Ride Hard (Raven Riders 1)

“You’d break those vows in five minutes,” Bunny’s husband, Rodeo, said with a wicked grin.

“Yeah, probably,” Phoenix said, not seeming to mind the ribbing at all. “But I’d be deep in love for all five of them.”

Shaking her head, Bunny laughed. “Well, I’m just glad you’re all enjoying them. Now stop all the yammering and eat.”

It didn’t take long for all the platters and plates to be licked clean, and then Cora and Haven helped Bunny and a few of the guys clear the table.

When they came back out for another haul of dirties, Dare waved Haven and Cora over. “Can I talk to you two for a minute?”

“Uh, sure,” Haven said, following him into the lounge with Cora.

“A contact sent us some photos, and I want to confirm identities with you two before sending them out to our people.” He punched a code into his cell phone.

“Okay,” Haven said, standing next to him. God, he smelled good. Like Ivory soap and leather and something all Dare.

He tilted the phone toward them. “Is this your father?”

“Yes.” Haven stared at a photo taken of him when he was out in public somewhere. He wore the same angry-at-the-world expression he always did, and just seeing it rushed a shiver that was part dread and part relief that she’d escaped him over her skin. “Did you have someone take these?”

Dare nodded, and thumbed to the next photograph. “All I know of some of these men is that they’re in his organization. Any names you can add would be helpful.” He showed them three pictures, and Haven was able to identify them all as people who worked closely for or with her father. “How about this one?”

Cora gasped. “That’s my father, Hank Campbell.”

Haven nodded, though something in Cora’s tone made Haven study her friend’s face. Cora gave her a small smile when she noticed, but Haven felt like she’d just watched her friend don a mask.

“Okay,” Dare said. “Are we missing images of anyone you think we should know about?”

Haven and Cora exchanged glances. “The men you showed us are my father’s right-hand men, so I don’t think so. Do you, Cora?”

She shook her head. “Those are the most obvious guys.”

“Good,” Dare said. “Thanks. I’m gonna send these out to the club and a broader circle of contacts we have, just to get some other eyes on this.”

“Okay,” Haven said, the precautions Dare was taking making her nervous about just how much her father might know about her whereabouts.

Dare frowned and, for a moment, looked like he was going to say something more. Then he shook his head and backed away. It was almost like he’d had a whole little conversation—with himself. “Catch ya later, then,” he said.

Haven nodded, and, when Dare was gone, she turned to Cora.

“He is so into you,” Cora said, eyebrow arched.

“You got that from that weirdness just now?” Haven rolled her eyes, even though everything inside her wished it was true.

“No,” Cora said. “I got that from watching him watch you looking at his cell phone. His eyes were on you the whole time.”

Butterflies whipped through Haven’s belly. “Well, who knows what that means.”

“Only one way to find out,” Cora said, pointing toward the hallway down which Dare just disappeared. “And he just went that way.”

Haven shook her head. “I’m not following him. Come on, we have to help Bunny finish cleaning up.”

“If you say so,” Cora said, giving her an amused, challenging look.

“I do.” They made their way back into the mess hall, which was all cleaned up, but they were in plenty of time to help with the dishes.

When they were putting away the last of the dishes they’d hand-washed and dried, Bunny turned to Haven. “You realize that when you two leave, the guys are going to wonder why they’re not getting any more amazing baked goods. All my marriage proposals are going to dry up overnight.” The older woman was wearing an amused smile and a vintage Harley Davidson T-shirt with a pair of jeans.

And that was when Haven realized that she was going to miss Bunny almost as much as Dare, maybe more, since she’d never had a mother figure in her life before. Her own mom had fled from Haven’s father when Haven was still in diapers. Guess he’d treated her badly, too. There’d been a time when Haven resented the heck out of her mother for leaving her behind, but after a while it had felt pointless to hold a grudge against someone she didn’t remember and would never again see.

But Bunny, in just a few short weeks, had offered her friendship, advice, guidance, protectiveness. Haven wasn’t going to forget her any time soon, and it made her ache.

“I didn’t think of that,” Haven said. “Though I hadn’t actually expected to leave so soon, I guess. What should I do?”