Possessive_A Bad Boy Second Chance Motorcycle Club Romance

by Kathryn Thomas

  “No, Leo, come back to bed…“ The one on the left stirred as she felt for his body with her eyes still closed.

  “Or at least get us a morning drink.” The second reached out her hand, touching the skin on his back. He felt nothing but fingernails and lotion.

  “Mmm… a mimosa would get me in the mood for another round.”

  “I’ll take a Bloody Mary, if you know how to make ‘em.”

  Leo jumped off the bed and tore off the covers, revealing the naked women who recoiled from the cold. The first girl sat up, blinking her eyes rapidly and then falling back on the pillow tops.

  “What are you doing? If you wanted to see me naked, you could’ve just asked.” She spread herself out for him to see and then reached back down towards the ground in search of where he had thrown the blanket.

  Leo watched them coldly. Just as he had at the hotel and with Lyanna, he came to the realization that he should have felt more—he should have wanted what was being offered. But all that he could think about was Bailey and her ‘S’ shaped body spread out on the center of those sheets.

  He barked at his guests, “Get out.” They did not move, “Get the fuck out of here before I call the cops.”

  The second one sat up suddenly, looking around the room in confusion. “What the hell, man? You drove us here. You wanted us. How the fuck are we supposed to get home?”

  “Taxi. Call one and get it here ASAP. I don’t wanna see you in my house in the next ten minutes, got it?” He found his black boxers on the bedroom floor and the pair of jeans in the empty hallway.

  He cried out into the silence of the estate, knowing what he would get, “Bailey? Are you here?” Only silence responded.

  Leo stormed out of the home and into the pool house. The door was unlocked and the lights were out. There wasn’t a sign of her. Still, he opened the door to her bedroom expecting to see her sitting in her bed, waiting for him to arrive for her. As he walked in, he tripped over the tattered quilt that had been laid upon her bed. He picked it up, folding it in his arms. She would not have left this behind. The way that it was tattered and frayed made it look too loved and important.

  But the only sign of her besides the quilt was a white pearl necklace sitting on the armoire with a post-it tacked on it. She had scribbled the name of Catherine Dawson along with an address. Was this an admission of guilt? Turning the beads over in his hand, Leo couldn’t see its worth. The pearls were faded and the string was splitting at the ends. The old hook didn’t even look to be true gold. Why would Bailey make off with something so insignificant? If she really was a thief, wouldn’t she have gone for something much more expensive? Wouldn’t she have at least tried to sell this thing?

  Leo walked back to the bed and placed his head in his hands. How could he find her when he couldn’t even understand her? His gaze darted between the wooden floorboards to a small piece of paper trapped between the cracks. It was an older photograph, one that had been faded by light and wear. He studied the photo of the older woman with the dark brown hair and apron and a small, smiling girl. Leo could tell by the blue sparkling eyes that it was Bailey. She looked to be about 7 years old, dressed in women’s clothing and makeup. The woman stood behind her with her arms tightly wound around Baily’s waist as both were laughing. He flipped the faded picture over to find cursive print:

  My dearest Bailey—

  This was one of my favorite pictures of you. You wearing my favorite pearl necklace and my drug store makeup. I couldn’t believe then how big you had gotten, and now I feel the same as you start college a married woman. Just know that I will always be proud of the woman you have become.

  Love you forever,

  —Nan

  Leo took one last glance at the photo and then stuffed it into his pants pocket along with the pearl necklace. He ran out towards the stables where the weekly gardeners were beginning to pack up their gear. He shouted at them, “Have you seen Bailey, Miss Reed? The housekeeper?”

  A portly man covered in grass clippings put down his shears and removed his hat as he answered. “She left an hour ago in a hurry,” he said. “She asked Tommy about the bus station in Cardiff.”

  Leo ran back inside still clutching the photograph, blanket, and necklace. He quickly changed into a shirt and exited the house without a moment to think of what he would do or say to win her back.

  The girls from last night were still standing on the porch smoking as they waited for their ride. Both looked more tired and haggard than Leo remembered. One of the blondes took notice of the man sprinting out the front door in a hurry. She cooed and touched his arm as he attempted to figure out which key went to the right lock, “Change your mind, honey? We would forgive you.”

  He elbowed her away, knocking the tipsy woman down to her feet. The other woman picked her up as each loudly protested their treatment once more. But Leo could not care. He had only one thing on his mind as he raced to unlock the car he parked in the lawn and then sped off towards the road.

  Bailey had been sitting on the wooden bench for over a half hour now. The next bus out of Chicago was still another forty minutes wait. She had already made a phone call to Lily’s home, explaining where she was going and promising to be present at her next check in two weeks from now. She had wanted to ask more, to check in on her girl, but the circumstances of her departure had probably already looked suspicious in their eyes, and she did not want to raise any more concern.

  She dialed a second number in her contacts and held her breath as the other line rang. A woman with a deep southern twang picked up without saying hello or asking who was calling.

  Bailey knew that she would have to take the lead on this, “Aunt Catherine? It’s Bailey.”

  Catherine was exasperated. She had no time for fools today, especially ones that had been giving her the runaround for months. Annoyed, she said, “I know who this is, girl. What do you have to say for yourself?”

  “I didn’t steal the necklace, Catherine. It was mine. She gave it to me. It was a gift for my high school graduation. I am sorry if you think that I am not being honest about this.” Bailey was calm and resolved. She had wanted to make this phone call the minute she had left the home, but she could never get the courage. Leo’s anger exercises had forced her to work through her fear of confrontation.

  “Why would she give it to you? I mean, you’re the one who made the mistake of having a baby you couldn’t afford and marrying the first guy to knock you up. You were a failure—and your grandma knew it. That necklace belongs to my family.”

  “Like it or not,” Baily seethed through clenched teeth, “I'm your family. But since you can't see that, I’m giving up. It’s yours. Take it. I know my grandma loved me. I know she was proud of me. And I know that if she was watching us right now, she would be happier with me than she would've been of her own sister.” Bailey explained where she had left the necklace with instructions on how to contact Jonathan for the keys. When she was done, she hung up the phone and turned her attention to the group of people joining her on her trip out of the city.

  “Bailey!” A man’s head poked above the rest of the group as he struggled to push through the crowd and newly forming line before the bus. “Bailey!”

  She avoided him, standing in line instead with her box and backpack. Leo grabbed her arm, gently pulling her out from the crowd. “I have to talk to you.” He looked around at the scene. His actions had caused the group of people to stare. Some even recognized him as they pointed and snapped photos with their phones.

  “There’s nothing to say. You know now, and I'm a liar.”

  “No, Bailey, you’re not. I know you didn’t steal the necklace. I found this.” He reached into his pockets and handed her the folded up picture. It was one of the few that she had carried from house to house, but now she remembered the note on the back.

  She began to understand. She was not fired over having concealed her daughter. It was Catherine. She had managed to convince Jonathan that she had
stolen from her. Leo had just been another pawn in her game.

  “How did you find this?” She asked him breathlessly.

  “I came looking for you. I couldn’t let you go. I can’t. I need you Bailey. you're the one who keeps me from running, and I wanna do the same for you.”

  “I can’t be with you, Leo.” She lowered her voice as she realized that their conversation wasn’t their own. “I married an addict before. I know what it’s like. I can’t do that again. I can’t change you.”

  “No, I know that.” Leo continued to hold her shoulders in place, refusing to let her go from him.

  Bailey continued, not letting him stop her. “Joe -- he did things to me. He made my life a living hell. It wasn’t just the alcohol. It was him too. I don’t know you. I don’t know who you are when you’re not drinking. I can’t trust you to be the person I need you to be without the booze.”

  Leo looked at her, seeing the person she was for the first time. She too was just as broken and afraid as he was. She may have been emotionally stronger than he was. But he wanted to be there, to go all in for her. Together, they were too wandering souls just waiting to collide.

  “Just listen to me, Bailey,” he pleaded with her. “Please!” She stopped turning towards the idling bus and waited, but she didn’t turn back to him just yet. “It’s like you said,” he continued. “People only change when they have something to change for. I wanna change for you. I want you to be that person for me. Please. Bailey. I wanna try. Let me prove to you that we can do this.”

  Bailey about-faced and looked at him hard. She was skeptical; she’d heard this promise before. “Are you really serious?” she asked, her eyes ferocious. “I mean, are you truly ready to make this right for both of us?”

  “I am. Would I have brought this if I wasn’t?” He handed her the pearl necklace. “If I didn’t trust you, or if I would have just believed everything Jonathan and that woman told me, I would've given this back to her. I wouldn’t be standing here asking for you to see me for the person I am. But I promise you that I'm gonna give you all of me. I am going to protect you as long as you promise to open up and let me in.”

  She stood there motionless looking towards the ground as he waited. Every part of her was telling her to run, yet her legs remained still. Her heart beat quicker. Her pulse raced. But a calm she had not known in years had washed over her. Something about him felt right, and she was not about to give that up.

  He slipped the necklace around her neck, moving the hair from off her neck and then lifting her head to face him. “This necklace belongs to you. And now, so do I.” He kissed her hard, as she found herself circling his neck with her own arms as her box dropped to the ground.

  Leo was only partially right. The necklace was hers, but she was as much his. Bailey was going to get in the ring once more—to fight for the ones she cared for.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Leo crumbled the brown envelope in his hands as he attempted to figure out what his next moves were. Jonathan and him were not on speaking terms ever since he invited Bailey, his former maid, back to live with him. His agent was still suspicious that she was the thief her great-aunt had accused her of being and had refused to answer Leo’s few phone calls since the day he went chasing after her.

  Now, Leo had finally gotten the package he had expected to come, and he wasn’t sure what to do. This was something that Jonathan had always handled in the past.

  “Hey, Bailey?” he called to the mousey brown-haired woman lounging on the side of his black leather couch. She turned his way, her blue eyes lighting up with a smile just for him. He made an excuse. “Mail’s on the table, so you know. There’s—uh—there’s something there for you. But I have to go give my trainer a call. I want to see if he can come in next week to start working out. I’ll be in the upstairs office.”

  He hated lying to her. When he had finally convinced her to move in with him, they both had made promises to remain honest with each other at all time, especially as Leo attempted to finally sober up in earnest. Yet here he was, a week into his recovery (led almost entirely by Bailey), and he was already sneaking out to his office to conceal his actions. These guilty pangs were rather new to him—lying always seemed almost like second nature—but he simply couldn’t escape the feeling that what he was doing could put their new relationship in jeopardy.

  “Okay, Leo. I’ll start dinner. Steak sandwiches sound okay?” Bailey stretched her arms out wide and shook out her legs. It had been a while since she had taken a day off. Relaxing on Leo’s couch as they watched movies together made her feel something completely different—almost normal.

  She thought of their long nights together, her nude form enveloped in his, almost holding on for dear life—as if they had each finally found something worth holding onto. She smiled warmly as she thought of the fire between them, the heat… his hands pulling her hair, his hard, muscular body slamming against her breasts, his rough, unsubtle hands wrapping almost entirely around her slender waist as she gave herself to him. She loved letting him take her however he asked. He knew far more than she did, and she was always the willing student. But in spite of his great experience, it was she who always wanted another round with him.

  Leo nodded and then turned and raced up the stairs. His feet couldn’t catch the stairs fast enough. He slipped into the office, closing the door behind him. The old room belonged to his father. He hadn’t dared enter since Bailey arrived. But she had convinced him to remove the white sheets from the room and open the drapes once more. The mahogany desk in the center of the room almost shone in the natural light from the large rectangular window. He sat down in the leather armchair and pulled out his phone. He dialed Jonathan’s cell first and then tried his office number.

  A woman with a squeaky voice answered. “Jeannie? It’s Leo Connelly. Is Jonathan in?”

  “Mr. Winters is in a meeting now. He’ll be out all day, Mr. Connelly.” Leo could tell she was lying. He had called the office enough times to know that Jeannie always patched him through, even when he was busy or with another client.

  “Jeannie, that’s bullshit. Please put me through. It’s an emergency.” Leo tried not to raise his voice to the woman, but his frustration was mounting.

  He heard a click as the phone went to the sounds of the on-hold music. Leo stood up as he paced, waiting for someone to return back to the line. His eyes glanced to the topless woman in the photograph. She was as fuckable as the day it was taken, but it didn’t matter what she looked like. It was what else was in the picture he was concerned over.

  When the phone clicked over once more, he was surprised to not hear Jeannie’s voice. “You don’t know how to take a hint, do you?” Jonathan was irritated. He had wanted nothing to do with Leo until he had calmed down. But apparently, he was going to have to deal with him now. “What the hell did you do now? Is the maid still alive?”

  “Funny, Jonathan. She’s still here, and she’s not my maid anymore.”

  “Yeah, sure. Okay. When you’re done screwing the help, I’m ready to be your agent again. Got it, Leo?” Jonathan had had plenty of clients attempt to start relationships with their maids or assistants. From his experience, it had never worked out and he was forced to pay off the majority of them to keep them out of the press.

  “Listen. I got an envelope in the mail today. No return address. Just a note and a picture of me and Layana on that boat in the Atlantic. There’s a timestamp in the corner.” Leo knew Jonathan would catch on. The other line went silent as his agent tried to piece it together. Leo pulled out the note and began to read out loud the scribbled cursive letter:

  Dear Mr. Connelly,

  We’re sure the courts or the Commissioner wouldn’t be too happy to see this or the other 20 photos we have. $5 million in 20 days, or we send to the prosecutor. Call 555-674-9099 to make arrangements.

  “Please tell me you didn’t call that number,” Jonathan’s voice had peaked.

  “No. I called you right
away. I didn’t know what else to do.”

  “Meet me at my condo on Tenth Street tomorrow. We’ll talk there. I don’t want to try to hash this out over the phone.”

  The two hung up as Leo raced out of the office, down the stairs, and to the main entryway. Without looking towards the living space, he called out towards Bailey to let her know he was going out for a bit. He used his trainer as an excuse again. It was just another lie in his new tally. But he needed to get out of his mansion. He needed to calm himself down before he was driven to drink from the stress. He knew that any bit of anger or anxiety would drive him off the edge. He couldn’t bear to let Bailey see it happen.

  Instead, he would go on a run. He hadn’t forced himself to workout in years, let alone go on a run around the grounds. However, he could think of nothing that would lower his stress other than finding the photographer blackmailing him and punching his lights out. This was going to have to do.

  Leo grabbed an old pair of sneakers from a hallway closet and opened the door to the fresh morning air. His feet could barely touch the ground as he began to jog. The wind rustled through his hair, the sun beat down. And soon, the memories from that day in the ocean floated back to him as his pace picked up…