Читать книгу Ruined - Jackie Ashenden - Страница 11

CHAPTER TWO

Smoke

I’D KILL FOR that kid. I’d kill for Cat.

And as I headed out of the clubhouse and got on my bike I wanted to. Wanted to wrap my hands around that motherfucker Justin’s neck and choke the living shit out of him.

He’d never pulled anything like this before, and I knew it was a bad sign. So far he’d kept his hands off Annie, but it was only a matter of time. Pricks like that were all the same—and I should know since I’d grown up with one.

As I slammed up the kick stand Tiger came over. He looked stoned, which was unsurprising given the smell of weed wafting around the clubhouse entrance.

‘Whatcha doing?’

‘Cat’s got a problem with Annie,’ I said shortly. ‘Going to deal with it.’

‘Need a hand?’

‘Nope.’

The fewer people involved with this the better. Especially if that fancy-ass fucking lawyer was going to start throwing his weight around. He was the son of the local police chief, and that was the only reason he was still walking around and breathing.

Keep, the Knights’ president, didn’t want any situations escalating with the cops since the Knights had got them sweet a year or so ago. A few favours here, a few favours there and they left us alone.

The chief’s son ending up dead would kill that arrangement.

Which was a big fucking pity for me.

He’d hurt Cat once before—hurt her real bad. I’d have killed him for that alone and screw the fucking peace agreement if she hadn’t told me to back off.

I’d never understood that. But she was my friend and I didn’t want to fuck up her life any more than it was already.

‘Sure?’

Tiger liked to be involved when shit went down, but tonight he could stay here. He’d had too much to smoke anyway.

‘I’m sure.’ I started up my Harley, the roar of the pipes filling the night air. ‘But keep an eye on your phone in case I need backup.’

He gave me a salute with two fingers near his forehead and I took off, heading out onto the streets.

I knew where Justin lived. Sometimes I used to ride past his townhouse just to remind him that I was out there, looking for an excuse to end him. A warning to stay away from the two people I cared about most in the world.

What the fuck he was doing with Annie tonight, I did not know. But one thing was for sure: he’d made the biggest fucking mistake of his life.

I must have got lucky or something, because as I pulled up to the kerb outside his house, the door opened and out the prick came—Annie in one arm, the handle of a giant suitcase bumping down the stairs in the other.

He didn’t see me at first, obviously in a hurry to get both the kid and the suitcase into the back of his fancy BMW. So I gave him five minutes to let him think he was going to get away. Then I got off my bike, walked up to the car as he was closing the door after him, and wrenched it open before he could get it shut.

‘What the hell?’

He looked up at me from his place in the driver’s seat, his face a mask of rage. That soon turned to fear as I leaned an elbow casually on the roof of the car, my other arm on the open door to stop him from getting out.

‘Hey, Justin,’ I said, smiling. ‘Going somewhere?’

His mouth twisted. ‘Get away from the car or I’ll call the police.’

I laughed. ‘Yeah... See, I don’t think you want to do that.’

‘Smoke!’ Annie was wriggling in her car seat. She was six and didn’t know her daddy was an asshole. ‘Why are you here? It’s really late and we’re going on a trip. Just Daddy and me!’

‘Hey, kiddo.’ I kept my voice low and friendly, at the same time giving her a quick scan. She looked fine, grinning at me in that way she always did, like she was having the time of her life. ‘How’s it hanging back there?’

She giggled. ‘Nothing’s hanging. Is Mom coming soon?’

‘Soon, honey.’

I glanced back at her father. The guy was furious, his mouth gone tight and mean. Cat had told me once that she thought he was good-looking, but I couldn’t see it.

‘Annie needs to come home now,’ I said flatly. ‘You unstrap her, give her to me, and nothing else’ll happen.’

‘Like hell.’ Justin reached for the keys. ‘She’s my goddamn kid, and I’ll do what I goddamn like with her!’

Fuck. The prick just didn’t listen, did he?

I leaned in and grabbed the keys before he could move, pulling them out of the ignition and throwing them as hard as I could over to the other side of the street. ‘Go fetch, motherfucker.’

Justin looked like he was going to explode. ‘Touch her and—’

‘You’ll what?’ I cut him off, sick of this bullshit. ‘Go running to Daddy? Hide behind your fucking laws? Or are you actually going to man up and take a swing at me?’

I wished he’d take the swing. I wanted an excuse to punch him so bad it was like a pain in my gut.

But it was like he knew—like he could see how much I wanted to do it—because he suddenly leaned back in his seat, all the tension bleeding out of him.

‘All right,’ he said. ‘Take her home, then. But you can tell Cat that I’ll be back.’ The asshole had the gall to grin at me. ‘With a court order.’

I wanted to choke him then and there, but of course I couldn’t. Keep would kill me if I fucked up the situation we had with the cops, and I wasn’t that stupid. Even one punch to his face was out of bounds.

A chill went down my spine.

Justin had never actually threatened to get custody of Annie before, and Cat had always said that was because he’d never wanted her in the first place. That the only reason he kept insisting on his parental rights was to hurt Cat. And I believed her. The guy had major control issues, and I knew because I had the same deal.

Except there was one difference between him and me. I’d never hurt a woman like he did and I’d never use a kid like he used Annie.

I gave him a grin back—the kind that promised his early death. ‘Do it. If you think you can.’

He seemed to think this was the ace up his sleeve, or something, because his smile turned smug.

‘Oh, I will—don’t worry. Any judge in the country will grant me sole custody...especially against a single mom and her dangerous biker boyfriend.’

Only long years of control kept the grin on my face and my gun in my pocket. Otherwise I’d have put a bullet through his fucking head.

So he was going to use me against Cat.

You always knew this would happen.

Yeah, I always did. I always knew that somehow, someday, the shit was going to hit the fan.

Cat always hated the club—hated that I was a Knight—and, given her background, I couldn’t blame her. But until now it hadn’t really come between us because she didn’t associate herself with club doings.

But now...

Jesus. How ironic that the most galling thing about this was the fact that I wasn’t even her boyfriend—though every part of me wanted to be.

The rage started way down low in my gut, working its way through my veins. It would have to come out soon, but I had ways and means of doing that. Right now all I did was keep on smiling at the piece of shit sitting smug in his car. Imagining the death that was coming to him.

‘You do that, Justin.’ I made sure he heard the threat in my voice. ‘And you’ll get what’s coming to you. No mistake. By the way, where were you going? You know it’s illegal to break the custody agreement, right?’

He just laughed. ‘It’ll be legal soon enough. Hey, Annie. Are you ready to go see Mommy, honey?’

Annie, who’d been silent in the back, nodded. She wouldn’t pick up the really adult vibes, but she’d know something was up. She was a perceptive kid.

‘We’re not going anywhere now?’

‘Nope,’ I said, before Justin could speak. ‘Wanna go for a ride on my bike?’

‘Yeah!’

I got Annie out myself, ignoring her father as he said his goodbyes. Then I grabbed her backpack and stowed it in the saddlebag on the bike, leaving Justin to go scrabbling around in the street for his keys.

Sitting her up in front of me, she grabbed onto my arms without me having to tell her. She’d been riding on the Harley almost since before she could talk, so she knew what to do.

I texted Cat to let her know I had Annie, then we roared out of there.

Fifteen minutes and we were at Cat’s run-down apartment building. Yeah, it wasn’t the greatest place to raise a kid, but she had good neighbours and the apartment itself was clean and tidy. She was a great mom and, really, that’s all that counts for a kid. Annie had clean clothes, food, a bed at night and people who loved her. People who didn’t beat the shit out of her. And that’s plenty more than a lot of kids had.

Cat was waiting out front, her hands in the pockets of her jeans, trying to look casual, but I knew she wasn’t. As I pulled up the bike she ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time to get to us.

‘Hey, honey,’ she said as she picked Annie up. ‘How was Daddy’s?’ She didn’t act panicked, but I could hear the sound of it in her voice anyway.

Annie didn’t seem to notice, chattering on about what she’d done that afternoon.

Cat didn’t say anything to me, but she didn’t need to. The look she gave me out of those big green eyes of hers said it all.

I followed them up the stairs after I’d got Annie’s stuff out from the saddlebag of the bike and into her apartment. Cat didn’t bother to ask me any questions, too busy murmuring to Annie about how she needed to get into her pyjamas and brush her teeth because it was late.

I let her do all the kid shit first, going into the tiny, scrupulously clean kitchen and pulling open the fridge door. She usually kept a couple of cans of my favourite beer, and sure enough there was one on the shelf. I took it and went back out to the lounge, popping the tab as I sat down on the faded chintz couch that she kept covered with an Indian-patterned throw thing.

There was a low wooden coffee table in front of the couch and I swung my boots up on it like I always did, taking a swallow of my beer and sitting back.

I liked Cat’s place. I had a room at the Knight’s clubhouse, and that was cool, but I didn’t have an apartment or anything. It was a choice I’d made a long time ago, but that didn’t mean I didn’t like coming around to Cat’s and hanging out.

Cat kept the apartment homey, with all the decor shit she liked, despite the threadbare carpet and the dingy wallpaper. The most important thing, though, was that it had Cat in it.

That’s why I liked it. That’s why I kept coming there.

She’d been my friend since I was seven years old and with any luck she’ll stay my friend for the rest of time.

As long as I didn’t fuck it up.

I’d been good for years so far—no reason to think I wouldn’t stay being good.

Cat finally appeared fifteen minutes later, walking into the living area with her hands in the pockets of her jeans again. She always did that when she was nervous, as if she thought her hands were going to give her away or something.

Her black hair was in a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck, all glossy and shiny like a slick of oil on a hot day. But she looked pale. Tired. There were dark circles under her green eyes and lines of strain around her full, pouty mouth.

Yeah, even tired and stressed out, she was so fucking beautiful.

But then she always had been.

She didn’t look at me as she came around one of the ratty armchairs opposite the couch and sat down on it. In fact it seemed as if she was avoiding looking at me completely.

For a second I wondered what the problem was. Then I remembered.

The last time she’d seen me I’d been standing in the hallway with my dick in Hannah’s mouth.

Ah. Fuck.

‘So what went down with Justin?’ Cat asked.

She still wasn’t looking at me, her attention on my boots resting on her table.

For some reason I couldn’t figure out, I wanted to leave them there—which was stupid. She’d been through hell tonight with Annie and didn’t need me being a tool about putting my feet on her furniture.

But I didn’t move them.

‘Up here, kitten.’

Her gaze flickered up to mine, then away again. ‘Justin, Dane?’

Yeah, she really didn’t want to look at me. And the Dane thing... Second time that night. Definitely had something to do with that moment in the hallway.

I took another sip of my beer. I’d ask her about it after we’d cleared up the shit that had happened with her ex. No need for her to get weird about a fucking blow job, for Christ’s sake.

‘Looked like he was trying to make a run for it with Annie,’ I said. ‘When I got there he was putting her in his car.’

She was silent, looking fully at me this time, and I could see the panic in her eyes.

‘Shit. I knew he was going to try and pull something like this—I just knew it.’

‘Yeah, but that’s not all.’ This would be difficult for her, but she needed to know the truth. ‘He’s going to try for sole custody.’

She stilled. ‘What? He’s never wanted to before.’

‘Well, he’s serious now.’ I held her gaze. ‘He’s going after you with the big guns, too. Single mom. Shitty apartment. Biker boyfriend.’

Her eyes widened, then flared with anger. ‘No. Oh, fuck, no! He’s not using you. The prick!’

That’s what I loved about Cat. She always had my back. Always.

She shoved herself out of her chair, pacing angrily in front of the coffee table. ‘Why now? He hasn’t wanted this before. I don’t get it. And anyway you’re my friend—not my boyfriend.’

‘Yeah, but that’s how he’s going to play it. Fuck, if I wanted my kid, I’d tell every lie I could to get them back.’

She stopped and stared at me. ‘Not helping.’

‘Hey, that’s what he’s doing. I’m just telling it like it is.’

‘Well, don’t.’ She resumed pacing. ‘This is crazy. He’s doing it to hurt me. He doesn’t really want Annie—he never did.’

‘Why he’s doing it doesn’t matter. All that matters is how we stop him.’

She came to a halt again, her hands in fists at her sides. ‘Yeah and how the hell are we going to do that? He’s a lawyer. It’ll be his word against mine.’

That was the problem. He was a fine, upstanding member of the community. A professional. No one knew he was also an abusive prick. No one except me and Cat.

The thing was, I’d already had to stand on the sidelines once to watch him take out his anger-management problems on someone I loved. I wasn’t going to do it again. Still less when the person involved was a kid.

I needed to talk to Keep—see what he could do about the situation. He was friends with the police chief now, and that asshole was the chief’s son. He’d be able to work something out. After all I was Keep’s nephew, and he’d always told me that if I needed anything I only had to say the word.

I’ve never wanted to put anything on Keep—it wasn’t his fault his brother was the biggest asshole ever to walk the earth. But this wasn’t about me. It was about Cat and what she needed. And she needed something now.

‘Don’t worry. I’ll deal with it.’ I put as much authority as I could into my voice.

‘What do you mean, you’ll deal with it?’ she demanded. ‘How?’

‘Doesn’t matter how.’

‘Bullshit.’ Her whole posture was tense, almost vibrating. ‘Don’t give me that biker-secrecy crap—not when it involves Annie.’

I leaned forward, put my beer down on the table, then pushed myself out of the chair and came around the table to where she stood. Then I pulled her into my arms. She made an angry sound, putting her hands onto my chest and shoving, holding herself away. Her cheeks were flushed and she wouldn’t look at me.

She was pissed and, hell, I understood. She was trying to protect Annie and she wanted to know what was going on. Except I wasn’t going to tell her. Not until I’d worked it all out myself. Mainly because I knew she’d hate it.

Her mouth was a hard line, her body tense. It was difficult being close to her. Difficult having all that soft warmth against me. It made me feel guilty and it made me hard, both at the same time. Over the years I’d got better at hiding how I felt about her, but there were times when I couldn’t quite do it—and tonight the interrupted blow job only made it worse.

Cat’s familiar scent filled my head...a sweet, musky smell like jasmine and sandalwood mixed together. Fuck knew what it was, but it always made me feel good. Made me feel like I was home. Made me want to wrap her in my arms and hold her close, put my face between her breasts and inhale her.

A bad move.

Cat had never shown any sign that she wanted me and I’d never wanted to put our friendship at risk. It was too important to me and so was she.

So I told my goddamn dick to calm the fuck down and held her like I always did. Giving her comfort the way a friend would.

‘I know you’re scared,’ I said. ‘I know you’re worried. But let me help you and Annie.’

Her palms were resting on my chest and I could feel the heat of them settle right down through me, burning through my T-shirt and onto my skin. She was staring at them, and not at me, as if the backs of her hands were the most interesting things in the world.

‘I don’t want to involve the club,’ she said quietly. ‘Please, Smoke. You know how I feel about that.’

I did. But this wasn’t just about her. This was about Annie, as well.

‘Remember that the club hasn’t done anything to you. And if they can help Annie, isn’t that more important?’

‘It’s not... It’s not about Dad.’

Sure it wasn’t. Her father had been a biker and a nasty bastard. Like mine. Except her dad hadn’t beaten her half to death every time he got drunk. No, he’d been more the absent type—away a lot on club business and not much interested in anything else. Especially not the poor little rich girl he’d got pregnant or the daughter he’d fathered.

Anyway, I called it like I saw it.

‘That’s a piece of shit, Cat. And you know it.’

Her body tensed and she looked up at me, her eyes sharp as green glass. ‘This is about Annie, not Dad.’

‘Yeah, it is.’ My hands were on her hips and I found myself tightening my hold on her, as if I could make her see that her fears were all the product of her past with nothing but the strength of my grip alone. ‘Which means if you want to make sure she’s safe, you need to let me handle this.’

An expression I didn’t recognise moved in her eyes. Anger and something else, too. Something unfamiliar. Then her gaze dipped and—holy fucking shit—she was staring at my mouth.

I went still. Completely and utterly still. She’d never done that before, and there was only one reason in the entire world she would.

Obviously picking up on my shock, she pushed at me again. But I held on. No way was I going to let her go—not now. Not when I’d caught her looking at me the way I never in a million years thought she would.

‘Smoke.’ She pushed harder, her cheeks flushed, her thick black lashes veiling her gaze.

‘No.’ I tightened my grip, suddenly desperate to know what the hell was going on. ‘We need to talk, Cat.’

‘What? No, we don’t. Look, I’m tired and—’

‘We need to talk about what you saw in the hallway tonight.’