Free Original Sin (Dark Saints Motorcycle Club Book 1) by Amy Love Page A

removed his helmet first. Then, to Vicky's surprise, he took off his boots and socks. His lips curving slightly, he held out his hands for her to do the same. It was with no small amount of reluctance that she stepped out of her heels to feel the warm pavement beneath her feet. She could only hope there wasn't glass or tapeworms lurking.
     
    “You know, for the sister of such a violent man, you're squeamish as fuck.” Liam's teasing statement made her scowl. As he moved to the path between the foliage, she followed him with her nose in the air.
     
    The clearance on either side of the sandy trail was perhaps only a few inches, the growth around them curtaining them from the world as they moved through it. In under a minute, they found themselves faced with a length of deserted beach and an amazing view of the sun sinking below the horizon. For a moment, Vicky just stared, giving Liam new opportunity to bait her.
     
    “I didn't bring you here to be romantic, you know.”
     
    She glared at him, rolling her eyes at the mirth in his gaze. However, when he sobered, she did as well. “I brought us here to be sure that we could talk without being overheard. We may have been lucky so far, but I'd be a fool to think that Darren still isn't waiting for the slightest snippet of adverse information about you and a man. I've never been followed here.”
     
    Taking her hand, he led her over a sand dune to walk across sand that had fallen victim to the rising tide. Warm water lapped over their feet as they strolled down the beach. For a moment the beauty of the scene made her forget how dangerous it was for them to be together.
     
    “So, yeah...” Liam started casually enough, the wind tousling his dark hair, “You want to know about me and the Eagles.”
     
    Vicky nodded, hesitant to speak, lest he suddenly decide that he didn't want to be so talkative. “Well, to be honest, there's not that much to tell. I'll spare you the details of my childhood. I was a kid with a drunk dad. I got beat, and it pissed me off.” He shrugged. “Typical sob story. When I got out of the house and went away to school, the Eagles were there. They promised a kind of power I'd never had. They promised carefree times, a brotherhood, and trust; all things I didn't have much experience with. So, as you can imagine, I fucking jumped at the chance. I joined, and I found out the good times they were talking about were just getting high, smashing the shit out of store fronts, and getting kids high. There was a brotherhood, but it relied on the idea that a brother was a brother until shit got to be too much. Then, you could be dumped like a bad meatball sub. Trust...well, trust got me into a fucking mess.”
     
    Staring off into the distance, Liam fell silent for a moment, simply staring at the ebb and flow of the waves beneath the horizon.  “I trusted the wrong guy. A cop. He'd infiltrated the den, and I was completely taken in—maybe because it seemed like he was more willing to be a true brother to me than any of those idiots. I liked him. I dished every secret to him, and when he had enough information, the LAPD raided the Eagles' headquarters and took ten of the guys. Charges like murder, drug trafficking, shit like that. I was immune because I'd been an unwitting participant, but I'm sure you can imagine that Reggie didn't believe that.” Sighing, he kicked at the shallow water at their feet. “You know what's funny? I don't even fucking regret those bastards getting locked up. At least the Saints have the decency not to push drugs on kids or fucking go to town on girls in the middle of bars.”
     
    The Saints did neither of these things, but if Liam thought that they truly lived up to their namesake, he had another thing coming. The Dark Saints were still big and still bad, and every other club in Cali knew it. “So you ran.” Vicky's statement was less accusatory than it was surprised.
     
    Liam scowled. “If you have to call it that,