“Gunner can organize the Rizzoli ambush.” Jagger pointed to each man as he assigned tasks. “Cade and Zane, you go up to Whitefish with the prospect and get Wolf’s AKs. Demon Spawn is our support club in the region. They can help out.”
“Sounds like we’re in for some good times.” Tall and dark, his skin lightly tanned, and his hair just brushing his shoulders, Zane stroked the goatee he had grown during his mysterious disappearance at the end of last summer. Although Cade wasn’t a fan of facial hair, Zane’s goatee had caused such a stir among the club’s women, Cade had almost considered growing one himself.
Cade snorted a laugh. “I didn’t know ‘good time’ was in your vocabulary.”
Reserved and fiercely private, Zane was the least fun guy Cade had ever known. He rarely drank or socialized at club functions, and Cade could count on one hand the number of times he’d seen Zane with a woman.
“That’s ’cause my idea of a good time doesn’t involve hot tubs, booze, and multiple women in my bed,” Zane shot back.
Cade couldn’t refute that statement, but right now there was only one woman he wanted in his bed, and he’d put her in danger. “What about Dawn? Mad Dog threatened to drag her back to his clubhouse. He’s using their kids as leverage.”
Zane gave a derisory snort. “She’s a civilian. If she needs help, she can call the police.”
“Zane’s right,” Jagger said. “We can’t get involved in a marital dispute between a Brethren member and his old lady, especially if we’re negotiating terms of a patch-over. If you want to get involved in their affairs, you’ll have to do it without your cut.”
Without my cut? Cade barely processed the rest of Jagger’s words. He hadn’t gone anywhere without his colors since the day he first put them on. Hell, sometimes he slept in them. Jagger might as well ask him to cut off his right arm. His colors were everything—a symbol of a new life where he wasn’t burdened by the past, where the only person he had to look out for was himself, and where his brothers had his back. His cut was his creed: freedom, loyalty, and brotherhood.
Life.
* * *
“One thousand dollars?” Dawn stared at Shelly-Ann aghast. “I don’t have one thousand dollars just sitting around the house. I’ve given you the money for this week. I have the girls for six hours.”
Maia and Tia clung to her, their fingers digging through her clothes. Tia’s soft whimpers sliced through a heart. Her girls weren’t stupid. They knew exactly what was going on and it twisted her heart that they understood blackmail at the tender age of seven.
“You got three hours with them unless you come up with the cash,” Shelly-Ann rasped from the window of her vehicle. She looked worse than she sounded today, her face pale and sallow, dark circles under her eyes, and her nose rimmed red. “You found a way to give me what I wanted before; you’ll do it again.”
Dawn pushed the girls behind her and out of sight of Shelly-Ann. “I have nothing left and you know it. I’m working three jobs. I sold my car. I’m renting my house. I buy nothing. I go nowhere. What do you need more money for?”
Shelly-Ann pressed her lips together. “Kids are expensive.”
“Not that expensive.” Taking a chance, Dawn leaned in and lowered her voice. “You’re in some kind of trouble, aren’t you? Don’t involve my girls, Shelly-Ann. They’re just children. It isn’t fair.”
“Life isn’t fucking fair,” Shelly-Ann spat out. “Thought you’d already figured that one out.”
“I’ll give you what I’ve got.” Dawn pulled out her purse and gave Shelly-Ann her tip money and pay from Banks Bar. “There’s six hundred there. I can ask my landlord for a month grace on my rent. But I can’t do it again next week.”
“Then you won’t see your kids next week.” Shelly-Ann snatched the money and stuffed it in her purse. “You’re lucky I got a massage and hair appointment booked for this afternoon. You got your six hours but you owe me. Next week I won’t let them outta the car till you make it good.”
Dawn sagged against a tree as soon as Shelly-Ann’s vehicle peeled out of the parking lot. For the longest time, Shelly-Ann had been content with the money Dawn and Jimmy paid her, but in the last few weeks her demands had increased, and Dawn had nothing left to give. What was going on? Between her and Jimmy, they had to be giving Shelly-Ann at least five thousand dollars a month.
“Mom. There’s a biker staring at us?” Maia tugged on Dawn’s arm and pointed across the playground to a lone biker in the parking lot. From this distance, Dawn couldn’t see the patch on his cut, but he didn’t look like any of the members of the Devil’s Brethren she knew. Still, given what Cade had said about Jimmy coming for her, she couldn’t take any chances.
“Let’s go to the concession stand.” Feigning calm, she slowed the swing and helped Tia down. She tried to make the most of every minute of her Sunday access visits with the girls. Now that the weather was warmer, they could venture outside again, and the park was their favorite place to play.
“He’s getting off his bike.” Tia’s voice dropped to a whisper and she plastered herself against Dawn’s side.
“What if it’s Jimmy?” Maia’s small face paled. “What if he wants to hurt us or take us away?”
“I won’t let that happen.” She gave Tia a squeeze and reached for Maia’s hand, wondering if they believed her. After all, she had effectively let Jimmy take them away last year, albeit through the courts, and she hadn’t been able to stop him from hitting Tia …
Stop. She slammed a mental wall down, blocking out all the feelings of despair, frustration, and self-doubt that had plagued her since she lost custody of the girls. That road led right back to Jimmy and a loss of the self-worth that she had rebuilt, brick by brick, over the three years since she left him. No one could have foreseen how he would use the courts against her, or that he had the wherewithal to fabricate evidence and pay off a judge. If she couldn’t stay strong and believe in herself, she would never get them back.
The biker drew closer, eating up the distance between them with easy strides of his long, lean legs. Tia whimpered. Shy and withdrawn as a result of Jimmy’s abuse, Tia was afraid of strangers and reluctant to talk outside her close circle of friends and family. The school counselor had assured Dawn that over time, in a stable and loving environment, Tia would eventually recover. And in the two happy years they’d had together after leaving Jimmy, Tia had come out of her shell.
And then it all came crashing down.
Her heart kicked up a notch as the biker drew closer, passing through the shade of the massive chestnut trees that separated the playground from the playing fields, but damned if she would run and show the children her fear. There were at least thirty other caregivers in the playground, along with their children. Even Jimmy wouldn’t try anything in front of so many witnesses.
“Mom. He’s waving.” Always the brave one, Maia took a step forward. She hadn’t emerged from their time with Jimmy unscathed—she still suffered from nightmares—but she had been the most successful at putting the bad times behind her. Dawn admired her resilience and optimism. No matter how bad things got, Maia could always make her smile.
“I know him.” Maia’s voice rose in pitch. “That’s the biker who saved us on the street. The one who scared Jimmy away.”
Dawn studied the biker as he pulled the bandanna from his hair, revealing a head of slightly damp, golden curls. Her gaze traveled down over his broad shoulders to his toned pecs and the ripples of his abs beneath his tight black T-shirt. He bent slightly to the side, one hand against his ribs, almost as if he was … injured.
Cade.
Her heart rate slowed and she released the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Then her heart kicked up again, for an entirely different reason. “Yes, you’re right. He’s a … friend. He won’t hurt us.” The latter she said for Tia’s benefit, but her daughter was already behind her, face pressed against Dawn’s back as if she could make the biker disappear just by eras
ing the sight of him.
He stopped a few feet away, and Dawn tensed. “Cade. What are you doing here?”
“Checking up on you. I gotta go out of town, and I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I left.”
He glanced down at Maia, and then at Tia, still pressed against her side. “Hello, lovely ladies. I hope you haven’t run in front of any more trucks.”
“Did you catch Jimmy? Did he do that to your face?” Maia tilted her head to the side and studied Cade’s bruises. He looked even worse than he had when he’d stopped by Dawn’s apartment on Thursday night, the bruises now a greenish yellow and covering most of his face. He’d removed the bandages from his forehead and cheeks, and the cuts were dark and crusted. No doubt, they would leave scars. And yet they only added to his rugged charm.
“Unfortunately, he caught me first.” Cade bent down, grimacing in pain and dropped to one knee in front of her. “But I’m pretty damn sure he looks worse than me today. Which twin are you?”
“Maia. I do the talking. Sometimes I get in trouble for talking too much. Mrs. Walker made me stay in for recess because she gave me three warnings and I forgot. Tia’s the quiet one, but she’s smarter than me and does more thinking. She likes purple. I like pink.”
He gently lifted her hand and gave it a shake. “Nice to see you again, Maia-who-likes-pink. Musta been important stuff you were saying to forget to follow the rules.”
She nodded, her face grave. “It was.”
Cade leaned to the side, trying to catch Tia’s gaze. “And this must be Tia.”
Tia tightened her grip and turned her face away. Dawn patted the tiny hand on her stomach.
“It’s okay. Cade’s a good biker.”
“He’s still a biker,” Maia said, withdrawing her hand from Cade’s grasp. “And bikers are bad.”
“Maia…”
“It’s okay.” Cade pushed himself to his feet. “I’m guessing living with Jimmy wasn’t all flowers and sunshine.”
“There were flowers.” Maia’s gaze dropped and she toed the grass underfoot. “He bought flowers sometimes after he hit—”
“Maia.” Dawn’s cheeks heated and she bent down and lowered her voice. “We don’t talk about that. Especially not to people we don’t know. That time is gone. We live in the now.”
Maia’s bottom lip trembled. “I thought he’d feel better if he knew that Jimmy hurts everyone.”
“Not for fucking long,” Cade muttered.
“Cade!”
“He swore.” Maia gave him an assessing look. “Just like Jimmy. And he wears the same clothes as Jimmy. But he has a nice face. Jimmy has a mean face.”
Unabashed, Cade twisted his lips to the side. “I’m nothing like Jimmy. First, I’m much better looking. Second, I save the swearing for special occasions. And third, I’ll bet he never bought you ice cream.” He looked to Dawn for confirmation. “If that’s okay with your mom.”
“Bribery. Very nice.” Dawn laughed and sent the girls to the concession stand to choose their flavors, pushing all thoughts about Shelly-Ann to the back of her mind. “I thought you’d scare the girls away in your leathers and chains.”
He gave her a cocky grin and placed a hand on her lower back, guiding her along the path. “What can I say? I have a way with the ladies no matter how old they are.”
“You have a way of finding ladies, too. How did you know where we were?” His hand was warm against her back, and she tried to ignore the curious glances of the other parents in the park. As far as her neighbors knew, she was a conservative, hardworking single mom with shared custody of her kids and no connection to unsavory biker types who looked sinfully good in worn, low-rise jeans.
“Drove by the park on my way to your house and saw Jimmy’s sister dropping the girls off. Decided to make sure she wasn’t giving you a hard time.”
Warmth pooled in her belly, and for a moment she considered sharing her concerns about Shelly-Ann. But her business wasn’t his business, and it wasn’t like he could help. “We’re doing fine. Thanks for checking up on us. I’m glad to see you’re up and about.”
His fingers tightened around her waist, sending a delicious tingle up her spine. “That’s ’cause I had a good doctor. Although after seeing you in those little shorts, I had an ache that just wouldn’t go away.”
“Cade. Behave.” She jabbed him lightly with her elbow, and he laughed, his deep rumble reverberating through her body. Before Cade, her sexual experience had been limited to a few fumbles with inexperienced teenagers, and then Jimmy, for whom sex was a purely selfish event. But in the two nights she and Cade had been together, they’d done things she’d only fantasized about, and then some things she could never have imagined. Even now, her cheeks heated at the memories.
“I can’t behave around you.” His voice dropped, husky and low. “Last time we were together—”
“Was the last time we will be together.” Disconcerted by the intensity of her feelings, she pulled away. “I had a good time with you, but I’m not interested in getting involved. I have my hands full with work, the girls, and the custody fight.” She was good at building walls to protect herself. Even with him, she’d given her body but kept a lock on her heart.
At least, she thought she had, but when he leaned down and brushed his lips over hers, her betraying heart stuttered in her chest.
“You’re interested in getting involved with me,” he whispered. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have invited me to sleep in your bed. You think I’m hot.”
Dawn lifted an eyebrow. “Is this part of the seduction technique you use to lure sweet, sexy young things into your bed?”
He nuzzled her neck, feathering kisses along her jaw as one hand curved over her ass. She should push him away. Run. Hide. Pretend she didn’t enjoy having a badass biker whisper naughty words in her ear in the middle of the playground as he set her blood on fire. But she couldn’t move. Couldn’t speak. Instead, she closed her eyes and went along for the ride, tilting her head to the side to give him better access.
“That’s my girl,” he murmured against her ear. “She’s sweet. She’s sexy. And she wants me in her bed, my hands on her body, my mouth between her—”
“Mom.”
Somewhere in the distance, someone was calling her name. This wasn’t a dream; it was real. And she’d almost made the same mistake with him again. She jerked back, her cheeks flushing at her uncharacteristic loss of control.
“I can’t believe you.” She shook off her lust-induced haze and pulled away. “We’re in the playground.”
A sly smile tugged at his lips. “Swings. Chains. Gives me so many ideas.”
“You’re filthy.” And she loved it. But she would never let him know.
“So are you, if I recall correctly.” He licked his lips and Dawn’s throat tightened. God, he looked like he wanted to do her right here. And if not for her girls, and the playground full of people, and the fact it was illegal, and it was the middle of the day, she might have agreed.
But she knew better than that. She’d walked away from him for a reason—and it had as much to do with the fact that he was an outlaw biker with a reputation for sleeping around, as with how easily she succumbed to his touch and how much it scared her. Yes, he was hot. And, apparently, good with kids. But she had a history of trusting the wrong people for the wrong reasons, and his world was not a place she wanted to be ever again.
They stopped beside the concession stand where Maia and Tia had made it to the front of the line. Maia turned to wave Dawn over, and a tall, bearded, giant of a man pushed past her, knocking her down on his way to the counter. Dawn ran over and picked a sobbing Maia off the ground.
“It wasn’t his turn.” Maia looked down and saw blood on her knees and her sob turned into a wail. Tia’s eyes widened and she clung to Maia’s hand.
“You’re right.” Her face flushed with indignation, Dawn leaned over the counter and caught the attention of the server. “These girls were next.”
“Not fucking waiting for kids who can’t make up their minds,” the man growled. “I just want a soda.”
“The back of the line is over there,” Dawn gestured behind her. “You can wait like everyone else. And on your way, you can apologize to my daughter. You knocked her down and she scraped her knees.”
“Fuckin’ bitch. Don’t tell me what to do.”
Dawn sucked in a breath and her vision sheeted red. A tiny niggle at the back of her mind warned her this was a fight she couldn’t win. But she’d done enough running away in her life. And this time, she had backup.
“You got this, Dawn?” Cade appeared at her elbow, his calm, steady presence spreading over her like a warm blanket.
She scowled at the man in front of her. “Yes, thanks. This gentleman was just heading to the back of the line.”
The giant looked back over his shoulder at the angry crowd, then he locked gazes with Cade. Electricity crackled between them. Cade growled, ever so softly, cold and menacing, dark and threatening. Dawn sensed rather than saw the shift in the balance of power.
“Didn’t want a damn soda, anyway.” The bully lowered his gaze and stepped out of line.
“Wait.” Dawn’s voice cracked through the shocked silence. “You owe my daughter an apology.”
“Fuck you.”
Wham. Cade shoved him up against the wall, with a strength and ferocity that made Dawn’s heart pound. He closed his hand around the bully’s throat and Dawn leaned right up in his face.
“Apology. Now.”
Eyes glittering with repressed anger, Cade loosened his hand enough for the man to speak.
“Sorry, kid.”
“Thank you.” Dawn took a step back and nodded at Cade, indicating he should release his grip. Cade lowered his hand and the man stumbled away to the murmured appreciation of the crowd.
“Thanks for having my back. Whenever anyone threatens my children, I just see red.”
“Pretty damn hot seeing you go all mama bear on his ass.” Cade chuckled and put his arm around her shoulders while the girls leaned over the counter to choose their ice cream. Although outwardly he appeared calm and relaxed, she could feel the blood pounding through his veins and the quiver of his muscles from unspent adrenaline. “Good thing we’re in public.”
The Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, Books 1-3 Page 39
