The Road Reapers: A Biker Romance

Chapter 24 - Rogue

It was two hours before Red and Rogue left Shannon in the Nest to be alone with his thoughts and a bottle of whiskey. They'd gotten down to the grit of what had to be done to prepare for the attack on the Night Riders and set the date for one week ahead. Not to mention both clubs had a few tricks up their sleeves and were ready to kick some Northern ass. Rogue could feel her skin heating up as she let Red lead her to his room. Weapons and strategy always turned her on and it was even worse with Red in the room. All he had to do was look at her and her blood roared like the engine on her Harley. When they got to his room Red locked the door and drew the blinds. Rogue made herself comfortable on his bed and watched in surprise as he lit a few candles, then turned on the stereo on his way to her. She raised her brows at him playfully.
"What's the occasion?"
Red rolled on top of her and cradled her head in his hands.
"I've never seen you in candle light." And he kissed her so sweetly.

The way Red made her feel that evening, as though she were the only thing in the world that would ever matter to him. Rogue never wanted it to end. However, with the morning light came the weight of responsibility and it pulled at her to get moving. Resentfully she snapped her eyes open and turned towards Red. He looked so peaceful and she didn't want to wake him, but as she stretched her hand to nudge him gently his alarm clock went off. It was a screechy, awful sound. Red bolted upright and in one motion sent the alarm clock flying into the wall. The sound stopped and Rogue just stared at him. He rubbed his eyes and blinked at her a few times.
"Sorry, babe. I hate those fuckin' things."
She smiled at him, happy for a reason she didn't know, and wiggled into his arms.
"I was just about to wake you up before it went off."
Red pulled her close and they stayed like that for a few minutes, neither wanting to surrender the other to the day. Finally, Red turned his phone on to check the time.
"It's twenty after seven, babe, I'm - what the fuck?"
Rogue looked up and saw his eyes narrowing.
"What's going on?"
"Somehow that skank Trinity got my number. Probably had one of the girls go through someone's phone... Listen to this:
Red, I'm so so so sorry about yesterday. I really miss you and I hope we can still be friends. Xoxo."
Rogue let out a harsh laugh, the girl was so stupid. Red deleted the text and chucked his phone to the end of the bed.
"I'm gonna hit the shower, beautiful. Coming with?"
Rogue smiled and nodded, jumping up. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a sweet kiss.
"Let's make the most of the morning while we can."

Leaving Red at the Reaper's House was the last thing Rogue wanted to do. After everything that had happened she was scared something even worse would go down. And what if we can't get to each other in time? She wondered, but tried to shake the thought from her mind. Rogue pulled up outside her clubhouse and cut the engine on her bike, but she didn't dismount. As she reached up to remove her helmet her arms froze. Something was wrong. The yard was deserted. How had she not noticed? She left her helmet on and removed the tiny pistol she kept in the waistband of her jeans. As she stood up from her bike she flicked the safety off and began making her way slowly toward the back of the shop. As she got closer she could hear voices, and stopped just around the corner to listen. Then, she stepped out.
"Ladies."
Fifteen heads swivelled to look at her and she was greeted with a chorus of "Hey, Rogue!" and, "El, what's good?"
Rogue smiled, putting the safety back on and tucking her pistol away. The girls were hard at work organizing their tactical gear and making sure it fit properly.
"Someone toss me a vest!" She shouted, and three different sizes landed at her feet. Trying them all on in turn she found which one fit best and hauled it into the clubhouse, waving at the girls as she went. Inside, she went to her room and pulled a giant duffel bag from under the bed. She kept all of her tactical clothing in it, but it had been a while since she'd had a need for any of it. Rogue slipped out of her clothing and began putting on the gear, incorporating the best between two protective layers. When she was finished she smiled into her full-length mirror. She looked like a woman no one would fuck with.