Chapter One

Chapter One

Zoey

AFTER A FULL day of classes, all I want to do is get on my bike and ride for a while. I have homework and reading to do, but the call of the road and freeing my mind from all the bullshit swirling around makes me want to drop everything and out race my thoughts. I quickly stop by my apartment to drop off my bag and change into my riding gear. Once I’m dressed and ready to go, I pull out my phone and check for any missed calls or messages. Everyone knows my schedule so it’s not surprising to see I only have one message on my phone from Playboy. My uncle messages me at least once a day to check on me if I’m not working in the garage. If I’m there, he simply stops in and takes me out to eat when I’m done working. I love being close to this part of my family because we’ve only gotten together sporadically over the years and now I can see them on a daily basis.

Playboy: How’s your day sweetheart? What are you doing for dinner? If you want, you’re more than welcome to come over. Sam is making a feast and we’d all love to see you.

Me: I’m about to head out for a ride. It’s been one hell of a day and I just need to clear my head. I’ll take a raincheck on dinner though. Tell everyone I say hi and that I’ll call gramps later tonight or tomorrow. I missed my last call with him.

Playboy: Okay, sweetheart. If you need me, call. I’m not going anywhere tonight. Is Kingston riding with you?

Me: No. Just a solo ride today. I’ll be okay. Gonna head up to the lookout point and relax before I come back to study and do my homework.

Playboy: Love you, sweetheart.

Me: Love you too, Uncle G.

With a smile on my face, I lock my apartment up and pull up my playlist. Today is a day for the music to be cranked as high as I can get it while I ride. The smile is still on my face as I reach my bike and set my gloves on the tank while putting my key in the ignition. Turning it on, I press the button to start the engine and listen to the sound of my bike. A thrill goes through me as always. Yeah, I’ve been a backpack more times than I can count. Never for anyone I was in a relationship with, but my family members who I’ve ridden with over the years. Knowing I can come out and get on my own bike is the best feeling in the world. I don’t have to wait for someone to ask me if I want to go for a ride with them. I can simply walk out and get on my bike whenever the need to ride strikes me.

Putting on my gloves after putting my phone in the mount I have, I press play on my playlist and straddle my bike. Looking around the parking lot, I make sure no little ones are out running around on their own. It’s happened more than a few times. I know this for a fact because they always come up to me and stare at my bike with smiles on their faces. When the kids come up to me, I let them rev the engine and sit on my bike for a few minutes. Seeing them so happy from a simple gesture makes my day and nothing can wipe the smile off my face. There’s a few kids who seem to wait for me to leave my apartment so they can make sure they get to see my bike and talk to me. Today isn’t one of those days though.

Pulling out of my spot, I make my way through the parking lot of my building and wait for the few cars to pass by before pulling out and heading out of town. Dusk is falling and there’s hardly any traffic as I keep an eye on my speed. When we’ve come here before, I never noticed the strong police presence on the roads. Now, it seems like one particular cop is all over the place. Anytime I ride, he follows me for longer than appropriate and doesn’t do anything to pull me over or anything else. It gives me the creeps to see him pull up behind me and know I’ll be followed and can’t speed up to really let my thoughts fly away with the wind.

As I head out of town, it doesn’t take long for the all too familiar cop car to pull out behind me. For a few miles he just follows behind me and I know today I’m not going to be so lucky as to get away without him pulling me over. There’s a feeling deep in my gut telling me he’s going to start some shit. Pressing pause on my playlist, I pull up my phone log and call my uncle. He’ll be better than calling my gramps. Gramps will lose his shit if I call him and I really don’t want to have to call my parents because he’s been arrested.

“Sweetheart, back from your ride already?” Playboy answers his phone as I look behind me to see the cop getting closer to my bike.

“Uncle G, I got that fucking cop following me. He’s getting way too close and I know he’s gonna pull me over,” I tell my uncle, fear filling me as I look over my shoulder once again to find him even closer to me than a few seconds ago.

“Where are you?” my uncle questions, his voice cold and deadly as I hear muffled sounds coming from his end of the phone.

“I’m heading to the lookout point. I’m just on the outskirts of town and ready to turn off to head up there,” I answer him as I twist the throttle a little to go faster and get away from this cop.

“Kingston and I are on our way. We’ll be there in five. Don’t let this fucker get you alone, Zoey. Make sure he knows we’re comin’ so he doesn’t try to pull any shit,” my uncle tells me as he keeps me on the phone while I hear his bike start up.

Just as I go to pull into the forest to head up to the lookout point, the cop turns his lights on. I let my uncle know that I’m pulling over and we’re just at the entrance of the forest. There’s no one around as the stars start to come out and dusk starts turning darker. A tremor of fear rushes through my body and I know this asshole planned to pull me over away from everyone else. Here, no one is around or passing by. Not too many people come out this way late at night and I know this is the perfect place for this asshole to do and say whatever he wants to me.

Before the cop even gets out of his car, I have my bike shut off and the kickstand down. I don’t remove my gloves or anything else because there’s no way I’m giving this cop more ways to identify me than what he’s already got. Not that there’s really anything on my hands to help identify me, it’s just the point that I’m not about to show him any more skin than what I currently am which isn’t much. The one thing I wish I could do is finish zipping my jacket up. It’s not often that I leave the zipper down, but tonight I did. I’m wearing a tight tank top under it and it shows more than a little cleavage. Though, I wasn’t thinking I’d be getting pulled over or see anyone when I was out for my ride. Now, I wish I had put on something different under my riding jacket and that I’d zipped it up completely. Fuck!

“Do you know why I pulled you over tonight?” the cop asks me, his voice filled with malice as he steps up to my side closer than he needs to be to me.

“No, I don’t. I wasn’t speeding or doing anything to break the law,” I answer him honestly as I leave my helmet on and the visor firmly closed.

“Get off the bike,” he states, his voice going hard as I look up at him.

The cops eyes are on my chest as I sit up straighter on my bike and try to get off my bike with how close he’s standing to me.

“My eyes are up here,” I state, knowing I really shouldn’t be pissing this fucker off, but I don’t care when he’s staring at my chest in a way that makes me feel completely violated since it’s only the two of us out here like this.

“Excuse me?” the cop questions as I take in his appearance for the first time.

The uniform he’s wearing is full of wrinkles and stains as if he hasn’t washed it in a very long time. The smell of alcohol and weed pours off of him and surrounds me to the point it’s hard not to gag on the smells wafting from his body. His dark hair is matted to his head and greasy as if he hasn’t washed it in weeks or longer. What really gets me though are his eyes. They’re so cold and lifeless. There’s no emotion or anything there as I quickly avert my gaze from them. The mustache he has is long and covers his top lip completely with crumbs or something in it. This man is fucking disgusting and there’s nothing I can do to get away from him as I finally manage to get off my bike and move to the other side so it’s between the two of us.

This man has sunken in cheeks but a pot belly as if he drinks a lot of beer. That’s what it reminds me of after seeing such a variety of bikers over the years growing up in the Wild Kings. When he flashes me a sinister grin, I take in the broken off teeth that are yellowed and disgusting. A foul odor comes from his mouth and washes over me since that’s how close he’s standing to me. Where the sleeves of his uniform are shoved up his arms, I can make out the distinct marks of shoving a needle in his arm. This cop is a fucking drug addict and it’s written out with the marks covering his arm he’s not even trying to hide from me. I don’t want to be anywhere near this man for any reason. Every detail I take in of him makes me feel even more horrible than the last.

“I told you my eyes are up here. You don’t need to stare at my chest. It’s rude. Now, why did you pull me over when I was clearly doing nothing wrong?” I ask, pulling out my keys and keeping them in my hand so he can’t take them out of my bike and keep me here against my will.

“I suggest you watch your tone. I’m an officer of the law and will not hesitate to put you in handcuffs,” he growls out, his breathing picking up as if the thought of me being handcuffed in front of him excites him.

My own breathing accelerates and my heart is racing so fast it feels as if it’s going to beat out of my chest and fall to the ground at my feet. I can hardly hear anything over the blood rushing through my ears while never taking my eyes from the cop in front of me. I barely hear the rumble of bikes filling the air as the cop tries to move even closer to me around the back of my bike.

“That will be my family. So, again, why did you pull me over?” I question the cop, not taking my eyes off him because I have no clue what he’s going to do.

“Take your helmet off,” the cop demands as I try to find his name on his uniform only to be disappointed when it’s not there.

“No. I think I’ll leave it on for now. Once you answer the question I’ve asked more than once now, I’ll think about taking it off. For now, I’d like to know not only why I’m being pulled over but why you followed me for miles. I know that’s not legal at all,” I tell him, stepping even further away from him as I finally spot two headlights pulling into the entrance where I’ve been pulled over.

Kingston and my uncle Playboy pull up right in front of my bike and immediately shut their engines off. My uncle is off his bike and at my side in a matter of seconds. He looks me over from the top of my helmet down to my toes before turning his attention to the cop standing before us. I look at the cop to see anger filling his eyes as his entire body starts shaking with the rage filling him with my uncle and Kingston here now. Whatever plans he had for me have been put to an end and it’s because I knew I had to call someone to help me when it comes to this asshole.

“I’ve heard the entire exchange you’ve had with my niece. She’s fuckin’ nice. I’m not. Why the fuck did you pull her over when she’s already told you she wasn’t speedin’ or breakin’ any other laws? You can clearly see her plate and I can assure you everythin’ on her bike is workin’ properly because she performs her own maintenance and is very anal about it. Her bike will always be better taken care of than anyone else I know and I know a ton of bikers who are constantly workin’ on their bikes,” my uncle states, pushing me slightly behind his body as he steps closer to the cop in front of us.

“It was a routine pull over. We typically stop those riding sport bikes because more often than not they speed and cause havoc in town,” the cop says, his eyes on the ground to let us know he’s lying.

“You’ve followed her before and for way longer than you’re allowed by law to follow her. After followin’ her for miles today, you know she wasn’t breakin’ the law or goin’ to. So, that’s a fuckin’ lie,” Kingston speaks up, his eyes locked on the cop who won’t recognize him since he’s on his Harley tonight instead of his other bike.

Kingston has been out with me when this fucker has followed me before. He’s always got a helmet on and his hair is hidden under the helmet more often than not when he’s on his other bike. He doesn’t want it whipping in his face when he starts flying down the road so it’s always tucked in the helmet.

“You don’t know that,” the cop says, his face losing all color as he looks toward Kingston who remains sitting on his bike.

“Yeah, I do. This isn’t my only bike. When she’s ridin’ with anyone else, it’s usually me. So, yes, I’ve seen you followin’ her around and makin’ her fuckin’ uncomfortable. I suggest you answer the question that’s been repeatedly asked about why you fuckin’ pulled her over. Especially considerin’ you chose a remote location without anyone around to see whatever it is you do. I’m also thinkin’ that if we were to have your superior check, your body cam isn’t recordin’ right now either. However, I can assure you, the camera on her bike is recordin’ right now. Didn’t think to check for that shit, did ya?” Kingston asks, making me realize I didn’t even think about the camera I have on my bike.

I always turn it on whenever I’m riding. You never know when you’re going to need proof of something happening when you’re out riding. Especially if it comes to an accident or something. I’ve never been in one, but I’ve been cut off and almost run off the road more than once. Having my camera mounted on my bike doesn’t take long to attach and with the press of a few buttons I’m recording everything that happens when I’m riding. Kingston got me the camera to match his and we’ve also used them to trade footage we’ve captured when we’re out riding. He’s always trying to push himself harder and do things he doesn’t think he can do. I’m pretty sure it’s because of his accident and not knowing if he’d ever be able to ride again. Kingston was very lucky and we’re all happy he pulled through and came out stronger than before it happened.

“I pulled her over because there’s no reason for her to be riding in the forest this late in the day. I can follow her, or anyone else, whenever I want,” the cop says, trying to justify his actions.

“This park doesn’t close and since I’m on a bike alone and not in a car or truck with some guy, I’d say it’s safe to say I’m not about to have sex at the lookout point. Not that it would be any of your business if I were about to have sex. You had no reason to pull me over at all and you know it. Because there are two men here now, you’re trying to cover your ass so you don’t come off as the stalker you seem to be,” I state, peering around Playboy’s side as he remains in front of me.

“I’ll be lettin’ your superior know what you’ve been doin’. He’s a close, personal friend of the club’s. This is my fuckin’ niece and if I get one fuckin’ call that you’re still followin’ her around like you have been, then I’ll make sure a member of the club is with her at all times when she’s out in public. My niece, or anyone else for that matter, shouldn’t have to be afraid because of a piece of shit like you,” Playboy growls out, his voice deadly as he crosses his arms over his chest and keeps his eyes locked on the cop.

When the cop finally realizes my uncle and Kingston won’t be leaving my side, he glares at me the best he can with my uncle’s body standing in front of me before turning and making his way back to his car. None of us move until he’s left and we can no longer see his taillights. For the first time since this all started, I take a deep breath and slowly release it. My body is shaking as the fear starts to leave me. Playboy pulls me into his arms and holds me close while rubbing a hand up and down my back in an attempt to help calm me down.

It takes several minutes before I’m steady enough to pull away from my uncle.

“I’m gonna head home,” I say, not wanting to be out in public any longer. There’s no way I’ll be able to relax out here after that encounter with the asshole.

“I’m followin’ you home, sweetheart. I’ll make sure you get inside and that there’s nothin’ amiss around your apartment and the parkin’ lot outside. Kingston’s gonna help me so we can let your dad know you’re still safe,” my uncle states in that tone he gets that means he’s not going to back down from the decision he’s made.

“Okay.”

Climbing back on my bike, I put the key in the ignition and start it while waiting for my uncle and Kingston to pull out in front of me. When we pull out of the forest, my uncle is at my side and Kingston rides behind us back to my apartment. It doesn’t take us long to get back to the speeds my uncle is riding. Yes, he’s speeding and doesn’t give a fuck right now. I easily stay caught up with him until we carefully pull into the parking lot of my building. With Kingston and my uncle at my side, I make my way to my apartment and let them enter before me. It doesn’t take long to get the all clear as I enter my place and listen to Playboy on the phone with my dad. My dad is pissed and I know I’ll be getting a call from him shortly. Kingston sits with me as I pull out my books and start studying. Tonight went to shit quicker than hell and I’m ready for Kingston and Uncle G to leave me alone so I can process everything.