Page 2 of A Biker for Noelle
Spotting a parking lot off to the right, I turn in. At least a dozen other cars and trucks are in the lot, and I notice a few people loitering around the entrance of what looks like a bar. Only it doesn’t look like the sleazy type of bar Rob liked tofrequent back home. The men and women coming and going don’t appear to be drunks. I also notice a few motorcycles parked off to the side of the building and briefly wonder how anyone could ride one of those things in the dead of winter.
“What’d we stop for?” Zack asks, his mouth full of food.
“Just taking a break. My eyes hurt from the long drive.” This time, I’m not lying. I feel dead on my feet. The hotel we stayed in last night was in a bad part of town, but it was cheap. I didn’t sleep for more than two hours because I kept waking up at every little noise I heard. That and I was scared someone would try to break into my car even though I had nothing worth stealing.
Rubbing my tired eyes, my mind drifts back to the twenty-eight dollars I have in my purse. I need money, and I need it fast. Zack and I need a place to settle, and I want Ember Falls to be that place so badly.
Think, Noelle.
Think.
It’s all I can do to ward off the tears that threaten to spill. I’m sitting in my piece of crap car with my little brother, and I have absolutely no idea what my next move is going to be. I refuse to let Zack see how defeated I am. I need him to feel safe and know I will stop at nothing to make things okay for him. No matter what, I refuse to let him down. Life has dealt my little brother a shitty hand by giving him two of the most awful parents, and I am determined to give him a future that does not involve black eyes and busted lips.
I chance another glance at the boy beside me, taking in his swollen eyes, a bruised jaw, and the cut on his lip, and my heart literally aches. How could anyone take their hands to a child, their own flesh and blood? I feel tears slip down my face and quickly swipe them away.
Moments later, laughter draws my attention back to the bar. A couple spills out the door into the parking lot. The large manhas his arm around the woman’s waist and looks down at her with a massive smile. Her flaming red hair flutters around her face as she laughs at something he says. They seem so happy and carefree. A pang of jealousy washes over me at that moment. I wonder what it would be like to have a man look at me like he was looking at the redhead. And I wonder what it would be like to have a man hold me with such possession like he was never going to let me go.
I spent my teenage years working and caring for Zack, so I never had time for dating. Boys had never really been on my radar. Now, at twenty-two, nothing has changed. I was lonely and had even been on a few dates over the past couple of years, but nothing stuck.
A moment later, the couple I’ve been watching disappears through the parking lot, and something on the bar’s door catches my attention.
A HELP WANTED sign.
“What ya lookin’ at?” Zack asks.
I point to the sign. “This place is hiring.”
Zack takes the place in. “You want to work here?”
I shrug. “I don’t know the job, but it’s worth a shot.“
“Does that mean we get to stay here?”
I hear the excitement in his voice. “First, let me go in and see what kind of job it is.” I turn in my seat and grab my purse from the back floorboard. Locating my brush, I pull the tie from my hair and brush through the tangles. Then, I dig through my bag, finding a tube of lip gloss. I groan when I look at my reflection in the visor mirror.
“You look pretty, Nelly.”
God, my brother is sweet.
“Thanks, buddy.” I reach over and touch his shoulder. “I want you to stay in the car and lock the doors.” I give him my phone. “Here.”
“Sweet!” Zack snatches the phone. I downloaded all his favorite games and know it’s enough to keep him busy for hours. “Remember.”
“Lock the doors, I know.”
“Brat.” I ruffle his hair.
Stepping out of the car, I take in my surroundings. I don’t like leaving Zack alone in the car, but I have no other choice. Nothing about this place looks amiss or gives off bad vibes, so I cross the parking lot with one last look at Zack, who is already engrossed in his game.
CHAPTER TWO
Eazy
Frost clings to the bar’s windows as snow begins to fall, covering the streets of our small town, Ember Falls. Inside the dimly lit bar, the soft glow of string lights strung across the wooden beams of the ceiling mingles with the warm radiance emanating from the lamps suspended above the pool tables. The bar is packed with patrons’ rowdy chatter, glasses clinking, and the faint melody of country rock music playing in the background. I watch my club members mingle with the locals, with women draped over their laps as they share drinks and shoot the shit.
It wasn’t always like this—laid-back and easygoing for the club. We’ve been through our fair share of danger, always looking over our shoulders for enemies and the law. My dad, the previous president, led the club through years of illegal activities before deciding to slowly cut ties with the old ways and lead the Devil’s Punishers toward legitimate opportunities. It’s how the bar came to be. Brewer’s makes suitable legal money, as does Rooster, our road captain’s mechanic shop, and the town’sonly tattoo parlor run by Poet, our sargeant at arms. All the businesses are used to generate income for the club. The best part is not having the law breathing down our necks all the damn time.
The club is known for being brutal and ruthless, but my old man knew we could do more. We could be better. We still deal with unsavory situations and, from time to time, partake in morally questionable activities when necessary. Still, it is a far cry from how far the club has come.
