“Oh God, that felt amazing,” she said softly. “I needed that.”
“And here I thought you were going to just come in here and pass out.”
“That's the next step in my plan,” she smiled. “I just felt like I needed this. Needed you. After tonight and everything that happened – I just felt like I needed it.”
He nodded. Strangely enough, Damon understood what she was saying and the emotion she was describing – though obviously not to the extent she was feeling it. That feeling of connection, of union that people felt during sex – it was a powerful life-affirming thing. And maybe having spent the entire evening running for her life, she needed that positive affirmation.
They lay in each other's arms for a long time in a comfortable silence. She didn't speak for so long that Damon thought she'd finally drifted off to sleep. He closed his eyes, ready to join her, so when she spoke, it came as something of a surprise. He turned my head and looked at her.
“I thought I was going to prison tonight,” she said. “I thought I'd never have a chance to be right here, doing this with you again.”
“I can't lie and say the thought hadn't crossed my mind.”
“If they'd caught me – ”
“They didn't.”
“But if they had, I could have gone away for the rest of my life,” she said. “Because of what was in that bag.”
“McReed didn't know for sure that you had the bag,” he said. “All he had were his suspicions. He actually dragged me down to the station to try and squeeze information out of me.”
“What kind of information?”
“About you,” he replied. “About the bag. He was just firing shots in the dark. He didn't have any real solid facts. He was just hoping to rattle me hard enough to get something out of me. And besides – you have a spotless record. You've never been arrested for anything – ”
“Never even had a traffic ticket,” she smiled.
He shrugged. “That's gotta help you if you're ever caught. McReed was hoping that if he got to you, he could get you to roll on me and the club.”
“Yeah the thought crossed my mind. A few times.”
Damon softly kissed her on the forehead. “Why did you take it and run, anyway?”
“I was trying to protect you,” she said. “And the club. Carl told me it was my responsibility to keep it safe.”
“That's bullshit,” he said, feeling the sparks of anger rekindling within me. “That's his responsibility. Or mine. You never should have been put in that position to begin with. And I'm so sorry about that, Cassie.”
She shook her head. “It's not your fault. You didn't know.”
“I should have,” Damon replied. “And I should have told Carl he wasn't going to do that to you.”
She sighed and then kissed his chest where she was laying her head. “It doesn't matter. It's over. I'm safe now.”
“Yeah,” he said and kissed her on the forehead. “You're safe.”
“For now,” she said.
Damon looked at her and raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that eventually, we're going to have to go back and get the bag back,” she replied. “Carl's going to want his stuff back.”
“Well, we're going to wait until the cops are long gone from the area,” he said. “And that's not going to happen tonight. So close your eyes and get some sleep, babe. As they say, tomorrow's a new day.”
“And I wonder what sort of shit it's going to rain down on us tomorrow.”
Damon gave her a rueful laugh. “The odds have to be in our favor at some point. Right?”
“Yeah, I'm not holding my breath.”
She laid her head back down on his chest and it seemed like only a matter of seconds before her breathing became the even and regular breathing of sleeping. His mind swirled with a million questions – and there was nothing he could answer in that moment. So he closed my eyes and did his best to fall asleep. Which surprisingly, given how busy his brain was, didn't take as long as he thought it might.
CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR
“You're sure about this?”
Damon nodded but she could see the concern in his eyes – which worried her to no end. His posture was stiff, tight. He didn't seem entirely convinced that this was actually the way to go.
“Yeah, I'm sure,” he said.
“You look worried.”
“Of course I'm worried,” he said. “I can't tell you how this is all going to play out with all certainty. I'd be lying if I told you I could.”
“But you still think this is the best way to go?”
Damon looked around as if he were expecting to see a horde of cops descending on them at any moment. He was probably right to be concerned after everything that had happened last night. They were standing on a small side street back in Kingston, trying to stay well away from prying eyes. But it was noon and there were plenty of people on the street, some of whom were looking at them curiously. Or maybe they were just looking at Damon curiously. He was a striking figure in his own right, but the fact that he looked every bit the rough and tumble biker surely drew some attention.
“I do. I really do,” he said. “Like I said last night, you don't have a record. You're clean. McReed won't be able to drum up anything on you.”
Cassie nodded, though she still wasn't entirely convinced that this was the smartest card to play.
“Plus,” Damon added, “you don't have the bag. He never saw you with the bag. He's assuming you had it, but his assumptions aren't proof nor are they justification for an arrest. You'll be in and out in no time.”
Cassie lowered her gaze, slipped her hands into her pockets and shuffled her feet on the ground as butterflies battered her insides.
“Babe, look at me.”
She looked up and saw not just concern in Damon's eyes, but something more. He cared about her. He cared about her a lot. The depth of his feelings was in his eyes and she couldn't help but smile. He might look like some criminal outlaw biker, but once you got past the exterior and the façade he put up, he was a good man with a good heart. Cassie gave him a small smile as he reached out and touched her cheek.
“I would never put you in harm's way,” he said. “If I thought there was the slightest chance this was going to go sideways, I wouldn't ask you to do this. I know this will work.”
She nodded again and this time, felt somewhat more hopeful he was right. Everything he said made sense. She had no criminal background. Nothing in her past that McReed could use as leverage against her. And he hadn't actually seen her with the bag. That was all true. And though she didn't really know the law all that well – what she did “know” about it was what I'd seen on TV, not exactly the best source for legal knowledge – she did know enough to know they couldn't arrest her based on his suspicions. They needed evidence.
But still, there was something she needed to find an explanation for.
“What am I going to say if they ask me why I ran?”
“Just tell them you were scared,” I said. “Tell them you thought they were coming to take you back to Andy.”
“Yeah, that might actually work,” she said. “That sounds reasonable.”
“Look,” Damon said, “I know I'm asking a lot of you. I know you took a lot on your shoulders last night trying to protect me. And I feel like shit asking you to take on even more. I just – I just want you to know I'm sorry. For all of this. You shouldn't be mixed up in all of this shit.”
Cassie shrugged and tried to play it off. “It's nothing you wouldn't have done for me.”
“You keep saying that,” he said. “But what you did last night and what I'm asking you to do today, just to protect me and the club – I don't know that I can really ever thank you enough or tell you how sorry I am that you have to be in that position in the first place.”
She reached out and took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I'm not stupid,” she said. “I knew what I was signing up for when I decided to stic
k around. When I decided to let myself care for you, Damon.”
“I'm pretty sure you didn't know you were signing up for all of this,” he said with a rueful laugh.
“Yeah, I hadn't planned on running through the forest in the middle of the night with a pack of dogs chasing me,” she laughed. “But knowing what sort of things you guys did, I knew, at some point, I was probably going to have to do something I hadn't counted on.”
“You know what I am. What the club is. Why do you stay?”
It was something she'd asked myself a few times since coming to the clubhouse. Obviously, Damon was the biggest reason she stayed. She cared about him. Cassie thought she probably cared about him more deeply than she was willing to admit.
“On the whole, the Dragons aren't bad guys,” she said. “You and Carl and Breaker – you're good men. And I see the club as a family. You are all brothers. Yeah, you may squabble now and then, but what family doesn't?”
“The other stuff – the weed and all – that doesn't bother you?”
She shrugged. “Not really. It's not like you guys are out there dealing crack on the street corners. It's weed. So what?”
Damon laughed. “Enough weed to send you to prison for a long time.”
“Yeah, there is that,” she said and laughed softly. “But still, on the whole, there are a lot worse things you guys could be doing.”
Damon nodded. “Yeah, I suppose.”
They stood there for several long moments just staring into each other's eyes. There was an expectant silence between them, as if they both wanted to say something but couldn't find the words to say it. But then, just like that, the moment passed.
“Anyway, you should probably get going,” he said. “I probably should, too.”
“Yeah,” Cassie said, the butterflies returning in full force. “Probably so. Time to get the show on the road.”
Damon pulled her into a tight embrace and gave her a passionate kiss. When he finally pulled back, he looked at her and smiled.
“Thank you, Cassie.”
She squeezed his arm. “You don't need to thank me.”
They looked at one another for another long moment before he gave her a small nod and got back on his bike. It roared to life and Damon flashed her a smile that melted her heart as he pulled away and roared out of town.
Cassie stood on the sidewalk staring after him for another moment as she gathered her courage. Damon's plan was to have her walk around Kingston, make herself seen. He'd told her to walk around like she had nothing in the world to worry about. That would, of course, likely catch the attention of the local police and soon after that, McReed would bring her in to question me.
If Damon's plan succeeded, McReed would have to let her walk out. Without a criminal history and without the bag of contraband they were searching for, they had no reason to arrest her. And with no reason to keep her detained, they'd be forced to let her walk right out of the station.
From a logical and rational standpoint, it made perfect sense. But from an emotional standpoint, Cassie was terrified. What if she screwed up and let something slip? What if she couldn't convince McReed she had no idea what he was talking about? What if she couldn't convince McReed she had no idea where the bag was? And, worst of all, what if she cracked under the threats and pressure she knew were coming and flipped on Damon?
It was with all of those worries and doubts that she walked out of the side street and out onto what passed as the main drag in Kingston. Quaint little shops lined the street. It was a beautiful day out and there were some people taking advantage of the nice weather to walk the street.
Her stomach growled reminding me her she hadn't eaten since – actually, she couldn't remember the last time she'd eaten. She was starving and if Cassie figured if she was going to get herself hauled into jail, she was going to do it with a full stomach. She walked down the street to the small diner she and Damon had eaten at a few times before. The food was good there and she knew it would hit the spot.
Plus, it would get her off the street for a little bit. Cassie wasn't quite ready or prepared for having McReed in her face grilling me.
The bells over the door tinkled as she stepped into the diner and Marcia, the waitress she'd gotten to know a little bit, smiled at her. Except for a couple of older men sitting in a corner, drinking coffee and talking loudly about politics, the diner was empty.
“Sit anywhere you like, hon,” Marcia called.
Cassie gave her a smile and a wave as she walked to the corner booth where Damon and she usually sat. It was set away from the front windows and gave her a full view of the restaurant so she could see who was coming through the door.
Marcia bustled over to my table and set a mug of piping hot coffee down in front of her. Cassie looked up at her and smiled.
“You're a mind reader,” she said.
She shrugged. “You looked like you could use a cup.”
“Looking that rough, huh?”
“You've looked better,” she gave Cassie a smile and a wink. “Know what you're gonna have, hon?”
She didn't even need to look at the menu. “Yes, give me the chicken fried steak, two eggs over easy, and the hash browns.”
“Sounds good,” Marcia said and turned to leave.
“Oh, and a short stack of blueberry pancakes, please.”
Marcia gave me a smile. “Splurging today, are ya?”
“I think I deserve it today.”
“You deserve it every day, hon.”
Marcia bustled away and put her order in as Cassie watched the street outside. She watched a pair of older women walking down the street engaged in an animated conversation, saw a young mother pushing her stroller down the street while looking at her phone at the same time. Everything seemed so normal. So typical. It was oddly comforting in a way. Mostly because she knew her own life had never really been anything close to normal. And she was about to do something that wasn't remotely close to typical.
Marcia dropped off a mountain of food and departed with a smile. She was a nice woman. Mid-fifties and seemed to have such a positive, upbeat demeanor. Cassie liked her. She'd always been so pleasant and kind.
She dug into her food with zeal, and it was delicious. Cassie gobbled up everything from the hash browns to the pancakes and didn't feel the slightest bit of guilt over it. If she was going to jail today, it was going to be with an extremely full belly and the taste of amazingly delicious food in her mouth.
she leaned back in my booth, contemplating whether or not she needed to unbutton the top button of her jeans for comfort when she saw two cops come through the front doors. They looked tired. As if they'd been up all night. Maybe they had.
“Hey, dolls,” Marcia called to them. “The usual?”
“Not today, Marcia,” said a tall, well-built black man with a bald head and a baby face. “Just coffee. Gotta get back out on the streets.”
His partner, an older man with salt and pepper colored hair, turned his eyes to her and she felt her stomach do a flip-flop. The cop's eyes widened in surprise momentarily when they fell on me. That look was gone in a moment, though, as he nudged his partner. The man had been bantering with Marcia but turned and looked and Cassie saw the anger etched upon his face.
“Son of a bitch,” the older man said.
Strangely enough, all of the worry she'd felt before evaporated. It was like it had never been. Cassie was perplexed, but she felt calm. At peace. And from out of the blue came the feeling that everything was going to be okay. Maybe it was just a product of the food coma she was currently in.
Cassie remained calm as the cops made their way over to her table. They look sleep-deprived and they were looking at her like she was to blame for it. Which of course, she was. When they arrived at her booth, I smiled sweetly at them.
“Good afternoon, officers,” she said. “Can I help you with something?”
“Lady,” said the older man. “I'm tired and I'm not in the mood for your shit.”
<
br /> “On your feet,” demanded the younger man.
“Is there a problem, officers?”
The first man reached down and grabbed hold of Cassie's arm, yanking her out of the booth and onto her feet.
“Easy, guys,” she said. “You don't need to manhandle me.”
The man pinned her arms behind my back and put a pair of handcuffs on. The younger cop read Cassie her rights as they marched her out of the diner, Marcia looking at her with a worried and confused expression on her face.
“The food was amazing as usual,” she called to her. “I'll be back to pay my tab soon.”
Merrick: Harlequins MC Page 46
