End Game (Sinners MC Book 2)

by Jennifer Hanks

  “That’s not unusual at thirty-two weeks either.” I shared what I’d learned.

  Becs smiled. “That’s what the nurses told me.” Her smile slowly faded. “I just can’t imagine leaving the hospital while he stays.”

  I could understand that, and I felt nothing but sympathy for her in this situation. I was just about to tell her that when Bear’s palm pressed tighter against my back, and a tingle shot through my body. I needed to get out of here before I did something stupid like lean my body against his because, at that moment, it was all I could think about.

  I gestured behind me toward the door. “I have to get going.” She nodded, and I continued. “I’m so happy you were able to hold Wyatt today. I’ll text you later, okay?”

  “Okay, Josie. Thanks again for the shirts.”

  “You’re welcome.” I smiled across the bed at Jack and Anna. “It was nice meeting you.”

  “You too,” Jack replied. “I’m sure we’ll be seeing more of you.”

  I had no idea how or why, but I nodded and moved out around Bear, forcing him to drop his hand. I was at the foot of the bed when Bear called out my name, so I turned.

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  “No, you stay.” I waved him off and walked backward toward the door. “But thanks for the offer.”

  I didn’t wait for his response. Instead, I hurried from the room and toward the elevators, only breathing a sigh of relief when the doors closed and I was alone inside. Leaning back against the wall, I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to shake off the thoughts of Bear that lingered in my mind. He was attractive. Actually, he was more than attractive, but there had to be more than physical attraction. We both obviously rubbed each other the wrong way, and I was convinced after he moved to stand close and put his hand on my back tonight that he did it just to get a reaction out of me.

  And it worked.

  Just like every other damn time.

  The elevator dinged, and I opened my eyes just as the doors parted. I walked down the long hallway until I came to the doors leading me outside.

  It happened while I was crossing the parking lot. That tingle along the back of my neck. The sense I had that something wasn’t right; something was out of place or felt wrong. Lifting my head, I glanced around, and at first, I saw nothing. Hurrying my steps, I controlled my breathing while moving around parked cars until I was standing by my own.

  That was when I saw him.

  He couldn’t have been more than ten feet away, leaning back against his motorcycle, his muscled arms crossed over his broad chest, his eyes on me. I hit unlock on my car but kept my eyes on him while he pushed to standing at his full height. Glancing down, I read the name on his black vest but quickly looked back up. He jerked his chin up once before swinging his leg over the seat of his bike and starting the engine. He was out of the parking lot when I finally yanked open my own car door and sank down into the seat. Closing the door, I hit the lock button and laid my forehead on the steering wheel, wondering what the hell I was supposed to do with this information.

  But more importantly, who was I supposed to tell?

  I gave myself another minute to catch my breath before digging my cell phone from my purse and pulling up Bull’s name in my text messages.

  Me: Something unusual just happened in the hospital parking lot.

  I glanced around the parking lot, still feeling a little shaky, and breathed a sigh of relief when bubbles appeared on my phone screen, indicating he was answering me.

  Bull: You alone

  I snorted out loud at his lack of punctuation. I wondered if he laughed at my messages that always included full sentences and punctuation.

  Me: Yes. Just getting ready to leave and go to my apartment.

  Bull: Meet in the parking lot

  Parking lot? Which parking lot? I read back over our texts so far, but it wasn’t clear.

  Me: Of my building or the hospital?

  Bull: Building

  Josie: Okay.

  Bull: Don’t go in alone

  Josie. Okay.

  I put my phone back and started the engine. Scanning the parking lot one more time, I pulled out but kept an eye behind me as I drove home. Although, I probably didn’t have to, considering I would most likely hear his motorcycle if he was following me. I pulled into the parking lot behind my building a few minutes later and immediately saw Bull leaning against his motorcycle with his eyes on me. I quickly found my spot, turned the engine off, and stepped out before coming face-to-face with Bull.

  “We’ll talk upstairs.”

  I nodded, and we walked quietly to the building, stepped on the elevator, and rode it to my floor. We were just inside the apartment when Bull closed the door behind us and leaned against it, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “What happened?”

  I tossed my purse on the counter in my kitchen and walked to the coffeepot, quickly preparing it. When it began brewing, I turned back around and faced Bull, who had made his way into my kitchen. “I was visiting Becs and walked back to my car alone. There was a man in a black vest leaning against his motorcycle parked a few spots from my car.”

  “Did he talk to you?”

  I put my hands on my hips. “No. He just watched me, and when I opened my car door, he sort of nodded his head before he got on his bike and pulled out.”

  “Did you notice anything on his vest?”

  “It said Hawk on the left front, but that’s all I saw.”

  “No club name?”

  I shook my head. “No.”

  When I heard the coffeepot finishing up, I reached into the cabinet right beside it and pulled down a cup. “Would you like some coffee?”

  His eyes flicked from the cup in my hand to the open cabinet, and he grinned. “You do have a problem.”

  “Nerves are a bitch,” I admitted.

  He grinned. “You aren’t wrong.” He pulled his cell phone from his front pocket. “I’ll take a cup. Gonna give Gunner a call.”

  I didn’t have time to answer before he was heading toward the sliding glass doors in my living room. He stepped outside while I poured our cups. I set out the milk and sugar and let his cup sit close by while I wandered into my living room and took a seat on the couch.

  He opened the doors and walked back inside. “Yours is on the counter. I didn’t know what you took in it.”

  He nodded and shoved his phone back into his pocket while walking toward the kitchen. I took a few sips from the cup and grinned when the flavor hit my tongue. Bull walked back over and sat down on the other side of my couch.

  I turned and lifted my leg onto the couch so I could see him. “What did Gunner say?”

  He leaned forward, his big hands wrapped around the cup and looked over his shoulder at me. “Said he wants us to keep this to ourselves for now.”

  I raised one eyebrow. “Not tell Bear?”

  “He has enough on his plate.”

  “I agree,” I admitted.

  “But…” He took a drink.

  I held the cup between my two hands and laid my head against the back of the couch. “But he doesn’t strike me as the type who likes to be kept in the dark.”

  Bull grunted. “He’s not.” He sighed heavily before continuing. “Gunner’s gonna do some digging. See who the fuck that was and why he was watching you, and then give Bear the information he needs.”

  “What should I do in the meantime?” I inquired.

  “You got a second bedroom?”

  My eyebrows drew together. “Yes.”

  “It have a bed in it?”

  “Yes,” I repeated more slowly, starting to feel anxious about where this was obviously going.

  “Good.” He took a long drink before he shot me a grin over his shoulder. “Looks like we’re gonna be roommates.”

  Crap. I was afraid he was going to say that.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEN

  JOSIE

  Becs: They’re sending me home today.

  I sa
t back in my desk chair when the message appeared on my phone and frowned. She wasn’t ready to leave the hospital, at least not emotionally. When I visited her Sunday, she’d all but said she didn’t want to go home until Wyatt could, but that wasn’t an option. I felt bad for leaving as abruptly as I had after she admitted she wasn’t ready to leave her son, and I owed her an explanation. Or at least one I was willing to share with her.

  Grabbing my phone, I tapped it against my palm when something occurred to me. Glancing at the clock on the wall, I saw it was almost four in the afternoon. I could technically leave. Considering it for only a moment longer, I began typing out my response.

  Me: Do you have someone picking you up? I can leave work if you need me to.”

  When the bubbles appeared, alerting me she was replying, I settled back into my desk chair more comfortably and waited.

  Becs: Actually, I’m supposed to call Bear when I’m ready.

  I just positioned my fingers to respond when the bubbles appeared again, so I waited.

  Becs: But he was here all morning. I feel like I’ve been a pain in the ass lately.

  Smiling, I reached up and signed out of my computer before texting her back.

  Me: I’m leaving work now. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes.

  Becs: Okay. Thanks, Josie.

  Grabbing my sweater from the back of the chair, I laid it over my arm and slung my purse over my shoulder. I usually hung around work well past when the other staff left for several reasons, but sadly one of them was because I wasn’t in a hurry to go home. I walked out of my office and locked the door behind me, not at all surprised to see the confusion on my secretary’s face. This was probably the first time since starting here that I was leaving before her.

  “I’m heading out, Nancy.”

  “Have a nice night, Ms. Carmichael.” She responded without missing a beat.

  “You too.”

  I’d just exited the building and was heading to my car when something red caught my eye. Slowing down, I saw a kid walking down the sidewalk in front of the school wearing a red hoodie with the hood pulled up over his head.

  Recognizing him right away because he’d worn that same hoodie at the bonfires this summer, I called out. “Dominic.”

  He stopped and turned to face me. “Hey.”

  Tilting my head to the side, I turned and headed in his direction. He shoved his hands in his pockets while I approached.

  I was just in front of him when I saw the black and blue mark marring the skin beneath his left eye. “What happened?”

  His eyes flicked around until finally settling on mine, and I barely held my sigh. Dominic had been a seventeen-year-old kid in camp but turned eighteen only a week ago and would age out of the system after he graduates high school this spring. He’d also been the most difficult kid to reach this summer. At the beginning of the summer, he’d stayed to himself and, when approached, gave the staff nothing but attitude. By the end of summer, we’d broken through, or at least a few of us had. Now, I felt like I was looking at the boy I’d met at the beginning of summer all over again.

  “Wanted to keep my lunch money.”

  Yep, the old Dominic was back. All attitude and bullshit answers to avoid what was really going on. I’d long since guessed his foster home was causing a lot more problems than it was solving, but because it had been summer, he hadn’t had to deal with that.

  Which meant I hadn’t had to deal with it.

  That was no longer the case, and I wasn’t about to let this kid slip through the cracks when he had so much potential.

  I thought about Becs and cursed under my breath. I wanted to meet with Dominic, but I promised Becs I’d pick her up and a promise was a promise. I slid my purse strap back to my shoulder when it slid down. “Can you come to my office tomorrow?”

  “What for?”

  “To talk.”

  He shook his head. “Nothin’ to talk about.”

  “I disagree,” I declared.

  “Can’t miss class.”

  I knew that excuse well, but I wasn’t falling for it. “I have to go pick up a friend from the hospital right now, but if you’re worried about missing class, I could meet you in a couple of hours.”

  I was calling his bluff, and he knew it, but I was hoping it would give him a little glimpse back to camp, back to a time when he’d learned to trust me and finally opened up about the shitty foster families. He wouldn’t point fingers at the family he currently lived with because he’d been placed with his twin sisters, who were eight years younger than him, and he didn’t want to leave them. He felt responsible for them, and he took that seriously.

  He looked down at his shoes, and I waited patiently. I needed to find out what was going on, and if he refused to meet with me, then I’d move on to his social worker, but I’d much rather talk with Dominic.

  When he lifted his head and met my eyes, I knew I’d lost him.

  He shook his head. “Can’t.” He jerked up his chin and turned before continuing down the sidewalk.

  “Dammit,” I muttered under my breath but then quickly called out what I considered my last-ditch effort. “I’ll be at Joe’s Café at six.”

  He didn’t respond, but I hadn’t expected him to before I turned toward my car. Throwing my stuff in the back, I got in, started the engine, and was heading across town in under a minute.

  After pulling into the hospital parking lot, I parked and went inside before grabbing the elevator and heading up to her room. Walking quickly, I came to her room, knocked softly, and quietly opened the door.

  Stepping inside, I saw Becs sitting on the side of the bed with her small bag packed beside her, but she was looking down at her hands folded in her lap. Quietly, I moved to sit down beside her. When I heard her sniff, I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her to me.

  “I hate that he has to stay.” She choked on a small sob.

  I swallowed hard when I felt tears at the back of my eyes. “I would too.”

  “How can I just leave him behind?”

  “Because you want the best for him.” I ran my hand along her arm when her head landed on my shoulder. “You’re doing exactly what he needs right now. And as much as that hurts you, it benefits him.”

  “I know.”

  When she sniffed again, I grabbed my purse and pulled out a small pack of tissues. After handing her one, I took one for myself and wiped my own eyes. I couldn’t imagine leaving my child behind. Hell, I didn’t want to leave the camp kids behind, and they weren’t even mine, so I felt her pain.

  She blew her nose before speaking again. “Do you want kids?”

  “Yeah,” I replied immediately. I’d always known I wanted a big family. It just never seemed to be in the cards for me.

  She finally looked up and met my eyes. Hers were rimmed with redness and swollen from what had to have been a long crying jag. I frowned and hugged her closer to my side. “I’m just warning you, this part sucks.”

  I huffed out a laugh, which earned me a small smile from her. “What are you going to do when he leaves for college or whatever he chooses to do?”

  “Obviously, I’m gonna be a mess,” she admitted with a chuckle. She took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. “Okay, I think I’m ready to go.”

  “Did you set up a schedule with the nurses?”

  “Yeah.” She nodded. “I’m allowed to come back tonight from six to eight.”

  “Okay.” I stood and helped her to her feet. “Then let’s get you home to take a shower and eat something good before you’re due back.”

  “That actually sounds good,” she admitted.

  I grabbed her bag, and we headed to the door. She went to the nurses’ station and spoke softly for a moment while I waited. When she was finished, we padded to the elevator and stepped inside.

  She was quiet, and I recognized she needed that, so I stayed silent while we crossed the parking lot to my car. We got in, and I started the engine before glancing at her. “
I can’t believe this, but I have no idea where you live.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever become friends with someone as quickly as you.”

  “Me either,” I admitted. “But I’m glad. I’m usually bad at making friends.”

  She laughed again. “Me too. Plus, they usually either want to sleep with my brother or another MC guy, or they’re afraid of them. Either way, I end up with no friend.”

  “You have Maggie and Kat.”

  “That’s true,” she acknowledged. “But they’re fairly new friends for me, and neither wants to sleep with my brother.”

  I didn’t respond because that would mean admitting I’d almost slept with her brother, so I was relieved when she gave me her address, and I could ignore that statement altogether. I backed out and headed across town, listening as she gave me directions to a small neighborhood just outside of town and probably only a few minutes from her brother’s MC.

  “You can pull into either of the spots labeled 4A.”

  “Okay.” I nodded, pulled in, and found the spots labeled 4A right in front of a townhouse.

  She immediately pushed her door open, so I did the same and grabbed her bag from the back seat. I followed her as we climbed a few stairs, and she unlocked the front door before pushing it open. We walked into an open layout living room and kitchen. It was decorated sparsely, but it had amazing light due to the large windows and patio doors across the back of the house. She walked to the kitchen and straight to the refrigerator, where she got out a bottle of water and held one up for me.

  I shook my head. “No, thanks.”

  I placed her bag on the large island and sat down on one of the stools. “Your townhouse is beautiful.”

  “It’s not mine.” She lifted the bottle and took a long drink before lowering it to the counter. “I live here with Bear right now.”

  I gestured around the place, my eyes wide. “This is Bear’s place?”

  She nodded and smiled. “Why do you look so surprised?”

  “I thought he lived at the clubhouse like Bull.”

  “No, he likes his own space.” She shrugged. “When I told him I was pregnant, he talked me into moving in with him since this is a three-bedroom and my apartment was a one-bedroom.”