Curious as to why he’d pick Knight of all people, I roll my eyes and scoff,
“I’m not sure Lena would be down with that.”
“Well, while you’ve been living under a fucking rock since Kennedy came to town, shit went down between Knight and Lena, and last I heard she’d filed for a divorce,” he returns tersely.
“Say fucking what?” I exclaim. “Bullshit! Knight loves that woman to death. I get they went through a rough patch for a while there, but I thought they were past that. It’s been what, two years now?”
Boss clenches his jaw, proving just how angry he is about this turn of events. Knight might not be as tight with Boss as he is with Jonas, and now Fury and Gage, but my Prez considers him a close friend, which puts him firmly under Boss’ umbrella of protection. Not that Knight needs protecting, the man’s an ex-champion boxer, fully capable of taking care of himself.
“He might love her, but Lena claims she doesn’t love him anymore,” Boss tells me, shaking his head sadly. “His personal relationships are none of my business, but the man’s fucking destroyed. They haven’t been living together for six months because Lena said she needed some space, but Knight was holding out hope she’d take that time to get herself together and come back to him. Obviously, she was never planning on going home since she retained a divorce attorney three months before she had Knight served.”
“Jesus.”
“Yeah, I don’t have a whole lot of love for Lena right now, either. And since we’re on the topic, that’s the other thing I wanted to talk to you about. Knight, not Lena.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Boss sighs.
“I need someone to keep an eye on him.”
“How so?” I grunt. “Knight’s not a man who’ll take kindly to being babysat, brother. And I really don’t feel like getting my ass kicked.”
Boss shrugs as if having the shit beaten out of me is no big deal, which I suppose to him it isn’t.
“I’m not asking you to fucking stalk him, Cash. I was thinking of going in under the pretense of you working out with Talon in the lead up to the football season. The kid’s got to train, and you lift in your basement anyway, so why not move your work out to Knight’s where you can keep tabs on him?”
Closing my eye in defeat, I groan heavily.
“That could work, but I still don’t think he’ll buy it. He still running monthly fight night?”
“I don’t give a shit whether he buys it or not, that bitch of a wife of his is fucking with his head, showing up at the gym unannounced. Knight is willing to let her go without a fight because that’s what Lena wants, but as far as I’m concerned, that means she should be making this as easy on him as she can,” he spits angrily. “Not to mention, Knight’s new floor manager had a run in with Lena last week, and that didn’t go down too well with the big man. As for the other, yeah, as far as I know he is.”
This is the first I’ve heard of Knight hiring any new staff, but as Boss said, I’ve been a bit preoccupied lately.
“What, the new guy hit on Lena or something?”
“Not even close,” he grins slyly. “Because the new manager isn’t a man; it’s a woman. Zara is a fucking spitfire,” Boss chuckles fondly. “You think our women are hard to handle, they’ve got nothing on her.”
Tilting my head at him for him to continue, Boss takes the hint and goes on to say,
“I know Zara’s old man, Chase. He’s only a couple of years older than I am; forty-three or thereabouts. Knocked up Zara’s mom when he was eighteen and stayed with her out of obligation for his kid. Tracy delivered Zara and took off straight from the hospital. Never went home to get her shit, didn’t say goodbye to Chase or her baby, leave a note, nothing. Chase raised Zara on his own until she was two, and did a fucking good job of it. Every time I saw him around town, she was with him, glued to his side. Zara adores him. Chase got married to Ashleigh, three years after Tracy skipped town, and they had three more kids together. All boys; Slade, Rhodes, and Paxton. Ashleigh already had a son from her previous marriage, Locke who was ten when Chase came into the picture. Needless to say, Zara knows how to put a man in his place considering all of her brothers are overprotective to the extreme. Locke, especially.”
“So this Zara chick had it out with Lena then?” I prompt.
“Something like that, which is why indirectly, I want you to keep an eye on, Zara. She’s a wild card, and her dislike of Lena runs deep, regardless of the fact she barely knows the woman. Zara’s loyal to the core, so my best guess is that she’s taken particular offense to Lena shitting all over her boss. Add to that, Zara’s an easy target for Knight’s anger since she’s a pain in his ass, which only makes Zara dislike Lena more. Not that I blame her, I’m in the same boat.”
While I wouldn’t mind sitting around shooting the shit for the rest of the day, I’ve got things to do to make the trip Kennedy and I are taking tomorrow happen.
“You said there were two things you wanted to discuss,” I prod. “I take it, Zara was one of them, and for what it’s worth, I’m on board with your plan. I’ll talk to Talon and get him into the gym the day after I get back into town. That covers the first issue, so what’s the other?”
“About that,” he mutters dubiously. “When you get back, I’ll call church because we’ve got some business to discuss. I’m working on firming up the intel, but Briggs, Dog, and Ruger are in the wind. Hells Riders mother charter in Wisconsin haven’t heard from them in over a week, or so Nix says. He called yesterday to give us the heads up that they’re after retribution for taking out their brothers.”
Jesus Christ! When the fuck will this end?
Why the three AWOL Hells Riders are out to start a war between them and Vengeance is so far beyond my comprehension it’s fucking laughable. Worm and Ripper, their brothers, and former Hells Riders were responsible for murdering Diesel our VP.
Ripper’s unhealthy interest in Cami, sister to Hells Riders President Nix, escalated to a full-blown obsession which put Diesel in his crosshairs. Ultimately, Ripper decided that if he couldn’t have Cami, Diesel couldn’t either.
A single close range shot between his eyes ended Diesel’s life and brought about Worm and Ripper’s deaths not even a month and a half later. Vengeance may have been the ones to carry out their executions, but their fate wasn’t undeserved. Briggs, Dog, and Ruger know that, which is why this feels like it’s come out of left field.
“Any clue where these assholes are?” I push, wanting nothing more than to go out hunting.
Boss’ hands clench into fists as he tries to rein in his mounting frustration, answering,
“None, but I intend to find out. You’ve got enough shit on your plate, but you’re the best tracker we’ve got, so I’m going to have to ask you to hit the ground running when you get back.”
“You don’t want me to postpone?” I mutter, shocked he’s still agreeing to me leaving in the midst of this.
“We don’t have any reliable intel that they’re planning anything, Cash. This is all just chatter at the moment, so there’s no sense in you hanging around when we’re in a holding pattern until the feelers we’ve put out produce some leads,” Boss informs me. “It’s Tuesday, I expect to see you at the clubhouse with Jump by ten on Saturday morning. I’ll arrange for the boys to watch Jump while you’re gone, and tell Mia she’s going to stay with Knight. If that causes a problem, I’ll talk to Zara. She’s only got a one-bed studio, but no doubt she’ll let Mia stay with her if needs be. We’ll go over everything again at church, but for now, focus on your woman and leave the rest to us. We’ve got your back, brother.”
The tension drains from me as I realize for the first time in a long time, I trust someone other than myself with my family.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
~ Kennedy ~
“You don’t have to be crazy to hang out with me… I’ll train you.”
– Kennedy to Mia
Mia’s satisfied sigh from the passenger’s seat
of my car as we drive away from Boss and Beth’s house makes me smile.
Mia was nervous and unsure as we walked through the doors of their home, but as soon as she saw Beth’s three-month-old twins, Jamie, and Heather, it was as if Mia became an entirely different person. Honestly, I thought I was going to have to pry her away from the babies to get her to leave.
Glancing over at her before returning my attention to the road, I ask,
“How did you get to be so good with children?”
I wasn’t expecting her to answer me with anything other than a few words, so when she speaks animatedly, I can’t help but be a little shocked.
“I’ve always like kids; they are so uncomplicated in comparison to adults. My sister had heaps of friends when we were younger, she still does. Me, not so much. I never understood teenage girls even when I was one. I suppose that’s partly because I was so used to being alone, but that aside, I didn’t fit in with the cliques in middle or high school. I wasn’t outgoing enough to be part of the drama crowd, the math, chess, and science clubs weren’t my speed, and the cheerleading squad was full of bitchy, catty wannabe prom queens.”
Giggling at her accurate description of cheerleaders, I nod encouraging her to continue.
“Ella tried really hard to include me, but her friends didn’t like me hanging around with them, so I made excuses why I could go out with her. My sister’s three years older than me, so I don’t blame them for not wanting me to cramp their style, but it still hurt. They weren’t kind with their words when they told me I was nothing more than an obligation to them, but they were careful not to say anything while Ella was in earshot.”
I pat her hand comfortingly and murmur,
“I’m sorry that happened to you.”
“Yeah, me too,” she nods sadly. “I didn’t tell Ella about what they said because I didn’t want her to feel like she had to choose between her friends and me. In hindsight, I wish I had because they ended up making her life a living hell before she graduated.”
Mia sucks in a deep breath, and I stay quiet waiting to see what she says next.
“I don’t know why they did it, but her friends sabotaged her prom date, ruined her dress, and canceled her limo for the night. To this day, Ella has no idea either. If I had to guess, I’d say it was because they were jealous. My sister is beautiful, smart, and was dating the captain of the basketball team at the time. It’s no secret that every girl in school wanted to get into his pants, but he chose to date Ella.”
Interrupting, I say,
“That doesn’t explain how you got to be so good with children, though, Mia.”
Stifling a giggle, Mia smiles which is truly a sight to behold. If I thought she was beautiful before, which without question she is, when Mia smiles she’s stunning.
“No, I don’t suppose it does,” Mia admits, covering her mouth with her hand as if to hide her smile. “Anyway, while Ella was busy with her friends, I started babysitting for our next door neighbor. She was a single mom of two and had just picked up an extra shift at work. Marcy needed the money and the graveyard shift paid well, but she didn’t have anyone to look after the kids so I offered to do it for free. She wanted to pay me, but I told her to put the money toward bills and stuff. I didn’t need the money, our parents are well-off, and Marcy wasn’t. After a few hours of playing, watching movies, feeding and bathing them, I fell in love with Andre and Lilliana. Those were her kids,” she grins at me.
“At three and five they were a handful, little terrors, both of them, but they made me laugh, and I like to think they enjoyed spending time with me too,” she says with a wistful tone in her voice. “I babysat for Andre and Lilli six days a week until I left for college. So almost four years in total. I missed them terribly when I moved to Phoenix, which led me to apply for a live-in nanny position for a family with two kids of their own that I saw advertised on one of the bulletin boards on campus.”
“Oh, wow,” I exhale. “That must have been an experience.”
“Mm hmm,” she mutters unconvincingly, and I understand why a moment later. “The kids were great. Devlin and Mathias are a lot older than Andre and Lilli are; they were thirteen and twelve then, so they’d be nineteen and eighteen now. I mean, it was different looking after teenagers seeing as they were pretty much self-sufficient, but we found fun stuff to do, and they made me laugh so hard I cried most days which is something no one else has been able to do since Andre and Lilli.”
“How long did you live with them?” I question, turning onto Main Street.
“Um, just over three years. I moved out about halfway through my first semester of my senior year of college,” she answers softly.
“Hey, are you okay?” I prod when I notice the tears pooling in her eyes.
Scrubbing her face with her hands, Mia nods.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I just miss them is all. I try to keep in contact through email, text, and the occasional phone call, but it’s hard, you know? They’re both in college now, and I’m not allowed to visit them so it makes things difficult.”
I want to ask why she can’t visit, but I don’t have to. Mia’s mouth forms a thin line and her hands fidget restlessly in her lap before she tells me,
“Devlin and Mathias’ dad, Duncan came onto me. That’s why I left, and that’s why I can’t go back.”
Gasping, I pull into the grocery store parking lot and switch the engine off.
“Oh God, Mia. Did he hurt you?”
Looking at Mia, I can’t believe someone would even think about taking advantage of her. But then again, Mia’s tiny stature, natural beauty, and curves make her the perfect target for men that prey on women who are far weaker than themselves.
I can’t imagine what Cash and Jump would do if they find out, which makes me consider asking Mia to keep this information to herself. I don’t though. That’s not only horribly unfair, but I also don’t want her to feel ashamed of what happened to her by having to hide it.
“No, he didn’t get the chance,” she whispers.
Turning in my seat to face her, I gently reassure her,
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to, Mia. But if you do, I promise I’m a good listener.”
Her head bobs up and down jerkily as she inhales harshly through her nose.
“Devlin came home earlier than expected and found Duncan on top of me, pinning me to the couch. He had his hand up my shirt, but he didn’t have the chance to go any further,” she admits as her voice breaks, but Mia doesn’t let that stop her which only makes me admire her even more than I already did. “Devlin was so angry when he saw what his dad was doing that he dragged him off me and hit him before I could tell him not to.”
“Why the hell would you stop him? That asshole deserved what he got and more,” I snap, incensed for her.
Shaking her head, Mia sniffs,
“He might have done, but I didn’t want Devlin doing anything he would regret later.”
God! This woman is so much stronger than anyone gives her credit for. The fact that she was willing to let that asshole predator off scot free to protect his son from making a mistake he couldn’t take back is surprising, to say the least.
“Mrs. Richards, Patricia, came home not long afterward and saw Duncan holding an icepack against his jaw while Devlin stood in front of me scowling at him, and automatically made up her mind that whatever happened was my fault. She ordered the housekeeper to pack my things, wrote me a check for what I was owed, and told me I had fifteen minutes to vacate the premises.”
“Wow, what a bitch,” I mutter sympathetically.
Mia scoffs, making a very unladylike noise and agrees with me.
“Yes, she was, but that’s not the word I’d use to describe her. That aside, I didn’t care she was kicking me out, even though I had nowhere to go. I was more worried about not being able to see Devlin and Mathias every day. Mathias came home five minutes before I left to see my bags stacked beside the front door, and lost it
. Honestly, I’ve never seen anyone as angry as he was that day. See, Mathias and I were close. He was my best friend as sad as that sounds.”
Cutting her off, I chastise,
“It’s not sad, and neither are you. You formed a bond with those boys over the course of three years and there’s no doubt in my mind they love you just as much as you love them.”
Mia gives me a tight-lipped smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, going on to state,
“Thank you for saying that. Ella told me that I shouldn’t have become so attached to them because there was always going to come a time when I’d have to leave them, but I couldn’t help myself. Both of them were so sweet to me.” A rueful grin crosses her face as she concedes, “I’m not stupid; I know they weren’t angels, especially when it came to the girls they went to school with. But with me, they were kind, funny, helpful, and protective just like I imagine my brothers would have been if I had any.”
“I bet they both had crushes on you too,” I grin widely at her.
Mia blushes to the tips of her hair which only confirms it, making me laugh.
Vengeance MC Box Set - Volume 2: Gage ~ Cash ~ Knight (Vengeance MC series Book 8) Page 43
