by Debra Kayn
She flinched.
He wasn't done.
"You know the last time I've slept? Really slept?" He fisted his hands. "You were in my bed."
She looked away. He studied her profile. The first in his family to be conned by a child, he'd made a mistake. He should've let the Brikken men lose their money that night so long ago.
Sydney sniffed and blinked hard. His shoulder muscles spasmed and hardened underneath his jumper, urging him to stand up and leave. Except his need to be with Sydney won and he continued sitting across from her. His anger a mask for the lies he spoke.
He wanted her.
He wasn't going to let her leave him. She'd stepped into his life and his future was set. He wouldn't allow anyone else to take care of her.
But, he wouldn't sacrifice Brikken and the security around the club because he'd become obsessed with Sydney.
"Which one of you were working with the police? You or Kylie?" he asked.
She snapped her gaze to him. "What? What do you mean?"
"I go looking for your sister—after you hid your family information from me, meet her for the first time, and she already knows who I am. Five minutes later, I'm handcuffed and Kylie's sitting in the front seat of the cop car while I'm getting my ass hauled to jail," he said, his voice deathly quiet to keep his cool and not draw attention to their table. "One of you helped get me arrested."
Sydney darted her gaze around the room, shaking her head. He put his hands on the table. More than punishing her, he wanted to upend the table and press her against the wall and taste her. He wanted that innocence he believed she had before he was arrested.
"Jett, the policeman—"
"Don't." He gritted his teeth. "You're done conning me, Syd."
"But, I—"
"I'll see you when I'm released." He stood. "Don't even think about trying to leave me."
Two guards moved forward as he broke the rule of getting up from the table. Breaking any of the visitation rules brought a punishment of six months. It was the only way of keeping Sydney away from him.
He needed to protect himself because if he spent one more minute with her, he was going to lose his heart. And, losing his heart to Sydney could ruin Brikken.
SYDNEY PUSHED OUT OF the front door of the prison and walked to the gate. Her scattered thoughts distracted her from the guard letting her out. She must've flashed her visitor pass because she was halfway across the parking lot when she ran.
Arriving at the back row of cars, she sprinted to Chief sitting on his Harley. She could barely see, she was furious.
"What did you tell him?" she demanded.
"Tell who what?" Chief held out her helmet.
She snapped it out of his hand. "Jett. Why does he think I helped the police arrest him?"
Chief shrugged.
"He blames Kylie and me for him being in prison." She slammed the helmet on her head. "He wouldn't even let me talk."
"That's his right."
"No, it's not. I came to see him. He told you I could come." She stiffened her arms and balled her fists. "I don't get it. I would never work with the police or do anything for Jett to be arrested."
Chief's expression never changed. He continued looking at her as if he listened but refused to comment or tell her his opinion about why Jett accused her. She glared. He was covering something up. She recognized the tactics he used to intimidate others.
"You knew," she whispered. "You brought me here, knowing he blamed me for being in prison and planned to hurt me."
Jett hadn't given her a chance to explain. She looked back at the prison. She wasn't a cruel person.
Why would she send someone she loved to prison when all she wanted to do was be with Jett?
"Sydney?" said Chief.
She turned, and he motioned her to the back of his motorcycle. There was no use staying here.
"I'm sure you'll have another chance to talk with him." Chief handed her a pair of sunglasses.
"I doubt that," she said, her heart sinking.
"Did something else happen while you were in there?"
She owed Chief nothing. Yet, she had nobody else to talk to about Jett.
"He stood up from the table before the hour was over," she said.
Chief inhaled heavily and muttered, "Fuck."
Maybe it was hearing Chief's frustration and disappointment or the seriousness of the situation but riding away from the prison seemed too final for her. She might never get to see Jett again until he's released. And, right now, she wasn't sure she could stay at his house knowing he only wanted to punish her, not love her.
Chapter Twenty Six
Kylie stood at the wooden fence in the backyard of Jett's house. Sydney sat in the lounge chair on the deck. The warm plastic sticking to the back of her bare legs but she refused to get up when she had nowhere to go.
"Do you think they sleep sitting up on their motorcycles?" asked Kylie.
The two bikers in front of the house changed daily. Sometimes it was D-Con and Freddy. Other times, it was Cash and Shore. Even Olin and Thorn took turns making sure she didn't run away.
All of them stated they were here for her protection and to keep her safe for Jett, but she'd stopped believing he cared after the last time she'd visited him at the prison eight months ago.
"I try not to think about what they do." She waved her hand, motioning Kylie to come sit down with her and ignore the bikers. "Did you have a chance to look at the community college booklet?"
"I'm not going to take any classes." Kylie walked over and sat across from Sydney in the chair. "I just graduated. I want to do something different than sitting in a classroom again."
She wanted better for her sister than squatting in a man's house while he was in prison, unable to work or earn her own money. Brikken members weren't keeping Kylie here. There were no rules for her sister.
Since Kylie was able to drive, they found the keys to the truck in Jett's garage, and Kylie had gone to the store alone to test their theory that she wasn't under watch. The bikers had stayed at the end of the driveway and allowed her sister leave, knowing Sydney remained in the house.
"You could get a job," suggested Sydney.
"So could you." Kylie raised her brows, and when Sydney gave her a pointed look, she laughed. "I'm just saying. How much longer until Jett gets out of prison?"
"One year and four months." She stared up at the clouds. "We'll be gone before he's released. Somehow, I'll figure out how to make that possible."
"It'll be up to me to earn us money until then." Kylie tapped her toes against the deck. "We can do this. At least we're together again."
They'd survived a lot together. When they were little, foster families took both of them in. No matter if it was a comfortable house or a mere roof over their heads, they were happy together. It was only when they were sent to the DeBurkle's when she was thirteen and Sydney was twelve that they ran into a situation they couldn't handle.
The DeBurkle's had an older biological son who tormented Kylie. It started off as teasing, poking, and name-calling. Sydney, aware of what was going on, tried never to let Kylie be alone. But somehow Ron DeBurkle always found time to get Kylie alone.
Then, the bruises started showing up on her sister's arms and legs.
Kylie grew quieter and stopped telling Sydney what was going on. The physical abuse continued despite Sydney's attempts to stop it until Kylie went through life a shadow of her former happy self. Her hair had begun to fall out. She'd lost weight. Her fingers had bled where she'd bitten her fingernails down to the skin.
Knowing Sydney failed to protect Kylie, she'd reached out to the social worker with evidence of the abuse. They were immediately split up and put with different foster families. Kylie went to the Mathew's where she was safe and played the perfect foster daughter. Sydney had gone to Victor Craig's sister and her husband, who only wanted her for a paycheck. That's how she'd met Victor and learned how to con people out of their money.
Looking back, maybe she'd always had a knack for conning people. She was a classic foster kid—emotionless, depressed, and desperate for love. Back then, she couldn't predict that was the way she'd turn out. She'd been a product of her environment.
"Who pays the bills here?" asked Kylie.
"Brikken Motorcycle Club." She'd never asked, but since the lights stayed on and a garbage truck came once a week, along with delivered groceries from the bikers, she'd assumed the club was helping Jett keep her here.
She'd be a fool to walk away from free housing. If she could work and stay rent-free, it'd make it easier for her to be set up far away from Tacoma once the date of Jett's release got closer. Since that was impossible with Brikken around stopping her, Kylie would be the one who took care of her. For a while.
"I really got us into a bind this time," she mumbled.
"We could always call the police and tell them Brikken won't let you leave the house," said Kylie softly. "I never realized how much a biker gang could be like the mafia."
She shook her head. Jett already believed she'd worked with the police to get him arrested. She wouldn't give him anything else to hold against her.
He deserved to have his freedom.
"You love him, don't you?"
Her sister's question took her by surprise. She'd held back her feelings about Jett, preferring to only give Kylie the facts of their living situation.
She nodded, swallowing hard. "I do. Some days I wonder why but I can't help but remember the time I spent with him and..." She sighed. "I was happy, sis. Probably for the first time in my life."
"Well, it's not like he's a murderer or rapist in prison." Kylie lifted her foot and braced it against the chair, turning the silver bracelet around her ankle. "You said he was in prison before for four years. It must've been for a non-violent crime, and although he was arrested for having a gun on him this time, he wasn't using the gun. There's no reason to think that he'd harm you. Is there?"
She'd never told Kylie that Jett killed Victor Craig. She hadn't told anyone. That was a secret she would take to her grave because she felt guilty for her part in the crime. Not that she asked him to murder Victor, but he'd done it to protect her.
She grabbed the arms of the chair and stretched her back. "You make him sound innocent."
"No." Kylie scrunched her nose. "But we don't know everything about him."
"Well, if you ask people in prison if they're innocent or guilty, one-hundred percent of them will say they're innocent." Sydney stared out at the grass. "You've lived with a police officer. I'm sure you see the law-abiding side of a crime."
"Maybe, but I also see your side. You spent time in JDH, and you weren't guilty of anything except trying to help me," said Kylie softly. "I'm still mad that Mr. Mathew wouldn't get you out of there. I tried everything to convince him to at least go to your court hearing and say something nice."
"It was better that he didn't get involved," she said.
The Mathew's were strict, law-abiding citizens. She was lucky enough that they let her visit Kylie under the misinformation of her being the older, adult sibling. While she thought they were stuck up for making her hide her visits and relegating her to the backyard to see her sister like a stray dog waiting for the dog catcher to come, at least she stayed in contact with Kylie until Jett forced her to stay with him.
"Isn't it weird how every foster family we've been with over the years never asked us to call them by their first name?" she asked. "It just dawned on me when you said Mr. Mathew. You lived with them for two and a half years. Did you call them Mr. and Mrs. the whole time?"
Kylie sighed on an exhale. "Yeah."
"I wonder why we both did that?"
"Probably because we didn't want to think of them as a mom or dad figure." Kylie shrugged.
"Or, maybe it was our way not to get emotionally attached because we always knew we'd have to leave and go to another foster family," she said.
A ding interrupted their time in the sun. She lifted her head and looked at her sister. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Another ding came. "That."
Kylie widened her eyes and whispered. "It sounds like a doorbell."
They both stared and then jumped up, reaching for each other's hands. She led Kylie back into the house.
"It's probably one of the bikers. Maybe he has to use the bathroom." She walked through the living room.
"Do we have to let him in?" Kylie hung back.
"They won't hurt you. I promise." She looked through the window and relaxed. "It's Johanna."
"Who is she again?"
"She's married to Jett's dad, Chief. She's cool. Remember, I told you about her daughters?" She stepped over and unlocked and opened the door.
Nervous, because she hadn't seen Johanna in over three years, she waited to find out what would bring her over to the house. Then, it dawned on her that maybe she had news of Jett.
"Is he okay?" she asked, immediately.
"Jett?" Johanna's gaze softened, and she nodded. "I didn't come over because of him." She looked into the room and spotted Kylie. "Can we talk?"
She stepped back from the door. "This is my sister, Kylie."
"Hi, Kylie." Johanna walked in and looked around the house. "I used to live here when I was growing up and then again when I was an adult, waiting for Chief to be released from prison."
Surprised to hear Johanna had a similar situation of waiting for someone she loved to be released, she joined her sister and tugged Kylie's shorts, to get her to sit with her. If she had to face bad news, she wanted her sister by her side.
"Even seeing the bikers in the driveway brought back memories." Johanna set her purse down and lowered herself to the floor. "Though, there was more furniture when I lived here. Does Jett have beds in here for you both?"
She sat cross-legged beside Kylie on the floor. "Two beds and a kitchen table. We found some lawn chairs in the garage that we use in the backyard, and at night we bring them in here, so we can sit and stare at each other."
Kylie nudged her. She looked at her sister, realizing how selfish she sounded, and said, "Sorry, that was a bad joke. We, uh, appreciate Jett letting us stay here."
They'd have nowhere else to go if Jett changed his mind and kicked them out and would have to depend on conning people to afford to stay in one of the run-down motels on a daily basis. That was doable when she knew Kylie was somewhere safe, but she wouldn't risk her sister's safety. While she was street smart, Kylie had a lot of fears that made her vulnerable. Jett provided a place where Sydney could give Kylie a chance at a life with less stress than she'd received while in foster care.
Johanna waved away her concern. "I actually came here to ask you a favor.
Sydney's stomach spasmed. There was nothing she could do for Johanna, except leave the house. Stay away from Jett. Have nothing to do with Brikken. Forget everything and everyone she'd met since being with Jett.
An impossible promise she couldn't make.
"Oh..." Sydney clasped her hands together to keep from nervously fidgeting.
Johanna stretched her legs out in front of her. "We've had a lot of babies born in Brikken since you left and —"
"Who?" She braced her elbows on her knees. "I mean, who had babies?"
"D-con's girlfriend, Melissa—I don't think she was here when you were. One of Freddy's girlfriends." Johanna blew out her breath. "Also, Cara and Janice both had another child."
Sydney smiled. That was a lot of babies. D-Con had never mentioned he was a dad when he guarded the house, not that she expected him to talk with her.
"Saturday is Family Day, and I thought it would be nice if all the mothers of the babies could have someone watch over the littles while they napped and they could hang out with the adults for a change. A little R & R, but to have that happen, we would need someone to watch the babies inside the clubhouse. The other mother's thought getting a couple of the teenage girls to babysit would be nice, but when I ask
ed the girls, they wanted to hang around with their friends during the get-together. So, I was thinking if you wanted to help out, you and your sister could have the job. Brikken will pay, of course, and it's not a lot of money, but it'd be from noon until midnight...twelve hours. I'm sure that the kids that are four and under will be there most of the time, and some of the kids that are a little older might come and fall asleep on the floor until their parents are ready to go home. Of course, the moms will be popping in and out, and can help, too, if things get chaotic for you." Johanna looked between Sydney and Kylie. "I remember how Jackie and Stassi loved spending time with you."
Her chest tightened. The amount of money a job such as babysitting would bring in wouldn't be enough to do much more than buy their favorite food or a new shirt, but it was honest money.
More than anything, Johanna's offer made her hope that Jett knew about the one-time job offer and had given his permission—which meant he was allowing her to be on Brikken property again.
Optimistic, she asked, "Does Jett know you've asked us?"
"Chief went and seen him yesterday." Johanna studied her. "He approved of me asking you and Kylie."
She turned to her sister and silently begged her to agree. It was going to be both of them, or neither one of them would take the job, and she wanted to go. She could see Jackie and Stassi and prove to Jett she was trustworthy. It was the first glimpse of hope she'd felt in years.
"Do you want to?" whispered Kylie.
She nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"Okay." Kylie smiled. "It sounds fun. We're used to taking care of kids."
Relief swept through her. She turned back to Johanna. "We'll do it."
"Great." Johanna stood. "I'll come over and get you both around ten o'clock next Saturday. That'll give us enough time to get set up. We're going to use the old storage room downstairs as a playroom. I've already had some of the guys clean the room out in hopes that you both would agree. Chief put a television in there so you can have music or kid shows going to entertain them, and there are already toys families have donated."