Lucky Ride (Men of Valor MC)

Locking my office door, I pull up the cameras and rewind to when I tossed that asshole out of my place. He walks past the lot to his squad car, glaring the entire way at her car. I don’t like it, so I make a call to Mr. Granger. He’s got all the tech I need. The old man has worked in the field, hiding more secrets than the CIA.

Two hours later, there’s a knock on my back door with a delivery. “Which vehicle?” his grandson, Dallas, asks.

“The silver Hyundai Sonata. She’ll be done by two.”

“No worries. I only need ten minutes. Then I’ll be back to go over it with you.”

“Great.” He steps back, and I close the door. I check on my staff, watching Clover as she flits around the room, proving that she’s great as a waitress. Too bad I don’t have plans to keep her in that position for long.

“I’ll be busy for the next hour. Please don’t disturb me unless it’s an emergency.”

“Sure, boss,” Heather says, picking up her drink tray before adding, “I’ll spread the word.”

“Thanks.” I turn back to my office, but not without stealing another look at Clover. As if sensing my stare, she tilts her head slightly to take a peek in my direction. She’s still interested.

I finish the paperwork just as Dallas knocks on the door.

“Okay, so this links to your phone. It’s just a tracker that will let you know where the vehicle is. I put a small camera inside. These can be accessed from the link I sent your phone. It only lasts a week when the device’s battery fades in the vehicle. My dad only had these temporary ones on hand when Pops called him. If you need something more permanent, just give us a call.”

“Thanks, Dallas.”

“No problem. I already saw your woman yesterday. Pops offered her a ride home, but she wasn’t interested in the ride. We pulled ahead and watched her until she entered her apartment.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Pops is right—claim her before someone else does. Trust me—if I was a little older, she’d be on my arm.” He winks and I lose my cool, pinning him to the back door.

“She’s mine. No one else’s.”

“Chill. I’m just playing.” I release him and he smirks, just like his grandfather. They’re some good-looking bastards, making me even more jealous by the second. He leaves, going out the way he came, and I start playing with the links, seeing the inside of her car from an angle in the back window, getting a full view of the vehicle. It sucks because I’ll only get the back of her head until she turns, but I’ll take any bit of her I can get.

A knock at my door catches me off guard. I’m about to snap since I asked not to be disturbed, but when I look at the clock, it’s been nearly two hours. Shit. I get up and open the door, only to nearly slam into Clover. “Sorry, Heather says there’s a rush and we could use some help.”

“I’m coming.” Her face is pink as hell. Damn it, I want to see how far that blush goes down. I close the door behind me and follow her out onto the floor. The rest of the day passes in a blur. The second Clover leaves, I’m on my phone, tracking her every move until she finally arrives home. I leave early to feed my dogs and then head out in my SUV to watch my sweet girl. I have a serious addiction to Clover. It’s about eleven when her cousin pulls up and parks. She’s alone, so I feel like Clover’s safe from that asshole Carl and I go to the clubhouse like I’m scheduled to do. It’s going to be a long night. As I’m there having a beer and explaining the situation, all I can think about is getting back to Clover. Something in my gut is telling me something’s wrong.

6

Clover

Arriving at the apartment, I sit in my car longer than I should. It’s probably best that I go home back to Chicago instead of staying in Valor. As I consider leaving, Logan’s face runs through my mind and my heart aches. The thought of never seeing him again brings nothing but pain. When he offered me a place to stay, I turned him down when I really wanted to be in his arms, in his home. I was scared, but not for the reasons he suspected. Being around him makes me feel safe and secure and horny as hell. There’s no way I could be in his home and control myself. What if I say or do something that gets me fired?

Finally, I shake the nerves out and go into Cara’s apartment building. When I get inside, Cara’s fuming. “Hey, so I heard Rooster picked a fight with Carl just for being nice to you. Sounds like you got a hot boyfriend.” There’s a venom to her tone that I don’t appreciate, but I don’t have much recourse.