“I’m sorry, Doug. I’m with Cade now.” Well, not entirely true, since the cut was only temporary, but maybe that would get the message across. “And I have no intention of running away from my home.”
“This is about you. Your safety. Your life. If you’re happy, your children will be happy. And more important, they’ll be with you. Please. Promise me you’ll think about it.” He stroked her cheek and she felt … nothing. No zing of excitement. No tingle between her thighs. No desire the throw him on the table and rip off his clothes. Cade could do that to her with just one look.
As if on cue, the door opened, and Cade stalked into the restaurant, the chain on his belt rattling as he walked. T-Rex and Gunner followed behind him.
Dawn’s lips tipped at the corners, but when she saw his face, his eyes cold and hard, jaw taut, lips pressed into a thin line, her smile faded. She’d seen that look before—at Banks Bar, and when he’d seen Jimmy in front of the school. That look meant someone was about to get hurt, and a sickening wave of dread rose in her stomach.
“Restaurant is closed,” Cade shouted. “You got one minute to clear out otherwise I’ll have my boys pay your table a visit.”
T-Rex pulled down the shades in the windows. Gunner yanked people out of their seats and ushered them out the door. The cooks ran out the back. When only Stan was left, gaping at the empty restaurant, T-Rex locked the door.
“What’s going on here?” Doug’s tone switched from friendly to officious, and he rose from his seat. Although in civilian gear, he still carried a weapon in a holster on his belt, and his hand hovered near his hip.
“Benson.” Cade turned his steely gaze in Doug’s direction. “Always a pleasure to find you sniffing around my girl, but I’m afraid I don’t have time to toss you around today. This is Sinner business, and it would be best if you step outside.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Doug reached for his weapon, and Tank came up behind him and pressed a gun to his head. Dawn hadn’t even noticed him coming in the back door.
“I’ll take that weapon.” Tank reached around and pulled the gun from Doug’s holster. Then he patted Doug down and removed his phone.
“You just bought yourself a night in jail,” Doug spat out.
“See. That’s where you and I disagree.” Cade folded his arms and leaned against the nearest booth. “This is a Sinner town. The police don’t get involved in Sinner business and we don’t get involved in police business. Sheriff Morton had that all figured out, but since you’ve only been here a short time, and your sheriff is new, I’m giving you a little leeway. So you got a choice. You can walk out of here and let us do what we have to do. Or you can stay and put yourself in the difficult position of witnessing a breach of the law that you’re not gonna be able to do anything about.”
“I’m not leaving Dawn.” He put an arm around Dawn’s shoulders and Cade’s scowl deepened.
“You like your life, you’re gonna take your hands off my old lady. Now.”
“Old lady?” Doug gave her a puzzled glance. “Dawn? What’s going on?”
“I was … going to tell you.” She gently removed his arm and took a few steps away.
“What have you done?” He stared at her in horror. “You hate bikers. Look what happened to you in the Brethren. Look what happened with Jimmy.” His jaw clenched and he glared at Cade. “What did you do to her? You’ve coerced her. Or is it blackmail? Did you promise to get her children back? Did you tell her you’d kill Jimmy? You’re going to commit murder to protect her? Are you beating her, too?”
“Doug, please.” Dawn put a hand on his arm. “It’s a complicated situation. But this works out best for both of us.”
“What about your girls?” His eyes blazed, startling Dawn. She’d never seen Doug so heated about anything, and he’d never imposed his views on her choices in life.
“Don’t patronize me, Doug.”
“With that videotape out there, you’ll always be considered an unfit mother.” He shook off her hand. “I’m offering you a way out of this mess. In exchange for your testimony, we can get that tape examined, the case reheard—”
“My old lady’s not a rat.” Cade slowly unfolded his arms and took a step forward. “And you need to calm the fuck down.”
“Whoa, brother.” Gunner put a warning hand on Cade’s shoulder. “We got a job to do, and we need to get it done before someone calls the cops.” He looked over at Doug and laughed. “No offense intended.”
“Sit him down.” Cade tipped his chin at Tank. “Keep him quiet. If he opens his mouth again, close it.”
“What’s going on?” Dawn edged closer to Stan. She had a fair idea what might be going on since T-Rex had stopped Stan from leaving with the rest of the staff, but really, if this was about Stan touching her, it was overkill. She had the situation in hand.
“Have a seat, babe,” Cade pointed her to the nearest booth. “Stan and I are gonna have a little talk.”
Dawn’s blood turned to ice and she stood in front of Stan, blocking Cade’s path. “My fight.”
Cade stared at her, pinning her with blue eyes filled with fury. “He had his warning.”
“I’ve talked to him. I’ve laid down the law. He’s not going to touch me again.” She looked over at Stan, and he vigorously shook his head.
Cade threw a USB stick on the table. “You gonna deal with all the footage he has of you naked in the restroom and change room? T-Rex found the cameras. The prospect checked them out. He’s been recording you and the other staff, selling the images on porn sites, and jerking off to them at home at night.”
Bile rose in her throat, but it wasn’t fear that made her shake, but rage. “Stan? How could you?”
Stan bolted. But, of course, Cade had someone waiting for him at the back door.
“Look what I found.” Shaggy shoved a quivering Stan back into the restaurant only a few moments later.
Cade tipped his head from side to side, cracking his neck. “T-Rex. Take Dawn and Benson out back. Gun, watch on the door.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Dawn glared at Cade. “What he did, he did to me. And what happens to him is my choice.”
“I can arrest him,” Doug said. “What he did was illegal. Give him to me and he’ll be subject to the full force of the law.”
Cade barked a laugh. “Invasion of privacy? Taping someone without consent? What’s that gonna get him? A fine? A slap on the wrist? A night in jail? You think that’s gonna stop him from doing it again? Is that gonna make Dawn feel any better knowing dirt bags across the country saw pictures of her that no man should see? Is that justice?”
“It is justice,” Doug said. “The right way. The legal way. You have to trust in the system.”
“Don’t trust in the system at all,” Cade said. “Legal justice is no justice. My old lady has been disrespected. That means my club has been disrespected. That means justice, Sinner style.”
“Cade…”
Cade grasped her arm and pulled her forward. Her cheek hit his chest and he brushed his lips over her ear and murmured. “You’re a Sinner now, babe. You are my old lady. I like that you’re a fighter but this is one of the times I’m stepping in and you’re just gonna have to suck it up.”
She trembled at the press of his body, hot and hard against hers, the feel of his heart, thudding in his chest, his anger, barely contained.
Wait. That was her heart pounding. Her anger. Her rage. Dawn took a deep breath and let the unfamiliar feelings wash over her. She had never been angry with Jimmy. In the fight for survival, emotion had taken a backseat. But now she felt indignant, powerful, and capable of exacting her own revenge. Yes, Stan deserved to be punished. But not without her.
“Don’t kill him.”
Cade looked down, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Is that a request?”
“Yes.” She caught her breath at his gentle reminder that old ladies needed to ask permission if they wanted to get involved in Sinner business. Chauvinism
at its finest.
“Since you asked so nice, sweetheart, I’ll give you that. I won’t kill him. But I’m gonna take it pretty damn close to the line.”
Dawn bit her lip, considering. Her decision to wear the cut meant acknowledging the way things worked in his world, including the use of violence. She didn’t have to like it, but she couldn’t judge Cade for wanting to handle this the biker way. And he was right. The justice Doug was offering was no justice at all. Would Stan really stop if he got a slap in the wrist? Would she feel the horrific violation of her privacy had been addressed if he had to pay a fine? Why not dive in a little deeper and embrace what Cade had given her? Do the one thing she secretly desired.
Vengeance. The Sinner way.
“I want the first punch.”
“Dawn!” Doug’s outraged shout drew chuckles from the Sinners. “What are you doing? What have you become? This isn’t you. You’re not violent. You don’t break the law.”
“Actually, I think this is me.” She tipped her head to the side, musing over her decision. “This feels right. And I have broken the law, Doug. I did it to survive. And I’m about to do it again.”
“Fucking Sinner old ladies,” Sparky said, his voice laced with admiration. “They always gotta have a turn.”
Cade’s voice softened, his eyes dropping to her lips. “Is that another request?”
“My fight. The first punch is my business. Then you can address the disrespect done to the club. After that, and this is my final request, I would like you to give him to Doug, as well as all the evidence. He’ll face justice twice. Our way and Doug’s way.”
Our way. It hadn’t taken long for her to start thinking of herself as a Sinner. Maybe because she’d always been a Sinner at heart.
“Can’t refuse my old lady.” Cade turned her to face Stan. “He’s all yours.”
* * *
“Mommy. Cade’s here.”
Dawn almost didn’t hear Tia’s whispered words above the chatter of monkeys in the Conundrum Valley Zoo. They’d been visiting the animals all afternoon, and although she’d sent a text to Cade telling them where they were, she didn’t expect him to show. But there he was, cut, chains, skull bandanna, Harley-Davidson buckle, and kickass biker boots, all ready for some clean family fun.
She registered the concerned looks of the parents around them, but the delight on Tia’s face more than made up for her slight embarrassment at being outed as an outlaw biker groupie.
“Babe.” Cade leaned down and kissed her cheek. Dawn could almost hear the gasps of disapproval.
He knelt down in front of Maia and Tia, all decked out in matching pink-and-purple T-shirts, purple sparkle skirts, and rainbow jelly shoes. “Ladies.” He shook hands with them one at a time. “You are looking lovely as always.”
Maia and Tia giggled, and Dawn smiled. So what if everyone disapproved. He might be a biker, but he had heart.
“What’s on your hand?” Maia pointed to the brown streaks on Cade’s knuckles, and he jerked his hand away.
“Just something I forgot to wash off.”
“It’s blood, isn’t it?” Dawn whispered when he stood. “Are you hurt?”
“Not my blood.” He headed for the washroom, and her stomach churned. Was it Stan’s blood? Did she want to know what he’d done? How could he switch off the violence to be so gentle with the girls?
“So, where are the animals?” He joined Maia and Tia in front of the monkey exhibit a few minutes later.
“Here.” Maia pointed to the cage. “We’ve got names for them all. Tia named the biggest, strongest one with the long hairy arms, Cade.”
He looked down at Tia and grinned. “My arms aren’t hairy.”
“She thinks they are,” Maia said. “But she doesn’t mind.”
His face softened and Dawn almost forgave him for coming to the zoo without washing up first, but the real-life reminder of what had happened at the restaurant sent a shiver down her spine. What had she done? What kind of role model was she for her girls if she had to resort to violence to solve her problems? She was no better than Jimmy.
“Monkeys are lame,” Cade said. “How about we go see some real animals. Predators. Lions, tigers…”
“And bears?”
Cade cracked a grin. “Saw that movie when I was a kid. Mom loved it. Me not so much. Dorothy put the damn lion to shame. Made me appreciate a strong woman, though. Damn, you made me proud this morning.”
“What happened to him?” she asked when the girls were out of earshot.
“We taught him a lesson, then handed him over. Benson called an ambulance and when the bastard is all fixed up, he’ll spend some time in jail. Probably get out on bail. Trial a coupla years away … Due process. Just like you wanted.” Cade stopped walking and pulled her into his arms, his hands smoothing down the back of her cut. “Having second thoughts?”
“Yes. I’ve never done anything like that in my life.”
“Did it feel good?”
Dawn bit her lip. “It felt … great.” So great she’d wished she’d been able to do that to her uncle and Jimmy. Maybe even Shelly-Ann. Although Shelly-Ann had been almost decent when she dropped the girls off. Not only had she bought Maia and Tia new clothes and toys, she took the money Dawn gave her without asking for more. If Dawn hadn’t been so shocked, she might have asked why. Shelly-Ann had acted almost as if she felt guilty, overcompensating the way Jimmy had the days after the nights he lost control.
Maia led them to the lion enclosure and they arrived just as the lion trainer began his presentation. Dawn’s nose wrinkled at the sharp scent of blood coming from the lions’ evening meal. She turned her focus to the talk as the girls settled on the bench between her and Cade.
When had she last seen them so relaxed and happy? She gave Tia’s hand a squeeze and her daughter looked up and beamed. Dawn’s eyes teared. Nothing warmed her heart more than her daughters’ smiles.
Turning her attention back to the talk, she learned that male lions did little but eat, sleep, and copulate multiple times a day. By contrast, the female lions did all the hunting and raising the young.
“What does copulate mean?” Maia asked.
“It means have fun.” Cade whispered. “And the lions have it right. Males need to conserve their energy to protect their females and cubs from predators, and for important nighttime activities.”
“You can be the male lion,” Maia said. “Tia and I will be your cubs. You can protect us from predators like you did at the park.”
Cade tucked one girl under each arm. “Good idea. And how about your mom pretends to be a lioness and gets us some burgers while I keep people away from her seat?”
“Male lions don’t get to partake of nighttime activities if the lioness is tired from running around hunting for food.” Dawn folded her arms. Seriously, sometimes she wondered if Cade belonged in the Stone Age.
Cade quickly detached himself from the girls. “So, what does everyone want on their burgers?”
“We all just want ketchup and Mom also wants candy floss,” Maia said as he turned to leave. “Pink.”
“Pink candy floss?” Cade’s mouth turned up at the corners.
Dawn blushed. “My happiest childhood memories involve pink candy floss, roller coasters, and stuffed animals my mom won for me at carnival games. When she was young, she dated a carnie and he taught her all the tricks.”
“Candy floss, three stuffed animals, and five burgers coming up.” He winked at Dawn. “I was a carnie when I was a teenager. My mom thought a summer job would keep me out of trouble, but carnival folk aren’t a conservative bunch.”
Maia counted five fingers and frowned. “That’s one burger too many.”
“I’ll need two.” Cade grinned and lowered his voice. “Extra energy for nighttime activities.”
Dawn snorted a laugh. “From what we’ve just heard about lions, I don’t think you can compete. Didn’t the trainer mention something about one hundred times a day?”
And didn’t that just put all the wrong thoughts in her head for a day at the zoo.
They spent the rest of the afternoon watching the animals, and then Cade and Dawn pushed the girls on the swings in a nearby playground. They were having so much fun no one saw Shelly-Ann arrive.
“Well, look at this.” Shelly-Ann’s eyes lit up with a gotcha smile and she pulled out her phone. “Jimmy’s not gonna be happy to see a picture of his old lady parading around in a Sinner cut. Didn’t notice it when I dropped off the girls. Maybe I shoulda got out of the car.”
Dawn clamped her hand around Shelly-Ann’s wrist and pulled her close. “Then let’s not make him unhappy. Put the phone away.”
Shelly-Ann jerked her head away and her hair swung back behind her ear. Dawn stared at the massive bruise on ex sister-in-law’s cheek, the size and shape eerily familiar.
“What happened to your face?”
“Nothing.” Shelly-Ann’s face shuttered, and she tugged her hair down.
“It was Jimmy, wasn’t it? He always uses his right hand and his Brethren ring leaves a mark.”
When Shelly-Ann didn’t answer, Dawn pushed a little harder. “Did you ask him for more money because I don’t have enough? Is that why he trashed my house? Does he not believe I’m giving you everything I’ve got?”
Guilt flickered across Shelly-Ann’s face, but it disappeared so fast Dawn wasn’t sure if she’d seen it. “Don’t know anything about Jimmy. Or the money he’s after.” She turned to shout for the girls and Dawn saw finger-shaped bruises on her neck.
“He tried to strangle you.” Her voice caught. “Shelly-Ann, you don’t have to let him do that to you. I can help.”
The Sinner’s Tribe Motorcycle Club, Books 1-3 Page 52