by C. P. Smith
It struck me as I watched him sleep, that wrapped around my body, his head nestled between my breasts, Kade had finally found peace.
Some women would have been insulted, but I smiled. I’d given this damaged yet beautiful man a reason to fall blissfully asleep and forget about his demons for an afternoon. If it took me the rest of my life, I would make sure any lasting memories were wiped clean from his mind. From here on out, I’d only fill them with passion and love.
***
Waves crashed over rocks on the jetty, sending white foam into the air. Kade watched as a small blue sailboat danced back and forth across the water as he sipped a cold beer. Turning his head to the right, he could make out two figures on the beach walking towards him. Something was familiar about one, so he automatically headed in their direction. The closer he got, the more defined the figures became.
He stopped when he recognized one and his breath caught at her beauty. Harley. His gaze moved to the second figure and he saw a tiny version of the woman he’d wanted half his life. Something about the child seemed familiar, but he couldn’t place it.
He waited for Harley and the little girl to make their way to him. He locked eyes with Harley as she walked up and her brilliant smile filled him with the love he’d searched for his entire life.
“We’ve been waiting for you,” Harley giggled. “It took you long enough.”
“Waiting for what?”
“For you to find us. You’ve been walking in circles.”
“I have?”
“Mmhmm. For fifteen years.”
Kade smiled, then looked down at the little girl and wondered who she was. She had the same color hair as Harley, but her eyes weren’t chocolate-brown like hers. They were a darker brown, like his own coffee-colored eyes.
“You don’t know me yet,” she whispered with a smile.
“No, I don’t. I’m Kade,” he said, putting out his hand.
The little girl pushed it away, then walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his middle. He instinctively picked her up, as if he’d done it all her life.
When she buried her tiny face in his neck and ran her little hand across his stubbled chin, the smell of vanilla wrapped its warm arms around his senses. Warmth blossomed in his chest as he held her tighter, then the beautiful child whispered on a giggle, “Silly Daddy. I already know your name.”
Kade heard pounding and was confused. Since when do the guard's pound on a cell door like they are asking permission to enter?
Still caught between his dream and reality, he could swear he smelt vanilla. He moved his head a fraction of an inch and felt warm, soft skin beneath his cheek. Then the pounding started again, along with the sound of a worried voice shouting Harley’s name.
What the fuck?
Kade opened his eyes, saw a messy apartment and Buck staring back at him from the foot of the bed, as well. He jerked up, confused, just as a quiet, husky voice, whispered, “Oh, God, it’s my dad.”
Kade turned his head, blinked rapidly at the sexy vision in front of him, then the last eight hours came crashing back in and he smiled. Leaning down, he captured her lips for a soft, slow kiss before he got up and grabbed his jeans.
“Coming,” he called out as the pounding became louder.
“Who the hell is in there with you, Harley?” he heard her father shout.
“Don’t open the door, I don’t have clothes on,” Harley gasped, struggling to find her clothes. Kade paused while buttoning his jeans when Harley bent over to tag her underwear and became instantly aroused. Hard and fast had taken the edge off his need, but it would take about a week alone with her to get rid of all his pent-up hormones.
“Harley, open the damn door,” her father shouted again.
“Coming,” Kade shouted, then chuckled when Harley mumbled, “Shit, he can’t see me like this,” as she ran into her bathroom slamming the door.
Moving to the door, Kade grabbed the doorknob, unlocked the deadbolt, and ripped it open, leaning against the frame. Her father blinked twice, and then took a step back as he scanned Kade from head to foot.
“Saint’s alive, you’re free,” Harry shouted when it finally registered.
Harley came rushing out of the bathroom just as her father put out his hand to shake Kade’s.
“How did this happen?” Harry asked.
Kade turned to Harley and watched her face pale before sheepishly muttering, “Um.”
Harry looked back and forth between Kade and her before it dawned on him, how Kade had been freed. His mouth pulled into a frown and his color went from a soft tan to red with rage.
“You didn’t,” Harry clipped.
“I didn’t have a choice,” she defended.
“You could have been killed,” Harry shouted.
“Yeah, well,” was her only defense.
“You’re grounded,” he thundered, pointing his finger in her face.
Harley’s head jerked back and she glared at her dad. Then she looked at Kade and asked snottily, “You want to help me out here?”
Kade crossed his arms and shook his head slowly. “I like the idea of grounding you.”
“I’m thirty-one, you can’t ground me,” she snapped at both men.
When they both stared back at her as if she was the one in the wrong, she moved to the other side of the room and grabbed Buttercup from her bed.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Harry asked when she walked across the room and through the door. “I’m not done with you.”
“Well, I’m done. And just so you know, I’d do it again, no matter what either one of you thinks,” she defended. “Now, I’m gonna take Buttercup downstairs to relieve herself, and when I get back, all thoughts of punishing Harley had better be tabled.”
“Not in this lifetime,” her father mumbled.
Kade chuckled as he watched her storm down the steps, her sweet ass swaying as she went. He grinned further when he realized he’d get to watch her sweet ass swinging anytime she walked away from him from now on. He was a free man, one who could do whatever the hell he wanted.
“She’s got a stubborn streak,” her father stated with a sigh. “I’ll forewarn you now.”
“I figured that out already,” Kade replied.
“Yeah, well, good luck to you, son. You’ll need it if you’re thinkin’ about gettin’ involved with my daughter.”
“No thinkin’ about it, Harry,” Kade answered. “Your daughter’s mine now. I hope that isn’t a problem for you.”
“Hell, no. She needs a man like you in her life,” he replied, slapping Kade on the back. “You might as well tell me what she did to get you out. I’m still in shock at seeing you here, so it’s less likely to cause my heart to stop. Besides, it’s probably better if I hear it from you. I’m less likely to wring her neck.”
“I’m fuzzy on the details. But Chapel, the new SA, he told me she showed up yesterday at his office with the evidence.”
“Yesterday? I’ll be damned. That girl lied to me; she told me she had doctors’ appointments all day.”
“Sounds like it, but you’ll understand why I’m not as upset as you are that she did.”
“Hell, son, I guess not. How the hell did the SA move so quickly? Don’t you need a court order or somethin’?”
“The judge over my trial was available last night and they reviewed the evidence together. They found inconsistencies in the former SA’s case that led Judge Baer to believe there was misconduct. Harley’s evidence corroborated my defense, so he had no choice but to overturn the conviction.”
“Jesus, the dead SA was on the take?”
Kade was about to answer when he heard Harley scream from outside. Harry ran to the window and looked out the window while Kade ran for the door. He heard Harry shout, “Stop him, he’s trying to take my girl,” as he ripped open the door. He flew down the back stairs as cold fear gripped him. When he rounded the corner, he heard a single gunshot ring out, then tires peeling out as voices sh
outed. As he cleared the front of the garage, he saw a white van in the distance, taking a corner on two wheels as it sped away. Searching the yard for Harley, he came up short when he saw Prez, D, and two unknown men in coveralls standing around Harley as she held Buttercup. Seeing his former team members were still in town instead of back home as he’d ordered, started to piss Kade off. That is, until he realized they’d saved Harley from certain danger. As he approached the huddle, Prez and D looked up and saw him heading in their direction. Both their jaws dropped open in surprise and silent shock.
“You’re out?” Prez finally stated in obvious disbelief.
“Looks like,” Kade answered, not in the mood for a reunion at that moment.
Before he could reach Harley, though, and check for himself she was unharmed, her father stormed past him, shouting, “You sons a bitches! You promised you’d leave town! Now look what you’ve done! You’ve brought this shit down on my daughter!”
Harley turned towards her father and scowled just as Kade reached her. He did a quick scan, didn’t see any blood, then pulled her into his arms, buried his face in her hair, and held on tight. She hugged him back, resting her head on his chest as shudders ran down her body. “I’m all right,” she whispered into his chest.
Harry was still railing at the boys while Kade tried to settle his heart rate. When he ordered the boys to, “Get the hell off my property and don’t come back,” Harley stepped back, turned to her father, and shouted in reply, “This wasn’t their fault. That man followed me home from the prison.”
One by one, all six men turned and looked at her. The air around her became immediately charged with their collective anger, so she took a step back out of the firing range.
“That is, I think—“
“What do you mean he followed you home from the prison?” Kade bit out.
“Is this the first time you’ve seen him?” her father yelled.
“Is this why you texted you were in trouble?” Prez asked.
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Davy bit out on a growl.
When she didn’t answer immediately, they all crossed their arms, then asked in unison, “Well?”
“Okay, all right. Yeesh. I saw him when I stopped for cake an hour outside of town and then I saw him again when he drove past the garage. He was sitting up the street watching half the afternoon. I didn’t tell you because I thought I was being paranoid and I knew you would throw a fit if you found out I was helping Kade.”
“Well, I’m out now, so why the hell are you just now telling me?” Kade shouted.
“It slipped my mind,” she yelled back, “what with you showing up and . . . Um. . .” She stopped talking when she couldn’t explain the “um” and looked away from Kade as a blush crept up her neck.
“Jesus.” Harry sighed, knowing exactly what the “um” meant and wishing he hadn’t heard.
“Everyone upstairs,” Kade growled, ignoring how damn cute she looked when she was flustered. “We’re gonna draw a crowd after that gunshot and I’ve had my fill of the police.
Grabbing her arm so he could escort her upstairs, Kade pulled Harley with him, not about to let her out of his sight for a moment.
“Kade.”
“Not another word till we’re upstairs or I’ll wring your neck myself,” he replied between clenched teeth. “It’s bad enough you ran all over town hunting down killers, but not telling someone when you thought you were being followed is just reckless.”
“I can see being released from prison didn’t improve your disposition,” she snapped as he marched her up the stairs. “I wasn’t being reckless, by the way. I just wasn’t sure, you big jerk.”
He might have laughed at her sass, but the threat to her safety trumped everything at that moment so she’d just have to deal with his mood.
“My disposition’s just fine when you aren’t getting shot at. As for being a jerk, deal with it.”
Motioning Harley inside her apartment, he held her glare as she entered. He waited for Prez, D, and her father to enter before he locked her door, then he turned to Harley, pointed to her loveseat, and bit out, “Sit, then spill.”
With an air of disobedience and a look that could have killed, she placed Buttercup on her bed, then moved to the loveseat and sat glaring at all the men in the room. Buck jumped up on the loveseat when she sat down and laid his head in her lap in a show of solidarity.
Traitor, Kade thought.
“Well?” her father finally asked when she didn’t immediately respond.
“Where are Jake and Davy?” she asked, looking around the room.
“I sent them back to work. Now quit stalling.”
“Fine . . . . It’s as I said before, I saw him on the way home then he parked up the street. I forgot about him, what with Kade showing up unexpectedly. By the way, how did you get here?”
“Chapel brought me,” Kade answered exasperated.
“How did you know where to find me?”
“Harley!” her dad snapped, losing patience with his daughter.
Kade sighed. He knew she was being stubborn on purpose; she was pissed at everyone for yelling at her. When she raised her brow, waiting for him to answer, Kade grinned. Life would not be boring with Harley in it.
“Prez told me you lived over the garage, so I came here first. Now . . . would you recognize him again if you saw him?”
Her frosty attitude melted a bit when she heard he’d come directly to her.
“Absolutely,” she answered without hesitation, but didn’t, he noted, give a description. She was smiling, as if she was waiting for a punch line to be delivered.
“And?” Kade growled impatiently, wanting to get a lock on this guy sooner rather than later.
Harley looked at all four men then shrugged, sat back, and stated with a huge grin, “He looked like the Dread Pirate Roberts.”
Twelve
“Pardon?” Dad asked, confused.
I looked at the boys and nodded, since I knew they’d get it. “He had a scar that ran from his left eye down to his mouth. He must have lost his eye when he got the scar because he wore an eye patch as well.”
Prez pulled out his phone and mumbled, “I’ll call this into Slater,” as Kade turned and looked out the window and mulled over this information.
“Harley,” Dad replied with a sigh, “apparently everyone in this room understands what this Pirate Roberts business is about but me, so how about you describe him for your old man?”
“He was tall, blond, and good-looking despite the scar.” Kade turned and raised a brow at me. I shrugged before continuing. Bad guy or not, scar or not, good-looking was still good-looking. “His hair was on the longer side and he had it pulled back in a ponytail. I couldn’t tell how tall he was since he tried to grab me from inside his van, but I’d say close to six feet. Also, if the grunt I heard when Prez shot at him was an indicator, I’d say he’ll need medical attention.”
Kade’s eyes flashed angrily when he heard that, and he turned to Prez and glared.
“Tell me you didn’t take a shot with Harley in the way.”
“Yeah, I did. Before you lose it, though, and put your fist in my face, you need to understand it was take the shot or lose her in the van, man. We were too far away.”
Kade nodded, he understood, but didn’t let up.
“All right, while we’re on the subject of being too far away to assist, why was Harley unprotected in the first place?” Kade asked. “If you didn’t leave town like I ordered, you should have been on her tail,” he accused as his temper rose again. “This guy followed her home thinking she was unprotected.”
“Leave? My brother, she was on a one-woman seek-and-destroy mission and you think we’d follow that order and leave her unprotected? We’ve been glued to her ass like white on rice for two days. The only reason we pulled off Harley at the prison is because Drum hauled ass and we knew he was your ticket out of that hellhole.”
“Wait, if you’re here, does that mean
he got away?” I broke in.
“In a sense. Thankfully, King is out so it doesn’t matter,” Prez answered. “We followed him, but he picked up our tail and tried to get away. We chased him for twenty miles until he lost control of his car on a hairpin turn and wrapped it around a palm tree. He’s dead.”
“Jesus,” Kade mumbled. “Please tell me you weren’t made by the cops.”
“Luckily, there were no witnesses at the time of the crash so we were able to call it in then peel off from the scene as Highway patrol showed up. By then, there were thirty cars pulled off the side of the road and we were lost in the crowd.”
I’d stood when Prez started talking, but my legs buckled when I heard Drum was dead and I sat back down. He was our only lead to find out who had framed Kade.
“Who’s this Drum and why do we care that he’s dead?” Dad asked the room.
“Harley found evidence that showed the three men in the alley the night Sutton died. Drum was the only one who was recognizable,” Prez answered.
“Why was he at the prison? You said you pulled off tailing Harley because he was leaving.”
“Drum was a guard at Renault,” Kade answered. “Chapel says he applied for the job two days after my conviction.”
“Are you telling me that one of the men who killed Sutton took a job at Renault? What the hell for?”
“To keep an eye on me.”
“But why?”
“Chapel seems to think whoever wanted Sutton dead has deep pockets. He thinks they wanted to keep an eye on me in case my team showed up to set me free.”
Chapel thought the killer had deep pockets, which in turn made me think about what Prez had said about Consolidated having skeletons. I bet Consolidated had deep pockets, deep enough to hire hitmen to take out Sutton if he found out something he shouldn’t.
“Consolidated fits that bill,” I stated to the room.
“They do,” Prez answered, then turned to Kade. “Slater’s in the middle of something for West that’s time sensitive and priority one. A woman from West’s youth has gone missing and they’re trying to find her. He’s working the Consolidated angle when he has time.”