by Amelia Shea
Bailey bit her lip and glanced down at the steering wheel, then closed her eyes and remained silent. She knew where this was going.
“When were you going to tell me, sweetie?”
Bailey slumped in her seat and sighed. “He’s not out yet.”
“Not yet, but soon. Very soon, Bails.”
Phoebe’s concern was coming from a good place. Her love for Bailey. She tapped her nails on the steering wheel, stalling. It was overwhelming at times when others expressed their worry and concern. It was also heartbreaking. Bailey hated the dark cloud looming overhead.
“I knew it was coming.” Bailey scratched her head and wiped the small beads of sweat from her forehead. “I’m fine, Phoebe, I j-just…” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about him. He’s getting out, and there’s nothing I can do about it, so I’m going to do what I always do and keep living my life.”
“That’s a fabulous plan, girl.” When Phoebe chuckled, Bailey relaxed into her seat. Her friend had a way of easing her, and she adored Phoebe.
“Just promise me, if you find yourself not good, you call me. Doesn’t matter when, you reach out.”
She swallowed the knot in her throat. “I will.”
“Okay. So what’s going on there? What have I missed?”
The abrupt subject change was Phoebe giving her the out she needed. It was done with purpose. Yet, another thing she loved about the woman. Bailey bit her lip, weighing her options. She only had two close friends, Marissa and Phoebe, who she’d known longer. Should she mention it? Hell yeah.
“So, I’m kind of dating someone.”
There was a slight pause, then a choking sound on the other end. “Phoebe?”
“Oh my God, I almost died choking on my coffee, which would have sucked because I wouldn’t hear the rest of this. You got a man?”
Bailey chuckled. “Yep, sleeping with him and all.” She had shared her concerns more with Phoebe than Rissa. It was hard to come out and say she was hesitant about being intimate because of her scars. During a late wine-drinking night, she had confided in Phoebe.
“Girl!” she screamed. “I’m so excited you’d think I was the one getting laid.” She laughed. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave anything out. Go.”
“His name is Saint. He’s uhhh, the vice-president of the Ghosttown Riders. He’s….” She wasn’t able to continue when she heard Phoebe squeal.
“You’re banging a biker? Holy fuck, Bailey, I wanna be you when I grow up.”
Bailey laughed, covering her face, which was turning red.
“Oh my God. That’s awesome,” she screeched, the excitement only adding to Bailey’s. “And he’s a good guy, right? I’m not gonna need another stint in jail over him?”
Bailey shook her head, smiling. “He is, Feebs, he’s so great.”
“Awww,” Phoebe said. “I hear it in your voice, Bails. You’re happy. I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You will if you ever come home.”
Phoebe groaned. “Soon. The restraining order is up in two months.”
“I told you, it doesn’t restrict you from your home, Phoebe.”
The small silence weighed on Bailey as she waited for a response.
“Time away is good for everybody. It’s good for me, and it’s better this way. But I’ll be back, and when I am, I wanna meet this unworthy bastard who’s got my girl all excited.” Phoebe laughed. “I’ll call ya soon, love.”
“Bye, Feebs.” She hung up and sighed. It would be good to have Phoebe back home in Ghosttown, where she belonged.
She got out of the car, making her way to the trunk.
There weren’t many people her own age in town. It didn’t matter much. Bailey could get along with anyone, but Phoebe and her had struck up a true friendship when Bailey first moved to town. She was pretty sure it was Phoebe who suggested to the town she be mayor, though she refused to admit it. The last four months had been hard with her not around. She missed seeing her. Phoebe hightailed it out of Ghosttown after an altercation with Arnett. I miss her. Why couldn’t Arnett leave? Had it been a town vote, his ass would have been gone. Bailey chuckled.
Bailey opened up the trunk and grabbed her signs. They were considering adding a park to the town, and she wanted as many people as she could get to vote on it at the impromptu meeting.
Time to get to it.
In the past few months, she hadn’t bothered with posting signs for the town meeting. All the residents knew they were held on the first Monday of every month. This one was an exception. She decided on a special meeting after taking a vote on the interest of a playground off Main Street. It seemed everyone was on board. Well, not everyone.
“Just go in,” she muttered, forcing the prongs from the poster board into the ground. There was always one which gave her problems.
Thankfully, there were only six signs. This being her last and most problematic. She stood, stretching her back to ease the tension in her shoulders.
“Need help?”
Bailey froze and scanned the area in front of her. The voice was coming from behind, and without looking, she knew who it was. She hadn’t seen him in a few weeks which had been a blessing. For the most part, she tried to put the fiasco with Dobbs and her meltdown at Marissa’s behind her. It was much easier to do when she wasn’t forced to be in the presence of a reminder. It was all about to change.
Saint rarely brought up the club. She knew about a few missed parties at the clubhouse from Saint. He hadn’t put any pressure on her to attend. He actually seemed content to hang out at her place, just the two of them.
“Can’t fucking ignore me forever, Mayor.”
She cringed. He had a point. She couldn’t, no matter how hard she tried. Running into to him was inevitable. She was surprised they hadn’t seen each other sooner. Who was she kidding? She had made it a mission to avoid any and all members. She drew in a breath and plastered on a smile. Bailey turned around, gripping the sign.
“Hi Kase, how are you?”
His usual scowl was locked in place though he lacked the glare.
He raised his brows and took a drag of his cigarette.
“How am I?” He shrugged and glanced around the empty street. “Be a lot better if you cut the cordial shit.”
Oh hell. A confrontation on Main Street with the president of the Ghosttown Riders was the last thing she needed. Feign ignorance. She forced a shaky smile.
“Not sure what ya mean?”
He snorted. “Yeah, ya fucking do.”
Damn. There was no good way to avoid it, seeing as how Kase seemed hellbent on discussing it.
Bailey hurried past him to her car. “I’m sorry, Kase. You’ve caught me at a bad time, I’ve got so much to do. Can we talk some other time?”
It was a stall tactic. Having any conversation with him was unsettling. Especially since the last conversation included her threatening the police on the club. Shit, I forgot about that.
“No.” His tone was sharp. “We can’t.”
Bailey halted in mid-step and turned her head. He was intimidating and scary. She didn’t have a fear he would hurt her, but he left her anxious. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
“Okay,” she whispered.
“Wanna make shit right here. Can’t do that with you playing Wiley Fucking Coyote all over the place.”
Play it off. She conjured up a laugh and waved her hand in front of her face.
“There’s nothing to make right, we’re fine.”
“The fuck we are.” He pointed down the street. “Either you’re training for a fucking marathon, or I gotta think the way you disappear when a member shows up ten feet from ya, shit ain’t fine.”
She bit her lip. New tactic. Anything to end this.
She nodded with a smile. “Okay, I accept your apology.”
Kase raised a brow. “Which would be great, if I fucking apologized. I didn’t.”
Why was he making this so difficult? Her shoulder
s sagged.
“Need you to tell me what we gotta do to make this shit right.” He took a drag from his cigarette. “Let me lay it for ya, Mayor. You ain’t right with the club? Saint ain’t right with it. I’m thinking he’s gonna be spending a fuck lot of time with you. And not with the club.”
She blinked in confusion. One had nothing to do with the other.
“I don’t see how me being with the club would affect Saint’s relationship.”
Kase furrowed his brows. “I know you don’t, which is why I’m fucking standing here with you. You don’t wanna be around the club. Then Saint won’t be.” He took another drag and shook his head. “He’s been in and out with the club for years ’cause of the shops. Finally got the bastard living close, and he’s still MI-fucking-A.”
Was he blaming her? Was this somehow her fault?
“I wouldn’t tell him not to go to the club or hang out with you,” she said, taking her first step forward since the conversation began. Hearing Saint talk of the club and the brothers, she knew how important they were. The last thing she wanted was to come between them. “I’d never stand in the way of him and the club. I know how important you all are to him.” She shook her head. “I wouldn’t do that, Kase.”
Kase watched her and sighed. The corner of his lip curled then he laughed. “How the fuck does anyone stay mad at you?” He laughed and glanced up at the sky.
“What?”
“You. I’m fucking trying to be pissed off, then ya give me the fucking sincerity and the puppy dog eyes. Fuck, maybe I’m just getting soft.” He shook his head. “You do me a solid, Bailey. You come around with Saint. Ya show up, hang with the girls, have a drink at the bar, just fucking show up. The brothers miss Saint.”
She gulped. “Okay.”
“No, not okay.” He stepped forward, towering over her. “What do I gotta do to make this right with you? ’Cause you show up like a prisoner, Saint’s gonna read through that shit and not bring ya back. And if you ain’t there, his ass will only show up when necessary. Don’t want that.”
“Okay,” she muttered.
“Fuck!” he snapped. “No, fucking not okay.”
She widened her eyes, and her frustration with him had finally reached her boiling point. Whatever she said, he was dismissing. She was trying to end this, and he wouldn’t allow it.
“I’m embarrassed, Kase,” she blurted, and immediately her eyes welled. She wasn’t sad, just utterly irritated he forced her to say it.
“Why the fuck are you embarrassed?”
She whipped her head and glared. His lack of sensitivity was aggravating the hell out of her. Of course, she’d be embarrassed and humiliated the way the woman spoke of her, and Dobbs allowing it, then her meltdown, which she knew they were all privy to.
“I was the butt of a joke. She was laughing at me, mocking me.”
He furrowed his brows. “The cunt from the club?” Kase scowled, glancing up at the sky. “You still pissed about that?”
She gasped. Of course she was still upset. How could he be so insensitive and dismissive about something which cut her to her core?
“You’re an asshole.” She pushed past him and managed to nudge his arm in the process. He had over a foot on her, and more than a hundred pounds, which made her feel even more triumphant when he staggered to his side.
“Oh fuck me.” His voice was hushed until he appeared in front of her. She folded her arms and flattened her lips.
Kase stared for a brief second and stepped closer into the space. Don’t you dare back up.
“Just tell me this, Bailey. Why the fuck do you care what some whore thinks of you? Hell, ya wanna know what some people have called me?” He snorted. “The bitch was thrown out on her ass the night it went down. Saint banned her ass from the club.” He narrowed his gaze. “And I banned her from the town. Ya ain’t never gonna hear her voice or see her face again.” He raised his brows. “And if for some reason, she gets the idea to come back, not a single fucking member of the club is gonna let her back near us or you. Not one.”
Oh. This was all a revelation she didn’t know about. She licked her lips. “But everyone knows.”
He scoffed. “Yeah, they do. They know some worthless piece of shit talked trash about a member’s old lady. How do ya think it went over?” Kase sighed and folded his arms. “Ya got scars, Bailey. It ain’t a fucking secret. How you got them, we all fucking know, and not one man in the club wouldn’t give a fucking limb to get five minutes with the motherfucker who did it to ya.”
She gasped.
His face softened slightly. “Nobody cares, Bailey. Not Saint, not the women, the brothers. Not me.” He paused with a harsh scowl. “The only thing anyone gives a shit about is Saint and you ain’t around.” He drew in a breath and sighed. “So, fucking fix it, ’cause it’s all in your hands, Mayor.”
She was struck speechless. She had never heard Kase speak so much in her life. Everything he said was somehow honest, raw, rude at times, but overall, she understood exactly what he was saying. Without Bailey, they were losing a bit of Saint.
“Okay.”
He clenched his jaw, and she figured he was ready to explode from her okay, again. She shook her head and raised her hands in front of her chest.
“No, I mean, okay, I get it. I promise we’ll be there.”
Kase seemed to relax slightly.
“I get what you’re saying, and I understand it.” She licked her lips stepping closer. “I don’t want to come between Saint and the club. If it means I need to go to the clubhouse and hang out, then I’ll do it.” She shrugged. “I mean, I like most of the members, I do, especially the women.”
He nodded and the corner of his lip curled. “And they fucking like you. We all do, Bailey.” He lowered his voice, staring down at her. “We got ya. The whole club, we got ya. And I don’t usually make guarantees, but I can make this one. What happened with you at the club will never fucking happen again.”
For the first time in the past ten minutes, she drew in a breath which filled her lungs, and she was able to relax.
“Friday night?”
Bailey drew in a breath and nodded. “We’ll be there.”
He eyed her, searching her face. She raised her brows and grinned, which made him laugh. He lifted his hand and turned walking back to his bike.
It was strange to see him in a new light. Here was a man who, by all outward appearances, would strike the fear into anyone he encountered. Yet, he was a bit softer with her. She felt an odd bond with Kase which gave her the courage to ask a question that had weighed on her mind for weeks.
“Hey, Kase?”
He stopped and turned around, lighting another cigarette. He raised his brows. It was a Kase thing. It meant ‘what the fuck do you want?’ She clamped her lips, unsure how to word her question. Unfortunately, Kase lacked any patience.
“Fucking speak, Bails, I got shit to do.” There was not an ounce of malice in his tone. In fact, her nickname on his lips made her smirk. It seemed so out of character for him, yet it easily rolled off his tongue.
“Did you tell the club I was off-limits?”
He brought the cigarette to his lips and scanned the road before taking a drag. It may have been a stall tactic, and she was prepared to call him out on his lie.
“Yeah.”
She openly gaped at Kase. She expected him to deny it. “You did?” Her voice hitched and reached the highest octave.
“Yeah, made it clear my guys were to stay away.” He said it matter of fact. An order, a rule. “Not gonna ask why?”
She shrugged.
“I figured you needed a good guy, family man, nine to five, on the right side of the law bullshit.”
Been there, done that, got the scars to prove it.
“Yeah, well ya see how well that went.” She snorted, trying to make a joke. Kase wasn’t taking the bait. In fact, his jaw tightened, and he tossed his cigarette, taking long strides toward her.
“Didn
’t want anyone fucking with you, hurting ya. Didn’t want you thinking you were gonna get some wholesome motherfucker, and instead ya got a biker who may or may not step out on you, or even fucking show up when he’s supposed to.”
She gulped. It was a bigger admission than she expected.
“You’re not all like that, though. Trax and Rourke, they don’t cheat.” She paused, and her eyes widened. “Do they?”
He openly grinned and belted out a laugh. “No.” He bent down, leaving them at eye level. “Some do though, like variety, not into settling down. Trying to spare ya any hurt. We see how that turned out.” The last was a dig, not at her, but at himself, she guessed. Dobbs. Not Saint, though.
“How come you didn’t warn Saint away from me?”
Kase straightened his back, folding his arms over his chest. “Told everyone you were off-limits.”
She opened her mouth, but he interjected, “Everyone.”
So, Saint had been told to stay away and defied his president’s orders. For me.
“Did he get in trouble?”
Kase twisted his lips. “Saint doesn’t get in trouble. He does what he wants, takes what he wants, and spends time with who he wants. Could have threatened the fucker with the end of my pistol, and he still would have bailed on the run, all because the sexy little mayor asked him over for dinner.”
“Does Saint know you think I’m sexy?” she teased.
Kase winked and snorted. “Fucking smartass.” He turned again, making his way to his bike. His departure halted, and he shuffled around and paced backward staring at her. “Saint’s a good man, better than most.”
“Yes, he is.” It was a strange, natural admission. Saying it actually had a physical effect. Her stomach flipped.
Kase smirked. “The man’s been waiting a long time for a good woman. Long fucking time. He deserves ya.”
Chapter Twelve
Saint turned down the country road, headed toward the clubhouse. Not exactly where he wanted to spend his Friday night. He loved his brothers and the club, but it had been a long week, and all he wanted to do was spend time alone with Bailey. Her insistence on going to the party had left him with no doubt, Kase had gotten to her.