Normally pride would keep her from readily accepting his money, but survival and the gnawing hunger in her gut strongly out-weighed pride and common sense.
Swallowing hard, she grabbed the money and shoved it into her pocket. Shame made her look around to see if anyone had witnessed her accepting his charity. Finally she found her voice. “I was happy to do it for Roni.”
It didn’t escape his attention, the words that went unspoken. That she didn’t do it for him or his club.
“Either way, it’s appreciated. Just wanted to let you know that. Roni would be here herself, but since she called in, she didn’t want anyone to get suspicious.”
The two of them stood in awkward silence. Both afraid to move, but each had very different reasons.
“Well thank you,” she whispered, gesturing towards the money that now rested heavily in her pocket. “But please, don’t bother me again. She’s a co-worker and I was happy to help, but this isn’t me.”
“Same to you, maybe I’ll see you around sometime,” he said, grabbing his helmet and hopping on his bike.
As he roared out of the parking lot, she wondered if this would indeed be the last time she saw him. Something told her probably not. When she could no longer see the tail light of his bike, she turned around and went back inside to buy what groceries she could now afford.
Chapter Two
“We should use her.”
Liam ground his back teeth together. He didn’t agree with this at all. In fact, he thought the idea was about the stupidest thing he had ever heard. “Denise did what she did for Roni, not because she wanted to get an ‘in’ with the club. She made that very clear to me when I tried to say thank you for her part in getting us out. We don’t need to use somebody who doesn’t want to be involved. That’s dangerous.”
“I say we take a look at her financials. We might be able to persuade her,” William Walker Sr. disagreed with his son. “Steele,” he yelled. “I need you in here. Get me a credit report and everything else you can on Roni’s friend, Denise Cunningham.” He steepled his fingers together and rested his chin against them.
Dread settled over Liam at those words. There was a reason she had so readily picked up an extra shift at work on what he had been told was her birthday. When he’d approached her, he could see weariness in her eyes. It wasn’t weariness caused by working too much, it was real tiredness. The kind that one got from being depressed and living paycheck to paycheck for too long. He’d seen it in some of the women who liked to hang around the clubhouse. They were women who were used specifically for sex, they weren’t ‘old lady’ material. He didn’t want this for her, didn’t want any part of it.
With startling clarity, he knew that their bookkeeper and club secretary, Travis Steele, could find anything out about anyone. He was one of the best hackers in the world, and with the click of a mouse he could destroy a person’s life.
“Let’s see,” Steele clicked a few buttons and chomped down on a piece of gum. “Denise Cunningham is the single mother of thirteen-year-old twins. One boy, one girl. She was just served a foreclosure notice on her home. Looks like she used to work at a local factory and lost her job when the economy tanked. There are lots of credit card bills, and it looks like collection companies are beating down her door.”
Liam cursed. This was the exact kind of situation he didn’t want the club to be in. He didn’t want to have to use women to do a man’s job. His father liked desperate. Liam thought desperate equaled mistakes.
“Get Roni to get her in here. Let’s make her an offer she can’t refuse,” William told the group as he got up from the head of the table. The smarmy smile on his face made Liam rage.
“Wait a second old man, ain’t we gonna take a vote on this?”
The group gasped at Liam’s use of the phrase ‘old man’. There were many things his father was. Asshole, vindictive, arrogant. But old man? That was going to earn him a lashing when this was over.
“Do we really need to? She’ll work for us, and maybe we’ll get free pussy too,” he laughed flippantly.
Liam wasn’t laughing. His gaze had instead turned very dark.
William recognized the look on his son’s face. It was a look he’d seen in the mirror one or two times before. This was the kind of emotion he’d been looking to get out of his son for years. It was the kind of emotion Liam would need in order to run the club one day.
“That piss you off, son?” he goaded.
Liam carefully reeled his emotions back in. “Nah, I just wonder why we want a woman to do what our grunts can do. How are they gonna prove themselves if we never give them a chance? Jagger wants to be patched, and he never will if we don’t give him somethin’ to do. That’s why we have Prospects.”
William’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the son who was daring to question his authority. “I’m president of this club. Until you get this patch,” he pointed at the president’s patch on his cut. “What I say goes, boy. I say we use her. Fuck no, this isn’t going up for a vote. We need her, she probably needs us. End of discussion. You got anything else to say to me?”
He did have something to say, actually a lot to say, but knew this wasn’t the time to bring it up. He’d bide his time and approach the old man when he wasn’t so worried about how he would look to the rest of the club. He spit on the concrete floor to give him time to compose himself before facing his dad. “No, everything’s fan-fucking-tastic.”
“Glad I have your support VP,” William bit off sarcastically. It was really a “fuck you” more than anything. “Ya know what? Why don’t you go get her and bring her here? We’ll be waiting.”
Pissed, Liam grabbed his stuff and got up. He stood so suddenly the chair kicked back, shattering as it fell against the hard ground. Not bothering to pick it up, he stepped over it and stormed out of the clubhouse. Once he got to his bike, he hopped on and put the key in the ignition. At that point, he slowed down. Like always when he was about to go for a ride, his worries began to fade away. His heartbeat slowed and he could breathe normally. Chuckling to himself, he ran a hand through his hair before grabbing his helmet. If there was one person on this earth that could piss him off and turn him upside down, it was his father. He had been stupid and showed his true feelings – that he really didn’t want to use someone who was not affiliated with the club – and old William had jumped on this show of weakness. When would he ever learn not to walk around with his heart on his sleeve?
“Try not to hurt her, okay?”
He glanced around at the small voice that spoke behind his back. It was Roni. “I don’t even want to use her, but you know what William says goes.”
“I hate that I got her involved in this,” she worried, her hands twisting in front of her.
“It wasn’t you, it’s him. He’s an asshole. He’s ruthless. That’s why he is who he is.”
“Are you going to take someone with you?”
He grimaced. “No, I’m not showing up at a single mother’s house with another large man. She’d probably think we’re there to rape her.”
“Can I give her a heads up?” Roni asked, a desperate plea showing in her eyes.
“Please do.”
With those words he was gone, and Roni frantically dialed her friend.
Damnit, she had known it was a bad idea to accept money from Roni’s brother. Denise hung up the phone and frantically looked around the house for her car keys. Was there any way she could leave before he showed up? Who was she kidding? He would probably be waiting for her when she came home. The kids were at a friend’s house and would be staying the night. At least she didn’t have to worry about them. A gentle knock sounded long before she was ready.
“Denise? It’s Liam Walker. I need you to come answer the door.”
She thought about telling him no or acting like she wasn’t at home. She hadn’t even heard his motorcycle pull up. She’d had no time to prepare.
“C’mon, don’t make me come in there.”
Would he really
do that? Roni had told her he was the least of any of the evils that could have come to get her. A hard edge had laced his voice this time, telling her he would do whatever he had to do. His patience was obviously wearing thin. She walked over, took a deep breath, and opened the door.
“Come in.” She hated the fear in her voice and how small it sounded, even to her ears.
He shut the door behind him, checking to make sure no one was watching. “Care if I have a seat?”
Liam Walker was larger than life to her. He may as well have been over seven feet tall and four hundred pounds. Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she nodded. Purposely, she sat as far away from him as she could and still be in the same room.
“This ain’t gonna work if you’re scared of me. I’m not here to hurt you,” he said softly, watching as she swallowed roughly.
“What exactly are you here to do?”
“The club needs a favor,” he explained.
Denise didn’t say anything. The leather of his cut creaked as he ran his hands along his jean-clad thighs. For some reason she was amazed at how big his feet looked in the large motorcycle boots he wore. She focused on that, trying not to acknowledge the fact that he had just asked her for a favor.
“What kind of favor?”
“It’s dangerous, I’m not gonna lie to you. To be honest, I really didn’t even want to bring you into this, but the old man wanted you here. We need some help transporting some drugs. You do it, you’re paid well. You don’t do it, we’ll pretend like this never happened.” It meant going against his dad, but he would do it to keep her safe.
She didn’t believe him. How were they going to pretend like this never happened? There was no way they would allow her to say no and she knew it, but still she asked. “Can I have some time to think on it?”
He almost gave it to her but knew that if she thought about it too much she might turn him in or run. “No you can’t think about it. You need money and the club needs you.”
“How do you know I need money?” she asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach. Granted, she had grabbed the money quickly the night before, but she had hoped desperation wasn’t completely apparent on her face.
Intimidation was the only thing that would make her do it at this point, and he knew it.
“There’s nothing the club doesn’t know about you. I know your house is in foreclosure. I know that you’re having a hard time feeding your children. I’m offering you a way out. Do this for them if you won’t do it for anyone else.”
His words were completely below the belt, but they were also completely true. “Promise me that my kids won’t be hurt.”
That was the one thing he could promise her. The children would not be hurt on his watch.
“I can promise you. I will protect them with my life.”
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.
“Tell me where and when.”
The deal was made, and she knew that she wouldn’t be able to back out. If she backed out, she knew without a doubt he wouldn’t be able to protect her children. Just like everything else in her life up to this point, she would do it for them. That would help her sleep at night.
Chapter Three
“I’m fucked,” she said out loud. No one was there to hear her or to see her break down, but for the first time since this had started, she sobbed. Really sobbed. It was full body and it was ugly.
Denise sat on her couch, her head in her hands. The last year and a half had taught her many things about herself and about life. She had come to some grim realizations and some new revelations.
She wasn’t as strong as she had once believed. When she had been a teenager having twins, she had taken the world by the balls and dared it to talk back to her. This time, when the economy had tanked and she had lost her job, she had cowered. For months she had sat on her living room couch, just knowing the factory would call her back and tell her to come to work on Monday morning. When that hadn’t happened, it had taken her a few weeks, but she dove headlong into looking for something else. It had taken months for her to find the minimum wage job she now worked at. Gone were most of their DVD’s and any jewelry she’d had. Lately she’d taken to switching coins out of the cash registers at work, getting the oldest coins she could in order to take them downtown and sell them to the local coin store. That wasn’t getting her very far now that her hours at work had been cut.
In the middle of her complete freak out, she heard a knock at her door and she tensed. The last three times someone had knocked on her door, it had been a disaster. She wondered if she should just act like she wasn’t home. Maybe the person on the other side would just leave.
“Denise, I know you’re in there.”
It was her neighbor from up the street. Meredith Rager, the local television reporter. They had become acquaintances, perhaps friends lately, and Denise really didn’t want to be alone anymore.
“Coming,” she coughed, struggling to disguise the pinched tone of her voice. Mopping up her cheeks, she opened the door.
“Hey, I saw Liam Walker leaving here,” Meredith started before getting a good look at Denise’s face. “Did he hurt you?” she asked, sharply.
“He didn’t hurt me.”
“Are you sure?” Meredith asked, walking into the house. “I’ve dealt with these guys a couple of times when I interviewed them in front of the jail. They aren’t nice people. I’m pretty sure they all have a little bit of blood on their hands.”
“I’m sure. He really didn’t hurt me. He was actually nicer than he probably needed to be.”
Immediately, Meredith’s radar was buzzing. What else had Liam Walker been doing at Denise Cunningham’s house? “You’re not getting involved with them are you?”
Denise didn’t want to get into this. Meredith was very astute, and Denise was an open book. Calling upon those feelings that had made her so emotional earlier, Denise scrunched her face up and let a sob break through her chest.
“What’s happened?” the other woman asked, worried about the single mother.
Reaching under the couch cushion, she pulled out the foreclosure paperwork. “I got served with these yesterday, and I just don’t know what to do anymore.”
Grabbing the papers from Denise’s hand, Meredith looked over it, her eyebrows drawing together in concentration. “Shit,” she breathed. “This amount isn’t going to be easy to come up with.”
“I know,” Denise cried. Usually she wouldn’t be putting her business out there for just anyone to know, but besides Roni, Meredith was the only friend Denise had at this point. “I just don’t know what I’m going to do. This is the only home my children have ever known, and now they’re going to lose it.”
Meredith’s heart ached. She had grown up in a family where money wasn’t an issue. It wasn’t like they were extravagantly wealthy, but there had never been a week where they had to order off the dollar menu because they weren’t able to afford food. This was not her reality, and she wasn’t familiar with it, but she could at least be sympathetic.
“Do you want me to give you money?” Meredith asked. She didn’t have the amount that Denise needed, but maybe she had enough to keep the wolves at bay.
That caused tears to come faster and sobs to wrack Denise’s body harder. She had never had anyone she could count on or ask for money when she needed it. This was one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to her.
“I truly appreciate it, but I can’t take your money. I’m serious when I say I probably will never be able to pay you back, and that just makes me uncomfortable.”
Meredith’s eyebrows drew together. “That’s why Liam was here, right?” This time her tone didn’t carry the question that it had earlier. This time she knew. Desperate people did desperate things, and Denise was the epitome of desperate.
“I’d really rather not talk about it.”
“Okay, let’s head over to my duplex and have some lunch before I have to go to work. You need to get out of this house
. If you sit here, you’re just going to think of things you can’t control.”
Denise knew she was right. She was hungry, and she had next to no food in the house. “That sounds great.”
“Did you convince her to help us?” William asked his son as Liam pulled his bike up in front of Walker’s Wheels and shut it off.
The shop provided legitimate income for the club, and everyone was expected to put time in there. They did everything from oil changes to repos and towing.
Before he took his helmet off, Liam looked around at the activity bustling around them. It was at moments like this when he wished he was exactly what he looked like. A son helping out his father at the family business. Business was booming, and every extra hand they had was busy – either changing oil or doing bodywork.
“What do I need to do today?” Liam asked, ignoring his dad’s question.
“You need to tell me if Denise is goin’ to help us or not.”
“That’s not what I’m talkin’ about, and you know it. If Denise is going to work with us, she’s going to work under me. You’ll know what the fuck’s goin’ on – on a need to know basis. Now what the fuck do I need to do to help out here today?” His tone said there would be no arguing.
William cut his eyes to Liam, not happy with the way this conversation was going. “There’s two bikes that need oil changes, and then I need you to check the car that we’re sending with Denise tomorrow.”
“Will do, Dad.”
Liam sauntered off, grabbing Tyler away from the job he was working on to go under the hood of a late model avocado green Cutlass Supreme.
“Whose car is this?” Tyler asked. He hadn’t seen it on the work order for the day.
Throwing a glare at William, Liam answered. “This is the car that we need to take to Denise’s tonight.”
“She agreed to it? I thought she was smarter than that.”
“I did too, but she’s desperate. You and I both know that desperation can make you do stupid shit. We count on that to get the things we want in this club. It sucks a big one when that’s used against people it shouldn’t be.”
Meant To Be (Heaven Hill Series) Page 2
