Revolution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 1) (12 page)

‘Coby is up to his eyes in shit over this, Charlie. And I’m not sure how long I can keep this from
Tay
. From anyone. Because she needs her baby
here
. He belongs with his mother.’ She gave another pause, leaving a good few beats before she spoke again. ‘That boy, he needs his father. God help him…’

‘We have to let Lexi and Coby work this one out for themselves, Angie.’

‘And I think it’s a decision that needs to be taken out of their hands.’ She hung up, throwing the phone down on to the desk just as
Tay
walked in.

‘Something up?’ he asked, going straight to the filing cabinet.

‘No,’ Angie sighed, sitting back in her chair. ‘Everything’s fine.’

He turned around, nudging the cabinet shut with his elbow. ‘You sure? Only, you look more stressed than I’ve seen you in a long time. This got anything to do with Lexi?’

Angie looked at her husband. A man she owed a lot to. A man she really shouldn’t lie to. Because the consequences of that could be something she really didn’t want to face. ‘No. I told you, everything’s fine.’

He continued to hold her gaze, which only served to make Angie more nervous. ‘Okay. Well, I’ll be in the garage if you need me. And if you see Coby, can you tell him I want a word?’

‘Yeah. Sure. I’ll tell him.’ She watched
Tay
walk out of the office, sitting back in her chair and closing her eyes. She’d lost control of this one. And that was a feeling that terrified her.

Thirteen

‘Can I come in?’

Lexi looked up as Coby pushed open the door of the clubhouse apartment. ‘You’re asking now?’

He closed the door behind him, sitting down on the chair by the door, clasping his hands between his open knees, his eyes down on the floor. ‘We can’t go on like this, Lexi.’

‘I know.’

He looked at her, and Lexi felt her breathing speed up, her heart racing, a mixture of nerves and fear and a ridiculous need to cry welling up inside her. What she’d felt for Coby before she still didn’t know, but she hadn’t felt this, hadn’t felt anything close to this until he’d come over to England. Until he’d put his lips against hers and his body inside her. Until he’d given her Ozzie. And a lifetime’s worth of heartache.

‘I think…’ His eyes were back down on the floor, and she watched as he visibly breathed in deeply. ‘I think, maybe, it’s time to get our shit together, kid. Because this – this can’t go on.’ He raised his head to look at her again. ‘So, maybe we’ve just got to bite the bullet, you know? Get things – some things – out in the open.’ He paused for a second, but his eyes never left hers. ‘I want you to be my old lady, Lexi.’

Lexi felt the breath catch in her throat and she closed her eyes, trying to take in what he’d just said to her. He wanted her to be his old lady. That meant making it official, telling everybody they were together. It meant that she belonged to him now. But it also meant that the truth would finally have to start coming out. If this happened, they’d have no choice.

‘What do you say, kid?’

She opened her eyes, climbing off the bed and walking over to him, leaning over to kiss him slowly, deeply, the roughness of his skin against hers and the smell of cigarettes and engine oil all merging together, turning her on. Making her love him more. ‘Yeah. All right.’ She smiled, and he returned it, sliding his hands up under her t-shirt, hooking his fingers into the sides of her panties.

‘Every time I come in here you’re practically naked. There a reason for that?’

‘No. I guess you’ve just got incredibly good timing.’

He laughed low and quiet, and Lexi felt a shiver run right through her as he started to slide her panties down over her legs. She helped him, stepping out of them and pulling off her t-shirt, leaving her naked, and ready for him to claim her as his own. Ready to give herself to him. Completely.

‘Jesus Christ!’ he groaned. ‘How did I get so fucking lucky? Come here.’

She leant over, resting her hands on his open knees, kissing him again, running her fingers up over his thighs.

‘Come on, Lexi!’ Coby groaned again, quickly unzipping himself.

She slowly lowered herself down so she was straddling him, taking him in her hand and guiding him inside her. ‘I really hope you’re not doing all of this purely because I told you not to touch me until you were ready to deal with it all.’

‘I’m ready,’ he whispered, pushing her hair back off her face and kissing her again.

‘You better be. Because if you come inside me, then just walk right out of here like none of what you said mattered, I’m gonna cut that dick of yours right off. You got that, soldier?’

He looked at her, smiling that smile, his hands now on her hips, pushing her further down on to him. ‘You really know how to make sure a guy keeps his hard-on, don’t you?’

‘It’s a talent.’

She pushed herself down on to him a little harder, gently rotating her hips against him, closing her eyes as his mouth covered one of her breasts, his tongue circling her nipple, sending wave after wave of tiny tingles shooting through her. A dangerous shot of something she maybe should have avoided, left alone; but when had she ever done anything she was supposed to?

‘Oh, you got a talent all right, kid. You got one hell of a fucking talent.’

She leant back, resting her hands on his open knees, arching her back, angling her body so he could push as deep into her as he could go, and it was just seconds later that she felt that wave intensify, build up speed, until it came crashing over her like a tsunami of beautiful spasms. And the cry she let loose was so loud she was almost sure that anyone else inside the clubhouse must have heard it. But so what? They were all going to know now anyway, weren’t they?

‘Jesus Christ!’ Coby groaned, his own body jerking slightly as he came, too, shooting out into her fast and hard, holding tightly on to her hips as their bodies shuddered slowly to a halt. ‘Shit! I’m getting too old for this,’ he laughed, dropping his head forward so it rested between her breasts.

She buried her fingers in his hair, kissing the top of his head. ‘You’ll never be too old, Coby Walker.’

He raised his head, his eyes meeting hers. ‘I meant it, Lexi. What I said before. I want you to be my old lady. I want this to go somewhere.’

‘And Ozzie?’

He lowered his gaze, and Lexi let go of him, climbing off him, picking up her t-shirt and pulling it back on.

‘You really can’t do it, can you?’

Coby kept his eyes on the floor, his hands clasped together.

‘You take
me
, you take him, too, Coby. Jesus! He’s your fucking son! Do you ever think about that, huh? Do you? Do you
ever
think about him?’

He stood up, kicking the chair back, his face a mask of anger and frustration. ‘I never
stop
thinking about him, Lexi. I never stop thinking about
you
. Since the day I saw you at Charlie’s; since the day I first made love to you, baby, you have been right here…’ He violently tapped the side of his head, his eyes boring deep into hers. ‘Right fucking here, and you have never gone away. Never. And when I knew you were pregnant…’ He finally broke the stare, turning away for a second or two. Lexi found herself backing off until she was up against the wall, watching him as he paced the floor. ‘I wanted to come back over there, I wanted to be with you…’ He turned to face her, his expression softer now. ‘It killed me, Lexi, to know you were so far away… and I couldn’t get to you. To know you were having my baby, and I couldn’t be there with you when he…’ He lowered his gaze again, pushing a hand through his hair, ‘… when he was born. I missed that.’ He looked back up, walking over to her, tilting her chin up with his forefinger so her eyes met his. ‘I missed that, because of this fucking messed-up way we live.’

‘I want him over here, Coby.’

Coby shook his head, once more breaking the stare. ‘It’s… it really isn’t as simple as that.’

‘Isn’t it?’

He sighed, turning away from her. ‘I love you, Lexi…’

She felt her heart shudder to a stop as he said those words. ‘Look at me, Coby. Please.’

He slowly turned around, his eyes locked on to hers. ‘I love you, kid. Whatever love is – whatever it’s supposed to be. But we
have
to take things slowly. Trust me. Please. What we’re doing here, going public… that’s gonna be enough for a lot of them out there to deal with. Throwing Ozzie into the mix as well – it’s too much, baby. All in one go. It’s too much.’

‘Tell me you love him too, Coby,’ Lexi whispered, tears starting to blur her vision now. Hot, painful, confused tears.

Coby pulled her into his arms, holding her tight, and all she could do was fall against him and cling on to him. It was the only place she wanted to be right now – there, in his arms.

‘Of course I love him too, Lex. And believe me, sweetheart, we’ll be a family. One day. If it fucking kills me…’

‘Don’t say that.’ She pulled back slightly, looking right into his eyes. ‘Those words… said around here, they can be just a bit too literal sometimes.’

He threw her a small smile, reaching out to tuck her hair behind her ear, kissing her slowly, causing her to fall against him once more. ‘Trust me, beautiful. Okay? Trust your big brave Scottish man.’

She couldn’t help but smile, playing with the edges of his cut, breathing in that familiar smell of leather. ‘It doesn’t look like I’ve got much choice, does it?’

He tilted up her chin again, kissing her quickly. ‘What are we gonna do about Jesse?’

‘Oh, Jesus…’ Lexi sighed, throwing her head back. ‘Jesse.’

‘I know it looks like he’s over you…’

‘He’s over me.’

‘Are you over him?’

She looked at Coby, running her fingers over his scarred cheek. ‘I think I was over him a long time ago, if truth be told.’

His mouth lowered down on to hers, his hands sliding up under her t-shirt, lifting her up, her legs wrapping around him. He was about to take her again, lay claim to her body, her soul; he was about to put himself inside of her and stay there, for as long as she needed him to. To give her the calm she needed. But that storm was growing ever closer. And there wasn’t a thing anybody could do to stop it.

Fourteen

‘Something going on I don’t know about?’
Tay
asked, sitting down at a table outside the clubhouse and helping himself to a beer from the crate beside him.

Angie looked at him, continuing to place beer bottles into a barrel of ice.

‘Angie? You gonna answer me, sweetheart? Only, I might be missing something here, but
you’ve
gone all weird on me, my VP’s answering back, giving me shit, and Lexi’s walking around looking like she’s got the weight of the world on those beautiful shoulders of hers. You still want to stand there and tell me everything’s fine?’

Angie stopped what she was doing, looking over towards the clubhouse. Most of them were still inside, but this was another Lone Riders party. They wouldn’t all stay in there for long. Parties always spilled out into the compound.

‘Hey, hon. You gonna talk to me?’

Angie looked at
Tay
, watching as he took a long swig of beer. Should she have told him this sooner? Should
Coby
have told him this sooner?

‘Coby and…’ She took a long, deep breath, ‘… and Lexi…’

‘They’re sleeping together.’

Her expression turned to one of confusion as she folded her arms, staring at
Tay
. ‘You knew?’

‘Oh, no fucker
told
me, Ange. But I’ve seen them, the way they’ve been with each other since Lexi came back. The way he looks at her… shit! If she wasn’t my stepdaughter I’d be looking at her that way, too.’

Angie ignored him, looking towards the clubhouse again.

‘Are we sure this is wise?’
Tay
carried on. ‘For those two to be together?’

‘Is it any of our business?’ Angie asked, turning her attention back to her husband.

He slammed his bottle down on the table, standing up and staring at her. ‘She confided in you?’

‘She’s opened up a little, but I’m still not sure we’re getting the full picture. And I’m nervous,
Tay
. Nervous of everyone’s reaction to those two and their relationship because we can’t…’ She trailed off, uncertain of exactly what she should be saying next. How much did
Tay
know? How much should she tell him? How much of a mess
was
this, really?

‘Shit!’
Tay
shouted, sitting back down, pushing both hands through his hair. ‘They should
never
have got this close.’

‘How could we stop them?’

‘You spoken to Charlie?’

‘Charlie?’

‘Jesus Christ, Angie, stop taking me for a fucking idiot! You think I don’t know this all started when Coby was over in
England
? Huh? You think I don’t know about that?’

Angie felt her stomach sink, a feeling of nausea rising up inside of her. He knew enough.

‘When I think something is going on that could damage this club I make it my business to find out exactly what that is.’ He got up, walking over to her until they were almost face-to-face. ‘And
this
– what those two are doing; what those two have
done
,
that
could damage this club.’

Angie shook her head. ‘No,
Tay
. We can sort this out.’

He raised his eyebrows. ‘You think?’

‘Coby won’t say anything to Lexi, I know he won’t.’

‘Really? So, when she’s lying there, all beautiful and naked with her legs wide open, and he’s got his dick so far inside of her he doesn’t know what fucking day it is; when she’s promising him all kinds of shit that does nothing but fuck with his head – you think he won’t eventually just give in and spill everything?’

‘Jesus,
Tay
…’

‘Well? They have a fucking son, Angie! How long have you
known about
that
, huh?’

She looked down, unable to meet his eyes. ‘She only told me a couple of days ago.’

‘And you didn’t think to tell
me
?’

Her head shot back up. ‘This is a fucking mess,
Tay
. And I have no idea how it’s all gonna end so don’t stand there acting like you’ve been hard done by…’

‘You should’ve told me,’ he hissed, his face so close to hers now.

‘There are a lot of things people should have told each other. Don’t you think?’

‘That baby…’

‘Our grandson.’

‘When’s
that
little bombshell gonna be dropped, huh?’

Angie shook her head. ‘It’s too soon.’

‘Too soon?’
Tay
narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at Angie. ‘You think there’ll ever be a good time to throw that news out there? Because
that
is gonna take a whole shitload of explaining.’

She pushed past him, walking away towards the clubhouse.

‘Angie…’

She swung back around to face him.

‘This really could kick up some serious shit.’

She folded her arms again, a resigned expression on her face now. ‘Yeah. I know.’

She turned around and headed into the clubhouse, bumping straight into Kip. ‘Hey… You okay, Mum?’

‘Where’s Jesse?’

‘Jesse? Dunno. Think he’s with Luca somewhere. Why?’

‘Is he here?’

‘I’ve just told you. He’s somewhere around here... Mum, what’s wrong?’

Angie pushed a hand through her hair, sighing loudly. ‘Your sister. And Coby...’

Kip narrowed his eyes, taking just seconds to put two and two together. ‘Shit!’

‘We should probably tell Jesse first before...’

‘Where are they?’

‘In the apart… Kip!’

But he was off down the hall before Angie could stop him, kicking the door of the apartment open with a heavy thud. They were in bed, his sister and the club’s VP. They were in bed, quite obviously having sex, and it wasn’t something Kip wanted to see, but at least it all made sense now, the reason why she couldn’t – wouldn’t take things any further with Jesse.

‘At least you had the decency to end things with Jesse before you fucked-up his life again.’

Coby fixed Kip with a stare that could’ve frozen ice. ‘We’re a bit busy here, son. You want to come back later?’

‘Jesus Christ…’ Kip turned around and walked out of the room, heading back into the clubhouse.

Jesse was at the bar, talking to Blake and Luca. ‘You all right?’ he asked Kip as he slid up on to a stool beside him.

Kip pushed both hands through his hair, letting out a loud, frustrated sigh. ‘You’re not gonna like this.’

Jesse looked at Blake then Luca, as though they should both have some kind of idea as to what Kip was talking about. Which they didn’t. They shrugged, causing Jesse to turn his attention back to Kip. ‘I’m not gonna like what?’

‘Lexi. And our VP.’

Jesse narrowed his eyes as he continued to stare at Kip.

‘You’re fucking kidding me!’ Blake whistled. ‘Old man Coby’s boning our red hot sister?’

‘
My
sister,’ Kip corrected. Even though he knew what Blake meant. Lexi had always been like a sister to all of the guys in the club. That’s the way they all thought of her, in their own weird and sometimes slightly warped way.

‘She’s sleeping with Coby?’ Jesse asked, his voice quiet.

‘They’re together, right now, in the apartment… Hey, hang on… Jesse!’

Luca rolled his eyes as he stared at Kip. ‘What the fuck did you tell him that for?’

‘Shit!’ Kip sighed, pushing both hands through his hair again, sliding down from the stool and running after Jesse. But he’d already barged his way into the apartment, finding Coby and Lexi out of bed now. She was leaning against the sideboard, wearing nothing but the tiniest of panties and a tight white tank top, Coby in jeans, boots and a t-shirt, his dark, grey-streaked hair hanging loose around his face. He looked at Jesse, no surprise registering in his expression at all, not even when Jesse lunged at him, pushing him back against the wall. It was almost as if he’d been expecting it, which put him one step ahead of the younger man who wasn’t quick enough to see Coby’s punch coming, a swing which sent Jesse reeling backwards.

‘Jesus!’ Lexi shouted, throwing herself between them. ‘What the hell… Jesse!’

‘How did you expect him to react, sis?’

She turned to glare at Kip, Coby’s hand sliding into hers. She gripped it tightly, feeling his fingers curl around hers. She didn’t need him to be her safety, but she liked the way it felt, holding his hand.

‘How long, Lexi?’ Jesse asked, putting a hand to his cut lip. ‘How long have you and him… how long you been fucking him?’

‘This has got nothing to do with you,’ Coby said, fixing Jesse with a stare that told him to back off.

‘She was
my
old lady, Coby.’

‘I haven’t been your old lady for eight years, Jesse,’ Lexi said quietly, her grip on Coby’s hand tightening. ‘And I made you no promises when I came back here, remember? I told you that. I
told
you that.’

‘Shit!’ Jesse leant back against the wall, closing his eyes, burying his fingers in his hair. ‘I fucking loved you, Lexi. I loved you so much…’

She let go of Coby, walking over to Jesse, reaching out to gently touch his face. ‘I know. Baby, I know. And I loved you, too, but… after I left
Paradise
, so much happened, Jesse. So much, and it… it changed everything.’ She turned to look at Coby, who threw her a warning look. Neither Jesse nor Kip knew he’d been over in
England
. Everyone thought he’d spent that time in jail for some ridiculous misdemeanour, a lie
Tay
and Angie had managed to pull off with the help of Michael Bailey, their club-friendly sheriff. Although, it was possible even
he
hadn’t known exactly what he was supposed to be helping cover up. He never asked too many questions, it was safer that way.

‘It was eight years ago, Jesse,’ Coby said. ‘And eight years – that’s a long time.’

‘I just don’t… I don’t get it, Lexi. I mean, you and him… you never thought of him like that, he was always more of a father figure to you.’

‘And now she’s fucking daddy.’ Blake grinned, walking into the room. ‘Aw, shit, Lexi. You’re dressed.’

Coby turned to hit Blake with another stare that could kill. ‘Watch your mouth, son. That’s my girl you’re talking to.’

‘I can handle him, thanks.’ Lexi let go of Jesse and walked back over to Coby, poking her tongue out at Blake.

‘Nice.’ Blake winked. ‘You do anything else with that?’

‘Jesus Christ!’ Coby sighed.

‘Okay, that was my fault,’ Lexi said, resting a hand on Coby’s shoulder. ‘Let’s all just try and calm down, all right?’

‘Everything okay in here?’
Tay
asked, appearing in the doorway, surveying the scene in front of him. ‘I guess it’s safe to say it’s out there now, huh?’

Lexi walked back over to the sideboard, leaning against it, folding her arms. ‘You could say that.’

Tay
looked at her, chuckling quietly. ‘Coby. A word.’

Coby looked over at Lexi, mouthing ‘
okay?’
She nodded, throwing him a small smile. He began following
Tay
out of the room, stopping at the door and turning back around. ‘Hey, Lexi? Put some clothes on, kid.’

She gave him the finger and he grinned at her before finally leaving the room. That was when Jesse sank to his haunches, his head dropping into his hands as he let out a loud cry of frustration.

‘See what you’ve done?’ Kip hissed. ‘You should
never
have come back here, Lexi. You should’ve stayed with Dad, out of sight. And let everyone here get on with their lives.’

‘I’m not getting into this,’ Lexi said, pulling on her jeans and boots.

‘Just leave it, Kip,’ Jesse sighed, pushing himself up on to his feet.

Lexi looked at Jesse, their eyes locking for just the briefest of seconds. ‘I’m sorry,’ she whispered.

‘Yeah.’ He shoved his hands in his pockets, breaking the stare. ‘So am
I.
’ He turned and walked over to Kip, Luca and Blake, turning his back on her as though she wasn’t even there. ‘Come on. Let’s go see which of the
Candy
Cave
girls have turned up to party. Right now, I’m in the mood to get wasted.’

Lexi watched them leave, breathing out deeply to try and stop the tears that were threatening to fall. If ever there was a time when she needed to start being tough again, it was now. Because being weak could, quite literally, kill her.

***

‘This is gonna stop, Coby. You hear me?’

Coby turned to face
Tay
, unable to stop a laugh from escaping. ‘I’m
sorry
?’

‘You keep me in the fucking loop from now on, you got that?’

Coby took a step forward, leaning in towards
Tay
as he spoke. ‘And what
loop
would that
be
,
Tay
?’