by April Lust
After Chuckie boarded the bus, I called for a cab. Every few seconds, I checked the window. I knew it was stupid, but I was still worried about Randy and Nick popping up out of nowhere again. I didn’t think they would have known where I lived, but then again, how did they find out where I worked? They must have been watching me. There were dozens of times over the past few weeks where I’d been outside, playing with Chuckie or working in the garden. It would have been easy for a bike to cruise by, snap a photo, then drive off. I shuddered. The whole situation was making me uncomfortable. Even though Trey had threatened both of those assholes, I had a feeling I hadn’t seen the last of them. Guys like that didn’t usually listen to reason, especially not when it came from another biker.
I need to get out of this town, I thought to myself. It was so stupid that I’d stayed. After all, my parents didn’t know about Chuckie. I could have moved before he was born, but I chose to stay. In case they ever came around, or in case Trey ever came back. Thinking about Trey made my mouth set into a line. Damn him. There was no way he’d ever get close to me or Chuckie ever again.
When the cab came, I waited until it was in the driveway before leaving the house. The street looked quiet — a typical weekday morning — but now that I was suspicious, it was alarmingly clear just how easy it would have been to spy on me all that time.
“The library, please,” I told the cabbie.
He caught my eye in the rearview mirror and winked. “Going to do a little studying?”
I shuddered. Gross. “No, I work there,” I said calmly. “I’m a librarian.”
The cabbie chuckled. “I bet you are,” he said before turning on the radio and tunelessly singing along.
The ride was a short one, but it still came to more money than I would have liked. I counted out some worn bills and passed them over. The cab ride, plus tip, would mean Chuckie and I would be eating pancakes at least one night this week. I felt frustrated and angry inside; even though I’d worked hard to bring us above this, I hated just scraping by. Chuckie didn’t notice now because he was too young. If he’d been older, I would have felt ashamed.
As the cabbie slowed to a stop in front of the library, I blinked. “Thank you,” I said automatically. For a moment, I thought I’d seen…no, it couldn’t be. I’d told him to stay away! I’d threatened him!
Trey approached me as soon as I’d climbed out of the cab. Swallowing hard, I started walking towards the entrance to the library.
“Angel, wait,” Trey called out. “I need to talk to you.”
Chapter 9
Trey
I was angrier than I’d ever felt in my entire life, and it was all because of Angel. Well, Angel and Damien. God damn them both, I thought bitterly. First, Angel disappeared. Then she had my fucking kid and didn’t even tell me! I laughed humorlessly. This was rich, all right. This was the fucking funniest thing I’d ever heard in my goddamn life. I spent my whole childhood growing up without a father and hating it, and then the first girl I fuck does the same thing to me. It made me so angry because she didn’t have any right to keep me shut out. It didn’t matter whether or not Angel and I worked out in the long run; I still deserved to be around for my son. A kid does better with both parents, and I didn’t want him growing up to hate me because I’d never been around.
I shook my head. This was why I didn’t do relationships anymore. Sure, it might start out all well and good, but after a while, shit was bound to hit the fan. When that kid grew up, he was gonna start asking a lot of questions. And I wanted to be around to answer them.
Damien was another story altogether. I’d always had an uneasy feeling about him, but this was unprecedented. The Steel Demons had always been on our case, ever since we first caught them running guns. Now, Damien wanted to make sure the Skullbreakers would bend to his will. Well, good fucking luck, buddy, I thought grimly. Good fucking luck.
I didn’t want to think Damien, my old buddy, my former best friend, would be dangerous. But I knew better; thinking like that would only lead me down a dangerous path in the future. If I didn’t assume the worst, the worst was likely to happen. And if Angel didn’t understand that, she and Chuckie were in serious trouble. My son, I thought in awe. I still wasn’t used to having a son. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to the idea. But used to it or not, if I didn’t act soon, he’d be in just as much danger as Angel. The Steel Demons loved using their enemies’ children as bargaining chips. I prayed desperately that Chuckie would go his entire life without ever meeting Damien.
“Angel, I have to talk to you,” I said as I grabbed her arm and dragged her inside the library. At first, she resisted, but I was stronger.
“No,” Angel said.
I could feel her pulse pounding in her body and I knew she was just as scared as I felt. She had the look of a frightened rabbit, and suddenly I was hit with the overwhelming urge to wrap my arms around her and comfort her. “Yes, Angel,” I said in a low voice. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but it’s true.”
Angel closed her eyes and shook her head defiantly. It wasn’t a gesture I’d seen in years, and the impact of the memory was powerful.
“I don’t want to listen to anything you have to say,” she said softly. The anger welled up in me and I grabbed her arm and looked into her green eyes.
“Damien knows about you,” I said in a low voice. I figured if she wasn’t going to listen to me, I’d probably have to scare her into reacting.
Angel wrinkled her nose and tried to pull her arm back. It was obvious she wasn’t aware of the threat Damien posed. She giggled nervously. “Who’s Damien?”
I licked my lips. Even though I was filled with rage, filled with anger, filled with hurt and betrayal and confusion, I couldn’t deny that being around Angel was doing something to me. Even the most inane of her gestures drove me wild. When she looked at me with curiosity, I imagined it was because I had said something to turn her on. She was just as feisty as ever, that Angel. “He’s a bad man, Angel,” I told her sternly. “And if you don’t listen to me, he’s going to hurt you.”
She bit her lip. “Fine,” she said softly. “Come with me.” Angel led me to a corner of the library. The whole building was quiet, but in this corner of sunshine and dusty books, I felt like we were alone in the world. The sunlight played off of her red hair, turning it to liquid copper whenever she stood in a patch of light. Her green eyes glinted like jewels as she focused her shrewd gaze on me. She looked as beautiful as ever, and my cock twitched in my pants thinking about what it would feel like to take her as my own once again.
“Angel, I know you don’t want to hear this,” I said. I leaned down so close that I got a whiff of her delicious scent — fruit and musk — and I groaned inwardly. I was fucking pathetic. Here I was, a twenty-eight-year-old man, and I could barely keep it together in front of an old girlfriend. She’s not just an old girlfriend, mate, I thought grimly. She was the only woman you ever loved, and you can’t stop thinking about her. Not even for a fucking second.
“I don’t,” Angel said pertly. I saw her breath was coming fast and shallow and she kept swallowing nervously. Even though she was able to hold it together pretty well, I knew she must be feeling just as unsettled by all of this as I was. After all, it wasn’t every day I waltzed back into her life.
“But you have to listen,” I said sternly. “Damien was a friend of mine, a long time ago.” I paused. I had been just about ready to say “back when we were together,” but it didn’t seem right. I couldn’t acknowledge it, not to her face. I couldn’t let her see how much it had damaged me. “He was an old friend who turned bad when I didn’t wanna run down the same bad path,” I said. “He’s in a rival MC, and they’re into crooked shit. Guns, drugs, pussy. They do all of that, and it’s not good, Angel.”
She shrugged. “So what does he want with me?”
Damn! I looked away. “He thinks you’re a hot little number and he’s thinking about making you his,” I lied. There was no way
I could tell Angel that the only reason Damien was interested in her was to hurt me. I couldn’t let her have that leverage over me. Not yet, not by a long shot. Even if Angel would never be mine again, I couldn’t tell her just how deep a hold she’d had on me.
Angel tossed her red hair. “I can take care of myself,” she said stubbornly.
I burst out laughing. “I don’t believe that, not for a fucking second,” I told her. “After what happened the other night? Seriously?”
A delicious warm flush covered Angel’s cheeks. “Fine,” she snipped. “Don’t listen to me. But I got along just fine without you,” she said softly. Her blush colored as she spoke; I guessed that somehow she hadn’t meant to clue me in about just how well she’d done without me around.
Our past was like a fire in the room that we could both feel but neither of us could see. The hot air of past sins and transgressions licked at our backs as we stared at each other, and the smoke of lust clouding our heads was making it harder than ever to breathe. I couldn’t even look at Angel without wanting reach out, grab her, and crush her to my body, just as I had done the other night at the bar. She’d yielded to me instantly, that was the strength of my pull on her. Now that she knew who I was, what would it be like next time?
“Angel, this is serious,” I told her. Her name tasted like candy in my mouth. “And if you don’t pay attention, you and Chuckie are both going to be in danger.” I hadn’t wanted to drag the kid into it, but if that would make Angel listen, that was what I’d have to do.
Predictably, Angel’s mouth dropped open. “You can’t mean that,” she said softly. “Chuckie hasn’t done anything to hurt anyone. Why would Damien want to bother my son?”
“To get to you,” I said simply. “I need you and Chuckie to stay with me for a while. I need to take care of you, okay?”
Angel shook her head. “That’s not going to happen,” she said. She looked into my eyes and I felt a bolt of lust course through my body. “Not a chance, Trey.”
The way she said my name sent shivers through my body. “You have to let me do this,” I growled as I leaned in close. “If you don’t, you’re seriously going to regret it. What happens if Chuckie is kidnapped? What happens if you’re kidnapped and you have no idea what happened to your son? What are you going to do then?”
Angel crossed her arms over her chest, looking defiant. She took a step closer and stared into my eyes until our foreheads were practically touching. “Look, asshole,” she said with gritted teeth. If I hadn’t been so shocked by her change in tone, I probably would have laughed. “I know the other night wasn’t a great indication, but for the most part, I am great at taking care of myself. And just because you haven’t been around doesn’t give you the right to judge me on that, you understand?” She pointed a finger in my face and I took a step backwards. “I’ve done a great job providing for myself and Chuckie, and that’s more than I can say about you!”
The anger swirled through my body and I had to make a conscious effort to close my eyes and fight it off. What the fuck was she talking about? She didn’t know anything! She was the one who left me!
“Fine,” I snapped. “You really want to keep up that selfish attitude? Do it, then. I’m sure you can’t wait to see Chuckie, our son, hurt. Just keep trying to take care of yourself and wait.”
Angel’s eyes filled with tears and her face lost its look of resolve. She blinked and I could tell I’d really said something to hurt her. I felt some of my anger melting away as Angel sniffled and reached up to wipe at her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “But you really need to think about his safety, Angel. You both need to stay with me until this all dies down.”
Angel swallowed hard. She was still just as pretty as she’d been, but she looked softer now, more like a woman. Where she used to be almost angular, she was still slim but there was a little roundness to her belly. I imagined putting my hand against it and cupping the hot skin. The image made my cock jump in my pants and I felt a shiver of lust.
“I’m sorry, too,” Angel said. She bit her lip and looked deeply into my eyes.
Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed her and pressed my lips to hers. Her mouth was soft, yielding, just like it had always been, and I slipped my tongue between her soft lips. Angel wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled me close, pressing her dynamite body against mine. I could feel her nipples stiffening into little pebbles of desire and pressing against my chest. My cock twitched and chafed in my pants and I was rock hard in seconds. As Angel slipped her little hands down my back, I nibbled her lower lip between my teeth. She moaned softly and arched her back. My hands wormed around her body and squeezed the cheeks of her ass until she was moaning and grinding her hips against me. Her ass was just as succulent as I could remember, and just as firm.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, she broke apart from me and jumped back. Her lip was glistening with saliva and I could see her pulse pounding in her throat.
“Leave me alone,” Angel said in a shaky voice.
I shook my head and laughed. “Fat chance, mama,” I told her. “I’m going outside. I’m going to wait for you until your shift is over. Then, we’re going to pick up Chuckie and take you both over to my place.”
Angel opened and closed her mouth without speaking. I thought she was going to try fighting me again, but finally she sighed. “Okay,” she said. “Fine. You win.”
Chapter 10
Angel
When I left the library at the end of my shift, I wasn’t surprised to see Trey in the parking lot. He was sitting on the back of his bike and giving me a cocky smile. Whenever I saw him look at me like that, my insides melted. I hated that he inspired that reaction, but I couldn’t help it. Trey was like oil to my water — we’d always clash, but we looked so damn good together. Part of me wanted him to bend me over and take me right there and then. The other part of me remembered my responsibilities, my life. My son. Our son, I corrected myself. Our son.
“You ready to go get your boy?” Trey winked at me and I felt my stomach do a flip-flop.
I nodded. I almost corrected him — the words “our boy” would have fallen out of my mouth without a second thought. But when I realized he’d likely spoken that way for a reason, I changed my mind. A numbness sat over me. He knew Chuckie was my son, the son I’d raised alone. And he apparently didn’t want that to change.
“Trey, this really isn’t necessary,” I said, giving him my fakest smile. “I mean, we’d only be in your way. You know that’s true.”
Trey sighed. “Stop trying to talk me out of it, Angel,” he said. “You know once my mind is made up, it can’t be changed.”
“Nice to see some things haven’t changed,” I snapped. I blushed as soon as the words were out of my mouth. I was such a bitch sometimes! No wonder no one else had pursued me since he left.
“Angel, come the fuck on,” Trey said softly. “I’m not fucking around. You both need to come with me, and the sooner we do it, the better. Get on,” he said, tapping the back of his bike. “Leave your car here.”
I shook my head. “No way,” I said quickly. “I need to drive, okay? That’s my one caveat.”
Trey set his mouth in a thin line. I knew he wanted to argue with me, but he kept his mouth shut. I could tell he was probably more stubborn than he’d been as a teenager, when I’d last known him. Back then, it was impossible to get him to change his mind about anything. I thought I’d mellowed with age, but being around Trey was showing me that I still had a spine of steel underneath everything else. He was a different story; I could tell he was even more stubborn than he had been all those years ago.
“Fine,” Trey muttered. “You drive. We’ll go get Chuckie, and then we’re going to my place.”
He gunned his bike and was out of the library parking lot before I could even turn the engine on my old station wagon. I rolled my eyes. For someone who wanted to protect me, he was doing a great job of showing off.
When we pulled up in my driveway, Lindsey ran out in the front yard. After what had happened before, she was totally right to be cautious. But I couldn’t shake the sense that she was also annoyed, like somehow this was more than she’d ever wanted to deal with. I shook my head. Now I was just being paranoid. If Lindsey knew what was going on, she’d want Chuckie to be safe, just like I did.
“Hi,” I said. A guilty look crept on my face as I looked into Lindsey’s naïve face. “I’m taking Chuckie on a little trip for a while.”
Lindsey frowned. She put her hands on her slim hips. “Why? What’s going on? What about school?”
“He’ll be fine,” I said. “He’s smart; he’ll catch up. We need to stay with Trey for a little while.”
Lindsey’s eyes narrowed and went immediately to my arms. I cringed when I realized she was checking for track marks. I’d never given her a reason to suspect my behavior, but I knew I was acting strangely. After all, she was Chuckie’s caretaker. If I had been in the same position, I probably would have acted the same way.