by Kay Maree
I paused to take another drink. “He had his men beat me, all the while telling me what he did to Josefina before he sold her to some other fucker who used her so hard she died.” I stopped talking. I just couldn’t say another damn word.
“He lied to you.”
I nodded.
“Did you know she would be in that warehouse before you saw her?”
I nodded again. “A few hours before we stormed the warehouse, we found out that he’d lied. He’d kept her all these years as his personal toy. Until that day. That day he’d handed her over to his men, men who had been wanting a piece of her for the last seventeen years. We were too late. She died in my arms.”
I shook myself and stood, pacing across the porch.
“When I first saw you in that filthy room, you reminded me of her. They’d knocked you down but you were still ready to fight. Josefina had been like that when I’d first met her. Her clothes had been torn up, she was coming down off whatever drugs they’d given her, but she still put up a fight against Gino, the man I was with when we found her. Then, in the van, you were surrounded by big, tough men who you knew could cause harm yet you stood your ground—”
Her chuckle cut me short, and I spun to look at her.
“I was hardly brave, Blade. I was desperate and happy to beg for what I needed. I knew if I was given to the authorities I’d end up back with my mother, who’d just sell me all over again. Anything was better than that.”
“What about your father?”
I wondered if she even knew who he was. With a wince, she shrugged a shoulder. “Never met him. Mom told me he’d rather see me dead than have me in his presence, so I’m happy to never go down that road.”
Fuck, she’d struck out in the parent department big time.
“I’m sorry, Sparrow. I at least had my mom. She loved me as much as she could while being under my dad’s thumb.”
“What happened to her and your brother?”
I smiled, for probably the first time in a week. “They’re fine. Not long after everything went down with Josefina, I got new identities for them and helped them sneak out of my father’s house. They’re nowhere near California and have lived peaceful lives for a long time. I check in with them a couple of times a year.”
“It must be hard to not see them. You should bring them here. They’d be safe here.”
I chuckled. “I like that you have so much faith in the Charons, honey, but they’re happy where they are. I wouldn’t want to uproot them and make them start over again. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“I’d suggest you could go to them, but I get the feeling you don’t want to leave here. I know Mac doesn’t want you to.”
I gave her a raised eyebrow. “You see too much, kid.”
She shrugged her shoulder and took a sip of her own iced tea as we both fell into a comfortable silence, staring out at the trees and shit that surrounded the yard. It was strange that I somehow felt lighter for having shared what I had with Sparrow. I just hoped I hadn’t given the kid a whole slew of new nightmares to suffer though.
Mac strode out a few minutes later and from the look on his face, I suspected he’d been inside eavesdropping on our conversation. Not that I blamed him. He’d taken Sparrow in fully and was being a protective father for her.
That got me thinking about how Mac had been treating me since I got burned.
“Mac, you know I didn’t do that shit on purpose, right? The can slipped in my grip and splashed every-fucking-where. After I lit the room up a spark came my way and I’d forgotten that I was soaked in gas when I tried to bat it away from me. I’ve never once been suicidal in my life.”
He gave me a nod. “I was worried that shit with your girl had broken you.” He heaved out a heavy sigh. “How about we hit Styx tonight? Change of scenery from the clubhouse.”
I huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, brother, the club-owned bar is gonna be a real change of pace from the bar in the clubhouse.”
Only change I could see going in was that I’d be paying for my drinks while they’d been free at the clubhouse, but whatever. If Mac wanted to head out, I’d join him. It probably was time I got out and started interacting with people in the real world anyhow. Making decisions about what I wanted to do with the rest of my life now that I wasn’t bound to Antonio.
Veronica
In the ten days since I’d treated Mr. Jared Walker, I hadn’t been able to shake him from my mind. It was insane. More than once, he’d filled my dreams, which I will admit, was a welcome relief from the nightmares that usually filled my nights. But it still had me on edge. I’d never actually been with a lover of my own choosing, never wanted to. After escaping, my whole world had been solely about staying hidden and surviving. In my experience, sex was just something a man forced upon a woman when he wanted it.
My body convulsed as a vision of my uncle looming over me filled my mind. Bile rose up my throat and I rushed to the bathroom, barely making it in time before I emptied my stomach. By the time I washed my face and stared in the mirror at my pale reflection, I wondered if going out tonight was a bad idea. Maybe I should stay in.
The timer on my phone chimed, letting me know I only had ten minutes before the girls would be here to pick me up. I couldn’t cancel. If I did, there’d be even more questions that I didn’t want to answer. In the seven years I’d been in Bridgewater, I’d made a few friends among the staff at the hospital, but I’d never let anyone all the way in. My secrets stayed with me, locked away.
With a huff, I dried my face and set about quickly fixing my makeup, hoping by the time the others got here, they wouldn’t notice I’d been sick. It wasn’t often a flashback got to me enough to make me physically ill, but I’d been preoccupied with thoughts of Jared and had not been paying attention to where my mind was heading until it was too late.
“Stop it.”
Blowing out a breath, I forced my thoughts away from the past. Nothing good would ever come from it. By the time a horn honked out the front, I was as ready as I was going to be. Snatching up my purse, I headed out my front door, carefully locking things up before heading toward the little hatchback waiting for me.
Pulling open the rear door, I slid in and couldn’t help but smile. Sophie and Laura both beamed big grins at me.
“You ready for some biker eye candy, girl?”
Laura scoffed at Sophie’s question. “Girlfriend’s been hankering for a more classy type of candy than biker.”
Naturally, they’d both caught wind of my treating Jared and had teased me about it ever since.
“I doubt I’ll ever see him again. He was just another patient.”
That thought had me torn. It was probably for the best. My life didn’t have room in it for a romantic entanglement, but on the other hand, when I’d been close to him, I’d felt alive. Something about his striking blue eyes drew me in and I was helpless to stop it. Well, until he touched me. Then I’d behaved like a frightened mouse. I’m sure if I did see him again, he’d either laugh at the memory, or not remember me at all.
Sophie wriggled her eyebrows in the rear-view mirror at me as she pulled up into the parking lot of Styx.
“Well, let’s see if we can find you something down and dirty to distract you tonight.”
Since it was only a little past eight on a Thursday night, the parking lot was about half full, and that included a very nice lineup of Harleys that I took my time walking past. So much chrome to keep clean and polished. I couldn’t help but wonder if these men would treat a woman like they treated their bikes? Or were all men more like my uncle?
Squeezing my eyes closed for a moment, I forced those thoughts away. Not tonight. I wasn’t going to allow myself to fall down that hole tonight.
When an arm hooked behind mine, my eyes flipped open to see Sophie’s worried face.
“Babe, you know we’re just joking, right? We’re gonna go in, sit at our usual table, have a few drinks and watch al
l the untouchable bikers for a few hours before we all head home again. No pressure to even talk to one of them.”
I patted her hand. She was a good friend and I wished I wasn’t so messed up. Wished I could find a way to explain why I was the way I was, without revealing the reason why. She knew something had happened to me. She and Laura both had nailed that down early on in our friendship, but I’d never offered up the information and thankfully, they’d never pushed me for it.
“I’m good. Just needed a moment. Hey, how long do you think those guys have to spend polishing their bikes? Some of them have a serious amount of chrome on them.”
Laura came and took Sophie’s other arm. “I think they’re compensating for something. Like the shinier the bike, the smaller the—” She winked at us without finishing her sentence before we broke apart and went through the door into the dimly lit interior of the bar.
I liked coming into Styx, it held a lot of charm. And it didn’t try to pretend to be something it wasn’t. So many bars tried to make themselves into night clubs, but not Styx. The music was old-school rock and it wasn’t turned up to a level that would leave your ears bleeding. The lighting was dim, but not so dark you couldn’t see the person next to you. The bar and tables were made out of polished timber and the chairs and stools were all sturdy enough to hold the weight of the largest of bikers. The clientele suited me too. They were rough and real. No fancy businessmen in suits and ties came here. The other thing I loved, was everyone left you alone. The three of us came in at least a couple times a month and sat at our table to watch those around us and never once had anyone bothered us.
Following our usual routine, we went to the bar, ordered drinks then made our way to our table, which, thankfully was empty. Once I slid onto the seat, I put my purse in the center of the table. Sophie and Laura did the same thing. Then, after sucking down the first icy-cold mouthful of my gin and tonic, I took in the scenery for the first time.
Styx was one of the few places I didn’t scope out the moment I entered. From the first time I’d come in, I’d felt safe here. It also helped that I knew nothing on this earth could entice my upper-class uncle to come in here for any reason.
So that’s how I ended up with a mouthful of liquid when I saw him. The shock of seeing those striking blue irises staring straight at me had my breath catching. Then, because I hadn’t swallowed the mouthful of my drink I’d taken, I half choked on it. Grabbing a napkin, I tried to not attract too much attention but it was getting a little late for that. Laura was thumping my back and Sophie was nearly peeing herself with laughter. My eyes were blurry from unshed tears and my sinuses were stinging from being doused in alcohol.
Finally, I stopped coughing and could take a damn breath.
“Here, darlin’, drink some water.” Nitro, the tall biker who was manning the bar more often than not when we came in, had come over, setting down a tall glass of ice water in front of me. I could feel the heat in my cheeks and knew I must look a hot mess. My eyes most likely were all red from the tears, my cheeks pink with embarrassment. I hoped that my mascara held and I didn’t also have raccoon eyes going on to top off my look.
After a couple mouthfuls of water I cleared my throat. “Thanks. Turns out breathing liquid doesn’t end well.”
Once he was convinced I was going to be okay, he chuckled at my words before he turned and returned to his place behind the bar.
“Oh, hell, that was so damn embarrassing. I’m just gonna go into the bathroom and see what the damage is.”
Laura and Sophie were both trying—poorly—to contain their laughter as those around us got back to what they’d been doing before I put on a show. I shook my head at them as I stood, grabbed my purse and headed for the bathroom.
Thanks to my mascara living up to its promise of being tear-proof, it didn’t take me long to wipe my eyes—carefully, because I only had so much faith in that waterproof mascara—and be on my way back out to my girls.
“Oh.”
He was there waiting, casually leaning against the wall opposite the bathroom door. At my gasp, his gaze snapped up and caught mine. My heart started racing as he tilted his head and kept looking at me.
“You okay?”
I cleared my throat. “Uh, yeah. Accidentally breathed in some of my drink. Not my finest moment.”
His lips quirked up but the smile didn’t hold.
“I wanted to apologize for last week at the hospital. I didn’t mean to freak you out. Not sure why I even did it, to be honest.”
As much as I was impressed he even remembered me, I didn’t want him feeling guilty over something that should have been a non-issue.
“Listen, Jared—”
“It’s Blade.”
I frowned. “Huh?”
“My name. It’s Blade. No one calls me Jared anymore.”
“Oh, ah, okay, well, Blade, it wasn’t your fault. I, ah, I have some history that makes me a little more skittish than your average woman. I didn’t mean to react like I did and I’m sorry it’s had you worrying about me. Really, I’m fine.”
He nodded. “I’ll believe you if you let me take you out on a date so I can apologize properly.”
My mind spun. A date? I’d basically just admitted I was a nut job and he wanted to what? Date me?
“Are you mad?”
He chuckled, the deep sound vibrating down my spine. “I’ve been called worse. So, will you let me take you out? We can meet somewhere, if you’d prefer. Keep it all in public and safe.”
I shook my head. “I don’t date.”
His forehead crinkled. “What the hell do you mean you don’t date? You’re beautiful and young. How the fuck don’t you date? I would have thought you’d be beating men off with a stick.”
He was stubborn. I barely knew this man. And you won’t if you don’t give him a chance. Apparently my subconscious was lonely. Or horny. Maybe both. He’d offered to meet me somewhere public. Maybe if we kept it to daylight hours, it might work. He wouldn’t try anything handsy if we were in public in the day time, surely?
“Okay, no date. How about coffee, then? You working Saturday?”
I couldn’t hold in my smile at this man’s persistence. It seemed he really wanted to see me again. I sincerely hoped I wouldn’t regret this…
“Okay. Ten-thirty, Marie’s Cafe, this Saturday.”
He gave me a grin and a nod, but didn’t reach for me. “Thank you, baby. You won’t regret it.”
I winced at the endearment I hated with a passion. “Please don’t call me that.”
He cocked his head. “You mean all endearments or just baby?”
“Just that one. I’m born and bred Texan, so trust me, I’m used to endearments in general. It’s just that one I don’t like.”
He gave me another nod. “I’ll need to think of something else then, something special.” He held me with his gaze as he stood away from the wall and moved slowly closer to me. My breath caught in my throat as my heart pounded against my ribs. My gaze dropped to his lips, which were surrounded by a short beard. They looked soft. Was he going to kiss me? Did I want him to? I was stuck. I had no clue what to do, what I wanted. With a whimper I bit at my lower lip and lifted my gaze back to his. Those striking blue irises of his caught my full attention and calmed my mind.
When he got too close for me to stay focused on, my eyes slid shut, waiting for him to do whatever it was he was going to. The soft hair of his beard tickled my skin a moment before his lips, which were as soft as they looked, pressed a gentle kiss to the side of my temple.
“Till Saturday, my little dove.”
Be still my heart.
Blade
Walking away from Veronica last night was one of the hardest things I’d ever done. The woman was as sweet as she was skittish. There was definitely something going on under the surface with her. I wasn’t sure if she was on the run and hiding, or if it was something simpler like her last boyfriend bein
g a fucking bastard to her. Either way, I wanted to find out more, if I could, before I met her tomorrow at Marie’s Cafe.
That was why I was up earlier than usual this morning and jogging down the stairs to the lower level of the clubhouse. I’d spoken with Keys last night before leaving Styx and he’d told me to meet him in his office at ten. When I got to his office, I knocked on the open door before I made my way in. He was behind his desk, intently staring at the laptop screen in front of him.
“Hey, Keys.”
He tapped away for a few more seconds before he stopped and switched his focus to me.
“How serious are you about this girl?”
I took a seat and leaned back before answering him. “Not sure. Only met her twice. We have some killer chemistry but she’s skittish as hell. My instincts say there’s something deeper going on with her.” I shrugged a shoulder. “Mac mentioned your club likes to keep tabs on women who might be running from something, so even if she and I don’t pan out, I think it’s something worth checking into.”
Keys nodded. “Yeah, after everything that went down with Zara, Mercedes, and a few of the other women around town, we started thinking it would be a good idea for us to be a little more proactive in sensing these threats before they hit us.” He paused for a minute, looking to his screen again and hitting a few keys.
“My old lady, Donna, is a nurse up at the hospital. I asked her about your Veronica but she hasn’t had much to do with her. Guess the younger ones do their own thing outside of work. She did say that she’s never seen her cause trouble and she’s always done a good job whenever Donna’s worked with her. So with that being a dead end, I headed to the web.”
He stopped and gave me a raised eyebrow which just frustrated the fuck out of me.
“And? What have you found?”
“Turns out, you’re right. Veronica Jones ain’t her real name. Not sure what her real one is just yet, but the Veronica identity was a budget job. Easy to pick it’s fake with a little digging. However, it’s taking me a little longer to dig up her real identity. When are you seeing her again?”
