by Ali Parker
Jax looked at his feet and then back up at me sheepishly. “Perfect. Good night, Holly.” He leaned in and kissed me, soft and sweet, with his finger under my chin. Then he tapped me lightly on the nose like he used to when we were kids and left me staring after him on the top step of the apartment building.
I opened the door, and he didn’t drive away until I was safely inside.
My heart was thumping in my chest, and my whole body felt like it was glowing. I smiled the whole way up the elevator and down the hall to Kim’s unit, and I didn’t stop smiling until I was asleep.
Even then, my dreams were about Jax, and if someone were to watch me sleep, I’m sure they would discover that the smile never faltered.
Chapter 15
Jax
Holly Whitton.
She had quite literally rocked my world last night, and I had been incapable of thinking of anything but her. My mind was trapped by thoughts of her body pressed against mine, and the way she took my cock. She was a goddess with a heart of gold and a body for fucking. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get her pussy or tits out of my head. Or her smile.
I needed to lay her down on her back and show her how good I could make her feel. We both needed more space than the cab of the truck permitted.
“Next time,” I told myself as I rolled out of bed. “Next time.”
Wanting to have sex with the same woman again was new for me. Normally, with all my other hook-ups, it was a ‘one-time thing’ kind of deal. Fuck them and leave them. The girls knew that’s what it was. I wasn’t the kind of man to lie to them and trick them into thinking it had the potential to be more than it was. And for the most part, they were fine with it.
Of course, there had been the occasional woman who wanted more with me and fought me on it, but in time, they saw I was too damaged to be worth their time and energy. That, and they concluded that I was still in love with another woman they couldn’t hold a candle to.
It wasn’t their fault. I was never cruel to them.
I just left them.
But Holly was different and always had been. She was the girl who kept me up at night even when I hadn’t seen her in years. And now that I had seen her and felt what it was like to be inside her again, my brain was a jumbled mess.
All I wanted was to be back with her. I wanted to taste her. I wanted to explore her body in a way I hadn’t been able to last night.
All in due time, I assured myself. I would get another chance. There was no doubt in my mind that she wanted me the same way I wanted her. It had been written all over her face when she rode me. She was desperate for what I could give her.
I stepped into a pair of jeans and found a clean T-shirt. Ten minutes later, I was outside slipping my arms into my leather jacket and swinging a leg over the seat of my Harley. I had to find a way to think of other things, and the only solution I had was to go for a ride.
The sun was shining, and I had plenty of time before the day hit its hottest point. I’d go for a cruise and find a nice spot to sit and have a beer. Then, depending on my mood, I might stop by the shop to pay whoever was working a visit.
Maybe there would be someone there who could remind me what it felt like to have my sanity back and keep my thoughts off Holly for just a little while longer.
I revved the bike and tore out onto the street. The morning air had a chill to it at high speeds that would be gone in an hour or so when the day warmed up. For now, I enjoyed the way it passed through my clothes.
I took back roads out of the city to find winding streets with less traffic where I could open up the throttle and really cut loose. I had specific routes I tended to favor, and today, I was in the mood for some sharp turns where I could push myself.
It was on one of these turns that I was passed by a slick looking flat black sports car. I checked my mirrors to see the brake lights turn on and admired the sleek lines of the car. It was a beast that was for sure, but an elegant one. A Zenvo if I was correct.
It disappeared from view as I took another winding S-bend.
My thoughts wandered inevitably back to Holly. I started wondering what she was doing today with her son Luke. The weather was spectacular. Perhaps they were at the park. It was the kind of day suited to walking to get ice cream. I could see Holly walking hand in hand with her little boy to the closest ice cream parlor and realized I was also picturing myself holding her other hand.
“Pull yourself together, man,” I said, shaking my head. “You’re no father figure, that’s for damn sure.”
I swung around another corner.
An engine roared in my ears. I checked my mirrors.
The black Zenvo was racing up to my back tire like a fucking psychopath.
I opened up the throttle to create more space and watched my mirrors as I took another turn. The bike hummed beneath me as I pushed it to its limits. The Zenvo was right on my ass, closing in and then falling back over and over as if showing me it had more power than my bike.
That much was obvious. Harleys weren’t the fastest thing on the road, that was for damn sure, but I didn’t like the way this asshole was fucking with me.
Either he knew exactly what the insignia on the back of my leather jacket stood for, or he had no fucking clue. Either way, he was playing with fire.
There was no license plate on the front of the car, and all the windows were blacked out. I couldn’t see a damn thing through the glass, and keeping my eye on the mirror and the road was proving to be difficult. I had to get away from this maniac sooner rather than later. I wasn’t wearing a helmet, and the only thing between me and the pavement if I crashed was denim and leather. I didn’t want to know what sort of hell that would feel like.
The car raced up behind me again, and this time, I could have sworn it touched my back tire. My bike wobbled, and I did the only thing I could do. I slowed down.
I hated that I didn’t have the upper hand, but I wasn’t about to try to keep going at a crazy speed. I lost too much control of the bike when I was going fast, and all it would take was a bump in the right place and I’d be a goner.
I clenched my teeth and hit the brakes, waiting for the car to come crashing into me.
Much to my surprise, it didn’t.
It swerved around, tires screeching on the asphalt, and drove up beside me.
I stared straight into the passenger window despite not being able to see anyone inside. If they wanted to fuck with me, I was going to fuck back.
I pulled the bike to the left and sped up. The car accelerated. I had only seconds.
The anger was in control now, and I didn’t give a damn what the consequences might be. I pulled my pocket knife free, flipped it open, and somehow managed to drag it along the side panel of the Zenvo.
Then I grinned like an idiot, veered to the right, and hit the brakes. The car slowed down too, but not before I was able to get in behind it and read the license plate.
Being behind the prick was safer. I half expected him to hit the brakes, but he didn’t. Instead, he maintained his speed for about ten seconds, then sped away, engine roaring, and disappeared around a bend.
I didn’t want to stick around to find out if he had other plans for me, so I turned around and headed back into the city.
My heart didn’t stop racing until fifteen minutes later when the adrenaline from the encounter ebbed away. My hands were cramped and sore from gripping the handlebars so hard. My jaw ached from the tension of clenching my teeth.
I told myself it could have been a hell of a lot worse as I took the long way to Ryder’s house. I didn’t want anyone following me there, so I took a couple of detours and side streets, working my way farther away from the president’s house before returning to it.
When I parked in the driveway, I spotted Axel’s truck. It was Sunday. They were probably inside sharing a beer as usual while Ellie and Dani chatted about girl stuff.
I climbed up onto the porch and knocked twice before letting myself in.
Ryder and Axel were outside on the patio. I had been correct in assuming they were drinking beers. Both had nearly full bottles and looked up at me curiously when I walked in.
“Did you just let yourself into my house?” Ryder scowled.
“I’m not in the mood for a power trip from you,” I spat.
Axel’s eyebrows lifted to his hairline, and he looked back and forth between Ryder and me. Ryder was still glaring at me like I’d just spit in his cereal.
Axel cleared his throat. “Something happen, Jax?”
“Yeah, something fucking happened. Some sociopath in a Zenvo just tried to run me off the road.”
“A Zenvo?” Ryder asked. “That’s an expensive fucking car. Why would someone want to risk damaging it to—”
“I didn’t get a chance to ask them. I was too busy trying not to get killed. Where’s Dani?”
“At work,” Ryder said flatly as he got to his feet.
“I got the plate number and did some damage to the passenger door. Will you call her for me? She needs to know about this.”
Ryder scratched the back of his neck. “You know, maybe you’re overreacting a little bit here. Dani is busy working on the Black Hearts murder.”
“Don’t be fucking daft, Johnny,” I said, using the president’s first name for the first time in ages. He blinked in surprise but didn’t correct me. “This is all part of her case. We receive a bunch of photographs of all of us, and then this happens? It’s all related. I’d bet my life it was a Black Hearts member in that fucking car.”
Axel stood as well. “You said you did some damage?”
I nodded. “They’ll be parking the car now. If they know we’re looking for it, they won’t be able to bring it to any shops.”
“That car is worth, what, almost two million dollars?”
I shrugged. “Around there. Probably.”
Axel gave me a satisfied grin. “How much do you think it would cost them to fix what you did to it?”
I considered the long, deep scratch I had put in the side of the car. “A few hundred thousand, at the very least.”
“Bet they feel like idiots now,” Ryder muttered. Then he grabbed his phone and called Dani. She answered almost right away, which was why I’d wanted him to call her. If I’d called, I’d have to wait for her to get back to me, which could take hours or days. I wasn’t waiting for this.
“Hey, babe,” Ryder said, “We have a situation over here. You have a moment?”
I assumed she said yes because seconds later Ryder passed me the phone. “Tell her what you told us. Give her the plate number. She’ll find his sorry ass.”
I relayed everything that had happened to Dani, who listened silently to every word I said. She was a good cop. There was no doubt about it. She encouraged me to give her more details once I was done and read the plate number back to me.
“Yeah, that’s it,” I confirmed.
“Okay. I’ll run it now and call you back. Sit tight.” Dani hung up the phone, and I handed it back to Ryder, who was looking at me expectantly.
“Sorry for being a dick.” I scratched the stubble along my jaw mindlessly. “Just a bit on edge.”
“Forget about it. Some asshole tried to kill you. You’re allowed to be pissed. This keeps getting more and more personal. I don’t like it.”
“Neither do I,” Axel admitted, sipping his beer. Then he went to a cooler at the side of the house and passed me one.
I drank thankfully, not caring that it wasn’t even noon.
Chapter 16
Holly
My last table of customers left The Roost just after eleven o’clock, and I hurried to tell the shift leader to lock the front doors. Afterward, I went to my till to manage my tips.
I was happy to find that I had made almost four hundred dollars in tips. It had been a busy night. Summer evenings always ended up being profitable for me. Families came to sit on our patio and enjoy our summer drink and dessert specials, and the extra outdoor space meant the servers had more tables to serve.
If most of my summer shifts went like this, I would have a decent little nest egg of savings tucked aside for the fall, and maybe, just maybe, I’d be able to find an apartment to rent for Luke and me.
It was a comforting thought. I loved living with my sister, but she needed her space back. If she met a guy she wanted to start dating, I didn’t want to get in the way. Not only that, but I wanted my independence back. I wanted to create my own little home and make it just how I liked.
I always dreamed about having a yellow kitchen. Maybe if I found an older building my landlord would let me spruce the place up, and over time, I could create the perfect little home to come back to every day.
Maybe I could land a place with other young families in the building so Luke could be close to some friends. There were tons of places in New York City that had courtyards in the middle of the building with a playground.
I liked to dream that my kitchen window would overlook the playground, and I could cook dinner while keeping an eye on Luke while he played with the other kids.
I tucked my tip money into the back pocket of my jeans and headed for the break room. I opened my locker, grabbed my clothes, and hurried to change before rushing out of the restaurant with a goodbye wave to Claire.
The bus picked me up at my stop shortly after I arrived, and I spent the ride with my nose in my book. The walk back to Kim’s apartment was pleasant. There were a few people still out and about enjoying the warm night, but everyone kept to themselves. In a city like New York, everyone had somewhere to be.
I let myself into the apartment around midnight. The lights were off, as per usual, and the only sound was the soft hum of the fridge from the kitchen as I shrugged out of my jacket and hung it on the hook by the door. I hung my keys on the miniature hook beside the ones for coats and slid my shoes off my aching feet. I wiggled my toes and headed for the kitchen to make a cup of tea.
After setting the kettle on the stove and leaving the lid off so it wouldn’t whistle and wake my sister or Luke, I went to my room to change into a pair of loose sweats and an old T-shirt. I washed my face and tied my hair up before returning to the kitchen to find the kettle boiling. I dropped a chamomile tea bag into one of Kim’s mugs and poured the water over it.
The kitchen filled with the citrus aroma, and I wrapped my hands around the mug, lifted it under my nose, and inhaled deeply.
I liked my routine of coming home after a long shift to sit with a cup of tea and my book. It was a nice way to wind down and have some time to myself. It had taken a little while for me to enjoy it, to be honest, and I chalked that up to always being with Luke when I lived with Kent because he was so uninvolved in our family.
Now, with my own job and a sister who helped me with my son, I was able to come home and take a breather every now and then and just sit with my thoughts.
And my thoughts were so much different than they used to be.
Where I used to sit and worry, I now dreamed. Back in Philadelphia being alone made me anxious because I was always waiting for something to go wrong. I was waiting for Kent to come home drunk. I was waiting for him to yell at me, to get angry, to break things.
Now, all I was confronted with was contentment and ease. I left the kitchen and walked around the dining room table toward the living room. I noticed two of the chairs from the table set were missing. I wondered what kinds of shenanigans Kim and Luke had gotten up to together. Chances were there was a poorly constructed fort somewhere in the house—Luke liked to drape a sheet over the backs of the chairs and then pile pillows underneath. He’d tuck himself away with his GI Joe action figure for hours before he emerged with a growling belly.
As I sat down in my favorite corner of the couch with my tea, I opted not to read my book. Instead, I sat cross-legged and contemplated how much my life had changed.
My son
was happy and healthy and would be starting school in less than two months. My sister was back in my life, and I was infinitely grateful for her help, her love, and her advice.
Advice that had granted me a chance to be with Jax again.
I smiled into my cup of tea as I took a sip.
My thoughts always ended up back with him. I liked to close my eyes and picture that wicked smile of his, the smile that made my stomach flutter and my panties wet. He was kryptonite to me. Ever since our moment together in his truck, I’d been having a hard time focusing on anything else. If I really committed to the memory, I could still feel his lips on mine, lingering like the tingle of a plumping lip gloss.
I would call him in the morning and see when he was free next. Maybe it was time to let him meet Luke. Jax was a smart man. He wouldn’t come in and disrupt things. He would just meet Luke, and the two of them could get to know each other as friends first.
I caught myself smiling again.
When I finished my tea, I washed my mug and left it on the counter to dry. I tiptoed carefully down the hall to see Luke. His door was open just a crack, and I could see his nightlight sending dancing stars up against the ceiling.
I pushed the door open gently and slipped inside. Closing it behind me to block the light from the hallway, I turned back around, resting my shoulder blades on the door.
Luke was wide-awake and sitting up in bed. He was propped up on the headboard and had his hands in his lap. He was looking at me, and as soon as we locked eyes, I knew something was wrong.
Luke looked to the far corner of the room.
I followed his gaze to find two people sitting in chairs.
The missing dining room chairs.
My heart started hammering in my chest. My mouth went dry.
Kim was sitting beside a broad-shouldered man with a head of thick blond hair. He was looking at me with eyes that I knew were piercing blue. His arms were crossed over his burly chest. Kent.