Page 136 of Rags's Awakening
“We’ll never get to the party if I do.” She winked and shrugged on her leather jacket.
Rags laughed. “Would that be so bad?” He tugged her to him and kissed her hard. “You need to stick by me, otherwise I’ll be fighting brothers all night. You got it?”
“Yes.”
Rags’s eyes narrowed. “How many club parties have you been to?”
“A few. I know the score.”
“And you’re supposed to tell me how you know it.”
“I will. I promise. Tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay.”
He broke away and walked around the townhouse checking the windows and door locks.
“I have a security system, remember?” Casey said.
“I know, but you still gotta make sure everything’s locked up. Have you had the feeling that someone’s watching you?”
“No. Not since that night last weekend. I do feel better with the alarm system.” She snagged his hand as he passed and pressed against him. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me,” she whispered in his ear before brushing a soft kiss over his lips.
“Of course, Case,” he growled, wrapping his arms around her.
The loud beep of his phone drew his attention away. He pulled it out and glanced down.
“Anything important?” she asked, running her nails lightly over his forearm.
He laughed. “Just Throttle wondering where the hell I am. I’m supposed to be there as part of the greeting crew. At least that’s what he and Tank said. I think they’re fuckin’ with me, but we better go in case it’s legit.”
The cold air bit at her cheeks as they walked toward the driveway. Rags opened the car door for her, and she slipped in the passenger’s seat.
“I wondered if you were going to bring your Harley,” she said when he settled into the SUV.
“If it hadn’t snowed earlier, I would’ve. But now that I’ve see you in that short-as-hell skirt, it’s a good thing I brought the cage, otherwise I’d be punching a lot of assholes on the way to the clubhouse.”
Casey laughed. “You love being a badass, don’t you?” She placed her hand on his thigh.
He winked. “And you love that I am one, don’t you, darlin’?” He lifted her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a kiss to it.
Snow-clad trees blurred past, glistening under the fading light as houses blinked on one by one. A sliver of excitement mixed with nervous tightened in Casey’s gut when Rags turned off the old highway and onto a narrow road. Ahead, a large steel gate loomed with a security booth behind it. Rags jerked his head toward the biker inside, and the clank of steel echoed as the gates rolled open.
After a short drive down the road, the clubhouse—an imposing three-story brick building—came into view. Leather-clad men filled the front. The sleek chrome on their Harleys shattered the sunset into brilliant fragments of orange, pink, andgold while the bikers stood as a dark, united front, punctuated by glints of reflected fire on their zippers, snaps, and buckles.
Rags parked and jumped out, hurrying around to open Casey’s door. She stepped out and shivered, a reaction born not just from the cold, but from the wave of familiarity and the memories it threatened to stir. She squeezed her eyes shut, forcing away any images of her time with JT.
“Remember to stay with me. And, don’t get involved in any conversations with the guys, or when I’m talking with them.”
“Okay.” She smiled.
“Are you sure you know the rules?”
“Yep. Let’s go.”
Rags stared at her for a long second, then clasped her hand and led her toward the crowd.
“Hey, Rags. It’s about time you got your ass here,” a tall man in leather and a full beard said, his eyes scanning over her.
