“Rick. Seriously.”
He stopped and turned to her. “Let’s just say that social workers haven’t always been my allies.”
“Why?”
He looked up and down the street. “It’s nothing.”
“It’s something.”
He let out a short laugh and his step quickened. “Look, you don’t know me. I don’t know you. Let’s just have some fun, okay?”
She linked her arm in his. “Then get to know me. I want to know more about you.”
He looked down where her hand was resting on his arm.
Yes, it was a pretty bold move. She had no right to ask him to trust her. He was right. He didn’t know her. And she was just a recent graduate. What could she do to help him? She didn’t know his story or what he’d been through.
But she knew pain and resentment when she heard it. She’d been through plenty of cases in the past few years to understand how families fell apart, and how children were often the biggest casualties.
Is that what had happened to Rick? Is that why he’d called Bo his only family?
She suddenly wanted to know a lot more about Rick Benetti, and not just because he was a biker, part of this gang, and a link to some knowledge about Lacey’s current lifestyle.
Rick didn’t know what to make of Ava. What was her purpose in the Hellraisers? She acted like some shy mouse one minute, then was bold and confident the next.
And he needed to figure her out, find out the extent of her involvement with the Hellraisers—who she knew and what she knew. None of that included her finding out a goddamned thing about him. That wasn’t part of his assignment.
She was a social worker. Jesus. From the time he was six years old until the cops arrested him when he was seventeen, he’d seen plenty of social workers. And not a single damn one of them had helped him, had cared enough about him to actually listen to what he was saying. He was just another number, another file to pass from one side of their desk to another, to funnel through the system. They wore this façade of caring on their faces, but their only function was to operate like robots and get as many files off their desks as possible. Not people—not kids who were actual human beings—just files. Case numbers.
Ava was young and fresh and beautiful. In a few years she was going to think differently, would be worn out, wrung dry and numb from a system that would suck the very life out of her. He’d bet that right now she thought she was going to singlehandedly save the world.
She could keep thinking that. But it was way too damn late to save him.
He quickened his pace, forcing her to keep up. They finally caught up with Bo and Lacey at the head of the pack.
“Hey, there you are,” Bo said. “Thought maybe you two had hit it off and found some dark alley to get it on.”
“Well, the night’s still young.” Rick put his arm around Ava. Ava gave a nervous smile. Rick grinned. For some reason he liked making her uncomfortable. Maybe it would take her mind off wanting to delve too deeply into his past. Maybe it would send her running home to her daddy. He liked that idea even better. It would shorten his assignment so he could get onto a real case.
“Not much action going on here. I thought we’d take a desert ride tonight. Maybe have a bonfire over at Joey’s place.”
Rick nodded at Bo. “Sounds good.” He turned to Ava. “Ready to ride?”
“Uh, sure.”
They circled around the block and made their way back to their bikes. Rick pulled a helmet out of his saddlebag for Ava and handed it to her. He put his helmet on, climbed on his Harley, and waited for her.
She stood next to the bike and stared at it, helmet in hand.
“Is there a problem?”
“Uh, no.” She fiddled with the straps of the helmet.
“Ava.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you ever ridden before?”
“Sure. Lots of times.”
“Remember when I told you earlier that you were a terrible liar?”
“Yes.”
“You’re still a terrible liar.”
She cocked her head to the side. “How did you know?”
“You don’t know how to put a helmet on.” He got off the bike and put the helmet on her head and helped her fasten the strap so it was tight, but not too tight. Then he opened up the saddlebags and pulled out an extra pair of gloves and some goggles. “Here, you’ll need these, too.”
“Thanks.” She put on the goggles and the gloves.
He grabbed the zipper of her leather jacket and started to pull it up, pausing when his knuckles brushed against her br**sts. She inhaled with a sharp gasp.
“A little tight here.”
“Um. Yes.”
She seemed to try to make herself smaller, as if pushing her shoulders forward could make her br**sts smaller.
“Honey, you can’t downsize them. They are what they are.” He pulled the jacket edges closer, then finished zipping her up. “They’re really nice, by the way.”
She seemed to relax, then, because she laughed. “Thanks. They get in the way a lot.”
“Yeah, but I’ll bet they’re a lot of fun to play with.”
She seemed to consider saying something, but instead she closed her mouth and her lips curled upward in a knowing smile.
It made his dick twitch.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
He got on the bike and she climbed on behind him.
“Lean the same way I lean. Press your thighs against mine. It’ll help with your balance. And hold on to me if you feel unsteady.” He had a back pad for the rider, but a new rider sometimes felt a little wobbly until they got their bearings. He started up the bike and let it warm up while he waited for everyone else, giving the throttle a boost. Ava leaned closer and slid her hands in the pockets of his jacket.
Okay, he had to admit he liked that, enjoyed the feel of her body pressed against his back. He very rarely had someone on the back of his bike. He’d grown so used to his solitary lifestyle that it was unusual to have a rider behind him. And hell, who wouldn’t like those great tits of hers pillowed against his back?
Sometimes he had shitty assignments. He’d thought this was one of them.
Then again, riding with a hot woman against you could be a definite perk, so maybe it wouldn’t be all bad.
THREE
Ava had done a really bad job trying to portray herself as a seasoned bike rider. At least to Rick, who hadn’t fallen for it. She thought she could just slip right in and act like she belonged there, like she fit in.