by Chiah Wilder
“So why the fuck didn’t the other doc do anything?” Goldie asked.
Dr. Daniels shook his head slightly. “I’m not sure. Helen’s eye definitely has an infection. I’ll prescribe eye drops four times a day, an ointment twice a day, and in a few days you should see an improvement. After a couple of weeks, she should be good as new. The ointment I just applied will give her some relief. I’m glad you’re vigilant in watching your grandmother. It’s important that families are like that, especially when the patients can no long communicate for themselves. I’ll come back in and check on her during the next several days to make sure she’s doing okay.”
Goldie lifted his chin, his face stony. The doctor cleared his voice, then smiled at Hailey. “Patty is doing great. This time around she’s following all instructions to a tee.”
“It may take a while, but when she finds out her way isn’t exactly the best, my aunt ends up coming around. Thanks for coming to see Mrs. Humphries.”
“Of course. And you need to take some time for yourself. Your aunt’s been telling me that you’re on overload. It won’t help if you end up getting sick. You should take a couple days off to reboot. Just some unsolicited advice.” He smiled and walked out of the room.
Hailey stood up but Goldie tugged her back down and she tumbled into him. He hugged her close and nuzzled her neck. “Thanks,” he breathed into her ear, then kissed her soft neck. The scent of the ocean mingled with the aroma of papaya as he breathed in deeply. “You smell like a tropical island. I’d like to see you in a bikini, then strip it off and suck your tits as I fuck you under the sun.”
A small moan vibrated against her throat, and he put his finger in his mouth before trailing it down her throat. “I need a drink, and I want you to join me.”
“Are you done with your tray, sweetheart?” Kevin’s voice shattered the heated haze between Hailey and Goldie.
Without a word, Goldie gently moved Hailey away from him, leapt up, grabbed Kevin by the shirt, and dragged him into the bathroom. After closing the door, he said in a low, dangerous voice, “You were fuckin’ warned about giving respect to my grandma.” He slammed his fist right into Kevin’s face, and the man threw his hands in front of it as if to ward off another punch. “Next time I’ll make sure you’ll have to go to the hospital.”
Goldie came out of the bathroom, ignoring the question on Hailey’s lips. Soon Kevin came out, a towel pressed against his nose. Without a glance or a word, he left the room.
“Did you just hit him?” Hailey asked.
“I warned him not to disrespect my grandma. He did. He knew the consequences.”
“What if he tells the police? I mean, that’s assault. You could get in trouble.”
Goldie shrugged and picked up Helen’s tray. “I’m going to take this to the kitchen.” When he returned from the kitchen, he bumped into Dan.
“Dr. Daniels told me your grandma does have an eye infection. In no time, we’ll make sure it’s all cleared up. Oh… Kevin told me he slipped and fell in the bathroom in Helen’s room. He said you were there and heard him fall.”
“Yeah. Must’ve had some water on the floor. Slammed his face on the sink.”
“I think he broke his nose. Anyway, I sent him home.”
“Is the administrator in?”
“Yes. I’m going to check on Helen. She’s probably ready to go back to bed.”
After Goldie told the administrator that he didn’t want Kevin anywhere near his grandmother or he’d pull her out, he gave Helen a kiss on her cheek, grabbed Hailey’s hand, and headed out to the parking lot. In less than fifteen minutes he had a shot of whiskey in his hand and she had a bottle of beer in hers as they sat at a small table at Cuervos.
“How long have you been with the Night Rebels?” she asked.
“Since I got out of high school. I’d started hanging around their bike repair shop ever since I heard they had a used Harley for sale. I put a small down payment on it and would turn over most of my paycheck every two months to get it paid off. I got friendly with some of the guys and they invited me to a couple of their parties, and I ended up prospecting for them. I really liked the feeling of brotherhood among the members. I don’t know. It was like for the first time in my life, I belonged. I fit in.” He placed his empty shot glass down and gestured for another one.
“You didn’t like high school much, did you?”
He laughed. “I liked the parties and the chicks, but that was about all. There were so many pompous assholes. I see some of them in town in their suits acting so important. They glance at me and I see hints of respect and fear in their eyes when they pass me and my brothers on the street.”
“It must’ve been hard not having your dad around.”
“Yeah, well, that’s not why I joined the Night Rebels. Don’t try to psychoanalyze me. My mom bailed when we were young, then came back and tried to make us a family. The truth was my parents never should’ve been together. They fought all the time and we were caught in the middle. My grandparents saved us. If it wasn’t for them, I don’t know where we would’ve ended up.”
“I can’t imagine how hard it must’ve been with your mom and dad going back and forth like that.”
“Yeah. There’d be periods when they were all lovey-dovey, but then they’d start fighting and throwing punches and shit at each other. They’d be separated for a while and we’d end up at my grandparents. When they’d reconcile, we’d move back in with them and the shit would start up all over again. It was fucking insane. But it was still better than them not being there anymore.”
“I can’t even imagine losing my parents, especially at the same time. It must’ve been real hard.”
Goldie’s jaw tightened. “Life happens. The good is great, the bad sucks, and you just have to deal with it. I take life as the moments come. How the fuck are you getting me to talk about all this shit?”
She smiled. “We’ve known each other a long time. I thought you were the coolest kid in the neighborhood. I used to wonder how you and Ryan got together. You guys seemed to be the opposite.”
“For the record, I was the coolest kid in the neighborhood. And I met Ryan when he was on the ground and three older kids were using him as a punching bag. I jumped in and we became close friends. He was the rational one and I was hot-tempered. We had a balance to our friendship. We still do.”
“And you’re still hot-tempered. I can’t believe you punched Kevin in the nose in your grandmother’s bathroom.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t like the way he treated my grandma.”
“Do you usually resolve your conflicts that way?”
“Pretty much. It works for me. End of story.”
“Aren’t you gonna introduce us to your pretty chick?” Army asked as he pulled out a chair and joined them.
“Move on, dude. She’s my best friend’s little sister.”
“And who is she?”
The lustful sheen in Army’s eyes pissed the hell out of Goldie, but before he could say anything, Hailey smiled and held out her hand. “I’m Hailey.”
Army grasped it and held onto it a bit too long for Goldie’s liking. “I’m Army.” His gaze slipped down to her ample bust.
“Let go of her hand,” Goldie said.
Army raised his eyebrows and grinned as he released her. That grin told Goldie he was going to have a good time ribbing him later on after he told all the brothers that Hailey had Goldie’s balls.
“Hey, who’s your lady?” Sangre said as he and Paco came over to the table. The vulture-like attitude around a pretty, stacked woman was one aspect of the brotherhood he didn’t like, especially since their hungry eyes were fixed on Hailey’s tits. Although, he couldn’t blame them—Hailey was a biker’s wet dream. Hell, she was most men’s wet dreams. And he’d be acting just like his brothers if he’d spotted one of them with a woman like her. But since she was someone he knew and respected, he didn’t like the way they were looking at her.
“Back the
fuck off. She’s a good friend of mine. Show some respect.”
And just like that, they backed off. Pride in his brothers’ loyalty spread through him as puzzlement fanned out across Hailey’s face. They chatted for a few minutes about Harleys and the upcoming rally, then left Goldie and Hailey alone, drifting toward some other brothers who leaned against the jukebox in the far-left corner of the room.
“Were those some of the other guys in your club?” she asked as she watched them move away.
“Yeah. They can come on strong. They’re always looking for a pretty woman to score with.”
“Do they find them?”
“Most of the time. Women are crazy about bikers. The more tats and patches we have, the more they want to fuck us.” Goldie turned away and watched as Paco approached a table with two big-busted blondes. He sniggered.
“Are you always looking for a woman to score with?”
He jerked his head around. “Not always.”
“But a lot of the time?”
“I guess it depends on how you define ‘a lot.’ I don’t walk around with my tongue hanging out, wanting to jump every chick’s bones, if that’s what you mean.”
Hailey glanced around the bar. “No, I didn’t mean that. It’s just that I heard your club likes to have parties, and women go to them just for the sex.”
“And the booze, the drugs, and the thrill of partying with a bunch of outlaws. Some of the women are professionals who wear suits with a prim, high-collar blouse to work. For them, it feels good to let loose without being judged.”
“So it’s anything goes at these parties?”
“Pretty much. We don’t let hard drugs into them. We try and keep that shit out of the county period. We also don’t let anyone under eighteen in, and if someone gets rough with one of the women, we stop it. But other than that, we let everyone party the way they want.”
“How do you like to party?” Hailey had moved her chair closer and her arm rested against his.
“You don’t want to know, Hailey. If you’re trying to find out if I’ve fucked a lot of women, the answer is yes. Don’t ask me how many because I couldn’t tell you. But you should know that I’ve never had a serious relationship with any woman. Our fucking is for fun, and it’s a mutual thing.”
“You’ve never been in love?”
He shook his head. “Enough about me. What about you? Besides that asshole Nolan, has there been anyone else in your life?”
“Not really. I mean, dates here and there, but nothing meaningful or satisfying. I wasn’t in love with Nolan. I thought I was because in the beginning, we had a good time together and hung out a lot, but after we had sex, he got all weird and possessive. I just wanted to run away from him. I know Ryan thinks he’s going to come to Alina, but I doubt that.”
“You never know what a person will do. You can’t ever underestimate them. You gotta always be on guard.”
“Is that how you live your life?”
“Fuck yeah. In my world, you never know who’s gunning for you.”
Their gazes locked, and he was pulled in by her. Everything about her made him want her more. The whole loyalty thing to Ryan was waning so thin that it was fading into obscurity. The music, the chatter, and the clinking glasses disappeared. The only thing he was acutely aware of was Hailey: her arm touching his, the bar’s red lights falling softly over her face, her hair spilling around her shoulders, and her mesmerizing gaze. Desire, lust, and sweet electricity ran through him. He’d experienced desire and lust with a woman more times than he could count, but the circuit of emotional feeling was alien to him. He didn’t know how to process it, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to. Before Hailey entered his life, things were simple: lust after an attractive chick, let her know, and then fuck her. His sex life was on autopilot, and he liked it that way. Until now. Fuck.
He moved away from her. “We better get going. I have to get back to the ink shop.” He stood up, ignoring the confusion etched on her face. Without arguing, they left the bar.
As she drove away, he took out a joint and lit it, his gaze plastered on the red lights of her car fading into the darkness. He wanted to go after her and hold her in his arms, smothering her with kisses. Instead, he stubbed out his joint, went over to his Harley, and headed to Get Inked. He hoped he’d be busy as hell; he needed something to block her from his mind and his dick. She was slipping dangerously close to his heart, and he couldn’t have that. He was a bastard with women, and he knew he’d end up hurting her. And he didn’t want to do that.
For the first time in his adult life, he cared about a woman and how she felt. It was both an unsettling and exhilarating feeling.
And for the first time in his life, Goldie was scared shitless.
Chapter Sixteen
Hailey turned off the lights and locked the door to the flower shop. She’d stayed way past closing hour, trying desperately to stop thinking about Goldie. The way he’d practically dragged her out of Cuervos still made her cheeks burn. He still thinks of me as Ryan’s little sister. I need to just forget about him. He’s not interested.
But he did keep giving her mixed signals. Sometimes she’d catch him staring at her, desire heating his gaze, and then once in a while, she’d see something mixed with the desire. Affection? Stop it. You’re making too much of this. Anyway, he just wants to screw women, not date them. At times she’d tell herself that she was fine with them being friends with benefits, but she knew she wasn’t that type of woman. Though she wasn’t exactly the waiting-for-your-prince type either. She’d hoped to find something in-between. Goldie was the extreme all-male type of guy. And it surprised her how attractive she found his take-charge personality. It gave her a charge the way he took care of business, not apologizing for his actions. Like the way he handled that creepy Kevin. Her aunt had complained about him to her. She’d hated the way he’d look at her, try and brush against her, and make excuses for having to be in her room. Laughing, she slung her tote over her shoulder. Aunt Patty’s going to laugh her ass off tomorrow when I tell her what Goldie did to Kevin.
The clack of her heels echoed in the empty street. Hailey had forgotten how quickly life folded up on a weeknight in the town, especially when it was past ten o’clock. That night, the street was quieter and darker than usual. The amber streetlights were dimmer and the town lights ebbed to a mere twinkling. Looking up, she noticed the clouds were blackened shadows that shifted with the wind that had kicked up. They blotted out the stars and the moon, making the street like an old-fashioned photograph—everything a shade of gray. She clutched her tote tighter and made her way to her car.
When she’d returned to the store that evening, the only parking space she could find was by the small park. The white iron benches and bright green leaves appeared ominous amid the blackness of the night. In the shadows, the trees’ branches resembled grotesque caricatures of arms and fingers as they swayed and moaned. As she fumbled in her bag for her keys, a rustling behind the thick bushes made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end. Where the hell are my car keys? She swore under her breath that she’d bought the tote without any compartments as her fingers kept grabbing at everything but her keys.
Rustling. Silence. The wind groaning. More rustling.
Where the fuck are my keys? Someone was behind the bushes. She could feel him. Nolan? Oh God. I hope not. Glancing around, there wasn’t a person in sight.
A crunch on the dirt. A snap of a twig. Rustling.
Hailey normally liked the quiet and darkness of night, but at that moment, it seemed to press on her like an awful weight. Someone is here. I can feel him watching me. I hear him. Heart pounding, she pasted her body to her car as if that would offer her any protection. Balancing the tote on her upraised knee, she clawed and shoved the items aside until her fingers curled around her remote entry. Pushing the button, the car’s headlights were two beacons offering her some comfort.
The rustling grew louder. She pulled at the door, flung herself
onto the driver seat, slammed the door, and locked it. Rushing blood to her temples made her head feel like it was about to explode.
A burst of movement frightened her, and she cried out just before she saw the white tip of a tail peeking out from the bushes. Glowing honey-colored eyes stared at her as the fox scurried across the street, disappearing into the darkness in a flash. Nervous giggles erupted from her as she loosened her grip on the steering wheel. It was only a fox. It must be the wind that’s spooking me. Gulping in and releasing a couple of deep breaths, she turned on the ignition and pulled away from the curb. As she made a U-turn, a smudgy outline of a man stepping from the bushes filled her peripheral vision.
After clearing the turn, she stopped her car and looked at the bushes across the street. No one was there. Were my eyes playing tricks on me? I could’ve sworn I saw someone coming out of the bushes. Icy chills spread through her as she slowly drove away. Someone was there; her gut told her as much. But who? Nolan? The guy was shorter than Nolan. Why was he there watching me? He was probably a perv. The thought of a stranger staring at her from behind the greenery made her stomach twist.
When she reached the house, the wind had picked up substantially, howling around the darkened neighborhood. Shadows she never noticed before at night loomed everywhere, taunting, teasing, and scaring the hell out of her. Even the Victorian, which she loved, appeared gloomy and foreboding that night.
Taking out her phone, she dialed Goldie’s number.
“Hey.” He sounded surprised it was her; detachment laced his voice.
She didn’t care. “I’m like super spooked right now.”
Immediately his tone changed to concern. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know. Nothing, probably, but I’m in my car in front of my house, and I’m petrified to get out and walk to the front door. I wish my aunt would’ve added a garage.”
“Okay. Is it the wind that’s freaking you out?”
“Maybe. But that man watching me from the bushes started all of this.”