Drew didn't understand. Of course, she knew him. She'd seen the pictures of him on his rap sheet and she, at some point, had to have been given a picture of him so she'd know who to watch out for. "I know.""No," she sighed. "You don't. This is something very few people know." She couldn't be this close to him when she told him the sins of her mother, which she hoped didn't turn into the sins of her youth. Needing desperately to have space to herself and get her head together, she got disentangled herself from his arms and got out of the bed. Pacing helped her, it was what she did in a court room when she was trying to get her opening and closing arguments prepared in her head before speaking them."Then explain to me." Drew sat up in the bed but didn't try to move. He looked at her as if he were afraid she'd run.Don't let me run from you. Those were the words she'd just spoken to him, and she wanted desperately to flee."No," Drew commanded. "I can see it in your eyes. You st
"Part of it was you," she admitted. "There still is a huge part of me that wishes to God I hadn't left here when I did. I wonder where we would be. Would we be celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary? Would we have kids? What would you be doing? What would I be doing? I wonder that all the time.""I do too." Drew grabbed her hands and pulled her down to his level. "Back then I thought of it every day. There wasn't a day that went by that I didn't see something in another couple that I had envisioned us doing. For the first few years, it killed me. Finally, I got to where I could function, but it never felt right.""It didn't," Charity agreed. "But I had to get away, not only for myself, but for you too. After biting Dixon, he came back, but this time he came when my mom wasn't there."She felt sick telling Drew the things that had happened, and she knew now, like she knew then, that she shouldn't be ashamed. She wasn't, but it was still hard to tell anyone what had happened tho
"You know none of that is ever going to change the way I feel about you, right?"He pulled her chin up with his fingers, forcing her eyes to meet his."I should know that, and part of me does, but there's another part of me that wonders what in the hell you let me keep coming back for. I mean, how many times do I have to leave you, how many times do I have to retreat into myself before you tell me that you're done? I keep waiting for it," she admitted."There aren't enough times, Char. You've been mine since the day we met. I knew you would be mine, no matter what."She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss. "Show me," she begged.He flipped them so that he lay on top of her, his arms circling her head, fingers digging into her hair. He wanted to surround her; he wanted her to feel him in every part of her. Inside her body, breathe in his scent; he wanted to be inside her pores. To be a part of her that she carried with her everywhere she went so that she
"We need to stop trying to get as much evidence together as we can. We need to make a move. Dragging this out is doing nothing but taunting him and making us crazy."Charity heard what Meredith was saying the next day as they sat at the common table having breakfast. "If we file the injunction to have a restraining order, he's going to know Maggie talked, and he's going to come for her. We'll have to ask for Witness Protection." She glanced over at Rooster. "Is that something you can help us with? If we pull the trigger on this, we have to be able to protect her. I won't let her be unprotected."Rooster nodded. "I still have a few friends I could pull some strings with. I'd be almost willing to bet that as short-handed as the sheriff's office is they would appreciate our help. It might be the perfect day to file that motion. You may get a sympathetic judge."Charity hoped so. "I'll do the paperwork today and send it with you, Meredith. I have to go downtown to file motions. If Ma
Halfway through the day, Mandy arrived, along with Jasmine."Char, look alive. You're mom's here.""Shit," she hissed, wishing to God this wasn't going to happen here, but she knew she'd avoided her long enough. There was only so long she could put off the meeting with her mom. It wasn't a reunion like it had been with Drew and Mandy. This was a meeting, plain and simple.They talked every week, and her mom had known she was coming home, but neither one of them made promises about how they would handle it once she was here."It's so good to see you," Jasmine said as she made her way into the office like she owned the place. She walked quickly over to where Charity sat and wrapped her up in a huge hug."It's good to see you too, Mom." She hugged her back, tightly. It was good to see her, but there was so much baggage that came with her and their relationship. "What are you doing here?"Never one able to tell when she wasn't wanted, Jasmine went about everything like she coul
"It's done." Charity breathed a huge sigh of relief as she printed off the paperwork that would be taken over to the courthouse. What was there would hopefully be enough to get her the emergency protective order as well as the witness protection she knew Maggie and Skylar needed. If she had done a good job, they would be getting what they wanted, what they needed. If she hadn't—they had a hell of a fight on their hands.Mandy held out her hand. "As your paralegal and assistant, let me do the honors of walking this over there.""Agreed." Drew handed the papers to his sister. "There's not a bull's-eye on your back the way there is on hers. Be safe and don't let your guard down.""I'll see if Dalton will come with me. I'm not too excited to be walking over there by myself." She grabbed her bag, the paperwork, and the identification she needed to file.Charity watched as she walked out the door. "I hope all this works out for us." She gripped the desk. "If not, we've poked a bear t
The next morning, Charity sat at the commons table in the clubhouse again. This time she had her laptop open, coffee cup in front of her. To her left, her mom was sitting next to her."Is there anything I can do to help you?" Jasmine asked, fiddling with her hands."No, mom, most of the stuff I'm working on is confidential anyway, but I appreciate it." She smiled at her to soften the blow."If you need anything, please let me know." Jasmine grabbed her own coffee cup and walked towards the back, where a covered deck and back porch were.Charity groaned. She wished her relationship with her mom were easier, but she couldn't snap her fingers and make the years they had struggled through go away. If they were going to recover anything, it would have to be done in its own time. Right now, though, her attention needed to be on another mother and daughter—Maggie and Skylar needed her more than anyone.She clicked into her email, hoping she had the information she needed. They had w
The club sat around the commons area table eating pizzas as they went over what all of them were doing the next day. Many of them would be hanging around, just to make sure things went off without a hitch—they also figured they would help with crowd control and general protection if needed. Drew and Dalton would be accompanying the girls into the courtroom, and Rooster would be ready with his old friends if he was needed there."Are you nervous about tomorrow?" Denise asked as she refilled a few drinks, walking around the table. The question was directed at both Mandy and Charity."I am," Charity spoke up. "What makes me nervous is that he's going to be in the court room. There's no place to hide there if he decides he wants to make an example out of anyone. None of us have ever really known his endgame—I mean, why did he start these invasions? To run people out of Warren County? Or was it just because he was bored? In the end, it doesn't matter, but I wonder. Like, what does he ha
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