“Layla! Riley!” Emmie greeted us with a wide grin at the front door, ushering us inside. “So glad you came,” she added, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and guiding me toward the kitchen where a few other women were gathered.
“Guys are out back,” Emmie said, pointing toward the back deck, where I could make out a few tall forms standing around a grill. “You’ve met Grace and Wren,” she introduced, gesturing toward the gorgeous redhead and brunette I’d met during my nan’s funeral and had seen around town. “But I don’t think you’ve met Liv.” She gestured to a blonde woman who offered a friendly wave.
“Hi, nice to meet you,” I greeted.
“Francesca’s not here, she’s super preggers, but I’m sure you’ll meet her soon. Oh, and Ginnie’s at some beauty convention,” she added.
“Em, you’re making her head spin,” Grace chided with a kind smile in my direction. “Let’s get you a beer. Or a glass of wine?”
“Beer sounds good,” I replied gratefully.
“How about for you, honey?” Wren asked Riley. “We have water, milk, and some juice if your mama says it’s okay.”
Riley looked up at me, her expression full of hope.
“A little bit of juice is okay,” I agreed, knowing that’s what she wanted.
“Did you know we have a pig?” Wren asked her. At Riley’s excited gasp and small squeal, she smiled. “How about I take you out to meet her?” Her eyes turned up to me. “If that’s okay with you, Layla.”
I appreciated her checking in with me. A lot of people didn’t have the same consideration.
“I’m sure Riley would love that,” I replied, watching Wren take my daughter’s hand so naturally and lead her out back.
“How are you guys settling in?” Em asked as we stood around the kitchen island.
“Good,” I replied truthfully. “Riley loves school. And work is fine. We’re settling into the house. I started going to the gym.” I was debating whether I should share that I was spending time with Cash when the man himself walked through the slider with a sniffling Riley in his arms.
For a split second I was so shocked by the sight, I froze. Then I was in motion, moving toward my daughter. Years of experience had taught me that this type of cry didn’t warrant any panic, but I still wanted to comfort her.
“What happened, baby?” I asked gently.
“She slipped and scraped her knee,” Cash responded for her. “You have some Band-Aids and Neosporin?” he asked over his shoulder toward Wren as Riley clung to him as though she’d known him all her life.
Considering Riley’s typical skittishness around men, I was shocked to see her behave this way.
Wren nodded. “In the guest bath.”
He strode in that direction as I fought to keep up with his long legs. “What are you doing? I can take it from here,” I protested in frustration.
He sat Riley gently on the countertop. “It’s okay, baby,” he assured me gently. “I got this.”
I gritted my teeth, not wanting to rant at him in front of Riley.
Riley looked at me with tear-filled eyes. “I didn’t get to meet Rosie.”
“Rosie?”
“The pig,” Cash explained as he carefully put some Neosporin on Riley’s knee. “I’ll take you back out there, darlin’,” he assured Riley.
She smiled hesitantly up at him through tears.
I stared at the two of them, flabbergasted. What universe had I been transported to?
“Um, maybe I should just take Riley home,” I put in.
“No, Mama!” Riley exclaimed. “It’s fun here!”
“Yeah, Mama,” Cash murmured, his blue eyes trained on me. “It’s fun here.”
I made a grumbling sound of frustration that he ignored, turning eyes back to Ri. “All right, sweetheart, you’re all set. Good as new,” he told her after he’d finished putting a Band-Aid on. “What do you say we go back out and try this again?” he offered.
“Yes!” Riley exclaimed before turning worried eyes to me. “I can, right, Mama?”
“How about I take you?” I bargained.
“Tell you what, sweetheart,” Cash spoke up, “why don’t you go find Wren and let me talk to your mom for a minute?” he asked.
“Okay,” she agreed all too readily as he helped her off the counter. She skipped out of the bathroom and down the hall as I stood in openmouthed shock at being completely railroaded.
“You… but…,” I blathered as he closed the bathroom door and stepped into my space. “She’s mine,” I finally settled on.
His gaze swept over my face, landing a beat on my lips, making my stomach clench. “She is. And she’s perfect,” he murmured, looking down at me, making the small space feel impossibly smaller. In a move so swift I barely registered it, he gripped my hips and placed me on the counter, moving in between my legs. “And you are so fucking gorgeous, if I don’t get my hands on you soon, I’m going to lose my mind,” he growled.
“I’m not trying to play some game. I’m not trying to be coy. I actually don’t think I even know how to do that,” I muttered, causing a tender smile to quirk his gorgeous lips. “But I haven’t let a man into my life in a long time and I have Riley… she’s my priority. We’re still getting settled, everything is so new. My nan just died….”
I don’t know how long I would have kept talking, but suddenly, his mouth was on mine. His hands cupped the sides of my face as his lips coaxed mine open, his tongue meeting mine, a delicious growl rumbling deep in his chest.
My core liquified, heart hammering as I lost the battle willingly and wrapped my legs around him, pulling him closer. In that moment, there was no denying him. There was no worry, no thought at all beyond pure need. His hands went to my hair, pulling gently as he took the kiss deeper.
A knock at the door had him pulling back, his forehead pressed to mine. “Just a minute,” he rasped to whoever was at the door. He pulled back, eyes roving over my face. “Fuck, I knew once I got a taste of you that’d be it.”
“I should get back to Riley.” I felt guilty that I’d left her so long.
He held my gaze a moment longer before helping me off the counter. He opened the door and gestured for me to precede him. His hand pressed to my lower back, guiding me back out to the kitchen.
The girls didn’t try to hide their shock at seeing us together. And it didn’t help that they were now joined by a couple of men who must have been outside when we’d come in. Gracie’s mouth was comically agape as she watched our approach. I was sure my mouth was swollen from his kisses, my blush growing a deeper shade of red as they stared at us.
“Gonna catch flies, Gracie,” Cash commented casually, his arm moving up to slip around my shoulders.
She snapped her mouth shut, wide eyes swinging to me.
“Where’s Riley?” I asked, desperate for escape.
“Liv took her back out to meet Rosie,” Wren explained. “I’m so sorry about earlier. I swear I’m good with kids. She just slipped on the stairs. I was holding her hand but—”
I held up a hand, eager to assure her. “Wren, she just turned five. She trips over her own two feet all the time. It happens. No big deal, promise.”
The handsome dark-haired man next to her wrapped an arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. “You’re great with kids, baby,” he assured her.
“This is my husband, Max,” Wren introduced. “And that bald guy is Gunner,” she added, gesturing to the large man with the shaved head.
Gunner snorted. “I’m not fucking bald, Wren. I shave my head.”
“Hey, watch how you talk to my wife,” Max growled.
“Oh my God, you guys, if we actually want her to be friends with us maybe we should tone it down?” Emmie prompted with an eye roll. “This is sort of normal though,” she admitted to me with a wrinkled nose.
I laughed nervously, deftly slipping out from Cash’s arm. “It’s fine. Really. I’ll be happy to help with dinner. But I’m just gonna go find Rile
y real quick,” I stammered, practically running to the back deck.
Chapter 8
CASH
“She seems cool, too bad we’ll never see her again.” Max chortled as we all watched Layla practically race for the nearest exit.
Max was joking, but as Emmie turned narrowed eyes to me, it was very clear she wasn’t. “ What are you doing, Cash?” she demanded.
“Cool it, Em. He likes her,” Gunner defended on my behalf.
I hadn’t grown up in the club like most of them had and yet, they were my family. They’d given me what I’d never had before. Love, loyalty, and respect. I’d die for every single one of them.
All three of the girls turned wide eyes toward me. “You like her? Like, like her, like her?” Emmie demanded.
“Don’t even know what you’re fucking sayin’,” I admitted, scratching my whiskers in confusion. “But if you’re askin if I’m serious about her—yeah. I am. I’m not fucking around.”
“Didn’t you just meet her?” Grace wanted to know.
I turned to her, eyeing her steadily as though daring her to challenge me. “Yep.”
Something in my tone must have gotten through, because Emmie visibly deflated. “Okay. I just—I worry about her. Losing her nan was hard. I think that’s really the only family she had. But Layla is tough and smart and so dedicated to Riley. I can’t imagine having a two-year-old dropped in my lap in my early twenties,” she murmured. “But she’s never once complained about it to me.” She looked toward the patio door Layla had slipped through. “She’s tough as nails, whether she knows it or not, and just the kind of chick you want in your life.”
I was just about to agree when Layla walked back in, a chattering Riley clutching her hand.
I’d never thought much about kids; at twenty-eight, it hadn’t been on my radar. But there was something about Riley that had immediately claimed my heart. From the moment she’d slipped and then reached for me, cuddling against my shoulder with so much trust, she’d become mine just as much as her mother was.
But with the look of apprehension Layla was shooting me from across the room, I’d have to keep that thought to myself—for now at least.
Hours later, I went in search of Layla. She’d avoided me for the rest of the night, but I’d been glad to see her enjoying herself. Riley had fallen asleep hours ago in Max and Wren’s guest room, which was where I found Layla, about to scoop Riley up.
“I can carry her,” I murmured quietly, not wanting to startle her.
She looked over her shoulder at me with that mixture of apprehension and curiosity she’d been sliding my way all night. “Okay.”
Her easy agreement made me realize how tired she must be. She’d fought me on everything else.
I scooped Riley up in my arms, careful not to wake her. Despite how small she was, her weight felt incredibly significant in my arms as I carried her out of the room, Layla at my heels.
I shot a chin lift to Gunner and Max as Layla waved goodbye.
“I’ll follow you,” I told Layla when she’d finished buckling Riley into her booster.
Her brow creased. “What? Why?”
“Because I don’t want you driving down the mountain by yourself this late at night and I want to help you get Riley inside,” I answered patiently.
She bit her lip as though deliberating how to answer me.
Christ, how I wanted to bite that lip. “I’m just seeing you home, Layla. Nothing more,” I assured her.
“Okay,” she agreed quietly.
It was a small win, but I’d take it.
I strode to my bike, firing up the motor and following her toward town. Gunner had told me where she lived, and when we pulled up a short time later in front of the two-story home where her nan had lived not that long ago, I was struck by the enormity of what both Layla and Riley must be going through with so much change in such a short time.
I cut the engine and, with minimal argument from Layla, helped lift Riley from her booster and carried her inside.
Layla turned on a few lights and indicated for me to follow her up the stairs. “First door on the left,” she murmured. “I’m just gonna put my purse down,” she added, darting from the room quickly.
I laid Riley on the bed, noting how lived-in her room looked. Clearly Layla had made sure her little girl felt at home. Knowing what little I did about Layla, I wasn’t surprised.
When she returned a moment later, I didn’t imagine that she looked pale and agitated.
“What is it?” I asked immediately.
She shook her head and instead of answering me, moved toward Riley’s bed, pulling the covers up over her and pushing her hair tenderly back from her face. My gaze narrowed on her shaking hands. With a lingering look down at Riley, she turned to leave the room.
I followed her out, surprised when she headed down the hall instead of toward the stairs. She walked into what I assumed was her room, a large master outfitted simply with a king-sized bed, dresser, and two side tables.
“Layla?” I prompted, worried now as she paced, wringing her hands together.
“I think someone was here,” she admitted finally.
My jaw clenched, spine straightening as I scanned the room, immediately on alert. “What makes you think so?”
“My things have been moved around,” she murmured. “I didn’t leave my dresser like that.” She pointed. The drawers were all partially opened.
I moved immediately to her closet and bathroom to make sure both were clear. “Gonna go do a sweep of the house. I’ll start in Riley’s room,” I responded without delay. If someone was hiding in the house, that asshole would be sorry.
She nodded. When it came to Riley’s safety, I knew instinctively that she wouldn’t argue.
I moved methodically through the house, ensuring I checked every bedroom, closet, and every conceivable place someone could hide. It took a while. It was a big house.
When I was satisfied, I checked the lock on the front door. It didn’t look as though it had been tampered with. The slider off the living room was another story. It had clear signs of forced entry.
The blood chilled in my veins. I’d taken Layla’s claim seriously, and here was the evidence she’d been right. Someone had been in the house. But why? For what?
When I found her, she was in Riley’s room, looking down at her daughter, worry clear in her expression.
I grasped her upper arm gently, guiding her back to her own room.
“Someone was here,” I confirmed. “They’re gone now.”
She sat heavily on the edge of the bed, and I had a feeling that had it not been directly behind her, she would have collapsed to the floor.
I kneeled in front of her. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?” I demanded.
“Honestly? I don’t know. I thought I was losing it, but I have been feeling a little creeped out lately. Like someone’s watching me,” she admitted.
“That night at the grocery store,” I surmised.
She nodded. “Yeah. But I have no idea why or who would want to break in.” She bit her lower lip.
I forced myself not to zero in on her luscious mouth and remained on task. “Any ex-boyfriends? Family that could want something from you?”
Her beautiful green eyes filled with sadness as she pondered my question.
“I really don’t think so. My older brother, Charlie, he’s been in and out of trouble, but he’d never do anything to hurt me. He wasn’t able to be a father, but I know he loves Riley,” she insisted quietly. Her defense of her brother who’d obviously done nothing but disappoint her and Riley only proved further the size of her heart.
“What kind of trouble?” I pressed.
“He’s addicted to gambling,” she began, her voice trembling. “He hadn’t been in a good place in years when he got a woman pregnant. Riley’s mother had addiction issues as well. Pills, I think. I was never quite sure. Thank God she didn’t use while she was pregnant,” she added with a relief I sha
red. “But neither of them could take care of a baby. They weren’t fit. I was the next of kin and I loved Riley from the moment I met her.” Her eyes were shining with tears as she looked at me. “It was the best thing I ever did, becoming her mother, but she didn’t come from me.”
She wanted to make sure I knew that, just as I needed her to know how I felt about it. “She’s still yours,” I confirmed vehemently.
She nodded. “She is. We’re a family. She’s my only family. And I’ll do anything to protect her.” The fire in her eyes made me respect her all the more. The woman was a lioness, and despite her earlier vulnerability, I had no doubt she was strong as hell.
“You are safe here,” I ground out. “I’ll make sure of it. You know I do security for the club?” I asked.
She shook her head.
“Well, I do. I’ll set you up tomorrow with a system. For now, I’ll stay.”
Her gorgeous eyes popped wide. “Stay over? Here, you mean?”
“Yep. On the couch. Unless you want me to stay with you?” I lifted a brow, my head cocked toward her bed. I wanted nothing more but knew she wouldn’t take me up on it, not yet.
“Uh, no. The couch is good. And ordinarily I’d say we’re fine, but—”
I pulled her closer, kissing the top of her head. “I’m staying.”
She sighed, clearly relieved. “Okay, thank you.”
“It’s no problem. Maybe you’ll even make me breakfast in the morning.” I grinned.
She scoffed. “I’m not much of a cook but I can pour you a bowl of cereal.”
I chuckled. “Sounds good to me. I’ll let you get some sleep.”
She handed me a pillow and a blanket from her bed. “Thank you, Cash, really. I know we don’t know each other well but I feel much better that you’re here.”
“Not a thing, baby,” I rumbled, taking what she handed me. “Sleep well.”
She watched me go, looking gorgeous but tired perched on the edge of her bed. “You too.”
It was one of the harder things I’d done, leaving her there when all I wanted to do was hold her, but I knew it wasn’t the time to push for more. Instead, I made my way downstairs, settling on the couch, preparing for a restless night.
Cash Page 4