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
Drew could have shouted to the moon how happy he was that Charity was in her rightful place, on the back of his bike again, but he kept it under control. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off."Where are we going?" she yelled over the wind as she tightened her arms around his waist.The tightening of her arms was just one more thing he'd missed, and he hadn't even realized he'd been missing it. As they came to a red light, he took that moment to bring his gloved hand to where hers were clasped around his waist and give them a little squeeze."Someplace we can be alone without prying eyes," he yelled back as the light changed.She held on tightly as he drove out towards the clubhouse, and she wondered why, because there was no way in hell the two of them could be alone there. Silly her, she'd assumed all they were going to do tonight was go for a ride, but it looked as if Drew wanted to talk about a few things.As he turned the bike onto Porter Pike from Louisville
He'd given her a tour of his house and his garage before they came back into the residence. Now they sat on his couch, each nursing their own beer."Are you ready to tell me why you brought me to your house?" Charity questioned as the two of them sat on the couch. "Why didn't you take me to the park or even into town to get some ice cream?""I wanted to be alone with you, and I think we already established that I've had dessert. I don't want to share you with anyone else. If I take you to the clubhouse, everyone will want to know what you've done the past few years and they'll want to catch up. I don't have the patience for that." He situated himself so that he leaned back against the arm of the couch."I'm gonna be real honest with you." He took a deep breath. "You coming back has thrown me into scramble mode. I had convinced myself you'd never be back.""I had almost convinced myself I'd never come back too, especially with it being ten years," she admitted. "It felt like the
Drew was in a foul mood. Anyone who was working today at Walker's Wheels was staying as far away from him as they could. As soon as Drew had gotten off his bike, put his motorcycle boots on pavement, and marched towards the bay doors, everyone had known this was not going to be a good day."You alright?"Drew glanced up from where he was fabricating a piece to put on the front fender of a bike, and saw Liam, worry apparent in his eyes. On days like this, sometimes even Liam wouldn't approach him; he was damn unapproachable."Last night went to shit, fast, and I'm not sure why."He also wasn't sure why he was spilling his guts to his dad. It wasn't like they weren't close, he shared a lot with Liam, they were as close as they could be, but he normally didn't bring his female problems around. Maybe it was because Liam had watched Drew go through the motions after Charity had left, maybe it was because Liam was the one who'd picked him up and tried to put him back together after e
Charity blew out a deep breath as she put her car in park. It had been years since she'd been to this parking lot, especially since she'd sat in a car waiting on a guy driving a motorcycle. She grinned to herself as she heard that motorcycle pull up and park next to her. Rolling her window down, she waved."Really?" Drew asked, a smile on his face. That smile offered the hope that maybe they could move past their argument from the night before.She shrugged. "I can't help it. I feel at home here, more at home here than I even felt at my mom's house. You have to admit I was here more often than not."Walking over to the driver's side, Drew opened her door, glancing up at the Wet Wanda's sign. "You were, and we did share some good times out here in this parking lot."It gave her hope that he was open to this, hope that he would help them overcome their awkwardness. "I figured for old time's sake we could go in."Drew was surprised as hell, but he escorted her into the building,
"This is frustrating," Mandy groaned as she threw her pen down on the table.She, Charity, and Meredith had all congregated at the clubhouse. Anything they could find that traced back to Dixon McCall was spread out in front of them. They were searching for the needle in the haystack. The one thing that would give the accusations Maggie and Skylar had leveled against him weight. They would need that weight in order to get the order of protection and the help they wanted for the mother/daughter duo.Charity ran her hand through her hair. "Let's think about this. If he is doing the things they say, he's going to need a place to store the things he's taking in the home invasions."Meredith pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. "Let's look at the arrest records. Where have they gotten him before?"There were three folders of arrest records; Dixon apparently wasn't a stranger to the Warren County Jail. Each one of them took a folder."If you find an arrest within five miles of a
"Hey guys," Charity greeted Drew and Dalton. Over her shoulder, she carried her bag, which had pictures of a building Steele had found. The building was small enough to give Dixon room to meet with his fellow members of the League of Rogue Nations and big enough for him to house stolen goods. She wanted to talk to Maggie about it.The two of them were taking their turn watching CRISIS. As was customary, both of them were smoking cigarettes and standing in a neutral area so they could see everything and still be able to talk to one another.As she walked up, she leaned into Drew when he offered up his arms for a hug. Sinking into him was like sinking into a bed that she hadn't been in, in a long time. He was as familiar as warm sheets on a cold night."What's going on?" Drew asked her, kissing her on the cheek. Taking another drag off his cigarette, he leaned against the vinyl siding of the building and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body."I have a coupl
Drew didn't dare let the taillights of Charity's car out of his sight as they made their way to his house. There had been many times in his life where he had a bad feeling or a sense of foreboding about something. He'd never had one so heavy as when he'd come up the stairs and she'd leveled him with her gaze. He wasn't even sure what had prompted it. He and Dalton had been shooting the shit, the way they had all day long, but looking at the house, he felt a need to go to her and get her out of there. A need to protect her from some unknown harm he felt was going to come to her. They pulled into his driveway, and he sped around her, motioning for her to follow him.They continued past the house and towards a barn, where he stopped and got off his bike. Opening the door, he yelled at her. "Pull it inside, but be sure and grab everything you'll need out of it."She nodded at him so that he could see it through the windshield of her car. Drew didn't follow her; he didn't want to turn h
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