"Let's go ride the b.u.mper cars," Bliss suggested.

The Last Riders made their way through the fair, stopping and riding a few rides and playing several more games.

Everyone was waiting in line for a ride that Lily had no intention of getting on.

"I'm going to go get something to drink," Lily told Beth who was standing in line with Razer, her arms wrapped around his waist. Lily was happy that Beth was so much in love with her husband.

She walked to one of the vendors to get a soda. Unable to resist, she bought a cotton candy, too. Taking a seat at a nearby picnic table, she watched the ride going around and around. Nope, that ride wasn't for her.

Opening her bag of cotton candy, she pulled out a tuft of the soft confection and ate it. The sugar melted on her tongue. She licked the sugar crystals from her lips.

Shade sat down on the bench next to her. "You don't want to ride?"

"Not that one, I don't," Lily replied, smiling, her anger forgotten.

She sat, eating her candy as The Last Riders got on. Then, seconds later, she heard the women's screams and the men mocking them.

She pulled out another tuft of cotton candy, letting it melt on her tongue once more as she felt Shade move restlessly next to her, and she looked at him inquiringly. She licked the sugar crystals from her lips and watched as his blue eyes fell to them. Uncomfortable, Lily turned away, taking a drink of her soda.

When she saw The Last Riders get off the ride, Bliss, Jewell and Evie were walking with Rider; Dawn and Stori were next to Train; Raci was walking with Cash; Winter and Viper were walking hand-in-hand; and Ember was mixed in with the rest of the bikers, teasing Nickel for having a weak stomach.

Lily thought about how happy everyone looked.

"What are you thinking?" Shade asked.

She turned to him with a start, giving him a sweet smile. "I was just thinking how happy everyone looked, like they belong together. I can see you all care about each other." Lily tore another piece of the spun candy off. "You shouldn't be so hard on Bliss. I think she has a thing for you," Lily said, raising the confection to her lips.

Shade's hand snapped out, catching her wrist in a hard grasp. "What did I tell you about me not being your BFF? Bliss knows exactly what I feel for her." Shade brought her hand to his mouth, taking the bite of cotton candy from her fingertips. His tongue licked her fingers, taking the sugar off.

Lily shuddered, her eyes darkening. Jerking her hand from his, she avoided his eyes. She got to her feet and dumped the cotton candy and drink into the trashcan before making a beeline straight for Beth's side.

She refused to let herself think or dwell on the incident. It was just one more memory to lock behind her imaginary door when she couldn't cope with the reaction. She couldn't handle the spark that had lit inside of her when his tongue glided across her fingertips. She was letting her defenses down around Shade, and she had to build them back. He was everything she didn't want in a man, everything she couldn't have. If she failed at keeping him at bay, he could very well be the path to her destruction.

Shade followed behind the group, keeping a watchful eye on his club members. Lily didn't stray from Beth's side for the rest of the evening, using her as protection against him. Lily used Beth and Razer as her shield against the world; however, naively she thought that they would protect her from him. They would try.

He had thought that Beth would be his biggest opposition but, surprisingly, Razer was playing the big brother and had laid down the ground rules. Shade was willing to go along with it for now.

He watched as she looked back over her shoulder then moved closer to Beth. His gut twisted as he wondered if she would ever turn to him over Beth, if he would be the one she turned to for protection.

He would lay back. He could wait; he was a patient man. For now.

Chapter 6.

Lily kept her head down during service, concentrating on her Pastor's words, letting them fill her heart and calm her tumultuous mind.

Beth's hand grasped hers and Lily held it tightly, gathering strength from her sister, as well.

After the service, Pastor Dean's eyes searched hers. "You and Rachel got a lot done yesterday. Thank you for your help."

"I enjoyed it," Lily replied, moving forward to let the other parishioners greet the Pastor.

"Let's get lunch," Razer said.

Lily thought about going home, but she remembered the strange experience from last week and decided against it. Following her sister, Razer, Evie, Bliss, Raci, Diamond, Winter and Viper crossed the street and they entered the diner.

Shade, Rider, Train and Cash were already inside drinking their coffee. When Lily took a seat between Razer and Winter at the end farthest away from Shade, she felt his eyes on her.

After the waitress had taken their table's order and left, Lily listened to the conversation around her, but she didn't partic.i.p.ate. The food arrived and Lily ate her salad.

As she ate, she heard the door of the diner open, but didn't turn around until the silence at the table had her raising her head to see the concerned look on the women and the men's hard expressions.

"What's going on?" Lily asked Winter.

"The bikers from last night just came in," Winter answered.

"Oh." She didn't turn around and make it obvious she was staring at them.

Conversation gradually resumed; however, Lily could still see the men were tense.

Thankfully lunch finished and everyone rose to leave. Lily followed The Last Riders to the door, but stopped at the cash register, opening her purse to take out some money.

"What are you doing? Razer already took care of the check," Beth told her.

"I know." She gave her money to the cashier. "I want to pay for the men's ticket by the window."

The cashier's mouth dropped open, yet she took the cash.

"Lily, what are you doing?" Beth questioned in a hushed voice.

"Paying back a favor," Lily said, taking a deep breath, and before anyone could stop her, she approached the men sitting at the table. There were more of them today, but Lily had been around The Last Riders and the Destructors enough that she easily recognized the leader.

Standing in front of the dark blond man, she spoke in a rush. "I wanted to thank you for what you did last night. It could have gotten bad without your help."

The man's eyes went over Lily's shoulder. She knew The Last Riders were waiting at the door.

"Anytime, sweet thing." The man's hard eyes softened briefly when he looked at her, yet they resumed their hardness instantly, so Lily wasn't even sure she had witnessed it.

Lily smiled, turning back to the door, though her gaze was briefly caught by one of the men. His hair was slightly longer and he had a goatee along with several tattoos on his arm. It was the kindness in his gaze, however, that caught her attention.

"Hi, I'm Colton." He put out his hand to shake.

"Hi, I'm Lily." She placed her hand in his, which he shook.

"Hi, Lily. That's Ice." He nodded his head toward the blond. "The big guy there is Max, and the ugly one next to him is Jackal."

"It's nice to meet you." Lily smiled before continuing, "I didn't mean to disturb your lunch. I wanted to thank your friends."

"I'm sure they enjoyed it, knowing them. Take care, Lily," Colton said, his gentle gaze the direct opposite of his bad-boy appearance.

"I will." Lily smiled again, moving away and almost b.u.mping into Shade who had come to stand behind her.

She didn't appreciate the warning glare he gave the men. He ignored her own glare, though, leading her away from the table and back to The Last Riders who hadn't moved away from the door.

They waited until she was outside before giving her h.e.l.l.

"What were you thinking, Lily?" Beth started.

"I was thinking that I would do the polite thing and thank them for helping me out of a difficult situation."

"You can't get friendly with another motorcycle club," Evie said.

"I don't know why not." When several would have opened their mouths, Lily put up her hand. "I wasn't getting friendly. I was thanking them. I can be friends with anyone I want. I'm friends with Stud." Lily mentioned the president of the Destructors, yet it was a stretch calling him a friend. From the dubious expressions centered on her, she knew she wasn't pulling one over on them.

Lily noticed Viper and Shade were talking quietly to themselves, and when she and Beth turned to walk home, Razer hung back.

"You two go ahead. I'll be there in a few," Razer said.

Lily hesitated, somehow knowing they were going to confront the men inside when they came out, and they wanted her and Beth gone.

Lily faced Viper, touching his arm gently. "Leave them alone, please, Viper. They don't want trouble and I approached them."

"They came inside seeing our bikes were outside," Viper replied.

"Please, Viper."

"I'll give in this time, Lily, but don't ask me to back down again," Viper replied.

Lily reached up, kissing Viper on his cheek. "Thank you," she said before moving away.

"Let's go home." This time Razer's voice was amused as he guided the women toward their home.

Lily looked back in time to see Shade punch Viper in the stomach. Gasping, she turned to go back again.

"Keep going, Lily." This time Razer's voice held definite amus.e.m.e.nt.

"Why did Shade just punch Viper?"

"I have no idea." Lily could tell that he knew perfectly well what was going on, but he wasn't going to tell on his friend.

Lily looked at her sister.

"Men," was Beth's only answer, rolling her eyes at their strange behavior.

Lily didn't have to worry about eating lunch with Shade the next day--he wasn't working. It was the first time since she had begun to work at the factory that he hadn't been there.

In his place, Rider ran the factory that day with his easy, good humor.

Evie brought her a tray of food, which she ate at the picnic table by herself while Rider went to the house for lunch.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Georgia's whole demeanor changed. Lily couldn't help thinking, once again, that the woman was not nice. Her intimidation had turned to a new low; she had begun to manipulate the schedule, giving those that weren't in her favor less hours.

Lily really was still looking for the best in Georgia, but she wasn't making it easy. She was short and curvy; however, her grumpy appearance made her unattractive until one of The Last Riders was in the factory, then she lit up like a sparkler.

At the end of the day, with still no Shade, Lily drove home, strangely let down from not doing her workout with him.

Joker inserted the nozzle into his bike's tank, keeping a wary eye out as Dale filled his own tank on the opposite side of the pump. When he finished, he got back on his bike, impatiently waiting.

"Hurry up. I want to be at Jake's before it gets dark. That turn-off is hard enough to see in the daylight."

Dale hung the nozzle back up, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g the lid back on his tank. "Are you sure that n.o.body is going to think to look for us at your cousin's house?"

"No, I never mentioned him. I never took Crazy b.i.t.c.h to meet him because he lives at the top of the f.u.c.king mountain and she hates heights. She would have p.i.s.sed herself looking off the side of the road."

His cousin lived on Black Mountain in a home that had been pa.s.sed down for generations. No one would find them there. They would hide out with Jake and his wife until the law gave up looking for them.

They had decided to miss their court date and make a run for it when their lawyer said they weren't going to get out of the charges. Too many witnesses.

If those f.u.c.kers hadn't shown up when they had, there would have been no witnesses left alive to say s.h.i.t. He had every intention of killing every one of those b.i.t.c.hes, even that dark-haired, pretty one. It wasn't his fault she had been stupid enough to hang out with his ex.

He started his motor, pulling back onto the curvy mountainous road. Dale was slightly ahead of him, going around a sharp curve, when he heard the shot. His bike spun out and Joker barely managed to slow his bike as Dale's front tire exploded, sending his bike spinning. His scream as he hit the guardrail raised the bile in Joker's throat as Dale went flying over the mountain's edge.

Before he could bring his own speed down, he heard another shot. He didn't even have time to scream as he felt a warm wetness between his thighs. Joker desperately tried to control his bike as his front wheel exploded. His bike hit the guardrail, the force flinging him from his bike as he followed Dale over the side of the mountain, into everlasting darkness.

Lily didn't know what to expect the next day, and she definitely didn't want to examine the feelings of relief she felt when Shade was there when she arrived. She got busy and managed to get several orders completed before lunch.

When he called her name, she didn't complain to herself; she merely went to his office and tried not to notice the hateful look on Georgia's face. Lily couldn't understand why the woman disliked her so much.

Shade closed the door after she entered, going to sit at the chair beside his desk where he handed her the chicken salad.

"Thanks, Shade."

As Lily ate, she noticed that he was staying awfully quiet.

"You look tired today," Lily broached.