by K. J. Dahlen
Sam stared at the girl. He was drawn to her by the odd coloring of her hair. It was all shades of brown, from dark brown to gold blonde. It fell to the middle of her back in loose curls. He frowned as he recalled he’d seen hair this color before. A good friend back in Maine had this same color. The coloring and the curls, although Calico didn’t wear his hair that long.
Sam frowned as he tried to remember if the other man had any kids. Looking over at the boy he asked, “What’s her name?”
Jordan frowned at the older man. “Her name is Sawyer Moon. I’m her brother Jordan, why?”
Sam dug out his phone and snapped a picture of the girl. Maybe this wasn’t Calico’s kid but then again, maybe she was. If the girl was in trouble, Sam knew Calico would want to know. He glanced over at the boy. “Who’s your mama?” When the boy answered, he sent the picture.
Twenty minutes later, Sam’s phone rang.
“What the fuck happened to my kid?” a man growled out on the other end.
“Are you sure, she’s yours?” Sam asked.
“If her mama’s name was Jolene Moon, she is.” Calico swore. “Check the back of her neck, there should be a small birthmark there.”
“That was her mama’s name,” Sam admitted. He lifted her hair and found the birthmark Calico told him about.
“Was?”
“Yeah, the bastard that’s after your daughter beat hell out of her mama and she died a month ago from her injuries,” Sam told him. “And the girl has a birthmark where you said she would have one.”
There was silence on the other end of the phone call.
Sawyer had come to a while ago and while she cringed at the pain, she hadn’t made a sound. Her brown eyes leaked tears as Raine bound her ribs and when he finished, she blew a breath out her mouth.
“You there?” Sam asked Calico.
“I’ll be there by sundown.”
Then the call dropped.
Sam slipped the phone into his pocket and watched as Raine finished mending the girl’s injuries. “Okay, let’s hear your story,” Sam ordered. “Who did this to you and why?”
Sawyer stared at the man for a moment then spoke, “Jordan has already explained what happened. I don’t see the need to say it again.”
“He didn’t tell me and I need to know,” Sam insisted.
“Why? What difference does it make to you?” she retorted.
“Sweetheart, you have no idea.” Sam chuckled.
“I am not your sweetheart,” Sawyer argued.
Sam laughed out loud. “Oh, I’m well aware of that fact. My sweetheart is waiting for me at home. No worries, little girl.”
Sawyer narrowed her eyes and glared at the older man. “What do you want?”
“I need to know what or who you are running from.”
“Why?”
“So I can tell your dad something when he gets here and he is on his way here as we speak.”
There was a moment of pure silence after his announcement.
Then Sawyer struggled to her feet. She stomped over to where Sam was standing. “My father walked out on mom and me when I was two years old. He didn’t want or need us then and I don’t want or need him now.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and closed her eyes.
“Girl, you need someone’s help,” Sam assured her. “Whether it’s Calico or this bunch, you need someone’s help.”
“All I need is some sleep,” Sawyer muttered. “I just need some sleep.” She went back over to the sofa and laid down. Closing her eyes, she ignored everyone and let sleep take her.
Sam watched her for a moment, then turned to her brother. “What is going on?”
After Jordan told him their story, Sam’s eyes narrowed. This wasn’t good. Calico would take this Micah apart at the seams and Micah wouldn’t even know what hit him. Calico had built up a name for himself for being undefeated when he fought. Sam felt the corners of his lips curl upward. He hadn’t played rough with anyone in so long it might feel good to get his knuckles dusted again. They didn’t call him Bones for nothing. He gazed down at Sawyer and felt the anger growing inside him. Calico had been a lifelong friend and his little girl was badly hurt by this Micah dude. Oh yeah, he would definitely like to teach this little shit a lesson.
CHAPTER FIVE
Cricket stood by the window and stared out at the woods. It was late afternoon now, and the day had taken its toll on her. Her memories were beginning to scramble in her brain. She wasn’t sure what was real anymore. Had Bane spoken the truth today or was he lying? She wasn’t sure anymore.
All her young life, she thought her family was strong and true, but now she wasn’t sure. Had it all been a lie? Tears ran down her cheeks unheeded. Leaning her forehead against the glass of the window, she was remembering all the times they packed up and moved. The hushed whispers of her parents arguing while they packed up their things. They never stayed in one place long enough to even make friends until her mother got sick. Then the only place she wanted to go was home. Lake Placid. Grace had been born in that area and grew up there. She had showed her daughters the places she played as a child. They had moved to Chicago when she was sixteen but Grace never forgot the happy times at Lake Placid. They stayed there for two years. Grace was even buried there.
Grief forced Orrin to take his family and move away. He just couldn’t stay there, without her anymore. Cricket always knew her father loved her mother, she had never doubted that. She still didn’t doubt that fact but to find out Grace had been married all this time to another man? That fact boggled her mind. Neither of them had even mentioned having any other family. While Grace told her kids about their grandparents and what they did before they died, Orrin hadn’t said anything about his family and every time the girls asked, Grace always changed the subject.
That Bane was the other man didn’t surprise her. Nor did the fact that he was Cordy’s real father. Cricket often wondered how Cordy could be the way she was and now she knew. She took after her biological father. She knew that the moment she’d looked into his eyes.
She also knew her mother’s story of what happened the day she conceived Cordy was true. Cricket knew her mother hadn’t wanted to tell them about that day but Grace believed the truth should always be told. Now Cricket wondered if her mother ever told her the truth. She knew Mom never told them she’d been married to Bane the whole time. She felt betrayed by that omission. Bane had raped her the day she left him. She shuddered, thinking of the pain and anguish her mother had suffered at Bane’s hands. He looked as if he enjoyed giving pain to others and he himself even admitted the fact.
The door opened behind her and she turned her head to see Raine come in.
He came over to her and wrapped his arms around her. “How are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m fine, now that you’re back.” She wiggled closer to him. “Is the girl going to be okay?”
Raine laid his chin on the top of her head. “Yeah, she’s gonna be sore for a while but cracked ribs hurt.”
“What happened to her?”
“Some jackass ran her truck off the road. He did it on purpose. He’s been stalking her for a few months now.”
Cricket leaned back and stared at him. “Oh, wow.”
Raine nodded. “She’ll be okay now. Sam called her father and he’s on his way down from Maine.”
“Oh lord,” Cricket growled low. “Not another biker.”
Raine chuckled. “Yup, another biker and probably his MC brothers too.”
“You guys do get around don’t you?’ she chuckled.
“Yeah, we do. But not all of us take chances and leave our kids behind.”
Cricket went still in his arms. “So do you have kids out there somewhere?”
“No, I don’t. I’m very careful about that.”
She was remembering the first time they made love, it happened so fast neither of them had taken precautions. “But you mess up once in a while,” she reminded him.
Raine closed his eye
s. “Yeah, I do but I always make sure everything is okay. I haven’t been with that many women over the years. So as far as I know, I don’t have any kids out there.”
Cricket nodded.
“So what did Bane have to say this morning? Why did he come all the way here?”
Cricket turned and looked out the window again. She wasn’t sure she should tell him or not. Then she thought about what her uncle wanted. She could tell him part of it. “It seems my life as I knew it has been a lie. My parents ran away together but before they did, they took something that belonged to him. He told me he wants it back.”
“Did he say what it was they took?”
“No and that’s what makes it hard. He’s given me a week to find it and return it to him.”
“Or what?” Raine asked.
Cricket turned to him. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him the rest. She shook her head and turned back to stare out the window.
Raine grabbed her shoulders. He turned her around, lifted her chin, and asked again, “What did he threaten to do to you, if you didn’t return his item?”
“I can’t tell you,” she whispered.
“Why? Why can’t you tell me?”
“He won’t let me,” she admitted quietly.
“Will he do something to the club?”
“No,” she assured him. “Because I won’t let that happen.”
“What happens if you can’t return what they took?”
Cricket shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about that.”
“Should I warn the club?” he asked.
Cricket shook her head. “It won’t do any good.” She turned and stared out the window again. “They won’t see him coming.”
“Come on, let’s get some sleep,” Raine suggested. “It’s been a long day for both of us.”
Cricket closed her eyes. “I don’t know if I can sleep but I’ll try.” She stripped down to her bra and panties then crawled into bed.
Raine stripped down to his boxers and pulled her into his arms. He stroked her hair and watched her breathing slow.
He gently brushed the hair away from her head and whispered soft words in her ear as she fell asleep.
~* * * *~
It wasn’t long before she began to twist and turn again, caught up in her nightmares.
Cricket was lying in a small bed with her mother. Grace was trying to tell her something but she couldn’t quite make out what she was saying. It was so hard to understand some of things her mother was saying. She was so young that not all of it made sense to her. She tried to wake up so she could listen but her mother urged her to sleep.
Her mother ran her fingers across Cricket’s forehead. It was a habit she’d gotten into since she was a small baby and it always made Cricket sleep. Grace leaned toward her daughter and began again, “Listen to my words for they may save your life one day. When your father and I left his home, we took an heirloom. It was meant for his brother. We didn’t take it for the money but for another reason altogether. If we have it, he won’t kill us. Someday, I hope you will remember these words. Someday, I hope you will understand.
Bane is not a good man. He’s hateful and he likes to hurt people. I never loved him. I never loved anyone except for your father. Orrin is a good man. He’s gentle and kind and very trustworthy.
I don’t have much time left on this earth, this cancer is eating me alive. Your father isn‘t handling this very well but I wanted to tell you about the day we left Bane’s home. Bane and Orrin had a grandfather. Their grandfather raised them after their parents died. He taught them both how to be what they became. Bane became a killer while your father became a man who liked to blow things up and he liked to break into things that no one else could. The old man had a safe. It was from the old west. I don’t know how he got his hands on it but he loved that old safe. He had it polished and restored and when he died, he left it to Bane.
Another thing he left to Bane was a small candy jar filled with stones. This jar always sat in a place of honor on Bane’s fireplace in his brother’s den. He never broke the seal of this jar and for twenty years, the jar had never been moved.
When we left that day, the last thing Orrin did was to go into his den and he took the jar. I don’t know why he did it and I swear I didn’t know until it was too late to take it back. Later, when he showed me the jar, I asked him why he took it. He claimed he didn’t know but I think he did. He took it to piss off his brother and that was a mistake on his part. Bane is not the type of man you want to piss off. But by then, it was too late. We never opened the jar but we did hide it. I told your father that as long as we had the jar, Bane would never let us alone. Instead, of fading away into the background we would forever be running and hiding from something we’d rather not have catch us.
I don’t think he missed either of us, but I know he missed his jar. I think Orrin felt he would not outright kill us if we kept the jar hidden from him.
I’m telling you this because one day, I know Bane will find you. I won’t be around to protect you from his rage. I can’t say your father will be around either. Nothing is certain in his line of work. I’m telling you this because I can’t trust that Cordy will care one way or the other. She’s too much like her father to care whether things are ever set right but you Cricket, you will care.
Tears leaked from her eyes as she remembered the rest of her mother’s words. She spoke of where Bane lived and how to get into his home undetected. She also told her how to escape from the house. It was how she and Orrin had gotten out years before.
She remembered how her mother cried that night as she held her in her arms and whispered her secrets. She remembered feeling safe in her mother’s arms, safe and protected. That feeling didn’t last too long, because within three days, her mother was gone. Her life was over,
For a long time, Cricket had forgotten the dream. She frowned in her sleep, she didn’t want to wake up and face her greatest fear but she knew she didn’t really have a choice. That was the kicker, she didn’t a choice. Cricket was tired of never having a choice. Was what she remembered real? Had it happened just that way or was she still dreaming?
When Cricket struggled to open her eyes, she remembered everything from her dream. Even the part about her not having a choice. Especially that part. For a moment, she resented her family and the choices they made in life, choices she now had to make right.
In her heart, she knew she really didn’t have to choose what to do. She couldn’t let anyone else get hurt by what her family had done in the past. She didn’t like it, but she would make this right, not only for her family but for the club.
Glancing over at the man sleeping beside her, she smiled. At least he’d been a choice she had made on her own. The first night he came to her, she knew she chose to sleep with him to alleviate the fear inside her but when he stayed the second night that too had been her own choice.
Now while she gazed at him, she made another choice. Maybe this was something most would consider the wrong thing to do, especially now but this was something she wanted. She slipped off her panties and bra then she reached for him.
Cricket blushed at the thought of sleeping in the nude when Raine had done it before but this morning, she was glad he did. Spreading tiny kisses along his neck, she worked her way down his chest. She knew he wouldn’t be asleep long but she had hoped to get to his cock before he fully woke. She wanted to feel him come alive inside her mouth.
When she got to his waist, she noticed a subtle change in his body.
For a brief moment, he froze then he felt her mouth on his skin and he shifted to his back. He didn’t stop her, in fact he seemed to enjoy what she was doing. His breathing had changed slightly and his fingers were clenching the sheets at his waist.
When she got to his boxers, his cock was still asleep but as soon as she licked its length, it woke up and began to harden. When she took it in her mouth, she could feel it growing and Cricket smiled. She licked and sucked its leng
th deep into the recess of her mouth.
Her tongue flicked the bulbous head and she heard Raine groan. Moving up and down on his length, she felt him harden even more. Her hand slid down to her own core and her fingers worked their magic. She could feel herself growing wet.
Raine’s hands tapped her hip and she spread her legs wide as his hands ran down her back and curled under her from behind. Two of his thick fingers plunged inside her without warning. He groaned at how wet she was already. He then moaned low as he plunged them in and out of her, going deeper with each stroke. Every time he stroked her, she moved up and down on his cock.
Finally, Cricket couldn’t take it anymore. She was too close to orgasm and pulled herself away from the pleasure he was giving her. She caught his eyes with her own and when she moved over his hips to straddle him, she stared into his eyes. He was reaching for a condom when Cricket stayed his hand. She didn’t say a word but instead, slowly lowered herself on his shaft.
~* * * *~
Raine’s eyes widened as he took in her meaning. She wanted him inside her without protection. He wasn’t sure he approved of her decision, then she began to move her hips. He closed his eyes and groaned, as her pussy grew hot around his cock.
He could feel her warm, moist core caressing him, taking his essence deep into her body. Going bareback was ecstasy in itself. Her hips grinding down on him began to tighten his balls as he felt the zing of his impending orgasm. Grabbing her hips, he began pushing and pulling her up and down on his body. Faster and harder than she would have done on her own.
His groan of pleasure was one she matched, as they both got closer. Raine felt the familiar quickening of his body but he also felt hers. She began to flutter gripping him in a way, he so enjoyed. He could feel his balls ready to explode, then he felt his hot seed pouring out of him into her waiting opening. He knew he should have stopped this, but the pleasure overtook his better sense.
