Healer

by Kate Stone

  We made the trip into the city before heading right back out to the house, keeping enough distance from each other not to draw any attention to ourselves once back in town. Jericho and I had also decided to keep the neighbors from taking notice of him hanging around, he would kill the engine to his bike a block away before coasting it to the house and would place it in the backyard, which was completely secluded thanks to hedges and trees. I was waiting in the back when he came coasting down the grassy hill on his bike, with an award-winning smile plastered on his face. As soon as he parked, I straddled his lap and snaked my arms around him. “Thank you for all your help. I can’t believe how much has changed, and so quick but… I’m not sure I could do this without you.”

  “Sure you could,” Jericho purred, squeezing my hips to bring me closer. “You were until I forced my way in. I’m happy to help, and I’ll be around to help as long as you will have me.”

  We mirrored each other’s smiles and leaned in for a kiss. Life was turning into something so crazy and unexpected but having Jericho with me made it feel like everything would always be okay. The kiss was passionate and hot, pressing myself down onto his groin as his teeth grazed my bottom lip. Something about him always drove me wild, always able to turn me on in a fraction of a second.

  Flash.

  We pulled away from each other and looked around to see someone standing at the edge of the yard, a camera pointed at us. A series of flashes continued to blind us. “Hey!” Jericho hollered, reacting before I could. The person darted away, hurrying around the house. Wasting no time, Jericho removed me from his lap booked it after them. Just moments later, I heard the aggressive squealing of tires as a car sped away.

  Following him, I asked in a panic as he came back into view, “Who was that?”

  “I have no idea,” he seethed, moving past me. “I got a picture of their license plate with my phone.”

  “Where are you going?” I questioned, concern pitching my voice.

  “To the clubhouse. Some of the guys have ways of tracking people down. They’ll be able to handle it.”

  “What are you going to tell them?”

  “There’s nothing to tell them but the truth—someone caught me and the sheriff’s daughter kissing. I can only imagine it’s some sort of ploy to use as blackmail. I have to get the guys on our side so we can get ahead of this.”

  I put my hands on the handlebars of his bike as he got on. “Should I come with you?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Eve.”

  “Why not?”

  “It’s already going to be hard enough to explain to them. You being there only places you in danger. I don’t want that.”

  “Do you really think they would hurt me?” I challenged, knowing he was only being protective.

  “Come on, Eve, we don’t have time for this.”

  I didn’t budge, “You risked everything for me to let my dad know. The least I can do is be there when your club finds out. I want them to know me rather than think of me the way they do now. Don’t you think they would respect me and us more if I was with you?”

  He wanted to object, but it didn’t look like he could come up with a good response. Sighing, he dug into a saddlebag, pulled out a helmet and handed it to me. “Keep the face shield down. We don’t need anyone spotting you.”

  Sitting behind him and hugging him close, the motorcycle rumbled to life under us, and a thrill shot through me. When was the last time we had gone on a ride together? A year, maybe two? Wasting no time, he propelled us out of the yard and raced down the street; I knew it was because he wanted to disappear before any neighbors caught sight of us. Knowing the neighborhood and their hatred for the Watchdogs, it was likely someone would file a noise complaint anyways.

  I felt like we were rocketing through the dusk, going well over the speed limit. I could have fussed at him for being reckless, but I decided to trust his rationale. The sleepy town slipped away in blurry streaks as he headed to the clubhouse near the county line. Peering up to the sky, I found myself praying to anyone that would listen that we could stop whoever that person was before things got bad.

  The little building came into view, warm yellow light illuminating the distorted windows. Jericho pulled around the back of the building where there was nothing but a few acres of leveled land filled with an array of plants, plywood, and sacks of soil and wood chippings. Cutting the engine, Jericho pulled his phone from his pocket, he took a deep breath before raising it to his ear. “Hey… I’m out back. I have a situation. Can you come here?... Yeah, alone.” Hanging up, he stood off the bike and looked over to me as I started to unstrap the helmet. “No, no… Keep it on for now. Just… trust me.”

  Just moments later, a man that towered nearly half a foot over Jericho’s head with a large beard, and sandy brown hair came outside. The man looked at me, furrowed his brow, and glanced to Jericho. “What’s going on?”

  “I-I…” Jericho stammered. Then, he threw up his hands in defeat and started again, “You guys can kick my ass if you want, all right? I’ve been seeing Eve Griswold for years and tonight, I was at her house and someone took a picture of us and drove off. I got a picture of their license plate but—”

  “Griswold?” the man hissed. “Are you out of your mind? Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

  “None of that matters now. Someone has a picture of us, and we have no idea why, unless it’s to blackmail the club.”

  “It was probably the sheriff!” the man laughed bitterly. “This isn’t my problem—” he stopped and looked at me again. “Is that…?”

  Jericho nodded at me and I took off my helmet, smoothing my hair with one hand. “My dad couldn’t have taken our picture.”

  “Jesus Christ, you brought her here?”

  “James,” Jericho snapped. “The sheriff knows about us and while he’s not happy, he’s not angry either. He wouldn’t blackmail us.”

  “Oh, because you guys are the best of pals now, right?” James growled, towering over Jericho then. “The sheriff’s daughter, Rico? Have you forgotten the sheriff killed our dads? Have our cousins locked up right now? Whose side are you on?”

  Jericho looked like a dog who had been kicked, and instead of feeling sad about it, I was pissed. “Why does there have to be sides?” I asked James. His head turned and his eyes shot daggers into me. “I may be related to the police force, but it doesn’t mean I agree with what they do. To me, Jericho and my dad getting along works for everyone. He’s already having a change of heart about Jericho and in time, maybe the club.”

  “Even if that is all true,” James said in a low tone, still trying to recover from his anger; I wasn’t sure if anything I said had sank in for him yet. “That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t try to blackmail you, threaten to somehow get that picture to the club to scare you away from his daughter.”

  “It’s not possible,” I responded to him again. Finally, I came out with it, hoping to appeal to his heart rather than his mind. “My dad has cancer and can’t even make it downstairs on his own. That’s why Jericho has been around my house, to help my dad out. He doesn’t want anyone to know, especially you guys. I hope you can respect his privacy and keep it to yourself.”

  James physically softened, peering back and forth between the two of us. I think he had the same thoughts we all had upon finding out my dad’s diagnosis. He cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “All right, first things first. Let me see this license plate.” Jericho pulled out his phone and showed James. James typed the number into his own phone and headed back to the door. He paused before entering. “I’m sorry, Eve, but I’ll at least have to tell my brother to get this handled. Your secret is safe with us, though.” I gave him an approving nod and he disappeared into the clubhouse.

  Jericho paced over to me and wrapped his arms around me, pressing his lips to my forehead. “It’s going to work out,” he whispered to me. After what felt like years, James and a man of ne
arly equal height and darker hair emerged. James walked away without saying a word, the sound of a motorcycle roaring to life soon to follow. We looked to the other man, who I vaguely recognized but couldn’t put a name to. “What’s going on, Wade?” Wade McIntyre? The last time I saw him had to have been in grade school, and by God did the beard make a world of a difference.

  “James found the address of the car owner. He’s going to have a word with them,” he said.

  “Well, who was it?”

  “Someone named Riley Addams. She lives in the city.”

  “What? Why would someone in the city want our picture?”

  “Don’t know. I suppose James will find out. I’m supposed to take you both to our house to wait it out.”

  “I can’t,” I said, shaking my head. “I have to get back to my dad. He hasn’t had dinner.”

  Wade shrugged, “I can drop you off then. Rico, you have to come with me.”

  Chapter Ten – Jericho

  I had to keep my hands planted on my legs to keep my knees from bouncing with anxiety, my mind racing so fast I couldn’t keep up. Who in the hell was Riley Addams? What did he want from us? Why did someone in the city care about what was going on in Newshire? What would come of James and Wade now knowing about Eve? I took them at their word and knew that they wouldn’t let the others know that Griswold was sick.

  It didn’t register to me we were even in town until the truck stopped. I peered over to Eve and clutched her hand, pressing a kiss to the back of it. “I’ll come by once I have some answers.”

  She nodded and peered around me at Wade before walking to the house. I scooted over into her seat and leaned against the window as Wade drove us out to the McIntyre house. It was probably best Eve hadn’t come with, in case Cellie came home. I loved Cellie but I wasn’t sure I didn’t trust her not to spread gossip throughout the club. “So, finally got caught, huh?” Wade asked, cutting through the silence.

  “What do you mean ‘finally’?”

  He gave a small chuckle, “You two may be able to hide it now, but back in school you would practically undress each other with your eyes every time you saw one another.” A heat came over my cheeks at that, and I stared out the window to keep him from seeing my face. “Hey, maybe it’ll lead to a peace treaty between us and the police,” Wade hypothesized. “If, you know, it ever comes out and Griswold publicly gives his blessing. Maybe if you knock her up.”

  “Enough,” I muttered. I didn’t even want to think about how a child would complicate everything right now.

  “I’m just teasing,” Wade chuckled. “You must have it bad for her, huh?”

  “Yeah, I do.”

  When we got to their house, we sat in the living room; Wade poured us each a stiff scotch. “So, what’s her dad like?”

  “Kind of an asshole, but I think his condition is humbling him.”

  “What kind of cancer is it? What stage?”

  “Lung. I’m not sure what stage but I know his chemotherapy treatments are aggressive. We’ve seen so many in this county go through it, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen it take out a man of his stature so quick. He could barely make it to the car, you know?”

  “Shit,” he muttered, sipping his scotch. “Is he self-medicating?”

  I cracked a smirk then, unable to hide it. “I got him high this afternoon when we got back to their house from the hospital. He was hilarious. It was the first time he’s ever been high, so he laughed a lot, softened up and stopped acting like he wanted to kick my ass down the street. Thankfully, his nausea disappeared. I may not like the guy, but damn it was heartbreaking to see him so sick.”

  “I think I would pay money to see him high,” Wade grinned.

  “Speaking of,” I muttered, reaching into my pocket, I took out the money from Derek and handed it over. “Derek gave me about twenty dollars’ worth of pot, said he couldn’t make his last run of the day. No idea who is missing it but it’s Griswold’s now,” I explained, handing him an extra twenty from my wallet.

  “Christ,” he muttered. “I have to admit, the new set up is nice and takes the pressure off everyone, but I’m ready to get back to normal. Derek and the others are going to ask for a bigger cut and we can’t have that. Enough of that, though. Tell me about Eve.”

  Finally, I was able to unload my thoughts after a decade. We sat there for hours, talking about the women in our lives and it felt so good. For years I had dealt with the club making jokes about me being celibate, or awkward situations where they would try to set me up with women. While all that would still probably happen, at least I had someone I could be myself around. I had forgotten how good a friend Wade was. He wasn’t judgmental, always wanted to listen to what people had to say and gave sound advice.

  After a couple hours had passed, I realized Wade kept me talking to help keep me calm while we waited on James’s return. Part of me felt like a coward for having another man handle my business, but then again, James hadn’t given me a say in the matter. If there was ever a person to handle it on their own, it would be James. He was a one-man army with his size, strength, sheer determination, and tactical mind.

  Wade and I were lost in conversation when James came through the front door of the house. Both of us shot to our feet and looked onto him, eager for explanation. James grabbed my scotch that I had hardly touched and downed it before plopping down in a chair and beginning to unstrap his boots. “It’s been handled.”

  What in the hell did that mean? “Who is Riley Addams?” I asked, unable to help myself even though his energy said not to bother him.

  “A journalist.”

  My brow furrowed. I took in the sight of James and noticed how disheveled and sweaty he looked. There was no telling what had happened that night, but I was smart enough not to ask.

  “Apparently, he was in town to do a story about small-town life, a fluff piece for the newspaper. When asking around town, he heard the story of the rivalry between the police and the Watchdogs. Then he saw a man in a Three Brothers Landscaping shirt follow a woman through the grocery store. Riley thought the story was turning into an exposé on us and how we terrorize the town. He was stunned to learn you were chasing the sheriff’s daughter. Took those pictures of you guys making out and was going to use it as a building block for a story about how fucked up our town is.”

  I swallowed hard as both McIntyre brothers looked at me with severe disappointment at the news I had confronted Eve in public. “So, he’s not going to publish it?”

  “Took some convincing,” James sighed in a way that said there hadn’t just been words exchanged. “But no. I watched Riley delete the pictures. You two are safe, just be more careful from now on. Next time you slip up it probably won’t be a mess I’m able to clean up for you.”

  “Thank you, James. I don’t know how to repay you.”

  “Pay me by getting out of my hair. I’m tired.”

  I headed to the door before I remembered Wade drove me. Peering over to him, Wade tossed me the truck keys. “I’ll ride with James tomorrow. Go enjoy your night.”

  Wasting no time, I headed to the truck with a newfound rush of excitement. I was blessed to belong to an organization like the Watchdogs with leaders like James and Wade. They were the family that people like me needed. Structure, security, protection. As full as my heart was with the kindness they had shown me, it was just as joyful that I was on my way to see Eve. I couldn’t wait to tell her it was handled.

  The future wasn’t going to be smooth or easy by any means, but I knew things were going in the right direction with James and Griswold both knowing about our relationship. We had the two most powerful people in town on our side and if we played our cards right, maybe our relationship could help mend the town.

  THE END

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  Other Books by K
ate Stone

  Addicted to You

  Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!

  Boardroom Benefits

  Love for the Single Dad

  The First Rule

  Kyle

  Perfect Partner

  Cowboy Billionaire

  Weekend Fiancée

  Bully to Boyfriend

  Her Best Man

  Husband Needed

  Protector

  About the Author

  Kate Stone has always lived for romance. From the time she was very small, waiting for her Prince Charming to come and take her away, she has looked to the healing, redeeming power of love.

  She lives in New England with her long-suffering husband and their four children. She spends her days as a graduate student and her weekends writing.

  You can visit her at www.AuthorKateStone.com or on Twitter @KateStoneAuthor

  Finally, if you liked this story, leave a review letting her know what you liked and she’ll write more.