Reaper's Stand (Reapers MC, #4)(13)

“I need to go,” I whispered. “Jessie is waiting for me.”

“Stay.”

“Can’t. She needs me. You’re a parent—you understand. I know you do.”


“You can’t fix her,” he whispered into my ear, the heat of his mouth brushing against the lobe. “She’s a big kid and she has to make her own decisions. Sooner or later we have to let them grow up.”

“Is that what you did with your girls?” I asked. He stilled, then shook his head with a low laugh.

“Fuck no,” he admitted. “I tried everything I could to protect them and keep them safe. Didn’t do a damned bit of good in the end. Kit’s running wild, and Em’s shacked up with a bastard I’d give anything to put in the ground.”

“Then you know why I have to leave now.”

He lowered me slowly and we studied each other for long seconds, sharing a kind of understanding that I’d never have believed possible ten minutes earlier.

“I’ll walk you to the car,” he said.

“Thank you.”

A strange mixture of awareness and tension followed as we walked down the stairs and passed through the club’s main lounge. Speculative gazes touched us, which I ignored.

I could ignore the humming of my body, too—I’d accomplished my goal.

Outside, a very subdued Jessica waited next to the van in the parking lot, Banks standing near enough to watch her but not close enough to talk comfortably. He looked bored but alert, clearly determined to follow his president’s orders.

So much for young love.

I unlocked the van with my key fob and Jess slid in as I reached for my own door. Hayes caught my shoulder, turning me toward him.

“Three o’clock Monday afternoon.”

“I’ll check my schedule.”

“You do that,” he said with a slow, sly grin, because we both knew damned well I’d be there, on time and ready to work. I had a feeling he’d hunt me down if I didn’t. I opened the van door and climbed in, sliding the key into the ignition.

Jess refused to look at me, which worked out well because I really didn’t feel like dealing with her. We’d made it halfway home before she broke the silence.

“Mom would never embarrass me like that.”

After all that, she was going to throw Amber at me? Something ugly inside me snapped.

“Nope, she would’ve charged them to screw you because she never gives anything away for free.”

Jessica gasped and I immediately felt horrible. It might be true, but I had no business tearing down Amber to her daughter. I knew better . . .

“I’m sorry—”

“Fuck you,” she said, her voice cold, dark, and so full of hate I flinched. “I want to go live with her. My real mother.”

I slowed the van to pull over, because I’d messed up and I knew it. Jess turned away.

“Just drive. I don’t want to talk. You’re not my mom and you’re not my boss. I’m an adult. Fuck you . . .” she repeated, but this time she didn’t sound strong. Nope. It was a pained whisper. My heart tore in half, because no matter how damaged Jess was, it wasn’t her fault. From the instant of conception she’d been bathed with chemicals in her mother’s toxic womb, and now she had to live with that the rest of her life.

In the privacy of my mind, I allowed myself a second curse for the night.

Fuck you, Amber.





CHAPTER THREE




MONDAY

LONDON

“Have to admit, I thought you might have a problem with this . . .” I said, running a finger around the rim of my water glass. We were supposed to have a date that night, but Nate had called earlier saying he’d been scheduled to work, so we’d met downtown for lunch instead.

He stole one of my fries, and I smacked his hand playfully. I’d missed having a man around, as much as I hated to admit it. Looking at him across the table, I felt a wave of warmth, because being with him always made me happy. He was so strong and sexy in his deputy’s uniform . . . Like something out of a romance book. Nate even had the tousled hair and dimples to complete the package.

The memory of Reese Hayes’s kiss flashed through my mind, and I flushed. I hadn’t told Nate about it. We weren’t officially exclusive . . . or at least we’d never discussed it.

The implication was certainly clear, though.

“I’m not thrilled,” he admitted. “Hayes is a criminal and we all know it—but he’s not under investigation for anything right now. I do question his motives in asking you to come out personally.”

Yeah, I wasn’t going to touch that . . .

“Well, it should be interesting,” I said.

“How’s Jess?”

“Same as always, I guess. I’m trying to get her job hunting. She needs to be thinking about her future, and she says she doesn’t want to do any more school. It’s frustrating.”

“Must be,” Nate said, his voice sympathetic but noncommital. He’d made it clear from the start that whatever went on between me and Jess was our business. Totally hands off, which I found alternately reassuring and frustrating, because I was in over my head. “You think it’s safe to leave the house for a night? I’d love to take you up to Sandpoint this weekend. There’s a beautiful B&B I think you’d like.”