by Lexy Timms
They weren’t friends. Never would be. Greg was someone Cash ignored. Greg wasn’t into making something of himself. He was into keeping others from making something of themselves. He wanted everyone to be unhappy and live shitty lives. It made him feel better.
Cash wasn’t into that shit.
And Greg might not have been into drugs, but he wasn’t above selling them. And he thought there were a few other things Greg was into. He wracked his brain, trying to remember exactly what it was, but came up blank. It wasn’t big time, might just be a little B&E for alcohol money. Greg would never make it big time. He didn’t have the skill or the balls.
But coming into Cash’s house – yeah, that took balls.
Therefore, it hadn’t been Greg.
So who was the stranger? And what part did he play in all of this?
He was sure Greg was involved somehow – but how? Cash was going to track him down and take him out before he did anything else to scare Willow.
Greg had been doing that for a long time. It was time someone turned the tables on him.
Chapter 12
She woke slowly, her eyes lifting to the birds singing outside her window. What window? Where was she? She sat up slowly, her mind still trying to grasp her surroundings.
An unusual sound had her turning, still wiping the sleep from her eyes. Cash was reclining in bed with glasses on, his laptop open, a mug of coffee in his hand. How mundane and absolutely perfect. He was such a contradiction. Rough biker, caring lover, sexy businessman.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked, his gaze assessing.
“Much better.” The night’s events came flooding back, dropping her mood slightly.
The intruder, the hot sex before and after, and the several other times in the night. Yet the intruder had sent her back into fear mode. Even in Cash’s arms, her subconscious had regressed to the bogeyman in her world. Greg.
Lord, she hated that man.
“I’m okay,” she murmured. “I didn’t sleep all that well.” That was an understatement.
“Not too surprising.” He clicked the laptop several times.
She was curious to know what he was looking at. It was the first time she’d seen him with electronics of any kind. She presumed he had a cell phone but she didn’t know that, not having seen one. And sitting nude but in business mode – well, he was too sexy to believe. Where the hell had he been all her life? She wished she’d met him years ago. Then again, he wouldn’t have looked at her sideways back then.
She slid to the edge of the bed and stood up, feeling tender and achy. But there was no pain. He’d been a smooth caring lover and eyeing him sideways, she wondered if she could coax him into another session. However, her bladder came first.
She padded to the bathroom and when she was done, she stared at the shower. She’d love one. She was a guest, so should she ask to use it? Her manners had been formulated a long time ago, but Greg had tweaked them to suit him. She figured Cash wouldn't mind if she used his shower. He'd shared everything with her. She opened the door and turned on the water. When it was warm, she stepped inside, almost moaning in joy. The heat on her sore muscles was delicious. After standing under the spray as long as she felt she could, she quickly washed then used his shampoo to clean her hair. She had no trouble using his toiletries in the short term, but she'd rather have her own.
She needed a few personal items soon and didn’t have a dime with which to purchase them. Nor did she have a bank account any longer. Greg had insisted that they share one and had made her close hers down. Her paycheck had gone to him and he’d doled out what he considered she needed – which hadn’t been much.
As she stood in the shower, the spray pouring down her face, she realized how different her life was now – and yet still the same. She had no money. No paycheck. No clothes, and she was still dependent on someone else for her needs.
And another man.
By no means was she tarring Cash with the same brush as Greg, but the fact remained – she needed supplies for her upcoming menstrual period, and she’d have to ask Cash for them.
A rather humiliating issue.
But apparently not for him.
Dressed and sitting at the kitchen table over coffee, she broached the concept of getting a job.
“I might be able to get a job at the corner store a couple of blocks over. Do you think it’s safe or is Greg going to come after me?”
Cash just stared at her then pushed his chair back and clasped his hands together on the table. “You know he will and that he’s just looking for such an opportunity. What brought this on?”
She flushed. She turned the coffee cup around in her hands. “The usual reasons. I need money.”
“Right.” He stood up and walked out of the room. He returned a few moments later and put a stack of bills in front of her. “Will this do for the moment?”
She stared at the pile in shock. “There has to be a couple of hundred dollars here,” she exclaimed. She'd never had that kind of money before. "I can't take that."
“If you need money, then you need money. I want to make sure you don’t feel like you have to come begging for a few pennies.”
She could feel heat climbing up her neck under his astute gaze.
“I was afraid of that.” He sighed and sat back, studying her. “Now that you have money, what do you want to do with it?”
“I need supplies,” she mumbled.
“Right. So do we need to go shopping right now?”
Her face bright red with embarrassment, she shook her head. “No, but likely soon.”
He nodded. “Do you want to stay here and I’ll go, or do you want to come with me?”
She froze. “I don’t want to be here alone.”
“Right. Then let’s head across the river. We’ll have lunch out, and it will be easier for you to get what you need without being afraid that Greg will see you.”
She flashed him a brilliant smile. He actually understood. “Thank you.”
He smiled. “I’m really easy to talk to, you know. You just have to try.”
"It’s hard. Many men,” and of course she meant Greg, “won’t even talk about a menstrual cycle, never mind buying supplies.”
"And there are many men who have no problem with normal everyday necessities like condoms and tampons,” he said dryly. “I’m not ‘many’ men. I'm me.”
She flushed. “Speaking of which…" and she let her voice trail off. Shit, another tough topic. “I was on the pill but… they are back at Greg’s house.”
His eyebrows rose. “That is definitely something we need to take care of. Are there other items from that house that you want back?”
“I didn’t have much.” She considered the few clothes she’d had and the odd toiletry that she loved, but there was nothing she couldn’t walk away from. “No. I don’t need or want anything from there."
Better to make a clean break and start again. The stack of money in front of her would more than replace what she'd lost.
“Then do you have a prescription you can get refilled or do we need to find a doctor?”
“I think I can get the prescription filled again.”
He nodded. “Then let’s get going. Sounds like we have several stops to make.”
“Right.” But she didn’t move. He sat back down again. “What else is bothering you?”
She gazed under her lashes at him, took a deep breath, and let the words pour. “It’s just we didn’t use any protection last night."
He looked at her directly. “You’re right, that leaves us open to an interesting situation. However, there is no point in discussing it further until we know for sure one way or the other. Just know that I wouldn’t turn you out on the street and regardless of what you’d want to do down the road, I take care of my own.”
She beamed at him. Of course he would. She stood up, her heart and soul resting easier.
He hadn’t made any promises in any direction, but he would stand by his word. She knew
that deep inside. Somehow, after the shittiest of lives and only meeting the worst of men, she’d landed in a bed of roses with a man of integrity.
God, how had she gotten so lucky?
And would it hold?
Or would she wake up from this dream to find she was still Greg's prisoner?
***
She was such an interesting mix of bravado and innocence, and he was loving every minute of it. He had to keep her safe while she worked through this healing process. It was going to take years, perhaps her entire lifetime, to deal with all of it as people had the habit of burying bits and pieces deep into their psyche, and that was okay, too. She just needed to be strong enough to keep going, and he’d do everything he could to help her out.
At this point, he wanted her to stick around forever. He'd never met anyone who touched him like she did.
He drove through town and across the bridge to the neighboring town. A favorite luncheon spot was around the corner. A wonderful spicy curry house. He had no idea if she liked curry or not, but he hoped so. She’d been nervous upon first leaving the house, sitting slumped low down inside his truck cab.
Since leaving the town limits however, she’d relaxed and appeared to be enjoying the outing.
“It’s so beautiful.”
“The valley is that and so much more. The lake is one of the largest in Canada,” he murmured. The turnoff to the restaurant he wanted was just up ahead. He slowed his truck down and made the turn. He caught her watching him. “Something wrong?”
The briefest of smiles flashed before she murmured, “No, you just do everything as if you were born to it.”
Nice. “I wasn’t, but I do love to drive.”
“And the truck?”
“I’ve always owned a truck. It just seems like every time I trade one in, I end up with a bigger one.” He grinned. “They are very useful.”
She snorted. “Sure they are. They are also big toys.”
He laughed. “And the rest of that quote fits too – big toys for big boys.” He pulled the truck to the side of the restaurant and parked. “Come on. Lunchtime.”
“Great, I’m starved.”
He hoped so – the buffet here was really good. Hot and spicy and fresh. He walked around the truck and held out his hand. No hesitation, she placed her hand into his and they walked into the restaurant together.
She was doing so unbelievably well given where she’d been just a couple of days ago.
It made his heart ache. He knew there was a hell of a good chance she’d leave him well before he was ready for her to go. Hell, he wondered if he’d ever be ready for that.
In his heart, he knew he’d found the one woman he’d love to stay with for the rest of his life, but he knew she not only didn't have that same connection, she also hadn't had a chance to make a choice.
He had.
She'd been everything but free. And now that she was, he was still the main provider. So how free was she? He had money. He worked hard and invested well. Making money had been easy once he’d figured out how. Not that he let anyone know how well. He had plans, and moving to a job in his field was one of them. He'd taken a few days off work once he'd found her, but he'd be going back soon. He just had to make sure she was safe first.
He also needed to give her enough money that she could leave if that’s what she wanted to do, yet not so much that she’d decide to stay with him because she thought of him as a sugar daddy. That was the last thing he wanted.
She had to be able to make a choice. So far, he was looking like a pretty good deal.
Then again, she’d lived in hell up until now.
Chapter 13
She’d never had Indian curries before. They were tasty and so freaking hot, it was all she could do to get enough water down to cool her throat. Yet she wanted more.
What nefarious torture was this? The fried bread she’d consumed in large quantities had also been lovely. Full and happy, she wandered out on the porch while Cash paid the bill.
The dating scenario was such a fun experience. Great food, Cash was awesome company, and he was a gentleman. Oh happy sigh for finding a decent man.
She worried that her quick jump into his bed was a bad start to the relationship, but she was where she wanted to be, and that was all that mattered. Not to mention most relationships didn’t start where theirs had started.
Under more normal circumstances, she could see it would take weeks or months to get to where they were already.
Standing in the sunshine, she realized how blessed she truly was.
“Ready?”
She turned to smile up at Cash. “I am.”
“Good. Let’s get your shopping done and we’ll head home.”
Her pleasure dimmed at the word home. Greg and that whole mess of problems were at home. Still, it was Cash's home and not Greg's they were talking about, and that made all the difference. She’d be happy to go home with Cash.
The drive to the store was fun and happy, and they went to a drugstore and then a liquor store where Cash bought a bottle of single malt whiskey and several bottles of wine. She loved that. No buggies full of beer or cheap booze that burned her throat.
At the clothing store, Cash went a little wild. He’d insisted she try on several outfits and had bought the ones he’d liked. He’d also picked her out several pretty sets of lingerie. They were the nicest things she’d ever owned. At one point, she’d stopped and stared at the full cart he was pushing.
No one had ever bought her gifts like this.
Cash, seeing her frozen in the store, reached out and hugged her gently. “You need clothes, and these are a gift from me to you. Now let’s keep moving. We have a couple of other stops we still need to make before we go home.” And he’d kissed her, a slow lingering kiss in front of everyone that had left her wanting more.
“Now I wish we were home already,” she muttered.
He laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the checkout counter. The amount of money he paid for the items made her pale in shock. Good Lord. She’d have had to work for weeks to make that, but he handed over the money without a qualm.
It appeared that Cash wasn’t going to end up on the streets anytime soon, whereas she figured Greg was halfway there already.
She could see him homeless on the streets in a not-so-distant future. And he’d be a violent drunk if that happened.
Still, with any luck, he wouldn’t be her problem anymore.
The drive home was uneventful except the weather turned wet and ugly.
A storm swept in, and she felt safe in the truck but couldn’t imagine how some small cars could maneuver in the heavy winds and rain.
The shift had come on so suddenly, there'd been little warning.
Cash parked in the garage. She hopped out and laughed. “That was nuts out there.”
“The weather did change quickly,” he agreed, pulling out the some of the bags of purchases they’d made. “Grab the door, will you?”
With the keys, he unlocked the garage door and turned on the lights. He went in ahead of her. She picked up the new purse he’d bought her and smiled at the simple black design. With her other hand, she picked up several bags of clothes he’d bought her. On the way home, she’d offered to pay for the clothes, but he’d laughed. Said she’d needed them and he was happy to give them to her. And in the future, she was to tell him if she needed anything else. He wanted to make sure she didn’t go without.
Her new purse bulged with the cash he’d given her earlier. He hadn’t let her use that money for today’s shopping either.
She’d never had anyone buy her gifts like this or throw money around like he appeared to. Then again, she’d never met anyone who had money. She was loving his generous spirit and the fact that there was no sense of 'owing' to his gifts. Nor was there a feeling that she’d pay later for what he’d given her. It was something Greg had always used against her. Not that he’d bought gifts for her, but more that if he wa
s nice, he was expecting her to be ‘nice’ to him later.
That hadn’t been fun.
Cash wasn’t in the kitchen when she entered. The liquor was sitting on the counter, so she put the bottles away then walked into the bedroom.
Only he wasn’t there.
Confused, she threw down her bags and walked toward the bathroom. And found him on the floor, blood oozing from a head wound.
She dropped to his side, her hand instinctively reaching for his head. “Cash, oh my God. What happened?”
“I happened,” said a mocking voice behind her. “Did you really think I was going to let you go so easily?”
She closed her eyes at that hateful voice. Shuddering, looking for control, she forced them open and focused on checking Cash’s wound. Greg would kill her this time. No way he wouldn’t. But Cash, he’d only shown her gentleness and compassion. He didn’t deserve any of this.
He had to live.
It was already too late for her.
She stood up, ready to make a deal with the devil. Anything to save the angel at her feet.
“Hello, Greg.”
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Biker Baby Blues! If you’d like to read the rest of the series they can be found here:
Biker Blues: Salvation Part 2 - Amazon
Biker Blues: Salvation Part 3 – Amazon
Other books in the Biker Blues world
Biker Blues: Morgan Part 1 – Amazon
Biker Blues: Morgan Part 2 – Amazon
Biker Blues: Morgan Part 3 – Amazon
Biker Baby Blues: Morgan Part 4 – Amazon
If you’d like to read about other books I’ve written, please check out my website at: www.dalemayer.com. I can be contacted there or through my Facebook author page. To be informed of new releases and special offers, sign up for my newsletter.
Cheers,
Dale Mayer
By
Cassie Alexandra
Copyright ©2015 by Cassie Alexandra/K.L Middleton
