THE OUTLAW’S BRIDE Read online

  Half an hour later, Melanie was knocking on the hotel door.

  “’Sup,” she said to the giant biker beside her.

  Andrew grunted.

  Fiona opened the door. “Come on in!” she said brightly.

  “Good talk,” Melanie said, waving to Andrew as she stepped inside. “So, what am I doing here, and who’s the kid?” she asked, pointing to Bobby.

  “That’s Bobby, and I need your help getting out of here,” Fiona explained.

  “Oh, okay,” Melanie said. “So, you don’t call me for days, and now you need my help?”

  Fiona rolled her eyes. “Melanie, please. It’s not like I blew off plans for a slumber party; people’s lives are in danger. Let’s keep it in perspective, okay?”

  Melanie pouted for a minute. “Oh, fine. What do you need me to do?”

  “I need you to be me,” Fiona said.

  “Is that was this is for?” Melanie opened her bag and pulled out the long black wig and pair of heels Fiona had asked her to bring. “Are you going to be me? No offense, but I don’t think that’s gonna fly. What about you, kid?”

  Bobby cleared his throat. “You’re not very…well, what I mean is, neither of you are…um…no,” he finally finished.

  It was true, Fiona and Melanie had completely opposing body types; Melanie was tall and lithe, Fiona was short and curvy.

  “I know,” Fiona said. “I’m not blind. But that guy might as well be.” She jerked her thumb towards the door behind her. “You saw him coming in. He barely even looked at you. All he saw was tall,” Fiona pointed at the heels, “and dark,” she said, pointing to the wig.

  “You have a point…” Melanie said slowly. “Okay, I’m in. What’s the plan? I pretend to be asleep when he checks on me or something?”

  “Pretty much,” Fiona shrugged.

  “Simple,” Melanie said. “I like it.”

  Twenty minutes later, Fiona was moving down the hallway as quickly as the heels would let her. If everything went to plan, Bobby would join her outside in another twenty minutes to take her to Ace’s house.

  Andrew was just as oblivious as Fiona had hoped, and almost a half an hour later, Bobby came out looking like he was trying very hard to keep himself from running.

  “Thanks, Bobby. You’re a life saver,” Fiona told him.

  Bobby slowly drove down the dark street as they made their way to Ace’s, nervously looking around. Almost all of the streetlights were busted, and sirens constantly echoed in the distance.

  “Does anything look familiar?” Bobby whispered to Fiona, despite the fact that the windows were rolled up and there was no one around to hear them.

  “Yep,” Fiona said grimly.

  Two houses ahead, Fiona saw a familiar red and matte black motorcycle parked in an overgrown yard. Dozens of bikes surrounded the place, but, for once, Fiona didn’t feel intimidated; she felt furious.

  Bobby, on the other hand, was feeling very intimidated. He unconsciously slowed the car to a stop. “You want to go in there?” he said.

  Music and shouting could be heard even at this distance. There was obviously a major party happening, and who knew what that might entail.

  “You can wait in the car, Bobby,” Fiona said dangerously. “This will only take a minute.”

  She got out, slamming the door behind her, stamping toward the thumping house with the vibrating windows. Bobby stared after her miserably for a moment, then resignedly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out to follow her. He pressed the button to lock his car, listening to the sad, futile honk.

  Fiona threw open the door, her head whipping left to right as she searched for any sign of Ace. Bobby cautiously entered after her, completely terrified, but determined to make sure Mrs. Connor was okay.

  With her limited knowledge of the house’s layout, Fiona began to work her way room to room as she looked for Ace. Suddenly her ears pricked up, hearing a bold, familiar laugh coming from the kitchen.

  Squeezing her way down a crowded hallway that seemed to be entirely made of leather and hair, Fiona finally popped out in what appeared to be more of a mess hall than a kitchen, with Bobby close behind her.

  A long wooden slab about eight feet long served as a table to over a dozen people, all indifferently scattered around it. At the far end, Fiona saw Ace sitting on top, his boots resting on the bench, laughing uproariously with his friends—Katie being one of them. She was sitting on the bench next to Ace’s legs, leaning against him as she raised her can to empty it of its contents.

  Fiona’s face burned with anger and humiliation. She didn’t know whether she wanted to tear Ace apart or run away and hide. What was I thinking? He used me! Melanie was right. Everything he ever said was a lie. She remembered her fantasies of being “Mrs. Connor” and a sick shame washed over her.

  “Come on, Mrs. Connor,” Bobby said softly, his hand gentle on her shoulder. “I’ll take you back to the hotel.”

  Closing her eyes against the embarrassing sting of the title Bobby had given her, Fiona turned to go with him. Stopping at the doorway, she looked back and saw Katie’s gaze boring a hole into her, a wild, victorious smile spreading across her face.

  Fiona stared at the other woman as she stood up to whisper something in Ace’s ear. Giving Fiona one last look over her shoulder, Katie walked towards the back of the kitchen, Ace trailing obediently behind her.

  Fiona’s embarrassment disappeared, and a hot, territorial fury began to grow inside of her. Shaking Bobby’s comforting hand off of her, Fiona tried to follow, but the crowd of people was too great, and before she could catch up to Ace and Katie, they had disappeared.

  She whirled around angrily, searching for any sign of the man who had betrayed her, but there was nothing. Fine by me, Fiona determinedly thought to herself, I’ll search this place inch by inch if I have to.

  And with Bobby still following her, that’s exactly what she did.

  ***

  “Katie, I know you want to go over the plan again, but please,” Ace begged as he walked up the back steps behind her, “can we just go back to the party?”

  Katie looked back at Ace and smiled wickedly. Ace paused mid-step, realizing she was not bringing him upstairs to talk plans. Taking a deep breath, he followed her into her bedroom and carefully shut the door behind him.

  “So, er, what did you want to tell me that you couldn’t downstairs?” Ace asked, still trying to pretend that Katie hadn’t lied to him to get him alone.

  Katie responded by peeling off her tight black crop top. She wasn’t wearing a bra underneath, and Ace instinctively averted his eyes, even though Katie’s breasts were something he had seen a hundred times before.

  “What are you doing?” Katie asked him curiously. She stepped closer and Ace turned away from her. “Come on,” she said, reaching out to wrap her long, slender fingers around his arm. “It’s been too long for us. That’s why we’ve been off lately.”

  Ace pulled away, still keeping his eyes down. “Katie…” Ace didn’t know how to say what he needed to. Partly because he couldn’t believe he was about to say it, and partly because if he said the wrong thing, Katie might very well pull out her gun and shoot him.

  But Katie had been trying and trying with him over the last week, and he had kept pulling away. His mind hadn’t been ready to accept it until now, but things with Katie were done.

  “Just spit it out, Ace,” she said coldly, folding her arms over her breasts. “Whatever it is, fucking spit it out already.”

  “I can’t do this with you anymore,” he finally said. “Us, this…” he gestured between them, still not looking at her, “…it’s over, Katie. I’m sorry.”

  A long silence spread between them.

  “Is this because of her?” Katie asked, and Ace knew she meant Fiona.

  “No,” he answered honestly, surprising himself.

  “Then what’s it about, Ace?” She sounded almost desperate.

  “It’s about me, and what I need,” he told h
er. “I can’t really explain it, Katie.” Ace shrugged. “I wish I could, but I can’t.” Ace privately thought maybe he actually could, but not to Katie, and that was the whole point of it.

  “So that’s it?” she said disgustedly. “We’ve been together for three years, and all you can give me is ‘I can’t explain it’?”

  “Technically, we were never really together,” Ace pointed out. “You were the one who didn’t want us to be official, but then you became enraged whenever I was with anyone else. What kind of game is that, Katie?”

  “It’s not a game,” Katie spat. “This gang is my life, Ace, and I accept the rules that go along with it. Gangs with female leaders are seen as weak, so I’ve never run for president because even though I know I could do the job better than anyone—even you—I don’t want to hinder The Hell Brothers in any way. That’s why I don’t push to be your second-in-command either, so no one accuses our leader of favoritism.”

  Ace was stunned; he had never known Katie wanted to be leader.

  “That’s why I’m so upset with you bringing her around. You did it without any regard to how it affected the gang,” Katie said. “You’re the one who’s treating it like a game. So just…get out,” Katie said, her voice like stone. “Get the fuck out of my room, Ace.” She grabbed her top from the floor and turned her back to him.

  Ace went to the door, unsure of what to say, if anything, that could mend things between him and Katie. Turning the knob, he opened the door to leave and came face to face with an angry-looking Fiona and…the hotel waiter behind her.

  ***

  Fiona had searched every inch of the lower level of the house, even though she already knew deep down that Katie had brought Ace upstairs. Still, she had searched, hoping against hope Ace had refused Katie and had instead joined a game of beer pong somewhere.

  Finally heading up the stairs, Fiona first tried Ace’s room. It was empty, which, for a moment, filled Fiona with joy—until she realized there had to be at least five other bedrooms on this level.

  Three turned out to be empty, as well, and the fourth had a couple in it, but it wasn’t Ace and Katie. After apologizing for the interruption, Fiona went to the fifth door, praying it would also be empty—or, if it had to have someone in it, let it be Ace, alone.

  “Are you sure about this, Mrs. Connor?” Bobby asked as Fiona reached for the handle.

  He understood the need for truth, but even at his sixteen years, he didn’t think it was a good idea to intentionally walk into a room to see your husband cheating on you.

  “Why don’t you just wait until they come out? Then you can say what you need to—”

  The door flew open just then, removing anyone’s choice in the matter.

  Fiona barely even saw Ace. She was already zooming in on Katie’s naked back. She swallowed hard. Bobby was right. I should have just left. I didn’t want to see this.

  Without a word, Fiona turned on her heel and walked down the steps. She almost made it out the door before Ace caught up with her.

  “Hey, Fiona, wait…just let me…” He was stumbling over his words trying to explain what she had walked in on.

  She ignored him and he grabbed her arm to keep her from leaving.

  “Let go of me!” Fiona screamed, violently thrashing in her attempt to get away.

  She somehow managed to simultaneously knee Ace in the groin and punch him in the ear and he dropped like a hot stone. Having heard the yelling, Smalls, Lianna, and Riley all piled into the room to see what was going on.

  “Go get her,” Ace ordered through gritted teeth. He was holding onto his junk like it was going to fall off. It felt like she burst something down there.

  A minute later Smalls and Riley returned with a thoroughly incensed, very vocal, Fiona between them, each firmly holding one of her arms. Next came Bobby, who looked extremely put out at being led from behind by Lianna, her powerful hand clasping his shoulder.

  “You tell these assholes to get the fuck off of me, Ace! Right now! I mean it!” she shrieked as they half led, half carried her up the stairs to Ace’s room.

  Ace closed his eyes and took a deep breath, waiting for the ringing in his ear to subside. It eventually quieted, but the pain did not. He opened his eyes to see Katie standing over him.

  Why, God? Why me and why today? Ace asked.

  “Well, I never thought I would ever say this, but I’m glad she was here,” she said viciously, looking down at him. “Watching her kick your ass was a special treat.” Katie stepped over him and walked into the kitchen, slinging her arm around a tall, handsome stranger Ace had never seen before.

  As he pulled himself to his feet, he watched her pluck the cigarette from the man’s lips and take a drag. She kissed the stranger, and when they separated, he blew smoke to the ceiling, a giant grin on his face.

  Ace shook his head. Katie was upset, but he was willing to bet there were plenty of people around who would be willing to give her a shoulder to cry on. He took the steps slowly; he seemed to have a minor case of vertigo from Fiona’s blow to his ear. The girl could really pack a punch.

  He walked into his bedroom to see Fiona sitting on the bed, a furious glare on her face. Bobby was sitting next to her looking considerably more frightened.

  “Guys, can you give us a minute?” Ace asked, meaning Fiona and himself.

  Smalls and Lianna looked at each other. Riley shifted imperceptibly.

  “What?” Ace asked, looking at each of them.

  “We are growing concerned over the impact this girl is having on the gang,” Riley said, nodding towards Fiona. “Katie is not the only one with concerns. Even excluding the issues this has prompted with Alexei, which many of us feel would have come about anyway, events like tonight are not acceptable.”

  Ace stared at Riley. Embarrassment burned his face, but he refused to look away. “I believe my patch still says Leader on it, and until it doesn’t, you’ll do what I say,” he said quietly.

  “Dammit, Ace!” Riley cried, flipping over his nightstand. A lamp shattered. The light bulb popped loudly inside, causing Smalls, Lianna, and Bobby to each let out a Smalls scream. “Blake died today! People are mourning downstairs, and you’ve got two women at your throat all because you can’t keep your dick in your pants!”

  Ace was shocked. Never in all the years he had known Riley had he ever heard him raise his voice. “I know,” he said soothingly. “I know, and I’m sorry, Riley. You’re right.”

  Riley was breathing hard, sweat shining on his dark skin. “Diego was right downstairs; we need you, Ace. If you want to wear that patch,” he raised a long arm to point at Ace’s vest, “then you’d better do something to deserve it.”

  Riley walked out of the room, Smalls and Lianna behind him, Lianna stopping long enough to grab Bobby by the front of his shirt. He glanced back at Fiona helplessly before Ace closed the door.

  He stood there for a long moment, leaning on the doorknob with one hand.

  “What the hell are you doing here, Fiona?” he asked tiredly.

  “You weren’t returning my phone calls,” she fired back hotly. “I thought something had happened! I guess I know what it was now.”

  “Nothing happened between Katie and me tonight,” Ace told her. “If you don’t believe me, you can go ask her yourself. She’s your biggest fucking fan after seeing you take me down,” he added, seeing Fiona’s skeptical look.

  “Why is that?”

  “She’s pissed because I broke up with her,” Ace said, sitting next to her on the bed.

  “Was it because of me?” Fiona couldn’t help but blurt out.

  “Did you not hear Riley just then?” Ace asked. “Somebody fucking died, Fiona! Because I wasn’t there to do something about it! Because I was too busy with all your shit!”

  “Ace, that is such bullshit!” Fiona said. “How the hell were you supposed to predict that?”

  “Is it?” He laughed skeptically. “Maybe if I had been here, where I belonged, I could hav
e…have…” Ace trailed off, throwing his hands into the air.

  “What?” Fiona asked. “Done what? What would you have done differently if you had been here?”

  Ace didn’t answer her.

  “Exactly,” Fiona said softly. “Nothing. So stop blaming yourself. It’s only keeping you from blaming the person truly responsible for hurting your friends.”

  Ace looked at Fiona gratefully, and she leaned forward to kiss him. There was nothing more in the world that Ace wanted to do right now than kiss Fiona and show her his appreciation for her words, but her gentleness with him only further proved his point that she deserved more than he could give her.