Free Bikers and Pearls by Vicki Wilkerson Page B

sipping lattes in pearls when
     he hung out in garages, fixing Harleys in greasy T-shirts and jeans? The only thing
     tying them together was their desire to help Ben, but she could bolt from the rally
     at any minute and could always help another group like he knew she wanted to.
    He’d first seen that desire in her eyes last night. He didn’t know anything about
     her past, but he knew his, and he knew it had been nothing like April’s. But despite
     their differences and their pasts, Bull was determined to be her teacher.
    …
    When April heard, “Crank her up,” she snapped out of her daze. Her hands had stopped
     shaking, but her insides continued to quiver. The night had been a nightmare. And
     here she was. Out in the middle of the old, burned-out section of town in the dark
     with a man who was almost a stranger to her. A stranger that had just saved her from
     who knows what, but still a stranger. Where were all of the protections she’d developed
     over the years to keep herself safe? Her risk-management skills? Back at the office,
     obviously.
    Bull walked to her window. She was looking up at the hard angle of his jaw, but something
     in his eyes looked soft and tender. “I’m going to follow you home to make sure this
     thing works properly,” he said.
    She nodded. There was no way she was going to turn down his help. Those thugs could
     be around any corner. And they had looked so, so ordinary .
    She drove home. At every corner, she heard Bull’s bike bellow as it followed. Her
     insides churned. The noise was that of a motorcycle and all those old feelings about
     bikes were stirring in her, yet the sound strangely comforted her, as well. Because
     Bull was there. She didn’t even have to look in her rearview mirror to check. She
     heard him. And the sound made her feel safe.
    As she drove, her faculties began returning fully and she realized that she hadn’t
     thanked him for his help. She shuddered to think what would have happened if he hadn’t
     come when he did. She couldn’t wait to get home. To say good-bye to him. To thank
     him. To put this night behind her.
    She pulled into her parking spot, but he stayed back and watched. If she ran to him,
     he might get the wrong idea, but that was what she wanted to do—to go to him. When
     he didn’t get off his bike, she waved and entered her building.
    Great. She’d forgotten to turn up the heat. Inside her condo was cold. Cold . She looked down. She was still wearing his jacket, and it was frigid outside. He
     must be freezing. Guilt gripped her stomach. He was heading home in the biting cold
     with nothing on his back but a thin shirt. The thought of it made her shiver.
    She wrapped the jacket even tighter around her shoulders and latched every one of
     the locks. Tonight, she had been stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid .
    After taking off Bull’s jacket and hanging it over a chair in her bedroom, she turned
     the thermostat up and checked all the locks on the windows before going to bed. The
     run-in with those guys had started her thinking. Maybe tomorrow she’d look into one
     of those alarm systems.
    Those well-dressed young men with their…corrupt intentions. Their privileged attitudes.
     And that acrid breath. She flipped over and over, from one side to the other. Fear
     shuddered through her body every five minutes or so. Until she had an idea. She got
     up, walked over to the chair, grabbed Bull’s jacket from the back, and climbed into
     bed once again.
    She pulled the leather to her face and took in the scent. The dark spices lingered.
     She held the jacket close like a security blanket. It held warmth and safety in its
     arms, and in moments she was asleep.
    The next morning, she woke early and felt that she’d had one of the best night’s sleeps
     of her life in spite of her evening of terror. After having showered and dressed,
     she started out the front door and then stopped. She went back in and got the leather
     coat from the