Resurrection (The Lone Riders MC Series Book 3) (18 page)

He looked at her, and for the briefest of seconds she saw the man she’d fallen in love with, but he didn’t stay long. In the blink of an eye he’d disappeared, to be replaced by a man Mia didn’t know. Didn’t understand. But the fear had gone now. In fact, she felt strangely calm.

‘Then I’m gonna have to try and stop it.’

‘You said you couldn’t do that.’

‘Sol’s on my side, Mia…
Shit
!’ He pounded the wall behind him with his fist, frustration overwhelming him. ‘I don’t want the Lone Riders to suffer, I really don’t, but Coby…’

She took a tentative step towards him, stopping in her tracks as his head swung round to face her, his eyes wild as he stared her down. But then the wildness disappeared, and a softness took over, which unsettled her slightly, this ability he seemed to have of switching between emotions so quickly. But she risked another step forward.

‘You can end this, Ben. Whatever the hell it is, you can end this.’

‘I can’t forgive him, Mia.’

‘Try. Please, try. For me. For everyone who doesn’t deserve it… please. And all that stuff with your dad…’

The fire in his eyes was back in an instant, and Mia stepped away from him, immediately wishing she hadn’t mentioned that. She shouldn’t have brought his father into this. ‘Me and Hector – that has nothing to do with this.’

‘Doesn’t it?’

He gritted his teeth, his hands balling back into fists and he closed his eyes, breathing in deep to try and usher back the calm. ‘My dad will be dealt with.’ He opened his eyes and fixed Mia with a look she couldn’t read. ‘I can’t let that go, Mia. You have to understand, what he did…’

‘I really wish it hadn’t come to this,’ she whispered, wrapping her arms around herself, a pain cutting right across her chest as she once more allowed herself to remember how happy this man had once made her. Had that
all
been a lie?

‘I’ll talk to Sol.’

His voice pulled her back to reality, and she looked at him. His handsome face was engrained with a hardness she didn’t recognize now, and those brief flashes of softness – were they enough to make her think that, underneath this almost manic, agitated front, was the man she’d fallen in love with? Could he still be in there, somewhere?

‘It really doesn’t need to be this way, Ben.’

He threw her a weak smile. No. It wasn’t enough to make her even think about taking a risk. She needed him to go. To leave. To sort out this mess that had somehow built up. But the terrifying finale – that could be avoided. Couldn’t it?

‘It’s dragging me back, Mia.’ His expression changed again, the smile gone, a vacant, tired look replacing it. ‘And I don’t even know how I got to this point, I just know that stepping back into it, that world; everything that’s gone on… despite it all, it’s dragging me back. And I don’t know if I’m strong enough to walk away a second time.’

She felt a sharp pain pierce her heart, confusion swamping her. ‘You can do anything, if you really want to.’

He looked down, shaking his head. He seemed almost defeated, and that scared Mia more than anything.

‘I need to end this,’ he whispered, raising his gaze, his eyes locking with hers. ‘But I promise you, Mia, I will stop what’s happening tomorrow…’

‘I’m sorry, Ben.’

He frowned slightly, but said nothing.

‘For what happened with Coby.’

He broke the stare. He didn’t want to hear apologies or reasons why she’d done what she had. It was Coby’s fault. He should have known better, kept well away from her.

‘I’ll stop what’s happening tomorrow,’ Ben continued. ‘Maybe this has gone too far now.’

But even as he said the words, he knew it hadn’t gone far enough.

Twenty-Four

‘Where the
fuck
is your brother?’ Hector was on edge. Ben should be here, with the rest of them, making sure everything was ready. Today was a big day, the day the Dark Angels took over
Paradise
, yet he couldn’t settle. Something didn’t feel right.

‘I’ll try calling him again.’ Sol pulled out his phone, stepping out of the clubhouse as he waited for Ben to answer. But once more it went straight to voicemail. ‘Shit!’ He slid his phone back into his pocket and looked out at the trucks being loaded. He had a bad feeling about this. If Ben had gone rogue, tried taking things into his own hands, he could wreck everything they had planned. Why wasn’t he answering his fucking phone?

‘You’re still going through with this?’

Sol turned to see Sheriff Bailey standing there, his hands in his pockets, a resigned look on his face. ‘It’s happening, yes.’

‘You know I should really be dealing with this, through the proper channels. I should be warning the police, the Sheriff’s Department…’

‘And you know what’s gonna happen if you do that… Look, Michael, things are gonna change, OK?’

‘Well, forgive me if I show no surprise. I’ve heard that line so many times before, Sol.’

‘Hector will be gone soon. I’ll be running this club, with Ben at my side… brothers in the true sense of the word.’

‘Where is he? Ben?’

Sol pulled out his phone and checked for any messages. ‘No fucking idea,’ he sighed. ‘And that’s making me nervous.’

‘Call this off, Sol. Please. What you’re doing…’

‘I need to go find Ben.’

‘Sol! Wait!’

Sol turned back around, eyeing the sheriff with a more than wary expression. ‘You got something else you want to say? Only, we’ve kind of got a busy day ahead, y’know?’

‘Ben, he… the reason he killed Shane. Did he tell you why he did that?’

Sol’s wary expression deepened. ‘Did he say something to
you
?’

‘Coby
Walker
– Ben caught him with Mia. Caught them – they were together, if you know what I mean.’

Sol frowned. ‘Together? Oh, Jesus…’

‘He killed Shane to get him out of the way, so
he
could get to Coby. Your brother, I think he wants Coby dead. And I don’t know if that’s got anything to do with why he’s disappeared, I just thought you should know.’

‘
Shit!
’

‘Call this off, Sol. Because if Ben’s out there, and he’s got his own agenda, this is gonna end up one hell of a mess.’

‘Keep out of it, Michael. And tell Hector nothing, you got that? Just stay out of the way, get as far away from here as you can, then you’ve got every right to play dumb when it all kicks off.’

‘Jesus, Sol, come on…’

‘I’ll deal with
Ben
,
OK
? And I’ll deal with whatever shit that kicks up.’ He fixed Michael with a look that told him to back off, and disappear. Or he’d quite happily make that happen, for real. ‘I’ll deal with everything.’

And those were words that gave Michael no peace at all.

***

Ben opened his eyes, running a hand along the back of his neck, wincing slightly at the sharp pain that shot through it. That’s what you got for sleeping up against a tree all night.

Looking at his watch he scrambled to his feet, pulling out his phone, leaning back against the tree as he waited for Sol to answer. And when he did his brother’s voice wasn’t exactly welcoming.

‘Jesus Christ, Ben, where the fuck
are
you?’

‘I’m at the wedding venue.’

‘What the hell are you doing, bro? Hector’s going ape shit here, and I’ve just had an interesting conversation with Sheriff Bailey…’

‘They’ve put the wedding back.’ Ben cut Sol off mid-sentence. He needed to get this out before he ran out of time.

‘Listen to me, Ben. If what the sheriff told me is true; if you’re after Coby…’

‘Are you listening to me, Sol? Fuck Coby, I’ll deal with him another time. But you need to tell Hector that they’ve put the wedding back, which means they might know something.’

‘You been talking to people you shouldn’t?’

‘No. But it’s possible someone else, somehow, has got word to them about what we’re planning. And if they’ve been forewarned…’

Ben listened to the uneasy silence coming down the line. Sol was wary, he could tell. And he had good reason to be. None of this made sense, but it was the only way Ben could think of to get the job done.
His
job. Nothing else mattered. The game had changed again, and he had to play it out his way now.

‘Shit!’ Sol sighed. ‘How’d you know about this?’

‘Got talking to a couple of the guys they’ve got manning the place down here. Told them I was a guest, they had no idea who I was. I’m telling you, Sol, Coby’s sure gone second rate on security for this gig.’ Ben closed his eyes, hoping Sol was falling for his lies. Because he needed to stall them, if only for an hour or so. ‘He told me they’d put the wedding back a couple of hours. Something to do with Lexi, but what if that’s just an excuse, huh? What it that’s just giving them time to amass more manpower?’

‘OK.’ Sol’s voice was heavy with frustration. ‘A couple of hours you say?’

‘A couple of hours.’ By that time Ben hoped to have ended it, sought his revenge; finished the job. By that time, Ben hoped it would all be over.

‘You stay there. If I need you, I’ll call you. Best you keep an eye on things… And, Ben?’

‘Yeah?’

‘You’re not gonna do anything stupid, are you? I mean, Coby Walker… he’s gonna get what’s coming to him, brother. Let it happen how we planned, OK? Things are gonna change, remember? Things are gonna get better. What Coby did, you can live with that, bro. Mia, she ain’t yours no more anyway. Forget her. Walk away. After today you’re gonna forget that club ever existed… Jesus, man, you’re making me nervous here, Ben.’

‘I’m fine.’ Ben closed his eyes, his heart beating so loud he could hear it. He was far from fine. He wasn’t thinking straight, he didn’t even know what rational was anymore, he just knew what he needed to do. And how he had to end it. Because, after a night alone, outside in the darkness, with nothing but his thoughts and his fears and his future running round and round in his head, he knew there was only one way he was going to find any peace. There was only ever going to be one way…

***

Mia watched as Lexi pulled on her dress – a short, white strapless baby-doll style dress that flattered her curves and gave just the hint of a nod towards something verging on traditional. She looked stunning with her long blonde hair piled up messily on top of her head, her colorful tattoos accentuated against the white material, her legs long and slender in sky-high heels. Her beautiful sister. And she deserved today, she deserved happiness, but Mia couldn’t rid herself of the guilt she felt at what had happened between her and Coby. She couldn’t stop the fear she still felt at the back of her mind that everything Ben had told her, about stopping the Dark Angels from turning up here today – she could only hope he’d tried his hardest to make that happen. Because she was close to telling someone – Kip, Luca, anyone – she was close to telling them what she knew.

‘Hey, missy. You back on this planet yet?’

Mia hadn’t realized she’d drifted off, but she must have done, because Lexi was looking at her like she’d just come round from hypnosis.

‘You all right there, sis?’

Mia smiled, gently touching Lexi’s cheek, looking into her big blue eyes. ‘I’m fine. How about
you
? You ready to marry our president?’

‘I’ve been ready for decades,’ Lexi sighed, turning to look in the full-length mirror behind her. ‘I guess I just can’t believe the day’s finally here. The day when I actually get to make that miserable bastard mine, for good.’

Mia laughed as Lexi turned back around, joining in with the laughter, and for the briefest of seconds Mia let herself believe that everything really was going to be all right. Ben wouldn’t hurt her, he’d told her that. He wouldn’t let anything happen to her, and she believed him. Despite everything, she believed him.

‘You sure everything’s all right?’ Lexi asked, giving Mia’s hand a quick squeeze.

‘I’m just… I’m still getting used to him not being here, y’know?’

Lexi gave her hand another squeeze. ‘Would you take him back?’

‘I can’t,’ Mia whispered. ‘I can’t take that risk. What I went through with Lennie… I can’t go there again, so no. I wouldn’t take him back.’

‘But you still love him, huh?’

‘I love the man I first met. I loved that life we could have had.’

Lexi pulled her in for a hug, both sisters holding each other tight. ‘It’s gonna be OK, Mia. Everything, it’s gonna be OK.’

‘Whoa! And if you two were to get naked and do that you’d make my number one dream come true – two sisters…’ Luca let out a low whistle, ducking as Lexi threw an empty beer bottle at his head.

‘Dirty bastard. What you doing here anyway?’

‘Coby asked me to check up on you, make sure you weren’t getting wasted or anything, y’know, ‘cause that would be totally understandable. I mean, marrying Coby and all that, who wouldn’t need a drink…? Hey! OK. Quit throwing things at me, you crazy bitch.’

‘Tell him I’m fine. Is
he
all right?’

‘He’s already at the warehouse. Apparently your mom’s done a pretty decent job of making it look good down there.’

‘So everything’s OK, then?’ Mia asked, aware she was fiddling nervously with her watch strap, and she immediately pulled her hand away.

‘Everything’s fine, darlin’.’ Luca grinned at her, adding a quick wink. ‘Anyway, I’d better go. All the brothers are due to ride down there in a few minutes, make sure everything’s ready for the arrival of some beautiful ladies. And then I guess you two’ll turn up.’

Lexi gave him the finger, and he left them with another wink, closing the door of the apartment behind him.

‘Right.’ Lexi took a deep breath, taking one last look in the mirror. ‘I guess I’m ready to do this.’

‘Yeah.’ Mia smiled at her, checking out her own reflection in the mirror – the short red dress she was wearing contrasting vividly with the white of Lexi’s, making her black hair stand out as it fell loosely around her shoulders. ‘I guess you are.’ She held out her hand, giving her sister a reassuring smile as she silently told herself this was going to be OK. Nothing was going to happen. ‘I guess we all are.’

Lexi took Mia’s hand, squeezing it tight. ‘The happiest day of my life, right? What could possibly go wrong?’

And that was a question that sent a cold shiver racing up Mia’s spine.