Hell's Outcasts MC: Bound to Glory

Chapter 2

Jane/Glory

*Six Months Later*

"Jane! We are going to Outcasts bar tonight! You in?" Grace, the wife of the diner owner, asked me.

"I have to go to Gainesville to run some errands. Can I take a rain check?" Grace smiled at me knowingly.

"You really need to get out more." I laughed with her. Grace and Brandon James are the owners of Toccoa Burgers, a small town diner where I've been employed since my arrival in Toccoa Falls, Georgia.

"Definitely another time." Going out in public was risky enough. I've taken certain precautions since I escaped my father, including adding dark red highlights to my hair and letting it grow out. I do my shopping two towns away and always wear a hoodie with fake glasses, in case surveillance cameras pick my face up. I can't risk letting my guard down at a bar where images of me could end up on social media.

My father survived when I hit him with the sphere. Trevor had what the news termed "a long recovery from a fall at home." It terrified me Trevor didn't turn me into the police, because it meant Trevor was going to deal with me personally. He was out there, leaving no stone unturned trying to find me. Domico Benini was biding his time, planning my torture when I was found. It's why I took steps to throw them off my trail, like buying a bus ticket to a city out west but sneaking on a bus heading to Augusta, Georgia at the last minute. My father wouldn't think about looking for me in a small mountain town like Toccoa Falls.

Small towns like this offer a measure of security not many people think about. If men like my father or Domico show up, they stick out like sore thumbs and word gets around fast. I have another getaway bag packed in my small apartment closet. The moment I hear strange men are in town, I'm leaving.

"OK baby, we're closing it down!" Grace's husband Brandon announced. He's an older man with salt and pepper hair and kind hazel eyes, a stark contrast to the controlled monsters I've been around my entire life. As much as I would love to hang out with Brandon and Grace, I'm not willing to put their lives at risk.

I wiped my last Formica table down, hung up my apron and headed out to my vehicle. But when I put the key in the ignition, it didn't turn over even after several attempts.

"Oh no!" I smacked the steering wheel in frustration. This car was already on the outs when I bought it. But I had very little money and just needed a vehicle to get me around town and every couple of weeks to the larger town where I do my shopping.

Trying to calm my nerves, I walked back into the diner. "Grace, can y'all drop me off at my place on your way to the bar? My car isn't starting."

"Sure honey, but the owner of Outcasts is a licensed mechanic. He can take a look at it for you."

"How much does he charge?" Panic slowly rose in my throat.

"Blaze is a good person, he'll cut you a deal." Brandon smiled at me. I nodded and followed them to their car, trying to keep it together. I was running low on the cash I brought with me six months ago and even though I love working at the diner, it barely pays my bills. An expensive car repair could sink me financially.

A couple of minutes later, Brandon pulled the car into the parking lot of a decrepit looking building. Had I not seen the neon sign advertising Outcasts and the multiple motorcycles out front, I would have thought it was abandoned. I realized I left my glasses in my car, so I took extra care with my hoodie and kept my head down in case there were cameras.

The inside of the bar was a stark contrast to the outside. Dark cedar walls surrounded the interior. Multiple high top tables were scattered around where bikers with black vests sat drinking and laughing among each other. Many of them had "Hells Outcasts" emblaze on the back of their vests.

"Brandon! Who have you brought with you tonight?" My head turned in the direction by the bar where the voice came from. I mentally picked my jaw up off the floor. The man in front of me was at least six and a half feet tall with black hair and dark brown eyes that stared at me intently. He was built like he worked out every day, various tattoos decorating both of his arms. His vest was like the others but lined with silver thread, the word President on the left side of the vest.

"Blaze, this here is Jane, one of the waitresses from the diner. Her car isn't starting. It looks like you are busy tonight..." Blaze held up his hand to cut Brandon off.

"Ain't nothing going on in here tonight except bikers getting piss drunk. I'll take a look at it."

"It looks like it's about to rain. Do you want to ride back with us, and we can drop you back off here?" Brandon suggested.

"Sounds good. I'll sit in the back with Jane." Shock coursed through me as Blaze eyed me up and down before getting up and following Brandon outside. Grace took my arm and kept me back a couple of steps.

"Holy s**t, I've never seen Blaze look at a woman the way he just looked at you!" She whispered excitedly.

"Lucky me." I muttered. It was bad enough that I was hiding from two mobsters. The last thing I need is a biker having a crush on me. Even if said biker was handsome as sin and, for the first time in a very long time, made me think naughty thoughts.

Because of the brutality and cruelty my father subjected me and my sisters to growing up, I very seldom developed crushes on anyone. The one boy I really liked in high school was too afraid of my father to develop our relationship into anything further than friends. I had no idea how to process how off balance Blaze was making me feel.

I got into the back seat of Brandon's Blazer, taking great care to stay by the door and avoid touching Blaze. Blaze noticed and raised an eyebrow.

"Where you from, Jane?"

"Around. What about you?"

"Born and raised here in Toccoa Falls. I own Outcasts and Toccoa Auto Shop."

"That's nice." I said.

"Not much for small talk, are you?" Blaze chuckled.

"Not really." He wasn't wrong. Small talk is something I have strongly avoided since my arrival here. Things slip during small talk, things that might lead my father and Domico right to me.

As we reached the parking lot to the diner, I was filled with mounting dread. Not just from Blaze's sharp eyes but also from the possibility of an expensive car repair. I quietly prayed it would be an easy fix.

Blaze circled my car, his eyes scanning the vehicle’s exterior. Every time he paused, lingered a moment too long near the engine, my breath hitched in my throat. Being this close to him felt like walking a tightrope; I could almost feel the heat radiating from him. I forced a small smile as my mind raced with the possibility that my car was no longer driveable. But there was also something else as Blaze looked up from under the hood at me. It felt like he wasn't just looking under the hood: he was trying to look inside of me as well.

"The good news is that it's your starter. Bad news is that I don't have the parts at the shop for the model of your vehicle. I can order them now, but they won't get here for about 7 business days." Blaze told me. The reality of my situation sunk in.

"How much am I looking at?" I asked with dread.

"The starter runs around $400. I'll cut you a deal on the labor for something in return," Blaze said, staring at me with an intensity that made my blood run hot.

"In exchange for what?" I asked with an edge to my voice.

"Dinner." Blaze said with a smirk on his face.

"Absolutely not, I'll pay extra for the labor! Grace, can you give me a ride to work next week?" Grace opened her mouth to answer, but Blaze raised his hand up, a move I was starting to dislike.

"I'll be giving you those rides, Jane. And you are going to dinner with me." Blaze said with a tone of finality to his voice.

"First off, I don't know you! Second, you don't command women to just go to dinner with you!" I snapped as Blaze threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"Jane, can I talk to you for a minute?" Grace gently tugged on my arm.

"No, I'm not going out with this Neanderthal! Screw this, I'll find another mechanic!" I yanked my arm from Grace and started walking away, only to be tipped upside down. I shrieked as I felt a sharp swat on my rear end. A swat that made my cheeks flush and heat pool between my legs.

"This is how things are going to be, Jane. The only one working under the hood of your car is me! The only man in this town you're going out to dinner with will be me! From this moment forward, you're under my protection. And everyone in this town knows exactly what that means." Blaze growled at me as he set me back down.

Rage coursed through me. "I don't know how often you use these lines on women, but I'm not one who will fall for them. Don't ever touch me like that again!" I reached up and slapped Blaze right in his handsome face, storming off down the road.