Chapter One
“Yo, Viking. Where you going, brother?” King asked. The Prez held his ole’ lady on his lap, sipping his favorite whiskey.
Bekkett itched to get on the road, but the people in front of him were his chosen family. He’d learned long ago you could run from your past, but one couldn’t always stay hidden.
“I’m gonna head North up to Shasta Valley to see my family for Christmas,” Bekkett said.
King swallowed the last of his drink and stood, setting Ayesha back in his seat. Bekkett grinned at the little scowl crossing King’s ole’ lady’s face. She might be tiny, but she had their Prez wrapped around her little pinky.
“I see that smirk on your face, brother. I ain’t pussy whipped so much as Ayesha whipped.” King held his hand out.
Bekkett slapped his palm against his Prez’s, giving a silent nod of agreement to his words when his heart and soul wanted to scream. He pulled King in for a shoulder bump, slapped his back, and stepped back with a tight-lipped grin. “You keep that shit up,and you’re gonna need to build a fucking daycare around here,” Bekkett growled.
“Get the fuck outta here, Viking. See you in a few days. Ride safe.” King slapped his shoulder before returning to his seat.
Bekkett weaved his way through the crowd. The cheery red, white, and green lights gave him a slightly anxious feeling in the pit of his stomach. He didn’t know why he always put off visiting until the very last minute. Hell. Each year, he swore he’d go there days, weeks in advance.
“On your way out, brother?” T-Rex sat at the door like usual, his big frame dwarfing his ole’ lady’s much smaller one.
“Yep. I’ll be back for the New Year’s party. Did Lux give you that new tattoo?” he asked T-Rex. He lifted his chin toward the new ink on the side of his neck. From what he could see, it was part of a very intricate dragon, which made sense since the man had a giant Komodo dragon for a fucking pet.
T-Rex nodded. “Of course. I had to beg her to allow me to pay her. In cash, not orgasms. Not that she didn’t get those in tips.” The fucker made an obscene tongue gesture.
“You keep that shit up, and Lux will beat your ass,” Bekkett warned.
The sound of drunk women singing Deck the Halls had his stomach clenching. He needed to get the fuck out of the clubhouse and on the road. His family was waiting.
“Go on before they drag you out to do Karaoke with them.” T-Rex held his fist out.
Bekkett bumped knuckles with his friend, taking the exit offered like a man starving for oxygen.
He let the door shut on its own, yelling goodbyes to those who spoke as he passed. His words came out automatically, almost robotic. At his bike, he didn’t need to think to ride—the steps he’d memorized burned into his brain like breathing and blinking. Slide your right leg over the seat. Put the helmet on. Push the button to start. Throttle and release the clutch. All the things he’d learned when he was knee-high to a fucking grasshopper.
The familiar rumble of his Harley eased some of the tension building in his chest. He sucked in a few deep breaths as he pushed the bike backward. At last, his chest didn’t feel like bursting from lack of oxygen.
“Viking, you good?” Jovi Cantrell asked.
Bekkett eyed the road leading out, then the blonde woman who belonged to the newest brother, Steelshot. The woman reminded him of his wife. He gritted his teeth to keep from barking an angry retort.
“Just heading North to see my family. Happy looks good on you. If Steelshot doesn’t treat you right, let me know. I’ll knock some sense into him.” He made a show of punching his right fist into his left hand. The pain centered him, giving him a little of the ground he’d lost back.
Jovi laughed. “You’re the only one bigger than Jentzen around here. Well, besides T-Rex, but you’re still bigger than him. Is that why they call you Viking?” she asked, slapping her hand over her mouth.
He laughed and shook his head. Nobody had the balls to ask where he’d gotten the nickname Viking, but she was correct in her assumption. They called him Viking since his Freshman year of high school, when he’d shot up over six feet tall and kept growing. His Ma had sworn he would eat her out of house and home or break her with clothing bills. BeingScandinavian, with Norwegian descent, gave the moniker credence.
“Jovi, are you flirting with the blond god who is not Thor?” Steelshot asked, sliding a possessive arm around his ole’ lady’s waist without heat.
“Nope, I escaped out here, so I didn’t have to participate in that...that atrocity they called singing.” Jovi shuddered.
Bekkett gave a little nudge to the throttle on his bike—a not-so-subtle reminder he was rolling out. “I’ll see you two on New Year's Eve. Go have some fun,” he said.
Bekkett let off the brake with a wave. Jentzen would take care of Jovi. He needed to hit the road and let the wind blow away the shit rattling inside his head, or he’d end up doing something stupid. The burning ache inside his chest was always on a low simmer, but it became hotter this time of the year. If he didn’t pay attention and do the proper things he needed to do, the simmer would boil over and burn shit to the ground.
He aimed his bike North toward Shasta Valley, hoping to check out the Redwoods on his way. The ten-and-a-half-hour drive usually wouldn’t be aproblem. Bekkett didn’t plan to ride the entire trip that night.
Five hours into the trip, he stopped to refuel and put on his thicker leathers and warming gear he kept in his saddlebags. He got them out and took them inside the station. After paying for the fuel, Viking went into the bathroom and changed. Once dressed for the colder weather and he’d filled his gas tank, Bekkett continued the ride. For the second half of his journey, he listened to his playlist via Bluetooth on his custom Arai Corsair-X race-bred helmet. While many of his brothers wore skullcaps, he preferred to have his head covered on long rides. The Corsair-X RC felt as if he didn’t have anything on. Its lightweight shell combines the best of flexibility and impact protection. Fuck, at almost four grand, Bekkett would’ve killed the guy who sold it to him if it hadn’t been. It also allowed him to ride in the cold weather without fogging the visor.
The following day...
