Simple Ride (Hellions Ride Book 6) (8 page)

What happens then? Who helps my mom
with my boys? How will she get by? How will they get by? What will
they think of me? How will my mom get the news? Is she strong
enough to handle that?

I look up to see Doll enter my house
with a woman and a medical bag, and I freeze.

Boomer is right there, whispering in
my ear. “It’s gonna be all right. She’s just gonna help clean you
up.”

Clean me up. There is no help for the
mess I have made. He’s talking about my broken nose and bloodied
face. Sure, the good doctor can clean that, but who will clean up
the mess of my life?

“
I’ve got kids,” I whisper
to Boomer.

Desperation and fear do something to a
woman. I can take any level of pain. I can take any level of abuse
for my boys. I have to be smart, though. I have to think ahead. I
have to give them a backup plan. I have no one … except the
Hellions. I have to take the leap of faith that, after Dennis
finishes with me, they will keep my boys safe.

“
Figured that out by now,
Pami.”

“
Boomer, I’ve got two
boys—Wesson and Colt. He can’t get to them. No matter what, he
can’t—”

“
He’s not, honey. He’s not.
On everything I am, I give you my word no one will get to them.
We’re gonna bring your boys home to you.”

Tears roll down my face, and the salty
liquid hits my busted nose and lips, making them burn.

“
They can’t come home.
Promise me, Boomer. Keep them away. He’s gonna kill me this
time.”

Boomer’s grip on my hips tightens.
“You aren’t going anywhere except to pack a bag and stay with me.
Then I’ll get your boys home to you where they belong. This
motherfucker will never lay another hand on you.”

“
He-he-he’s gonna win. He
already has,” I sob.

“
He is not, and he has not!
Trust me, Pamela. Trust me with your boys.”

“
They are living in a
church parsonage at the coast,” I whisper, swallowing down the lump
in my throat. “My mom has them at a small home meant for the pastor
of the church in Stella.”

Boomer glances at Shooter. “Call
Tripp. Call a sermon. She’s my ol’ lady; those are my kids. Figure
that shit out.”

“
She’s yours?” Doll
questions Boomer, watching me.

“
That’s what I said. You
want it in blood? I’ll give it to you. Those boys are mine; she’s
mine. Now can we handle it?” Boomer drops his voice, trying to
contain his emotions while Doll takes in the two of us.

“
Your boys are in Stella,
you said?”

After I nod, not understanding, the
tiny blonde bites her bottom lip and makes a call.

“
Daddy, we need you.” That
simple sentence changes my entire world before I can
blink.

She gets off the phone after sharing
only the information of where my boys are and who my mother
is.

“
Roundman and the Haywood’s
Landing Hellions will have your mom and boys on our compound within
the hour. No one can get to them there.” Doll smiles proudly. “Can
we get Doc Kelly to give you a once-over, please? Just to make me
feel better.”

I don’t move. I can’t.

“
Pamela, you’re a Hellion.
Stella is so close to my dad they could walk to the church and get
them if they wanted to. This is what families do. Please know my
dad will lay down his life and every other patched member before
they let anything happen to your mom and sons. I give you my
word.”

“
How?” I ask, not
understanding why they would want to help me.

“
Are you Boomer’s ol’
lady?” Doll asks, smiling.

“
Damn right she is,” Boomer
barks out before I can answer.

“
So, last I checked, Boomer
wears the cut; he earned his patch. He’s a Hellion, and you’re his
woman. Ride or die, this is what we do … together.”

She makes it sound so simple, yet I
know it’s so much more than that.

When she reaches out her small hand to
me, I hesitate. I have been alone and afraid for so long. Is this
the answer to my prayers? Is this the way to be with my boys
again?

I look over at Boomer, and with
shaking hands, I cup his face, running my thumbs over his beard.
“I’ve got kids, Boomer. I’ve got baggage by the boatloads. I don’t
know how I feel about men after Dennis. I have scars on the inside
and the out. Why are you taking this on?”

He looks at me, his brown eyes meeting
my gaze, and there is no reservation in them, only determination.
“No kid should be without their momma when they have a strong as
steel Momma like you. No woman should be broken by the hands or
words of a man.

“
I’ve got my own baggage,
Pami. I have scars on the inside and the out. I just want a chance
to show you and your kids what it is to be free. I’ve spent my
whole life seeking the freedom to be. While I’ve dedicated years to
training and fought in wars in the name of giving freedom, I’ve
never felt free for one moment of my life except when I’m with
you.

“
No matter what the future
holds, you’re mine and your kids are mine to protect and treasure.
I just want the chance to give you freedom. I just want the chance
for you simply to be you. Can I have that?”

I nod my head, feeling every bit a
part of a family for the first time since my childhood.

“
I had a good Mom, Pami,
the best. Lost her way too young. She taught me right from wrong. I
haven’t always done right, but I promise you I’ll do right by you
and your boys.”

I smile and lean against him as he
wraps his arms around me. I am safe and free in his arms. I exhale,
and for the first time in years, I think I might just live. I might
really have a life with my kids.

Boomer gave me that hope. Boomer is
giving me the chance to simply be me. My mom, my kids, and Boomer,
we can simply be.

Chapter Eight

~Boomer~

We arranged a call to her mother so
she was aware Roundman and the Haywood’s Hellions were coming for
them. In all the pain she endured today, there was a peace in her
once she knew they would be protected.

Once that was all settled, Doc Kelly
checked her out, and although her nose may need to be reset, she
will heal from all the damage he inflicted. Mentally and
emotionally, she may never truly recover, but physically, she is a
survivor.

Since she never actually planned to
stay and hadn’t acquired a bunch of junk, we packed up her
belongings relatively quickly, and now we are in my home where she
just finished her fifth shower and getting ready for bed. I have a
feeling she will shower five more times tonight, but I don’t
care—whatever makes her keep pushing through.

I grab a pillow from the bed and make
my way to the couch. My couch isn’t the best, but it will damn sure
beat sleeping on the floor tonight.

I never thought about the size of my
house before. However, with Pamela and two kids here where I have
only one bedroom and one bathroom, I see construction in my
future.

“
Boomer,” she
whispers.

“
Yeah, Pami?” I turn,
looking over my shoulder at her.

“
I don’t want to sleep
alone. I need to know I’m not alone.”

Without hesitating, I make my way over
to her. I toss the pillow back in its spot and climb in. I then
pull her to me like I have so many times before. She fits against
me as if it’s second nature, and for this moment, all is right with
the world.

Almost.

I do believe that children who have a
mom with as much heart as Pamela should be with her, not away from
her. There are kids out there with mothers who don’t care, and they
are stuck with them, like it or not. Then you have Pamela’s
situation that feels almost helpless.

How is it that the bitches seem to
have all the luck, while the good women get held down?

She sighs against me. “I messed up,
Boomer. I messed it all up for my kids.”

“
No, Pami, you did the best
you could for them.”

“
Do you believe in
angels?”

“
I’d like to think that my
momma can see the man she raised. I’d like to think she is watching
over me.”

“
I had a daughter, Boomer.”
She pauses, holding back emotions. “Cannon was their little sister.
He hit me one too many times in the stomach that night, and I hit
my head and blacked out. When I came to, the contractions were too
close together. I didn’t make it in time to stop them. I didn’t buy
my baby girl enough time.”

I stroke her hair as her pain fills my
chest. The loss, the guilt, the sadness, I feel it all. I know the
emotions all too well.

“
Boomer, no matter what
happens, I gave my boys time. I failed their sister, but I bought
them time away from him.”

“
Quit talking like he’s
gonna get you. I’m not gonna let that happen, Pamela. Believe
that.”

“
You ever wish you could
turn back the hands of time? Even though you got something good in
the end, you ever wish you could go back?”

I continue to stroke her hair and try
not to let the moisture soaking my T-shirt kill me. Although I want
to take away her pain, I learned a long time ago that no one can do
that. People can come along and ease the ache, but no one can take
it away.

I murmur without actually answering.
Do I wish I could go back? With every breath I take. I wish I could
go back and switch places with my now dead brother-in-arms. He had
so much to live for. Me, I had a mom in the grave and no family
left to worry for. I had friends, sure, but they could move on.
Skid, however, had a wife and a baby on the way.

“
My boys are the best thing
that ever happened to me. As much as I love them, I love them
enough to let them go. If I could turn back time, I never would
have been with him. I never would have met Dennis Williams. I know
that would mean I wouldn’t have my boys, and the thought of that …”
She pauses in an attempt to control her emotions. “It kills me, but
Boomer, if I could turn back time, I would because this isn’t the
life I ever wanted to give them.”

The nagging question I shouldn’t ask
pops out. “Why stay for as long as you did?”

She moves, and I tighten my grip
around her. I don’t want her to run. I want to get to the real
Pamela, the one who is vulnerable, the one who is beautiful, the
one who is the strongest woman I have ever known.

“
I was young, dumb, and
once upon a time, I was in love, or so I thought.”

“
You don’t believe
anymore?” I ask after hearing her defeated tone.

“
I believe people aren’t
always who you think they are. I believe that the sum of one plus
one isn’t always two.”

“
What does that
mean?”

“
Boomer, if you meet
someone and have a connection, you build on that connection,
right?”

I nod my head but don’t
speak.

“
You let your walls down,
but you also dream. You allow yourself to dream of a future. Then,
somewhere along the way, the fantasy is nowhere near the reality.
The person you thought you knew is long gone, and in their place is
a stranger and, in some instances, a monster.

“
One plus one in my
marriage didn’t make two. Everything was his way, his time, and his
terms. There was no part of me allowed to be free. Instead of
coming together to multiply, he divided. He divided me into tiny,
little pieces of myself that I don’t think will ever be whole
again.”

“
Take back the power, Pami.
Take back your life,” I whisper, feeling her loss.

“
He’s never gonna let me
live with my boys without him. How can I take back anything when my
entire body reminds me of him? He marked me from the inside out.
Every day, I wake up and fight the pull to style my hair the way he
liked it. I dress purposely, showing off my body, because he would
want me covered.”

“
The tattoo?”

“
Imagine having a scar you
have to feel every time you go to the bathroom—a constant reminder
of him, a constant reminder that, if I didn’t give him what he
wanted, when he wanted it, I would pay … painfully. I tried to
cover it up. I tried to turn something bad into something
beautiful.”

I kiss the top of her forehead. “Most
beautiful pussy I’ve ever seen. Most passionate pussy I’ve ever
had. More than that, it’s part of the strongest woman I’ve ever
known. We’ll get through this.”

And we will. If it’s the only thing I
get right in this life, I’m going to give Pami the opportunity to
live her life free of him.

~Pamela~

Boomer lets me cry on his chest while
stroking my hair and giving me the security that nothing can get to
me right now. I have this moment. I have this time to get it all
out. Oh, how I wish I could believe him. Oh, how I wish I could
live in the bubble of Boomer’s safety. I know Dennis, though. He
will keep on until he kills me while trying to get me to talk. I
won’t, though.