Katy's Choice (A Ravens MC Novel Book 3)

by J. L. Leslie

  Fuck. I look over at Eli, and he smiles. “More.”

  I scoop him up another bite and finish up the bowl of cereal. Brandy comes back through and grabs her purse. “I’ll put his car seat in your truck.”

  I nod and get Eli out of the highchair. He uses my shirt to wipe the milk off his face. I hear Brandy laughing as she closes the door.

  “Looks like it’s just you and me, kid,” I tell him.

  I’m positive it takes me twice as long to get him ready as it does Brandy. I don’t know what to put on him, and when he goes to potty, as Brandy calls it, he pisses all over the seat. Of course, he proceeds to laugh at me while I clean that shit up. When we’re finally on the road, he has to potty again.

  “Are you kidding me, kid?” I ask him, pulling the truck over.

  I shield his tiny body while he takes a leak, barely missing his little shoes. I’m buckling him back up when I see flashing blue lights.

  “If I get a ticket for indecent exposure, it’s coming out of your college tuition, Eli,” I scold, and he takes a sip from his cup.

  Little shit will have to piss again in five minutes, no doubt. I walk back to the driver’s side and open the door. “Sorry officer, kid had to take a leak.”

  “License and registration, please,” the officer snips. “Haven’t seen you around here before.”

  I climb into the truck, leaving the door open, and reach into the glovebox. I grab the registration and then retrieve my license from my wallet. I hand them to the officer, reading his nametag as I do. G. Knowles. What the fuck are the odds?

  “I have family here,” I explain.

  He glances at Eli, then back down to my license. “I’ll need to run this. Stay in your vehicle.”

  I bet you fucking do. Fuck me. “Yes, sir.”

  “Mr. Bryce?” Officer Knowles comes back, and I know he’s going to take me in. I don’t turn around until he instructs me to do so though. I’ll wait and see what he says first. “Who does this vehicle belong to?”

  “A friend,” I answer.

  “Is it not your vehicle?” he questions, handing me back my license.

  I put it back in my wallet while I answer. “It belongs to a friend of mine.”

  He looks at Eli again. “And whose kid is this you’re driving around?”

  “Am I under arrest, officer?”

  “I’m the sheriff,” he corrects. Smartass. “Typically when someone is driving around a vehicle that is not registered to them, and they’re not from this town, that means that vehicle is stolen.”

  “Has it been reported as stolen?” I question him, and I know it hasn’t been. All of the Ravens vehicles are registered under Helen Daughtry, Dax’s mother’s name. “Then maybe you watch too much Cops.”

  “Hey, kid, you want to take a ride in a cop car?” he asks Eli, giving me a cocky smirk. “I won’t cuff you in front of him as long as you cooperate.”

  I glance at my son, who doesn’t have a care in the world. He’s completely oblivious to what’s happening and I’ll keep it that way.

  I nod my head. “Let’s go.”

  ~Griffin~

  I watch Corbin, the security guard, enjoy his third donut while I go through the camera feed for last week. The Sinners arrived here roughly on Monday or Tuesday, from what I can guess. I spoke to the clerk, Leanne, and the deed for Lancaster Farm was signed last week on Wednesday to a Rita White. Of course, that name didn’t turn up shit.

  “Right there.” I point to the woman on the screen. Her attire is not skintight leather, but it’s her. The woman who gave me the message for Katy. I snap a picture of the screen with my phone. Maybe Eddie can work with that.

  “Enjoy your donuts, Corbin.”

  As I’m walking out, my phone starts ringing. I see that it’s Grandon, so I answer. I haven’t spoken with him much since we had lunch. He has no idea about the dead body posted on the courthouse column this morning.

  “Brother, it’s been a hell of a morning,” he says, chuckling.

  “You too?”

  “Shit, what’s going on in Verdana now?”

  I laugh, shaking my head. “Not much. Just a dead body nailed to the front of the courthouse. How about you?”

  “I can’t beat that, man, but I do have a Raven in custody though.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “I shit you not,” he says. “I brought him in because he was driving a vehicle registered to a Helen Daughtry. It was suspicious. Can’t hold him long. He had a kid with him. I just figure I’ll let him stew a bit before I release him.”

  “He say whose kid it is?” I ask him.

  “Nope. Only said he has family in Garnerville.”

  Yeah. I bet he does. “I’m coming there. Give me a few hours.”

  “You know if you do that, he’ll know who I am to you,” Grandon warns.

  “Trust me, if he saw your name tag, he already knows,” I tell him. “Besides, if you keep him there until I get there, I promise I’ll never call you Brandon again.”

  My brother burst out laughing. “Don’t make promises your ass can’t keep, Griffin.”

  I disconnect with him and stop by my office to inform Beverly I’m leaving for the day after my next hearing. She’s still pretty shaken up, so I tell her to take off. The relief on her face is evident.

  I drive straight to Garnerville when I’m done with court, unsure of what I’ll actually say to Kane when I see him. I don’t necessarily have anything personal against the man. I see him as a thorn in my side, just like Dax Daughtry is. Verdana would be better off without the Ravens. They have brought nothing, but strife to the town.

  I walk into the sheriff’s department, my own brother’s building, and he motions me back to the holding cells. There are only three cells at this building. The jail is two blocks away.

  “Aren’t you a little ways away from Verdana?” I question, seeing Kane sitting on the cement floor, elbows propped on his knees.

  “I could say the same about you, but then again, the sheriff is your brother, right?”

  “It’s good to have family in high places.” Kane doesn’t move to stand up. He simply stays seated, not allowing me to get a rise out of him. “What family do you have here in Garnerville?”

  That’s what I really want to know. If he’s fucking Katy, does his wife know? Does she know about the club whores? Why can’t I have Katy? How come every fucking woman I want chooses one of these lowlife assholes?

  “Is he who helped you locate Katy? Get her out of hiding?”

  My nostrils flare at the mention of her name, hearing it come from his mouth. “Katy was grateful that I brought her here, reunited her with her sister,” I let him know, allow him to believe whatever he wants. I can see it in his eyes that he’s questioning exactly how grateful she was to me. “She hadn’t seen her in years, and I brought them back together. I did that for her.”

  He stands and comes to the bars, wrapping his fingers around the steel. His look is murderous, full of hatred. Exactly what I want to see.

  “What does your family think about the other life you live outside of here?” I ask him. “What do they think about the fucked up things you do? About who you really are?”

  “I take care of my family,” he replies. “And I took real good fucking care of Katy.”

  I slam my hands on the bars, and he laughs, knowing I allowed him to get to me. I can still hear him laughing, yelling about how good she rode his cock, as I walk away.

  Chapter Eighteen

  ~Katy~

  I should tell Kane no, that last night was a one-time thing. That Ashley is better suited to take care of him, but I can’t seem to form words as he urges me lower. Pre-cum glistens on the tip of his dick, and I lick it off with my tongue.

  “That’s it, Katy,” he encourages me, and I take him in my mouth.

  I don’t remember exactly how I got to my apartment. Don’t remember letting him in. I just know we’re here, and I don’t want to be anywhere else. How I�
��ve come to care about this man so quickly in such a short period of time, I have no idea.

  He tastes good, making my core ache at the thought of him filling me. His fingers thread through my hair, gripping tightly. Tears prick my eyes as he brings me to the brink of pain.

  “You get her ready for me?” Griffin’s voice calls out from the doorway, and I try to stop moving my mouth. Try to figure out what’s happening. Why he’s here.

  Kane uses his hand to pull my head down on his shaft, keeping me stroking his cock. “It’s okay, Katy. We both have what you want,” he promises.

  “That’s right,” Griffin confirms, coming behind me. He slides my panties down my thighs, drawing his fingers over my flesh. He positions himself at my dripping entrance and thrusts inside me. “You don’t have to choose.”

  “Katy?” Mr. Greene calls my name. “Katy, are you okay?”

  I snap out of my daydream, heat flooding my cheeks. “Yes, sir. I apologize.”

  “Your shift is over,” he informs me.

  I hadn’t even realized it. I worked right through lunch. I’ve barely seen the Raven that’s here with me today. He brought me in at eleven and said he would be around. I’ve spotted him a few times, but not often. I suppose he’s waiting outside for me now.

  I go punch out, but instead of finding my babysitter, I find Dax waiting for me. He doesn’t greet me or ask how my day was. I don’t really expect him to.

  “Did Moses have to leave?” I ask him, unable to stand the silence.

  “I sent him on a new assignment,” he answers. “We’re going to pick up Kane.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  He chuckles at this. “You have some manners, Katy. Raiden would be wanting to know where we are picking Kane up at. Wondering what he did. She can be nosy sometimes.”

  “I assume we’re going to the clubhouse.”

  “Nope,” he replies, and of course, I want to know where we’re going now. Instead of asking, I keep my mouth shut.

  Being with Mack, I learned that if he wanted me to know something, he would tell me. Dax Daughtry is the president of the Ravens. He doesn’t divulge information unless he wants it known. He’s bringing me along, so obviously he wants me to know where we’re going.

  “I asked you if you were fucking Kane. You told me no.”

  “I wasn’t.” At the time.

  “I had your things moved from your apartment. You’re not safe there anymore,” Dax informs me.

  “I can’t stay at the clubhouse. I’m sorry, I can’t live there,” I reply instantly.

  “Good, because I don’t want you there,” he laughs. “I already had one place I loved burned to the fucking ground. Simply moved you to a new place, under a new name.”

  “Thank you.”

  Dax shrugs. “Told you we’d take care of you. We’re Ravens.”

  ~Griffin~

  “You need to calm the fuck down, brother,” Grandon tells me, tossing me a bottle of water.

  “Do you hear that asshole?” I ask him, motioning back to where Kane is locked up. Everyone in the department can hear him.

  “You’re letting him get to you,” Grandon says. “What did you say to him just now anyway?”

  “I insinuated that Katy and I had been together,” I reply, crossing my arms over my chest. “I knew it would piss him off.”

  “Have you?” he questions. “Been with her?”

  I roll my eyes. “He sure as hell doesn’t deserve her.”

  “Maybe you have a type,” Grandon smirks, and I flip him off.

  The bell on the door chimes and I’m not surprised to see Dax enter. I am surprised to see Katy following behind him. I immediately stand up and go to her while Dax steps around me and goes to talk to my brother.

  “Hey, what are you doing here?”

  “Well, Dax said we were coming to get Kane. Why are you here?” she asks, looking around the department.

  “You have no reason to hold him, sheriff. You and I both know that,” Dax states.

  I have no idea how he knew Kane was brought in so quickly. He hasn’t gotten a phone call, yet Dax is here not long after me. Any sooner, and he would’ve beat me here.

  “Katy, I know you’re afraid, but Kane is not the answer to your problems.”

  She averts her gaze from me, so I take her hand and lead her to the holding cells. Before we get to Kane, I stop. I hold my hand up, indicating that she should wait for me. I approach Kane’s cell where he’s still gripping the bars in anger.

  “You feel better, Kane? Yelling and screaming about how good Katy was?” I sneer, then lean in close so only he can hear me. “Because I know how sweet that pussy of hers is and you won’t be getting near it again. I’ll be taking care of her from now on.”

  He rages against the bars, an animalistic roar leaving his throat. “Fuck you! I fucked her so good she’ll be begging on her fucking hands and knees for this cock, motherfucker! I’ll feed it to her, inch by fucking inch, and I’ll make you watch! You can watch that bitch beg for this fucking cock! That pussy is mine, motherfucker!”

  Through his anger, it takes him a moment to realize that Katy has approached. That she stands beside me, her mouth parted in shock. Her eyes wide and filled with tears.

  “He’s not the answer, Katy,” I tell her again.

  “Katy,” he chokes out, his voice filled with remorse as he watches me lead her away.

  I don’t give a shit. The Ravens have taken a lot from me. I bend over fucking backwards for them, and I get nothing. I lose, over and over again. I’m not losing this damn time.

  Chapter Nineteen

  ~Katy~

  I’m halfway down the hall when I pull my hand from Griffin’s grasp. He gives me a confused look, but I back away from him. I don’t want this anymore. This confusion. This guilt I feel over the two of them.

  I know I had that daydream earlier because part of me wants the life Griffin can provide for me. I want what he has to offer, and I know that I have feelings for him to an extent. He’s the man who gave me my life back. Who reminded me that I’m still Katy McGuire. I’m the one who hasn’t brought her back to life. I’m the one still hiding. I hide from everyone, including Kane.

  He may be a biker, and he may be in a club, but he’s not Mack. He reminds me who I really am, and that I can run from that all I want, but it doesn’t change anything. I will always be me. What’s ingrained in me isn’t going away.

  “Dax, I need a vehicle,” I tell him, then add, “please.”

  He looks to the sheriff, and the man who favors Griffin quite a bit opens a drawer to the desk he’s at and grabs a set of keys out. “The truck is parked in the back.”

  Dax walks me to the door. “You can call your sister. She’ll give you the address to your new place. There’s protection under the seat. I assume you know how to use it.”

  “Yes, sir.” I exit the building, but my reprieve is short lived when I hear Griffin calling after me. “Not now!”

  “Katy, wait!” he calls out. “You can’t keep running!”

  “I’m not running!” I yell. “I’m fighting!”

  “For that?”

  “Don’t play innocent, Griffin. None of us are innocent in this,” I say.

  He runs a hand through his blonde locks and apologizes. “You’re right, I’m sorry. I’ll back off, but before you leave, I need to know what you took from the Sinners.”

  I furrow my brow. “Seriously? I didn’t take anything from them, Griffin!”

  “Katy, you have something they want. I was given a message to give you. To tell you to burn it. What is it that you have that you can burn?”

  “Nothing. I have nothing that belongs to them. Now, I’m going!”

  He throws his hands up in defeat, retreating back inside the building. I find the truck and climb inside. I turn on my GPS to get back to Verdana. I’ll find my new place later. For now, I only want to drive.

  I turn onto First Street and realize I’m on the street where Leon’s sh
op is. I pull in and park beside one of the vehicles waiting to be fixed. I can tell that it’s Sully working underneath one of the cars. Leon is outside getting ready to pull a Chevy into the garage. He sees me and gives me a wave.

  I stop at the truck and give him a weak smile. “Life is swallowing me up, Leon. Do you mind?”

  He motions for me to go inside without even saying a word. I thank him and open the door to the house. I instantly go to the sofa. I drop down and curl my legs up on the oversized cushions.

  I close my eyes and tell myself that I’m not stupid for getting involved with Kane. That the words he said were only in anger. Damn, they hurt though. I came here for peace.

  Peace. I wipe my tears away and sit up. I move to stand as Sully burst into the house.

  “We found Lloyd.”

  ~Kane~

  The fucking sheriff takes his precious time processing me out. Fucking dickhead. I pace in front of his desk, anxious and pissed. It’s probably best for his walls that he let me go.

  Dax glances at me and gives me a stern look, letting me know that I need to pull it together. He didn’t drop his kid off and come to a jail cell. He didn’t watch his woman walk off, hand in hand, with another man.

  “You’re free to go,” the sheriff informs us, and I storm out the door.

  Dax gives me all of two minutes outside alone before he’s hot on my trail. “Get your fucking shit together and get in the damn truck.”

  I snatch the passenger door open and climb in, slamming it so hard the glass rattles. “I need to make a stop before we go to the clubhouse.”

  Four months. It’s been four months since I’ve fed my addiction. Four months too fucking long.

  “Snort that shit up your nose again, and I’ll put a bullet in your fucking skull,” Dax states.

  I glare at him, my blood heating. “Are you fucking kidding me? Are you some damn saint now?”

  “I don’t pretend to be, but I know my limits. You don’t know yours,” he says, calmly. “You are one of my best. Loyal to the core. I won’t have some piece of pussy ruining that.”