TRAILING TRISHA - A Black Hounds Motorcycle Club Romance (The Fox and the Hounds Book #2) (11 page)

Her eyeballs were glued to the screen of her phone. She read the article by Sam Maynard. “’Dante Alastair and Trisha Kaplan told me they were one of the most normal, everyday couples I’d ever meet. Nothing could be further from the truth.’”

Trisha gave a nervous giggle. She had told that to him and now millions of people would’ve heard it as well. It was an aspect of the media blitz she wasn’t entirely comfortable with. “’Young, ambitious and a maverick, Alastair is newest in the line of a motorcycle club’s royal family. The controversial Black Hounds Motorcycle Club were infamous for their bloody feud with the Mexico based drug cartel, the Red Aztecs. Now, Alastair wants to prove that not only has his company has grown up but he has changed along with it.’

‘Their venture into motorcycle design and manufacturing is the brainchild of Dante Alastair and his sister, Lucia Alastair. In an industry dominated by engineers and MBA graduates, the Black Hounds are nothing like the competition. The story of the motorcycle club and its young scion is as every bit as fascinating as their cutting edge products themselves.’”

The farm girl couldn’t stop reading. “’Unlike the balding, middle-aged men leading most automobile companies, Alastair is as young and handsome as a men’s model. Indeed, his sex appeal has been a cornerstone of the appeal of the Black Hounds’ marketing campaign. The company’s market share in female demographics is well above the industry average. Motorcycles aren’t the first choice of vehicle for young women but Alastair is charming them into the lifestyle.’

‘A playboy in his teens, the young CEO is now settling down. He’s rarely seen in public without the woman he recently proposed to after a whirlwind romance, Trisha Kaplan. He’s especially protective of her and threatened action, both legal and otherwise, if Automaniacs were to upset her. The Club President turned CEO had been in his fair share of fistfights and I wasn’t on keen on getting on his bad side.’”

A smile broke out on Trisha’s face. Dante would never be able to live down the teasing the interview had provided her. The rest of the article oscillated between giving an overview of the company and an in-depth discussion of the Alastair family. Mr. Maynard had was no slouch in the research department.

“’A business partner in Japan, who wished to be anonymous, said the company’s intimate knowledge of motorcycle design was as invaluable as their other services. When overlooking the Japanese company’s line of prototypes, Dante Alastair quickly recognized inefficiencies in one design’s fuel pumping system. Likewise, Lucia Alastair noted the kickstand would be difficult for women or shorter men to reach with a foot. These insights helped prevent them from initiating a costly recall.’”

Trisha recalled that Dante and Lucia had gone to Japan. The two certainly had an eye for perfection. It was no wonder why the Black Hounds were such a breakout success. The article said as much.

“’Lucia Alastair has gained a reputation for both her financial acumen and her ruthlessness when competition against the company’s larger rivals. She was noted her aptitude for math and science at an early age. During grammar school she won the county science fair with an electric motorcycle engine that was well ahead of its time. She took college level classes when in junior high school. Lucia was the top of her class and graduated as the class valedictorian. She earned her degree in Finance at a local college in three years before earning her doctorate for mechanical engineering in MIT. The school offered her a hefty research grant to stay with them but the young woman went onto become the CFO of the Black Hounds’ newly formed motorcycle company.’”

“Huh, Lucia’s is technically a doctor,” Trisha mused to herself. “That’s pretty impressive for her age. I guess she had to study twice as hard to make up for Dante!”

“‘This year marked a turning point for the company and its perpetual bachelor of a CEO. The company will soon go public after years of being a privately owned business. Investors say that its initial stock price will be a record high for a motorcycle company. It’s only a matter of announcing the date.’

‘Likewise, Alastair has gone public with his romantic life as well. He proposed to a small farm owner named Trisha Kaplan. Little is known about the charming young owner of Foxtail Farms. She’s said to treat her workers like family and get down and dirty with them in field if need be. Hardworking and loyal, it’s no wonder she won the heart of Dante Alastair.’

‘Although the engaged couple just met recently, it’s said that the mothers of Alastair and Kaplan were friends. They tragically died before they could see their children form a lasting bond between their families. The soon to be Mrs. Alastair has certainly had an effect on the once reckless Dante.’”

Trisha read the last few paragraphs again. Sam had earned his pay with the research he had done on them. It was a glowing review but she wondered where he had learned this stuff. Could Uncle Cass have sweetened up her image?

The glow started to wear off in the next section.

“’If Alastair’s present looks to be a success then his past would be considered by many to be a disaster. As a child, he was a delinquent who often skipped school to illegally street race. Things went from bad to worse when the Black Hound Motorcycle Club came under criminal investigation and Alastair’s mother became terminally ill with cancer. Without the guidance of his parents, Alastair descended into vandalism and violence.’

‘This downward spiral climaxed with an assault on an older man who was allegedly a member of the now dead Red Aztecs street gang. Due to his age, Alastair was only suspended from school and given a year in juvenile hall. Ashamed of his actions, the young man resolved to become a better man for his late mother. Nonetheless, Alastair was seen as a lost cause for several years after his year in juvenile hall.”

It was uncomfortable reading about Dante’s past. The man she made love to seemed so sweet, vulnerable, and kind. He was full of regret over his past deeds and wanted to be a better man. Not just for himself but also for her.

Trisha decided to move onto another section. This one chronicled their origins as an outlaw motorcycle club “’The club was originally founded in the Alastair’s hometown of Ironville-’”

Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in her head.

The farm girl read the line over again before rushing to find Dante. She went to Lucia’s office but it was empty. An office worker directed her to the conference where Dante, Lucia, and the media team were coming up with a battle plan. She found the two of them along with Mr. Brown. The older man was the one who had written the contract for her arrangement with Dante and the Black Hounds.

“Sorry to interrupt but I just got an idea-” Trisha said before stopping mid-sentence. The woman closed the door before speaking. She had made the mistake of talking openly about their arrangement and gotten everyone into hot water. “Is it safe to talk here?”

“Safe as we’ll ever be,” Mr. Brown said with a half-smile. “What’s on your mind, Miss Kaplan?”

“I think I might have a solution,” she began, hoping no one would shut her down. It got Lucia’s attention. They were likely nowhere near having an answer for the crisis. “Dante, remember how we talked about visiting Ironville?”

Dante nodded. “Yeah, we joked about it when everything blew up in our faces. That part has been playing on the air as well. What’s my hometown got to do with anything?”

“Why don’t Dante and I go to his hometown?” she said to the surprise of the others. “Let’s tell the media I was upset because Dante promised we’d go there but he kept holding it off. We can say that we kept holding it off until the IPO when I wanted to go their earlier. Now, we’re heading there for a romantic retreat. It’s also a bit of a homecoming for Dante. We can play it off that way.”

Mr. Brown said. “Have the prodigal son return home and reflect on the past with his new bride. It sounds brilliant. It’ll certainly give us some breathing room.”

Dante stroked his chin. “We could say we had a fight over visiting Ironville until after the IPO. What’s a relationship without a little tension?”

“Well, the media is taking about Ironville,” Lucia said, the wheels in her head churning. “That town hasn’t been in the news very much since the iron veins ran out in its mines. The Discovery Channel is planning to do a show there mostly because the Black Hounds are back on the headlines. If we play our cards right, we could show how much we’ve changed since the early days. We could have something here…”

“Why don’t you bring the whole family over?” Trisha asked. “Let’s make it a big Alastair family thing. You get to keep an eye on Uncle Cass.”

“That might even be better,” Lucia replied, looking brighter already. “We have people who can hold down the fort here while. I could sure as hell use a break as well.”

Dante kissed her on the forehead. “You’re a genius, Trisha.”

She gave him a bittersweet smile. “It’s why you married me, remember?”

Ironville never looked so beautiful. In his youth, the town had never been much of a looker. It wore its poverty like a badge of honor. Whatever money that flowed through its streets ran dry after the town’s mining operations shut down.

The small town had gotten a bit of makeover with help from the money donated by the Black Hounds. Dante made sure take care of the town that had given so much to him. Ironville wasn’t Paris or Milan but it sure looked a lot prettier with paved roads and a working electrical grid.

Back in his youth, only the East side of the town could be considered to be upscale. His mother’s side of the family came from the nice part of town but he had grown up in the rough and tumble West side. It had gotten safer over the years buts its reputation lingered. In a way, it reminded him of how the world viewed the Black Hounds.

Now, he would not only be returning home but bringing Trisha along for the ride. It should have been a happy time for him. Yet, something about the whole affair seemed so hollow. He felt guilt over getting the farm girl entangled his dog eat dog world.

Dante kept mantra to himself. What he was doing was for the good of the Black Hounds. Already, any rumors were overshadowed by their impromptu tip to Ironville. Their PR team had knocked it out of the park by quashing any talk of their relationship being fake. Why would a fake couple come to a place like Ironville if they weren’t truly in love?

Nevertheless, it was all falling out of his hands but he couldn’t stop now.

He fastened up his tie but struggled to get it right. Lucia or another member of the company typically did it for him. He considered wearing clip-ons but the marketing team gave him hell for even entertaining that idea.

“Home sweet, home,” his uncle mused, staring at the old Black Hounds club house. Only a skeleton crew ran it. It was more of a living museum than anything else. “Looks bigger than I remember.”

Dante managed to get the tie looking decent enough. “Really? It looks absolutely tiny to me. I used to think this place was huge as a kid. Not anymore.”

“Bigger than an eight by five prison cell,” he laughed. At least one of them could joke about his incarceration. “So the girls staying at that new fancy hotel in the East side?”

“Lucia is on her way here.”

Uncle Cass snorted. “Probably here to collect my head.”

“She cares about you, uncle,” he answered. They tension between him and Lucia had been reaching its melting point. It had gotten worse when he had dropped in on their interview with Sam Maynard. “Just in her own way. She wants what’s best for the Black Hounds.”