Under Locke

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked him, pushing away the fact I hadn't heard from Will in months.

So

I slid my arm around his back. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess."

"Me too, kid, but I'd rather it be me than you who gets caught up in the shit-hole he's dug himself into." So

I wanted to argue with him but what was the point? We all had to do things we didn't want to at some point, and if the Reapers would beat the shit out So

"Maybe I should go to Lanie's," I suggested. "If they did that to you, won't they try and—"

"No, Ris. I'm a sign for the sperm donor, and Dex knows better than to be a dumbass. You'll be fine."

Oh man. This was a mess. A huge, surreal mess all caused by a man that had no co

"You won't get in trouble at your job?"

So

I blew out a breath and nodded, getting off the bed. His face looked bad, so bad, but So

"You got all your stuff?"

I nodded.

"Your bathroom stuff, too?" he asked.

In that moment, I suddenly wished that I'd had So

He ruffled my hair lightly. "Go get it and I'll meet you outside."

I followed after him but split off to grab my toiletries from the bathroom. There wasn't much so it only took a second to put my things into my duffel. Just as I was about to walk out of the house, I heard So

"—been through too much, man. She doesn't need to go through anything else," So

"I said I'd watch over her." That was Dex who replied.

"Fuck, I'll stay and this one can go with you." Another voice suggested. Trip, probably.

Dex made a noise I couldn't recognize through the door. "I'm stayin'."

There was a pause. “Keep your dick in your goddamn pants, Dex. I swear to God…”

So

A tired smile crept over my brother's face. "You ready?"

"Yeah." I looked over at the blonde standing next to Dex. "Hey, Trip."

“Hey gorgeous,” he murmured. The color under his eyes made him look like he hadn't slept in a while.

Dex's hand landed on my lower back, urging me forward. "Let's get going, Ritz. I'm tired."

"All right." I walked over to So

He pulled me in for a hug. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

I pulled back just a little and kissed his beard covered cheek. "Okay. Let Trip drive though."

So

Oh, the irony. If anyone knew you didn't always get what you want, it was So

"See ya, Son." I waved at him. "Bye, Trip. Be safe."

So

Trip added a sigh with his goodbye but I already had my attention forward, just past So

Dex and my brother shared a strange look between them as the dark-haired one made his way down the stairs. I started to round the front bumper of my car to get in when he reached out to wrap his fingers around my elbow.

"Where ya goin'?"

Uh... "I'm following after you."

He made a tisking sound under his tongue. "No. You drive too slow. Hop on my bike and we'll get your car tomorrow."

I hesitated, looking back at my car.

“Iris.” I really liked it a little too much when he used my name. “Babe, get on. We’ll get your car later.”

I must have waited too long because the next thing I knew, he had an arm hooked around my waist and was half carrying me-half dragging me the distance to his Dyna. Dex took my duffel, handed me a helmet that had been left on the seat and replaced the empty spot with my bag, strapping it down.

He turned back toward me, took the helmet from my hands, and then lowered it onto my head silently. Once it was buckled on, he straddled his bike and tilted his head in my direction. “Hop on.”

Well then. Bossy ass.

There was all of about eight inches between Dex’s back and my bag, but what could I do about it? I had a feeling that if I argued with him more about whether I was riding with him or not, I’d lose anyway and to be honest, I was really tired. Having been on bikes with So

So

Damn it.

It was too dark to see anything well, but I could tell that we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The trees were huge as we zoomed off the freeway ramp with only the loud roar of his bike breaking the monotony of the ride.

After about five minutes, he turned onto a farm road that had no name or real sign. An outline of a house was visible in the near distance over a hill. The closer we got, the more I was able to see under the moonlight. The house was a long one-story ranch style home. A huge front yard dotted with tall trees gave way to the light colored paneling of the home. It wasn’t at all the kind of place I expected Dex to live in. He seemed like the typical bachelor with a dirty apartment.

But maybe I was just assuming that of every member of the MC. To be fair, Trip lived up to the stereotype I'd built up. There had even been socks crammed into the corners of his couch.

When he parked the bike right in front of the paved driveway, he dismounted first before holding out a hand and helping me afterward. I yanked the helmet off while he unstrapped my bag, tilting his head in the direction of the door as his wordless come on.

I followed in after him, taking in the minimal furniture in his living room: a brown microfiber sectional sofa, a large flat screen television mounted to the wall, an entertainment center underneath, and… that was it. Dex had dropped my bag onto the couch before turning to look at me.

“You can take the bed, babe. I got two other rooms but not another bed to sleep in,” he explained.

I was still looking around, past the living room to spy a kitchen that opened up directly to it but at his words, I shook my head. “No, I’ll stay on the couch. I can sleep just about anywhere.”

While it was the truth, I wasn’t about to point out that our sixty or seventy pound weight difference on top of half a foot in height difference would definitely make me a better candidate for his long but still somewhat narrow couch.