Breaking Away [Smoky Mountain Motorcycles] (Siren Publishing Classic) (15 page)

The exhaustion rolled off her in waves, and she still seemed to be a bit shocked. He was as well. He was proud as hell of her for keeping her cool in a hellish situation, but he was also furious that she’d offered herself to Reb. But he would deal with that later. Right now she was exhausted, and they had an inn full of guests.

“Come on, baby.” He caught her hand and led her into the shower. Wordlessly, he washed her silky red hair and soaped her lush, curvy body, and then, twice as quickly, his own. They were both weaving on their feet by the time they fell into bed. The crazy women had actually argued to get up and serve breakfast, but he’d nixed that idea. Gloria, Tiffany, and Mariah had it covered.

She snuggled into his embrace, but there was a slight stiffness to her, despite her obvious exhaustion. “Go to sleep, sweetheart.”

“But—”

“Tomorrow will be here soon enough.”

She was quiet for several minutes, and then she spoke softly. “Jake, I love you. I know it’s crazy. We just met, but…”

He cut her off with a finger to her lips. “I love you, too.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. Those three little words were a soothing balm to his scarred soul. He pulled her close. She was his salvation.

The next few days passed in a surreal kind of happiness. They settled into a domestic routine. They thanked their friends repeatedly, and then everyone had gone back to their lives. Jake continued with the repairs while Willa took care of the customers. The bed-and-breakfast remained full thanks to the Renaissance Fair. There were no biker gang sightings, and the nights were filled with sweet passion followed by softly whispered words of love.

He moved his few belongings in, giving up the hole-in-the-wall apartment he’d taken while undercover, and Willa had happily cleared out space in her closet.

Willa was insanely happy and terrified at the same time. It didn’t seem fair to be so happy. She had her dream career, dream friends, and her dream man.

She’d kept the inn open on days it was normally closed because of the festival, and by the close, she was elated and exhausted all at once. She heard footsteps behind her as she flipped the sign on the front door to
Closed
. Alone with Jake at last. It was the first time since he’d officially moved in they’d been completely alone. She couldn’t stop the wide smile that took over her face as she turned, coming face to face with Reb.

* * * *

As Jake came into the kitchen, he heard Willa’s laugh float in from the dining room. It was sweet and soothing all at once. He swung the door open and froze. His hand automatically went for his gun.

“Jake.” She jumped up and went to him, placing herself between him and the occupants of the room. She gave him a reassuring look and murmured, “Ixnay on the ungay.”

“Huh?” What the hell was she talking about? Looking over her shoulder, he took in the odd scene and understood—nix the gun. Reb, and he wasn’t alone.

The scene was so incongruous he couldn’t help the laughter that bubbled up in his chest. The tattooed, larger-than-life gang leader was awkwardly holding a tiny pink teacup. He had a large, floppy purple hat perched on his head and a long pink feather boa wrapped around his neck. Then his eyes landed on the sweet bundle of innocence sitting across from the notorious outlaw.

Jake didn’t know much about children, but he’d guess her to be somewhere around five years old. There was no doubt she was Reb’s daughter. She had her father stamped all over her pretty little face and had the same dark eyes and glossy-black hair. She wore a pink tutu over her jeans and a pink T-shirt that read “Daddy’s Princess” in sparkling purple letters.

Reb gave him a sidelong look before he said in a calm singsong voice, “Yes, Special Agent Lawson, ixnay on the ungay. My little Holly and I are having tea. Right, sweetie?”

“My daddy makes the bestest tea,” the little girl said with a proud nod. Her dark pigtails bounced.

“I thought we were past the special agent suspicions,” Jake replied, but he deftly tucked his gun back into the shoulder holster and drew his loose denim jacket over it.

“No,” Reb continued in the same sweet singsong voice, “I gave you a way to keep your cover. Now I figure you owe me.” He turned back to the little girl and smiled. “Sweetie, do you remember the story I read you about Snow White and Rose Red? Well, why don’t you see if Rose Red would like some tea while daddy goes and talks with Prince Charming?”

Willa chimed in with a charming curtsy. “I would be delighted to partake of tea with you, Princess Holly.” She held up a tray of impossibly tiny cakes. “Would you do me the honor of trying my new petits fours?”

The child wiggled happily in her seat, her chubby hands clapping. “Yay! Cakes! Can I, Daddy, please?”

Reb smiled indulgently. “Just a few, baby. Don’t ruin your supper.”

“Yes, Daddy,” Holly replied, her eyes filled with so much love and worship for her father that it made Jake’s cynical heart ache.

He shook his head and figured he’d stepped into
The Twilight Zone,
because there was no way this was real. The real Reb didn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone, most especially little girls with bouncy pigtails. But he followed the infamous biker into the kitchen, figuring Willa could handle herself at any tea party. He chuckled softly when she plucked the hideous purple hat from Reb’s head and grandly plopped it on her own. The sweet giggle of girls reached his ears as the swinging kitchen door closed.

He turned his attention to Reb, immediately back on alert. “What are you playing at?”

“I want out.” Reb sighed, and for the first time, Jake noticed the lines of exhaustion around the man’s eyes.

“Just like that? You know it’s not that easy.” But something made him listen.

Reb sat heavily on one of the barstools and let his elbows rest on the cool granite of the kitchen counter. “I have evidence on nearly every gang in the state of North Carolina and most operating up and down the east coast. I also have evidence on quite a few dirty cops. And I know who sold your partner out.”

Jake froze, ice water filling his veins. “That’s one I haven’t figured out. You said you knew for sure she was a cop, but not me? How’s that? How did they sell her out but not me?”

“First of all, it wasn’t us that did her.” Jake figured his disbelief was obvious because Reb threw up his hands as he continued. “Really! It wasn’t. I’m dirty, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying my hands are clean, but I liked Maggie. She was a good lady. When we got the call tipping us off about a year ago, I let it go. I didn’t want any more trouble than I had, so I chose to simply move my operations out of her line of sight. I was already trying to figure a way out, even back then. I grew up in the gang. Watched it destroy everyone in my family. You might not believe it, but that little girl out there is my life, my savior. I’m not going to let it destroy her.”

He paused, taking a deep breath, but Jake could see the emotions the man was trying to force down. “Anyway, I figure we probably weren’t the only gang that got the call. Word through the grapevine is that she was done by several different gangs working together. You were collateral damage, though some people suspected you, especially when you up and disappeared.” Reb paused again and looked around. “You got a nice thing going here with the pretty lady. Don’t fuck it up.”

“Don’t worry about me and the pretty lady. Stick to the subject. Who sold Maggie out, and what do you want in exchange for your testimony?” He didn’t even bother to deny he was DEA. What was the point? Reb would never believe him, and he was so close. The blood was singing through his veins, almost as if he were getting ready to make a big bust. He was close. He could taste it.

“Like I said, I want out. I want immunity from all charges and a whole knew life for Holly and me. I’ll give you everything, including your dirty cop.”

“I can’t promise anything, but if you’re willing to talk, I can get people over here to listen. But I want a name on who sold Maggie out, or everything stops here.” Jake locked his gaze with Reb, a standoff for several nerve-racking moments, and then the enigmatic biker nodded.

“I guess you deserve that.”

“Damn right!” It was all Jake could do not to grab the man and shake the name loose. His hands were shaking with suppressed rage.

“It was her ex-boyfriend, Adam Kane. Special Agent Adam Kane.”

Jake saw red for a blinding moment before he was able to force the rage down. That bastard ex-boyfriend had actually had the audacity to cry at her funeral. Jake remembered the misery of that day. He’d been confined to a wheelchair, weak and helpless as his mentor was lowered into that cold ground. All those months of wondering if it was something he had done to blow their cover, all those months he’d tormented himself. His hands fisted, and he wanted to hit something more than he wanted his next breath.

“Breathe, big guy,” Reb ordered. “I know you want his blood so bad you can taste it like acid in your veins, but remember you got a lot to lose if you go rogue. Think of your pretty lady.”

“She was my partner, damn it. It was my responsibility to keep her safe.” He spun away and grasped the granite counter edge so hard his knuckles turned white.

“There was nothing you could have done to stop it. You’re just damn lucky they didn’t take you out, too.”

“What would you do? Would you just let it go?”

“If I had as much to lose as you, yes. In fact, that’s what I am doing, giving up everything to give my daughter a better life.”

Jake turned and stared at the man he’d always considered an adversary. A strange sense of calm came over him. He knew what Maggie would have wanted him to do. She’d have wanted Kane taken down through the proper channels. She’d have wanted Jake to make a life with Willa. Taking a deep breath, he forced his mind back to his job.

“Where’s the kid’s mother? You can’t just take her.” Despite the man’s obvious love for his daughter, Jake would never help him separate a mother and a child.

“She was a crackhead and a whore. At first I didn’t even believe Holly was mine, but then they showed up on my doorstep two years ago, and I knew. A man knows his own blood. The stupid bitch offered to sell me my own kid. Poor Holly was dirty, underfed, and dressed in rags. She was covered in bugbites and sores. And her bitch of a mom said if I gave her ten grand, she’d sign over all rights. Even pointed out that if she turned out to be too much trouble, I could sell her to some pervs in a few years, that there were men out there that would pay good money for a pretty little girl.”

“Oh God!” Jake wanted to puke. How could any mother talk about their own child like that? Suddenly, his life didn’t seem so bad. What had the poor child been through in her short little life?

“Yeah, no shit, so I gave her the money and kept Holly with me. It didn’t take me long to realize I couldn’t offer her any kind of life though. Last I heard, her mother was doing a gang somewhere out west.”

Jake nodded. “Let me make a few phone calls, but I can’t promise anything.”

“Call that lawyer friend of yours. Get him over here and see what he says my chances are.”

“I don’t know that he’s exactly going to want to help, considering you kidnapped his wife.”

Reb, shrugged. “I let y’all go, and I’m giving you your evidence on a silver platter. I have photos and video. Plus, I’ll testify to everything on a stack of Bibles.”

* * * *

Jake decided not to tell Gabe why he wanted him to come over, so their odd little group was just sitting down to dinner when they heard the motorcycle pull up. Gabe’s heavy footfall was accompanied by Danny’s lighter steps echoing on the back porch as they let themselves into the kitchen. The couple froze when they saw who was sitting at the kitchen counter eating Willa’s gourmet macaroni and cheese.

Willa jumped up and forced a smile to her face. “You’re just in time for dinner. We are having all of little Holly’s favorites.” She nodded to the child who was eyeing the plate of mac and cheese suspiciously.

“This doesn’t look like the mac and cheese Daddy makes,” the child accused.

“It’s okay, baby, everyone makes theirs different. Just give it a try for me, please.” Reb patted her dark head affectionately.

“Daughter?” Danny questioned quietly, and Willa nodded.

“Yep, we’re all going to enjoy our mac and cheese. We also have applesauce and honey biscuits. Have a seat. After supper, I am going to read Holly a very cool story.” She winked at the child, who giggled in response.

Danny and Gabe slowly sat down as Willa handed them each a plate.

“So, Jake, what’s going on?” Gabe asked with a forced smile.

“We’re just having a nice dinner with friends,” Jake answered nonchalantly. “After dinner, the girls are going to have fun while we dudes go chill.”

“What kind of story are you going to read me?” Holly asked, oblivious to the undercurrents swirling throughout the room.

“Well, I guess it depends. Are you going to try my mac and cheese?”

Holly pouted a second, but when she didn’t receive any support from her father, she tentatively took a bite of her mac and cheese and shrugged. “It’s not like yours, Daddy, but it’s okay.”