She caught up the Torpedo Ink jacket he all but shoved into her hands and slipped it on without a word. The helmet was next. She tucked in her hair and then put her foot on the peg and was behind him, wrapping her arms around him. She heard several bikes start up.
“What about Savage?” She had to yell in his ear to have him hear over the loud pipes.
Absinthe glanced at her over his shoulder with a look that asked her if she was crazy. She looked at the man who just stepped right into Iron, backing him and the other six men he was with away from Absinthe’s Harley, making room so he could turn onto the road and drive onto the main highway leading back to Caspar. Several bikes dropped into formation behind them.
Scarlet wished she could be in two places at one time. She wanted to see how many had stayed behind to make certain Savage was safe. He hadn’t seemed in the least worried facing the seven members of the Venomous club. In fact, they’d looked more scared than he had. She knew the reputation of the Venomous club because she made it her business to find out. They were working hard to make a name for themselves. To do that, they were getting as dirty as possible, which meant running drugs, guns and girls and getting bloody when they had to.
They always looked for new allies. Only the smaller clubs who had no one else were aligning themselves with the Venomous club, yet all of a sudden they were gaining numbers in their ranks and picking off the edges of other clubs’ territories. They seemed to have money to purchase real estate. She couldn’t figure out where they were getting their money. Holden gave them work, but not the kind of money needed for the purchase of clubs and fronting the types of deals they were making.
She pressed her hands tighter into Absinthe’s abs, moving with him as he took a long curve in the road. She loved riding with him on the Harley. She suddenly was very glad he was in a club. His hand moved over hers just for a moment and then they were speeding up a slight grade and slowing for a turn off the main highway into Caspar, the other bikes close behind. He went considerably slower as he maneuvered the narrower streets of the small town going toward the ocean.
She could feel the cool breeze and smell the salt air. Looking over his shoulder, straight ahead, the ocean was a deep blue with white waves rushing toward rocks and then folding over the top of them. The sight was beautiful. They drove through an open, wide rolling gate surrounded by an extremely high fence that could turn a large lovely piece of property overlooking the sea into a fortress in seconds.
There was an enormous building looming up just ahead and Absinthe rode straight to it. The parking lot was paved. There was a narrow sidewalk in front of the building, but on the side was a long, wide field of flowers with several fire pits, large outdoor barbecues, benches and picnic tables. She could see it would be easy to have outdoor parties there for a sizable crowd.
Absinthe put her hand on his shoulder and she climbed off the bike. This time her legs weren’t shaky. They hadn’t ridden hundreds of miles as they had the first time. She removed the helmet and started to take off the jacket, but he was already off the Harley and he took her hand before she could. Two men came out of the building to greet them.
“Fatei, Hitch, keep a good lookout. If anyone from any other club gets close, warn us and shut everything down. The bar’s already been warned. Preacher’s closing early for the night.” Absinthe switched his grip from her hand to the nape of her neck. “Scarlet’s been threatened by the Venomous club and it looks as if that club won’t be the only one.”
Fatei nodded and Hitch looked grim. Both men avoided looking too long at her. She caught their quick glance and then they were moving away.
“Fatei is about to become a full member and he’s earned it. He went to the same school Gavriil attended. Most of the others were moved from one school to the other. A few were even brought briefly to our school, but it was more of a threat than anything else. Fatei’s tough and he’s loyal. Our club is really for those of us that have nowhere to go. We don’t fit anywhere and we never are going to. That’s the bottom line with me, Scarlet.”
Absinthe stopped at the door to the clubhouse, turning to face her, one hand on the doorknob, the other on the nape of her neck. “I’m fucked up. I always will be. There aren’t any cures for us. When I ask you to trust me, that’s exactly what I need from you. I’ll give you everything I am, but I’ll expect everything from you. I won’t accept less. Before you make your decision, you need to know things about me and determine whether or not you can live with them. I want honesty between us. I’m doing my best here, but I’m not getting anything back from you.”