“Backup,” she said. “Just what I need.”
Carrie grinned and gave Willow a hug as she walked into the house. Sure enough, all hell was breaking loose inside. Janet was actually lucky she was outside doing punishments.
Tim and Thane, the twins, were fighting from some kind of tower, while Jessie and Mark, two other siblings, had set up their own fort from the couch cushions and were lobbing toys over their small walls to crash all over the living room.
“It’s war,” Willow said, putting her hands up.
The twins had bright-red hair and pale faces and were only eleven years old. They weren’t identical, just looked like brothers, but they had the same squashed noses and big green eyes. They were adorable.
Jessie had beautiful blond curls and brown eyes. At six years old, she looked like a little princess but could be an absolute bossy demon. Her brother, Mark, at ten, was completely smitten. Her personal slave.
They were doing most of the lobbing of projectiles, while Tim and Thane were trying to dodge. They were the older kids, after all, and probably knew they would get harsher punishments if they hurt one of the little ones.
The youngest of the group, Robert, was three years old with beautiful, dark curls. He was sitting at the entrance to the living room, watching it all from a safe distance, wearing only a tee shirt and a diaper.
He looked over at her and Willow, and his little grin went bright and wide. He stood on chubby legs and toddled over, reaching up with his hands.
She lifted him into her arms and gave him a hug. Robert snuggled in, then got interested in the basket as Willow took it.
“My sammich is peanut,” he said.
She nodded, setting him down and taking his hand to go into the kitchen.
“I be right back,” he said, toddling back toward the living room. “Sammiches!” he told the others.
She heard the commotion stop and several exclamations of, “Carrie’s here?”
She had to grin at being associated with a sandwich. But as the kids came into the room, peeking around the doorframe, and then shyly walked in and one by one came to her for hugs, she crouched down to meet them. One by one, she asked how they had been doing, letting them know she cared.
Willow went out to call Janet in to join them, and then they all sat down to lunch.
Willow didn’t like sandwiches and joined them with a cup of coffee. Carrie couldn’t help but notice that her old friend was getting thinner, and the lines around her mouth were getting deeper. She didn’t know exactly how old Willow was. She could only guess, and she didn’t want to. It didn’t seem respectful.
“So who got good grades this year?” Carrie asked, knowing school had just let out and she hadn’t seen report cards yet.
All hands went up, and then Janet grabbed Tim’s hand and yanked it down. He frowned, trying to jerk away, but then Willow gave him a stern look, and he calmed.
“Okay, not that great,” he said. “Better than last year, though.”
“You had F’s last year,” Thane said unhelpfully, making Tim pout.
“Improvement is always good,” Carrie said.
“I got straight A’s,” Jessie said sweetly.
“In finger painting,” Janet said jealously. Janet was scruffy and skinny and kind of the opposite of Jessie’s golden beauty. But Carrie felt a special affinity to Janet nonetheless. If she were allowed to pick favorites… but she didn’t.
“We’re glad you came by,” Willow said. “I know it’s been busy with work.”
“Are you okay at the bar?” Thane asked, his red hair sticking up in all directions. He puffed out his eleven-year-old chest. “If those Aces come around, you tell me and Tim.”
She grinned. What was it about little boys and playing at protectiveness? It reminded her of Cage and made an ache start up in her chest.
She caught Willow looking over at her pensively and realized she was probably transparent to the woman who’d practically raised her.
“After lunch, why don’t you all have some TV time so I can talk to Miss Carrie?” Willow asked.
There was some grumbling, but it quickly stopped due to the fact that most of the kids loved TV time because they didn’t get a lot of it. Mostly, they were expected to play outside or do things inside. Willow liked to say TV killed your brain.
Once the kids were ushered into the family room and had all found their seats after minimal fighting, Willow hooked her arm through Carrie’s and led her out the back door, closing and locking it behind them.
Carrie felt her heart beating quick as they walked out over the beautiful land where she’d grown up. The trees here, the grass, each bend in the nearby roads, it was all as familiar to her as the back of her hand.
“So,” Willow said, releasing her to walk a little bit ahead and then turning back to face her. “Cage is back, isn’t he?”
Carrie’s mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
Willow sighed and looked out at the land around them. “There’s only one person in the world who can put that sad look in your eyes. Like you’re far away and not with us anymore. I knew something was different from the minute you showed up, but I didn’t pick up on exactly what until Thane mentioned the Aces.”
Carrie shrugged. “He would. Thane’s father is still involved with them, when he isn’t stupidly drunk.”
Willow wrinkled her nose. “Stupid, evil men. But I should thank them. Because of their idiocy, I get to take care of their beautiful, wonderful children.”
“You’re an angel,” Carrie said, putting her arm around Willow’s thin, fragile-feeling waist. Though, she knew Willow was strong as an ox, even if she didn’t look it. “You know that, right?”
“I’m just doing what I want to,” Willow retorted. “Nothing much.”
“Well, thank heavens,” Carrie said, leaning against her.
Willow let out a snort at that and set Carrie away from her. “Now, you stop changing the subject and tell me what that renegade Cage is doing back in your life. And also, let him know I’m going to kick his ass for not coming to see me.”
Carrie grinned but felt slightly guilty because it was her fault Cage hadn’t come to see her. But she didn’t want Willow to find out he was with the Aces just yet. “Okay, I’ll tell him.”
“Good,” Willow said, walking out farther in the grass, hands clasped behind her back as she strode. “Now tell me everything that’s happened. I’ll tell you just how to handle that rascal.”
At that, Carrie threw her head back and laughed.
* * *
Cage knew he was taking a risk as he crept into the back office of the club. The Winter Falls chapter was small, and almost all their records over the years were back here. He opened a drawer and quickly rummaged through, hoping to find what he was looking for.
A tapping of feet on the concrete outside had him snapping up straight and coming around the desk to stand in the middle of the floor. He was pretending to simply survey the place when the door swung open.
Pete Sanders, one of the officers who had served with his father, walked into the room, looking pensive.
“Thinking of your dad?” Pete asked gruffly, standing next to Cage and looking around the room for a moment before going over to the desk and sitting down. This was Pete’s office now, and he was head of the administrative stuff the club had to deal with. A heavy burden indeed.
“Yeah,” Cage said, folding his arms. “Lotta memories down here.”
Pete raised an eyebrow. His thinning red hair barely covered his head, and his cut-off leather jacket revealed aging arms covered in faded, full tattoo sleeves. Leather and chain dangled at his wrists. He leaned back in his leather chair, making it squeak.
“Doesn’t look good, you being in here,” Pete said. “I gotta admit. I was reluctant to have you back here. You disappeared. Didn’t know if you could be trusted.”
Cage remained silent. Getting defensive would only make Pete’s implied accusations feel more valid.
>
“But it was your dad’s wish that if you ever come back, you get taken in without question, and with everything he did for this club, we’d be fools to ignore him.” Pete stared at Cage for a moment, and Cage just shrugged. If the older man wanted him to show grief over his father’s death, he’d be disappointed.
“Don’t know what you always had against your old man anyhow. He took care of you after that skank you call a mom ran out—”
Cage was across the room in a second, holding Pete by the collar and letting him see the rage in his eyes. “Don’t you dare,” he said, nearly choking the other man. “Don’t you dare talk about what she went through.” He released Pete with a shove, and Pete grimaced as he brushed himself off, as if erasing Cage’s touch.
“Son of Will or not, if you double-cross us, you’ll pay,” Pete said. “Jake wasn’t worried about taking you back for one reason only.” Pete folded his still buff arms. “If you cross the Aces, the Aces will cross you.”
Cage nodded. “I’m not stupid enough to think I could get away with attacking a branch of the strongest MC in the country.” Which was the truth and why he intended for them all to be long gone before they could prove he’d done anything.
Pete still didn’t seem convinced, and there was a palpable tension in the air between them. “You were a good kid,” he said. “Your dad had to be rough on you because that’s what dads do, but you turned out okay.” Pete pulled out a file. “You even served in the military. We have some other ex-vets.” He shut the drawer and leaned on the desk, faded blue eyes narrowing. “But why did you come back now? And why are you really in my office?”
A prickle of danger moved up Cage’s back, and he realized it was time to go.
He turned to leave but stopped when Pete whistled.
Cage turned around and saw Pete holding out a folder. “Here, your next assignment.”
Cage walked over and grabbed the file from Pete’s hand. He opened it and quickly scanned it. “She’s not going to sell.”
“That’s where you come in,” Pete said. “You’re going to make her.”
Cage shook his head and tossed the file back. “No. Even my dad didn’t believe in seizing property.” Though he’d seized women as if they were property.
Pete slammed a fist down on the desk angrily. “You take care of this or I’ll give it to Harv. Heard you made a scene at the bar last night. Some kind of move on the owner. Carrie, is that her name?” Pete’s eyes narrowed maliciously as Cage’s face went tight and hard. “Right. Carrie. Well, Carrie is going to give that bar to the club one way or another. You do it, or we will.” He handed the file back, and Cage took it with an angry swipe of his hand.
“I’ll need time,” he said.
Pete shrugged. “We’ll see how long Jake’s willing to be patient. But if you can’t make things happen for us, then you aren’t one of us.” Pete eyed him carefully. “You’re involved with the girl, aren’t you? If you want her, put a patch on her and get her in the club before Harv can.”
Cage’s lips tightened. It was odd advice from someone as hostile as Pete often was. But sometimes the man was a mystery.
“We’ll give her a good deal on the bar,” Pete said. “Make her see that.” He folded his arms. “It can’t go well for her if she resists.”
Cage sighed. “I need a month. Give me that or I’m not taking the assignment.”
It was a bluff. He definitely couldn’t allow anyone else to take it. But he needed time so he could finish what he needed to do to the Aces before he was supposed to hand over Carrie’s bar.
Because he was here to protect her from the Aces. Not take from her for them.
But they couldn’t think that. Not yet.
“Fine,” Pete grunted, finally giving in. “But not a day more.”
“Fine,” Cage said.
“Oh, and Cage?”
Cage turned back to the man, anger blazing inside him. He could take him apart with one hand, let the bear in him out to tear the place apart. But he had more important things to do, and one man was nothing in the scheme of this awful club. He had to bide his time. Be patient.
“Now that I think about it, that girl who owns the bar, Carrie… you knew her as a kid, didn’t you?”
A muscle in Cage’s jaw ticked. “Yeah. Sort of.”
“Well, if we get any hint that you aren’t with us, I’ll make sure someone breaks her fingers. We clear?”
Ice went through Cage’s veins, but he nodded, already imagining the things he would do to this man for daring to threaten Carrie. He gave Pete a polite smile. “Crystal. Now if you could excuse me, I may as well head over and get started on this.” He held up the file Pete had handed him.
Pete shrugged. “Or you can go tonight, with the guys. I think they’re planning to visit the bar together. Let her know what she can expect if she doesn’t give up the place. We need her to see it’s better for everyone if she just lets go. It’s not good to get in the Aces’s way.”
Cage gave him a grin that didn’t hide the feral beast inside him and saw Pete whiten visibly. Cage knew the men of the Aces sensed something off about him, had even when he was a kid. But none of them knew what that was, and when they did, it would be only be because he was ending every last one of them.
He cracked his knuckles and left the room, heart pounding in his chest. He’d protect Carrie, whatever it took.
He walked out around the side of the compound and leaned against a wall where he knew no one would hear him. It was cold outside, isolated, and most of the Aces were on a ride.
He unlocked his phone and dialed a number, and the voice on the other end picked up quickly.
“Cage?” Bronson asked. “How’s it going?”
Bronson and Limes were the two men he’d formed Bear Claw Security with after they’d served their time in the Special Forces. They’d all decided that keeping people safe was something they wanted to do in the private sector, and since they were all bear shifters from a special army shifter unit, they had unique skills to do it.
They’d been pretty successful before he’d left to do this job, and he knew they were eager to have him back. They couldn’t understand why he’d taken this gig in the middle of nowhere. He didn’t know how Willow had figured out he had a business and sent him a letter to hire him.
But she had, and here he was. And now he was on a deadline.
“I’m doing okay,” he said. “Hit some complications.”
“Limes says we’re going to need the log in to the main computer.”
“That’ll be tough, but I can get it,” he said. “I may need back up.”
“Sure, anytime,” Bronson said. “Even if it means coming to Podunk Nowheresville.”
“Hey, I grew up here,” Cage said.
“I always knew you were a hick. Say, what’s the real reason you took this job. It’s a girl, isn’t it? Come on—”
“I have a month. An unexpected deadline came up. If I’m not making serious progress in about two weeks, I might need you or Limes out here.”
Bronson coughed. “Of course, man. You know we’ll back you up anytime.”
Cage let out a breath. “Thanks.”
“And then get your ass back here. We miss you.”
“You miss the money I bring in.”
Bronson laughed nervously. “Yeah, that, too. You’re good, man.”
“Not as good as Limes,” Cage said. “It’s the hacking that’s important.”
“There’s not much he can’t do with a computer, sure. But you got that brain…”
“And you got the muscle,” Cage joked. “I know.”
Bronson’s deep voice got serious. “You be careful out there, man. You hear me?”
“I got you,” Cage said. “You, too. Tell Limes I said hey.”
Bronson laughed. “He doesn’t need that mushy shit. But yeah. Let us know if you need backup.”
Cage grinned. “Will do.”
Then he hung up and leaned on the wall, enj
oying the breeze. It was nice to remind himself he wasn’t alone anymore. And he didn’t just have Carrie either. He had friends, people who cared. As much as he and the guys joked, he knew they’d spill blood for each other.
They’d have his back in an instant.
But he really wanted to take care of this himself.
It was his mate after all.
He put his phone in his pocket and walked back to his room to get ready, steeling himself for seeing Carrie again.
He could hardly wait.
4
Carrie was walking back from Willow’s, energized from spending time with the kids, when she heard the sound of a motorcycle engine.
It was a sound that generally made her cringe, sending chills up her spine, and was often followed by a catcall or something rude. She’d just turned onto the main road that led back to her place, and she was alone, with only the trees and a few lonely buildings looking over her.
She walked a little quicker, away from the direction of the motorcycle engine. She didn’t want to look back.
Instead, she focused on her conversation with Willow about Cage. Willow was just glad he was back and encouraged Carrie to be happy as well. Willow knew how much he’d always meant to her.
But Willow didn’t know all of it, and Carrie hadn’t had the heart to tell her Cage was a part of the Aces.
She’d probably find out on her own soon enough.
The whirring of the engine caught up to Carrie quickly, and she sighed and whirled around to face whatever was coming.
Sure enough, on a glossy red Harley, was the man she’d come to hate more than any other in recent weeks.
Harvey Willard, an officer in the Aces who was extra persistent about wanting to make her his old lady. She shifted her basket to her other hand and folded her arms as she turned to look at him.
He had dark hair, swarthy skin, and glittering black eyes. He was built but in a rough, burly way. Nothing like Cage’s sculpted, impressive muscle on his tall, lean frame.
Bear To The Bone (Bear Claw Security 1) Page 4