Prologue
Rascal
May 2020
Saint, Clutch, Diesel, and I are spending Memorial Day weekend on a run to Colorado. I haven’t made this trip since I came back in March when Shade raced in the underground circuit. That shit was badass. Shade sure knows how to handle cars. He and three other guys were handed the keys to Audi R8s. Shade made winning look like a piece of cake.
We got into Denver late last night, and we’re crashing at Ace and Nitro’s place. These guys will be recruited into the Savage Riders before the end of the year. Along with a couple of their buddies, Breeze and Zero. We’re looking to expand into New Orleans soon, too.
Walking into Higher Zen, a bell above the door signals to Blaze or whoever, we’re here.
“Welcome to Higher Zen,” a female’s voice calls out from the back room. Not any female. Marley. She walks out from behind the colorful tapestry that serves as a door to the back room. She’s still rocking the partial dreads. I’ve never seen a chick who can pull off any kind of dreads like Marley can. I can’t stand the chick, but I can appreciate her beauty.
Her smile fades when her eyes land on mine. “Oh, it’s you.”
“Miss me, Princess?” I smirk at her.
She scoffs. “Yeah, in your dreams, Romeo.”
Typical Marley response. I grin. “Nah, in my dreams you’re . . .”
“Don’t fuckin’ finish that sentence, Rascal,” Blaze warns. Saint snickers behind me, and I shoot him a glare over my shoulder. Blaze is practically Marley’s older brother, so him getting on me is no surprise. She dishes it out as much as I do, though. When I see her, that is. I only come out here once a month, but it’s like she makes a point not to be here when I am.
Blaze narrows his eyes at me, and I hold my hands up in defense. “We’re just havin’ a lil’ fun, Blaze,” I tell him.
“It’s gonna be real fun when she’s ridin’ back to Texas with you.” He grins like a cat who caught the canary.
“What?” Marley and I shout in unison.
“There’s no way I’m riding in the same car as him,” Marley spits out.
“It’s not like I want to share that small of a space with you either, Princess,” I say to her.
“You’ll go with them if you want the protection the Savage Menaces can provide you,” Blaze whispers to her. For a second, I wonder if I even heard him right. Marley huffs out a frustrated breath and storms out of the room.
Blaze lets out a heavy sigh. “Can’t the two of you get along for one fucking day?”
“Talk to her. She’s the one throwin’ sass as soon as I walk through the door.” I defend myself. I’m not taking the blame for this shit. Not all of it anyway.
“Ras is mad Marley won’t give it up.” Clutch laughs.
“I don’t need her to give it up. I got plenty of chicks linin’ up to take a ride.”
“Yeah, but how often does a chick actually turn you down,” Diesel asks.
“She didn’t turn me down. I turned her down.” I don’t know why I lie. It’s not like it fucking matters. I can get my pick of women any time I want. Marley would probably be a boring lay anyway.
“So, what’s the deal? Why is she coming to Texas,” Saint asks the question we’re all wondering.
“She needs a change of scenery around people who will take care of her,” Blaze explains.
Annoyance washes over me. It’s easier to deal with her when she’s here because I never see her. Now, she’s going to be in my clubhouse twenty-four seven. What the hell am I supposed to do with that?
1
Marley
October 2020
Rascal is the one Savage Menace I can’t fucking stand. Blaze warned me about him before they came into Higher Zen. From the first time I met him, he’s done nothing but try to get into my pants. I expected to turn him down, and that would be it. Oh, how wrong I was. Before they left the shop, Rascal made it a point to come talk to me.
The tallest of the four Savage Menaces walks back inside, coming straight for the front desk. He’s a beast of a man, tall and bulky. Tattoos cover his neck and shoulders. His dark hair is faded on the sides and longer on top, and he’s sporting a short cut beard.
“Hey, Beautiful. I gotta ask, did it hurt?”
A pick-up line? Really? I flash him a small grin. “Did what hurt?”
“When you fell from Heaven,” he asks.
How predictable. I laugh. “Silly, Romeo. I dug my way up from Hell,” I deadpan.
For a split second, surprise crosses his face. “Beautiful and witty. Where have you been all my life?”
“Same place I’ll be for the rest of your life— in your dreams.”
His eyes light up as if he’s saying ‘challenge accepted.’ A smile plays on his lips, but before he responds, Blaze and Buster walk in. His eyes never leave mine.
“Rascal, let’s roll,” Buster says to him.
Rascal flashes me a grin. “See you soon, Princess.” It’s a promise, not a statement.
I could sense he’s not one to accept loss easily, and I could tell me shooting him down wounded his ego. I’ve lived and learned a lot these past few years. Including meeting my fair share of guys like him. He’s a player wanting to add another notch in his belt. I won’t be that for him, no matter how hard he tries. Which is something he hasn’t stopped doing. It’s like he’s made it his life mission to either fuck me or annoy me to death.
A few months ago, something came up, and I had to get out of Colorado, so Blaze came up with the bright idea of me taking shelter with the Savage Menaces MC in Texas. To make things worse, Bull - the Savage Menaces MC President, made sure to make Rascal my personal bodyguard. If I leave the club, which I don’t, he has to come with me. I have to continually remind myself it’s for my own protection.
It was so much easier to ignore him when he was almost a thousand miles away and only came to the shop once a month. Now, I’m living under the same roof as him. I keep to myself, hardly ever leaving my room. Tink and Lolita have hooked me up with a mini-fridge for my room, and Chains, one of the prospects, brings me snacks at least once a week.
I’ve ventured out of my room more in the past couple of months. Rascal has been gone a lot more, picking up more work at Savage Repairs to help out while Buster is home with his wife and baby. Rascal has put Chains in charge of me while he’s gone, with strict instructions not to let me leave the clubhouse. It’s not like I would have anywhere to go if I did leave. Everyone I know in Texas is linked to the Savage Menaces.
I’m not the best at making friends. I’m quiet and come off as a bitch. Tink and Lolita are the only ones I really talk to because they took me under their wings when I first got here. I’ve talked with Minx a little, but not enough to really become friends. She’s been nice, but she also doesn’t come around much when the guys aren’t all here.
Rascal is currently at Savage Repairs. He’s been going every other Saturday for most of the day. I take the opportunity to hang out in the main room. Some days Chains and I play pool and smoke. Other days, I take the time to read. I love reading cheesy, romcoms. They’re my favorite. Today is a reading day, and today’s book is Let’s Get Textual by Teagan Hunter. Between smoking and getting so into this book, I lose track of time.