The Enemy

by Amelia Shea

“I’ll see you next week. I’m coming over, don’t make plans.” He released her and stepped back. Phoebe’s response was exactly what he’d expected. She grinned with a soft chuckle and nodded.

  “Whiskey by the fire. I’m in, Jack.”

  His dad winked at her and glanced over his shoulder. His eyes scanned Kase and then Cade before landing on Marissa. “Night, darlin’”

  “Goodnight, Jack.”

  Jack started toward the doorway.

  Cade snorted. “Night, Pop.”

  Kase laughed. Jack usually ignored him and his brother in favor of the women. It was nothing new. Kase expected Jack to continue out the door without acknowledging them, but he didn’t. He turned around and smirked, shifting his gaze between Caden and him. He drew in a deep breath and nodded.

  “Night, boys.”

  Kase couldn’t be sure of Caden’s reaction; he was too focused on his Pop walking out of the room. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d heard his father speak those words.

  Night, boys.

  *

  It was after eleven when he pulled up her driveway. He wouldn’t be spending the night. He was set for a two-day run with Rourke and Gage. When he told her earlier, he sensed her disappointment. For some fucked up reason, he liked it. He wanted her missing him when he was gone.

  He pulled to the end of her drive and waited for her to get off. She unclasped her helmet and shook out her hair.

  “Here.”

  He glanced down at the helmet. It was a spare he’d had for years. “Hold onto it.”

  She stepped closer, wrapping her arms around his shoulders. “Are there more rides in my future?” She waggled her brows. Her innuendo had nothing to do with his motorcycle.

  Her blue eyes softened, losing the glimmer of humor. “Gonna miss you.”

  While it may not have seemed like much of a declaration to most, Kase knew Phoebe. She didn’t want a relationship, only out for a good time. The female version of himself. Her whispered words meant something. It was an admission. If he had to guess, a confession of sorts. He slid his hand over her cheek, grazing her neck lightly with the pads of his fingers.

  “Two days, Phoebe.” He swiped his mouth across her lips. “Miss you too.” He almost didn’t recognize his own voice saying the words.

  Her arms tightened around his shoulders, and her lips meshed against his. Being sweet wasn’t his thing, but she sure loved it. His hands roamed over her back, wanting her closer.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he made out with a woman only to prolong the night. He was the one who ended the kiss. If he had a choice, he wouldn’t have. Only one place he wanted to be, and it was not on a two-day run. He lingered over her lips before setting her back a step.

  He had about ten minutes before Rourke started blowing up his phone, asking where he was.

  “Call me when you get there, okay?” She shrugged. “Just so I know you got there safe.”

  Never in his life had he checked in with a woman for any reason. He jerked his chin.

  She gave him another quick kiss and started toward the house. He would wait until she got inside. Partially for her safety. He smirked, watching her hips sway. And for the view. She glanced over her shoulder, and then slowly turned and tilted her head.

  “I have a confession.” The corner of her mouth curled. “I was going commando the whole day.”

  What the fuck?

  She laughed, probably prompted from his expression of disbelief. She slowly lifted her dress over her thighs, revealing she was very much telling the truth.

  He growled and reached for her, but she backed away. A coy smile played on her lips. She lifted her hands and waved her fingers.

  “You gotta go, Kase.” She winked. “Try not to miss me too much.” She walked back to her porch, and he smirked. Fucking tease. He’d remember this when he got home in a few days.

  He waited until she was in the house before turning around and driving over to his place. They were leaving at midnight, driving through the night to cut out the traffic. He usually looked forward to runs, enjoyed the change of scenery. Not this time.

  Two days. Too long.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Two days. Forty-eight hours. Two thousand, eight hundred and eighty minutes.

  It was slightly obsessive. She hadn’t actually waited around for him. She kept herself busy, she worked, got shit done. As the two days closed in on her, she did feel the anxious excitement to see him. It felt foreign. She adapted to being immune to men until Kase. He’d changed it, and her father’s words played in her head.

  You gave your heart to the wrong man. He didn’t deserve you. Someday, you will find someone who does. Maybe not now, but someday, this conversation will play back in your head and you’ll say, ‘The old man knew what he was talking about.’

  And he did.

  He’d texted her earlier, he’d be arriving around seven. When she heard the dual engines rumble at six-thirty, her heart skipped. A peek out her window confirmed it was Kase’s and Rourke’s arrival. Minutes later, she got the text.

  Kase: Get your ass over here.

  A few minutes later, she was out the door. Phoebe started across her yard, heading toward the clubhouse. My man. It was strange to hear her own thoughts. For a woman who had sworn off getting seriously involved with anyone ever again, she was the biggest hypocrite.

  She caught Bailey at the edge of the fence waiting on her. Something was off. Her smile was forced.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?”

  She shrugged. “Nothing.”

  “Bailey.”

  She sighed and glanced up through her lashes. “I was here yesterday, saw Tory leaving something in your mailbox, and I stopped to talk to her. Congratulations, I guess,” she muttered.

  Oh yeah. The offer. She had yet to touch the paperwork, opting to live in denial. Eventually, she’d get to it. Not now.

  “Yeah, full asking, all cash, short close, deal of a lifetime.” Phoebe repeated Tory’s own words in hopes she’d sound convincing. She was failing. Phoebe cleared her throat. “Ironic too. A single me is moving out, and a single woman is moving in. Maybe she’ll be the new Phoebe, a good replacement.” She laughed and expected Bailey to join in. She didn’t.

  “No one can replace you.”

  “Well, then maybe this Megan can be a close second.”

  Bailey jerked her head. “Who?”

  “The buyer, Megan McMillian.”

  It was strange to watch Bailey’s features tighten and her face pale. When she swayed to the side, Phoebe reached out, grabbing her arm to steady her. “Are you okay? What’s wrong, the baby?”

  “Megan McMillian?”

  Phoebe winced at the sharp tone. Bailey didn’t raise her voice, but there was a spike in her tone, something Bailey rarely possessed. Anger.

  “Son of a bitch.” It was another rarity, to hear her curse. Phoebe rubbed her arm, unsure how to settle her friend. When she glanced past Bailey, she saw Saint a few feet away, concern marring his striking features.

  “Sweetheart,” Saint said.

  Bailey whipped her head. “Did you know?”

  Saint spread out his hands, clearly confused as much as Phoebe. “Know what?”

  “That the club is buying Phoebe’s property?”

  Wait, what? Phoebe jerked her head to face Bailey and tightened her hold on her arm. What the hell was she talking about? Bailey shook her head and pointed at Saint. “If you knew about this, Saint….” Before she could finish her sentence, Saint stepped forward. “I didn’t.”

  “Whoa, hold up, clue me in here. Bailey?”

  She threw one last glare at her husband and turned to Phoebe. “When the club bought all the property in Ghosttown, they used someone else as a front, their LLC. They were concerned if the residents knew what they were planning, they would try to halt the purchases.”

  “Okay.” It made sense on the club’s part, and she wouldn’t put it past a few of the townspeople such as Arnet
t to take issue and cause problems. She was familiar with the LLC as a few offers came in from them a year earlier. However, the last few were directly from the club. “What the hell does that have to do with my property?”

  “They used Meg.” She raised her brows. “It’s short,” Bailey gritted her teeth, “for Megan.”

  It took less than a second for it all to come together and sucker punch her in the belly. All the air released from her lungs.

  Phoebe gaped open her mouth, completely blindsided with shock. Kase was behind the purchase of her property? Was it even possible? Another example of trusting the wrong man.

  “That son of a bitch,” she muttered under her breath. How could she have been so fucking stupid to have yet another man trick her? She staggered back, completely unaware of her surroundings, her mind in a complete fog. She blinked, trying to focus on anything around her. Her head was spinning, and the colors were fading in and out. A shooting pain stabbed her heart, and she pressed her knuckles between her breasts, trying to relive the ache.

  “I can’t believe I let this happen again.” She shook her head and grasped her temples.

  “Phoebe?” She heard Bailey’s voice, but it seemed far away. It was then she realized she was moving. Her feet were pounding on the ground, and she was short on her breath. I’m running. Her front porch was only a few steps away when she heard another familiar voice. It wasn’t Bailey’s this time.

  “Phoebe.”

  She darted up the steps and threw open the door with so much force it slammed against the wall, knocking down a glass frame. It crashed onto the wood floor and shattered. She paced through her small house until she sensed his presence.

  Kase stood in the doorway.

  Rage was strumming every inch of her body. Any lessons or tricks she may have learned in anger management wouldn’t help her now. Or him. She stalked toward Kase, balling her fists. “You lying, manipulative motherfucker, son of a bitch, asshole, prick, bastard.” She racked her brain for any insulting names she may have left out. “Jerkoff, douchebag, dickhead motherfucker.” You repeated motherfucker. He deserves it twice!

  She wasn’t sure what enraged her more at the moment, what he’d done, or how he appeared completely unfazed.

  “You ready to listen?”

  She scoffed. “To you? Do you really think I wanna hear anything you have to say?”

  Kase drew in a breath. “Calm the fuck down.”

  “Fuck you, Kase.” She was streaming with rage. She darted forward, shouting, “Fuck you, fuck you, and fuck you.”

  His jaw locked, and he scowled. “Listen.”

  “No, you shut up and answer my questions. Did you set up Meg to buy my house?” She was prepared to rebut his lies. She had a plan to pull out the paperwork. It wasn’t necessary.

  “Yeah.”

  She flinched. Phoebe was caught off guard by his honesty. She assumed he’d try and sugarcoat what he’d done, but instead he answered as though he saw nothing wrong with it.

  “Why?”

  “You fucking told me you wouldn’t sell to me. I knew…”

  She darted forward, refusing to let him finish. “So instead of respecting my wishes, you go behind my back, manipulate me into getting my property.” She sucked in a harsh breath. “You are such an asshole.”

  “You were willing to sell to a fucking stranger after I had made a fuck ton of offers?” He dragged his hand through his hair as though she was being unreasonable. “Don’t fucking talk to me about being manipulative when you, out of fucking spite, refused to sell to me. Nobody was gonna buy this goddamn shack from you anyway. I reached out…”

  “Don’t say another fucking word to me.”

  Her lips sputtered, but she couldn’t finish her thought.

  “I got shit to say, and you will fucking listen. You owe Carter, which seems to piss you off. I’m trying to save your ass here. A fucking thank you will do.” He shook his head. “I got better fucking things to spend my money on, sweetheart, but here I am saving your ass.”

  She gasped. If his delivery hadn’t sucked, she may have been able to see through it as a kind gesture. She hadn’t. There were some things in Kase that set her off. His demanding, all-knowing bullshit was one of them.

  “Stop being an asshole,” she shouted. Son of a bitch. She didn’t need him saving her. She wasn’t a damsel in distress. She was an adult who could handle her shit.

  “I don’t need you to save me. I don’t need anyone.” She shook her head, completely consumed with her anger. “I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. You can’t buy me, Kase.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about? I did this to help your ungrateful ass, and this how you fucking thank me?”

  Thank him?

  “I’m not thanking you ’cause I’m not accepting your offer. What?” She threw her hand over her head in pure frustration. She felt herself losing control, caught up in her own anger. “You buy my house, pay my bills, and then have access to free pussy whenever ya want? Is that the deal?” She gritted her teeth. “Fuck you, Kase. No man owns me.”

  He snarled. “I want free pussy, I can get it without putting up two hundred thousand dollars. You’re good, but ya ain’t that good, sweetheart.”

  It was a virtual slap in the face. He’d never even mentioned the women from the club, but now throwing it in her face had her heart racing and her anger raging.

  She grabbed a pillow from the couch and whipped it across the room. He snagged it in one hand.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He raised his brows, and his eyes darkened. “Maybe the old man was right. You are fucking psychotic.”

  The dig was meant to hurt, and he’d succeeded. This was a new side to Kase, one she didn’t love. She shook her head and tried to calm her breathing.

  She drew in a deep breath. “I don’t need you or anyone else bailing me out. You went behind my back, betrayed my trust.” She gritted her teeth and muttered, “Same as Jared.”

  “You comparing me to that asshole?” He raised his brows and twisted his lips.

  She was surviving on sheer emotion. Probably not the best at the moment. “I don’t need your help!” she shouted. “I can do this on my own. I don’t need you.” It was as if she was speaking to Jared in the grave.

  He snorted. “You’ve fucking lost your goddamn mind. You don’t take what I’m offering, you ain’t never getting the money for the house if you try selling to someone else. You have visions of cardboard boxes and eating cat food, fine, fucking do it.” He leaned down, putting them at eye level. “Without me backing your ass, and cash, you’re fucked. But you wanna do it on your own? Have it, sweetheart. Let me know how it fucking turns out for ya.”

  It was Jared all over again. Without him, she was nothing. It was how she felt for a long time. Had she been so wrong about Kase?

  “I’ll manage just fine.”

  He laughed with a nasty sneer. “Yeah, ’cause up until now, you’ve been doing a great job. Assault charge, arrested, a shit ton of debt from your husband who was fucking everything with two legs. Now you owe money to a brother who can’t stand the sight of you. Yeah, you’re fucking killing it, sweetheart.”

  She gasped and sucked in a harsh breath caught in her throat. Knowing it was one thing, hearing it from his mouth held more power. He was throwing her flaws in her face.

  “Get out.”

  He snorted. “Yeah, I fucking will, ’cause my offer is off the table.” He moved toward the door, opening it wide and never looking back before he slammed it shut. She was frozen, staring at the door. It wasn’t until the first tear streamed down her cheek she drew in a breath.

  His words played over in her head. Assault charge, arrested, a shit ton of debt from your husband who was fucking everything with two legs. Now you owe money to a brother who can’t stand the sight of you.

  She sniffled, wiping her cheeks. She wasn’t sure what upset her more, Kase saying it, or knowing it was true.

  The
irony? I thought I loved this man.

  ****

  Motherfucker.

  Phoebe and her smart fucking mouth. Her inability to settle the fuck down set him at a new level of rage. If he hadn’t walked out, he’d be enrolled in his own anger management class. His muscles bunched through his entire body as if he had a live wire streaming through his blood. His steps pounded through the yard, passing Saint a few feet away. Kase glared as he passed him but didn’t say a word. Anything to come from his lips at the moment wouldn’t be good.

  This whole thing was beyond fucked up.

  He had every intention of telling her when the deal went through. Manipulative, my ass. He was doing this for her ungrateful ass, and this is how she thanks him.

  “Kase.”

  He’d been so blinded and deafened by his own anger, he hadn’t heard Saint come up next to him. He ignored his most trusted brother and headed toward the clubhouse. Kase had always had a temper and did nothing to contain it. If people were smart, they shut their mouths and moved out of his way. Most sensed the changing vibe in the room as he barreled through the main room of the clubhouse.

  “What’s going on?” Gage asked, following him down the hall. “You good, man?”

  He whipped his head and glared at Gage, who had the common sense to back up. Kase stalked to his room and slammed the door shut. As he paced around the room, he was looking for anything to throw, beat the shit out of, or kill. His anger for how everything with her went down was building a gut-curling rage.

  He grabbed his phone from his pocket, dialing the familiar number.

  “Hey, Kase, how are…”

  “You call the realtor right now, and you back the fuck out of the deal.”

  The silence only lasted a few seconds, but it was too long for him. “Do it now, Meg.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  He ended the call, tossed the phone on his bed, and paced around the room. He was like a caged animal about to climb the walls. He needed to get the fuck out of there before he did something stupid, before he marched back over to her house and demanded she listen to the whole fucking story.

  Fuck her.

  “Need to get the hell out of here.” He grabbed his keys, leaving his phone on the bed. If he brought it, he may be tempted to reach out to her ungrateful ass. He walked out the door and noticed the small group gathered at the end of the hallway. The conversation abruptly stopped when they looked over at him. He noticed the small redhead emerge past Rourke and Macy. She started toward him with a guilty concern.