CHAPTER TWO
LONDON
I’d never considered myself a prude.
I was wrong. I was definitely a prude, because I had nowhere in my head to put what I saw when I walked through that door. I don’t know why it was so shocking. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen people going at it publicly in the other room, and of course a private office like this would be perfect for a quick blow job … But when Reese Hayes yelled that he was busy, I’d expected him to be busy with some sort of nefarious, biker gang–related activity.
You know, laundering money or something.
Then he smiled at me, the kind of smile a shark gives a castaway right before it rips her leg off. He raised his hand, beckoning me toward the couch.
I stared at him (oh my God he’s got a woman’s head in his lap!) feeling something like panic, and opened my mouth to say I could come back later. Then it hit me—no, I couldn’t come back later. I needed to find Jess and I needed to find her right now before she started wreaking havoc. And as much as I wanted to judge the club members for leading her astray, I knew darned well she could find trouble all on her own. If anything, taking her out of here would be an act of mercy.
They had no idea what kind of destruction she was capable of.
You can do this.
“Hello, Mr. Hayes,” I said briskly, deciding a businesslike tone was the best way to set myself apart from his other … friend. Nope. I was a woman with a purpose and I didn’t have time for fooling around.
Still, it took everything I had not to look at his lap, see if I could catch a glimpse of his endowments. This would be so much easier if I hadn’t spent at least two or three sessions with my vibrator picturing a scenario just like this one, but with me playing the staring role. Pull it together, Armstrong.
“I’m London Armstrong and I run the cleaning service that works for your club.”
I stepped into the office but didn’t go so far as to walk over and offer my hand for him to shake.
There’s only so much a woman can handle at once.
Hayes gave me the same look he always gave me. Calculating. Hungry with just a hint of speculation as his eyes swept down my body. He lingered a bit on my breasts, but didn’t make a show of it. Nope. He was all business, except for the uncomfortable fact that a woman was actively giving him a blow job. I swallowed, feeling my cheeks flush.
His eyes flickered back up to mine.
“What can I do for you?” he asked, his voice low and gravelly. Sexy. I shivered, because I could think of all kinds of things I’d like him to do for me. Maybe even to me, although I hated to admit it. It’d been a long six years, and I hadn’t slept with Nate yet … We’d been dating for nearly two months, but between our schedules we didn’t get to see each other all that often. Hell of a dry spell.
I forced myself to consider Hayes’s question seriously, despite the squelching, squishy noises coming from his lap. How did that woman keep sucking on him like that, oblivious to what was going on? It was very distracting.
“You needed something, sweetheart?” Hayes asked again, taking a swig of his beer. “If you’re here to join in, fine, but otherwise come sit down and tell me what you want.”
Join in?
My cheeks radiated heat and I knew I was lost. I’d done so well staying matter-of-fact up to this point, but there are limits. Just get it over with! Then you can go home and have a very large glass of wine.
I’d need a bucket to hold all the wine I’d be drinking tonight, I decided.
“I’m looking for my cousin’s daughter. She lives with me.”
“Have a seat,” he told me again. Gage gave a laughing snort behind me, shutting the door on us. I glanced down at the couch, an old plaid monstrosity that had to be twenty years old. With my luck, I’d catch a disease from it.
“I can stand.”
“Sit. Down.”
His voice snapped, and I felt myself tremble. Reese Hayes was a scary man. He’d been playing nice so far, but I was all too aware of the rumors surrounding him. Nate was a sheriff’s deputy, and he was full of stories about the Reapers, particularly their president. I’d blown him off, because the MC were good clients and I figured he was just prejudiced against them. No criminal gang could just exist in the middle of the community so openly, could it? Looking at Hayes now, I realized those stories might have been true after all.
His eyes were like cold chips of blue ice, and the hint of gray at his temples and in the scruff covering his chin gave him an air of authority that I wanted to obey almost instinctively. His arms were thick, banded with heavy muscles, and his thighs … I glanced away quickly, because those thick thighs of his framed the half-naked woman sucking his penis perfectly. Like I’d walked into a particularly high-definition porn shoot.
I wanted to die.
Under the best of circumstances this man made me uncomfortable, and I’d done my best to avoid him. So far I’d done a pretty good job, too—wasn’t like he hung around Pawns in the evenings when my crew came in. Well, sometimes he did, but he stayed back in the office.
Maybe that was where he did his money laundering?
Feeling just a smidge hysterical, I wondered exactly how one would go about washing money. I flashed briefly on a vision of Hayes working an old-fashioned, crank-handled washing machine while a group of aproned bikers carefully hung hundred-dollar bills on clotheslines in a sunny meadow.
“Babe?”
I blinked, trying to remember why the hell I’d thought this could be a good idea.
“Yes?”
“Are you gonna sit down or not?” he asked.
“I’m really uncomfortable with”—I gestured toward the woman—“this.”
“That’s not exactly my problem,” he said, dropping a hand to rest on her head. “But if it’s an issue, you can take her place.”
“No,” I said quickly.
“Then sit the f*ck down and tell me why you’re here.”
His voice tightened, and I realized he was running out of patience. Fair enough—he obviously had other things on his … ahem … mind. I carefully perched on the edge of the couch, facing the door. This was actually better, I realized. I didn’t have to look at him now. Although I could feel the woman’s movements through the furniture frame and that was very creepy.
“My cousin’s daughter is somewhere at this party,” I said quickly. “Her name is Jessica, and she has very poor judgment. I’d really like to get her out of here and home before she does something completely stupid.”
Like set the building on fire.
“You got shit timing.”
I didn’t respond, because what the hell would I say? So far as I knew, Hallmark didn’t make a “Sorry I Interrupted Your Oral Sex” card.
Maybe I should write their corporate office to suggest it?
Hayes grunted, and the movement of the couch stopped.
“Go find Gage,” he muttered to the woman, who pulled free with a smacking noise I really, really didn’t need to hear. A second later she stood and wiped her mouth, glaring at me. I shrugged, offering a faintly apologetic smile. The couch trembled again as Hayes shifted, and for one horrible minute I thought he was actually going to grab me and push me down into her place. Then I heard the sound of a zipper.
“It’s safe.”
I turned to look at him. He’d swiveled to face me, propping one booted ankle over his knee and stretching his arm out along the backrest. It was way too close for comfort. If I leaned over I’d be able to touch him. There was nothing on his face to indicate I’d just ruined his happy ending. No emotion at all.
Nada. Yikes!
“Tell me about her,” he said. “Why is this a problem?”
Now there was a loaded question …
“It’s a problem because she’s young and stupid,” I said, feeling fatalistic. “She’s self-destructive and does idiotic things, and if I let her run loose out here, something bad will happen, trust me.”
He cocked his head.
“And that’s our fault?” he asked. “You afraid we’re gonna corrupt her?”
I snorted, biting back an edgy laugh and shaking my head. God, if only …
“No,” I replied. “Okay, yes. Probably. But the danger goes both ways. Jessica is—”
I paused, unsure how much family business I wanted to share with him. As little as possible, I decided.
“Jessie has a lot of issues. She makes bad decisions and drags other people into them. For example, she got her best friend arrested for shoplifting, even though the poor kid had no idea what was going on. I know you have no reason to do this, but would you please consider helping me find her so I can take her home?”
He watched me, eyes trailing over my face. I wished he’d show some sort of emotion. Anything. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking, and that freaked me out.
“How old is she?” he asked thoughtfully.
“Eighteen. Just graduated from high school. But believe me, she’s not an adult.”
He raised a brow.
“She doesn’t have to do what you say,” he said. “Lotta kids that age live on their own already.”
“She has to do what I say if she’s going to be in my home,” I replied carefully. “And she’s definitely not taking any steps to support herself just yet, so I’m guessing my place is it for now. I’d just as soon not be responsible for a newborn, too, but knowing my luck, she’s actively getting pregnant even as we speak. Nobody needs that.”
He shook his head slowly, some unfathomable emotion in his eyes.
“You can’t control this,” he told me. “I have daughters. Did you know that?”
“I don’t know you at all,” I said, which wasn’t entirely true. I could still remember the first time I saw him, because he was beautiful and if I weren’t a mature, sensible woman I’d have said I had a crush on him. I definitely felt a strong physical pull—at least, when I wasn’t terrified of him.
That wasn’t okay.
I had a boyfriend. Nate. He was nice and he liked me and I liked him and he made me feel safe. I had a good life. I took care of Jessica and ran my business. I took care of her friends sometimes, too, and inconvenient crushes on bikers—ones I worked for, no less—weren’t on the table.
But as fabulous as Nate was, I hadn’t been able to keep myself from watching Reese Hayes these past months, and there was more than enough gossip about him floating around town to feed my fascination once I started listening. Hayes had two grown daughters, he’d been president of the Reapers for the past decade, and his wife, Heather, had died from breast cancer six years back. Right after I’d won custody of Jessica, actually.
I knew about Heather Hayes’s death because I’d attended her funeral.
She’d gone to high school with Amber, and while we hadn’t really known each other back in the day, I’d wanted to pay my respects. I’d never seen a man look more devastated than Reese Hayes had that cold, dark March afternoon at the cemetery. We’d gotten late snow, and his girls had been crying hysterically the whole time.
He didn’t cry, though. Nope. Reese Hayes had looked like a man who’d lost his soul. Since then he’d gotten a reputation around town as a total slut, a reputation that seemed to be well deserved, based on what I’d seen here.
Not your place to judge, I reminded myself.
When I started my cleaning business, I learned early that everyone has secrets to hide and it wasn’t my job to uncover them. Get in, do the job, get out, go home. Easy and simple.
“If you knew me, you’d know I feel sympathetic toward you,” he said. “Like I said, I have daughters. But I’ve learned the hard way that you can’t control them. I’m a hard man and not even I can control them. You don’t stand a chance with this kid. Why don’t you just go home?”
Enough. I stood quickly.
“I’m not leaving without her. Will you help me, or do I need to start searching by myself?”
He didn’t move and his expression didn’t change, but the air in the room cooled.
“Sit your ass down,” he said, his brilliant blue eyes flashing. The absolute authority and will in his tone was indisputable, reminding me that this was a very dangerous man.
I sat.
Hayes rose to his feet, coming to stand in front of me. Then he leaned down and rested his hands on the back of the couch on either side of my head. His gaze pinned me, and my adrenaline surged.
What the hell was he planning to do?
“You do realize where you are?” he asked softly, which was way scarier than it would’ve been if he’d yelled at me. Quiet menace, carrying visions of bodies buried in shallow graves …
“You’re in my club. Outside this room are twenty men who will do anything to back me up. Anything. And outside this building are forests and mountains that reach all the way to Montana. Only witnesses out there are deer and maybe a moose or two. You sure you wanna piss me off? I just pulled my dick out of a willing woman’s mouth for you, so it’s not like I’m in a good mood to start with.”
I couldn’t breathe. My heart beat so fast that I thought it might explode out of my chest, and I knew for a fact that pissing him off was definitely the last thing I wanted to do.
“Now ask me nicely to help you,” he said, the words slow and deliberate. I nodded, taking a minute to steel myself.
“Mr. Hayes, will you please help me find my cousin Jessica?”
“No.”
Sudden moisture filled my eyes, and I felt myself quivering. I blinked quickly and forced back the tears through sheer will. I’d be damned if I’d give him any more satisfaction. Silence fell between us, his face six inches from mine, palpable tension hanging in the air. In the distance I heard music and noise from the party, all too aware that I was utterly at his mercy.
“Can I go?” I asked quietly.
“No.”
At least he was direct. I licked my lips nervously and his eyes followed the movement. I couldn’t look at him anymore, so I lowered my gaze.
That was a mistake.
“Lower” was his body, and one glance was enough to tell me that just because he’d sent his girlfriend away didn’t mean he’d lost interest in sex. Nope. Nice big bulge in those jeans.
Yikes.
My eyes skittered away, stopping at the big knife strapped to his leg. A hunting knife. Inside at a party. Nothing scary about that at all, right?
“Convince me to help you,” he said softly, his voice growing smooth, almost silky.
“How?” I whispered.
He chuckled.
“How do you think?”
I closed my eyes, trying to think. Sex. He was talking about sex. Okay. It wasn’t like I didn’t know about sex … Was I willing to sleep with a man to find Jessica? Give up on my relationship with Nate?
My gut twisted, because I’d already given up so much for her.
“It’s a very bad idea to mix work and personal business,” I told him. “I’ve got two crews working for you right now. I think getting involved would be a big mistake. Not only that, I’m seeing someone already.”
Hayes gave a low chuckle.
“I don’t want to get involved and I don’t give a shit about your boyfriend. But I wouldn’t mind f*cking your tits—that’d motivate me to help. Your call.”
I gasped.
It wasn’t exactly a secret that I had a decent-sized chest, but I’d never had someone be so … crude … about it. I didn’t know what to say. My eyes flew around the room, desperate to look at anything but his face hanging over me. Then I spotted a picture up on the file cabinet. A beautiful woman stood next to two teenage girls. Heather Hayes and her daughters. Those girls were grown up and moved out now, one of them in the past year.
Now Hayes lived alone. Inspiration struck.
“Who cleans your house?”
He blinked at me.
“What the f*ck?”
“Who cleans your house?” I asked again, my thoughts coming together quickly. “If you help me find Jessica, I’ll come out to your place and have my crew do a full cleaning, no charge. You can sleep with anyone, but how many of those women can you trust to clean your house?”
He rocked back on his heels, cocking his head at me. A strange light came into his eyes.
“Didn’t see that one coming,” he said, his mouth quirking at one corner. “But any of those girls out there will clean for me.”
“I’ll bet they expect something in return, don’t they?” I asked, sensing I had him. “I’ll bet they want to be your girlfriend or whatever it’s called …”
“Old lady.”
“I’ll bet they want to be your old lady,” I continued, getting into it. I leaned forward, willing him to agree with me. “And I bet they get annoying after a while. My crew comes in, we clean, we leave. No stress, no fuss, and no strings attached. How’s that for something of value?”
“Not your crew, just you.”
I frowned at him. He sat back on his heels, seeming relaxed enough, but I still felt the coiled tension in the air.
“All right,” I said, figuring I should stop while I was ahead. I held my hand out and he took it, wrapping his strong fingers around mine. They were warm and solid. I’d bet his arms would be, too.
He didn’t say he wanted to hold you, I reminded myself firmly. He said he wanted to “f*ck your tits,” and that’s a place we don’t need to go.
Obviously I should start sleeping with Nate sooner rather than later, before my hormones destroyed me entirely.
Don’t question. Just find Jessica.
“So what does she look like?” he asked. I dug into my pocket and pulled out my phone, flipping quickly to her graduation picture.
Good lord, my little cousin was stunning.
Jessica was tall, with long legs toned from running. Her hair was a rich, chestnut-brown and her eyes were bright with thick lashes. She looked like an all-American princess.
He gave a low whistle.
“Pretty girl,” he said slowly, and I glanced quickly at his face, hoping desperately I wouldn’t see lust in his eyes. He took the phone and abruptly turned and walked out of the office, leaving me to scamper after him like a puppy. I followed him back into the main lounge area where I’d first come in. I spotted Gage leaning against the wall, eyes seeing everything as he surveyed the party. Reese walked over to him and handed him the phone.
“So we lookin’ for her?” Gage asked.
“Yup,” he said. “She’s goin’ home with London, just as soon as we find her. And she’s out for good after that, got me?”
“Sure,” Gage said casually. “But she’s upstairs right now with Banks and Painter. Probably already on her back.”
I shivered, closing my eyes. Please, please, please be using condoms …
“This way,” Hayes said, and I followed him through the partiers and across the room. The crowd parted for him like a wave, making it all too clear who was the boss.
At the far end of the room, past the bar, was a staircase leading upstairs. Hayes started climbing and I followed. On the second level we passed through a large game room holding a pool table, old couches, a giant TV, and several generations of video game consoles. There were people here, too, although not as many. Just the occasional couple on a couch.
Eyes forward. Not your place to judge.
Hayes led me up one more level, into a narrow hallway lined on each side by narrow wooden doors.
“Armory used to have barracks space up here,” he said. “I don’t think it was ever really used, but that’s how they built them back then. Now they’re our guest rooms. She’s probably in the one at the far end, because it’s the only one open.”
He strolled down the hallway casually, as if we weren’t in a race to stop my cousin from getting pregnant. I forced myself to follow with measured footsteps, coming to a halt next to him in front of the last door. I heard moaning inside, and I closed my eyes, wishing I were at home in bed, where I belonged.
“You sure you want to do this?” Hayes asked, and something softened in his hard eyes.
I frowned at him. “Of course—what do you mean?”
“We can just go downstairs, have a drink,” he said slowly. “Relax a little. Because if we go in there and drag her out, it’s not gonna change anything. If the kid’s determined to get herself in trouble, she’ll do it. You can’t stop her.”
I clenched my teeth. Part of me whispered he was right—after all, it wasn’t like I’d been able to change Amber. My cousin hadn’t started out as the kind of person who’d shoot up heroin in front of her twelve-year-old daughter.
But I wanted more for Jessica. Better.
“Should I knock on the door or should you?” I asked him, determined. He shrugged, then rapped hard against the wood.
“It’s Pic.”
“Yeah?” a man shouted, his voice hoarse. I could imagine why, too.
“You got a girl in there named Jessica?”
I heard muffled voices, then another man spoke again.
“She says no, but she looks guilty. Give us a sec.”
We waited for what couldn’t have been more than a couple of minutes but felt like an eternity as I heard rumbles and thumps coming from the room.
Two male voices. Then Jessica’s, raised in argument. Dear God, why did she do things like this?
Hayes leaned back against the wall the whole time, crossing his big arms and studying me like a trapped mouse. Then the door opened, revealing a tall, dark-haired young man with rumpled hair. I looked past him to find a very plain room with an ancient, sagging bed. Jessica stood at the foot, her face full of fury. Behind her was another man, this one with short, spiky blond hair. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, just a pair of jeans loosely fastened, and he pulled on heavy leather boots with a look of profound annoyance.
There were smears of lipstick on his chest, trailing down across his stomach.
Holy hell.
“You have no right to be here,” Jess hissed at me. My eyes flicked back to her. God, she looked awful. Ragged, torn tights, uber short skirt, and two tops layered in a way that somehow covered nothing while still giving the appearance of clothing. Her eyes were smudged with thick, dark black liner, her hair was tangled and wild, and the slash of red across her mouth matched the trail she’d left on the man behind her.
“Jess, it’s time to go home,” I said, and suddenly I felt every minute of my thirty-eight years. The blond pulled on a shirt then brushed past her and out the door, practically growling in his frustration. Hayes stepped forward and slapped his back as they exchanged a look I couldn’t begin to read.
“I hate you!” Jess snarled.
“For f*ck’s sake,” Hayes said, his voice annoyed. “Get your ass out here, you little shit. I don’t have time for this and neither does London.”
“Screw you. I’m an adult. I can do whatever I want, and I want to stay here with Banks.”
The young man holding the door—presumably Banks—gave an incredulous snort. Hayes didn’t do anything, but somehow the air changed. Darkened. Jessica had made a very serious mistake and suddenly I felt scared for her. I reached over, catching his arm without thinking, my fingers curling into his warm skin as I whispered, “Please …”
Hayes glanced down at my hand, then caught my gaze, holding it captive.
“You owe me,” he said. “Because that little bitch doesn’t talk to me like that, you got it? Never again.”
He turned his attention back to Jess, whose face had started to reflect some concern. Maybe she was finally realizing this wasn’t a game?
“You get your ass out here and apologize to your cousin,” Hayes said, his voice so quiet and low I felt it all the way down my spine. “Then go downstairs and get in her car. You’re gonna drive home and you’re never coming out here again. You do, I’ll teach you a lesson you won’t forget—and don’t think for a second that smiling and flashing your tits will make a difference. I’ve seen it all before. We clear?”
Jessica nodded, eyes wide. She stepped out of the room, moving instinctively to stand behind me, as far from the Reapers’ president as she could get without making an obvious break for freedom.
“I’m ready to leave now, Loni,” she said quietly.
“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”
I turned to leave, but Hayes’s voice cut like the slash of a whip.
“Stop.”
We turned back slowly. His stare flayed me, stripping through my defenses, and I realized he was much, much angrier with Jessica than I’d realized. Somewhere down in the depths of my brainstem the monkey screamed in fear, absolutely convinced a predator was about to eat us.
“Banks will take her down,” he said. “You and I aren’t done.”
The boy stepped out of the room quickly, pulling on his Reapers vest before catching Jessica’s arm and dragging her down the hallway. If you’d seen them from a distance, you’d almost believe they were a young couple holding hands … In reality, he was more like a guard escorting a prisoner.
“Thank you very much for helping me,” I told Hayes once they were gone, forcing myself to breathe steadily. Show no fear. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I want you at my place on Monday at three,” he said.
“We can work you into my schedule,” I said slowly. “But I don’t have my calendar with me. Can I get in touch with you tomorrow, when I’m not so tired?”
Definitely the best idea. Maybe I’d even find a way out of this, because I knew darned well going to his house by myself wouldn’t be safe. Not after seeing him like this—if anything, the man was more dangerous than all the rumors combined. He smiled at me wolfishly.
“No, I’ll see you at three on Monday. Bolt will give you the address. That’ll cover our original deal, but have you forgotten you owe me more now?”
“Huh?” I asked blankly.
“I just gave your girl a damned big pass,” he said slowly, taking a step toward me. I backed up warily. “But someone has to pay for what she did.”
Hayes took another step forward, and I felt my back hit the wall. Not good. His face was cold, eyes full of ice. He towered over me, hands coming to rest on either side of my head.
“What exactly do you mean by pay?” I whispered.
“It’s my birthday,” he said slowly, his chest grazing the tips of my breasts. My nipples hardened without permission. “And instead of getting my dick sucked by a stripper, I just cock-blocked two of my brothers for you.”
I felt myself starting to panic.
“You did get …” I cleared my throat nervously. “You did have oral sex. I mean, if you want to be technical about it. You just didn’t finish.”
“I’m aware.”
His hips pushed down, demonstrating just how aware he was. I swallowed as I felt his hard length press my stomach. Heat rushed through me, twisting down between my legs, because no matter what else Reese Hayes might be, he was incredibly sexy. His mouth lowered toward mine, and then his nose brushed up and along the length of mine. I felt his warm breath whisper across my cheek. His lips hovered a fraction of an inch over mine and I closed my eyes.
“Just a taste,” he whispered. I nodded. I couldn’t help myself.
His mouth brushed mine as one of his hands slid into my hair, loosening the bandanna. His tongue traced the crack of my lips, wordlessly asking to come inside.
Sighing, I let him.
The kiss was surprisingly gentle in its intensity. His tongue reached deep, exploring in a game of hunt and chase that sent tendrils of desire all the way down to my toes and back up again. Without thinking, I pressed my breasts against his chest, startled and thrilled by just how good he felt around me. His hips moved in a slow, steady grind as he slipped a knee between mine. I felt a hand grip my rear and then he boosted me effortlessly, pinning me against the wall as my legs wrapped around him oh so naturally.
Reality hit.
Reese Hayes’s penis nestled right up against my opening, and as my body strained toward his I realized we were perilously close to the point of no return.
I pictured Nate’s smiling face and forced myself to pull away from the kiss. Hayes released my mouth, holding my body firm, resting his forehead against mine and breathing heavily. I pushed my spine back into the wall, adrenaline surging, but there wasn’t anywhere to go. Not that the kiss had been violent or rough or even that passionate … I’d just never experienced anything quite like this man’s quiet intensity.
And I’d never wanted anyone more than I wanted Reese Hayes in that moment.
“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.
“F*ck 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—”
“F*ck 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. F*ck 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.
F*ck you, Amber.