Free Biker's Secret by Emily Stone

Biker's Secret

    [Miriam unzipped the grease covered overalls and stepped out of them, grateful to be finished with fixing cars and bikes for the day. She hung the overalls up on the rack and went to the office. Spider was already sitting at the desk, fiddling with the parts of a disassembled handgun.

    "I thought we were out of the gun-running business." said Miriam as she signed out.

    "Of course we are, sweetheart," Spider replied without looking up from his work, "you remember the ATF screwing us at the bar, right?"

    "I was there, remember?" said Miriam, flinching at the unwelcome memory.

    "Shit, I'm sorry," said Spider apologetically, getting up to face Miriam, "I didn't mean to make you go through all that again."

    "It's ok, Spider, I'm over it," Miriam lied.

    The truth was she could barely stand being reminded of it, even after four years. Every detail was still fresh, from her unfaithful, honey-trap coupling with Brad that night in the motel, to the sight of that same Brad, clad in ATF garb and holding a smoking shotgun, standing over the corpse of her boyfriend--the now deceased leader of the Speeding Seraphim.

    Spider went over to the office safe, dialed in the combination, and pulled out a wad of cash, counting out several bills and handing it to Miriam.

    "There's a thousand bucks in there," said Spider, pulling out a ledger to log the payout, "business has been pretty damn good this past week, and you've earned a bonus."

    "About time," said Miriam with a satisfied smile as she pocketed the cash, "I've been working my ass off at this job."

    "You sure have," answered Spider, "the club's not gonna go near the gun-running business again anytime soon, but we are looking to expand the car parts business."

    "It's only the men who run the Seraphim's business ventures," Miriam pointed out, "what's that got to do with me?"

    "You might not be an 'official' Seraphim biker, but you're as much a part of the family as anyone else. And you're sure as hell more than just another groupie." Spider explained, "We all know it hasn't been easy raising Bear's kid without him; so if you ever need extra work for extra cash, you should know it's on the table for you."

    "Thanks, Spider," Miriam replied with an appreciative smile, "but Emily and I are getting by just fine, and I need to be there for her on the weekends. Plus, I don't want her exposed to this kind of life. I'll help cut up the cars you boost to help pay the bills, but I'd like to keep my little girl away from all that."

    "That's fine, Miriam," Spider said with a nod, placing his hand on her shoulder affectionately, "you do what's best for her."

    "Shit!" Miriam cursed when she saw the time, "I have to go pick her up from kindergarten."

    ***

    As she drove down Main Street, Miriam's mind wandered uneasily back to the events of four years ago, and its enduring consequences. As the girlfriend of their dead leader and the ostensible mother of his daughter, all the Speeding Seraphim held her in exceptionally high regard. She had even earned the position of unofficial Seraphim given all the practical work she did around the club garage. If they knew the truth, they would probably kill her.

    She and Bear had always used condoms without any accidents; that meant that Emily's father was undoubtedly Miriam's treacherous old flame: Brad. She loved her daughter more than anything in the world, but it was pretty galling to have been impregnated by the man who'd double crossed her and then killed her boyfriend. Worst of all, it was total hypocrisy on her part to complain about being deceived by Brad given how she'd slept with him in order to steal his car and his gun. She'd even put the gun to his head when he was asleep, only to find herself unable to pull the trigger.^^

    Brad had always been clever at getting himself into and out of trouble, but the level of cold deceit he'd displayed that day was totally unlike him. In fact, it was so uncharacteristic of him that part of