and to text u. she didn't even make it thru dinner with the dick. bro, ain't she was with u?

ME:

Tried to tell her that but she ain't listening. On my way, don't let her leave. Text when I get here.

I quickly downed the rest of my beer before I headed out the front to get to my bike. What the fuck was she doing on the south side of Sutton? On one hand, I was ecstatic that the date went bad. Just proves to her that she should be with me, but where Brick found her was no place for her to be. Where the hell did Gentry take her?

I rode like a bat outta hell to get to the diner before they left. I let the bike coast into the spot next to Brick's and sent him a text. All I got back from him was a "K". I must've sat there for ten minutes and was ready to storm inside when I saw them at the counter paying. Sophie didn't see me until she was halfway down the stairs to the sidewalk and she wasn't happy.

Now she's hanging onto me on the back of my bike as I take her home. She's gonna tell me the full fucking story before I fuck up Gentry. Maybe now she'll see I ain't half bad.

Sophie doesn't need to tell me where she lives. I know. She may not know I know, but I do. I pull around the back of the building and park next to her set of stairs. The air is instantly quiet when I turn the bike off.

I take my lid off and hang it on the handlebars. Sophie hasn't moved an inch, so I turn to face her and I see tears in her eyes. Not what I expected.

"Babe, take your lid off and get off the bike. Let's go upstairs and you can tell me what happened."

She wipes her eyes quickly. "Of course, I'm sorry."

It's odd seeing her so unsure of herself and I hate that bastard that did this to her. I follow her up the steep staircase trying not to reach out and grab her perfect ass that's right in front of me. It's tempting but that ain't what she needs tonight.

Sophie unlocks the door and I notice it's just a lock in the doorknob. There's no deadbolt or anything.

"You need a better lock on that door. I coulda popped that with a credit card faster than you did with the key," I told her.

"Really? I'll talk to the landlord about that."

"I can do it tomorrow for you."

She shook her head no at me. "I'll talk to Joe on Monday. It's not your concern, Daryl. I can handle it."

Did she just say that to me? "The hell it's not! You not being safe here is my fuckin' concern."

Sophie to a deep breath before smiling at me, "I appreciate that Daryl. It's been a stressful night and I just want to go inside and go to sleep. Can we talk about this another time?"

"Not happening, babe. I'm coming in and you're gonna tell me what went on tonight. There ain't no gettin' around that." If she thought I was leaving that easy, she was sadly mistaken.

"Daryl, please…" she left her though unfinished. My look told her everything she needed to know. I wasn't going anywhere until we talked. "Oh, alright come in."

Sophie flicked on a few lights as I followed her into the small apartment. Small doesn't bother me. Hell, I live in one room at the clubhouse. It wasn't fancy, but I could see the homey touches she added to make it hers. The room was boring except for the splashes of color she used with curtains, pillows, and shit like that. The kitchen was directly to our right with a hallway going off that.

"Do you mind if I change first?"

"Naw, go ahead," I told her.

I sat down on the sofa as I waited for her. I was glad that Gentry had fucked up, but I needed her to tell me so I can fuck him up in return. My way was going to have him end up bloody and bruised. I leaned back on the sofa and closed my eyes. I waited until I heard her padding down the hall to me.

When I saw her it wasn't what I was expecting. Gone were the pretty dress and the makeup. Sophie had scrubbed her face clean washing away any trace of the makeup she had put on. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt that fell off one shoulder and tight pants underneath. I think the girls at the club called them yoga pants. Her feet were bare as she quietly made her way to me.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

When she sat down she kept a comfortable distance between us. I would have preferred her on my lap, but I let it go.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting," she said softly.

"You were barely gone. Soph, talk to me. What happened?"

She sighed before starting to chuckle. "You were right. I hate to admit that but you were right. I never should have gone out with Jacob."

I couldn't help the smirk but I didn't say anything. Of course, I was right.

"Except for your reason for me not dating him was more selfish than him just being an ass."

"What did he do?"

That's when she told me how controlling he had become during dinner. Gentry wouldn't let her choose what she wanted to drink or eat even though she told him that she didn't like what he was ordering. When he badmouthed the club I stayed quiet even though I was having a hard time controlling the anger inside of me. The Road Devils weren't boy scouts. We were far from it, but we were a band of brothers whose loyalty to each other was so strong that we would do anything for each other including die. We didn't sell guns or drugs but we did have a few fingers a couple of shady ventures.

As I said we weren't boy scouts.

But we also were good for the town and area. We kept the trouble out by not letting any other MC's in like the Outlaw Knights. Hell, we organized rides like when that kid needed a bone marrow transplant. Not to mention the jobs that the businesses we owned brought in.

However, the part that pissed me off the most was him assuming they were together when they when only on their first damn date.

"He called you his girlfriend before you even ate dinner?" I asked through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, totally creeped me out," she said hugging her knees to her chest. "So when dinner came out and it wasn't the steak I wanted, but the 'healthy halibut' he thought I should have, I stood up told him off and left."

"And you decided to walk away from the restaurant in the dark, why?"

I could tell she realized now it was a really stupid thing to have done. "I know. Brick told me how stupid I was and I get it. I just wanted to get away from Jacob as fast as I could get. I didn't realize I was walking into such a bad neighborhood."

I wanted to shake some sense into her. She put herself at risk tonight twice, by going out with that psycho and ending up in South Sutton. She just needed to accept the fact that she should be with me. "I'm glad you safe and not with that asshole anymore."

"Seems like you come to my rescue a lot."

Ain't that a fact. "Seems like you need rescuing more than most," I chuckled.

"Thank you and thank Brick for me, please. And Daryl…"

"What?"

She reached out and put her hand on my leg, "Leave Jacob alone. I just want to forget this night ever happened."

Oh no. He messed up not only trying to hone in on my girl but how he treated her. I may be an uneducated stubborn biker, but even I know better than to be that controlling with someone. It starts there but it would have only gotten worse. "Can't make any promises, Soph. He got no right to treat you that way. And he needs to know to stay the fuck away from you. He won't like the consequences if he doesn't."

Sophie moved closer to me resting her head on my shoulder. "What am I going do with you, Daryl?" she said softly.

"Keep me."

"I want to, but your life scares me. I don't want to come in second to the club. I just don't know what to do."

I looked down into her eyes and saw the indecision in them. Maybe she just needed time for us to get to know each other without any pressure involved. This was the first normal conversation we had since that day I found her on the side of the road. "I get it. The MC life isn't for everyone but I want you in mine. I ain't gonna pressure you, but you're gonna have to figure it out. Maybe talk to Chrissy or Colt's ol' lady Marci. I know we ain't nowhere near that but there's a lot of stuff that they can explain. Talk to them before you make up your mind."

Sophie liked that idea as she smiled up at me when she said, "Okay, I will."

I couldn't resist her smile. As much as I shouldn't have, it was impossible not to kiss her. I knew how intoxicating her taste was and I had to have it again. I put my finger under her chin and tilted her head a bit more so that when my lips touched hers it was perfect. I swear never has a woman in my life made me feel this way.

I expected her to resist me after the first few seconds, but instead, I felt her relax into the kiss. Our lips stayed pressed together until I used my tongue to encourage her mouth to open to mine. This wasn't the frantic kissing we had done in the car nor the quick kisses I surprised her with at the bakery, this was our first real kiss.

And it blew me away.

I wanted to pick her up and carry her back to the bedroom. We could spend all night having sex as I explored her perfect body. She had curves in all of the exact right places and I wanted to learn about each and every one of them, but I knew I couldn't do that tonight. My dick was rock hard against the zipper in my jeans and it was begging for me to change my mind. Except, I couldn't. Sophie was vulnerable and I wanted her to be with me because that's what she wanted. If we did anything more than kiss tonight, I know she'd regret it tomorrow and may change her mind about me forever.

For the first time, I was thinking about what was best for the woman and not necessarily me.

We kissed a while longer with my hands never straying from holding her tight against me. By now she was sitting in my lap and I knew she could feel how much I wanted her. I kissed my way from her beautiful soft lips and down her long sensitive neck. Then I stopped resting my head against hers.

"Babe, I want to take this further so I can feel you tremble under me as I make you come, but that ain't happening tonight. You've been through too much and I want this to happen when you are ready for it."

"But Daryl…" she whined.

I placed my fingers to her kiss swollen lips. "Shhh. Not tonight. Tonight ain't right as your head's not in the right place. When it is, you'll never get rid of me, but I need to go. You okay with that?"

Sophie nodded her head, "Yes, I'll be fine. Jacob was an ass, but I don't see him doing anything else."

That's what I was going to make sure of. She just didn't need to know that.

"Put a chair under the doorknob when I go. I want a deadbolt on that door as soon as possible. Got it?"

"Yes, I do." Sophie wiggled her shapely butt that was on my lap and I couldn't help but groan. "You sure you can't stay?"

She was pushing me to the very end of my limits. I had to go now before I lost control and had her naked in the bedroom fucking her like my life depended on it. It would be good for tonight, but I needed this to work longer than one night. She was needy now, but what would she want in the morning? That's what I was thinking about.

"Sophie, get up off my fuckin' lap before you kill me. I want you, you know that but it ain't gonna happen this way. When you tell me you want us, then I'll have you buck naked faster than you can blink." That practically came out in a growl so I took a breath before saying, "Let me up, babe. You have no idea how much I hate leaving you, but I gotta go. Okay?"

"I get what you're saying. Thank you, Daryl," she said as she got up off my lap.

Sophie didn't hide a giggle when she looked at the erection that was still trying to escape my jeans. It was even worse when I stood up and more uncomfortable. So I did the only thing I could do I adjusted myself with her staring at me. I had nothing to hide. She knew I was rock hard and she also knew what I was packing, so there was no need to not do this in front of her. It also was a reminder of what lay waiting for her when she was ready.

"You sure I can't…" she started to say as her hand reached toward my straining zipper.

"Nope," I said quickly moving away from her. I had to be a fucking idiot to not take her up on this, but the right head won out this time. "If you touch it, it'll explode…so no. Where's your phone?"

"In my purse, why?"

"Get it for me."

"Why?'

"Just get me the damn phone!" I snapped. I was so on edge and she was making it worse. I wasn't really angry with her it was more of having a major sexual frustration problem that she was the cause of. I needed to get out of there while I could, but I had to do one more thing first.

Sophie got her phone out of her purse and handed it to me. "Do the guys know that you can get pretty grumpy?" she laughed.

"Yeah they do," I told her as I found my way into her contacts and added my number. Then I send myself a text from her phone so I would have hers. I felt the vibration in my cut letting me know it came in. "You now have my number. Somethin' we shoulda done right from the start. Call me if you need anything. Got it?"

"Got it," she said with a smile as she took her phone from me. Damn, she was gorgeous.

I needed to get out of there before my willpower vanished and that was going to be soon. "Lockup and use a chair. Okay?"

"Okay."

I quickly pulled her tight to me and kissed her one more time. Her lips were perfect. Her mouth was perfect. Her taste was perfect. Shit, I was turning into a lovesick sap so I took a step back breaking the kiss. I saw the slightly surprised look on Sophie's face. She had gotten lost in the kiss as I did. I stared into those beautiful brown eyes of hers for a few seconds before I turned and walked out. I had no choice.

As badly as I wanted her, I knew it had to wait. She wasn't ready, at least not tonight she wasn't and I had something that I needed to take care of that couldn't wait.

And I was ready to take care of it twenty minutes later as I sat in the dark outside of Jacob Gentry's rental house. His car wasn't there so I was fully prepared to wait until he came back for me and him to have a little conversation.

Man to man.

Fist to face.

About two hours and several cigarettes later, I was starting to get impatient. There was no garage on the property so if he was home I'd see that 2013 Hyundai he had. If his mother was home there was no sign of her as every single light in the house was off except the front porch light. I kept my eyes peeled on the house and surrounding grounds but I saw no movement at all.

I couldn't pull out my phone as the light from it would easily give me away. I tried to keep my thoughts off of Sophie as I didn't want that painful hard-on to return. That girl makes me crazier than any other pussy ever did.

And she's not just another pussy to me. She different…she's more and I knew that the second I rode away from her that day I changed her tire. It took me forty-one years to find a woman that actually interests me more than a casual fuck and I can't seem to catch a damn break.

And before I can get the pity party rolling, I see headlights coming toward the house. I blend further into the woods surrounding the property so the asshole doesn't see me. He's so busy parking his car and taking his time to get out that he doesn't see me come up to the back bumper. I stay crouched down on the gravel drive until he has both feet out of the car. The second the door closes I have my gun pressed up against the back of his head. I know he never heard me coming.

"Move and I'll pull the trigger."

I can feel the little pussy start to shake. "D…don't shoot. I don't have a lot of cash but take my wallet. It's in my back pocket. Take the car too, just don't shoot," he cried.

"Why in the fuckin' hell would I want this piece of shit car? Turn the fuck around and look at me," I told him.

I saw his eyes widen in surprise. "I know you."

I rested the barrel of the gun against the side of his head as I leaned in so close I was right in his face. I stared him dead in the eye as I said, "Of course, you do asshole. I'm your worst nightmare. I should have killed you for taking Sophie out, but I didn't. Figured I'd let her see what a douchebag you are and I was right. You changed her dinner order? What type of loser control freak are you?" I saw his look of surprise that I knew what had gone on tonight. "Oh yeah, I know it all. From the half-ass restaurant in Sutton to treating her like she doesn't know what to eat to you having the nerve to think of her as your girlfriend after not even half a date? Sophie wised up fast. She left you sitting by your loser self and she called me." Okay, that was a bit of a stretch but it worked out the same either way.

"So, I'm here to tell you to stay the fuck away from her. Sophie wants nuthin' to do with you. Stay away from the bakery, the florist, and anyplace you may see her. If you see her in the grocery store, you leave. Cause if you don't…I'll be back. You won't see me or hear me, but you'll know it was me when you die a slow death. Don't mess with her. Oh, and if you think about going to the cops, I have a dozen men who will vouch that I was at the clubhouse all night. Got it?"

"Yes. Got it."

I took the gun away from his head and tucked in my pants. "You know what, Jacob?"

The relief I saw in his face was comical. Did he really think he was going to get away that easily?

"What?"

"I don't trust you so I think you're gonna need an extra reminder." The second his eyes got big I slammed my fist into his face first then into his gut. His nose was gushing blood as I hit him a second time causing him to fall onto the ground.

"Stay. Away. From. Sophie."

With that, I left him writhing in pain on the ground and headed over to my bike that was hidden off to the side. I was heading back to the clubhouse in no time feeling good about tonight. Sophie not only was done with Gentry but I was able to have a damn fine make-out session with her. And now my night ended with me getting my knuckles bloody.

Pretty damn good to way end my day. It was time for a beer or two to celebrate. Fuck, yeah.