by Debra Kayn
He wanted to protect her and doing so, he pushed her away. She couldn't keep living this way. Fear of losing him made her sick and desperate. The thought of him walking out the door physically pained her.
"The guards have the order to shoot if you step out the door." Cam gazed at her. "Wait for me, and I'll talk when I get home."
She refused to answer him. He wasn't the only one who could hold back.
His mouth softened. She stepped forward, thinking he was changing his mind, and before she reached him, he hardened his eyes, putting that wall up between them. Jeremy walked into the foyer and squeezed by his dad, slipping outside. Cam moved to go. She stared at his back as he followed his son.
He shut the door, locking her inside her own personal prison.
Chapter Thirty
Cam led the five Moroad MC riders, Gunner, Willie, Stache, Johnson, and Rich down the off-ramp of Exit 61. He glanced in his side mirror at Jeremy riding the end position. For Jeremy's first long trip, he'd done well. When they got back to the house, he'd tell the kid his prospecting time would begin today. In a couple years, if he proved his worth to the others, he'd be a full-fledged member.
Cam stopped at the only stop sign in town, checked both ways, and pulled out onto Main Street. Each side of the street packed with cars, he glanced over at the cross section and took in the crowd walking out of Silver Girls. By now, the Moroad members that stayed back were behind the Sterling Building picking up the Moroad women.
With all the activity going on in town, it was easier to go unnoticed. The sheriff and his deputies would hang around looking for drunk drivers and any disturbances breaking out as the crowds left Silver Girls and the bars in town.
Ahead of him, Kurt Ramchett, the president of Bantorus MC, rode toward him with his old lady. Cam let go of the handlebar, lowered his arm, and gave Kurt two fingers and a chin lift. He didn't worry about looking behind him as Kurt passed. Cam stayed out of Bantorus business, and Kurt stayed out of his.
Arriving to the edge of town, he put on his high beams and rode under the viaduct, taking a right turn to head out of town. He gave more throttle, speeding up to the forty-five miles per hour speed limit.
He'd received a text from Ring an hour ago, and everything was quiet at the house. Christina was safe. He'd completed the run, and Jeremy had settled in with the riders better than he'd expected.
A mile out of town, Gunner broke formation, sped up, and rode alongside him. Cam took the centerline and appreciated the successful night, the cool wind, and his brothers riding with him.
"We have a trailer," Gunner shouted over the engines.
Cam rode closer to Gunner to get a clear shot looking in his side mirror between the riders behind him. "It's probably a miner going home after the show in town."
Gunner shrugged. "The car came up on us fast."
Every single one of them carried a pistol. They had to protect themselves running the chain, and they could take care of any trouble coming at them. He glanced back at Jeremy. If their trailer happened to be someone from Reds or the threat came from another direction against the motorcycle club, Jeremy was in the worst position riding at the end of the line.
"At the next road, take the others and work your way through the back roads and come up behind us. I'll take the kid with me and see which way our friend decides to go" Cam signaled to the others to move forward in the formation.
The other men widened the two lines at his hand gesture. He eased off the throttle and rode to the right until Jeremy caught up with him. Jeremy's nervous glances set his bike to swaying.
"Hold it steady, kid." Cam spoke louder. "Do what I do and stay with me. The others are riding off to see if the guy trailing us will take the bait. We'll go the rest of the way ourselves."
"Yeah, okay," Jeremy yelled, keeping his motorcycle in position.
They rode comfortably together. Cam kept his eye on his mirror. Gunner's skill at picking up details most people missed pegged the car behind them as a trailer, and he had to agree. The asshole was riding too close for comfort. In the glare of the headlights, he struggled to catch a view of the grill.
Yellow turn signal lights blinked in front of him. Cam continued to ride at the same speed, and ignored the Moroad members turning onto the side rural road. If not for Jeremy's inexperience with speed, Cam would leave the asshole behind him in the dust.
The closeness of the car behind him heated his back. He checked his mirror, damning the night and the fucking headlights reflecting in his eyes.
He judged how much time they had until they pulled onto the gravel road leading to his house. There were three corners and then a straight shot. They had less than two miles to lose their trailer. Neither one of their bikes would make it far in the dark if they headed off-road. Jeremy's skills at handling the bike were still in the beginners phase, and Cam feared he'd lay it down on the first bump of uneven ground.
"We need to speed up and lose this asshole," Cam shouted. "Stay with me and watch the corners for loose gravel."
Jeremy nodded. Cam put pressure on the throttle, picking up speed and making sure Jeremy could handle the ride. Topped out at sixty miles per hour, he looked in the side mirror and blue flashing lights appeared between the headlights.
"God damn it," he shouted out his anger. "You need to go faster, kid."
Jeremy's motorcycle surged ahead and he yelled, "I don't want to go to juvie."
"Keep your head." Cam pushed the kid faster than he'd like around the corner.
The sheriff's car flipped on the siren. Cam clenched his teeth together. On a road to nowhere was not the place he wanted to be stopped. For Jeremy's sake, he needed to get the kid back to Christina.
Fuck this.
He'd promised Christina he'd come back. Disappointment lay heavy in his chest. He eased back on the throttle. He'd wanted more time with her. She was mad when he'd left.
Hell, she probably already had herself wrapped up tight in a blanket and planned to shoot him when he walked in the door. He glanced at the kid. She had no idea what he needed to tell her would test her. The truth of what he'd done to bring Jeremy into his house would break her faith in him. He'd have to rebuild and only time would prove he'd done everything for her.
The sirens settled over him. He shifted, slowing down. Christina wanted to believe that he refused to listen, but he heard every word she'd said.
Every smile she'd given him freely, he'd memorized.
Each time she came to him while having sex, grabbing for him, calling his name, she branded herself in his head.
The way she brushed Jeremy's hair out of his eyes, she might as well have been doing it to Cam, because he felt the love and heart she gave to others.
His men respected her. She was the good in a lifetime of bad. He didn't deserve her, but he'd never let her go. She put meaning in a life he thought was dead.
He removed his pistol out of the back of his jeans and laid it between his legs. Five more minutes and he'd have the club riding up behind him. No one would see any activity out here on the country road and they were far enough away from town a shot ringing in the night wouldn't raise suspicions.
"What are we going to do," Jeremy said, his voice breaking over the sirens.
If Cam were alone, he'd stop and face the sheriff. He'd get rid of the problem and keep his freedom. He glanced again at the kid. Reds threat fresh on his mind.
He understood what Reds wanted to do. Their message was clear to him now.
Reds would kill Jeremy to retaliate for Cam taking out two of their members. Then they'd go after Christina. Finally, they'd pick him off, but the damage would be done. They'd make him pay. They'd make him hurt. They'd take away his family.
Only one person knew the lengths he'd gone to bring Jeremy into the club. Ferris had to pay for leaking the information that sent Reds after Cam. To do that, he'd need to go back to prison and deal with the rat. Only when he killed Ferris, would he then be able to stop Reds from destroying ever
ything he worked so hard to bring into his house.
Jeremy would be safe.
Christina would be safe.
"Cam." Jeremy's bike veered closer, almost tagging the front tire on Cam's bike and taking them both down. "I can't let them catch me with a pistol."
Cam glanced down between his legs on the seat of the bike. Cam was an ex-convict and couldn't possess a weapon, and the kid already had a juvenile record. They were both up shit creek.
"Next corner, get rid of it." Cam let Jeremy take the lead. "Toss it as hard as you can, kid."
Cam looked behind him, waited for the blind spot where his actions would go unnoticed and chucked his own pistol out into the bushes. He weaved the motorcycle back and forth in the lane, covering Jeremy's ass while the kid struggled with removing the gun from his belt.
"Hurry up," Cam yelled.
Any minute, they'd be riding onto the road leading to the house. He studied the kid. The guards he left at the house wouldn't let Christina walk out the door to see what was happening if she heard the siren, and she'd fight.
Jeremy's arm extended to the side, the pistol left his hand and fell almost straight down on the road. His motorcycle careened in the opposite direction and the kid crashed on the road, rolling toward the ditch. Cam almost chuckled at the decision Jeremy mistake made for him.
He could keep going. Once in the yard, he could take off running and the sheriff would take down Jeremy for being a minor in the possession of an illegal weapon, remove him from the house, and take him away from Christina.
Or, he could go back to prison and save them both.
Peace came over him and he applied the brakes, bringing his motorcycle to a stop. Running away was never a choice for him. He fought, he took what he wanted, and he survived. Christina had changed him.
He'd stopped, because he wouldn't cause her any more pain.
She loved Jeremy.
She loved what Cam could bring into her life.
She fucking loved having him close to her.
He got off his motorcycle and walked toward Jeremy.
The kid scrambled to his feet, holding his arm close to his side, and struggled under the weight of righting his motorcycle. Cam grabbed the handlebar and helped him straighten the bike. At least one of his lessons soaked into the kid. He put his attention toward the care of his bike before himself.
Jeremy mumbled, "The pistol caught on my jacket. I didn't mean—"
"Shut the fuck up, kid." Cam laid his hand on Jeremy's shoulder. "Whatever you do, don't open your damn mouth."
Sheriff Colby approached them, gun drawn. Cam inhaled, bored with the procedure already. He'd been here before, but usually an arrest happened with something more monumental than charges of running from a cop or getting caught with a weapon.
"Put your hands in the air and turn around," Sheriff Colby ordered.
Cam lifted his arms, turned, and flashed Jeremy a grin. The kid had nothing to be worried about. Once Cam got inside the prison, he'd take care of the threat against his family and his club. He'd do what he always did and get the job done.
"Go down on your knees, lie down, and put your hands out to your sides. Now," the sheriff said.
"Do what he says," Cam said, wincing as his weight landed on his knee. "He gets off on this. We might as well let him enjoy himself."
"I don't want to leave you," Jeremy whispered. "It's not right."
Right or wrong, Jeremy would never see what was in front of him. But, he could with Christina in his life.
"Listen carefully." Cam gazed at Jeremy, lying on his stomach, his cheek pressed against the gravel road. "You stay with Christina. You're responsible for her. If anything happens while I'm gone, I'll come after you. Do you hear me, kid?"
Jeremy's face scrunched up in frustration. "Yeah, but it's my gun. I screwed up. You won't get in trouble for—"
"Shut it." Cam hurried to continue. "You tell her that I'm taking care of her and you. Tell her...tell her that she can shoot me the next time she sees me, kid."
The sheriff yanked Cam's hands behind his back, handcuffed his wrists together, and pulled him to his knees. He clamped his teeth, holding in the groan from the pain radiating throughout his left leg.
"Turn around and sit on your butt," Sheriff Colby said, moving over to Jeremy where he repeated the procedure and helped the kid sit down.
The cool night breeze did nothing to stop the sweat from running down Cam's forehead. He held his head up, refusing to show any pain, any remorse, and any feelings that this was more than an inconvenience. If he allowed himself to feel, he'd take off running despite the handcuffs.
Sheriff Colby left them sitting on the rough ground and walked back toward the patrol car. In the headlights, Cam closed his eyes an extra beat when the sheriff reached down and plucked Jeremy's pistol off the ground.
"Shit," Jeremy muttered. "This is my fault. He's going to—"
"Kid." Cam shifted, putting less pressure on his strained arms. "I'm not going to tell you again. You don't say a fucking word if you want to see daylight in the morning."
The sheriff returned, held the pistol out, kicked out the full magazine of bullets, and checked the chamber. "Which one of you was carrying this weapon?"
"I was," Cam said, refusing to look at the kid.
Jeremy leaned toward him, shaking his head, wanting to put up a fight. Cam's look stopped the kid from opening his mouth and the sheriff droned on. He needed to go back to prison where he could protect the kid and Christina. It's where he needed to be, and when he got out, he hoped Christina was waiting for him.
"Cam Farrell, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent..."
Cam turned to Jeremy. "Remember what I said. You tell Christina I'm taking care of you both, and keep reminding her every day if she doesn't listen."
Jeremy nodded. "Cam, I—"
"I get it, kid." Cam lowered his voice as the sheriff droned on about rights that he'd never see in his lifetime. "You're officially patched in as a prospect. In eighteen months, I will be here to give you your lifer patch. Do not disappoint me."
"I won't." Jeremy's mouth tightened and hardness came over his gaze. "I'll make you proud, Dad."
Cam stared at the kid and swallowed the lump threatening to burst free. "Take care of my woman. Listen to her. She's everything good in this world, and that's something that neither one of us deserve, but you get that gift. Hold on to it and fight."
Sheriff Colby undid Jeremy's handcuffs. "I'll need to take you to the department, son. You're a minor, and I'll have to contact social services since you're without a guardian—"
"There's papers filed with my attorney. Christina Nickelson is granted custody of him if I'm unavailable," Cam said, taking in Jeremy's relief over the news. "Let the kid go home. The papers will be brought in as soon as I can make a phone call."
Sheriff Colby glanced between Cam and Jeremy, and nodded his approval. "Go ahead. Don't leave home in case I need to contact you."
Jeremy hesitated beside Cam. His reserve grew to see this through. He had to protect the kid.
He'd succeeded at keeping Jeremy free, and now he'd make sure the threats came off the boy's back. He'd fix his mistakes and give the kid back to Christina to show her that one good thing could come from a bad man.
The threat he'd received from Reds pointed out the fact someone else knew how he'd gained custody of Jeremy. He stared the kid in the eyes. Jeremy would never learn Cam had used him as a pawn.
Jeremy wasn't his biological son.
Hell, he didn't even know Jeremy's drug bitch of a mom. He'd used Jeremy to get to Christina.
Cam's cellmate, Ferris, had used his influence to gain forged DNA papers stating Cam was Jeremy's biological father. It was the only way to get to Christina without anyone questioning his motives.
He'd turned the crime of claiming someone else's kid into something good by putting Jeremy in the Moroad MC. He'd given Jeremy a family and support he wouldn't have gotte
n switching foster families every six months and then in two years being out on his own. While others would judge him for what he'd done, he was doing the kid a favor. Living within Moroad MC would keep the kid alive and out of prison until he could grow up and make a man's decision.
Cam dipped his chin. "Go home, kid."
Jeremy walked over to his motorcycle. The flooded engine started on the third try. Cam gazed at the kid who'd grown into a man tonight and spit into the wind. He'd do okay, because he remembered the first rule. Never leave your bike.
He led the sheriff to the car. By morning, after he stood in front of the judge, he'd be back on the inside of the prison system. Back home where he knew how to play, he knew how to survive, and he knew what he had to do. Moroad Motorcycle Club controlled inside and outside the Cycle fence. He would seek vengeance on those threatening his family.
He ducked his head and sat down in the backseat. Sheriff Colby made a U-turn and headed back to town. Cam gazed out the rear window down the gravel road and watched the lights go on in the house. Christina was awake and Jeremy was safe inside.
He faced forward, shutting off the pain of what he left behind.
Tonight, Christina would wrap herself in his blanket, tight enough nothing would hurt her. He ignored the ache pressing in on him over leaving her so soon, but he'd be back and she'd wait for him. He'd made it impossible for her to leave.
Chapter Thirty One
The sirens down the road faded away and the front door opened. Christina continued to watch out the front window. She'd seen Jeremy ride into the yard alone and deep in her heart, she knew Cam wasn't coming home.
Tonight, she'd sleep alone. Tomorrow, she'd wake up to an empty, cold bed. She'd have to face the truth. She'd fallen in love with a man that was bad for her and he'd left her broken.
"Christina," Jeremy whispered, his adolescent voice breaking at the end of her name.
She wanted to ignore the truth, but Jeremy needed her. She turned and opened up her arms. Jeremy shook his head, refusing her comfort. Tears rolled down his cheeks unchecked, unacknowledged, as if denying he was crying made him a man. He was a boy who had to grow up too soon, and now he'd lost another parent. Not to death, not to drugs, but to his choices.
