VOLUME EIGHT: HOME FREECharity Thomas sat straight up in bed as the phone next to her rang sharply, piercing the silence of the night. As a lawyer, it wasn't unusual for her to get calls at all hours, but one this early—3AM if she'd read the clock right between squinted eyes—gave her a funny feeling."This is Charity," she answered her work cell, with what she hoped was a clear voice. Pushing her hair out of her face, she fought the sleep that wanted to claim her again."Charity, it's Meredith Blackfoot."That name conjured up a whole boatload of memories. Some of them the best of her life, some of them the worst. Immediately, she went back to her mom's driveway and Drew telling her to go make something of herself. Even today, ten years later, she could still feel the way she'd felt that day. Her stomach still clenched the same way it had back then."Is something wrong?" she asked, scared now that it was her mom, or even Drew. The two of them hadn't spoken since she'd left h
Fuck, Drew cursed as he pulled his truck onto the square. He was running late, but Mandy had begged him to bring this office equipment to the new place she would be helping out. Word had it that this practice was doing some pro bono work for CRISIS, so he knew most of this was courtesy of Heaven Hill.By trade, Mandy was a paralegal. Her training helped out the club, and in some situations was beneficial to associates of the club. She kept her eyes and ears open for anything and everything that could help them out. For the most part, she managed to know what was happening in this town almost before anyone else did. Usually it was a win/win for everyone involved.He wondered who this attorney was. She tended to switch them up every couple of years, just to give herself a break from the monotony. In fact, it had been a year since she'd actually worked for one. She'd been helping Roni do books at the shop for a while.He looked down at his phone, making sure he was at the correct ad
Liam walked inside, shutting the door behind him as Drew had a seat on his bed. Taking a minute to look at his dad, Drew realized that the years had been good to him. He didn't have a lick of gray on his head, and the only wrinkles he spotted were crow's feet and smile lines. Drew hoped that was him when he was in his forties. Even though he didn't have one ounce of Liam's blood in his body, he hoped like hell he took after the man who had given him his last name."I heard from a little birdie that you saw Charity today." Liam had a seat in the chair across from the bed, putting his elbows on his knees.Damn his sister. "That little birdie's got a big fuckin' mouth."Liam couldn't help the grin that came to his face. "The two of you always fight dirty, even as grown-ass adults. I just want to make sure you're okay after seeing her today. The months after she left were hard on you, son. Hell, the years following ain't been a cakewalk."There was no denying that, so he didn't eve
Drew hated to be the last person to know something, so he intentionally waited until the very last minute to make his way into the meeting. Having a seat at the table, he sat between his best friend, Dalton, and his other friend Cash. Cash wasn't a member of Heaven Hill, but he was a trusted acquaintance, and they liked to keep him in the loop.Purposely, he sat back against his chair and acted uninterested, even when Liam called the meeting to order. Immature as it was, it was his own rebellion."As some of you know," his old man said, "Charity has been retained by the club to help with the situation at CRISIS.""What situation is that?" he asked as obnoxiously as he could. They'd left him out, and he wanted them to suffer for it. He wanted them to have to explain it in front of everyone. This pissed him the fuck off.Tyler cleared his throat from where he sat beside Liam and leveled Drew with a glare. "Don't be a little shit. There's a woman and her daughter who showed up two
"Are you sure you don't want to take my spot?"Drew looked at Dalton and nodded. "I'm sure. Dad gave us a rotation for a reason. I need to respect that. The last thing I need is for there to be friction between the two of us, because then I hear it from mom too. I only ask one thing—let me know how she looks, make sure she's doing okay."The "she" they were talking about was Charity. Today would be the first day she'd be speaking to the wife and child. Heaven Hill had made it a point to arrange protection for all involved. Tyler and Dalton were taking the first shift, and both of them had expected Drew to fight them for it."I promise." Dalton put his hand over his heart. "If anything looks out of the ordinary, you'll be the first to know. We won't fuck around; we'll call that shit in."Drew knew his friend spoke the truth. "How's Mandy?" he asked, changing the subject."She's Mandy. We fight like cats and dogs half the time just to make up." Dalton leveled his best friend wi
Charity pulled her car into the parking lot at CRISIS and let out a breath she hadn't been aware she'd been holding. She put it in park and turned the ignition off before removing her sunglasses and taking a look around.This place held so many memories for her. Most of them she'd never told anyone about.It made her feel good to see that Heaven Hill was making a show of force. Tyler Blackfoot stood at the side door, Dalton stood at the front. There was no back door to the building for a reason. Even from where she sat in her car, she could see the updated security measures—cameras that would see everyone coming and going. No one would enter CRISIS without them knowing about it. Several cameras had also been put at the very few windows the house had.On purpose, she took her time gathering the things she would need to go in and do her first interviews with the woman and child she was here to help. Many people had helped her as a teenager; it was time for her to repay the favor.
Charity followed Meredith up the stairs and into the part of CRISIS that housed the bedrooms. It was as if she had entered a time warp. Not much had changed. The stairs still smelled the same; the paint on the wall only looked as if it had been touched up. Meredith's voice broke through the memories."They are very quiet when you first approach them, kind of like skittish, wild, animals, so be careful. If you make too much of a fuss or you move too quickly, they run. We want them to stay here for as long as possible."She appreciated the heads-up because she did not want to scare them away. Obviously they needed help, and that's what she wanted to give them, more than anything. That was her initial reason for being here. "You want to come in here with me? Sometimes a familiar face helps."Meredith nodded and lightly knocked on the door. "Maggie, Skylar, it's Meredith. I brought my friend along with me. You know, the one I've been telling you about? The one that can help you."T
Drew's leg shook, and he made a concentrated effort to stop it. He'd never been nervous in his life. Back when they had been teenagers, he'd worked to keep Charity, but once he had her, he had her. He'd let her go because he knew he'd had to. If he hadn't pushed her, she wouldn't have left and then he would have hated himself for the rest of his life. Chances were they would have hated one another sooner or later, and who knew where they would be now."You leaving?" Liam asked as he went around the kitchen, picking up the plates the family had eaten on. He did his part in the family hierarchy as he took them over to the dishwasher and started loading it.Family dinner was something neither Drew nor Mandy liked to miss. It hadn't escaped his attention that Mandy had missed, and now that she was working for Charity, Drew had to wonder what the hell had gone down—if she missed because she was doing legwork for their case, or if she was hanging out with Dalton. He hadn't been briefed o
The temperature in the cab of the truck was downright frigid as Remy drove to Tyler's house to drop off Addie first. Tatum refused to meet his gaze and that flat out pissed him off. If she was going to give herself to another man and then have the balls to sit in front of him like this, she should at least have the decency to meet his eyes when he looked at her."Am I going to have to explain to Tyler why I'm dropping you off at one in the fucking morning?" Remy glanced in the review mirror of the truck, looking back to where Addie sat in the extended cab."No," she shook her head, looking about as tired and unhappy as he felt. "He's at the clubhouse. He and Mom had planned to stay and they took Caelin with them."Well, thank God for small favors, because the one person besides Liam he didn't want to face off with tonight, was Tyler."You're lucky I don't call him and tell him where the hell you've been. How could you let her go up there with him?" he questioned her, the irrita
Tatum's heart beat through her chest as she followed Gavin upstairs to a much quieter part of the house. Her mouth was dry – the result of her nerves, or the alcohol she'd consumed – she wasn't sure which. Her hand gripped Gavin's tightly, but she knew it wasn't because she was excited, it was because she wanted to yank on it, and stop him from leading her into the empty bedroom. Part of her wanted to put a stop to it, the other part wanted to go through with this so she could throw it in Remy's face. Those stubborn traits she'd inherited from her dad were alive and well tonight.She glanced over her shoulder, spotting Addie pulling out her phone and making a call. The worried look on her friend's face told her all she needed to know. Addie was probably calling in reinforcements and her time had suddenly become very limited."You feelin' good?" his deep voice questioned in her ear, causing her hair to stand up and goosebumps to appear on her arms. This time it was different than wh
Remy was in a piss-poor mood, had been since the night of the Christmas party and everything that had gone down with Tatum. He bit off the head of anyone foolish enough to ask if he was okay. He'd been eating lunch by himself, and overall had been a miserable fucking loner. Even right now, while everyone else was partying their asses off, his big date was being in the gym and beating the ever-loving shit out of a heavy bag. It was the only thing that seemed to calm him the last few days.Hearing his fists connect with the bag felt good, even if it was muted by the gloves he wore. His arms burned, his shoulders and back ached, his chest heaved, and sweat poured down his forehead and into his eyes; making them sting. The sting felt good though, because it distracted him from the guilt he felt for the way he'd treated Tatum. And that guilt was pressing down on him like he was trapped under a thousand-pound boulder.He'd felt every emotion on the spectrum since she'd walked out on him
Tatum's blue eyes took in the party-goers around her. In different parts of the room, she could see members of her graduating class, some kids that were now seniors, and a few college kids. God, this had never been her thing, she'd never found high school or college parties worth anything to her. She could see everything that went on at them and more, at the club parties. Plus, this was a mob mentality – everyone here went along with everyone else, and it was so boring. Nobody had any individuality. Normally, she'd have tossed the invitation in the trash can and not even thought twice about it. She would have spent the night at the club's New Year's party and have an actual good time with her friends and family.Tonight though, she was on a mission."Do you see anybody?" Addie asked as they surveyed the room.Tatum took a drink from the bottle of Strawberry Boone's Farm she carried in her hand. It was the bottom shelf stuff, guaranteed to get you loaded in the least amount of tim
Tatum had never felt anything like the all-consuming lust that blasted through her as soon as Remy grabbed her hip and pulled her deep into his body. She'd thought she had but damn, she was wrong. Her fingers grasped at his shirt, trying to ground herself in the feelings, when she felt his bare palms slip up under the hem of her dress. The sharp intake of breath, and the way he nipped at her lip indicated he'd discovered she'd worn a thong."Fuck, Tate," he moaned as he pulled his lips from hers.She almost cried as he abandoned her lips and smeared his mouth down her neck. She felt the sharp nip of his teeth down to the core of her body. It caused her nipples to tighten further against the lace of strapless bra, and before she knew what she was doing, she was rubbing up against him."Please, Rem," she gasped out when she felt one of his hands on her ass venture back over her hip, and closer to the wetness and heat she felt between her thighs."Has anybody touched you?" he grow
He knew the second she walked in, just like he'd known when she'd entered the bakery. Even seven shots of Pappy in, he could feel her, he knew she was there by the way the hair on the back of his neck stood up, the goosebumps he got on his arms and the way his dick stirred to attention. He wasn't sure what kind of hold Tatum Walker held over him, but it was strong, maybe dangerously so, like some sort of Jedi Mind Trick he'd never be able to resist. And dammit if his hand didn't shake as he took his next shot."Too much for you?" Drew asked as he noticed the slight tremble of the other man's hand.How did he tell the man sitting beside him, he was hard up for his little sister? Easy. He didn't."Nah, I'm good, but I gotta hit the head. Be back."Plan number two when plan number one didn't work? Run and hope she wouldn't follow. As much alcohol as he had consumed, he wasn't sure he could push her away this time. After all, he was only a man and he wasn't immune to the way she lo
He should have brought a date. Those were the first words Remy thought when he walked through the door of the clubhouse. It hit him like a ton of bricks, and all he wanted to do was turn around and head back to Cash and Harper's. Normally, he lived at the clubhouse, but he'd had dinner at their place tonight. He could relieve the babysitter watching Maddy, and he wouldn't have to worry about keeping his guard up.Couples were paired off, which meant anyone without a plus one would be inevitably thrown together. Looking up, he saw mistletoe was hung randomly around the room. Shit. Since he was the youngest, he seemed to be one of the few without a woman on his arm. Sure as the world turned, he'd find himself thrown toward someone tonight.Gazing around the room, he didn't see Tatum and for that he was extremely thankful. He'd been able to avoid her since the day at Harper's bakery, but it'd hadn't been easy. Not that she'd gone out of her way to be around him but they were in the sa
Remy told himself to slow down as he grasped her neck, hauling Tatum closer to him. He cautioned his lust-drunk body not to make a fool of itself. He warned his libido not to let this go too far. They were in the middle of the bakery, in the middle of downtown. Anyone could walk through that door from some dumbass off the street, to her brother, to her dad. But he couldn't stop, couldn't force his hand not to trail down her body and grasp her tight ass in his fingers. He wanted desperately to pull her lower half into his, wanted to shove his thigh between her legs and feel the heat he knew would be there. His tongue was forceful as it made its way into her mouth, testing how far she'd let him go.Turned out she'd let him go as far as he wanted to.His brain tried to warn him that this was progressing too quickly. It was getting too out of control, too fast. If he didn't watch it, he'd be picking her up and putting her ass first against the nearest wall. He was losing his mind, losi
Son of a bitch. Something in the way Tatum's gaze met his made him think he'd said those words loud enough she could hear them. But fuck, she looked amazing. Even more than she usually did. Tatum had been gorgeous for a long time, but with her hair in this new cut, she looked sexy, and almost… sophisticated. But this was Tatum. She'd never fully be a lady, not really. She didn't do dresses unless she had to, she didn't do caked on makeup, and she could hang with the guys – no matter how raunchy it got."Do you like it?" She asked again, this time looking much more unsure than when she'd started out. Very slowly, she ran her fingers through her hair, giving it a tousle.Remy cleared his throat, not sure how honest he wanted to be, but at the same time knowing he couldn't help but be honest. If he lied to her, she would know, and it would do nothing to help the situation they seemed to always find themselves in. The two of them always seemed to be either pushing or pulling at each ot