by Sam Crescent
“You’re hiding away in here?” Eva asked.
She was stood leaning against the doorframe.
“I’m not hiding. I’m waiting.” He sipped at his beer, staring down the length of her body. Memories of the last time he’d seen her in this room ran through his mind. Her body had been naked, open and waiting for him.
“Tate’s excited about everything.” Eva didn’t move from her spot.
Tiny caressed the spot on the desk where he’d tasted and taken her.
“I’ll always remember what you looked like when you took my cock.”
He heard her gasp. Glancing up, he saw her advance into the room. She rounded the desk, wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him down to her.
She claimed his lips, plunging her tongue into his mouth. He gripped her ass, pressing his hard dick against her stomach. Their moans mingled together, and with his other hand, he held her head still.
His heart was pounding, and the need was intense. Never once had he ever felt this way with anyone, not even Patricia. He felt like he was drowning in her essence.
“Don’t go,” he said, whispering the words against her lips.
“I’ve got to.” She broke the kiss, leaning her head against his chest.
“No, you don’t. I’ll take care of you.”
She stroked his chest, running her fingers across his patch.
“No.” Eva pulled out of his arms. Her lips were bruised from his kisses. “You’ll forget about me soon enough.” She caressed his cheek then moved away. He followed her out and paused as Tate pulled her into a hug.
His men offered their wishes and goodbyes. Ned led the way outside, and he went with the crowd. She waved to everyone climbing in the car. He broke through the crowd, watching Ned pull away from the curb.
Eva turned around and stared at him. Her hand was up, waving to him.
Tiny couldn’t tear his gaze away as she drove out of his life.
****
“Eva?” Ned asked.
She was staring at Tiny, who stood with his hands fisted at his sides. There was nothing for her to do. She had to get away. If she gave into him then he’d regret his decision. Tiny was not ready for any kind of commitment. Living with him had made her aware of the kind of man he was.
“Don’t, Dad.” She spoke still seeing the man she loved getting smaller as they moved away.
When she could no longer see Tiny’s outline she turned back around to stare out of the front of the car. The scenery didn’t catch her eye. She was too busy remembering the feel of Tiny’s lips on hers. They were silent for several minutes. Eva kept her gaze out of the window watching Fort Wills leave her behind.
“Gavin is looking forward to you coming home,” Ned said, starting a conversation.
Turning to him, she glared. “Don’t go there. Nothing is going to happen between Gavin and me.”
“He’s sorry over what happened. It’s time for you both to move on.”
“When I move on it will not be with Gavin or any of your men.” She grabbed her sunglasses from her bag.
Eva frowned. She’d never once told her father the reason why she’d moved on. “How do you know what happened between him and me?”
“Gavin told me. You’re not the kind of woman to just leave without a reason. I know you left me a note, but it’s still out of character for you.” Ned maneuvered around a large milk truck. “He was embarrassed by what happened.”
“What did you do?” she asked.
“Your relationship is your own business. I didn’t hurt him over what went down between you. However, the slut he was with is gone, and he got six months rotation without pay.”
“Is that all?”
“I may have taken him into the ring and kicked his ass for sending my daughter away.” Ned didn’t take his eyes off the road.
“I’m surprised he’s still living.” She flipped open her phone to see a sad face on the screen from Tate. Smiling, she deleted the message and put her phone back away.
“He makes a lot of money, and men fuck up. Gavin was young, and he made a mistake.”
“Gavin fucked up, and I’m not going to hold anything against him. I won’t be having anything to do with him.” She sat back against the chair letting her thoughts drift to the man she left behind. The women he’d been with had hurt her, but she never actually caught him in the act. They’d never meant anything to each other either, so it wasn’t like he was cheating on her.
“Tiny is a good man, but he’s got the same problems that Gavin has. He can’t keep it in his pants.”
She slammed her hand on the dash board. “No, you do not get to do that. Tiny is none of your business. He never will be, and I won’t be discussing him with you now or in the future. Yes, I loved him, and I loved his daughter.” Her hand hurt from slapping down on the hard surface. “I will not be dating or spending any time with Gavin. Do not think to throw us together. I’ll work for you again, but I won’t have anything to do with the men.”
“If you love him, why are you leaving him?” Ned asked.
“Sometimes to help others you need to know when to back away. Tiny doesn’t need me around, and we’re not good for each other. Kind of like you and Mom.”
She saw him tense out of the corner of her eye.
“Yeah, Gavin is such a good man. He told me what happened with my mother. I know you killed her.” Eva couldn’t believe she was speaking as if death was a natural topic of conversation.
“He shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing is going to change what happened. She’s gone.” Eva had never gotten the chance to know her mother.
“I never told you anything about it or her.”
Staying silent, Eva drummed her fingers on her leg. Her father was a dangerous man, yet she’d never been afraid of him, not even when she’d been naughty growing up. Even knowing how dangerous she was she didn’t hate him. This was the world she’d grown up in. Ned wouldn’t kill her, and he wouldn’t kill Tiny. Both men were too important in their little world.
“She was a stripper I knocked up,” Ned said.
Eva had seen pictures of her mother growing up. She’d been a beautiful, slender woman with blonde hair, but she hadn’t been a loyal woman.
“Your mother wasn’t known for being faithful. Many men had known the pleasure she could have.”
Closing her eyes, she didn’t know if she needed to hear any more.
“Why did you kill her?” Eva asked. She couldn’t mourn a woman she never knew. What people remembered about her was not nice either.
“She put you in danger. You mother was an addict, and she was selling her body to whoever would give her what she wanted.” Ned pulled up in the airport. He must have paid for a space as one was reserved near the door. “She took you to one of the men who serviced her habit and sold her out to men. I found you on the floor that was covered in needles, Eva. She’d taken you because no one would babysit. Your mother didn’t give a fuck about you. She didn’t even care that you could have been hurt. One of my men got you out while I ended the shit she would have put you through.”
Tears filled her eyes at the horror he described. She couldn’t even remember it, but how could she? She’d been young, a baby.
“I never told you about her because you were better than her.” Ned turned the engine off. “Eva, I’m proud of you, and I hope you can forgive me for the hurt I’ve caused you.”
She smiled even as the tears started to fall. “I’m not hurt by you, Dad. It’s not your fault she didn’t care. I love you.” She wrapped her arms around him, tightly. He was the only person she’d ever been able to turn to.
“Good. We better get going before we miss our flight.”
For the next hour Eva was too busy dealing with her suitcases and getting ready for her flight. Ned took care of everything else, and she noticed he was on the phone a lot.
After purchasing a book she took a seat in the waiting
area where everyone was sat or walking around. Her cell phone went off as her father joined her.
Answering the call she saw it was Tate.
“Hello,” she said.
“You’re really going?”
Rubbing her temple, Eva ignored her father and listened to Tate.
“We’ve talked about this. It’s time for me to go.”
“Something is going on. You know that. Dad is acting even more quiet than usual. Since you’ve gone he’s locked himself in his office.” Tate sounded worried, and Eva hated hearing the other woman worried.
“Tate, everything is going to be fine.” She didn’t know what else to say to the younger woman.
“You don’t know that. Please, come back.”
Gritting her teeth, she glanced at her father. Ned raised his brow at her, waiting for her to argue back.
“No. Tate, I’ll come and visit you, but my life is in Vegas. I’ve been away too long.”
“We went to Vegas together. Your life is not there.”
“We’ve got to go, Eva,” Ned said, pointing to the waiting queue.
“I’m sorry, Tate, I’ve got to go. Please, keep in touch.” Before Tate could say anything else, she closed her phone, turned it off and followed her father toward their seat. She wasn’t surprised to see them in first class. Eva never had a problem flying economy, but Ned always liked the best.
She strapped into her seat and took several deep breaths. Eva hated leaving Tate and Fort Wills. Tapping her fingers on her leg she listened to all the instructions for the start of flights.
“You’re nervous,” Ned said.
“No, I’m fine.” She’d never had a problem with flying. Looking out of the window she tried to ignore the pain in her chest. Tiny and all the good memories she had of her time in the small town ran through her mind. When she’d left Gavin and her father she hadn’t been looking for anything. Stumbling into Fort Wills and getting the job as Tate’s nanny had been pure luck.
The plane took off, and she closed her eyes needing to relax. Her father lay back, holding her hand. She didn’t say anything as the rest of her life was made up for her.
You’re making the right decision. Keep moving forward.
She and Tiny hadn’t been together, but his actions still hurt her. While he’d been fucking everything in sight, men had been told to stay away from her. She hadn’t been asked on one date in all of her time at Fort Wills. The only time she spent in male company was with members of The Skulls. Vegas was her home, and she was going to move on no matter how bad it hurt.
****
Killer watched Kelsey hug a crying Tate. His boss was trapped in the office, and since Eva left the party had been kind of stilted. He slapped the bar ordering another beer. The prospect who served looked at him nervously.
“What?” Killer asked.
He didn’t know the man’s name and didn’t care to find out.
“Nothing.”
The prospect moved away as Zero took the seat beside him.
“I’m not in the mood for conversation,” Killer said.
“I don’t care. You threw me around the other day. The least you can do is have a beer with me.” Zero reached forward grabbing a bottle of whiskey.
Sipping at his bottle, Killer did his best to keep his anger in check. He’d not spoken to Kelsey since the day she’d caught him hitting his brothers.
“You’re not going to talk to me either?” Zero asked.
“No.”
“Man, I’m sorry. We didn’t even hear anyone listening to us.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Killer said, putting his empty bottle on the counter. “My past is my business. I don’t give a fuck about anything else.”
He got up ready to leave the compound. Walking past Kelsey and out of the pink fucking fairy castle, Killer took a deep breath of the fresh air. Heading toward his bike, he climbed on and turned the key in the ignition.
“Killer?” Kelsey’s voice made him tense. Her voice was so sweet, and he loved hearing her talk. She was the first woman he loved to hear talk.
“What?” he asked, hating himself for the way he spoke to her.
“You’re not even going to look at me?”
Letting out a sigh, he turned his gaze onto her. She looked so fucking beautiful with her cherry blonde hair curled and hanging around her shoulders and down her back. He recalled stroking the length as they’d been making out. Killer had taken his time caressing her lips and waiting for her to open up to him.
“What do you want, Kels?” he asked, facing her.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have judged you for what I heard. I was wrong, and I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” She reached out, touching his hand.
He stared down at her pale fingers spread over his own fingers. Killer was older than Kelsey by five years. She had so much goodness within her even if she was a dental nurse. He hated dentists.
Taking hold of her fingers he brought her hand against his lips. She smelled like vanilla.
“Kels, everything they were talking about is true. I killed people with my bare hands. I did it for my club, and it’s no excuse. If you can live with that then we can have a future, but I’ve got a feeling you don’t want to live a life with me like that.” He dropped her hand and straddled his bike. Killer wanted more than anything to pull her into his arms. She needed to know his past. He wasn’t going to live in fear of her finding out.
“Killer, wait.”
He didn’t wait to hear what she had to say.
Chapter Seven
“I’ve got a driver waiting for us,” Ned said.
Eva reached out grabbing her bag from the carousel going around. The rest of her luggage would be sent to her father’s house on the outskirts of Vegas. “Good.” She followed him outside to see Gavin stood against her father’s car. Stopping, she stared at the man she left behind over eight years ago. The last time she saw him his ass had been thrusting away inside another woman. She’d stumbled on the scene and had left as quickly. Leaving her note for her father was one of her last correspondence with him.
“Is this why you were talking about him?” Eva asked, stopping to stare.
Gavin didn’t have a patch on Tiny, at least not to her. Yes, he was tall and muscular like Tiny. Being a fighter, Gavin had no choice but to stay in top form. What Tiny had that Gavin lacked was maturity. Both men were covered in tattoos, but staring at Gavin she saw the teasing in his eyes.
Tiny didn’t waste his time with teasing. There was an intensity with Tiny. He captured her attention and kept her caught within his web.
She started walking.
“Hello, Eva.”
Staring at the man who’d sent her running, Eva nodded. “Gavin.”
He opened the car door for her, and she climbed inside. Her father took the passenger seat as Gavin took behind the wheel.
“Did you have a good flight?”
Eva stayed silent. Ned looked back at her, and she raised a brow at him. There was no way she was going to be talking to Gavin if she didn’t have to.
“Uneventful. Eva spent most of the journey reading a book.”
Silence fell around them once again. Eva didn’t try to talk. There was no need. Her father was trying to match-make.
After several minutes of no conversation Gavin and Ned started talking about work.
“Is the fight still on for tomorrow?” Ned asked.
“Yes. Lance is ready to prove himself. I’m thinking we can double our profit on this one fight,” Gavin said.
She drowned them out, resting her head against the seat. The heat was intense, and she instantly missed the cooler air of Fort Wills. Thinking about Tiny made heat pulse between her thighs. She wanted him, and there was nothing she could do to stop her feelings for him.
Remembering Tiny, she quickly clicked her phone back on. The moment it loaded up, the cell phone buzzed.
Tiny: Did you get there?
Smiling, Eva remembered the first time Tat
e talked him into getting a cell phone. He broke five phones before Eva talked him through the process of texting.
Eva: I’m fine. Heading home to bed.
Several seconds passed, and she checked to see other texts from Tate. Lash and Nash had left her well wishes. All of them had become her family in the years she’d been with them. Christmases had been spent together, lunches, fairs and parties where they celebrated everything.
“Are you okay, honey?” Ned asked.
“Fine.”
Tiny: I miss you.
There was nothing else she could say to that. Biting her lip she pocketed her phone and waited for the journey to be over. Vegas was buzzing even during the day. It was summer, and many people were basking in the joy and gambling on display. Driving down the strip, Eva shook her head.
Tate was right. This was not her home, but she’d have to make a go of it. Thirty minutes later, Gavin pulled into the gym Ned owned where he trained his fighters. The law knew what Ned Walker did, but no one could connect anything to him.
Gavin opened the door for her. She ignored him going back into the gym she’d once called home.
“Ned, what the hell are you wearing?” One of the men stood to embrace her father. Eva didn’t recognize him. His sheer size could put Killer to shame.
“I had a baby shower to get to. Lance, I’d like you to finally meet my daughter, Evangeline.” Ned smiled at her. Stepping close she shook Lance’s hand, making sure to be firm and hard as she did. Ned told her to make sure she didn’t show weakness even in a handshake.
“It’s nice to finally meet you,” Lance said, glancing up and down at her dress.
She still wore the dress she’d picked for the baby shower.
Eva recognized many of the fighters working out around the gym, and she went to each of them to hug.
“Damn, girl, it has been too damn long since we had you around here keeping us in order,” Frank said, kissing her cheek. They were like brothers to her. She’d grown up around them watching them advance into the lifestyle.
Ned Walker had his fingers in many baskets, but he never allowed his fighters to take the adventure of drugs or disease. If his men were with whores then they bagged their pole. She invested in condoms for the men to use.