Biker Princess No More

Chapter 5: Shadows and Questions

Lila slipped inside, closing the door with a soft click. The room felt smaller with her in it. She perched on the edge of the bed like she belonged there, smoothing her hair with manicured fingers. The faint scent of her perfume — sweet vanilla that turned cloying up close — mixed with the lingering smell of leather and engine grease from my jacket.

“Sister to sister,” she said, flashing that wide-eyed smile. “I know things have been… strained. But we’re family now. Mom—Jezebel—wants us to get along.”

I stayed standing, arms crossed. “Cut the act. What do you want?”

Lila’s smile didn’t waver, but her eyes sharpened. “You’ve been gone a long time. People change. The club changed. Jezebel’s been helping Dad keep things together. You showing up suddenly… it’s stirring up old talk. About your mother.”

My fingers tightened on my arms. “What about her?”

She shrugged delicately. “Just that she was asking questions before she left. About money. About who was really running things behind the scenes.” Lila leaned in, voice dropping to a whisper. “Some people think she found something she shouldn’t have. Others say she was meeting someone from the other side.”

I kept my face neutral. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I don’t want you to get hurt.” Her tone was all sugar, but the look she gave me was anything but. “This club has teeth. And you’re not the princess anymore.”

She stood, brushing past me on her way to the door. “Sleep well, Riley.”

The door clicked shut behind her. I waited a full minute before pulling out my phone. The message from the unknown number glowed on the screen.

**We should talk alone. — Z**

I stared at it. Meeting him alone at night was reckless. But ignoring it meant staying in the dark. I wrote a quick note on a scrap of paper — *Quarry overlook. Midnight. If I’m not back by 2, tell Ryder.* — and slipped it under Ryder’s door as I passed. Then I grabbed my jacket, checked the small pistol in my boot, and headed out the back.

The night air was damp, carrying the promise of rain. I rolled my bike quietly past the gate before starting it. The engine’s low rumble felt like a warning as I rode toward the old quarry road — neutral ground, open enough to see anyone coming.

I arrived first. I parked with my back to the rock wall, hand near my boot, eyes on the only approach. Minutes later, headlights appeared. One bike.

Zane stopped a careful distance away and killed his engine. He swung off, movements controlled, and leaned against the seat. The moonlight caught the sharp lines of his face.

“You came,” he said quietly. No triumph in his voice. Just observation.

“I chose the place,” I replied. My hand stayed close to my boot. “Talk. Then leave.”

Zane studied me for a long moment. A faint smile touched his lips. “Smart. Your mother was smart too.” He reached into his cut and held out a small, folded paper. “This is all I’ll give you tonight. The rest… you’ll have to find yourself. Or ask the people who claim to love you.”

I took the paper without stepping closer. An old receipt, faded, with my mother’s handwriting on the back — a date and a set of initials: **J.B.**

“When you’re ready to ask the right question,” Zane said, voice smooth and composed, “find me.” He mounted his bike. “Careful who you trust, Riley. Not everyone wants the truth to come out.”

The engine roared. He turned and disappeared down the road.

I tucked the paper away, heart pounding. J.B. Jezebel? Or someone else? The initials burned in my mind as I rode back through the growing rain.

The clubhouse was quiet when I returned. I slipped inside, boots leaving wet tracks. Jax’s voice stopped me in the hallway.

“Where the hell were you?”

He stood in the doorway of the common room, arms braced on the frame, rain dripping from his hair. Knox appeared behind him, eyes blazing. Ryder stepped out from the shadows near the stairs, holding the note I’d left.

“You went alone,” Ryder said calmly, but his fingers tightened on the paper. “After everything.”

I pulled the receipt from my pocket and held it up. “He gave me this. Mom’s handwriting. Initials J.B. A date. That’s it. No big revelations. Just enough to make me dig.”

Knox cursed under his breath. “That bastard is playing you.”

Jax crossed the distance in three strides, commanding presence filling the hall. “You don’t meet him alone again. That’s an order.”

I lifted my chin. “I don’t take orders from you. Not anymore.”

The tension crackled between us. Jax’s jaw worked, but he didn’t push. Knox looked ready to argue. Ryder watched me with quiet concern, eyes searching my face.

Jezebel’s voice drifted from the top of the stairs, elegant and concerned. “All this noise at this hour? Is everything alright?”

She descended in a silk robe, Lila trailing behind her in pajamas, rubbing her eyes innocently.

“Riley was out riding,” Jax said tightly.

Jezebel’s gaze flicked to the wet paper in my hand. “In this weather? You really should be more careful, sweetheart. The roads aren’t safe at night.”

Lila smiled sweetly. “Especially with everything going on.”

I folded the receipt and tucked it away. “I can handle the roads.”

Dad appeared at the top of the stairs, looking exhausted. “Let her be. She’s home. That’s what matters.”

As everyone dispersed, I returned to my room. The receipt lay on the bed. J.B. The initials stared back at me. Jezebel? One of the brothers? Someone I hadn’t considered?

I hid the paper in the lining of my old helmet and lay down, rain hammering the roof. Sleep came in fragments, filled with unanswered questions and the memory of Zane’s calm voice.

Tomorrow, I would start digging inside these walls.

A soft knock sounded just before dawn. I opened the door to find Ryder standing there, two mugs of coffee in hand. His eyes were tired but warm.

“Thought you might need this,” he said quietly. “And someone to listen. No pressure.”

I took the mug, the warmth seeping into my cold fingers. Behind him, the clubhouse was starting to wake. Engines rumbled in the distance as brothers prepared for the day.

But my mind was already turning over the initials. J.B.

And the secrets they might hide.