Blacktop Freedom (Kings of Vengeance MC Book 7)

by Winter Travers

  “But I gotta think none of them would expect you to come back to me when I’m out and on parole.”

  Bingo.

  I sighed. Yeah, everyone was going to be shocked and maybe even disappointed. “I’m going to need to talk to my chief and just see what he says.” I had been a huge asset to the department in years past, but I wasn’t too sure that was going to be enough for them to keep me around.

  “And what if he says that you can’t see me, Kaye? He could take you off this case and make your life hell. You could be out of a job in seconds.”

  Again, all of that was possible. I could say I was dating Jax and be fired instantly. I could also tell them I was dating Jax, and they wouldn’t care as long as Jax kept on the right side of the law. Anything was possible.

  “I guess I’ll cross that bridge if I have to.” It didn’t do me any good lying in bed with Jax and worrying about all the what-ifs. “But right now, you need to get your ass out of my bed and back to the clubhouse before your PO shows up.”

  Jax’s hand glided over my stomach and down my hip. “I can stay for a little bit longer,” he growled.

  I pressed a kiss to his lips and planted my hands to his chest. Shaking my head, I pushed him away. “Get lost, boy. I’ll see you later.”

  Jax slapped my ass and stood. “I’ll let Arrow out before I leave.”

  I raised a thumb in the air and fell back into my pillow. “Thanks.”

  Jax dressed and sat on the edge of the bed to pull on his boots. “You gonna come over to talk to Quinn later?”

  “Yes, though I think I’ll leave Clint at the station. You guys don’t really play nice with him.”

  Jax chuckled. “Uh, you’re right, but it’s not like he’s really trying either, babe.”

  “Truth,” I muttered. “I can only imagine how he’s going to freak out when he finds out about you and me.”

  Jax glanced over his shoulder at me. “Still can’t believe that there is a you and me again.”

  I couldn’t either. “Same.”

  He twisted and leaned over me. “You want there to be an us?” He pressed a quick kiss to my lips. “Right?”

  I did. What we were facing was just a little terrifying. I could go through Hell and back fighting with the department about being with Jax just for Jax to decide that he didn’t want to be with me anymore.

  My whole life was about to be flipped end over end, and Jax could break my heart. I was gambling everything I had, and, in the end, I might wind up with nothing.

  “I want that happily ever after, Jax.” I wanted that with him, but I had seen that what you wanted didn’t always happen.

  “And I’m going to give it to you, babe.”

  My eyes connected with his. I wanted to believe him. I really did. “Then let’s see what happens.”

  I just couldn’t ignore the past five years. The hurt and heartache he had brought into our lives. I forgave him for what he did, but that didn’t take away the worry and hurt I felt deep in my heart.

  Jax had scarred me deep, and that was something we were both going to have to deal with for the rest of our lives.

  A slight frown crossed Jax’s face. “I’ll spend my last breath proving to you that everything I do is for you, and I’ll never hurt you again.”

  I reached up and caressed his cheek. “That’s all a girl can want for, right?”

  He leaned his forehead against mine.

  I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of having Jax here.

  This couldn’t end.

  I couldn’t lose this man again.

  If I did, I wouldn’t survive.

  Jax had my heart, and if he went away, my heart went with him.

  *

  Chapter Fifteen

  POs & coffee…

  Brick

  Berg sat across from me. “Where were you?” he asked.

  “Out.”

  He tipped his head to the side. “Out where?”

  I said that my PO was cool, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know his shit and keep an eye on his parolees. Berg gave you a long leash, but if you messed up and made him look stupid, you can bet your ass he would yank that leash hard if he needed to. “Detective Kaye Crew’s house.”

  Berg closed his eyes and shook his head. “You really decided to bark up that tree?”

  I shrugged. “You really think I wouldn’t?”

  Berg opened his eyes and tapped his pen on the table. “Well, I guess I figured you would run to her, but I also thought she would boot your ass into outer space.”

  “Things were pretty bumpy at first, but we were able to come to an understanding.”

  Berg stared at me. “You told her about your brother.”

  I shrugged.

  “You also tell her he still wound up dead?”

  I shook my head. “No. I tell her that and she’ll know everything I did was for nothing. I gave up my life for Dom to have a life and he threw it right back in my face when he climbed into that truck and died.”

  “Even if you would have known how it was going to end, would you have still helped Dom?” Berg asked.

  I wrestled with this question. Gut instinct had me saying I would have told him to fuck off and gone on with my life with Kaye. But then if I really thought about it, I know I still would have done it because Dom was my brother. Even though he was on a horrible path in life, I would have done anything to help him. I had, and it still didn’t fix him.

  Dom was the one who needed to fix himself, and he just couldn’t do it no matter how much help he got.

  “I would have helped him.”

  Berg nodded. “Then don’t run from the fact that he’s gone.”

  I wasn’t running from it. I just didn’t want to fucking talk about it.

  I sat back on my chair and smirked. “I told Kaye you were on the way over for a surprise check and she freaked out on me.”

  “I wouldn’t expect anything else from Kaye Crew,” Berg laughed. “I worked with her for a few months. That is one chick who likes more than anything to follow the rules.”

  I shrugged. “I guess that’s a good quality to have in a cop, right?” And it was good for me to be around. I didn’t want to go back to prison as much as she didn’t want me to.

  Berg shrugged. “To an extent. There are times the rules and law aren’t right.” Berg nodded to me. “Take you for instance. You had one major run-in with the law, did your time, and now you’re out ready to start your new life. Do I give every one of my parolees the same leniency as I do you? Fuck no. I know within five minutes of meeting my parolees if they’re going to be a problem or walk the line.”

  “And you think I’m going to walk the line?”

  Berg laughed. “I can tell you I will be shocked as fuck if you break another law more than speeding in the next fifty years. You weren’t a criminal then, and you’re still not one even after spending five years in prison.”

  “Yeah,” I laughed. “I’m a fucking felon now.”

  Berg shook his head. “On paper, but in life? Hell no. I see a lot of guys, and it’s taught me a thing or two. You’re gonna be fine, Jax.”

  Staring out the front window, I sighed. “I fucking hope so, Berg. I just wanted my blacktop freedom back, man. Going five years without being able to cruise on my bike and go wherever the hell I wanted was Hell.”

  I didn’t know how I got so lucky to have Berg as my PO, but you could bet your ass I thanked God for him every day. I had been told even though I was being released, I still wouldn’t have my complete freedom back while I was on parole. Berg made it easier than it would have been with anyone else. “I got that blacktop freedom back, and knock-on fucking wood, I got my girl back, too.”

  Berg laughed. “I was shocked as shit when I found out Kaye Crew was your woman. Thought she was the fucking ice queen and there was no one capable of melting her icy demeanor.”

  I shook my head even though I could see how Berg or really anyone could think that about Kaye. If they knew he
r through being a cop, then they were going to get the cold as ice Kaye. It was when she wasn’t working a case that she was the complete opposite. “What can I say? I like it.”

  Berg chuckled and nodded. “I’m glad you like it, but I fully expect to be called in when I get back to the office, though. I’m sure Kaye has already reported me.”

  I shook my head. “She’s not gonna say anything, man.”

  Kaye wasn’t going to report Berg for bending the rules for me. If she did that, then I could pretty much guarantee that I would be headed back to prison.

  “Time will tell.” Berg pushed back his chair and stood. “I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Jax. Make sure to stay out of trouble. I know that pretty cop of yours won’t let you do anything stupid, though.”

  That was damn straight. “See ya, Berg.”

  Berg nodded and walked out the front door.

  “Is the coast clear?” Core peeked his head around the corner of the hallway and his eyes darted around.

  “PO is gone,” I laughed. Quinn had promised me when I came to live at the clubhouse that when my PO showed up, everyone would keep their distance and not surface until the coast was clear.

  “Thank God,” Core muttered. He let out a whistle and walked into the common room. “Deedra and Petra were ready to lose their shit if they didn’t get coffee soon.”

  “Out of my way,” Deedra called. She barreled down the hallway and beelined straight into the kitchen. “What kind of person decides to check in on someone before ten in the morning,” she muttered.

  “The kind who is doing his job?” Point suggested.

  Deedra flipped him off. “I don’t appreciate your mouth this early in the morning.”

  “Uh, it sounded like you appreciated it last night,” Core scoffed.

  Deedra blushed and shifted her middle finger to Core. “Eavesdropping is not nice.”

  “Is it really eavesdropping if I had to turn up my TV to drown you out?” Core clutched his hands together and raised his voice, “Oh, Point. Oh, God!”

  Kimber shuffled into the common room and smothered a yawn with the back of her hand. “You heard that, too?” she asked. “At first, I thought I was dreaming, but then your damn bed started banging against the wall.” Kimber thrust her hips and laughed. “It was like I was in a porno, but I couldn’t see anything.”

  “Point,” Deedra growled. “We are never doing anything ever again.”

  Point reared back, and his eyes darted around the room. “Uh, what the hell? I can’t help that I give it to you so good that you can’t stay quiet. I should get a fucking medal for that.”

  Deedra grabbed the coffee pot and thrust it under the running water. “You know what, I’m mad at Dyno for this. Why didn’t he make the bedrooms soundproof?” she demanded.

  “Hey, just imagine if you were Brick. His room is right next to you guys,” Core pointed out. “How loud was it last night, brother?” he asked me.

  I laid my hand on the table and tipped my head to the side. “Uh, well, I really wouldn’t know since I didn’t sleep here last night.”

  Deedra’s head popped up and her eyes widened. “You didn’t stay here? Where were you? Did you meet someone?” she shot off rapidly. “Please tell me she’s someone we’ll get along with and we won’t have to pretend to like her just because she’s sleeping in your bed.”

  “You pretend to like someone?” Point hooted. “No way in hell you would ever be able to do that. I heard you complaining to Fancy the other day about the new news anchor. I’ll be surprised as hell if you don’t get into some trouble when it comes to her.”

  Deedra dumped the coffee pot of water into the machine and stuck it back under the machine. “She thinks she is going to waltz right in and take stories from me, Point. That is not how this is going to go.”

  “You can’t be the only reporter in Whitmore, Deedra. You gotta have other people covering stories,” Point pointed out.

  Fancy walked in the front door and dropped her purse on the floor. “I am getting way too old to work third shift. I swear it feels like I worked sixty million hours, and not just nine.” Her hair was falling out of a ponytail, and her scrubs were smeared and stained with various things.

  “I’m making coffee,” Deedra called.

  “Deedra had a late night with Point.” Core winked at Fancy and laughed. “She needs a little bit more energy today.”

  Fancy shuffled into the kitchen and grabbed a coffee cup. “Dyno texted me. I know all about it.”

  “What?” Deedra gasped. “What did he text you?” she demanded.

  Fancy shrugged and leaned against the counter in front of the coffeemaker. “Just that you two were getting it on and he didn’t know if he would ever get to sleep.”

  Deedra pointed her finger at Point again. “We are never, ever having sex at the clubhouse ever again.” She turned on her heel and fled the common room.

  Point flopped down on the couch and sighed. “I would say I’m sorry to you guys, but I’m not at all in the least sorry.” He cracked his knuckles and rested his arms on top of his head. “Not sorry at all.”

  “Breakfast?” Kimber called. She looked around the clubhouse and smiled. “Does anyone want to make me breakfast?”

  “You and the heir?” Fancy asked. “What an honor that would be,” she laughed.

  Deedra waved her hand in the air. “I can make you something, though it’s not going to be gourmet or anything. I must be to the station in about two hours. But,” she drawled. “First we need to talk about just where Brick was last night.”

  “You weren’t here? Where were you?” she asked like she was my mother or something.

  “Out,” I replied simply.

  “Out where?” Deedra asked. She grabbed a frying pan from the cabinet and set it on the stove. “And who wants eggs?”

  “Just make a big pan of scrambled eggs, Dee. I’ll cook some bacon,” Point volunteered.

  “He’s just sucking up to make up for the porn movie he subjected all of us to listen to last night,” Core snickered.

  “Have at it, Point.” Deedra grabbed two dozen eggs from the fridge. “Now back to where Brick was last night.”

  “Everything go good with Steph last night?” Point asked.

  I nodded. “As good as any drug deal can go.”

  “If this isn’t a weird life,” Deedra laughed. “Just cracking a bunch of eggs while I listen to my fiancé talk about drug deals.”

  “Living that biker life, doll.” Point walked into the kitchen and pressed a kiss to Deedra’s cheek.

  “So where did you end up after your biker thing?” Fancy asked.

  “Out.”

  Fancy rolled her eyes and dropped into the chair next to me. “I’ve got maybe about thirty minutes left in me before I fall over from exhaustion. Spill the beans on where you were last night so I can fall into bed,” she urged.

  “There’s my girl,” Dyno called.

  Fancy gave him a weak wave. “I’m getting too old to work, Dyno. When can I retire, and you become my sugar daddy?” she asked.

  “I’ll always be your daddy, babe, but I don’t think I can solely support your shoe addiction.” Dyno moved next to her and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

  Fancy sighed dramatically. “Fine. I guess I’m going to have to keep working. Lame,” she muttered. “Brick didn’t come home last night. I was trying to find out where he was,” she explained to Dyno.

  “You and the hot cop make up?” Dyno asked. He sat in the chair next to Fancy and lifted her into his lap. She snuggled into his arms and laid her head on his shoulder.

  “If by hot cop you mean Kaye, then yes.”

  “Sure as shit wasn’t talking about her dumbass partner,” Dyno laughed.

  “She really took your ass back?” Core asked. “Whenever she was here, she always acted like she couldn’t wait to leave.”

  I shrugged. “I’m just telling you what happened, brother. She sure didn’t want me to leave tod
ay, so maybe she acted like she wanted to leave all of the time because of you.”

  “Burn,” Deedra called. “I love when you guys get assholey in the morning.”

  Dyno leaned toward me. “You sure everything is all good, brother?” he asked quietly.

  I nodded and smiled. “All good. Got some things to talk about, but Kaye said she’ll be over later to go over last night.”

  Dyno nodded. “Good, good. I’m sure Quinn will be happy to hear things were good last night.”

  I sighed and sat back in my chair.

  Things were good, and I just hoped they stayed that way.

  *

  Chapter Sixteen

  The bad things…

  Kaye

  I had spilled my coffee all over my front seat this morning.

  Clint was pissed at me.

  Chief was one move away from firing me.

  That wasn’t everything, though. I couldn’t even think about the last thing the chief had told me before I left his office.

  For my morning to start so amazing with Jax in my bed to now feeling like the world was against me was not encouraging at all.

  A knock sounded on my window, and I jumped when I saw Quinn standing there.

  I hit the button to buzz the window down and pasted a smile on my face. “Hey.”

  “You want us to bring the meeting out to your car?” he asked.

  I shook my head and laughed. “No. I was just trying to think.”

  Quinn eyed me closely. “Everything okay? I heard you and Jax are back on.”

  Oh, God. Of course, the club would know. “Everything is great.” If you didn’t count Clint basically telling me to jump off a cliff and the chief yelling at me for ten minutes straight, then yeah, everything was great.

  “You look like you’re about to cry, Kaye. You maybe want to change your answer?” he suggested.

  I didn’t really know Quinn. Hell, I didn’t really know any of these guys besides Jax, and what I knew about Jax was from five years ago.

  “Uh, you know. Just things are a little crazy right now. Taking me a minute to get my head wrapped around everything.” There was the understatement of the year.