There wasn’t much else to look at, but I walked around the property anyway, circling back around to the back door and locking it properly before saying good bye to Katie.
“I’d highly suggest keeping those doors locked,” I said.
“We will…now.”
“Call me if anything else happens.” I jotted down my phone number, saw myself out and jumped back on my bike. Once back in the town square, I couldn’t help but smile when the church bells started ringing again. Jackie had me tied up in knots.
She was so beautiful, so sensual and so damned sweet I almost couldn’t take it. I was getting too close, and I knew it, but I couldn’t help myself. Asking her out again only seemed like the right thing to do. I had this urge to spend as much time with her as possible while I was still here.
I didn’t even want to think about what happened when this was all over. Maybe I could convince her to leave. In all honesty, she seemed completely unsatisfied with her job, and while I understood her commitment to honoring her heritage and all, I couldn’t help but wonder about her own hopes and dreams.
It seemed a shame she would have to give all that up because of her grandmother’s vision from decades ago. Don’t get me wrong, it’s honorable and probably the right thing to do, but a part of me wanted to throw her on my bike and whisk her away to somewhere I could see her smile a lot more.
That wasn’t up to me, though. I knew that.
All I could do was show her a good time while I was here.
Everything after that would just have to sort itself out the way it was meant to.
CHAPTER 30
JACKIE
Laughter bubbled up from inside of me as I watched Fury hook a leg over the nearest horse and hoist himself on top of it. I jumped on the one next to him — a black and white painted horse with a bright turquoise saddle and a thick, red halter.
“Do I look like a manly cowboy?” he asked, lifting a brow and posing.
The horses began moving up and down as we held onto the gold poles the horses were attached to. I laughed even harder as he tipped an imaginary cowboy hat at me.
“I feel like a rough and tumble, rugged man of the land,” he said, flexing a bicep.
I laughed even louder, ignoring the looks of the other people riding the carousel. We were two of just a few other adults, but they were all accompanying other children.
I’d brought him here for two reasons. One, it was one of the only things to ‘do’ here in Greenville. And two, as a sort of test. So far, although always kind and gentle, Fury had mostly only shown me two sides of him. Serious and sensual.
I wanted to see him laugh.
His smile cut right through me, sending shocks of electricity straight to my ovaries. When I saw him gently talking to a small child in line while we were waiting for our turn, I’m pretty sure I dropped an egg or two.
Everything about him was definitely ‘manly’. Nothing about him suggested ‘cowboy’. Either way, he looked adorable going up and down on the back of that horse, and I took a mental picture, never wanting to forget the playful smile on his face.
Around and around we went, the upbeat organ music, played live on a real organ in the corner by Mrs. Rafferty, who’d been sitting in that corner playing music for as long as I could remember. She’d been good friends with my grandma and we were blessed to still have her around. Visiting the carousel wouldn’t have been the same without her.
“Do you come here often?” Fury asked.
“Fairly often, although I rarely actually ride.”
“Why not?”
“I usually leave that to the kids.”
“Then why are we on here?” he asked, laughing.
“I just wanted to see you on it,” I said, winking.
“Is that so?” he asked.
“Yep.”
He leaned over, attempting to kiss me, but we were going in opposite directions. As my horse moved down, his moved up and he kept missing my lips, until he finally gave up laughing.
When the ride came to a stop, he hopped off his horse and put out a hand to help me off mine. As soon as my feet hit the floor, he leaned down, kissing me so sweetly I thought my heart just my break in two right there.
He grabbed my hand in his and we walked off the ride, strolling down the pathway behind the building and into the park. It was dark now, but the park was well-lit and we strolled down the riverfront, moonlight sparkling on the small waves of the river beside us.
“It’s so beautiful here,” he said, nodding. “I can see why you like it.”
“It is.”
“Peaceful.”
“Yeah…but boring, too.”
“I can see how it could get old. I can’t believe the town has stayed this small for so long.”
“Green likes it that way,” I shrugged. “Which is weird, because you’d think he’d want the money that new development would bring, but I suppose it would be more difficult for him to control.”
“It’s easier to be the king of a small kingdom.”
“Right?” I laughed. “Less chance of rebellion.”
“He told me today that he gets a cut of everyone’s profits.”
“That’s true.”
“Yours, too?” he asked. “I hate to think he’s profiting off anyone, but mostly you.”
“I’m not sure what they did, but my Grandma and Mom managed to avoid that as well.”
“Wow,” he said. “That’s curious. Are there any other businesses that are exempt?”
“Not that I know of. Everyone complains about it, but nobody will do anything to stand up to him.”
“Why is everyone afraid of him?”
“Well, he’s not the nicest of guys. And since everyone abides by his rules, the crowd effect keeps everyone in line. Not to mention Sheriff Ross is basically his yes-man. Anything Bodhi says, Ross will enforce it.”
“That’s ridiculous,” he said.
“Yeah, I know,” I said. “I hate seeing people struggling while he sits up on his hill like a fucking tyrant.”
“Why are they so loyal to him?”
“That’s a good question, actually. They weren’t always friends, but Mom told me that after the ‘incident’ in high school, suddenly Bodhi was best friends with Will, Ross and Connor — he’s the judge in town now. Bodhi could shoot their mothers on Main Street, and they’d still kiss his ass.”
“What incident?”
I paused, wondering how much I should say. I’d said so much already, but it’s not like any of this was a secret. All the details, or lack thereof, were splayed across every newspaper in the state back then. It’s just that nobody talked about it anymore these days.
“Bodhi’s best friend went missing. Right before graduation, actually. Bryce Sampson was a football star and the most popular guy in school.”
“He just vanished?”
“Yep. Strangest thing. Disappeared without a trace, like something off a bad crime drama.”
“Was he ever found?”
“Nope. I wasn’t born yet, but I heard all about it from my Mom. She said the town searched for an entire week for him, but he was never found. But she said that Bodhi and Will, Connor and Ross were best friends after that. That they took the place of Bryce in Bodhi’s life. She said Bodhi was just like Bryce, a football star, homecoming king, all that typical stuff that comes with your family owning the town, I guess. The other boys were geeks — studious and nerdy. Will went off to college, but he came right back after he graduated and started working for Bodhi. The others stayed and quickly became his confidantes.”
“That is odd,” he shrugged. “And they’re still close?”
“Only three guys I ever see Bodhi hanging out with. Nobody else in town gets too close to him, because he’s such a bastard. I mean, he’s a bastard to them, too, but they stay loyal.”
“Interesting,” he said.
“Can we talk about something else?” I asked. “Talking about Green makes me nauseous.”
“Let’s talk about you.”
“Me?” he asked. “Not much to say really.”
“Tell me about where you live.”
“We live in a little compound, a clubhouse, if you will, just outside of Tillamook in the Tillamook forest. It’s surrounded by trees and incredibly peaceful.”
“You live there alone with Ryder and Grace?”
“No, there are others.”
“How many?”
He hesitated, looking away.
“A dozen or so,” he replied.
“Really? That’s a large family.”
“I suppose,” he said. “We’re not all related.”
“Then who are they?”
He shook his head, pursing his lips.
“Just friends,” he said. I wondered if he was being purposefully vague, because it felt like I was having to pull every detail from him. For the second time, I felt there was a lot more to Fury than he was revealing.
“And how do you work if you live in the middle of nowhere?”
“We um…” he said, hesitating again. “We fix bikes and stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
“Just random jobs and things like that,” he said.
Okay. Even more vague answers, which only left me more intrigued. However, now I was starting to think that maybe Fury and his friends were into illegal stuff. I mean, why not just answer me outright, otherwise? And not to be stereotypical, but those tattoos didn’t exactly scream law-abiding citizen.
“Are you a drug dealer?” I asked, bluntly.
He stopped, turning to me with surprise.
“No!” he exclaimed.
“Well, then why all the vague answers?” I demanded, gently.
“Look,” he said, running a hand through his dark hair. “We’re not criminals, okay?”
“Then what are you?”
“Just bikers,” he said. “We fix things. That’s all.”
“Fix things?”
“Bikes? And what else?”
He shook his head and looked away.
“That’s it,” he shrugged. I knew he was holding back but if I pressed him any harder, I’d sound like I was intruding, so I let it go. Getting the details of his life out of him was like pulling teeth and I knew it wasn’t because he was shy or reserved.
He had secrets.
“Why are you here?” I asked quietly, after a few minutes.
“You really want to know, Jackie?” he asked, turning and cupping my cheeks in his warm palms.
I nodded, staring up at him.
“I think I’m here because I was supposed to meet you. I’ve never felt the way I feel with you. Like I’ve found someone who’s more important in my life than myself. I don’t know where you came from, or why any of this is happening, and I know it’s probably way too soon to be saying this stuff but I can’t fucking stop thinking about you and when we’re together, it feels so fucking good I never want it to stop.”
He leaned down, kissing me gently, his lips warm and searching as I melted into his embrace. Maybe he wasn’t telling the truth. Maybe there were important details he was leaving out. I wasn’t so naive to think every man was an open book.
But what I did know was this: this man was kind and gentle. He may not have been completely on the up-and-up, but whatever he was hiding did not cancel out his softness. I’d never for a second felt in danger when I was with him, and I’d learned a long time ago to trust my instincts.
My instincts were telling me Fury was a good man.
I had to believe that.
I pulled away, smiling up at his warm eyes.
“Let’s go back to my place,” I whispered, grabbing his hand and leading the way back towards my home.
CHAPTER 31
FURY
Pulling myself out of Jackie’s warm bed to go to Green’s office was pure hell. We’d spent the night making love again, and I still hadn’t gotten enough of her.
I’d heard about desire like this. The kind that leaves you not just wanting more, but needing it, a yearning that burns straight through your gut. That’s what I was feeling.
Like no matter how much I feasted on her sweet flesh, I was still starving. No matter how many times I sank myself into her, no matter how many times we crashed over the edge of bliss together, that well would fill back up like a pool we could never drain.
It helped tremendously that she had already gone to work, but even the scent of her on the sheets was hard to part with.
I took a quick shower and jumped on my bike, my head full of images of her that wouldn’t go away, no matter how much I tried to focus on other things.
Green was already there, screaming into his cell phone once again. I wondered if he ever had regular conversations with people, or if all he knew how to do was demand things and throw tantrums.
“Will, if you don’t get this deal done today, you’re finished, do you understand me? I will bring you down like a diseased tree and you won’t know what hit you. Don’t fucking test me!”
His voice poured out of his office while I waited by Pearl’s desk for him to finish. The familiar thud against the wall told me he was off the phone. I walked to his door and knocked lightly. He looked up and greeted me with a grunt.
“Fury,” he nodded. “How you doing?”
“I’m good,” I said. “Still no movement on your New York deal?”
“No, and the deadline is looming. Will better step up to the plate or he’s going to regret it.”
“Anything I can do to help?”
“Not unless you want to go to New York and rough some people up for me?”
I shrugged. I’d roughed up a few people in my life and if it got me closer to Solid Ground’s goal of helping Molly, so be it.
“We’re not there yet,” he said, smiling slightly. “Although I’m impressed with your initiative.”
“Keep me posted,” I said. “Any break-ins last night?”
“Not that I could tell. But we’re keeping all the doors locked now.”
“Good,” I nodded. “I’m going to go over the footage and make sure it’s working correctly.”
“Thank you, Fury.”
“My pleasure,” I said, turning to walk out.
“You know, I meant what I said yesterday, Fury. If I had a son, I’d like him to be a lot like you.”
“That’s quite a compliment, thank you.”
“And because of that, I feel the need to speak up.”
“What about?” I asked.
“Rumor has it you’ve been spending some time with Jackie.”
“Jackie?”
“She’s a beautiful girl, I can certainly understand why you’d be attracted to her.”
“Is there a problem?”
“Well, she’s trash, Fury, plain and simple. Her grandmother was trash, her mother was trash. And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree with that one. Best if you just stay away. Besides, she’s the town pump. Probably slept with half the men in this town.”
“Is that so?” I asked, the heat of anger rising quickly in my chest. I took a deep breath, and then another, the urge to pummel him taking every ounce of strength I had to resist.
“I mean, do whatever you want, of course. I just thought you should know what you’re putting your dick into. It’s not pretty.”
“I appreciate your concern,” I said, my fists clenching at my sides.
“Good. Let me know if anything turns up on the video.”
“Will do,” I nodded, rage pounding in my head. I wanted to rip him into pieces talking about Jackie like that. Jackie was a beautiful and pure light, why in the world would he say those things about her? I chose to ignore him, doing my best to let his words roll off my back, but fuck, it was difficult.
I walked out and went to the room in the back of the building where Ryder had set up all the video monitors and equipment. Luckily, I was able to scroll through it quickly,
looking for any signs of activity at both Green’s office and his home.
It took a few minutes before something popped up.
My eyes widened when a figure emerged from the shadows and tried the doorknob of the back door of Green’s office building. It was dark, but I could just make out the face of the small, hunched over figure with the small overhead light.
“Well, I’ll be damned…” I muttered, rewinding and watching it over and over.
CHAPTER 32
MOLLY
Benji and I sat next to each other on the loveseat in the attic, rifling through a bunch of old pictures I’d found. Lucky lounged at our feet, snoring loudly.
“My dad is talking about leaving,” Benji said, his voice sullen and sad.
“To go where?”
“He didn’t say. I guess things are getting bad with your dad at work. He said there’ve been some break-ins at our house.”
“Who would break in to your house?”
“I don’t know, but he said your house was broken into, also.”
“Really?” I asked. “I didn’t know that. I guess that’s why Dad had that guy come over.”
“Yeah,” he said, kicking his feet as he stared out the window. “I don’t know what’s going on. But Molly, there’s no way I can leave you.”
“Nobody ever leaves this place,” I said, laughing slightly.
“He seemed pretty serious.”
“It won’t happen, Benji, don’t worry,” I said.
“But what if it does? What do we do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean,” he said, looking down at his hands before turning his eyes back up to me. “Maybe we should leave. Together. Me and you.”
“Benji, what are you talking about?”
“We could run away. Go somewhere where they can’t find us. Where your Dad can’t hurt you anymore…”
“Benji, that’s ridiculous. We’re ten years old!”
“So what?”
“Well, we don’t have any money of our own, first of all.”
“I have five hundred dollars saved up from my allowance. And my grandma gave me a collection of antique gold coins and she said they’re worth at least a thousand dollars.”
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