by Nicola Jane
“I’m not,” I say, trying to sound confident.
“But Blade just happened to be waiting for you outside my club?”
“I guess so,” I say, shrugging. “I know some of the ol’ ladies at his club.”
He shakes his head, his expression mildly pissed. “Come on now, sweet pea, don’t tell me lies. I fucking hate that.”
“We had a thing once, but it’s in the past,” I rush to add. “He sometimes follows me, turns up where I am,” I lie.
“Umm,” he says thoughtfully, placing the jar back. “I have a business proposition for you.”
“I can’t make business decisions. I don’t own this place,” I say.
“But your grandmother does.” He’s done his homework and it makes me more nervous.
“What’s your proposition?” I ask impatiently. I just want them to leave.
He leans his hands against the front counter and smiles at me. “Protection. I can offer your little shop protection.”
“From the frail old ladies who come in here to get their weekly sweet treat?” asks Sara. “This is a sweet shop. We sell candy to kids.”
Acid completely ignores Sara and keeps his eyes on me. “For a small fee, we can protect you and your shop from all kinds of trouble. And, because you’re Cobra’s daughter, I’ll even add a discount. That ex of yours won’t follow you ever again.”
“Like Sara said, I don’t need protection. We’re a quiet shop with regular customers.”
“But what about you? Being Cobra’s daughter can’t be easy. He had a lot of enemies,” he says, smirking at his sidekick. “Who knows who might show up.”
“No one knows he’s my dad. I only just found that out myself,” I say. An uneasy feeling spreads through me and I grip the counter tighter until my fingers ache.
“Look,” he says, holding his hands up like he’s relaxed and friendly, “the offer is there, just think it over and call me if you change your mind.” He slides his number across the counter.
I wait for them to leave before sagging against the wall. “Fuck, you’d better call Blade,” says Sara.
“No. I don’t need to hassle him. Acid’s gone. He seemed okay with me turning down his ridiculous offer.”
“Why do you think he’s called Acid?” she asks warily.
“Blade got his name because he’s good with knives, so lord only knows,” I mutter.
It’s the middle of the night, and I can hear an annoying buzzing from somewhere in the room. It’s a few seconds before I realise it’s my mobile phone. I blindly pat my hand along the bedside table until I grip it and press it to my ear. “Miss Edwards?” The voice sounds official, so I push myself to sit, glancing at my bedside clock. It’s one in the morning.
“Yes,” I whisper, my voice hoarse from sleep.
“This is PC Caborn from the Metropolitan Police. There’s been an incident involving Sweetastic. You might want to head over to check out the damage.”
I throw my sheets off and grab my jogging bottoms. “Damage?” I repeat, balancing the phone between my jaw and shoulder.
“Yes, your shop has been targeted by vandals.”
I drag Sara out of bed and head to the shop. When we arrive, I’m shocked at the mess. The main front window is smashed and the display is now scattered carelessly across the shop floor. “Oh Christ,” I mutter.
“You can step inside but try not to touch anything. We might be able to get some fingerprints,” says the officer, smiling sympathetically.
I step carefully through the open door and glass crunches under my trainers. Every sweet jar is smashed, the contents spread over the floor carelessly. I stand in the middle of the shop with my arms folded over my chest and slowly spin around, taking in the amount of damage. This place doesn’t earn enough to cover this and claiming on the insurance will only put up the premiums.
“Who the hell would break into a sweet shop?” growls Sara.
“You’d be surprised,” says the cop, shrugging. “A lot of junkies need a sweet treat when they’re coming down from a high. Or it could just be kids impressing their mates.”
I shake my head, knowing exactly who this was. I pull out my phone and dial Blade’s number. It rings for a few seconds before his panting breath comes on the line. I hesitate, wondering what’s causing his breathlessness. “Sunshine, you okay?” he asks.
“Erm . . .” I look around the mess again. “Not really. The shop is . . . Acid came. Oh shit, what am I gonna do?” My sobs take me by surprise and I cover my mouth to try and stifle them.
“Acid? What about him?”
“Just come to the shop, please,” I mutter, disconnecting.
Sara gently rubs my arm. “You made the right call. We need the Kings right now.”
BLADE
“That was Tillie. Something’s wrong,” I say, wiping my blade on an old piece of rag.
“We’re kinda in the middle of something,” mutters Riggs.
“Pres, she mentioned Acid.”
He freezes mid punch. The bloody mess before him groans, a reminder that we already have a situation. “Shit, okay, finish this piece of crap,” he huffs. Lake steps forward and slices a neat cut across the man’s neck. He begins to gurgle as Riggs puts a call in to the clean-up team.
“I know we made a deal with the chief of police, but this kind of thing is a bit above and beyond,” Lake complains.
“You think he needs bent cops on his payroll? This piece of scum raped victims of crime. Women reached out for help and he attacked them,” hisses Riggs.
“A cop is a cop. I don’t wanna go down for murdering a cop,” argues Lake.
“Christ, we do what we do. I can’t pick and choose the jobs that come in from the top. He’s gonna keep us outta prison if we keep him on side,” snaps Riggs. “You know the score.”
I head to my bike, wondering exactly how far this new chief will make us go. He’s too ambitious for my liking, but I won’t tell Riggs that.
We ride out to Tillie's shop, and I get a glare from Riggs when the cop waiting outside the shop turns towards the rumblings of the bikes as we come to a stop. There’s no hiding the blood on my shirt, but I fasten my jacket anyway.
“Evening,” he says with a nod. I leave Riggs to talk to him and I head into the shop, where Tillie is crying down the phone. I take the receiver off her and pass it to Sara, then I wrap my arms around her and allow her to sob into my chest while looking around at the mess.
When Sara finishes the call, she disconnects. “Her nan,” she explains.
“She wants to sell up,” says Tillie, sniffling. “She can’t afford to keep it running as it is and now this.”
Riggs steps in. “Cops think druggies,” he says, looking around.
Tillie shakes her head. “It was Acid,” she mutters. “He came to the shop today.”
I grip her shoulders and glare at her. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“I didn’t think I needed to. I’m calling you now,” she sniffles.
“What did he want?” asks Riggs.
“To offer protection . . . for me and the shop. I said I didn’t need it and he seemed fine with that and left. But this is a bit of a coincidence, right?”
“Right,” agrees Riggs. “You gotta come to the club. Both of you,” he demands firmly before heading back out the shop. I smile to myself because he’s accepting her into the Kings family. He wouldn’t offer protection otherwise.
“You don’t have to look after me,” she says awkwardly.
“Sunshine, if you weren’t worried, you wouldn’t have called me,” I say gently. “We’ll sort this. Let’s get you out of here.”
I settle Tillie in the room next to mine, like before, and Sara is in the room next to her. I head straight for Riggs’ office, where I find him updating Cree.
“When are we heading out?” I ask. I feel agitated and I’m ready for the fight.
“Brother, we gotta play this cool. He’s offering protection. He might be doing that across
the area,” says Riggs. “I wanna know just how far his reach goes. They’ve been quiet since Cobra disappeared. Man, I thought they were gone.”
“Me and you both,” I mutter. “Now he knows she’s Cobra’s daughter, he won’t leave her alone.”
After speaking with Tillie a few days ago, Riggs looked into the history of the Cobras MC. Cobra himself had only just started the club up before we ended him, but he’d already gotten some local drug dealers on board who were wanting to break away from the tough rules the Kings and Vinn have in place. We’ve since learned he left a lot of debt with those dealers and they went after the remaining members to get their money. Acid stepped up and became the new President.
“If Acid is trying to exploit Tillie to get money to pay off Cobra’s debts and she’s declined, he might sell her down the river and the debts will pass to her. We don’t know if tonight was his way of scaring her to agree or if people are already coming for her,” says Cree.
“I’ll fucking kill him,” I growl.
Cree pats me on the back, smiling. “Welcome aboard the crazy train, brother. Here, we do anything to protect our women.”
Thinking about Tillie as my own makes me smile. All I gotta do is convince her.
Chapter Sixteen
TILLIE
There's a light knock on my bedroom door, and I open it to find Eva standing there sheepishly. “Hey,” she almost whispers.
I’m not mad at her, she did what she had to do, but it doesn’t stop me feeling hurt. I open the door wider and she follows me inside. “I chose the flowers,” she says, pointing to a large vase of beautiful dried flowers.
“They’re lovely.”
“Oh Tillie, I’m so sorry. I wanted to call you, but Blade said I couldn’t. He thought it was best we leave you alone to move on.”
“You did what you had to do,” I reassure her.
She flops down next to me on the bed. “Riggs just asked me to chat with you, feel you out. I became your friend by choice because I really like you, Tillie. It was easy to become your friend because you remind me of Anna and Leia and all the other amazing friends I have.”
Her apology makes me feel better and I smile. “Let’s start again,” I suggest, and she nods, relief flooding her face.
“So, you and Blade?” She grins, wiggling her brows.
“We keep getting pulled back together.”
“That tells me despite your protests, there’s something between you. You’re drawn to each other,” she says with a sparkle in her eye.
“Whatever we had, and I say had, died the second he killed a man on our first date. That was my sign to walk away and I was an idiot to fall into bed with him despite knowing what he’s like.”
She hesitates for a second, gathering her words. “I know it’s extreme. Most people would run a mile if that happened. Murder, it’s huge.” She shrugs her shoulders. “You know, the chief of police and other people held in high authority, they hire the MC to help keep the streets clean. It’s not ethical and nobody speaks about it even though lots of people know about it.” She sighs. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this. I guess I just want you to understand, because I didn’t when I first met Cree. I couldn’t get my head around it. But I love him and I have to accept this is who he is, it’s a part of him. He doesn’t kill innocent people or rape women. He helps keep those people off the streets. Blade does the same and he’s a good man, a clown.” She smiles affectionately. “He deserves a woman who understands him. And, if that isn’t you, well, I guess he’ll eventually move on. But if it is you, if you love him, you should fight for him. It’ll be worth it.”
The following day, I join everybody downstairs for breakfast. Sara is unusually quiet and I’m starting to worry that this goes beyond heartbreak. But it’s hard not to be quiet around these guys—the room is alive with chatter and kids running around. There’s a nice family atmosphere and it gets me thinking about Nan. Blade takes the seat next to me, filling his plate with eggs and bacon.
“You sleep okay?” he grunts, side-eyeing me.
“Is that your way of saying I look like shit?”
“It was a rough night. I thought it would keep you awake.”
He’s right, I hardly slept a wink and spent most of the night staring out of the window. “I’d really like to go and see Nan today. She acted fine when I called her, but I know how much that place meant to her.”
“Sunshine, it ain’t safe out there,” he mumbles, picking his bacon up with his fingers and biting it. “Alone,” he adds. “I’ll take you.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s got a thing about bikers, and not in a good way,” I warn him.
“I’ll win her around,” he says, winking at me.
“You haven’t met her. She’s not the type to fall for male charm.”
“She’ll have to like me eventually if I’m gonna marry her granddaughter one day,” he says.
My eyes widen and then I laugh because he’s surely lost his mind. He drops some bacon back onto his plate and takes a mouthful of coffee before standing and grabbing my hand. “Let’s go.” I’m too stunned to argue as he leads me away.
BLADE
Tillie wasn’t kidding when she said her nan hated bikers. The second she opened her front door, she glared at me with eyes full of hatred. I sit in a flowery armchair that’s around two sizes too small for my large frame, sweating because the heating must be cranked up to full, and listening to Tillie explain to her nan that she agrees the shop needs to stay closed.
“Now we have that sorted,” says her nan, leaning forward towards the small coffee table, picking up a full teapot in her shaky hand. “Let’s get down to business.”
“Didn’t we just talk business?” asks Tillie, holding up a tiny teacup for her nan to fill with tea.
“You bring a six-and-a-half-foot man into my home and you think I want to talk about the shop?” she asks.
“He’s my friend, Nan.”
“He’s much more than a friend,” she scoffs. “Bikers stick to the woman they love like glue. It’s how I know your father never loved your mother.”
“Blade is my friend,” repeats Tillie with warning in her tone.
“Child, I am not nor will I ever be stupid. You know me better than to lie to my face.”
“I can tell you’re a wise woman,” I cut in and she scowls at me. “I ain’t trying to flatter you, I can see you’ll slap me clean if I even try,” I continue. “You’re right. I like Tillie a lot. I haven’t made things easy for her and she’s struggling to like me back right now, but I’m hoping if I stick to her long enough, she’ll learn to like me too.”
“We don’t have a good history with bikers,” she says.
I nod. “I know. I met Tillie’s dad. He was a Kings Reaper in our Manchester charter, but he wasn’t a good man, and as soon as my President knew what he was doing there, he kicked him from the club. I can see why you’re concerned for Tillie, but I’m not like him. I don’t condone anything he did, and he did a lot of bad stuff,” I say.
Her nan takes a deep breath and releases it slowly. “It’s a start,” she says, and I relax a little. “Go under the stairs and get the tool box out. I have a tonne of jobs I need doing and you’re the first man to walk in this house in a long time.” Tillie sniggers and I smile. I’m happy to do whatever she requires if she gives me approval to make Tillie mine.
TILLIE
It’s distracting having Blade fix the curtain rail in the living room when I’m trying to talk to Nan about the insurance on the shop. I keep catching his eye and it’s doing all kinds of dangerous things to my body. “I’ll claim what I can and put it into your bank account,” says Nan.
“I don’t want the money, Nan.”
“You’ll need money without a job,” she says, and I sigh. I hadn’t thought of what I’ll do for work. I have savings, but they were for my dream bar. “And besides, the money is no good to me.”
“We’ll need to use it to mak
e some repairs before you sell the shop,” I point out, and she nods.
“You should speak with your mum about some money she has for you in savings,” says Nan, and I see a look pass over her face, like she wants to tell me more.
“Mum doesn’t have money,” I say. “She gave me the money from my childhood savings account when I turned eighteen, remember?”
“This’s a more recent discovery,” she mutters. “Go and see her. She’d love to spend some time with you.”
“Why don’t you see your mum much?” asks Blade once we get back to the club.
“I just never get around to going there. It’s a long way and I’ve always had an excuse, like the shop or looking after Nan. Mum’s wrapped up in her life there. She has a crazy busy social life.”
“I’d like to meet her. We could drive there on the bike.”
“No,” I say firmly. “Meeting you might send her over the edge,” I add.
He follows me up the stairs and we stop outside my room. I lean against the door and he moves closer until we’re a breath apart. “Why?” he whispers.
“The whole biker hate thing runs in the family.”
“They better get used to me,” he mutters, his lips almost touching mine. I feel around for the door handle and open the door, stepping back and putting some space between us. He smirks, then his hand wraps behind my neck, pulling me back towards him. “Not so fast, Sunshine,” he whispers before placing his mouth over my own. The kiss starts gentle, and he carefully walks me backwards until we’re in my room. He kicks the door behind him, keeping his lips against my own. “You keep running,” he mutters between kisses. “No more.” His arms wrap around me and he tilts me to the side, his large body shadowing over mine as he kisses me like his life depends on it. When he pulls back slightly, my head feels light and I’m panting for breath. He smiles. “I’ve missed you, Tils.” The way my name sounds on his lips makes me shudder, like his voice alone lights a spark deep within me.