by Debra Kayn
To keep him in her life, she'd listened to his side of the story. After a while, she believed Jeremy was better off with them than in foster care. She'd worked in the system many years and witnessed older teenage kids getting lost and abused. They typically ran when they turned eighteen and life never turned out the way they wanted. Many ended up on the streets, going to Coeur d'Alene and selling themselves and drugs to survive.
She was eighteen years old when her parents were murdered. She understood and lived a lonely life on her own and knew Jeremy's options. There wasn't much out there to help someone with no experience survive without any help.
Her phone rang. She jolted, rolled, and answered without looking at the screen. "Hello?"
Silence greets her. She repeated the greeting. The lack of communication hit her.
Cam.
She clamped her lip between her teeth to prevent the sob of desperately needing him from escaping. She wanted to apologize and beg him to understand. He always supported her. If she didn't know how to handle something, he helped and guided her.
She squeezed her eyes closed, knowing she had to move forward. For once in her life, she needed to help someone who needed her before something bad happened. Cam lived and survived on his own without anyone's help. He'd left her when he went to prison. He controlled her when he came home. Jeremy only had himself to rely on, and if he could do it, she could, too.
She wouldn't fail him. She would stop the club from killing Jeremy, the way she couldn't stop her parents from being murdered. A moan escaped her mouth. She lowered the cell and ended the call. Desperate to find out if the call came from Cam, she pulled up the call-log. She smacked the bed. The unfamiliar phone number of the last call didn't tell her anything.
The club used pre-paid phones, unregistered, and untraceable. There were at least ten cell phones in the kitchen drawer back at the house. Cam must've used one of them, so she wouldn't recognize the number. He had to be the caller.
His refusal to talk with her sent a loud and clear message. He'd already started her punishment for leaving him, and more would come her way. Her stomach, hollow and empty, ached. She reached over and grabbed the bedspread, rolling herself up tight, until she plastered her arms against her chest, her knees drawn high. Her body shook. She wanted to go home.
Chapter Four
At the far end of the viaduct, Cam leaned against the concrete pillar in the shadows, the view of the Federal Inn in his sight. He puffed on a cigarette, more from habit than comfort, because anytime he forgot and drew the smoke into his lungs, he coughed until his legs gave out.
"Tell me again where Christina's gone the last two days." Cam flicked the coal off the cigarette and tossed the butt away from him.
Gunner sat against the concrete barrier, his back to the river. "She's talked to Lola, Lilly at Silver Girls, the day and night workers at the gas station, two boys Jeremy hung around with last year before he graduated, and last night she camped out in front of Tiff's mom's house until Tiff came home."
"What did Tiff have to say?" Cam inhaled deeply, bracing himself for the pain he expected to come.
He'd taken out his stitches last night when he couldn't sleep. The relief at getting the thread out of his skin took the constant pinching away, but every once in a while a deep breath almost took him to his knees.
"Hell, the girl ain't saying much. She's pissed at the club and Christina, and worried about Jeremy. She thinks Christina is getting what she deserves because she lied to Jeremy. Christina took Tiff's attitude while they were together, but fell apart when she got back to her room at the Inn." Gunner scratched the back of his neck. "You need to do something about her questioning everybody in fucking town."
He'd go after Christina, but first he needed to ride out of town tonight and make his meeting with Merk at the prison in the morning. Christina needed to learn what it was like without him during their time apart. He wanted her to experience the hell he'd lived through the last forty-eight hours not having her in his arms, in his house, and in his bed.
He put a damn ring on her finger, for Christ's sake. She'd handed over her life to him. They were meant to be together, not living on opposite sides of the town.
"She's running out of people to talk with about Jeremy..." Cam's body tensed. He peered through the darkness to the front of the Inn. Lit by the lights at each side of the entrance door, Christina stood looking to her left and right.
"What the fuck is she doing out at night?" Cam moved forward, but Gunner grabbed his arm.
"Stay here." Gunner took out his phone. "I'll call Stache."
Christina pushed her wild brown hair, which reminded him of sunrays hitting a polished piece of mahogany, behind her shoulder and crossed her arms under her full breasts. Cam's fingers curled into his palms, imagining her brown eyes swimming in tears she refused to give up. Everything inside of him revolted. Their separation went against his wishes. She belonged to him. He shouldn't have to guess what she was up to or thinking.
"Where the hell are you?" Gunner said into the phone.
Cam pulled his gaze off Christina and scanned the parking lot, the street, even the windows of the Inn looking for any danger. He'd made her world safe. The threat coming from Reds eliminated for the moment, he still needed to protect her from the unknown. Any time they came to town, men noticed her, waiting for the perfect opportunity to rush in and save her from the dangerous felon. He spit on the ground. Their concern came without knowledge.
He loved her. He'd never let someone else have her.
"Okay, tail her if she leaves," Gunner said.
So focused on keeping Christina in his sight, everything else blurred in Cam's vision. "What did he say?"
"Christina went downstairs and asked the woman at the desk if anyone had come in and asked for her." Gunner cleared his throat. "When the worker told her no, Christina stood in the lobby, until the woman asked her if she needed any help and Christina shook her head and walked outside. Stache snuck out the back and he's at the far corner of the building on the left. He said we should be able to see him, because he can see my bike. He's got Christina in sight."
Cam squinted through the darkness. Damn, getting old sucked. Everything beyond the vehicles parked in the lot blurred and he couldn't see a damn thing.
"What do you think she's doing?" Gunner asked.
He knew what she was doing. She looked for him.
She never gave up hoping everything would turn out okay. While he'd spent time in prison, she bolstered his patience to survive. During her kidnapping, she'd hung in waiting for him to make things right between them. Through every change in her life, she'd clung to the belief tomorrow would get better. She was a survivor who would never give up on getting what her heart desired.
He wanted her back, but first he needed to find out why she changed. Once he had her back at the house, he could fix the cause and take the blame, and she wouldn't feel the need to run away from him again.
Cam pointed to his motorcycle without taking his gaze off Christina. "Start my bike."
Gunner followed his instructions. He could at least give her what she searched for.
The engine roared to life. Christina's head lifted and she stepped forward, searching for the sound. The ache in Cam's body eased. He watched her unlike he'd ever watched her before. He could no longer deny she owned him heart and soul.
She could run and pretend she was through with him, but she couldn't hide how much she wanted him.
Christina's head tilted, looking for him in the area. His heart raced the longer she stood there, vulnerable and desperately needing him. He'd give up his freedom to be with her right now, touching her face, holding her tight, putting himself deep inside her body. She became a part of him when she refused to give up any information on him when she believed her life was at stake.
Over and over, she'd stood by him through incarcerations, crimes, and havoc. Nobody gave him one-hundred percent loyalty, not even his club.
He
'd shown her in every way he loved her. Letting her leave was another attempt at proving he wasn't going to let her go. He needed to allow her to run away, hide in town, and search for Jeremy.
For now, she could go on believing he wanted to punish her by staying away. In time, she'd understand that he gave her the strength to accomplish anything she set out to do. She was stronger than she believed.
He'd show her the strength they had together by finding Jeremy. He'd deal with the club and somehow, he'd fucking save Jeremy's life.
He wouldn't give up on the kid yet. There was too much of Christina in Jeremy. She remained the bright spot in both of their lives.
"Shut it off." Cam sliced his hand in the air.
Silence surrounded him and his hearing balanced. The rumble of a semi going over the interstate above him broke through. A horn in the distance sounded. The bell at the gas station to his left dinged at the arrival of a new customer at the pump.
His heart beat in perfect rhythm.
Christina pressed her hand to her chest. He swallowed. Yeah, she felt it, too. Nothing would keep them apart.
She turned around and walked back into the inn. Cam cleared his throat. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.
"Let's ride." He walked over to his motorcycle.
Gunner followed him out from under the viaduct. Cam led him onto Interstate-90. He stretched his leg and forced himself to relax. Yesterday, he'd taken an hour ride to test his body's ability to hold on to the bike and done okay. Going eight hours away to the Idaho State Penitentiary was a long fucking ride.
***
Christina hurried into her room at the Inn and rushed to the window. She searched the parking lot, the main street along the river, and settled her gaze on the interstate. Red taillights headed west, while headlights blinded her going east. She let the curtain fall back in place. Cam was out there somewhere.
Her skin tingled. She hugged her middle, rubbing her arms. There were only two reasons why Cam would come close to the Federal Inn at night. He wanted to kill her for leaving him or he came after her because he loved her.
Shit.
Since the day she'd decided to write a prisoner a letter and Cam answered, he'd always had a plan, a higher understanding, an agenda she failed to understand. She paced the small room. She could no more predict what he'd do or change his mind.
If only he understood how much she wanted him in her life. She sighed and swallowed the emotions tightening her throat. All she wanted was to find Jeremy, make him come back home, and not have to worry about the club killing an innocent person. Anyone outside of the club would do the right thing. Cam and Moroad MC were only concerned about following club rules, even though their actions went against the laws of society.
She should go to the sheriff.
Instantly, she rejected that idea.
"Damn you, Cam," she muttered. He had everything he wanted. A woman, a son, and his freedom. He had to realize his mistake, before he found himself in prison for the rest of his life.
Chapter Five
The stench of bleach filled the claustrophobic visitor's room at the state prison. The rattle of chains hooked to Merk's ankles failed to permeate the Plexiglas barrier separating Cam from the dangerous criminal. Cam never broke eye contact with his vice president.
Merk, safe from Cam's hands, stared back at him through the glass. Cam put his life in front of a bullet to make a statement, and he was damn lucky to be alive.
Merk sat down in the chair and picked up the receiver. Cam lifted the phone on his side of the glass and pressed it to his ear. If Merk thought he'd get off free, he'd soon learn differently.
"Since you're alive, I guess that means I'm only taking the hit for one murder." Merk's solemn expression gave nothing away.
The added darkness underneath Merk's eyes and the split lip visual over the scruffy growth of whiskers spoke volumes for how Merk spent the first two weeks behind bars. Life inside prison never changed. No matter if it was his first time or his twentieth, the welcome crew dished out their own way of saying welcome to life inside.
No club, gang, or fuck buddy could save a prisoner from initiation. Either he learned how to fight or he became someone's bitch.
Cam's legs tensed, pulling his attention back to Merk's comment. "That depends on if you're going to save Jeremy's life with the club."
"What are you talking about?"
"The kid ran away the night you shot me."
Merk shrugged. "So, find him."
"He doesn't want to be found." Cam swept his hair off his forehead. "He's alone and he only knows half the truth."
Merk's gaze narrowed. "What truth is that?"
"He's not my son." Cam curled his fingers into a fist.
Merk looked away and spoke into the phone. "How's Christina taking the news?"
Cam punched the partition between them, startling the guard. He held up his hand, smiling to cover his temper. "Don't fucking speak her name."
"Well?" Merk challenged him.
Cam shook his head. "Once you betrayed me, your interest in Christina no longer mattered. You had two rules. Don't touch her. Don't betray your club. You tried to turn her against me and in turn went against your club."
"If you're looking for an apology, you won't get one. I know what you were after. For reasons you've never shared, you framed me for a murder I didn't commit."
"I did what was necessary to protect my family. The reasons are my own," Cam said. "The only thing you should be concerned with is your freedom. If you'd like to get out of prison, I expect you to take me up on my offer and save Jeremy's life."
"He's not my concern."
"That's where you're wrong." Cam ran his hand down his beard.
When he'd planned his crime of gaining custody of Jeremy, he hadn't dug deep enough and failed to uncover Merk's involvement. He had to fix his mistake and in doing so, tell the truth.
"You cost me my kid. If it weren't for you, I'd have him settled in Moroad MC and under my roof. Because of your fuck up, he's gone. I want him back, and you're going to get him for me," Cam said.
Merk shook his head. "This is on you, Cam. Your position with Jeremy has nothing to do with me."
"You're wrong." Cam waited until he had Merk's full attention. "Jeremy's your nephew."
Merk tilted his head. "Come again."
Cam lowered his voice. "Years ago, when you got hauled in for attempted murder, you asked me to send your share of the club wages to your sister, Roni. I fulfilled my promise and added even more cash when Half-Rack ran into Roni and she was knocked up and looked about ready to have the baby. I continued to support her even when I got hauled into prison soon after you, because she was your sister and a single mom."
Merk jaw twitched. "She told me she got an abortion."
"She lied." Cam stared him down.
"Fuck," Merk muttered into the phone. "When I got out, she refused to see me and I didn't push her. She had cleaned up her life, got a good man, and didn't want him to know her association with Moroad. I stayed away, and it wasn't too long after that, I went back in prison."
"She didn't want you to see the kid," Cam said, guessing.
"That doesn't make sense." Merk wiped his hand down his face.
"You'd know her best. I barely remember those years. I stayed doped up, along with all the other Moroad members. It wasn't until I had a conversation with another Moroad member while locked up this last time that I put the pieces together. I always addressed the envelope with the cash to Roni Tarmerk. Jeremy's birth mother's name was Veronica Aldridge. I didn't make the connection, until your sister's name was brought up in conversation. Then I realized the envelopes were returned to me as undeliverable at the same time Jeremy's mom overdosed."
"She's my half-sister, different fathers, different last names," Merk mumbled. "Jesus Christ. My sister's dead?"
"She never stopped using and stepped into black sand. She barely hung on to Jeremy. The kid's had a rough life, man. Jeremy ne
eds to know he's got an uncle in the club," Cam said.
Merk shook his head. "No way."
"Why not?"
"Because I promised Roni I'd stay away. She never told me she went through with having the baby. She wanted nothing to do with Moroad MC." Merk grimaced. "God dammit, Cam. You brought her son into the club."
"I didn't know Veronica Aldridge was your sister." Cam squeezed the phone. "You want to blame someone, blame your sister. She lied to you and kept you away from your nephew. I need him back in the club, and you're the only one who can save his life."
Losing Jeremy would destroy Christina. In his eyes, Jeremy already proved his loyalty to the club. He ran, because he was young and stupid. Cam wanted the kid. He enjoyed the role of being a father to Jeremy. Hell, he'd done a shitty job, but he guided Jeremy the only way he knew how. He'd get the kid back, and then deal with Merk's position in Jeremy's life later.
"How am I supposed to do what you're asking while inside prison?" Merk ran his hand over his freshly shaved head. "God damn, I can't believe Roni's dead. I should've been there for her."
"Then do this for your sister." Cam leaned to the left easing the ache in his side. "I need your word you'll tell Jeremy the truth about his mom's relationship to you and stay away from Christina. If you give me that, I'll get you out of here in two weeks when you're due in court. I'll make this all go away."
"Fuck you," Merk said.
"Your choice, man." Cam leaned forward. "You owe me. While you served time, who the hell do you think provided for Roni for sixteen years, huh?"
"A lot of good you did. The money you sent kept her feeding her veins," Merk said, his voice low and harsh.
"You selfish son of a bitch." Cam gritted his teeth. "You got Jeremy out of the deal and into Moroad. That's on me. You could be sitting there alone with no family on the outside and never knowing what happened to your sister or her son. Now you have someone, and you can't let him down."
"I don't want anything to do with him. Roni was clean when I got locked up. She knew having a kid would send her over the edge and wanted to get rid of the baby. Now she's dead. If you want to blame someone, go after the asshole that knocked her up." Merk inhaled swiftly. "I've spent more time on the inside than I have outside. There's no good reason to tell the truth now. It's best to let things run their course."
