“I’m ready,” she told him.
“Are you okay?” he asked, reaching out to touch her on the side of her arm. He linked his arms through hers.
The concern in his voice touched her. Liam was always thinking about other people first and himself last. If she ever got the chance to truly help him, she wouldn’t think twice about doing it. He deserved a break more than any other person she ever knew.
This life was so different and everyday was a battle to stay safe. She prayed nothing ever happened to Liam, but if it did what would his family say and do? They wouldn’t be able to blame anyone else but themselves.
“No, I’m fine,” Amara answered, knowing not to bring up Liam’s family right now. It was the one subject that he hated to talk about even with her.
“Great, let’s get going before the truck leaves with our breakfast,” Liam said, grinning down at her before walking side by side with her out of the parking lot.
Chapter Five
“Uncle Dante, can I go for another ride with you on your motorcycle?” the tiny childlike voice asked him.
Dante glanced down at Hayward’s six-year-old boy Evan, then quickly back over at True who was glaring at him from the other side of the bar.
“What is my son talking about? Dante Braden, I know you didn’t have my little boy on your motorcycle without my permission,” she demanded, switching her one-year-old son Kyle over to her other hip.
”Hmmm...True let me explain,” Dante said. “It’s not as bad as you think. I swear.”
“Okay, explain it to me and it better be good.”
“I only took Evan to one end of the alleyway and back,” he answered, glancing over at Hayward for help. However, the only thing his buddy did was take Kyle away from True and walk away leaving him alone to deal with her anger.
Narrowing her eyes, True waved her finger at him. “I don’t care how far you took my son. Evan shouldn’t have been on there in the first place.”
“Mommy, I had fun,” Evan’s childish voice cut in. “I asked daddy could I do it and he told me that I could because it was my birthday.”
Dante watched as her eyes cut away from him back over to her husband who was trying his best to avoid it, but failed. He knew Hayward was going to get it now and he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
“Hayward Campbell, did you actually give our son permission to get on Dante’s motorcycle without checking with me? Something could have happened to him.”
Leaning his back against the bar, Dante crossed his arms over his chest and waited to see what was going to happen next. The one thing he loved the most about True was her spitfire personality. She wasn’t about to let Hayward get away with this.
Slowly, Hayward spun back around and shot him a desperate look for help that he completely blew off. He didn’t get any assistance minutes ago and he was only returning the favor. He had dug his own hole and now Hayward had to find his way out of it.
“Yes, I did. Evan wanted to do it and had been asking him about it for weeks leading up to his birthday. I didn’t think it would hurt anything since Dante is good on a motorcycle.”
“Hey, I’m more than good,” he cut in, insulted, drawing True’s unwanted attention back over to him. “I’m excellent. I’ve been riding a motorcycle for over ten years. Evan couldn’t have been in better hands. I wouldn’t have let anything happen to that little boy. You know how much I love your kids.”
True’s face instantly lit up at his comment. “Dante, I know you do and my boys love you too; however, I think six years old is too young to be on a motorcycle,” she pointed out.
Dante nodded in agreement. “I know it is, but Evan is so adorable. I couldn’t tell him no, besides I wouldn’t have allowed him to do it with Caleb or Griffin. It was his birthday and I wanted to give him a gift that he would always remember.”
True turned back to her husband. “The two of you better be very glad nothing happened to my son or both of you would have answered to me. Do you understand me, Dante?” She unexpectedly glanced back over at him.
He heard the simmering anger in her voice. He knew that if he did anything else so reckless again even with Hayward’s permission True would be the parent whom he dealt with and he didn’t want to be on her bad side. He’d seen Hayward’s wife angry and once was definitely enough.
“Yes. Mrs. Campbell. I understand and I won’t let your husband lead me down the wrong path again.”
“Hey, don’t drag me back into this conversation,” Hayward complained.
Dante laughed as he got daggers shot in his direction from across the room. He was so glad Jim had brought him into his circle of friends. Everyone was so much fun to be around. He’d never thought that being friends with family men could be so much fun.
“Enough you two,” True sighed. “I’m going to take Evan to the park so he can play with Kevin and his cousins. Do you two think you can handle watching Kyle?”
“I know if Hayward gets into any trouble, I’ll help him with anything but changing diapers,” Dante teased.
Shaking her head, True walked around the counter and grabbed Evan by his hand. “You better get all the practice you can, because you never know when it will be your turn to have your own,” she teased smiling at him before walking across the room and going out the door.
He had been wishing for a good, stable relationship for a while but he was still alone. He wasn’t interested anymore being involved in a meaningless relationship. Dante knew he was ready to find the woman of his ‘dreams.’
Especially after watching the way his marriage hating best friend Jim Russell fell head over heels in love with his now wife Keira. It was amazing to watch how everything changed for Jim after he was able to admit to himself how much he loved Keira.
He never thought Jim would walk down the aisle again after his insufferable marriage and divorce from Kathy, but he did and now Jim was a totally different man who had a permanent smile plastered across his face.
“Dante, are you even listening to me?” Hayward asked at him.
Dante shook the loneliness from his head and stared at Hayward who was seated at a table playing with Kyle.
“Sorry, I wasn’t listening to you. I was thinking about something else.” Coming across the room, he sat down at the table. He ran his hand across Kyle’s sandy brown hair and then relaxed in his chair. “Okay, what do you want to talk about?”
“My anniversary,” Hayward told him.
“Your anniversary is coming up?” Dante asked, surprised.
A smile spread across Hayward’s face and it was the same blissful looked Jim got on his face anytime he talked about Keira. He was growing more envious by the day and there wasn’t a female in his life to make him feel loved so deeply and completely.
“Yes, we’re coming up on seven years. I can’t believe how lucky I am. True is the most perfect wife and mother a man could ever wished for. I’m so lucky to have her.”
“I can tell how happy you are. I mean everyone can see it and they envy it. Seeing how much marriage agrees with everyone around me makes me wonder if I can handle being married,” he admitted.
“Is there a woman around none of us know about?” Hayward teased, grinning at him.
Dante shook his head. “No, I’m totally single. I haven’t been out on a date in a very long time. Where would I find the time to fit her into my schedule? My business keeps me way too busy now to even think about getting involved with a woman.”
“God, you sound so much like me before True came into my life. I lived and breathed CCD for so long that I was closed off to the possibility of loving anyone. I thought work was the only thing I deserved after my first wife and son died.”
“I thought I heard Clinton telling someone how you fell in love with True at first sight.”
“My brother is sugar coating the facts a little. No, I thought True was the worst possible woman who could have moved next door to me in Montana. She was everything I wasn’t: funny, spunky and
so full of energy. She always saw the best in everyone,” Hayward admitted to him. “At that time, I wasn’t aware of how much my beautiful wife was going to be the light to my darkness. If she hadn’t found it in her heart to forgive me, I wouldn’t have the amazing life that I do right now.”
Dante felt the love in Hayward’s words for his wife. Nothing was ever going to break the two of them apart. “I’m glad you’re so in love. What do you want me to do to help with your anniversary?”
He would do as much as he could to help out because of Hayward’s references he’d landed two new business accounts for the bar. He couldn’t have done without the man sitting across from him.
“I was hoping I could rent out the bar for a few hours on my anniversary. I wanted to hire an event planner to decorate up the place.”
Dante didn’t think twice about his answer. True and Hayward were one of his favorite couples. He would do anything he could for their special day. He was glad that his buddy thought of him to do it.
“The place is yours for as long as you want it,” he answered. “How can I tell you no after everything you’ve done for me?”
“Great. I’ll call you soon with more of the details.” Getting up from the chair, Hayward held Kyle against his chest and picked up the diaper bag off the floor.
Dante got up from his own seat and ran his hand over Kyle’s head again making the little boy smile at him. He adored kids and hoped to have some of his own, but it didn’t seem it was in the cards for him. The bar would just have to fill the emptiness inside of him. It wasn’t everything he wanted in life, but it would have to keep him satisfied.
“Dante, I helped you out because you asked me. I wasn’t expecting anything in return from you. Friends are there for each other. Remember that. Well, I better go. I know True is probably ready to put the boys down for their nap and so am I. I’m ready for a little alone time with my wife.”
“Thanks again for thinking about my business to celebrate your anniversary,” Dante said.
“True loves this place and of course the hot wings. I never thought of my wife as a roadhouse bar woman, but she is. Have a good day, Dante,” Hayward told him before patting him on the shoulder and heading for the exit sign.
Standing next to his chair, Dante watched as Hayward left the bar. True might like this place when she and Hayward came to visit everyone, but not enough to have her seven year anniversary. So, he wasn’t counting on Hayward taking him up on his offer.
Well, he couldn’t stand here for the rest of the day. He had a lot to take care of before he reopened the bar tomorrow. He was going to use this day to the fullest.
Chapter Six
Turning on his heel, Dante strolled in the direction of his office. He hoped Caleb would be able to come in earlier today because he wanted to check in with the donation drive he had going on at his old tattoo shop, Inked.
If everyone there wasn’t able to drum up enough food then he would pay for the rest out of his own pocket. Giving back to his local community had become a huge part of who he had been over the years.
As much as he tried to put the homeless girl in the back of his mind, he couldn’t do it. Maybe it was because he shouldn’t have acted so harshly towards her. Making rash decisions wasn’t any part of who he was, at all. He constantly thought about everything thoroughly until the right answer came to him. Anytime he made the mistake of acting on his emotions alone, bad things usually happened.
Dante still couldn’t believe he acted out so abrasively over his motorcycle. Maybe, if he hadn’t threatened her with jail, she might not have of run off in such a panic. However, he wasn’t going to give up on finding her and then helping her. The next person she tried to steal from might catch her quicker than he had and then something really bad could happen to her.
Maybe his need to protect others came from being the oldest boy out of five brothers. His parents constantly called him ‘the advanced son’ and ended up putting an enormous amount of pressure on him to protect his younger siblings. If he ever thought about getting out of line, they would guilt him back into being the perfect child they wanted.
All of their praise and constant attention got to be too much along with responsibilities they piled on him day after day. It finally added up to an unhealthy amount of burden.
All that pressure finally boiled over on his sixteenth birthday, a day he would never forget. He was young back then and only wanted some freedom from underneath his parents’ thumb, their crazy rules and everything else they had expected him to do and take care of for them. It never crossed his mind his one juvenile mistake to prove his independence could get him into major trouble and alter his relationship with his parents forever.
So, he decided to take his parent’s car out for a joyride later that night and got pulled over by the cops because the car had been reported as stolen. The police officers didn’t waste any time hauling him off to jail.
He had been positive that his mother would come and bail him out even if his father told her leave him there. He hoped she cared enough about his well-being not to keep him locked up. However, she showed him that he was wrong about her having unconditional love for him as her oldest son.
His mother had called his change in personality being overly strong willed, but she didn’t speak to him much after those few words. She liked pretending he wasn’t getting a mind of his own and could actually possess the ability to think for himself.
Being stubborn on purpose never once crossed his mind while he had been growing up in that house. All he wanted was his parent’s undying love and for them to see if he did mess up once in a while, he was their son. .
Once he wasn’t following their set of rules and behaving like the ‘ideal son’ neither one of them wanted anything to do with him anymore and tossed him to the wolves without a second thought. Instead of allowing him to come back home after being released from jail, he got shipped off to a detention center by his father to prove a point.
Dante hated the time he spent caged up like an animal. Those days were truly the worst of his life and if he hadn’t become friends with Griffin he didn’t know how he would have made it with the other tougher teenage boys there.
Luckily, Griffin’s parents were kind enough to allow him to stay in the extra bedroom at their house while he decided what he was going to do. He would never forget their compassion and the promise he made them to help another person in need.
Even after all of these years, he hated tremendously how his relationship with his family was destroyed. He hadn’t forgotten over the years how they never let him come back into the house after spending six weeks at the detention center, because they didn’t want his ‘disrespectful behavior’ to rub off on his younger brothers.
He knew the destitute girl hadn’t come across his path for no reason. Something or someone brought her to him and he was going to do everything he could to assist her like Griffin’s parents had helped him.
Yet, there was one huge problem standing in his way. The part of town where his bar was located was huge and by now she could be hiding anywhere. Finding her would literally be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but he was up for the test.
Chapter Seven
Pulling the light blue jacket tighter around her body, Amara tried to block out the hunger clawing at her empty stomach. It had been over two weeks since Mr. Lee treated her to all of that delicious food and now she was starving for a complete meal of something found in the trash can.
More than once she thought about going to one of those shelters to get something to eat, but changed her mind. The last time she ate at a shelter’s soup kitchen, she ran into two homeless men who had tried following her back to where she was sleeping. Luckily, she had spotted them out of the corner of her eye and made a break for it hiding out until she knew they were gone.
Keeping herself under the radar was already hard enough during the day without having to constantly keep an eye open at night. The few hours she was able to g
et some sleep were a blessing to her; it might not be peaceful but it was something and she would take it without any complaints.
Most people who saw her living on the street instantly formed their opinions and it only involved one word--lazy. None of them realized her childhood dream had always been to move to Los Angeles, land a great job and make her parents proud in the progress.
Sadly, not one of her dreams came true for her because out of the blue, both of her parents died within three months of each other and after flying back home twice, paying for their funeral costs almost completely emptied out her bank account.
Yet, even before their unexpected deaths, what little money she had saved up was disappearing fast living out here in Los Angeles.
In addition to those problems, her boss fired her for missing too many days for personal issues. To make matters worse, the day she went for a job interview for a waitress position at a local coffee shop two blocks from her tiny apartment, her bitch of a landlord locked her out of her place, placed all of her belongings into two black garage bags then tossed everything outside on the sidewalk for the entire neighborhood to search through.
Everything around her seemed to go downhill fast after that and she spend her first night on the streets sleeping on a park bench. She had woken up the next morning and found Liam looming over her with a half-eaten Subway sandwich in his hand.
Sheer black fright had swept through her as she jumped up from the bench and slid to the other side. Her stomach had clenched tight and her body froze in fear as he sat down next to her.
Idea after idea raced through her mind at finding some kind of protection. She knew he might be bigger than her, but she wouldn’t give up without a fight.
Just as she had been about ready to bolt and run for her life, Liam smiled at her and offered her a part of his sandwich. Somehow hours later, he had convinced her to go with him to a safer place to sleep for the night. At first, a wave of apprehension gnawed away at her but in the end, she trusted him and followed him because of his caring eyes. Her fears of him were premature because he turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to her
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