“Why. Is. He. Out?”
Jason sat down on the small mechanic’s stool and sighed heavily. “Basically, he has been good during his time, played nice with the other inmates, and kept his nose clean. You knew he was up for parole after ten months. His employer gave a stellar character reference as did a few other business leaders. With that and overcrowding at the prison, he was a good candidate for release. He can’t drive trucks anymore as part of his parole conditions, and his licence has been revoked indefinitely. I’m sorry, Hoove. I thought you should know just in case you or Tate bump into him around town.”
Hoove blew out a frustrated breath. “It is horse shit, Jay. Tate was nearly fucking killed because of his actions. We lost our baby. Have you forgotten that?” he yelled, his face taut with bloody rage.
I stepped up to Hoove carefully. I wasn’t scared of him, but I also wasn’t an idiot. He was closer to Jason’s size and build and outweighed me by at least thirty kilos of pure muscle.
“Mate, it isn’t something Jason can control. Karma will get this fucker one day, and if it doesn’t, then we will,” I assured him, my hand gripping his bulging bicep.
“No, you will fucking not,” Jason growled, stepping into Hoove’s and my personal space. “I might wear a cut, but I also wear a badge. Vigilante shit will not be tolerated. He didn’t do enough time, I agree with that, but what is done is done. Hoove, you and Tate are stronger than you ever have been, and you have a son to think about. You go and ask Booth what it’s like to take matters into your own hands. See how he lives with the things he has been forced to do. I can tell you right now that he would tell you don’t do it. Sometimes, you don’t have a choice. He didn’t, but I know he wishes he did.
“Let it go, Hoove. Go home after your shift, and kiss that beautiful wife and cuddle your baby son. Be grateful for that,” Jason said quietly, then turned and faced Carson.
“The building fires were most definitely deliberately lit. The arson investigators found that accelerants were used at all of them. What is more interesting is they were all heavily insured even though they were all shut down and have been out of use for years. One name popped up in my search several times.”
I raised my eyebrows, my interest piqued.
“What name?” Carson asked.
“Masters,” Jason said, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose.
“Grandfather, Senior or junior?”
Jason looked pointedly at me, and his eyes darkened. “Which do you think?” he said then turned and walked out of the garage, leaving the three of us staring at one another, dumbfounded.
“Motherfucker.”
21
Hiding behind a concrete pillar could be construed as cowardly, but right now, that was exactly how I felt.
My mind was all over the place with thoughts of Chase, my job, and my newfound realisation that my tennis career was well and truly over, and, more heartbreaking, I had to accept that my parents really hated me.
I remembered the harsh way Jason delivered the comment about no one in Sydney caring that I was missing. Chase took more exception than I did at the time. I think, for me, it was more the shock, not from hearing it but the finality of it all. Mum and Dad sold the house I bought with my winnings without a thought of where their daughter was and if she was okay.
With a few phone calls from this guy Ford, a total stranger to me, everything I knew was over.
I loved tennis as a child and in my early teens. What fourteen-year-old wouldn’t love getting on a plane and flying across the world to play on some of the world’s best arenas?
I had so many great memories of Florida, Japan, England, and France, playing and enjoying the different cultures. I knew that my career allowed me so many wonderful opportunities that most kids didn’t have, and I wasn’t ungrateful, far from it.
When I started winning big money, that was when the fun went out of it, and the business side replaced it. That was when Colin turned from a pseudo-uncle to the coach slash manager from hell. And when my parents saw my real worth.
There was still a lot to sort out. Calls to my solicitor, agent, and perhaps my parents were on my growing to-do list although I had no interest in speaking with Colin. Hearing that he was alive eased my anxiety for a brief moment when Jason told us, but it hadn’t taken long for it to amp back up again, hearing he was already with another player.
The very thought that he could put another girl through what he did to me made me equally scared and furious.
There had to be something to stop Colin from mentally abusing females. I prayed that the physical abuse wasn’t something he would do to someone else. My parents didn’t care, but surely others would.
Looking out to the courts, I watched the teenage girls dancing around with their pretty designer tennis skirts, top brand racquet, and energy I remembered very well having at that age. That was when playing was the most fun, when there was no pressure of rankings, sponsor demands, and making it to the next grand slam.
“Hey, Jamie. Isn’t this exciting? So many kids have turned out for the round robin tournament,” Lake said, bouncing up beside me.
“I can’t believe the numbers. There must be at least forty kids here.”
And that was another reason for the nerves. Along with the players, there was also half the town and two media vans. Local news or not, the tournament was still going to be broadcasted on the news. I was still a little fuzzy on what Lake and the high school sports teacher expected from me. When I agreed to help, I really should have paid attention to the finer details and not on Chase and his hard cock digging into my butt.
“What is it you need me to do, Lake? You know I’m not a coach, right? Playing and coaching are two different things,” I said, biting my bottom lip. In the distance, I could hear a loud rumbling sound, but when Tate, holding baby Mason, sidled up on my other side, I blocked the noise out and cooed at the cute newborn.
“Hey, Tate. Oh, isn’t Mason cute in his little Dumbo onesie?” I exclaimed, laughing at the big fluffy wool ears that sat on either side of his tiny hood-covered head.
“I swear Dylan hasn’t stopped buying Mason themed clothes since he was born. He is on a Disney kick now, and with that new Marvel movie out, I’m terrified Mason is going to have a wardrobe full of Thor themed clothes,” Tate said, and even though she was laughing, I had an inkling she was being honest.
“Tate, just sit back and enjoy it, honey. Trust me when I say you will lose this battle and the war. Carson comes home with something just about every day for Bay. I have learned to just go with it.” Lake giggled. Her hand was on her flat stomach, laying over where the new little life was growing inside her.
An ache settled in my belly. I wanted babies, lots of them, and being with Chase these last few weeks cemented that. I had an IUD, which Colin suggested was the easiest form of contraception, and the doctor for the WTA agreed. Together, they convinced me that getting it would help my periods not be so debilitating, and, therefore, not affect my training time.
Hold your horses, Jamie. You haven’t been with Chase long enough to make decisions like having kids. Yes, he is in love with you and you with him. But you aren’t anywhere near that place in relationship for the baby talk. I reminded myself with a silent pep talk.
But I really wanted one just the same.
Tate had yet to relent her hold on her son to let me have a cuddle as yet, not that I blamed her. I wouldn’t hand over my baby either, but Mason was so adorable and so much like his dad you couldn’t help but want to hold him.
I was about to ask Tate if she wouldn’t mind if I had a cuddle when the rumbling noise grew louder and louder.
“Oh, be still my beating heart,” Tate said all of a sudden, and Lake let out an appreciative sigh.
“What? Who are they?” I asked breathlessly as four bikes—huge sexy bikes—pulled up in the school car park right in front of the sports clubroom verandah where I was currently hiding.
“They are the Wounded
Souls,” Lake announced dramatically. “The big sexy blond on the right is Booth, and he is married to Carson’s cousin.”
My eyes followed the man named Booth as he gracefully, and with a good dose of cockiness, dismounted from his Harley. The biker oozed confidence, and even though I was firmly and hopelessly in love with a certain fireman, I could see why Tate and Lake were suddenly speechless.
All four men now standing in front of their bikes were staring curiously at—me? Why were they staring at me? Frantically, I looked around the car park for Chase. Because of the wonderful community spirit of the town, the fire station crew were here with a few of the trucks, giving kids rides and letting them play with the sirens. Since Knox’s tragic passing, the town had really rallied around his family, and today was also a fundraising event for his mother. The guys offered their services in any way that could help, so the fire departments head office came up with the idea of a foot race. Each firefighter had to first dress in all their turnout gear as quickly as possible and then make a hundred-metre sprint with a rolled length of hose on their shoulders. Each man put in a hundred dollars to enter, and then anyone could place bets on them to win.
I had three hundred dollars on Chase being the winner, but now I would give a thousand for him to be right here with me, his arms around me, giving me that feeling of safety only his presence could bring me.
“G’day, Lake. Nice to see ya, darlin’,” the big, sexy blond greeted Lake with a devilishly handsome smile.
My God, he was beautiful.
“Hey, Booth, how are you doing? How are Stella and Gabriel?” Lake asked, hugging Booth.
“They are great, thanks, hon. Stells send her best, and congratulations on the happy news,” Booth said, pointing to Lake’s flat belly.
“I must ring her for a catch up soon. The flock and my two besties would be a fun night I’m guessing.”
One of the bikers groaned aloud, his head shaking back and forth, but the smirk on his face was nothing but indulgent.
“My Sweetness and her flock are nothing but bad news, Lake. If trouble can be found, they will find it.” The man speaking was massive and looked identical to Jason.
Ah, this must be the arsehole brother, I surmised.
Two other men joined us, and they were as different as night and day. One sported a severe military-style haircut and had a boy-next-door look to him. Unlike the others, I couldn’t see a tattoo anywhere on his skin.
The other was the same height, but his black hair was unruly and long, and he was covered in tattoos. His neck and both arms, and I had a pretty good idea that his body under his shirt and leather jacket, or cut as Jason informed me they were called other day when he brought Shiloh to Chase’s house, was covered in ink, too.
I also assumed from the heated looks they were giving each other they belonged together.
“Legs, stop drooling over the bikers. Those sexy eyes belong to me, along with your pussy, tits, and heart,” Chase whispered in my ear from behind me, making me jump nearly a foot in the air from surprise.
“Good grief, Chase, don’t sneak up on me like that,” I admonished him, my heart in my throat.
“I saw you checking Booth and Deck out, baby, and that is going to earn you a spanking,” Chase drawled, and just like that, I was wet.
“Oh, really, Chase.”
Turning my head, I came face-to-face with my gorgeous fireman, dressed in his blue uniform and looking sexy as hell. Forgetting the audience we had acquired, I pressed myself against his body. Bringing my face to his neck, I took a long lick of the muscled column and felt his pulse under my tongue.
“You keep promising me a spanking, but you have yet to deliver. Maybe I should do something really naughty and see if that gives me what I want,” I murmured in his ear so only he could hear me. I was getting much better at pushing his buttons and nearly got him to show his rougher side in bed, but his annoying and unwavering control kept him in check. Sooner or later, I was going to win, and until that happened, I was enjoying lighting an inferno in him with my new flirty side.
“Tonight, legs. You will get it tonight. Fair warning, gorgeous, I will take what’s mine in a way you never knew you wanted but will crave,” he promised me then kissed me hard on the mouth before pulling me to his side with his arm firmly and protectively around my waist.
“Good to see you, boys. You come to donate?” Chase asked in his usual friendly way, but his fingers tightening at my hip made me smile. He was such an alpha.
“Already done, Chase. The club gave ten grand to Knox’s mum. My wife arranged for meals to be delivered to her, as well as groceries for the next couple of months so she doesn’t have to worry about the small stuff for a while,” Booth said, shaking Chase’s hand.
I noticed the shit-eating grin on his face as he looked at the protective hold Chase had on me, and the blush that must have been covering my face by now brought a bubble of laughter from him.
“Calm down, mate. We are here to give your lady some information about her coach,” Deck said, breaking the tension.
“Ex-coach,” I replied automatically. No way was I going to be associated with Colin ever again.
“Ex-coach. I apologise, darlin’. So, Shiloh came home the other day and told us Jason made you cry. Nothing new there. My brother lost his softer side when his wife died giving birth to my daughter,” Deck explained, not that he had to. I understood Jason’s torment of feeling like he was alone in the world despite his family and friends around him.
“Ford,” Booth said, and the tattooed biker stepped forward, his man right behind him.
“Didn’t like what I found out about what went down for you back in Sydney. So, I did what I do best and made sure some important documents landed on the desk at the Australian Securities Exchange. As we speak, the ASX is filing a report into the dealings of your ex-coach. I also made sure his bank saw fit to freeze his bank accounts, and there also may have been a whisper or two in the right ears at Tennis Australia about his coaching methods. I’m sorry, but I can’t get any of your money back. Basically, there is none left, and he won’t have anything left once the ASX is finished with him. That money goes into a government-controlled account to cover his debts, and that is a line I won’t cross.”
It was just as well Chase had his arm around me because hearing what Ford just told me, I was about to fall to my knees in gratitude. Colin’s stealing and greed had caught up with him, thanks largely to Ford. I was happy to hear that—truly, I was. I earned that money, and he took it without my knowledge. It was my sweat and hard work he illegally benefited from.
But that didn’t make me as happy as knowing no teen girl was going to suffer under his cruel tutelage. Relief poured through me, knowing it was all over.
Well, there was still my parents.
“I see the wheels turning in that pretty head of yours, darlin’. I looked into your parents, too. Just give the word, and I can fuck up their lives, also.” Ford pulled an iPhone out of his pocket and swept his finger across the screen, then looked at me and waited.
Obviously, Ford was capable of doing what he said, getting Colin dealt with proved that, but did I want revenge for my parents’ neglect. What would it achieve at the end of the day? I was happy and in love with a man who would protect me for the rest of his life, a man I wanted to have a family with, wake up to his face every morning, and just… live.
Laying my head on Chase’s shoulder, I closed my eyes and sighed when his lips kissed the top of my head.
“No, Ford. No need to do that. The money for the house will run out eventually, and they will find out how hard it is to live without their meal ticket at their disposal.”
“Good enough, but the offer is always on the table. Nothing more fun than handing out a lesson to those who deserve it. Nice to meet you, Jamie. I saw you play on TV, and you have a great talent with a racquet. Seems a shame to walk away from it,” Ford said, giving me a weird chin lift motion. Then he turned and walked back to his
bike with his man close behind. It didn’t escape my attention the way their hands laced together for a brief moment. Love was definitely a beautiful thing.
“Okay. Well, see you good people later. I better go over and say hi to Carson, or else my wife will lecture me about my social skills or lack thereof. Also got a bit of good news for Hoove,” Booth said, turning his attention to Tate. “Wanna come with us so you can hear for yourself that the truck driver who hit you seems to have gotten a better offer in another town?”
“Yes,” Tate whispered quietly, holding Mason a little closer to her. As she walked off sandwiched in between Deck and Booth, both of them had a hand at the small of her back, guiding her down the few steps that led to the car park.
Sexy, hot, and caring. What a wonderful combination.
“You okay with all you just got told, baby?” Chase asked, wrapping himself around me, cocooning me.
Giving the bikers one last look, I faced Chase and smiled at him.
“Yeah, I am. Colin can’t hurt another young girl, and that is all that matters to me.”
“Fuck, you’re the sweetest. My bug would have absolutely loved you, baby.”
“Yeah, I would have loved her, too honey. With you as her father, I bet she was the most caring little girl imaginable.”
“That she was, legs,” Chase answered. Then we stopped talking for a few minutes while we lost ourselves in our kiss, righting my universe and repairing the damage I suffered for all those years.
“You like bikers, baby? Staring at them in front of me?” Chase delivered yet another stinging slap to my butt cheek, then soothed it with the palm of his hand.
I shook my head desperately back and forth, not able to even say a two-lettered word.
After Booth and his men left, Lake dragged me away from Chase and introduced me to Brooke’s tennis pals, and things went into full swing after that. One minute I was watching from the sidelines and signing the occasional autograph, and the next I had a racquet in my hand showing the girls everything from the correct way to serve, to how to play at the net.
From The Inferno (Firemen Do It Better Book 3) Page 19
