“Joshua, you know you can change your mind when you’re making a mistake,” I said. “You don’t have to go through with things like this.”
“I mean, I like girls,” he shrugged.
I gave him a look that told him to drop the act, and his shoulders sagged. “I know what this is really about, and I want you to stop. You are better than this life, and if you get out of there while you still have a chance, this isn’t going to follow you around forever.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said nervously. His facial expression told me otherwise.
“You can insist that all you want, but I know the truth,” I said. “I want you to step out of this, right now.”
The bell rang, and he looked relieved. “I’ve got to get to class. Can I have my note?”
“I think it would be better if I hung onto it,” I said. “Hurry up, you don’t want to be late.”
He gave me a look and I smiled. I knew he wasn’t happy with me, but I wasn’t going to cave in. I was trying my best to save him from a life of crime and violence. At his age, he couldn’t see that now and I knew he didn’t appreciate it.
He was worth far more than he thought, and I wouldn’t give up on him. But, as he walked down the hall away from me, I noticed the look he gave me over his shoulder. There wasn’t any respect. There wasn’t any of the warmth that had been there when he started at the school. There wasn’t anything but anger and hatred.
My stomach fluttered, but I kept smiling. I wasn’t going to show him any of the emotions that were going on inside. He needed to think that I wasn’t going to be intimidated by him and his behavior. I kept an eye on him for the rest of the day, and I had a feeling he was aware.
I had promised myself a long time ago I was going to do whatever it took to take care of these kids, and I meant it. Even if it made them hate me in the process.
I sighed as I headed home. it had been a long day. I kept an eye out for Joshua, but he didn’t show up to school again. I hadn’t seen him since he walked out the doors the day before, and I worried he wasn’t going to be back at all this time.
He could have been out late despite the warning I gave him not to be, and he could have gotten himself hurt or arrested. I didn’t want to think about that and refused to let my mind go there. But the possibility was present, and I couldn’t shake it easily.
At the same time, he could have been avoiding me. He was clearly pissed off at me for taking the note, though it was meaningless to me. I didn’t know what it meant, who it was for, or where it was going. Hell, I could have handed it to anyone I knew, and they wouldn’t know what it meant, either.
But it clearly meant something to him, and he wasn’t happy to part with it. I had no regrets, however. I would have felt worse if I had let him go through with putting it in the envelope and taking it with him after school.
Sure, he might have written another one, but then, if it was meant to be left for a student, he might not have been able to get it to the right place in time. There were so many possibilities, my mind was spinning.
All the worries went out the window, however, when I pulled up in front of my house and saw Cutter’s bike in the driveway. He was the last person I wanted to see right now, and I had a feeling he was going to be in his usual bad mood. After the way the week had gone, it was likely worse than usual.
But he was waiting on the porch, and there was no avoiding him now.
“Cutter!” I said, feigning a smile. “Thanks for not leaving a bloody handprint on my window this time.”
He didn’t smile as he rose and stepped off the porch. I hadn’t told him a thing about the day before, but for some reason, that’s where my mind went. The look on his face told me something was wrong, and I immediately went on high alert.
“Is everything alright?” I asked.
“We need to talk,” he said. “Inside. Right now.”
9
Trip
Fuck. This is a mistake. It’s a mistake. There’s no doubt about it, this is a goddamn mistake. You should back out of it now while you still have the chance.
But what better way to keep tabs on Cutter and what he’s up to than this?
I was in my truck, on my way to Barstow to pick up Cutter’s sister. He’d personally ridden to Ridgecrest the day before to talk to me, beg me even, to keep her safe.
She had evidently been threatened by the cartel, and he felt she would be better off in my care. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but I seized the opportunity to strike a bargain with him:
Keep the drugs and guns out of Ridgecrest, fuck off of my men, and I’ll keep her safe.
I didn’t even know Cutter had a sister, so I was preparing for the female version of himself. Ugly, bitchy, nothing I wanted to deal with but something I’d put up with to get my way.
Sounded about right.
I pulled up in front of the address he gave me and I recognized his bike out front. I got out of the truck and he opened the door, walking out with a bag in his hand.
“She’s not happy about this and she can be more than a handful, so I hope you can manage her,” he said.
I gave him a look. “I did three tours in the desert; how hard can this be?”
“Meg get out here! Your ride’s here!” he shouted over his shoulder. There was shouting coming from inside the house, but I couldn’t make out any of the words.
Then, his sister appeared. If it were possible to knock someone over with a feather, it could have happened to me.
I took one look at her and immediately my hand went to the back of my head to the exact spot where she’d knocked me with the bottle.
She stopped short on the lawn, the expression on her face clearly indicating she was thinking the same thing.
“This is Trip. Trip, Megan,” Cutter said. “Now get out of here.”
“What, that’s it? That’s the only introduction I get?” Megan asked. “And you’re sending me off with this guy?”
“I know him and he’s going to keep you safe!” Cutter snapped.
“I don’t need to be kept safe!” she argued, but he grabbed her by the elbow, leading her to the truck. He was talking fiercely into her ear the entire time, and I rolled my eyes. Now everything made sense. I was feeling less and less thrilled with the plan by the second, but Cutter seemed eager to get her out of town.
“You hold up your end of the bargain, and I’ll hold up mine,” he said after shutting his sister in the vehicle.
I shook his hand. He clearly had no idea how she and I already knew each other, and I wasn’t about to tell him.
“Likewise,” I said. “Likewise.”
“I don’t want to go with you,” Megan said as soon as I got in the truck.
“It’s for your own safety,” I replied.
“What about my kids?” she snapped.
“You have kids?” I asked in surprise, looking at her. She gave me a dirty look.
“I’m a school counselor. They need me here. Especially with everything that’s going on.”
“They’ll be fine,” I assured her. “And hopefully this isn’t going to last very long.”
“Don’t bullshit me! You know this shit can go on for months,” she said.
“And exactly what kind of shit are we talking about?” I asked, giving her an inquisitive look. She gave me another dirty one in exchange, and I smiled.
“You think this is so funny, don’t you?” she said. “You and my brother, just packing me off like a child.”
“Cutter’s not here,” I said.
“For the first time in my life, I’d rather be with him,” she announced.
“Too bad that’s not an option right now,” I commented.
“Look,” she said as she turned to me. I glanced her way. “I know you think you’re some hot shit. You’re what, the club president, right? I’m going to tell you right now I know you’re all a bunch of criminals and liars, and I want nothing to do with any of this.”
�
��At least we got that out of the way,” I said. “Want to listen to the radio?”
“Oh, I’ve just begun,” she said with an agitated laugh.
I sighed and settled into the seat as I drove.
It was going to be a long ride ahead of us.
“For the love of God, do you ever shut up?” I finally asked. It had been a long drive back from Barstow. Though it was only an hour and a half, she had told me every single thing she wasn’t going to do while with me, including hooking up.
I handed her the key to the hotel room I’d booked for her. “My apartment is right next door if you need me.”
“Oh trust me, I don’t need you,” she shot back, taking the key from me.
I sighed. “Look. No one here asked you to come. No one here asked you to have sex. No one here asked you to do anything but stay inside, and please, shut up!”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the guys that protect women? Real nice mouth you got there,” she said sarcastically. I gave her a look.
“The whole reason you’re here is for your own protection. If you wanted a different knight in shining armor, you should have told your brother,” I said. “This is your room. I live in that apartment building right there. If you need anything, I’m number thirteen.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” she replied. She unlocked the door and stalked inside.
“Don’t go anywhere. That’s your one rule,” I said. “Trust me, I don’t think you want to go against him.”
She gave me another look, and I pulled a piece of paper out of my pocket, handing it to her. “And there’s my phone number, if you need anything. And just so we’re clear, there’s going to be one of my guys posted out here at all times. So if you think of running, don’t.”
She snatched the paper out of my hand and gave me another look of defiance, so I shrugged and turned to go. I was surprised when she called out to me. “Oh and Trip?”
“Yeah?” I asked as I turned slightly.
“Cutter isn’t in charge of me any more than you are! I’d really appreciate it if you giant toddlers would keep me out of your bullshit.” She didn’t wait for me to answer before slamming the door. I shook my head as I turned away, but there was no hiding the smile that played at the corners of my lips.
She was as feisty as the night she’d cracked me over the head with a beer bottle and I couldn’t help but like it. I parked my truck in the back lot of the complex and shook my head as I pulled the keys from the ignition and slid out of the driver’s seat. I was still in disbelief as I headed inside the building.
Ever since that night at the bar, I’d had that girl on my mind. It took a few days for the goose egg to go down, and each time I brushed it with even the tips of my fingers, I thought about her. The fierceness with which she looked at me. The challenge in her eyes.
Now, seeing her in person, I couldn’t help but laugh. She was every bit what I’d expect from a woman who had hit me over the head with a bottle like that. Spunky, feisty, not afraid to be heard.
The entire drive up from Barstow she argued with me, making it clear she wasn’t going to do a single thing I said, and she didn’t care how her brother or I felt about it. Even telling me her brother wasn’t in charge of her was comical. Something that a teenager full of angst would say, not a grown woman.
But still, that body, that spirit. There was so much there I couldn’t get enough of. She was the embodiment of perfection in my mind, and I got hard just thinking about her. I had never expected I would see her again. Now, she was under my protection.
Why the fuck does she have to be Cutter’s sister? God dammit! How the hell does that even happen? How does something so ugly and something so perfect come out of the same parents?
Oh God, the things I wanted to do to her! But Cutter would kill me if he found out. Then again, my job was to protect her, not seduce her. And I knew that getting involved with someone under your protection could lead you to take your eyes off the prize and make mistakes. With the cartel involved, I couldn’t afford any mistakes.
I needed to have a stern conversation with my dick and tell him to calm the fuck down. He would not be getting wet inside that mouthy little thing next door anytime soon. I pulled off my clothes and climbed into bed, checking my phone before shutting off the lamp. I didn’t think I was going to hear from Meg. Hell, she made it clear where she wanted me to go. But I thought I’d check anyway.
I closed my eyes, trying to get the image of her sitting next to me in the truck out of my mind. She was so hot, it wasn’t fair. Her attitude only added to her perfection, though she drove me insane for the entire hour and fifteen minutes it had taken us to get from her house to the hotel room door.
Yet, that didn’t change what I wanted to do to her, or the fact I wanted to get to know her as much as I could. There was no telling how long this war was going to last for Cutter, or how it would end.
I didn’t want Megan to be stuck in that hotel room the entire time, though I didn’t think she would want to be out in public with me, either. There were so many thoughts that ran through my brain, it was hard to shut them off to go to sleep.
God knew if I had much to do with that woman, I’d need rest. And I was up for the challenge.
10
Megan
I tried to ignore the knocking on my door. I was still in bed, not caring what time it was, where I was, or who I was. I had had a difficult time sleeping most of the night, not because of the fact I was in a hotel away from home and didn’t want to be. Not because I wasn’t going to get up and go to school and see the kids.
But because of him.
Trip. I had only seen him for a brief moment before he had been swept back into the crowd, but it had been enough for me to get a good look at him. And damn, was he hot. I had been so caught up in the heat of the moment, I had forgotten about him as soon as he was pulled away from me.
But since then, he had crossed my mind several times. It wasn’t fair for a single individual to be so damn fine. It was even less fair for him to be part of an MC. I hated MCs with all that I had in me. In my mind, they were the entire reason kids were dropping out of school and getting into drugs, crime, and violence.
I didn’t care if he thought he was better. He had mentioned several times in the ride up from Barstow that he didn’t have anything to do with drugs, and that he did everything in his power to keep guns off the streets as well.
But I didn’t buy it. I saw the way he looked at me. I couldn’t deny the instant attraction that was between us from the moment our eyes met. It was hot and heavy and damn near palpable.
I knew what it was. Trip was feral. I could see it in his eyes. He wasn’t selfish like my brother. He didn’t have that same sinister attitude that radiated out of Cutter. No, there was something about him that was so unapologetically free, and I wanted it for myself.
I wanted to know that that felt like. I wanted to know what he felt like. But I didn’t want anything to do with the club or any of the other people who were putting my kids in danger. They deserved a better chance at life, and people like Trip and Cutter were the reasons they didn’t choose to take it.
Hell, this whole damn mess was because of my brother and his club. And it wasn’t any secret he and the Avenging Angels had been having problems for over a year. I didn’t know for sure why, and I didn’t care.
I just knew I wanted nothing to do with it.
Another sharp knock at the door finally got me out of bed. I stomped over to the door, threw the bolt and whipped it open, one hand on my hip and a scowl on my face.
“What do you want?” I snapped.
“Come on, get up. We’re going to work,” Trip replied.
“We?” I asked with raised eyebrows. “Who’s we?”
He looked around the parking lot, then back at me. “You and me.”
“I’m not going with you,” I spat.
“Yes, you are,” he said.
“No, I’m not.”
“Look
, Sweetheart,” he sighed. “I’m not sure how much Cutter told you, but he and I have an agreement worked out. I’m going to keep an eye on you and he’s going to keep his shit out of my town. I have to work today, and if I’m going to uphold my end of the bargain, you’re coming with me.”
“It’s not my problem what you have worked – Hey!” Trip pushed past me into the hotel room. “Get out!”
“I’m not leaving without you,” he replied.
“Get out or I’m going to call security!” I snapped.
“Nice try, but security knows me. You do that, and you’re going to have to come stay with me,” he said. I stared at him. He was impossible. And ungodly hot. I hated him for standing up to me the way that he was, but there was also something about it that turned me on.
He clearly respected me, but he wasn’t going to let me walk all over him. He was in control of this situation, and I knew it. It drove me crazy, and I had the passing thought of shoving him onto the bed and seeing how far I could take things.
“What do you do for work?” I asked, changing my tactics to hopefully catch him off guard.
“I run a mechanic shop,” he said.
“And you want me to hang out there all day?” I asked, my eyes growing wide.
“You have your laptop. Why not sit in the office and send off emails to your school or whatever it is you do?” he asked.
I folded my arms. It wasn’t a bad idea, but I didn’t like the tone he used.
“I don’t send emails to school, I prepare forms for the kids. I work hard to keep them off the streets you know. If I can get them to stay away from the life you live, I’ve done a good job,” I snapped.
“You realize that it comes down to them, right?” he asked. He caught me off guard with that, and I couldn’t help but take the bait.
“Come again?”
“The kids. Those kids are all on the brink of adulthood, and they are months away from getting to make their own decisions. Most of them have already made those decisions, they’re just biding their time until they can get away with it,” he shrugged.
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