by Davis, Jen
Bullshit. “I understood him fine.”
Scott smiled and opened his arms wide. “Even if it’s true, Sergei is a businessman. When we sell his merchandise and give him the money, he’s not going to care where it comes from. Profit is a great motivator.”
“You’re wrong.” Wrong and pigheaded. “I vote nay.”
“It’s a yay for me.” Malcolm’s voice was ice-cold.
“And a yay for me,” Scott echoed.
The other guys shifted in their seats, clearly torn in their allegiance.
“I vote nay,” Cue Ball said quietly.
“Nay,” echoed Frank.
Scratch cleared his throat. “The word of my president is enough for me. Yay.” Every other man followed suit.
“The yays have it.” Malcolm grinned. “Kane, reach out to Ace. Extend the offer.”
“No.”
Everyone froze. No one told Malcolm no; moreover, no one worked against a club vote. This was no small transgression. He had just given the middle finger to a very sacred code.
Scott banged his fist on the table. “You’re back with your ex-bitch for five minutes, and you’re already turning your back on your brothers. Where’s your fucking loyalty?”
His fingernails dug into the wood. “This is loyalty. I love my brothers. I’m not going to be the reason a single one of them ends up dead.”
Scratch scowled. “You were outvoted, son. You’ve got no right to make decisions for the rest of us.”
“I won’t do it.” Damn the consequences. He was no fool…there would be consequences. “I’ll be out back. Y’all do what you have to do.”
He walked to the carport, trying to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. This was a clear violation of club rules, and he’d have to pay the piper. The wait wasn’t long.
Scratch barreled out the door, fists clenched at his side. Kane dug his hands in his pockets and tensed his muscles against his friend’s punch to the gut. The guy fucking pummeled him, cursing after each hit until the next guy stepped in to take his place. Pete was up after him. Then Joe.
Every member of the club had the right to take a pound of flesh, but it seemed Scott was the last one in line. Kane expected him to smile when he threw his first punch, but his brother didn’t look happy at all. In fact, with each hit, his face grew more somber. He stopped at three, though he could have easily claimed more. Kane slid to the ground.
“Why can’t you be on my side?” Scott murmured. “I love you, man.” Shaking his head, he walked away.
Kane curled up, letting the warmth from the space heater wash over him. Everything hurt, but honestly, he’d expected worse.
What really threw him was the look of betrayal on his brother’s face a minute ago. No one could make him mad the way Scott could. For fuck’s sake, he’d been ready to deck the guy less than an hour ago. Still, he had no doubt his brother loved him. But Scott wanted a blind kind of devotion he couldn’t give. Loving someone didn’t mean you agreed on everything.
For Scott, though, love meant loyalty and unflinching faith. At the end of the day, he knew it was the root of his dislike for Mandy. Scott was jealous. It was one thing to share his brother with the club, but with a woman? No way.
It hadn’t been an issue for a long time.
He closed his eyes for what could have been a few seconds, a few minutes, or an hour before a deep voice prompted him to open them again.
“A ballsy move in there, brother.” Cue Ball’s big black shit-kickers took up his entire field of vision. “You’re lucky you’re still in one piece.”
He took the man’s proffered hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. The world spun momentarily around him. “I was only trying to protect the club.”
His friend ran a hand over his bald head. “I understand, but it’s not how things work here, and you know it.” Cue sighed. “You look like shit. Let’s go get you cleaned up.”
He staggered toward the house, his mind moving faster than his bruised body. Tonight made it very clear his club would not see reason. If they kept blindly following his brother, it would be a disaster for everyone.
He knew what he had to do.
***
Amanda
The ride back to her condo gave Amanda plenty of opportunity for reflection. Her thoughts mostly centered on the almost-sex she had this morning and the view of Kane in all his naked glory afterward.
He could be hers again. He might be already.
She was still reliving it all when she pulled into her garage and found her father leaning against the trunk of his BMW, arms folded and crossed over his chest.
He stood up straight. “Where have you been?”
She sighed. “None of your business, Dad.” Walking past him, she headed toward her building.
He followed a half-step behind but didn’t speak again until they were inside her condo. “I saw Nathan this morning. He looks like he was hit by a truck.”
“Good.” She eyed the bathroom door. A shower sounded like heaven. Her feet had to be disgusting after walking around barefoot all morning.
His eyes widened. “Good? Are you stupid? He’s out for blood. Yours and mine, thanks to your knight in shining armor.”
She wasn’t sure how she still managed to be surprised by her father’s lack of interest in her well-being. “Sorry I wasn’t thinking about your run for governor while he was trying to choke me to death, Dad. I’ve always been selfish when it comes to breathing and everything.” With another longing look toward the shower, she then turned her attention to the kitchen. She hadn’t eaten in twenty-four hours.
“Always so dramatic. Nathan was not trying to kill you.”
With a dull laugh, Amanda unwound the scarf of Kane’s she’d donned in the car. The evidence of Nathan’s attack was an unmistakable palate of purple and black bruises around her neck. “Dramatic?” she deadpanned. “Get out, Dad.”
He froze for a fraction of a second, staring at her battered skin. Then, he continued his rant. “He says you were unfaithful to him while you were together. You couldn’t just keep your legs closed for a few months?” He paced the room. “He said you were slumming with one of the men on your crew.” He stopped, realization dawning in his eyes. “Kane Hale.”
She pulled a loaf of bread from the top of the refrigerator and started assembling a roast beef sandwich. No chance she was going to hash out her relationship with her father for the umpteenth time.
She got as far as spreading the mayo when her dad stepped into her space. “What is it about a piece of garbage like him you get so enthralled over? Tell me. There are hundreds of white-trash, blue-collar fortune hunters out there. Why this one? And for God’s sake, why now?”
She tossed the butter knife in the sink and lifted her chin. “Fortune hunter? You really think so? Kane doesn’t give a good goddamn about your money. He never has.”
“Of course not. He only wants you for you.” Her father’s voice dripped with derision. “Why else would he latch onto a woman he has absolutely nothing in common with?”
“Nice to know you think my connections are the only reason a man could want me.” She piled the deli meat onto the bread and took a savage bite.
“I’m sure your loose morals didn’t hurt either,” he sneered.
She forced herself to swallow before she choked. “I am a grown woman. Who I sleep with is none of your concern. I don’t ask where you stick your dick, Dad, and frankly, I don’t want to know.”
“I wish I had the same luxury. Unfortunately, your actions reflect directly on me, and I will not have you regressing back into a relationship with a thug you should have outgrown a decade ago.” His eyes blazed fury. “Kane Hale will rue the day he tried to enter your life again, you hear me? I am going to absolutely annihilate him. There will be nothing left of his life to put back together when I’m done.”
“Dad.” She dropped her sandwich back to the napkin on the counter and followed him as he strode to the door.
/> “No.” He looked at her over his shoulder as he turned the knob. “I’ve given you every opportunity to make something of your life. An education. An introduction to the right kind of people.”
“The right kind? You mean the rich kind. The kind who could help you with your aspirations. It never mattered if they were snobs or bigots or bullies. It never mattered if they talked down to me or got too handsy behind one of the potted plants.” Her voice climbed. “Because it was never about me. It was always about how it could benefit you. It’s probably the only reason you have me in your life at all. To use as a tool for your gain.”
“How dare you? If anyone is a user in this relationship, it’s you, darling.” He drawled the endearment with malice. “You made no secret you preferred your mother and Charlie’s family to this one. Their home was the only place you wanted to be. The only thing I was ever good for was my money.”
“That’s not—”
“Not true?” He laughed. “Whose money solved your little criminal’s legal problems all those years ago? Who bailed out your precious Charlie’s pathetic company? Dear old Dad. The same one who used you as a commodity. The same one who doesn’t care whether you live or die. How do you reconcile the knowledge with your image of me, I wonder?” This time when he turned the doorknob, he pulled the door open and stepped out. “I meant what I said. Hale’s life as he knows it is over. He thinks he knows what it means to suffer. His suffering has only just begun.”
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Amanda
Amanda couldn’t force herself to finish her sandwich after her father left; the taste had turned to sawdust in her mouth. She texted Kane, then finally trudged to the shower.
The hot water was a balm on the tense muscles of her shoulders. Resting her palms against the wall, she lowered her head, allowing the spray to beat over her back.
Her confrontation with her dad had left her shaken. She had no doubt he’d meant every word he’d said. The part where he questioned her loyalty was par for the course. He’d always been paranoid she loved Charlie more than him.
What really worried her were his threats against Kane. He already had something in motion after his meeting with the Skulls’ rival biker guy. Now, who knows what he would do? He had the money and influence to do almost anything. His only limit was his imagination.
She turned to relax on the built-in bench, then massaged the soap over her feet. The time in the water had already made inroads into the dirt, but rubbing her thumbs over the pad of one foot, then another, comforted her. By the time she finally felt clean, her fingers had started to prune.
A quick check of her phone showed no response from Kane when she got out. So, she slipped into her favorite pair of flannel pajama pants and an oversized T-shirt before tumbling into bed for a nap. She didn’t wake until a knock sounded at the door.
Her chest tightened as her first thought flew to Nathan. Then, she remembered she’d told Mickey to take him off her white-list. Her father sure as hell wasn’t coming back. Only one possibility remained. “Kane.”
When she threw open the door, the tight feeling in her chest came back with a vengeance. Yes, it was him, but it looked like her father had already made good on his promise.
He sported a black left eye and a shadowed right cheek. He stooped over a little and clutched his ribs as he shuffled in.
She slid under his arm and allowed him to use her for support as he lurched slowly to the sofa. “What happened?” she breathed. “Did you get jumped?”
He ran his hand through his unbound hair. “In a manner of speaking. The guys in the club did this.”
She gasped. “Not because of me?”
“No. It had nothing to do with you.” He patted her leg lightly. “It was club business.”
Oh no. This was not a road they were going down. “Club business,” she repeated carefully. “So basically, what you’re saying is…it’s none of my business.”
His lips thinned.
“I mean, it’s okay to spend the night in your bed. Hell, I can even let myself in your apartment. But I can’t know why you can barely walk, because it’s club business, and I’m only—what’s it called—an old lady.” She shook her head ruefully. “As if I could forget how much respect the title affords.”
Her face flamed with anger. After everything she’d been through in the past twenty-four hours, she felt like someone had pulled her guts out and stomped all over them. All she wanted, all she needed, was to get back inside the little bubble she and Kane had created at his apartment. Only, she knew her wish was unrealistic.
He rubbed his eyes. “It’s not like that.”
She took a deep breath, forcing her raging emotions into check. “Okay.” Deep breath in. Deep breath out. “Tell me what happened.”
His mouth opened, then closed again, indecision dancing across his features.
This was it. The moment of truth. The moment where she would know how tight the club had him in its grip.
A minute passed. Two. Her chest squeezed painfully, and she sank deeper into the cushions of the sofa and closed her eyes. “Just go.” Despite her nap, she was so tired. Maybe she could sleep right here. Sleep until all of this went away.
She was so sure he wasn’t going to answer. When he did, his voice made her jump. “My brother and my father are leading the club into making a major mistake.”
Her eyes flew open.
Kane had his head in his hands. “They’re going to get someone killed.” He looked up, seeking her eyes. “I defied them. I refused an order after the club voted.” He gestured to his face. “This was my punishment.”
Gasping, she sprang forward, examining his injuries with new eyes. “Your own friends did this to you…because you disagreed with them?”
He nodded. “I know how it sounds, but it is club business, and I’m not supposed to talk about it. I also know I don’t really belong there. Not because of the beat-down, but I don’t know. I thought maybe I could make a difference, turn the club into something better or at least keep it from getting worse, but I was living a fantasy. I can’t save anyone who doesn’t want to save themselves.”
Carefully, she wrapped her arm around his shoulders. “Oh, Kane, I’m sorry.” She really was. Not because he realized he didn’t belong in a motorcycle gang, but because it hurt him to admit it. She was sorry, too, if it meant he had to mourn his friends.
“I’m going to talk to the guys about patching out. It’s going to suck. I’ll probably lose them all. No way around it.” He sounded so desolate.
She wanted so much to find the right words, but she knew how unforgiving their code was. He’d told her himself, years before. “You won’t lose me,” she said gently, and his muscles locked beneath her hands. “You’ll never lose me again, Kane. I’m yours, as long as you want me.”
He held his body rigid for a moment, his eyes blinking rapidly. “Are you sure?” He cleared his throat. “Because I’m not sure my heart can survive breaking again, baby. The last time damn near killed me.”
“You won’t lose me. We need to be honest with each other, though. I ruined things before by thinking I was protecting you. It was the wrong call. We could have faced it together. We’ll do better this time. We’ll learn from my mistake.”
In the somber silence, his stomach let out a growl so loud she could have heard it in the next room. The tips of his ears turned red, and he chuckled self-consciously. “Sorry. Guess I haven’t eaten in a while.”
The reminder about food made her own stomach answer the call with a growl of its own. “How about I make us some dinner?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “You’re offering to cook? The woman who put a boiled egg in the microwave and made it explode?”
“A lot of time has passed since then,” she said primly. “Plus, I took some cooking classes a few years back. You may be surprised to discover what I can do in the kitchen these days.”
“To the contrary.” His face relaxed into a genu
ine smile. “I’m not surprised by anything you’re able to accomplish. You have it in you to take over the world someday.”
“I don’t need the whole world. Only you, Mike, and the company.” She stood and offered him her hand. “Let’s start with conquering the kitchen.”
He allowed her to lead him to the sink where they both washed their hands. “Okay, Iron Chef, what do we have on the menu?”
She opened the refrigerator door and surveyed the contents. “I’ve got some leftover grilled chicken.” Stepping over to the pantry, she stooped down to examine one of the lower shelves, then triumphantly pulled out a can of artichoke hearts. “Oh, yeah, I know just the thing. If we work together, it can be ready in ten minutes.”
With her goal in sight, she piled ingredients onto the counter: green onions, mushrooms, olive oil, and feta. Then, she turned on a pot of water to boil. “Cutting board is in the drawer in front of you, Hale. Those green onions aren’t going to chop themselves.”
With a small salute, he got to work, chopping the vegetables, while she melted some butter in a pan. Soon, the kitchen filled with the savory scent of sautéed mushrooms.
Kane hummed a song she didn’t recognize while he opened the can of artichoke hearts. The whole thing felt so simple and domestic, like this was their kitchen, and they’d cooked together a million times. Like they had done it before, and it was a given they would do it again. And again. And again.
But would they really? With her father and Nathan and the club all wanting to tear them apart?
He looked up and caught her watching him, but he didn’t call her on it. “You want these in the pan with the other stuff?”
The knot of emotion building in her chest kept her from answering aloud, but her smile and nod were enough. He stepped in beside her at the range and dumped in the drained contents. His nearness was almost a physical caress.
She leaned into him, and he kissed the top of her head. Oh yeah, she could get used to this. “Grab the chicken,” she murmured. “We need to add some too.” Pouring some angel hair into the now bubbling water, she tried to quiet her swelling feelings for the man currently taking up all the air in the room. Though she failed miserably, it wasn’t in her to regret it. The way she felt about Kane was like sunshine warming her from the inside out.
