Shelter (Red Rebels MC Book 5)

by C. D. Breadner

  Danielle made her way through the sunny streets of “downtown” Markham. Gradually, stores and restaurants gave way to wartime houses, and then the neighborhood got a bit questionable.

  The block she rented in was a recent stretch of residential real estate, but the outer edges were a little more...worn.

  At one point, when she’d moved in, the sheriff was living right next door. That had only lasted a few days before another biker bought the house. Since then, she barely saw her new neighbor. All she knew of him was that he was a biker, he paid a kid down the street to keep his lawn cut short, and he was quiet.

  Aside from the tattoos and the whole biker thing, he was a perfect neighbor.

  Not only that, the sketchier people seemed to stay away from their neighborhood. Not sure if that was the echo of the former sheriff or respect for the current tenant.

  Whatever. He minded his business, and they went about theirs. No complaints about life in Markham for her. Her sixteen-year-old daughter, on the other hand...

  She pulled into her driveway and parked at the front of the house like she always did. Letting herself in the front door, she absorbed the fact that it was completely quiet.

  Danielle frowned at the blank screen of the television. A walk down the hall confirmed that both girls’ rooms were empty. She returned to the kitchen, not ready to panic yet. Maybe Grace had taken Annie to the store or something. Unlikely, but possible.

  Everything in the kitchen was as she’d left it. If the kids had been home there’d be a used glass or something on the counter. She moved to the patio doors next, which led out to a worse-for-wear deck and her heart dropped.

  Annie’s backpack was sitting on a patio chair.

  She wrenched the door open, stepped shoeless onto the cracked and peeling deck paint, and scooped up the bright blue canvas tote, pressing it to her chest. “Annie!” she called out, eyes playing over the dry yard. There was no answer.

  Back inside Danielle grabbed the phone and dialed Grace’s cell. It rang three times before she answered with a laughing, “Yeah?”

  “Where are you?”

  “Mom?”

  “Is Annie with you?”

  “No, she’s—oh, shit.”

  “What? Oh, shit what?”

  “I forgot. Early dismissal today.”

  Danielle’s jaw clenched. “Where are you?”

  “With my friends.”

  “That’s not a location, Grace.”

  “Okay, okay. I’m at Brian’s.”

  “Get home. Now. I can’t find your sister.”

  “Wait—what?”

  “Annie’s not here. Get home.” Danielle hung up, blood thundering in her ears. She had forgotten about early dismissal herself, but that meant Grace should have been let out early, too. She hadn’t forgotten early dismissal; the little shit was skipping school.

  Usually early dismissal meant both girls were home by three at the latest. Annie had been on her own for over two hours.

  On the back of an old grocery list Danielle wrote a note telling Grace to stay put, then she snatched her keys, shoved her feet into sneakers and headed out the front door. Annie was a smart kid. Maybe she’d gone for a walk to the park or something.

  Honest to God, maybe Annie should be the one with the spare key. She was the more reliable of the two, despite being so much younger.

  As she circled the front of the Escape to the driver’s door a high-pitched giggle made her stop in place, and she stalked down the driveway to the sidewalk, stopping short at the rear of her vehicle.

  Her youngest daughter was there, in one piece, thank God. She was strolling along and sucking on a straw that was plugged into the lid of an Icee cup. That wasn’t what made Danielle put her guard up, though.

  The man next to Annie was her neighbor. He was grinning down at Annie, bottle of root beer hanging from one hand.

  Yes, that was her neighbor. No, they didn’t know him well at all. Her mommy senses stung.

  “Annie!” she called, hearing the sharp mania in her tone. Both people on the sidewalk stopped, and then Annie broke into a grin and ran at her.

  “Don’t run with the straw in your mouth!” the stranger shouted, and her paranoia eased.

  She’d been about to say the exact same thing.

  Annie brought the cup down and continued her jog, stopping a few feet away.

  “Honey, where were you? I got home and you were gone. I was so worried.”

  “Sorry Mom. I was with Knuckles though, so I was safe. We were looking at the parts for his bike and then I was thirsty so he bought me an Icee.”

  Danielle’s eyebrows rose with that rapid information download. “You were looking at his bike? You shouldn’t bother people, honey.”

  “He was just looking at the parts. And Grace wasn’t here. I got bored so I went over to say hi.”

  Danielle inhaled, then looked up at the man who’d now caught up with Annie. He was taller than he’d appeared from her vantage point through the dining room window, the few times she’d seen him. He was thin, too. The sides of his head were shaved all the way to the scalp, and a snake’s head was tattooed behind one ear, the body trailing down the side of his neck and disappearing behind the collar of the black button down he had on. The sleeves had been ripped clear off it, showing the variety of ink on his arms. He was covered, even the backs of his fingers were tatted up.

  His eyes were an odd grey-gold, very pale. His lashes were as dark as his beard, which was long and pointed past his chin like a statue of a Norse God. Maybe it was all meant to be menacing, but his smile threw that all out of whack. His grin was wide, bright, and directed down at her daughter.

  “I’m sorry,” Danielle blustered, pulling Annie’s back against her stomach. “Usually she knows to just stay in our yard.”

  He waved a hand, dismissive. “Nah, it’s fine. She was curious about the bike, that’s all. Said she was locked out. I thought I’d look out for her. Sorry to worry you, Momma.”

  The Momma was odd. It made her feel old, even though she was certain they’d be close in age. Did he think she was old?

  Why did that bother her?

  “No, it’s fine,” she assured him, feeling flustered. “She just...she knows not to talk to strangers.”

  Something in that brilliant smile dimmed a bit, and then that made her feel guilty.

  “He’s not a stranger, Mom. He’s Knuckles. And he was in the Army. He told me so.”

  “Greg O’Shay,” he said finally, smile gone as he stepped forward and held out his free hand. “We haven’t introduced ourselves.”

  “Danielle Prince,” she replied, shaking his hand. Now she felt a bit ashamed. Was feeling unsure about a grown man walking around with her daughter not to be expected?

  “Mom, can I help Knuckles put his bike together?”

  Now they both looked down on Annie as she paused to slurp another taste of Icee. It must have been cherry; her lips were bright red already.

  “I think he needs help. It’s a mess. And he’s really nice. And I want to learn how engines work.”

  Danielle sighed. Her daughter was wonderfully open and curious. At no point did she try to discourage Annie from tasks that were traditionally for “boys,” nor did she push her into “girly” interests. Annie found the fun in both sides of the spectrum. She loved playing in dirt and catching bugs. And then after a long day of grass stains and getting scratched up by bushes she’d want to paint her fingernails.

  She looked up at the biker, who was now smiling at Annie. She couldn’t imagine him wanting to hang out with a kid. And if he did, did that make him weird? Danielle braced for his man to tell her daughter that motorcycles weren’t for little girls, break her heart, and then walk away.

  “Told you, it’s up to your mom.” He cast his eyes back up to her, but his face was guarded again. “I’ll be home a bit more for the next month or so. If I’m working on the bike, she’s welcome to help once her homework is done or whatever. Right the
re in the garage, I always work with the door open.”

  Danielle’s hands were on Annie’s shoulders, and from her nervousness she ran her hand over those red curls. Annie tilted her head all the way back, looking up at her with a grin. “Puh-leeese Mom? Can I?”

  “Please, Momma? It’d be great to have the help.” He was smiling at her again, really smiling, and Danielle’s reservations melted.

  “Okay. But only when homework’s done, okay?”

  Annie nodded emphatically.

  “And you don’t wear school clothes to work on the bike. We’ll use our painting clothes, okay?”

  “Okay!”

  “Now get inside and start your homework.”

  “Okay. Bye Knuckles!” Her daughter was already off and running up the driveway.

  “Bye, Curly!”

  Neither of the adults moved. When Danielle put her hands on her hips this Greg O’Shay crossed his arms. He could tell she wanted to talk, she supposed.

  “I have a few rules.”

  He nodded. “I expect nothing less.”

  “She stays in the driveway or the garage. Unless I’m around, she’s not to go in your house. It’s not my business, but I don’t know what you have in there.”

  His smile twitched, and there was something to that motion that made her body tighten somewhere low and deep. She ignored it, keeping her face straight. “You got it,” he murmured.

  “No sugary drinks this late in the day. It’ll take forever for her to go to bed now.”

  He nodded at that one. “Sorry. It was what she wanted—”

  “Of course it was. But a juice or water at this time of day is better.”

  He tightened his jaw but he was still smiling. She wished it annoyed her. “One last thing. She takes everything to heart, and I’ve tried to keep her from that whole girl and boy, gender-assigned role thing. She likes to get dirty and she can be rambunctious, and at the same time her teddy bear is pink and she played with dolls up until two years ago. I don’t push her one way or the other, I let her set her own path.”

  “I can see that.”

  “If you don’t intend to actually let her help you do this all the way through, you have to call it off now.”

  He frowned and dropped his arms. “Why the hell would I do that?”

  Danielle tilted her head like he must be shitting her. “From my experience, men aren’t really lining up to hang out with kids that aren’t even theirs. Hell, sometimes their own fathers could give a shit. If you’re not serious about this, you’ll break her heart and I won’t let you do that. If you’re not intending to see this through, say so right now.”

  His smile had dropped a while back, and now his face was serious. Maybe even a bit angry. “I said I’d do it. I don’t say shit just for the fuck of it.”

  “That’s another thing,” she said, finger coming up before she could stop herself. “She’s heard most of these words, but please watch your language around her.”

  Now Greg O’Shay threw his head back and laughed. She had no idea how to take that, so she just kept talking.

  “I appreciate this, I do. I can’t afford to put Annie in a lot of classes or teams or whatever. But I still want her to do things she might be interested in.”

  “Listen, Momma.” He still sounded terribly amused by her. It was mildly annoying. “Like I said, I’m going to be stuck close to home for the next month or so. I’d love to have someone else to talk to from time to time. I know about the sugar now, so I won’t do that again. And as for the swearing, Annie’s already done a really good job of taking me to task on each slip up. But if you’re not comfortable with this, just say the word, Momma.” This time on Momma his tone dropped a little, making it grumbly. That same clenching feeling set off, and she took a step backwards before she could control it.

  Jesus, she needed to get a grip.

  “Like I said. Only with your permission.”

  Now her heart fluttered. Oh, for Christ’s sake. She needed to pull it together. “Okay then. Thank you for this.” With awkward movements, she put her hand out and he shook it again in a perfunctory manner. Okay, so maybe she was the only one suffering from hormones. She really thought she’d gotten past that whole bad-boy stage.

  “See you around, Danielle,” he said, taking a few steps backward before turning up his own driveway. As Danielle turned away a souped-up Impala pulled up in front of her rental, music loud and pouring out the windows. The passenger door opened and Grace stepped out, pulling her backpack up onto her shoulder.

  Danielle set her jaw and waited for her daughter to come closer. The car pulled away in a loud squeal of tires that made Danielle wince.

  “Is she home?”

  Danielle crossed her arms. “Yeah, she was hanging out with our neighbor. Where the hell did you go?”

  Grace stopped, looking like she’d been caught. And she had been. “I told you. We got out early and a bunch of us were at Brian’s.”

  Danielle pointed to where the car had disappeared. “Is that Brian?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how old is Brian?”

  Grace’s eyes dropped.

  “Grace Eloise Prince, how old is Brian?”

  “He’s nineteen, okay?” she didn’t shout, she just sounded sheepish.

  “Not okay. Were you skipping school to hang out with nineteen-year-old Brian?”

  Grace just swallowed.

  “And that’s why you forgot early dismissal? And that’s why Annie was all alone when she got home?”

  Still no answer.

  “I need you here to look out for her, Grace. Have you been leaving her on her own a lot when I’m at work?” She thought back to those longer hours during the Christmas break, when the office had been processing Tracey Webber’s autopsy and giving statements to internal investigations on the actions of Deputy Unger. The thought that Grace had been leaving Annie alone... “Well, do you?”

  Grace sighed and pushed her layered hair out her face. “Sometimes, okay?”

  As much as her daughter drove her nuts, she didn’t lie. She’d evade and sneak around but she was too smart not to know when she was busted.

  “Not cool, Grace.”

  “I know. I’m sorry.”

  “And this Brian. Please tell me he’s not your boyfriend.”

  “God, Mom. No, he’s not.”

  “Then why is a nineteen-year old hanging out with a sixteen-year old?”

  Grace’s eyes dropped again, and she shrugged.

  Danielle gripped her chin, pulling her daughter’s gaze up to meet her own. Her pupils were pinpricks.

  “Jesus Christ. You’re high as a kite.”

  “Mom—”

  “Do not ‘mom’ me. Get inside and get comfortable. You are so fucking grounded.”

  Grace’s eyes widened. “You never swear.”

  Danielle grit her teeth. “Honestly, I only do when I’m angry enough to hit something. Now get inside.”

  Without protest Grace circled her, head down and stomped up the driveway and up the front stoop. She was so furious her hands were shaking, so she took a moment to try and compose herself. Out of the corner of her eye, Danielle caught movement and noticed her neighbor, still standing behind the truck in his own driveway, taking a swig of root beer. When he caught her looking he raised the bottle in greeting and turned back for his house.

  Danielle let out the breath she’d been holding. It was unlikely he’d heard her exchange with Grace, but now she was on guard anyway. No need for strangers to know their business.

  Chapter Five

  The cell rang at its normal volume, but his house was so quiet it cut through his dreamless sleep like a fucking fire alarm. In a heartbeat, Knuckles was upright, reaching for it, missing, and knocking his lamp to the floor.

  “Fuck,” he muttered, still flapping his hand over the side table to find his phone. Too bad the lamp didn’t automatically turn on when it was knocked to the floor. “Fucking fuck,” he growled as his ha
nd finally curled around the flip phone. He flopped back on the bed, noting that the room was indeed still quite dark, and grumbled a “Yeah?” into the mouthpiece.

  “Knuckles?”

  “Who’s this?”

  “It’s Dog.”

  Knuckles swallowed and scratched his chest. He wanted to give the bar owner shit for calling him in the middle of the night, but if it wasn’t for Dog he could be dead. “What’s up, man?”

  “I got a problem here at the bar.”

  “No one answering at the clubhouse?” Dog wouldn’t know he was at home, after all. Just calling a cell number didn’t necessarily mean the whole club would come running.

  “It’s not...it’s not big trouble. But Jolene Grainger is here, and she’s got some guy that wants to take her home. I’m holding them off, this guy won’t get the fuck out, and she’s hitting everyone that tries to stop them from leaving.”

  He’d been up at the mention of Jolene trying to leave a bar with some guy. He crossed the room, turned on the overhead light, and starting digging through the clothes on the floor to get dressed. “Fuck. I’m on my way.”

  “Should I call anyone else too?”

  “Nah, I can handle this. No one needs to know this shit.”

  “She’s really tanked, man. I was watching her intake but I’m pretty sure she brought her own shit in.”

  “Where are they right now?”

  “Slow dancing. Practically fucking, actually. Much longer and they’ll likely be going at it in one of the booths.”

  He shoved his legs into a pair of jeans, dropped the phone, scooped it up again. “Fuck. Sorry. Dropped the phone. I’m getting my gear on. I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just make sure they stay there.”

  “Doing what I can. She already hit me with a beer bottle, though.”

  Jesus. “Fuck, man. I’m sorry. Gimme five minutes.”

  He hung up so he could dress faster. He was about to pull on his kutte before he realized his bike wasn’t even there. All he had was Tiny’s Ram, and good thing if Jolene was that far gone.

  He grabbed the keys from the dresser as his T-shirt fell into place. After a momentary pause, he grabbed a hoodie, too.

  Normally he’d get to Dog’s in about three minutes, but that was on his bike. He still made it in five since the streets were quiet at this time. Checking the dash clock, he saw that it was two-thirty in the morning. Dog had called as soon as he knew for sure he had trouble.