by Eve R. Hart
“You do know that he is just gonna to get them in trouble, right? He is gonna convince them to do somethin’ and they will follow along thinkin’ it’s a great idea,” I said, raising a brow at Cal.
“Yeah, but at least they will come back with one hell of a story.” Cal gave me an all too knowing look. “You can go with him. Play chaperone, then.” I gave a nod, knowing it was an order under the joking tone. “I’ll call up the brothers and make sure they don’t have anythin’ goin’ on this week. Hell, they might put you to work. Heard Snaps broke his leg and Saint is spendin’ time in jail for a bar fight or somethin’.”
“Shit…” I said, rubbing the scruff on the side of my face. “You needed to talk?” I wanted to get this over with and get home. I wanted to shower and then plant my ass on the couch in front of the TV.
“Yeah, let’s go to my office.”
We walked the hall back to his office. I shut the door behind me and took a seat in front of his cheap, rickety desk. He flopped down in the worn leather chair on the other side and leaned his forearms on the top of the desk.
“We got a problem outside with the pipeline,” Cal started. “Officer Lars is no longer on the force and they are steppin’ things up in Richmond County. Gonna have to find another way down to the coast.” I let out a long breath knowing this would add close to another hour to the ride.
We had made contacts over the years. In most counties, we had help and people we paid to turn a blind eye to our runs. Officer Lars had been looking the other way for a hefty two grand every time he caught us. Sometimes we were lucky to sneak by. But most of the time it was like he had some sort of sixth sense to when we were riding through. With him gone, that meant that we would have to find another way. And if it came to it, hope that we could find someone desperate enough to corrupt.
“I’m gonna talk to Crow, have him set up a new route. He’ll let you know when he figures it out. Just wanted to give you the heads up.”
“When’s the next ride?” I asked.
“Three weeks. Sendin’ you, Diesel and I’m thinkin’ Stone, too. You gonna take two of the prospects. I’ll see how things are here before I decide who else,” he said, giving me a nod that let me know he was done talking. I stood and gave him a chin lift in return.
“Gonna spend tomorrow fixin’ some things around Ethel’s house. Chris is sick, so might have to work at the bar. Take it easy.” I walked out and closed the door behind me.
“Oh, hey Loch.” I turned to see Melody, Stone’s old lady, walking out of the kitchen. “I heard you were here. I saved you some leftovers and I made up a pan for Ethel, too.”
“You are too good to us, Mel.” I kissed her cheek and followed her into the kitchen. She was pretty much like the den mother. Always fretting over all the brothers and making sure we all had the right advice and full stomachs.
After loading up my bike and two pans of lasagna in my truck, I headed home.
Moon Hill was right off the old two-lane highway. There were no markers or signs indicating there was a town off of the upcoming ramp. Blink and you fucking missed it. The main road was shaped like a big stretched out staple. It took you off the highway then dumped you back out on it at the end of town. The club owned the only gas station with a small garage attached. It was the first thing you hit when you pulled off. Keep driving, you hit the big, country style mansions of the upper classes. The roads always spider-veined off to the right, away from the highway.
Then you hit two blocks of, what I guessed you could call, the downtown area. The only shops and stores were nestled there in old brick rows of buildings lining both sides of the street. The building that held the small grocery store and the diner was the only thing on the left side of the road. There was a small bookstore, a deli, a few boutiques, a hair salon, and a bakery. The community center was the last of the second block of buildings. The town liked to be social. It always seemed like there was something going on there most nights. Weave your way behind the shops and there were the schools. The town was so small there were only two separate buildings. One that held first through sixth grade and the other seventh and up. Past that was streets filled with single-family homes. Most of them having been passed down within the family for generations. Keep going and the yards become more overgrown and the houses less kept. The lots start to become empty and dry grass filled the areas in between the rocky dirt.
Then there was the sad building that seemed to come out of nowhere, my bar. The only one in town. It was in my name, but it was for the club. It was a crappy building that I was surprised was still standing. A little ways past the bar was the club compound. There was a line of trees on the opposite side of the main road, concealing the compound from the highway. The trees grew thicker as you pulled out of town. Somewhere, hidden right before you pulled out of town was the town shut-in and meanest drunk I’d ever met. The only reason he was still alive was because Axe had said to leave him alone. But that is not my story to tell.
I parked in my driveway then cut across the lawn to Ethel’s place next door, balancing the pan in one hand. I knocked three times and waited for her cheerful reply before she opened the door.
“I don’t have time for whatever you’re sellin’!” she yelled before pulling the door open. Once she saw my face, she flashed me a giant smile and waved me in. “Oh, Nathan. So good to see you. Did you bring me food?” She eyed the pan in my hand with a wide smile.
“Sure did. Mel made you some. Only gotta heat it up in the oven a bit.” She took the tray and I followed her through the house and into the kitchen. She poured me a fresh cup of sweet tea. After I thanked her, I leaned against the counter as I drank it.
Ethel was a vibrant seventy-something lady. She never let age slow her down. I’d lived next to her all my life, and after my parents died I decided to stay there. Even though it was hard losing both my parents at seventeen, I was glad I had Ethel. Something about her being right next door seemed like home. There I was, thirty-nine and it still felt that way. I watched out for her and she did the same for me and the club. She would always tell me stories of my parents and constantly relived my childhood with me. It helped keep me from forgetting them; which, deep down, was always a fear.
“You want to stay here and eat?” she said, messing with the knobs for the oven.
“Nan, we need to call a plumber. The shower upstairs is dripping and I couldn’t get any hot— Oh!” The voice caught me off guard and I turned around with a jerk.
My breath caught for a second as my eyes landed on the source of the beautiful voice. She quickly pulled the mesh bag of laundry up to cover herself. Her chin dipped down, obstructing my view of her face. Through her dark blond curtain of hair, I could see a tiny sliver of a blue eye peeking out at me.
“Don’t mind him, Reagan. He’s… what you kids call it these days…? Oh, right, a man-whore. He’s not fazed by what little you’re wearing,” Ethel said, and I nearly choked on my spit. I shouldn’t have been surprised though; Ethel was a real spitfire and never held her tongue. “You know in my day we called that a stud. Damn feminist…” she went on mumbling. Going on about how now women have to share their rightfully earned “whore title” with men.
“Nan!” Reagan lifted her face in surprise at Ethel’s words. Then I saw it. Her face had brown and yellowish bruises that looked like that had been a lot worse at one time. My eyes trailed down to her neck where she had distinct finger marks as well. Before I could say anything, she hid her face again as Ethel stepped beside me.
“You remember my granddaughter, Reagan, right?” Ethel said. I closed my mouth tight and give a firm nod. “Been, what, five years?”
I remembered seeing Reagan throughout the years. But she was never here that long at any one given time. I’d always seen her as some kid. Never really paid any attention to her. Until that moment. She wasn’t a kid anymore. Her round face had thinned out into more of a heart shape. Her lips were now full and luscious. Her awkward, lanky body was now lean a
nd curvy in all the right places. As I scanned the length of her body, taking in the woman before me, I felt like a dirty old man. Then I felt like a jackass, quickly remembering the bruises that covered her beautiful face.
“What happened?” I asked, my tone a little harsher than I meant for it to be.
“Oh, I was mugged. At a rest stop. My face got the worst of it. I got away.” Reagan said, her words were rushed and choppy, and then ducked her face down again. I could tell she was lying, but I thought better than to say anything at that moment. I glanced over at the old woman and saw it in her eyes; the look that said there was more going on but she didn’t know what.
Maybe it was that I was just a sucker for a sad story. Maybe it was the knight in me wanting to save the damsel in distress. Maybe it was the different colors swirling in her eyes that seemed to pull me in. But something in me tightened. I stepped closer to Reagan and her breath hitched as she looked up at me. Her eyes were beautiful. I had never seen anything like them. The grayish-blue color was striking. But what got me was the burst of hazel and green that stretched out from the middle. One eye was heavier with green while the other was lighter with more hazel.
I heard Ethel shuffle off in the background, but I couldn’t break the trance I had on Reagan. Something about it felt a little wrong. She was so young. Someone like her would never look twice at an old man like me. Not to mention that I wasn’t the best of people. Without thinking, I reached up and lightly cupped her face. The pads of my thumbs brushed softly over some of the bruising on her cheeks. Her pink, pouty mouth parted slightly.
“Never again,” I whispered, before pulling myself out of my daze. In my mind, I had made a vow to always keep her safe. I dropped my hands from her face and cleared my throat. Taking a few steps back, I turned to Ethel as she pretended to make herself busy in the kitchen. I had no doubt she knew what she was doing.
“I’ll be by in the mornin’. I’ve got some stuff I was gonna do over here. I’ll fix the bathroom, too.” Ethel gave me a warm smile and a nod. I turned and headed out the front door without one last glance at Reagan. I couldn’t shake the hold that she had on me. I was afraid if I turned around I’d be sucked back in.
CHAPTER TWO
Reagan
I don’t think I breathed until after the door shut behind him. I did remember him, the man from next door. I remembered I used to watch him with excessive curiosity as he fixed his bike in his driveway. I remembered seeing him when I was younger, wondering about what he did and who he was. I always wondered why he was overly protective and taken with Nan. But, I’d never been close and personal with him like I was a moment ago. And never in my life had ever felt the way I felt when he touched me. Something I couldn’t explain. My knees wobbled and I felt shaky all over.
His short brown hair was now peppered with white and he had a patch on either side of his head where his temples were. His hair was shorter on the sides, parted carelessly on the side, and left somewhat unruly. I itched to run my fingers through it. A god’s face on top of a strong body and I wondered what his defined muscles looked like under his shirt. His lips were full and his brown eyes swirled with intensity as he looked down at me. A scar across one brow that somehow managed to make him even more rugged and sexy.
After a few frozen seconds, I shook my head and continued on my way to the laundry room. Unfortunately, in my hasty retreat from my apartment, I didn’t get a chance to grab any clothes. Which meant I was down to the one outfit I had been wearing at that moment. Luckily, my messiness paid off, and I was able to find a few things in the backseat of my car. It wasn’t much, and after being at Nan’s for three days, I was definitely running out of clean clothes to wear. Which had left me walking around in a thin, light pink shirt and a pair of cotton lounge shorts. Not much covering me and if it wasn’t for that laundry bag, I was sure he would have seen my hard nipples clear as day.
“You hungry?” Nan called out. “Nathan brought some food.” I moved to sit at the table as she placed two steaming plates of lasagna down. I did my best to push Nathan out of my head and bite my tongue to all the questions I wanted to ask about him.
Later that night, I tossed and turned in bed. Visions of what happened flashed through my mind every time I closed my eyes. Liz sprawled out on her bed. Her eyes glassy and blank. The fear shot through me with the same paralyzing feeling it did that night. I kept telling myself that I was safe here. That he didn’t know that much about me and that he wouldn’t come looking. However, the more I tried to convince myself of that, the more I felt the opposite was true. My eyelids finally gave in sometime in the early morning hours.
I woke to a clinking bang followed by a deep voice muttering profanity. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and swung my feet off the bed. I wasn’t sure what time it was. Yawning, I pulled on my clothes, making sure to cover myself more than last night. I glanced in the mirror over the dresser to make sure my hair wasn’t a wild halo around my head.
The girl that peered back at me looked strange. The fading bruises and puffy skin wasn’t the only thing I saw. No, there was something deeper. The dirty stains I had picked up throughout my life were starting to seep through to the surface. I stared hard as if the person on the other side held the answers to the questions in my head. But she only looked back at me with a blank expression.
There were dark circles under my puffy eyes and it turned out that my hair was a matted mess. I quickly ran a brush through my hair, giving up half way and putting it up in a ponytail.
I desperately needed to brush my teeth, but I dreaded going into the bathroom, where I knew Nathan was. Not going to lie, even the simple thought of seeing him had me sweating a little. This wasn’t good. I didn’t need anything like that right then. I had too much on my plate and it was bad enough coming here. The idea that something could happen to Nan because of me was making it harder to stay. But at the same time, I didn’t want to go. I had done my best to convince myself that I was safe there.
So I needed to grab my toothbrush. I did my best to focus on that rather than the crazy thoughts in my head. Maybe I could ninja my way in there and grab my stuff. I was hoping he was too wrapped up in the shower and, fingers crossed, the curtain would obstruct me.
I held my breath as I tiptoed down the hall to the bathroom door. As I turned into the doorway I saw him. His broad body was crouched down in the tub, looking like a giant bear in a kiddie pool. I bit my lip to hold back a laugh. His shoulders and head shielded behind the horrible floral print shower curtain. But I could see his tight ass being hugged by his fitted jeans. My mouth watered and I couldn’t stop staring.
Before I started drooling, I snapped my gaze to the edge of the vanity, where my toothbrush rested. My socks slid quietly and effortlessly along the tile floor as I skated across the room. My hand reached out for it, I was so close.
“You know, I know you’re there?” His voice was low and rumbled through his chest. I froze as a little squeak escaped me.
“No, you don’t,” I replied and then rolled my eyes at myself. His sexy laugh filled the tiny space around us as he moved the curtain back and looked up at me. “I… umm… need to get my…” I reached out and snagged my toothbrush then wiggled it between my fingers. He smirked, never taking his eyes off of me. His stare felt like laser beams shooting straight through to my soul. It felt like he knew all of my darkest secrets without me even telling him. Unable to take the intensity any longer, I spun on my heels and fled the bathroom.
After brushing my teeth in the downstairs bathroom, I went in search of coffee. Nan wasn’t one to drink it, but she made sure a pot was ready for me by the time I got up. She had even bought a few fancy creamers. I opened the fridge and my fingers danced over the three choices as I tried to decide on which one sounded the best. I nodded, happy with my decision, as I picked up the dark chocolate one. Anything chocolate was exactly what I needed right then, and mixed with coffee, I was in Heaven.
I leaned against the counter as I
drank my first strong, steamy sip. My eyes closed and I hummed in the back of my throat as it hit my taste buds. I licked my lips as my lids fluttered open. My gaze was instantly set on deep chocolate brown eyes staring back at me from across the room. We stood there, locked in a trance for a few seconds before he cleared his throat and shook his head. My cheeks flushed and I took another sip in an attempt to cover it.
“Ah, Nathan, how’s it going up there?” Nan said, coming out of nowhere.
“I need to head to the hardware store. Gonna have to get another faucet handle, that one is stripped. That’s why it’s drippin’,” Nathan said, turning his attention to Nan. “I’ll be back in a few. Need anythin’ while I’m out?” Nan shook her head.
“I’ll go with you. I’ll pay for it.” I said, setting my coffee down. I didn’t have a lot of money, but I wanted to help out.
“No. Thanks. I’ve got it,” he said, barely glancing at me before he headed out the door.
“Well, okay then,” I whispered, annoyed. Nan let out a little laugh as she walked over to me and patted my shoulder.
We sat at the table and chatted as we ate fresh blueberry muffins. Well, she ate while I picked at mine. She made something every morning. I didn’t think Nan’s house ever held cereal or instant oatmeal.
“So, not that I’m pushing, but how long do you think you are going to be here?” she asked, crumpling up her muffin wrapper. To be honest, I had no idea. I hadn’t even thought about anything past the day-to-day. I knew she wasn’t trying to tell me she was already sick of me. This was leading somewhere, but I wasn’t sure where yet.
“Haven’t thought it through yet, I guess.” I looked down and shrugged. Part of me always felt at home here. I wouldn’t doubt that was because it was as close to the real thing that I’d ever gotten. The one constant in my life of revolving hotel and apartment doors.
“Well, I think you should think about getting a job. Stay here a while. Might do you some good. I’m guessing you haven’t heard from your mom?” Her tone turned sad.
