Nash would flip if he knew I am taking such a risk, but I can’t bear not knowing if something were to happen to my father. I may not be able to reach out to him, but at least I have the peace of mind that he isn’t making headlines with his mugshot.
I close my eyes trying to remember the way he looked, or the way he smelled when he would hug me and I can’t picture his face, it kills me. I remember his red tattoos that mark the lives he’s taken, but that’s all I can remember. I just want to see him, but I know I can’t just go searching for him online, that would be too suspicious.
Cole clears his breakfast plate and places it in the sink before grabbing his backpack. I can’t get over the fact that he is a fifth grader. My babies are growing up on me. I wonder what my father would think of them, or Foxie? I could just see her spoiling them both rotten, just like she did me and her boys.
I wonder what she’d say if she could see me now; my hair is dark auburn and I don’t dress quite as sexy as I used to. I don’t feel the need to draw attention to my body. My husband gives me plenty. I like to look good for him but in a different way. I want him to feel proud of me. I want our children to be proud to call me their mom.
I’m a member of the PTA and I volunteer at the women’s shelter when I can. They are always in need of something. The kids go with me if Nash can’t watch them. Nash doesn’t volunteer with me. Plenty of the women there have been raped and traumatized by men, and aren’t very comfortable with any man.
But now that I am going to be working there as the new social director, there may be times when Nash has to stop by. I am really excited about this job and Sara will be going to daycare at the shelter with the kids who stay there while their moms are looking for work or attending counseling, among other things.
I have become fond of one woman in particular. Her name is Elaine and she is an ex-old lady to a notorious gang leader. She got out of the life for her newborn daughter. A rival gang nearly ran her and the little girl, Stacia, down in the middle of a turf war. Her man could find them at any time, if he hasn’t already. Samil Shemal is said to be responsible for more than twenty deaths in the last year alone, but the cops never have enough evidence to make any charges stick. Some of his lower tier club members are serving time while he goes free…while Elaine lives in constant fear.
I can relate to her on a level that the counselors have failed to reach. Elaine can’t and doesn’t know anything of my former life, but she can see the same fear lurking behind my eyes. I may carry that same fear but it no longer controls me. At least that is the lie I tell myself. Anything can happen at any given moment. Tomorrow is never promised. My sister is proof of that.
Nash (Striker)
The company I work for promoted me to heading their custom garage, which isn’t an issue, but some of the requirements of the job could be a problem. I have news to share with my wife and I am not sure how she’ll take it. Next month we are debuting the bike I have been building during Bike Week in Daytona. Bike Week means a biker rally, potentially playing host to bikers that could easily recognize me if they looked hard enough. A lot of my tattoos have been lasered off, but my face hasn’t changed much. I keep a beard and keep my hair shaved short. I’ve gotten used to the contacts but on occasion I wear my glasses, mostly at home.
My boss wants me in attendance for the unveiling. I could say ‘no,’ but it wouldn’t be a wise career choice. Why would the guy who designed and built their prize piece decline showing it off? He wouldn’t.
I kiss my girls and wish my wife luck on her first day. I can tell her my big news later. I don’t want her to worry on her first day. She has worked so hard for this. I am so proud of her. Karly is the reason I am the man I am today.
I work hard and provide for my family. They mean everything to me.
Some days the old me creeps in and revenge burns through my veins.
Some nights, I lie awake and I become Striker again, and in my head I travel back to Drag Creek to repay my brother the favor. I destroy his world. But then I look over at my wife as she sleeps next to me, and I know I can never go down that road, unless I want to ruin what we have now.
When those nights interrupt my life, I wake my wife and have her fuck the bad away. But sometimes, even having her in my arms isn’t enough to make the nightmares end. I close my eyes and I can see Rumor’s lifeless body and her guts hanging all out behind Rebel and Baby. He has the gun aimed at my woman’s head ready to steal her life away. The gun fires and instead of it being me who is shot, I see Trouble lying on the ground with a hole in his chest, telling me I am going to be a father as he bleeds out.
Trouble was my wife’s best friend. He stepped up when I didn’t. They would be married now if he hadn’t taken a bullet that was meant for me.
Sometimes I think things would’ve been better had I died that night instead.
Baby wouldn’t have had to give up everything to be with me.
She wouldn’t have had to become Karly. But then we wouldn’t have Sara and I can’t imagine a world without her in it. I can’t imagine a life for me without my wife and our children.
Cole takes his role as big brother seriously. He is so protective of his sister. There is nothing greater than watching the two of them together…other than watching my wife with them. She was born to be a mother. Karly doesn’t see herself the way I do, but she is a nurturer underneath her tough exterior.
Karly (Baby)
When I get to work, I am in for the shock of a lifetime—Liberty is talking with the daycare director. There is no doubt in my mind that it’s her. Her dark hair is styled the same. Her big butt hasn’t lost it’s shape. And I’d know that Appalachian accent anywhere.
I haven’t seen her since the shit that went down with Diamond, that skank-ho Pocahontas wannabe bitch years ago. My initial instinct is to turn right back around and call out sick. If she sees me, this could ruin everything, but if I turn my back on someone who stepped up for me and mine, what kind of person would that make me? She is obviously here for help. I look at the bruises marking her arms, they are healing, but she has been put through a beating. Shades of yellow, purple, black, and blue tint her face.
There is a little boy, a few years younger than Cole, wrapped around her legs with a cast on his arm. The little guy is the spitting image of Marc ‘Tread’ Adams, damn. He even shares his charming dimples, and shaggy light brown hair. A girl never forgets the dimples of a man like Tread.
I put Sara’s bag in her locker and approach Liberty once her and the child are alone. She is crouched down trying to coax him into letting go of her leg. I don’t know if she knows about my supposed death. I’m taking a huge risk. I hope Nash can forgive me, but I have to do this. She’s my friend…well she was, and she is in a rough way, or else she wouldn’t be here.
“Liberty?” I touch her shoulder gently, not wanting to startle her or send her into shock.
She looks up and when her hazel eyes meet mine she bursts into tears.
“Oh God, Baby? It can’t be.” She shakes her head.
I hold my finger to my lips.
It takes her a moment but she calms down, hiccupping a few more lost sobs.
“We can go to my office and I will explain. But first, who is this little guy?” I reach her a tissue. She’s a blubbering mess.
“This is my son, Kyler.”
“Hi Kyler, my name’s Karly and I am a friend of your momma’s. This is my daughter, Sara.” I point to my baby girl and he slowly comes around Liberty’s leg to meet her. “Do you think you can help Sara with a puzzle?”
His bottom lip is trembling but he nods and takes her hand, instant best friends. I show them to the puzzle boxes and get them seated at a table with a juice box each.
Once they are settled I lead Liberty to my office. I pray she is better at keeping my secrets than she was at keeping Diamond’s.
Chapter 6
Liberty
“You don’t know how happy I am to see your face, but help m
e understand something…I thought—well I thought you were dead?” I whisper the word, dead.
“I am, technically speaking. Whatever I tell you in this room can never go any further.”
I can’t believe it’s really Baby. I heard she was dead. Well, rather I read it online, but she’s really here. Her hair is different but there is no mistaking her face or her voice. And definitely not those honey whiskey eyes.
“I promise. You can count on me. And I hope in return you can do something for me.” If anyone can help me, Baby can. She owes me.
“I’ll do what I can,” she promises and relief floods me.
“I guess I’ll start from the beginning.” Baby goes into full detail, not leaving anything out about her new life in the witness protection program. My heart hurts for my friend and all that she has been through. It makes me happy to know that she’s still with Striker, maybe true love can defy the odds and survive anything. Her story gives me hope of a better tomorrow. They made it, maybe Tread and me can make it too.
She continues to talk, filling me in on the murder of her sister, Rumor and the birth of her daughter, Sara as she sets up her office. Today is her first official day. I take the family portrait from her desk. Cole looks so much like his dad, but with his momma’s red hair. He wears glasses like his dad too. Sara is adorable too, chubby cheeks sprinkled with freckles, strawberry blonde hair like her Aunt Sarah had. I look at Baby, she looks real nice, all professional and polished. Not that she didn’t look good already, but she has a maturity to her that she didn’t have before.
An hour has passed by the time she covers her story. I hadn’t known about Rumor, it’s just too hard to comprehend and it makes me wonder if I am making the right choice in wanting to go back. Baby left for a reason. Will she think I’m an idiot? Am I trading one death sentence for another?
I don’t have answers. I only have the desire to correct the mistake I made when I walked away from Tread.
I need him.
Kyler needs him.
Now it is my turn to share and ask her for a favor. I saved her life when I revealed Diamond’s scheme to Striker about her fake pregnancy. I am in desperate need of a way out of Florida, away from my abusive husband.
I want to go home.
I want to go to Tread.
Maybe if I had stayed in Drag Creek, things would have turned out differently for both Baby and me, but I can’t dwell on what ifs. I can only try to move forward.
“After things with Diamond ended so abruptly, I found out I was pregnant with Tread’s child and I panicked. I was so scared that I’d share her fate. We were friends before she got all crazy. I never told Tread. I told him the truth that I was scared, but I didn’t tell him it was because I was afraid that I’d be bringing a child into a dangerous world. One that could kill us both. He didn’t beg me to stay so I figured it was for the best.” I take a moment to collect my thoughts. I feel as if I am rambling. “My family was shit. I had distant cousins who had a club in West Virginia. I never dreamed they would cross paths with the Black Rebels. I never dreamed they’d be responsible for your having to leave. I’m so sorry about Rumor.”
“Yeah, she didn’t deserve what she got.” Baby looks away, tears threatening to spill.
I start talking about my problems to take her mind from the painful subject.
“Anyway, I knew I didn’t want that life and I wanted to make a new life for me and my baby. I ended up in Wilmington, North Carolina. That’s where I met John. He didn’t care that I was pregnant with another man’s child. He said he’d love Kyler as his own and I believed him. Things were perfect. He’s a military doctor or he was, but he has since been discharged from service. That’s when we moved here to be closer to his family, after we married. John was sweet the first few years and understood I wanted us to enjoy being a couple, before trying for a child of our own. But when a child didn’t happen for us he changed. He morphed into a man I didn’t recognize. He began to lash out, mentally abusing me and it only escalated from there, until a few weeks ago when he threw Kyler down the stairs.”
I pause taking a drink of the coffee Baby has poured for me.
“Oh honey, I am so glad you left him, but what can I do for you?”
“I need to leave Florida, but I don’t have any money. I don’t even have a car. I’ve got nothing but Kyler.”
“Well you’ve got me now. We’ll figure this out together.”
Baby crosses the room and envelopes me in a hug I hadn’t realized I need. It’s been so long since I’ve had a friend. John didn’t want me talking to anyone. Said confiding in anyone but him was just inviting others to add to our problems. Now I realize he just didn’t want anyone encouraging me to divorce his sorry ass.
I leave Baby to go check on Kyler and let her get some actual work accomplished. How odd that she would be working in the one place I end up at reaching out for help. Life sure has a funny way of working out sometimes. Coincidence or fate, either way I am thankful.
Nash (Striker)
“Honey, I’m home,” I call out to Karly and the kids as I enter the kitchen through the garage.
I have to do a double take. There is no way Liberty is sitting at my kitchen counter having a glass of wine with my wife.
“Please, tell me I am seeing things.” Shaking my head, I look again. Nope, still here. Fuck. This is bad, real fucking bad. “What’s she doing here?” No reason to beat around the bush.
“Nash is it?” Liberty approaches me, taking care to be cautious. If she puts my family in jeopardy, she’ll have hell to pay.
But now that I see her up close, it seems she has paid it already. Makeup covers faint bruising on her face and her arms have fingerprints imprinted all the way down to her wrists.
“Damn, are you alright?” I look past her to my world and raise my brows.
Karly shrugs indifferent. Yup, this is bad. And I am about to get royally pissed.
“Someone better start explaining. Fast,” I threaten.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have come here.” Liberty is already backpedaling.
“No, you shouldn’t have, but here you are, so get on with it. What do you want?”
“Just enough cash and a car to get me and my son away from my husband. I need to get home, to Drag Creek. Ba—Karly invited Kyler and me for the night. I’ll be gone by tomorrow, that is if you can help me.”
“Anyone else know you are here?” She shakes her head no. “Good. How’d you find us?”
She shrugs. “By accident or fate, I’m not sure which, but I checked in at the women’s center a few days ago and today we crossed paths.”
I want to believe her, but who is to say she isn’t full of shit. Then again, there was a time she stepped up for us and I owe her. I owe her a lot. If Liberty hadn’t told me what that whore, Diamond, was planning, Karly might not have ever taken me back. We might not be here today with two beautiful children.
I look around the kitchen at the good life I am able to provide my family with. Our house isn’t huge but it’s new and nicely furnished. My kids have everything they need and most of the time I am able to give them what they want, Karly too. I know we have to help her.
“Why are you going back to DC?”
“Tread’s there. I thought...” She shakes her head. “I don’t know what I thought, but he has a son. He can protect our son.”
Fuck. Poor bastard has no clue what is about to land on his steps. I’ve been in his shoes. If anything, if she is telling the truth, I’ll get her there, for him. So my best friend can meet his son. When Karly denied me of my rights as Cole’s father it killed me. This is going to fuck Tread’s world up. God save her, he’s going to want to kill her for this. To be a fly on the wall when Tread lays eyes on the pair of them, Liberty and Kyler.
Damn, I miss my best friend. How can I begrudge my wife getting to see one of her only real friends for a day? I can’t. I look at the two of them as they swap stories about the kids. I don’t think Libert
y is here to hurt us, but fuck, will she keep our secret?
I don’t know, but I have to hope. I have to keep faith that it was meant for her and Karly to cross paths for whatever reason today. It just goes to show me that it’s a small world, and there’ll always be someone out there that knows who and where we are. And the faster I get Liberty what she wants and away from here, the safer my family will be.
Chapter 7
Drag Creek
Amy
“Yo, Amy!” Roberta yells my name as she comes back in from her smoke break. “Your tall, dark, and sexy is waiting outside on his Harley. Damn, if I was twenty years younger. What I wouldn’t give for a ride.” She shakes her head. Her salt ‘n pepper gray hair falls out of the poorly secured bun she has it arranged in.
“I can ask him to take you down the street and back. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind,” I offer. Truth is a sweetheart.
“Darling that’s cute, but I didn’t mean the bike.” She winks and starts counting out my drawer for the night. I giggle and blush. Roberta is a crazy bitch and I love her dearly. I couldn’t make it through this crap job at the gas station without her.
I make some money on the side being a club girl at the Roadhouse, but not enough to get me out of this dead-end wasteland. The guys at the club treat me right though. I spend most of my time with Grady, or as most know him, ‘Truth.’ He treats me real nice. Always picks me up from work, anytime I ask. Never questions anything I ask, EVER. He’s my best friend and I am his number one fuck.
“You’re crazy,” I tease and laugh. I can’t wait to tell Truth about his admirer.
“Why do you think Cal likes me so damn much? I keep him on his toes. I could teach you a thing or two that’d have your biker boy out there begging for a taste.”
A Rebel Love (Black Rebel Riders' MC Book 7) Page 5
