King

by Jamie Begley

  Sitting up in bed, she ran her hands through her hair. She didn’t know what was wrong with her lately. She hopped off the bed, going to the mini-fridge and taking out a beer before climbing back on the bed.

  It was late before she turned off her TV to go to sleep. Her body was restless, but she wasn’t in the mood to fuck. As a picture of the man she really wanted flashed through her mind, Evie flung her arm over her eyes, trying to shut out his image. It wouldn’t do any good, though; it never did.

  * * *

  The next day, Evie was the first one at the factory. She had already started filling an order when the other workers began coming in. Jewell and Raci came in the door together, coming to a stop when they saw her already at work.

  “What got you out of bed so early?” Jewell asked as she took the workstation next to hers.

  “Went to bed early. Besides, I saw the orders were beginning to back up with Lily working fulltime at the church store and Georgia in jail.” Shade had given Georgia’s brother a job to replace Georgia, but he’d had to start at the entry-level position, not floor supervisor like his sister. They had also hired another worker to fill Lily’s spot, but he was still training; it took time to learn where everything was in the factory.

  They could actually hire more workers, but they wanted to be careful with the ones they hired, preferring to give fewer workers better pay and keeping the company stable. Orders could dry up, and they didn’t want to lay off workers who were already well acquainted with layoffs.

  “Can I get you something, Evie?”

  She glanced up from taping her package closed. “No. Thanks, Charlie.” He was overly anxious to please. Charlie had been hired when Lily had asked Shade. With two kids and a sweet wife, their situation had tugged at Lily’s heart. It had been hard to find another job in construction when he had hurt his back and was unable to do the strenuous work.

  “Jewell?”

  “I got it covered.” He turned away, pulling his own order.

  “He’s a nice guy.”

  “Yeah, I can see how Lily wanted to help. Have you met his wife and kids? Breaks your heart. They’ve had it so hard. Viper and Razer loaded up the truck and took them groceries. When they came back, they told Shade to take his pay up. It must have been bad.”

  Evie swallowed hard. Until she had come to Treepoint, she hadn’t really understood the extreme poverty of the area. At first, she couldn’t understand why they didn’t move away to a better area with more opportunities. Many of the younger population did, but many stayed. After living there for a while, she realized the rich heritage of the town; the mountains and close family bonds were what held them in place.

  Shade came in, going to his office, and the work increased to a busy vibe. Up until summer, the factory had been run in a rotating month by each of The Last Riders, taking turns. After his last rotation, Shade had stayed longer, his skill at running the factory apparent by the increase of orders.

  As the day flew by, Evie hadn’t felt so good in a long time, reinforcing her belief that she had been partying too hard the last year. It was time to calm down and take a breather, at least from the alcohol and weed she had been junking up her body with.

  “Finished?” Jewell broke the silence.

  “Yes.” Evie tossed her last order into the mail cart before going out the steel door.

  The bright sunlight in the parking lot had her and Jewell hesitating. When her eyes were able to focus, a big smile lit her face at what she was seeing.

  “Hot damn.” Jewell took the words right out of her mouth.

  Running forward, she threw herself into the arms of the man unpacking his belongings from the trunk of his car.

  “Lucky, welcome home.” When a grin lit his face, Evie thought it was the first authentic one she had seen in years. He had taken on being an undercover agent by posing as Pastor Dean at the local church. After Christmas, it had finally come to a head, and he was able to close an investigation that had been ongoing for years.

  “Why didn’t you tell us you were moving in today?” Evie asked.

  “Because I didn’t know. The new pastor arrived in town last night. Do you remember Merrick Patterson? He was looking for a new church. His wife is expecting and the extreme cold weather up north was getting to her, so he jumped at the chance to move.”

  “Merrick?” Evie remembered him from the military. He and Lucky both had been chaplains.

  “That’s fantastic.” Evie went to church every Sunday. She had been dreading the possibilities of who would be taking over the church; a sanctimonious preacher would have made it difficult to attend. “Let me help you with your bags.”

  “Razer and Viper just took one load for me, and there's not much more. I threw all my suits away. I don’t want to see another suit for the rest of my life.”

  Evie quit smiling. Lucky was one of the best pastors she had ever known. He had a natural ability to draw people out. He, on the other hand, felt he had lost the calling.

  After Evie heard the factory door open and close, Shade came to stand beside them. “I see you’re not wasting any time.”

  “No. I wanted to make Merrick comfortable. I’ll hand over the church to him Sunday, and then I’ll be free of all my commitments to the church.”

  “We need to talk,” Shade said just as Lily pulled into the parking lot.

  “Fuck,” Lucky said. Lily was a member of Lucky’s church and was one of his most faithful followers. It was going to be hard for her to see the other side of Lucky that she was unfamiliar with.

  “Be cool,” Shade warned Lucky.

  “Pastor Dean, hi. I was wondering where you were today,” Lily said as she came up to the group.

  “I’m outta here,” Jewell said under her breath.

  “Coward,” Evie teased.

  “I’m a lover, not a fighter. Arguments tense me up.” Jewell left, but Evie wasn’t about to budge from the spot. She was dying to know how the men were going to work this out.

  “Hi, Lily. I was going to come back and introduce you to the new pastor because you were at lunch with King when I came by the church store earlier.”

  “You went to lunch with King?” Shade asked sharply.

  “At the diner,” Lily answered.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I wasn’t aware I had to tell you my every move since the danger is over.”

  “We’ll talk about this later.”

  “No, we won’t. It was lunch, just across the street.”

  “Lily, we still don’t know who Digger hired to hurt you. Until we make sure he’s stopped, you’re not completely out of danger.”

  “Oh.” She paused. “Next time, I’ll tell you when I leave the church.”

  Round One went to Shade, but at least Lily hadn’t caved in to his demand without question.

  Lily turned back to Lucky expectantly. “Are you staying for dinner?”

  “Actually, dinner and breakfast. I’m moving in.”

  “That’s great. I was worried you would move away, and I wouldn’t see you anymore.”

  “I think you’re going to be seeing a lot more of Lucky than you ever expected to see.” Evie couldn’t help herself. Shade and Lucky’s hard stare didn’t faze her, either. She was looking forward to seeing how they were going to handle Lily.

  “Let’s go home, Lily,” Shade said, taking Lily’s arm and moving her toward the pathway to their new home he had built behind the clubhouse.

  “Spoil sport.” Evie called after them.

  “You're feeling brave today.” Lucky slid a box out of the truck, handing it to her then took another for himself.

  “Not necessarily. Lily was here. You can get away with all kinds of shit when she’s around.”

  “I see you’re taking advantage of the situation.”

  “Fuck, yes. Of course, he pays us back later, but it’s worth it.”

  “I’ll take your word for it. He might give you an extra shift or dock your pay; however,
he’ll just beat the shit out of me when she leaves.”

  “Don’t be a pussy.”

  “I’ll try.”

  They carried the boxes up the steps to the clubhouse as Viper and Razer were both coming down.

  “We put you in Knox’s old room. That cool?”

  “That’s perfect. He had the biggest bed,” Lucky said, going up the steps.

  Razer took the box from Evie, following him up the steps.

  “I take it he’s going to make up for lost time?” Viper said.

  “I bet he hasn’t even had a blowjob in the last five years. What do you think?” Evie asked flippantly.

  Viper laughed. “I better warn the women.”

  “Too late.” Jewell’s seductive voice could be heard coming from the upstairs.

  Evie went into the kitchen where Bliss and Stori were finishing cooking dinner and most of the members were already in line. Evie took a plate.

  “Lucky is upstairs,” she said casually. When Bliss, Stori and Ember put their plates down, leaving the room at once, Evie got in the shortened line. Winter shook her head at her.

  “You’re not joining them?” Train asked, surprised.

  “No. I’m going to let them have Lucky while I reap the benefits of the rest of the men.” Evie began filling her plate.

  “Just save some for me.”

  Evie knew he wasn’t talking about the food. “Don’t I always?”

  Chapter 5

  It took several attempts before she managed to shove a snoring Train off her. Sliding out from between him and Cash, she managed to get out of the bed. Evie stretched languidly, staring at the two male bodies sprawled on the bed, tempted to climb back in. Regretfully, she went to the bedroom door, going to her own room to get ready for work.

  Dressing in a sweatshirt and jeans, she drew on her fur-lined boots. She would be glad when the last of winter was done. She hated cold weather, and Kentucky winters seemed to drag on forever.

  Once she got to work, the factory was busy, so there wasn’t much time to talk. It was almost the end of the day before Evie remembered tonight was the night she was supposed to have dinner at King’s house.

  After work, she went to her room. Looking through her closet, she studied her clothes, trying to decide what to wear. Evie was certain Lily and Beth would both wear dresses, yet she hated wearing dresses and dressing up. However, she did have several church dresses she could pick from.

  Pulling out a black dress shorter than her church dresses, she showered before changing into it. The deep V showed a small amount of her breasts, but it wasn’t over the top. Evie brushed her hair, pinning it on top of her head, and then stepped back to stare at her reflection.

  Her hand grasped the dresser. It had been several years since she had seen the reflection staring back at her, and the elegant woman she glimpsed had not been missed. The painful memories her image brought had Evie taking down her hair, brushing it out and leaving it loose.

  Going back to her closet, she took out a dark navy dress that wasn’t as formal and was fitted on her body. Shade had texted her that he and Lily were ready to leave, so she slid on a pair of heels and headed downstairs, meeting them by the front door.

  “You look pretty tonight, Evie,” Lily complimented her.

  “Thanks, Lily. You look gorgeous.” She was wearing a dark purple dress that highlighted her violet eyes.

  “You ready?” Shade asked.

  Evie got her coat out of the closet and put it on. “Ready.”

  It took twenty minutes to get to King’s house from the clubhouse. Evie sat near the passenger door while Shade drove Cash’s old truck with Lily sitting in the middle. As he pulled into the driveway, Evie hoped the night wasn’t going to be a disaster.

  When Henry opened the door for them, King was sitting in the living room. Evie watched silently as Lily greeted her father, bending down to hug him and brushing a soft kiss on his cheek.

  “Shade.”

  “King.”

  Evie saw the two men size each other up. Shade had dressed in his good jeans, boots and a nice black shirt. King’s eyes flicked over Shade’s relaxed attire. Shit. Evie could see where the night was headed within three minutes of walking into the door.

  “Evie,” King greeted her.

  She gritted her teeth against his condescending tone. The man was fucking unbelievable. “King.” She allowed her voice to be as condescending as the queen of fucking Sheba.

  A twist of his lips showed she had made her point.

  “Henry, get everyone a drink.”

  Lily’s wary look as she sat down on the leather couch showed how little King knew his daughter. She was still uncomfortable being around liquor. While she was around it more constantly at the clubhouse, she didn’t think the woman would ever lose the fear it inspired; her scars ran too deep.

  Neither Lily nor Shade had ever explained Lily’s reasons for her fears, but if it was as bad as the shadows that used to be in her eyes, Evie didn’t want to know. She had heard enough on the night the basement had caught on fire to break her heart, and Evie hadn’t thought that was possible. She had seen too many tragedies during her lifetime to be squeamish; however, what she had found out that night had been horrendous.

  Evie was sitting down on a chair when the doorbell rang again. As Beth and Razer came into the living room, Beth was much more casual with King, giving him a hug and inquiring how he felt.

  “I’m almost back to normal.”

  Normal wouldn’t be how she characterized the granite-faced man who sat with his glass of bourbon in his hand.

  “Dinner’s ready.” Henry’s voice broke the silence in the room.

  Evie gratefully got to her feet, going into the dining room. The table had been set lavishly. Both Shade and King sat on opposite ends of the table, so Evie took an open seat, unfortunately, the one next to King.

  She took a tiny sip of her wine before picking up her water glass. The food was delicious—a standing rib roast with fingerling potatoes and asparagus tips—making Evie want seconds. She was glad she had restrained herself, though, when Henry brought out a chocolate mousse that was decadent.

  She licked the small amount from her lips, feeling King's eyes on the movement. His eyes caught hers before Evie tore her gaze away, looking down at her empty bowl.

  “Would you like more?”

  “No, I think that was enough.” She let her voice carry her warning. She wasn’t going to play along with his attempted flirtation.

  He nodded his head, turning his attention to Lily. “Would you like more?”

  “Yes, please. I have a weakness for chocolate.”

  Evie finished her water while dessert was eaten, and when they went back into the living room, Evie had started to relax. The dinner had gone well and the night was almost over.

  “How do you like working in the church store, Lily?”

  “I love it. The Christmas holidays have left our shelves almost bare, though. So, we’re having a clothing and food drive this Sunday after church. There’s supposed to be a break in the weather. Pastor Dean—I mean, Lucky—thought it would be a good way for the new pastor to meet the congregation.”

  “I’ll have to attend. It will be a good time to meet the rest of your friends.”

  “That would be nice.”

  “You’re content at the store instead of using your degree? After all, anyone can be a cashier.”

  Here we go, Evie thought, seeing the others in the room stiffen at the indirect insult.

  “No, I really like it. It’s more than being a cashier. I have to approve of the needs of the people coming in—”

  “I’m glad you don’t feel like you’re settling with the job opportunities available in Treepoint.” King’s interruption of Lily talking didn’t sit well with Shade or Beth. Razer wasn’t much happier, but he was able to hide it better.

  “Lily’s excellent at her job. Several families in the community have benefited from Lily working there. She’
s also helping them find jobs.” Shade’s arm went around Lily’s shoulder, and her eyes smiled up into his.

  Evie swallowed the lump in her throat. The woman was deeply in love with Shade, and anyone staring at Shade could see he returned her feelings. King, on the other hand, seemed unmoved by the touching sight of the newlyweds.

  “So, how did you two meet?”

  “We met at the lake when I was in high school.”

  Lily’s choice of words had King straightening in his chair, his indolent attitude disappearing. “You allowed her to date a man of his age while she was still in school?” His accusation was directed at Beth, who paled at his harsh words.

  “Of course not! I started dating Razer when Lily was in high school. As they were friends, naturally she met Shade. However, Lily and Shade didn’t start seeing each other until last summer.”

  “A whirlwind courtship?”

  “We had known each other for years.” Shade’s voice equaled King’s in attitude.

  Lily’s head went back and forth between the men until her eyes settled on King. “I didn’t feel rushed, if that’s what you’re getting at.” Lily took Shade’s hand in hers, gripping it tightly.

  “I didn’t mean to insinuate it was. I’m sorry if I implied otherwise.”

  Bullshit, Evie thought.

  “I’m very happy, King. Shade and I are looking forward to a long and happy marriage with children.”

  “You’re not pregnant, are you? You’ve only been married a month.”

  Shit, here we go. Lily’s crestfallen expression had Shade’s hand on her jaw, raising her face to his. He leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips that even had Evie blushing. Lily’s face was bright red when Shade let her lips go.

  “Lily and I are both anxious to start our family, but no, she isn’t pregnant. Yet.”

  King opened his mouth to reply.

  “I think that’s wonderful, Lily. You’re going to make a great mother,” Evie said, cutting in before King had the chance.

  King’s mouth snapped closed at her words, and she saw his hands clench on the arms of the armchair he was sitting on.