Revolution (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 1) (3 page)

‘There
are
no sides, Kip. And she didn’t go back to
England
to be with your dad, she went to
Newcastle
because that’s where Shane was. And we gave her no other option in reality. Staying here would have been impossible.’

Kip continued to stare at his mother. ‘Even
you
sound as though you have some sympathy for her.’

Angie stood up, brushing down her skinny black jeans and shaking out her red-streaked, blonde hair. ‘I’ve been there, Kip, remember? Where your sister was. Stared down, spat at, shunned. Driven out of town and made to feel like some cheap, low-down whore because we did, what? Something
you
all do whenever the mood takes you. But it’s okay, isn’t it? For the men of this club to fuck around. For you it’s considered nothing more than a game. But God forbid an old lady should make
one
mistake.’

Kip stood up, too, completely thrown by his mother’s outburst. ‘Jesus, Mum…’

‘What
Tay
and I did to your father, you think
that
was any different to what Lexi did to Jesse?’

‘That’s no fucking excuse.’

‘I didn’t say it was. I asked if you thought it was any different.’

‘I… Dad, he… he got over it. He’s with Maggie now, they’re happy…’

‘Is Jesse happy with Deena?’

Kip leant back against the wall, taking a long swig of beer. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Then why don’t you ask him?’

He fixed Angie with a look that told her he just wasn’t getting this conversation. ‘You were the one who made sure Lexi was hounded out of
Paradise
, Mum.
You
.’

‘And you can’t work out why?’ Angie asked, fixing him with another look before she turned around and walked back inside, leaving Kip more confused than ever.

‘What was all that about?’ Jesse asked, joining Kip out in the yard.

Kip just shrugged, taking another drink. ‘Can I ask you something, J?’

Jesse looked at him. ‘Yeah. ‘Course you can.’

‘You and Deena…’

‘What about us?’

‘You happy?’

Jesse laughed, a short, almost humourless laugh. ‘It ain’t forever, Kip.’

‘It’s been five years.’

It was Jesse’s turn to shrug. ‘I like having someone around.’

‘And now Lexi’s back?’

Jesse stared at his friend. ‘You told Angie?’

‘Yeah. She seems almost pleased she’s turned up.’

Jesse looked back inside the house, watching as Angie leaned into
Tay
, sliding her hand into the back pocket of his jeans, laughing at something Coby said. ‘The Brotherhood, this club…’ He turned back to face Kip. ‘It’s a family. Eight years ago this chapter lost two members of that family.’

‘Because they ripped your fucking heart out!’

Jesse shook his head, staring down at the ground, his fingers clutching tightly on to the bottle he was holding. ‘We lost family.’ He looked back up, his eyes meeting Kip’s. ‘She was
my
old lady, Kip. Mine. And you all made sure I lost her.’

‘You’re like a brother to me, Jesse…’

Jesse’s eyes bored into Kip’s. ‘And Lexi’s your sister.’

‘Jesus Christ… Jesse!’

But Jesse had already walked away, back into the house. ‘Everything all right?’

He looked up to see Coby holding out another beer for him, which he took, immediately twisting off the cap and taking a drink. ‘Everything’s just fine.’

‘I hear Lexi’s back in
Paradise
.’

‘Yeah. She is.’

‘You okay with that?’

Jesse stared at Coby, a man he respected – a man whose loyalty to the Lone Riders knew no bounds. There wasn’t a thing Coby Walker wouldn’t do or any length he wouldn’t go to for the club. Which was why he’d played a big part in making sure Lexi had left
Paradise
. He followed instructions. ‘I’m gonna have to be, aren’t I?’ Jesse said quietly, pushing past Coby and heading for the kitchen.

‘Hey, baby.’ Angie smiled, leaning in to kiss his cheek. Jesse was like a son to her, because of his close relationship with Kip. Angie cared about him, and she knew when something wasn’t right.

‘Don’t ask me if I’m okay or if I’m coping all right with Lexi’s return just, don’t, Angie. Please.’

Angie backed away slightly, leaning against the counter and folding her arms. ‘Whatever you want us to do, Jesse, you just say the word. If you want her…’

‘I don’t want to talk about it. Really. Not now.’

She walked back over to him, stroking his long hair back from his handsome face. ‘I care about you so much, Jesse Jackson. And I care about what’s going on inside there.’ She pressed a hand to his chest, feeling his heart beating, just a little bit faster than it should have been. ‘She broke this. I saw what she did to you, but I also understand
why
she did what she did. You think I had no idea what was going on? I knew, Jesse. So I understand why she acted the way she did.’

‘I never meant to push her so far away, Angie.’

‘I know, baby. I know you didn’t.’

‘Do you think I can fix this?’

Angie reached out to cup his cheek in the palm of her hand. ‘I don’t know, darlin’. I guess all you can do is try. If that’s what you really want.’

‘It’s what
I
want, Angie. I just don’t know if it’s what Lexi wants, too.’

Four

Lexi looked up as she heard someone approach her table outside the small coffee shop on the main street.

‘Good to see you back, kid.’

She raised a leg and kicked out the chair opposite. ‘Sit down.’

Coby accepted the invitation.

‘You’re about the only one who thinks that, by the way.’

Coby just raised an eyebrow, sitting back and stretching out his long,
 
jean-clad legs, his hands clasped over his stomach. ‘You coming to the compound?’

‘I was thinking about it. Someone send you over here to check out my intentions? I know you can see this place from over there, so don’t tell me you were just passing.’

‘I’m the VP, Lexi. Nobody tells me to do anything.’

‘Not even
Tay
?’

Coby smiled, chuckling quietly, his eyes still on her, not breaking the stare. ‘Not even
Tay
.’

‘You still got your sights set on that gavel, huh?’

The smile disappeared from his face, but his eyes still bored deep. ‘I just wanted to see how you were, Lexi. There’s no ulterior motive here.’

It was her turn to laugh. ‘Yeah. You keep telling yourself that. This place is full of ulterior motives, Coby. It’s drowning in them.’

Coby waited a couple of beats before he spoke again. ‘Jesse he… I think he might…’

Her stare grew colder as she looked at Coby, an almost icy glare hitting him from across the table. ‘I’m sure Jesse wouldn’t thank you if he knew you were over here, fighting his battles.’

‘This is a fight, is it?’

Another laugh. Another cold stare. ‘I don’t know, Coby.
You
tell
me
. Should I be getting my ammunition in place here?’

He smiled a slow, steady smile, standing up, his hands palm-down on the table as he leant over her. ‘I’ll see you later – Lexi.’

She watched him walk away, climb on to his bike and speed off in the direction of the Lone Riders compound across the street.

‘Shit!’ she muttered under her breath, throwing a few dollars down on to the table before kicking her chair back, frustration getting the better of her. She was annoyed with herself, for allowing things to affect her the way they had. For allowing herself to feel weak when that wasn’t the way she’d been brought up. She’d been brought up to be strong, independent. Tough and unforgiving. Just like everyone else who lived by the rules of the Lone Riders MC.

She hadn’t walked five yards before she was interrupted again, another familiar voice stopping her in her tracks. ‘I’d heard you were back in town.’

‘News travels fast around here.’

Michael Bailey, Sheriff of Paradise smiled, hooking his fingers into his belt. ‘It’s good to see you, Lexi.’

‘Yeah. People keep saying that, I’m just not sure how many of them actually mean it.’

‘Family trouble?’

She looked at the kind-faced sheriff. A good friend and ally of the club, he did his best to look out for them, without breaching his own moral codes, of course. But Michael Bailey and the Lone Riders wanted the same thing, when all was said and done – safety and order for the town of
Paradise
. ‘Who do you think gave me no option but to leave town in the first place?’ Lexi sighed, her eyes wandering across the road, over to the Lone Riders compound.

‘You seen your mom yet?’ Sheriff Bailey asked.

Lexi shook her head.

‘Lexi, look… I understand the way things work over there, believe me, but, I don’t agree with what they did to you.’

She looked at him, eager to get away now. She wasn’t in the mood for this kind of reunion. ‘They only hounded me out of town, Michael. They didn’t frame me for murder.’

He looked at her, all blonde and beautiful and still so full of anger. ‘I don’t want you to think me out of turn for saying this, but I care about you and… and do you think coming back here is really the best thing for you?’

She stared at him, her eyes cold and fierce. ‘Where do you think I’ve been for the past eight years? Living on some island far away from all this shit? I’ve been living the same life, Sheriff. I’ve just been living it in another country, that’s all. The Lone Riders are the same wherever you go, and my dad is running the English chapter with all the same crap and shitty rules that
Tay
has embedded right here. It’s no different.’

Michael said nothing for a couple of seconds, watching as her gaze wandered back over the road. It was obvious she was itching to get away. ‘What happened with Shane…’

‘It was over a year ago now. It’s done.’

‘I’m sorry.’

She looked back at him, that icy stare still very much there. She was so like her mother Michael almost had to do a double take.

‘Yeah,’ she whispered. ‘So am I.’

‘Can I ask you something, Lexi? Why did it take you so long to come back? Eight years – it’s a long time, sweetheart.’

She narrowed her eyes. ‘For a long time I wasn’t sure I had anything to come back
for
.’

‘And now?’ Michael asked, genuinely concerned for this woman in front of him. He’d known her since the day she’d arrived in
Paradise
at the age of fourteen, with her mother and brother in tow. They’d fitted into this small, close-knit town like they’d always been there, and that was probably partly due to the fact they were connected to
Tay
and the Lone Riders. But he’d watched her grow from a moody, full-of-attitude teenager into a tough, feisty young woman. He’d watched her adapt to the life she’d been brought up in. But looking at her now, he wasn’t entirely sure it was a life that had been good for her.

‘Well, I guess that’s what I’ve come back to find out,’ she said, turning away from him, heading towards a place she’d never thought she’d see again. A place she’d always known she’d run back to.

***

‘Any of you up for a run this afternoon?’ Coby asked, finding Kip, Jesse, Blake and Luca by the pool table in the clubhouse.

‘Where to?’ Kip asked, leaning back against the table, nudging his cap back on his head with the tip of the pool cue.

‘
Tay
wants all that stuff shifted and taken up to the cabin this afternoon. You can use the crash truck.’

Kip looked at Jesse. ‘You up for it? Gets us out of here for a couple of hours.’

‘What stuff?’ Jesse asked.

Coby threw him a look. ‘If you’d pulled your head out of your arse during church last night, you’d know.’

Jesse stepped forward, his hands balled into tense fists by his side. Kip read his body language, pulling him back before he had the chance to do something stupid.

‘Come on, Jesse, chill out, man. It’s just some old furniture and shit that
Tay
’s old man left him after he passed, remember? He’s been storing it in the garage at home but mum’s been nagging him to move it. He thought we could use it in the cabin.’

Jesse shook off Kip’s grip, pushing a hand through his hair. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I remember… Guess I’m just a bit strung out, huh? Coby, man, I’m sorry.’

Coby squeezed his shoulder, patting it roughly. ‘It’s okay. It’s understandable, given the circumstances.’

‘Everything okay in here?’
Tay
asked, coming out of the chapel and leaning against the doorpost, his arms folded.

‘Everything’s fine.’ Coby walked over to
Tay
. ‘These guys are gonna drop that stuff off at the cabin.’

‘Good. It’ll keep Angie off my back. The keys to the crash truck are in the office. And if Angie’s there, tell her I need a word when she’s got a minute.’

Jesse followed Kip, Luca and Blake out of the clubhouse, shielding his eyes from the bright sunshine as they headed towards the office, so he didn’t see it at first, the reason why everyone had suddenly stopped in their tracks. But as he looked out ahead of him, he saw it, too – the black convertible parked at the top end of the compound.

‘Oh, Jesus,’ Kip sighed as he caught sight of the figure stepping out of the car. He immediately turned to look at Jesse, but his friend’s eyes were fixed firmly on Lexi as she started walking across the yard, all crazy long legs and hard-faced beauty, her blonde hair hanging loose over her shoulders from
 
underneath a red bandana.

Luca whistled, digging his hands into his pockets as he watched her draw nearer, those toned, tanned legs of hers striding purposefully across the compound, her eyes fixed straight ahead of her. ‘Eight years away and she just got fucking hotter.’

‘Jesus Christ!’ Jesse muttered under his breath, spinning around to face Luca, his stance mildly threatening. ‘You watch your mouth there, okay?’

Luca held his hands up, backing away from Jesse. ‘Hey, whatever, man. I ain’t gonna touch her, I promise.’

Jesse glared at him before turning back around, his eyes going straight to Lexi. She was almost there in front of them now, and with every step she took, every step that brought her closer to him, he could feel a weakness taking over, but he pushed it back just as fast as it tried to surge forward.

‘You gonna be okay,’ Kip asked warily, his eyes on Jesse rather than his sister.

‘Yeah… Listen, you guys do this run without me, okay?’

‘You’re not coming with us?’

‘I need to talk to her, Kip. Get this over and done with.’

Kip sighed again, taking off his cap and running a hand through his dirty-blonde hair. ‘Whatever, man. But I think you’re crazy.’

‘Let him do what he needs to do, Kip,’ Angie said, walking over towards them, throwing the keys to the crash truck at her son before folding her arms.

Jesse looked at Angie, narrowing his eyes slightly. ‘I don’t need your help with this, Angie.’

‘I know you don’t, honey. I’m sorry.’

‘You’re crazy,’ Kip repeated, before he, Luca and Blake walked off to load the truck.

Jesse looked over at Lexi, who’d stopped in her tracks now, standing still by the row of motorbikes all lined up adjacent to the clubhouse.

‘You gonna be okay?’ Angie asked, her arms still folded.

Jesse just nodded, tired of people asking him that question now. He wanted to be alone with her. He didn’t need all this shit everyone else kept piling on him. He was a grown man, he could handle this. He could handle Lexi. But that’s exactly what he’d thought before. And look what had happened.

‘Okay. Well, I’ll just be inside, if you need me.’

He turned to look at Angie. ‘Don’t
you
want to speak to her?’

‘Oh, she’ll reach out to me when she needs to. I know my daughter, Jesse.’

He watched Angie walk off towards the clubhouse before he made his way over to Lexi. She was leaning against his bike now, running her fingers over the cool chrome.

‘Why are you here, Lexi?’

She slowly raised her head, her eyes meeting his. And that one, solitary look caused something to shift inside her she hadn’t felt since the last time she’d set foot in this compound. Something so strong and so real, a pull so forceful she couldn’t ignore it anymore. She’d been ignoring it for eight years and that had been painful enough. But things were different now. They were so very different.

‘I needed to see you, Jesse.’ Her voice was quiet, trying its best to stay steady but even she could feel it wavering, with nerves she couldn’t hold back.

‘After all this time, you need to see me
now
? Why, huh? Why now?’

She hung her head, not really sure what to say. It wasn’t exactly the right time to tell him what she really needed to tell him. What she needed to tell everyone. Not that she knew what that was just yet. There was a long way to go before she’d be able to figure that one out. ‘I don’t know.’

Jesse couldn’t help but laugh. ‘Yeah. Okay. You turn up here, out of the blue, and that’s all I get?’

She looked up at him, confusion washing over her in waves. ‘I don’t know what else to say, Jesse.’

‘Then maybe you shouldn’t have come back, because I really don’t need any more shit.’

And neither did she. But they’d all had to deal with crap they hadn’t seen coming. Or maybe they had, and they just hadn’t had the balls to stop it from happening.

‘Is this about Shane?’

Lexi frowned. ‘Shane?’

‘Yeah. Kip said that you…’

‘That I, what? That I blame the club for his death? Would that be such an outlandish accusation?’

Jesse looked down, closing his eyes for a second or two as he tried to get to grips with the situation. One he hadn’t thought he’d ever have to face again, yet it was also one he’d always known he was going to have to face at some point. ‘You really have to stop thinking the worst about the way this club works.’

‘He wouldn’t be the first member to die in those kind of circumstances, would he?’

Jesse leaned back against Kip’s bike, his eyes fixed on Lexi, and she felt her stomach contract as she looked at him, properly looked at him for the first time in eight years.