Facing Fear

by Harley Turner

  “What do you need me to do?”

  “At the moment, nothing,” Jeremy spoke up. “Take care of your son. Stay here where we can protect you.”

  Chloe was beginning to wonder if anyone would be able to truly protect her from Jake. Troy had tried, and for the most part he succeeded, but she had bruises down her ribs from where Jake squeezed her and threw her over the bar.

  It could have been worse, she told herself. It could have been a lot worse.

  Chloe hated that there was nothing she could do to help. Troy had saved her, but she couldn’t return the favor. She felt horrible for the way she had treated him. It was obvious that Jake had lied about his brother, but she had believed everything he said to her.

  A wail from Tom’s room pulled Chloe from her thoughts. She immediately snapped into mom-mode and went to check on her son.

  “Jeremy, you stay here with Troy and the girls,” Duke instructed. “Tom and I are going to head out to Friendship Tower and do some scouting.”

  “Yes sir,” he replied to his father. He plopped on the couch and started to flip through channels. It was going to be a long night.

  ~***~

  At nearly eleven that night, Maya emerged from Troy’s bedroom. Her muscles were stiff from sharing the tiny bed. She had every intention of returning to Troy before he woke up, but she needed to find out what was going on.

  “Where is everyone?” she asked. The room was dark and empty.

  Jeremy jumped at her voice. “Tom and Duke went to check on something,” he explained. “Chloe is in the room with her kid. I’m not sure where Stacie ran off to.”

  “Stacie ran off to get food,” Stacie said as she entered the apartment with two trays of pizza. “There is more downstairs, but I only have two hands.”

  Maya’s stomach growled when she smelled the food but she couldn’t eat. They very thought of something as normal as eating turned her stomach as she watched Jeremy pile up slices from different kinds of pizza on two plates and lightly tapped on the door of the room Chloe was in.

  “I know your mind is spinning right now, but you really should eat something,” Stacie told her as she took a bite.

  Maya shook her head. “I don’t think I can,” she admitted. Her eyes hurt from the constant flow of tears, but she couldn’t seem to stop crying. “I can’t lose him,” she cried. “I can’t lose anyone else.”

  Stacie wrapped her arms around Maya. “Troy will be okay,” she told her.

  Maya looked up at the older waitress. She had the same deep brown eyes as their boss, but that was where the similarities ended. “What do you mean? He said he wasn’t going to fight Jake’s decision.”

  “He doesn’t have to.” Stacie explained Tom’s plan. “He doesn’t even have to know about it,” she added when she was finished.

  Maya’s mood perked up at Stacie’s words. Maybe she wouldn’t have to lose him after all.

  ~***~

  Chloe jumped when she heard the soft knock on the door. She cringed. She had just gotten Mason calmed down. The child was now sitting quietly, playing on his tablet, but someone new entering the room was bound to set him off. He didn’t like strangers.

  She opened the door a crack and found Jeremy on the other side. He held up the plates of pizza and she let him in. She glanced back at Mason, but he apparently didn’t even notice the newcomer.

  “So he’s Jake’s kid?” Jeremy said quietly as he nodded toward Mason. Chloe nodded while Jeremy shook his head. “I’ve always known Jake was a piece of shit, but this is low even for him. Clubs are all about family. You don’t turn your back on your own.”

  “With what he’s planning on doing to his own brother tomorrow, it’s a surprise to you that he abandoned a kid?”

  “I guess you’re right,” Jeremy said. He was quiet as he watched the young boy play on his tablet, completely oblivious to everything happening around him.

  “Do you have any kids?” she asked, realizing she didn’t know anything about the men that were in charge of her safety.

  Jeremy shook his head. “I don’t want a kid raised in the club,” he explained. “Maybe eventually, but I’m not ready to leave the guys yet. I mean, not that there’s anything wrong with being raised in the club. I just don’t want this life forever.”

  “I thought people couldn’t just leave. Isn’t that what this is all about?”

  Jeremy shrugged. “It all depends on the club. They all have different rules. There’s always some sort of loop hole or way out. My old man knows I don’t want to be in it for life. He understands. When I’m ready to leave, I can do so with no consequences.”

  “What do you want to do then?”

  “Same thing I do now,” he replied. “I teach.”

  “You’re a teacher?” The news was a shock to Chloe. She had assumed that club members all worked together. She hadn’t imagined anyone having a job outside the club, especially a job around children.

  Jeremy smiled at her. “Don’t let the leather fool you. Not all of us are as horrible as Jake.”

  Chloe hadn’t seen him smile before that moment. She hadn’t realized he was actually quite attractive. Definitely older than she was, but he couldn’t be much over thirty. His green eyes sparkled when he smiled.

  “I didn’t think you were all like him,” she said quietly. It was a lie. She had judged every last one of them based on her experiences with Jake. She finally realized it wasn’t fair.

  Jeremy waved her off. “It happens all the time,” he told her. “We get a bad rep because we are all about protecting our family. By any means necessary. Sometimes it gets ugly. Sadly, this is one of those times.”

  “But we’re not your family,” she pointed out. “You barely know us.”

  “Tom is family. Everyone in this building is important to him. He may not be a part of the club anymore, but we won’t turn our back on him,” he explained.

  “So you’re really going to kill Jake?” she whispered.

  Jeremy nodded like it was no big deal. “Hopefully I won’t be the one to do it because so far my hands have remained clean, but I will if it has to be done,” he added. He set the pizza plates down on the dresser. “Eat. Get some sleep. You are safe here. Hopefully this will all be over soon.” He didn’t wait for a reply before excusing himself from the room and closing the door behind him.

  Chloe wasn’t sure what to think. Her entire view of bikers was beginning to change, but the way he talked so casually about ending Jake’s life scared her. They were talking about murder.

  She saw their point. It really was the only way to stop Jake, but what gave them the right to end a life? Even a life as horrible as his.

  She looked down at her son. She knew Jake couldn’t be allowed to be in Mason’s life. He would expect the child to be part of the club and she couldn’t have that. Mason’s special needs made it even more important to keep Jake away.

  “Let’s get some sleep,” she whispered calmly to Mason. He turned off the tablet and crawled onto the bed with her. It was the first time in a long time that he hadn’t thrown a fit at bedtime.

  ~***~

  Troy’s arms were empty when he opened his eyes. He appeared to be alone in the room. As he sat up, his head pounded. The entire left side of his face throbbed. For a moment, he couldn’t remember what had happened.

  Jake.

  Bits and pieces of the confrontation came flooding back to him. Where was Maya? She was the only person he wanted to spend his last remaining hours with. He wanted her in his arms as long as he could possibly stay with her.

  He wasn’t afraid of facing Jake. He knew his brother would make the death relatively painless as long as Troy didn’t put up a fight.

  He tried not to think about how difficult it would be to walk out of the apartment when the time came. He couldn’t imagine being strong enough to walk away from Maya, knowing he would never see her again.

  It felt weird to have a timer ticking down the last few hours of his life. All he could
think about was everything he would never be able to do. He couldn’t go boating with Maya and her brother. He was sure Gavin would be upset about the change of plans. Troy had already pulled Maya away from camping that night.

  He would never be able to get married, not that he had even considered the idea in a long time. He could never have a family of his own.

  Family.

  Had Trinity really been pregnant or was it just something Jake had made up? They had never actually talked about kids, but they didn’t do much to prevent the possibility either. If anything, it made Troy hate Trinity even more. He could have been a father, but she didn’t even bother telling him.

  He had a lot of regrets in his life, and the biggest one hadn’t even happened yet, but it was inevitable. He hated that he had to leave Maya. She had already lost so much in her short life. She was strong and she would eventually get over him and move on, but she shouldn’t have to.

  He knew Tom would look out for her, but he wouldn’t be able to heal her broken heart. Maybe she would be able to salvage her friendship with Cody without Troy around. He hated to think of her with anyone else, but she deserved to be happy.

  His thoughts of Maya apparently summoned her to him, because she entered the room before he found the energy to climb out of bed and go look for her.

  “I thought you left,” he said quietly.

  Maya shook her head. “I’m not going anywhere,” she assured him. Holding up a bottle of water and a bottle of ibuprofen, she continued, “I figured you would want this when you woke up.”

  “I love you,” he said as he reached for the bottles. “I really mean that,” he told her. “I hate that you were drug into this mess,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. “I really thought Jake would just let me go. He never wanted me to the part of the club in the first place. He knows I’m not a threat. He just can’t stand the fact that I’m happy.”

  “Let’s not talk about him,” she insisted. “He is taking enough away from me. We don’t need to spend the little time we have left talking about him.”

  After Tom and Duke had returned to the apartment, they had told her not to let Troy know about their plan to ambush Jake. She hated keeping the secret from him, but she knew he wouldn’t agree with them. Troy might not believe that his life was worth fighting for, but she did. She would not give him up without a fight.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  Maya was quiet as she thought about everything she wanted to know about Troy. It all seemed so trivial. Favorite color. Hobbies. What did that matter when he was about to be taken from her?

  “What do you want to do with your life?” she finally asked.

  “What does it matter now? It’s not going to happen.”

  “I just want to know,” she argued. “Before all this, what did you want to do? Surely you didn’t plan on sticking around here and bartending forever.”

  Troy wasn’t sure what to say. He had taken the job to be close to Maya and prove he was serious about staying. It didn’t take him long to realize he was actually good at it and genuinely enjoyed the work.

  He had never really thought about what he wanted to do. He had enough money in savings and investments that he didn’t even really have to work. He had assumed he would spend most of his time traveling. He hadn’t expected to find a place that he wanted to settle down in so soon.

  “Photography,” he finally said. “I’ve always liked taking pictures. Mostly nature. Landscapes. It’s probably the only thing I’ve ever been any good at,” he admitted. “What time is it?”

  “Almost one,” she answered.

  Troy reached for a folder that was hidden in a drawer in his nightstand. He handed it to Maya.

  “When everything is over, there is a number in there I need you to call. I have all the paperwork filled out to have all my financial accounts transferred into your name,” he explained.

  Maya opened the folder and her eyes widened at the figures on the paper in front of her. “I can’t accept this,” she argued.

  “You have to,” he insisted. “Who else would I leave it to? Certainly not Jake.” Troy turned toward her and pulled the folder from her hands. “Maya, I want you to have it. Think about it. You wouldn’t have to work all the time. You could even get better medical care for your dad. You can spend more time with your brother.”

  She couldn’t stop the new flow of tears that started to fall. No one had ever been so kind to her. She could truly give Gavin the life he deserved. But at what cost? “I’d rather have you,” she said quietly.

  “I would rather be with you, too.”

  “How do you even have this much money?” she asked.

  “A chunk of it was in a trust for me when my parents died,” he explained. “A couple of lucky investments doubled it. Maybe more.” He shrugged it off like it was nothing.

  Maya couldn’t speak. Even though it was just numbers on a paper, it was more money than she had ever seen before. Not knowing what to say or how to even begin thanking him, she just nodded and snuggled closer to him.

  Troy put the folder away and their conversation turned lighter. They spent the next hour talking about everything they could think of except for the clock ticking down Troy’s life.

  Troy felt slightly better about having to leave Maya knowing she would be taken care of. Eventually his eyes began to close.

  “Stay with me,” he begged in a hushed voice as his breathing evened out and he fell asleep. Maya could think of no place she would rather be than wrapped in the arms of the man she loved.

  ~13~

  T om spent most of the night scouting Friendship Tower with Duke. They had found more than a few places for a marksman to hide along the trail. Every time they found a new spot, Duke named the man that would be assigned there.

  Some of the names Tom recognized, but there were a few new ones. He shouldn’t have been surprised. Of course Duke would have added new members in the ten years Tom had been gone.

  The last two locations were reserved for Tom and Duke. Each man had his own reasons for wanting to be the one to fire the bullet that ended Jake Jackson.

  “Where are you going to have Jeremy during all this?” Tom asked. When he had left the club, Jeremy had been young, but he was quickly working his way through the ranks. He had assumed Duke would want his second in command closer to the action.

  “I think he would be happier at the apartment protecting the girls,” Duke said quietly. “I’m thinking he won’t be part of the club too much longer.”

  Tom was shocked. Sure, he had been away for several years, but he hadn’t been expecting such an extreme change. He thought back to Jeremy’s childhood. Even as a young boy, he was always around the club. Always eager to find a way to be involved. Tom had naturally assumed that Jeremy would be the one to eventually take over.

  “He’s a smart one,” Duke continued. “High school wasn’t enough for him. Hell, college wasn’t even enough. He’s actually teaching special needs kids instead of working with us. In fact, I’m waiting for him to ask for release anytime now.”

  Good for him, Tom thought. He saw the sadness in his friend’s eyes, but he also saw pride. It was natural to expect children to want to be part of the club, and it hurt to think it wasn’t good enough for them. “You going to let him go?” Tom asked.

  Duke nodded. “Don’t want to. He’s definitely one of the best men I have,” he admitted, “but I don’t have a good enough reason to make him stay.”

  Tom thought about his own child. Since they had moved to South Dakota, Tom had kept his life private. Until recently, no one even knew that he and Stacie were related. She worked for him, but she had her own apartment just outside of town. She had her own life. Of course in his life, having a daughter was much different than having a son, but he liked to believe he would be okay if Stacie decided she wanted more than waitressing her life away in a tourist town.

  Tom stared off in the distance. The sky was beginning to lighten, ticking o
ff what little time they had. He was suddenly aware of everything that could go wrong with their plan.

  If Jake wasn’t a complete idiot, he would be sending some of his guys ahead to make sure he wasn’t walking into a trap. If they came across Tom’s crew while they were still setting up, their cover would be blown. What would happen then?

  Troy didn’t even want to put up a fight. He seemed to honestly believe his brother would be satisfied with only ending his life and leave everyone else alone. Tom didn’t agree. He believed that with Troy out of the way, Jake would quickly turn his sights on Chloe. Then it would only be a matter of time until he found out about Maya. Tom had lost enough because of Jake. How many other innocent lives had he already ruined? How many more would fall victim to him if they didn’t succeed?

  Tom had been out of the club life for a long time, but he fell back into his place without a second thought. It felt good to work alongside the man that had been his best friend since their teenage years. He didn’t even mind that he was no longer the one calling the shots; he trusted Duke with his life.

  “What are your plans when this is all over? Think you might come back home?”

  Tom jumped at Duke’s question. How did the man always seem to know what he was thinking?

  Would he return home? He wasn’t sure. Tom’s whole reason for leaving Minnesota was to avoid killing Jake. Of course, ten years later and over six hundred miles away, that’s exactly what he was planning on doing.

  He knew the club would welcome him back without a second thought, but what about the life he had built in Deadwood?

  Of course, most of his life in the tourist town was based on a lie. Would he still have a successful business when people learned the truth of his past?

  He thought about Chloe. The only reason he had hired her and let her get away with her attendance was because he had been certain that one day Jake would return for her. Would she still want to work for him knowing he knew everything about her and hid his own past?