Kade secured the door to his office and led the way outside pulling the bay door down and locking it. The bike still rumbled and he turned to Skye, giving her a few instructions. She looked scared and cute as hell and he wanted to laugh, but he kept a serious face. His final instruction was, "When you settle in behind me, grab my waist and hold on until you feel more comfortable. After that, you can lean back against the sissy bar and enjoy the scenery." She looked skeptical and that did make him grin.
Kade kicked up the kickstand, straddled the bike, and then motioned for Skye to climb on behind him. He almost thought she was going to back out of their agreement, but she cowboyed up and mounted the bike, grabbing him tightly around the waist. He patted her hand and slowly propelled the Harley onto the road. When he gunned the bike faster she squealed and gripped his waist in a death grip. Kade liked the feel of her jammed against his back, but refused to entertain other thoughts that kept trying to gain a foothold. He could feel Skye's face mashed between his shoulder blades, which made him chuckle.
For the first ten minutes, she glued her body to his, but then he felt her relax a little, and then a little more. When they reached the highway she tensed again. It wasn't until they'd traveled several miles that she loosened her grip. Whenever they passed semis, however, she once again clutched his waist and buried her face in his back. After a long, quiet stretch of highway, she finally relaxed against the sissy bar.
Kade signaled that he was taking the off ramp and turned onto a side road toward BENNY'S BIKER BAR. He figured Skye would get a kick out of visiting a real biker bar, and since it was early afternoon, there wouldn't be many patrons yet. The place was safe enough, not like on Friday and Saturday nights when the police were often called.
BENNY'S had a large dusty parking area with an abandoned gas station on one side of the bar and a dozen or so shipwrecked looking trailers on the other.
Kade parked close to the entrance. He shut the bike down and reached behind him to help Skye dismount. When she was off the bike he dismounted and reached to help her with her helmet before removing his own. Her hair stood out in riotous curls and his fingers itched to smooth them. He wanted to touch her, and that wasn't a good thing. He'd sworn off rich women years ago after he'd been burned by one.
Skye turned to view her surroundings, going full circle, and then faced him. She said, "Now this is interesting. Good thing I brought my favorite camera." She lifted the pocket flap on her shirt and pulled out the small device. She smirked, "You want to pose at the entrance or inside."
Kade lifted an eyebrow. "No, and no. Not gonna happen."
"Spoiled sport." She made a cute pouty face, dropped the camera back in her pocket, and asked, "Do you come here often?"
"Not too much."
She grinned. "I don't know if I'm disappointed or relieved to hear that."
He hung their helmets on the side of the bike. "You can make up your mind about that after you've met the bartender and a few of the regulars." He recognized all three of the bikes in the parking lot.
Reaching for Skye's hand, he led her inside the dimly lit bar. If not for being shadowed, the room would have scared the hell out of even him. It wasn't going to win any "clean and tidy" awards. The dozen or so tables were scattered across a concrete floor that had once been painted army green, but now was mostly gray concrete again. An old mop bucket stood in one corner with filthy water still in it. He wondered if the same water was used for every mopping. The focal point of the room, a long bar, was located to the left of patrons entering the grimy interior and a huge mural of a naked woman stretched the length above it. The owner's daughter, Sam, saw him enter and grinned widely. Her smile vanished a little when she saw him holding hands with Skye.
When they reached the bar, Sam said, "Now look what the cat dragged in." Her gaze shifted to Skye and back to Kade. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten all about us."
Kade grinned. "Now how could I ever forget about this place? Last time I was here on a Friday night I almost got hauled off to jail, and I was only an innocent bystander."
Sam guffawed, "Innocent my ass. Maybe you were innocent of the fight," she leaned across the bar toward Kade, showcasing the cleavage of her large breasts, and finished with, "but you ain't innocent."
Kade almost felt embarrassed. Sam was a beautiful woman with the body of a goddess, but he'd never been interested in her. She'd often tried to entice him into her bed, but he'd kept things light and friendly between them.
Sam studied his face for a few seconds and then said, "So, Kade, are you going to introduce me to your friend?"
"Of course. Samantha Hutchins, I'd like you to meet Skylar Rutherford, the sister of my cousin's husband."
The diamond stud above Sam's full upper lip twinkled as she grimaced, "If you call me Samantha again, it will be the last thing you ever do." She turned her attention to Skye and stuck out her hand. "Hello, Skylar. Please call me Sam."
Skye said, "And please call me Skye."
Sam narrowed her eyes at Kade. "Doesn't look like you're making points with the female population, my man, introducing us with names we don't want to be called by."
Kade grinned. "Just seeing how far I can go," and then inwardly groaned. He'd just walked into another innuendo that Sam wasn't about to let slide.
"Oh, honey, we can go as far as you want, and even then some."
Rather than respond, he said, "I'll have a Pepsi." He turned to Skye, who was glancing back and forth between him and Sam. "What would you like, Skye?"
"Oh, I'll have a Dr. Pepper, please."
Sam chuckled, "No Dr. Pepper here."
"A Pepsi then."
Kade heard a chair scrape behind him and then a raspy, "Howdy, Kade. Good to see you again."
He turned to see Bo Hathaway and his squeeze, Jennie Mae, approaching.
He said, "Hello Bo and Jennie Mae. The last time we talked you were headed to Texas. When did you get back?"
Jennie Mae smiled and hooked her index fingers in her belt loops. She was a short and heavy woman, whereas Bo was tall and lean. She said, "We got back 'bout a week ago. I couldn't take no more of Bo's family. They only know one volume when talking—loud. They almost made me go deaf. Bo was even starting to sound like them again."
Bo and Jennie Mae sidled up to the bar, with Jennie Mae next to Skye. The chubby woman said, "So, are you Kade's woman? We've never seen him bring a female in here."
Skye blurted, "Oh, goodness no. We're ah…acquaintances…almost related."
Jennie Mae chuckled, "Kissin' cousins, huh?"
Kade interrupted, "What can I buy you, Bo and Jennie Mae?"
Bo and his woman spoke at the same time. "Beer on tap."
Sam nodded, reached for chilled glasses, and then filled them to overflowing.
An older man sat at the end of the bar and Kade said, "Carl, drinks are on me. What's your poison?"
Carl said, "Thanks, Kade. Good to see you." To Sam, he said, "Tequila—Cuervo Gold."
"Comin' right up, Carl," Sam replied, and reached for a shot glass.
For the next thirty minutes Kade kept up a running conversation with his biker friends. Sam asked how his grandmother was doing and he told her she was looking at a hip replacement. Carl said, "Hey, I had one of those 'bout five years ago. Best thing I ever did."
That was good news to Kade and it eased his mind a little. He sure hoped this modeling shit would translate into cash soon. If not, he'd be forced to start selling his bikes. He'd do anything for his grandmother.
Skye was mostly quiet but her eyes sparkled with interest as she listened to the joking and conversation around her. She seemed enthralled by the company of bikers. Kade was surprised that she kept her little camera in her pocket.
The sound of several motorcycles roaring into the parking lot distracted their conversation and they all turned to see a group of Hell's Angels enter. Kade knew the leader and nodded at him. Dickey nodded back. Dickey had the kind of countenance that brooked no shit and no one ever teased him about his name. He was a mean looking short and beefy motherfucker at well over two hundred pounds. His wife was also short and just about as muscular as him. She grinned at Kade. "Hello, good-lookin', where you been keepin' yerself?"
"Hello, Viola. I've been sticking close to home."
Kade recognized the half dozen other bikers with Dickey and Viola, but had never talked much with them. He nodded greetings and they reciprocated.
Sam said, "Cozy on up to the bar, folks. What'll ya have?"
Dickey said, "We'll just sit at a table in the back, Sam. Me and Viola will have a bottle of Jack."
The rest of the group followed him to a shadowy corner, calling out their drinks.
Kade knew the group to be rowdy and if more bikers showed up, things could get out of hand. He decided it was time for him and Skye to hit the road. First, though, he needed to use the restroom. He said to Skye, loud enough for Sam to hear, "I'll be right back and then we'll head out." He caught Sam's attention and made a motion with his eyes that only she could see. She understood his unspoken request to keep an eye on Skye, and slightly nodded. Kade walked to the hallway and into the bathroom.
There were only two urinals and one stall, and they were already taken by the newly arrived Hell's Angels. Kade leaned against the wall and waited his turn. The guys seemed to piss forever. Finally, one of them stepped away and Kade took his place. The guy still pissing at the other urinal decided to start up a conversation and Kade politely responded. Smitty—Kade remembered his name—eventually said goodbye and left the bathroom. As Kade was washing up, the Hell's Angel inside the stall opened the door and started another conversation.
It was several minutes before Kade returned to the bar. He rounded the corner and his stomach dropped. Skye was gone, and so were Dickey and his gang. For that matter, there weren't any patrons at all except for Kade and the guy he'd been talking to. He jerked his eyes toward Sam and was just about to shout, "Where the hell is she?" when Sam said, "Keep you're boxers on, she's taking pictures outside."