The Biker's Fate Chapter 16

Danielle

"DANI?" EMILY REACHED over and squeezed my arm.

"Sorry, what?" I focused on her sitting next to me at the dinner table. I'd been distracted all evening, my date with Austin the night before swimming around my mind.

"What is going on with you?" she asked, grinning like she knew something I didn't.

My sister was not only highly intelligent, but also gorgeous, glamorous, and very, very taken. She was tall and blonde, with emerald green eyes, and a body to die for. She'd married Mitch Parsons right out of law school, and it was coincidentally their fifteenth wedding anniversary, which we were celebrating tonight. Mitch was also gorgeous, but in a rugged way. He'd been a cop before he changed careers and turned to bounty hunting. He loved my sister with an intensity that was sometimes scary, but she'd admitted it was also a huge turn on.

They had two gorgeous and glamorous children, Brandon, who was twelve-years-old, and Amelia, who was ten. They sat across from us, their blond hair perfectly coiffed, their behavior impeccable, and their senses of humor on overdrive. They were great kids and I adored them.

"Nothing," I said, quickly. "Just didn't sleep much last night."

Because Emily was so incredibly smart, she could see through me... truth be told, she could see through most people... with ease. She was often underestimated because she was so pretty, which she used to her advantage any time she could.

My sister raised an eyebrow. "Liar," she whispered. "Spill."

"Em," I hissed.

She leaned closer. "You've met a guy!"

I shook my head.

"What are you two conspiring about," our mother asked.

"I'm trying to get Dani to go out with a friend of mine," Emily improvised.

"And it's not going to happen," I said.

"Go easy on the baby, Em," Elliot piped in. "Her date the other night was a total bust."

"Was it?" my father asked. "That's a shame."

I choked on my wine as everyone laughed. "Say that a little more believably, Dad."

"I'm surprised you haven't forced her to wear a chastity belt," Emily said.

"I have always allowed you girls to make your own choices," he said.

"Ohmigod, Dad," I droned. "You are such a liar."

"Is that allowed in law enforcement?" Emily mused. "Lying to your children?"

"I think Ell should arrest him for being really bad at it," I said.

"Leave your father alone," my mom said. "He's very, very pretty... he can't be good at lying too."

That sent us all into fits again, including my niece and nephew.

"How about Dani and I do the dishes and get dessert ready?" Emily suggested. "Mom, you go relax for a bit."

Mom grinned. "I won't say no to that."

"Who wants to play pool?" My dad asked.

"Me!" Brandon said. "Can I, Mom?"

"You and your sister clear," Emily said. "And then you're free."

Mitch chuckled. "I'll help, then I'm gonna beat my kids' butts at pool."

"Not even gonna happen, Dad," Amelia droned.

"We'll see, honey."

She chuckled and started to clear the table.

Once Emily and I were blissfully alone in the kitchen, she scraped plates while I rinsed and loaded the dishwasher.

"Okay, girlie, spill," Emily demanded.

I sighed. "The guy that fixed my car is gorgeous and confusing and scary. And he's decided we're 'gonna get to know each other.'"

"Wow, all of that, huh?"

I nodded.

"Who is he?" she asked.

I bit my lip and dropped forks into the basket.

"Dani?"

"He's a biker, Em."

She cocked her head. "Like Tour de France?" she joked.

"Like Hells Angels."

Emily nearly dropped a plate into the garbage can. "He's in the Hells Angels?"

"No...Dogs of Fire." I faced her and grimaced. "Right? I can't do this."

"Why can't you do this?"

"Because all I keep coming back to is that all I know about motorcycle clubs is what I've seen on television, and that's pretty limited. I have no idea if he's a criminal or if he kills people. He says the club's clean, but I'm just not sure." I shook my head. "Even saying that out loud makes me sound like an idiot."

"It doesn't, honey," Emily assured me.

"He's gorgeous, Em, but he's also really bossy and I think he's used to having people do exactly what he tells them to do, because he gets all weird when I defy him. Like it's alien to him."

Emily laughed. "Welcome to the club, babe."

"Really?"

"Hells yes. Mitch is the same way. Well, he was."

"He was? But he's so sweet with you and the kids."

She smiled. "Yes, he is, but he's also bossy and protective, and if another man looks sideways at me, or disrespects me, he's pissy about it because he can't beat the shit out of him. Or at least, he doesn't do that anymore."

"He beat people up?"

"Oh, honey, yes. When we were first together, it was a huge problem because I couldn't just vent to him about the assholes I had to deal with. He'd actually go and have a "conversation" with them before I could work it out. He was constantly getting in my business and making things a lot harder for me. We had a come to Jesus meeting and when he still continued to do it, I dumped his ass."

I gasped. "You didn't."

"I totally did." She set a plate on the counter. "I needed him to understand that I was a grown ass woman and for the most part, could fight my own battles. I'm an officer of the law so to speak, I couldn't have my man breaking it in order to make my life easier. I still have to be careful sometimes with how much I tell him, which is hard, because he's my best friend, but he's also much better about letting me work stuff out myself."

"What if you can't work it out?"

Emily bit her lip. "Then I have asked him not to use his fists."

"Ohmigod, Em. Seriously?"

She nodded with a grin. "Sometimes it's nice to have a badass husband willing to defend your honor."

"I guess so."