Free Satin and Steel by Jayna Vixen Page A

able to let her guard down, just a little. She began to trust the rowdy band of men, who ranged in age from their early twenties to their late fifties. The younger guys could get a bit flirtatious, but no one ever crossed the line. The older guys especially doted on Rhee, treating her with the same reverence a father might show his daughter. Tattoos and Harleys aside, The Phantoms sure didn’t seem like a bunch gun-toting hooligans once you got to know them.
    Rhee paced nervously as she waited in Dax’s room at the clubhouse. It was late afternoon. He said he would be back after he met with a splinter club from a few towns north of the marina. Supposedly, it was Dizzy’s club, The Red Devils . Dax had received word that a girl fitting Mickey’s description had been asking around about a fake id and passport so she could cross the border into Canada. Rhee seriously doubted the girl was Mickey. Why would she need a fake id? Plus, she had never expressed any interest in Canada.
    I’m starting to get too into this lifestyle , Rhee thought to herself as she cracked open a cold beer from the empty bar. It’s not even 4:00pm! The waiting was agony. There was less than a week left until the fall semester started, and Rhee had no idea what she was going to do then. She had yet to enroll in her classes.
    Catching a glimpse of herself in the small bathroom mirror, Rhee was struck by how different she looked. In the borrowed clothes, she could almost pretend she was someone else. She seemed older somehow, with an air of confidence that she hadn’t known she possessed. Maybe a little of Dax was rubbing off on her. He certainly had quite the ego, and it was well founded. Rhee saw how the others respected Dax, and how he led them. She noticed how Hawk watched him too. It was clear that the older man was grooming Dax to step into his shoes if anything should happen to him.
    Sick to death of movies, and bored nearly to tears, Rhee found herself outside in the empty yard. She busied herself by picking up some empty cans and bottles and throwing them in the bin. Absently, she tossed a couple of rusty horseshoes at the stake in the ground. Rhee was pleasantly surprised that her aim had not worsened over the years. She had played often with her real dad, before he had passed. Thoughts of her family brought more painful memories of loss and helplessness. She took a long swig, draining the beer in one draught.
    “Hey, stowaway! Play me?”
    Wince was such a nice guy, and smart too. Rhee had learned that he was a whiz with computers, but a hacking charge had gotten him kicked out of school. He had been a foster kid who had grown up in a harsh and oftentimes brutal system. The Phantoms had become the family he never had. Smiling, Rhee nodded.
    “Let’s play for beers,” she said recklessly.
    Wince hesitated. Rhee wasn’t Dax’s old lady, but his vice president seemed awfully protective of her. Still, she was an adult, and if she wanted to get her drink on in the middle of the day, who was he to stop her? Plus, the stowaway was drop dead gorgeous, with an intellect he admired. Wince decided he was lucky he was on babysitting duty today. He grinned and nodded at her.
    “May the best man, or stowaway, win!”
    It was odd, how he looked forward to getting back to her. Trish was due back in a few days and Dax couldn’t seem to muster the same level of enthusiasm about her return as he had developed about getting back to Rhee. He knew he would have to set the stowaway up in the clubhouse full time once Trish was back. His old lady was a little jealous, and now that Rhee was all fixed up, Trish might not be too happy to see how chummy he had become with his unexpected ward. She certainly wouldn’t be cool with the stowaway staying in the guest room.
    Dax checked his bunk, and Rhee was not there. He headed out to back and stopped short as he opened the door. The most delicious gale of laughter traveled across the yard to meet his ears. Other