Okay. I deserved that one. “Something like that.”
He nodded, then seemed to chew on my idea for a moment. “Okay. Just…don’t let her carry anything heavy.”
“Done.” I took a couple steps in Katie’s direction before turning back around. “Thanks for the beer, and the name’s Chase.”
If the beard movement was any indication, the man smiled. “Good to know you, Chase. Don’t fuck up around my girl.”
Direct again. I headed across the room, nodding and saying hello when greeted but not stopping. I had a woman to rescue from herself. One who definitely should not have been carrying a tray that looked to weigh about half as much as she did.
As soon as I reached Katie, I lifted the tray from her hands. Smiling. “Let me.”
“Oh,” she said, looking perplexed. “Parris, hi. You don’t have to do that.”
“This tray is almost as big as you. Let me help.”
She glanced over my shoulder. “Did Gage send you?”
See, this was where being a skilled liar could have come into play. Could have, but I chose the truth just this once. “Yes, but don’t be mad at him. He’s worried about your hand.”
She smiled just enough for me to know she wasn’t really mad. “He’s always worried about me.”
“Good men take care of the women they love. He can’t help himself.”
I caught a glimpse of Mercy for just a second before she disappeared into the crowd again. Something Katie seemed to notice.
“You can’t take care of her if you’re disappearing.” She shrugged when I whipped around in her direction. “Just calling it like I see it.”
“I have no plans to disappear again.”
“Good. Because she deserves more than being left behind to protect her. Not all of us need that sort of protection—we’ve gotten pretty good at taking care of ourselves over the years.” She turned her hand over, the burns Gage had mentioned obvious. The placement and shape clearly that of a handle of some sort. Knowing her job and the story about the explosion in the restaurant, my guess would be a heavy pan that had gotten awfully hot. Not a mistake many professional chefs would make.
My respect level for the bubbly brunette skyrocketed. “I hear you loud and clear, miss.”
“Good. Now don’t tell Gage, but my hand is really starting to cramp. Think you could haul a couple more things for me?”
“As you wish.” And with that, I was put to work as a pack mule, hefting trays and stocking the bar for her. With every passing minute, the restaurant filled up a little more, seemingly everyone from this small town showing up to wish the couple luck in their upcoming marriage. No Deacon, though. I’d left him back at the motel to get ready, so I had no idea why he’d be so late. I just hoped he hadn’t run into trouble.
I had pulled my phone out to see if the man had texted me, when an incoming message alert lit up the screen. I quickly swiped through, the name one I hadn’t expected to hear from today. The information something I’d been waiting on.
“Someone sending you nudes?” Deacon strolled up beside me, looking pale but awake.
“Only one person I want nudes from, but she’d better not be taking any. You never know who’s going to hack in to your phone and see what they shouldn’t.” I typed out a quick response. “Seen Finn?”
“No, but I just got here. Snuck in through the back.”
“You hiding from someone?”
“Not really. Just…” He sighed, his shoulders hunching slightly. “It’s been a long fucking week.”
The man had never spoken a single word that held more truth than that. “We did it, though. Got rid of the Black Angels.”
“And the kiddie traffickers.”
“And those fuckers.”
Deacon nodded. “We’re rock stars at this. We should be winning awards and shit.”
“And the winner of the best sniper of the year is…” I chuckled, typing out a message to Finn. Fulfilling my side of our arrangement.
“Why do you want Finn, anyway?”
“I found someone he’s been looking for.”
“This have to do with the fire at Camden’s?”
It was my turn to nod. “From what I understand, yeah.”
“You find the guy who set it?”
“Sure did.”
“We taking him out?”
I glanced at the sniper, having hit send. “This is a Finn project. I don’t know why, but he’s got a hard-on for this Coyote guy.”
“Camden is Finn’s best friend.”
Yeah, okay. That made a fuckton of sense. “I think we should leave this up to those two. Let them know we’re here to help but not take it over.”
Deacon looked around the room, his expression pensive. “They’re just kids. They might fuck it all up.”
“Or they might not and find the closure they need.”
“You getting all Dr. Phil on me?”
As if. “No, fucker. I’m just—”
I spotted Jinx and Finn across the room talking to Alder. My internal checklist practically sang, seeing Jinx reminding me that I had a mess with her to clean up. A conversation that needed to happen. If I was going to stay in this town where Jinx had quite obviously also chosen to be, I needed to put some shit behind me.
“Everything okay?” Deacon asked.
“Yeah. I just need to talk to Jinx.”
“You had to text Finn, and now you need to talk to Jinx. Next thing, you’ll be wanting to get Mercy alone.”
I shot him a raised eyebrow. “Don’t I always?”
His laugh exploded out of him, startling a few people nearby and gaining some serious attention. Specifically from the future groom.
“You better watch it,” I said, tilting my head in Alder’s direction. “Looks like he’s coming for you.”
Deacon sobered up, adopting an easy smirk. One that almost hid the dark circles under his eyes. “Go on, Chase. Go find Jinx and have your conversation. I’ll distract this jackass.”
“I thought he was your best friend?”
“He is. Doesn’t make him any less of a jackass.”
Alder picked that moment to reach us. “It’s about time you got here.”
But Deacon wasn’t taking the bait. “Alder, this is Chase. Chase, Alder.”
Alder looked from me to him and back again, his brow tight. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
I smacked Deacon on the shoulder. “You’re on your own. Good to see you, Alder. Shye.”
I took off before anyone could stop me, heading toward the front of the restaurant. I tucked myself into a corner and waited, keeping my eyes on Jinx and Finn. Giving them time to talk to Finn’s brother Bishop while I kept a surreptitious watch on Mercy. She had joined Beckett at the bar where he was playing with some sort of tractor toy. The two of them shared a few laughs and a hug, making me miss them even more. Making my heart hurt in ways I wasn’t prepared for.
List. Focus on the list.
Lots of shit to get done still. Lots of things to do before Mercy would even think of taking me back. And first up on that list was talking to Jinx, who had just walked away from the people she’d been talking to with Finn at her side. Jackpot.
“Hey,” I said as soon as I reached the couple, giving Finn a handshake. “You got my text.”
He nodded once. “Yeah. Thanks. Whatever you need in return—”
“Nah,” I said, holding up my hand. “This one’s on me.”
Jinx frowned. “You never give up being owed a favor.”
I caught Mercy’s eye for just a second, spotted her looking at me. That moment, that slight connection, gave me hope for more. And more meant staying. And staying meant being friendly with the neighbors, including Finn Kennard. “This one, I will. Consider it a gift.”
The tattooed girl’s smile fell when she caught my eye, and those walls she’d put up to protect herself from me locked into place. Jinx always had been a hard nut to crack, and apparently today would be no di
fferent. “What is it you want?”
Nothing, but that wasn’t the question I wanted to answer. Not anymore. With Mercy and Beckett firmly on my mind, I opened my mouth and let loose the secrets that technically weren’t mine to tell. That were the Black Angels’ and would be seen as a betrayal to them if it was ever discovered I’d blabbed. The ones that mattered most to the girl before me.
“Ravel killed your mom.” I waited as her eyes widened, as she jerked back and grabbed Finn’s hand. Gave her a second to take that in before I spilled the rest even though my neck felt about a hundred degrees too hot. “She was a good woman so I tried to get her off the drugs, but the guys would feed her more every time my back was turned. Her addiction got worse and worse, but she was smart, you know? She paid attention. She caught Edge with a girl way too young to be legal, and she didn’t like it. She made sure he knew she didn’t like it, so he ordered her death. I don’t know where her body is, but I know they killed her. And I’m real fucking sorry I couldn’t tell you that before.”
She took a deep breath, her eyes growing red. Tears building in the corners. “You’re an asshole for not telling me.”
“I know, and though I don’t deserve your forgiveness, I’m sorry.” I nodded to Finn, feeling like shit for ruining their evening, before heading for the kitchen to hide out so she could process all that without me in the way.
But before I could reach the door, Jinx hurried up behind me and grabbed my arm. Stopping me in my tracks.
“Thank you,” the little gray-eyed beauty said, looking so much like a younger, healthier version of her mom that it made my breath catch. “I needed to know what happened to her.”
“I know you did, and I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. That was a club secret, but it wasn’t worth honoring anymore.”
She nodded, squeezing my arm one last time before returning to Finn. I watched them come together—watched him wrap his arms around her little frame and tug her in close. Watched him protect her. She would be fine with him. I’d broken through her last connection to the Black Angels. Her prison sentence was over.
And mine was somehow just beginning—my prison sentence of being surrounded by men like Deacon Manns.
“Hey, my date is here.” Deacon held up a glass filled with dark liquid and grinned, Alder standing at his side. “Good to see you, Chase. Where you been?”
As if I hadn’t just left his side a whole five minutes ago. “Deacon. Alder. It really hasn’t been that long.”
But the eldest Kennard wasn’t paying any attention to me. “Who the fuck is Chase?”
Deacon tilted his glass in my direction. “This big lug.”
“You going by your real name now?”
I gave myself a second to take a breath, to prepare for any feelings of loss or anxiety over using the name my parents had given me as a baby. Over losing the identity I’d built with the Black Angels.
Nope. No feelings about all that whatsoever. “Yeah, I am.”
He nodded, almost frowning. “Mercy know this?”
“She’s—” gorgeous, stunning, killing me, ignoring me, angry, everything I have ever wanted in a woman, and totally not giving me the time of day “—not really calling me anything right now.”
Alder’s smirk snuck up on his face, and he lifted his own glass of dark liquid to his lips. “Should we expect some groveling?”
I grabbed a beer from a passing waitress, taking a swig before throwing a grin his way. “Probably not tonight, but yeah. Definitely.”
I just hoped it worked.
Chapter Twenty-Six
MERCY
PARRIS KEPT HIS PROMISE. Two of them, actually. First, he didn’t even attempt to make amends or hog my attention at the party. He mingled instead, hanging out with Alder and Deacon mostly. But his eyes—they stayed on me. There were moments when I could practically feel the weight of his stare. I’d look around, and there he’d be—watching. Keeping watch. I caught him playing with Beckett and helping Katie, too. Entertaining my son and running food back and forth while I kept the party flowing. Being quite the good neighbor and friend, to be honest.
The second promise he kept was to walk me and Beckett home that night. He didn’t push me then either, simply asked how the party had gone for me and if I’d had a good time. And when we’d gotten to my door? Still no pressure. A simple goodnight, a hug for Beckett, and a kiss on the cheek for me before he shooed us up the stairs.
The non-forceful Parris was going to take some getting used to.
Which was the main thought in my head the next morning as I stood in my kitchen, clutching that first, blissful cup of coffee. Beckett hadn’t even woken up yet, and the silence felt downright luxurious. Even the quiet buzzing of my phone vibrating in the other room couldn’t annoy me. Work could wait.
I finished my coffee and rinsed out my mug before heading into the bedroom to retrieve my phone. But when I brought the device to life, it wasn’t all email notifications on the lock screen. Most were, but there were also a couple of text messages. From Parris.
I was hoping to take Beckett on a bike ride today. Let me know if that’s okay with you and what time.
I stared at those words for a long time, not sure what I was feeling. What I should do. The next message only added to my confusion.
You’re welcome to come too, of course. I thought you might want to get some work done.
And then…
I can ask Gage or Deacon to hang with us in case you don’t want Beckett alone with me.
That one stole my breath. Did I want Beckett alone with Parris? I bit my lip, thinking over my plans for the day. It really would be helpful to be able to focus for an hour or so, but the danger…the possibility of bikers coming into town and snatching him from me. I just didn’t know.
Parris texted again before I answered.
I promise to keep him safe.
That one. That text did it, gave me the ability to take a deep breath and type out a response.
Sure. Sounds good. How about after lunch?
Perfect. See you then.
And just like that, I’d put at least a little bit of faith back in the man. Not a lot—I wasn’t about to let him back in my bed, but he could hang with Beckett for an hour or so. Close by. Where I could keep an eye on them.
Because I may have been able to breathe, but I wasn’t yet willing to trust.
BECKETT LIKED to scream as he rode over the little jump ramps Gage and Alder had built for him. I hadn’t even realized how much that sound soothed me as I worked, how hearing him yelling and laughing from the alley kept me calm. At least not until I stopped hearing it.
It took me a minute to understand why my anxiety had started creeping up, why that fight-or-flight sensation had begun taking over my body. The silence grated on my nerves until I couldn’t take it anymore, so I got up and headed toward the alley door. Just one glance, one moment to check in on Beckett. To make sure everything was okay.
What I was met with was more than just okay.
Parris had my son across his lap and Beckett’s sleeve pulled up to expose a scraped elbow. My baby’s cheeks were pink with tearstains, but that wasn’t what gutted me. It was the words I could just barely hear Parris whispering.
“It’s okay, little man. There’s nothing wrong with crying.”
Beckett sniffled, not even noticing me standing ten feet away. “The kids at school say boys don’t cry.”
“Well, they may be right. Boys don’t cry—but men do. And you’re a little man, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So then, it’s okay for you to cry. Don’t bottle that up. If something hurts, you cry.”
My son, my beautiful, kind, happy boy looked up at the big man holding him. “Do you ever cry?”
“Yeah, I do. When something hurts, I cry.” Parris looked up, catching my eye and giving me a wink. “All better yet? Think you’re ready to get back to it?”
“What if I fall again?”
“Th
en you fall. And you get up and try again. A good man doesn’t just give up.”
Words for my son and yet somehow, I felt they were for me, too. I crept back inside as Parris set Beckett on his feet, giving them their time together. Letting Beckett have his little independence from me. But I found myself thinking of that moment a lot, enough so that I couldn’t get any work done. In fact, I was sitting and staring at my computer screen when the two busted in through the alley door, creating chaos around me.
“I’m starving,” Beckett yelled, jumping at me. “Feed me, Mommy.”
Parris shrugged, his grin slightly sheepish. “Sorry about that. Apparently, riding his bike gives him an appetite.”
Beckett used both hands to grab my face and pulled me close enough for our noses to touch as he got super serious. “Starving. Need food.”
A jangling noise caught my attention, and I pulled away from Beckett to see Parris standing across the room. His keys were in his hand. That fact had my stomach plummeting.
“Going somewhere?”
His lips twitched as if he wanted to smile, like he’d heard the unhappiness in that question of mine.
“I was thinking it might be fun to head to the truck stop for dinner.” He fidgeted with his keys, looking suddenly uneasy. Not at all like the confident man I was used to. “I’d like to take you two out.”
Beckett looked at me, his eyebrows raised. “Can we go, Mommy?”
I shrugged, still watching Parris. Still wondering what he was up to. “Sure. I didn’t want to cook anyway.”
But as soon as Beckett was far enough away not to hear me, I took advantage of the privacy.
“Is it safe?” To be so far from Justice. To basically be in Rock Falls. To hit up a place where there might be bikers to deal with.
“Definitely. I won’t let anything happen to you or him.” He met my gaze, his eyes burning into mine. “Ever. I promise you that.”
Well then. “Okay.”
DINNER WENT WELL, better than I could have imagined. Parris had focused on Beckett while still involving me in the conversation, and man—my kid was funny. The night was filled with good laughs and good food and a sweet kiss on the cheek before Parris left us at the alley door. The man was holding back, not pushing me, and being the most respectful gentleman I’d ever encountered.
Sabotage: A Vigilante Justice Novel Page 24