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  Stephanie’s face contorted into anger like I’d never seen before. “Leave me the fuck alone, Jeremy,” she spat before saying to her bitches, “Come on, girls, these three aren’t worth our breath.” Then she turned and stalked away from us and her posse followed.

  I stood there, stunned, not sure what had just happened.

  Jeremy slapped Kick on the back and then looked at me with a grin. “All sorted, Evie. That bitch won’t give you grief anymore.”

  I frowned. “How do you know that? And what the hell just happened?”

  Kick stopped staring after the girls and turned to look at me. “Jeremy did some digging. Discovered that Stephanie’s dad is having an affair at the moment.”

  “Oh my god! What a two-faced cow to give me shit about my mother.”

  Jeremy came to me and laid his arm across my shoulders, and pulled me close. “Yeah, thought you might like that.”

  I looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you.”

  He jerked his chin at Kick. “Don’t thank me, thank him. Kick had the brilliant idea to find out what she was hiding and then to use it against her.”

  My gaze landed on Kick. He stood still, staring at me with a look I wasn’t sure I knew. It gave me goosebumps. “Thank you,” I whispered, my stomach doing butterflies, “you’re always looking out for me and I’ve never done anything to deserve it.” It was true. For as long as I’d known him, Kick had always stood up for me, and I’d never really given him anything in return or helped him in any way.

  He shoved his hands in his pockets and scowled at me. “Don’t fucking say shit like that, Evie. You’d do the same thing for me and Jeremy.”

  Kick didn’t usually speak to me like that and it confused me. I stared at him silently, wondering what caused him to do it.

  Jeremy punched him in the arm. “Don’t be a dick,” he muttered.

  I watched as the two of them glared at each other for a few moments and then Kick looked at me and said, “Sorry, I’m an asshole. But don’t put yourself down, okay? You’ve been there for me more than you know.” His voice cracked a little on his last sentence and he seemed so uncomfortable saying it all. But, at the same time, I could feel the honesty in his words.

  I smiled at him and then Jeremy broke the moment with another slap on Kick’s back. “Okay, let’s round this up, guys,” he said as he draped his arm around me again. “I’ve got fucking math homework and I need Evie to work it out for me.”

  Kick grinned. “She needs to work my shit out, too.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Are you two ever going to do your own work?”

  They stared at me like I was an idiot, and then both their faces broke out in larger grins. “Fuck no,” they said in unison as the three of us began walking home.

  I laughed.

  No matter what I was going through in my life, these two always made my day better.

  I hoped I always had them in my life.

  ***

  After Julie left, I headed over to my mother’s house. I checked in with her almost daily. Whereas my father usually kept me at arm’s length, my mother was the exact opposite - needy.

  “Mum, you home?” I yelled out as I unlocked the front door and entered her house. Stupid question really, because aside from going to work, my mother hardly left her home.

  “In the kitchen,” came her reply.

  I kicked off my shoes just inside the front door because Mum had a thing against shoes in the house. As I did this, I noticed the black boots sitting near the door and wondered who they belonged to.

  And then I heard a male voice.

  Kick.

  What the hell? He hardly ever visited my mother.

  I hurried to the kitchen and as I rounded the corner, I came face to face with him. I had to grab onto the counter to steady myself so I didn’t run into him. My gaze hit his neck and took in the tattoos there before it travelled up to his face, taking in his beard and brown hair that always had that just-fucked look.

  His hands grabbed my arms to also help steady me, and my tummy did somersaults at the contact.

  It’s been too long since he’s held me.

  “Evie,” he murmured, his deep voice awakening the desire I’d always felt for him. The goddamn desire I’d fought hard to rid myself of. But after seeing him at Jeremy’s funeral, I knew the desire was as strong as ever.

  Fuck.

  I tried to move out of his embrace but he wouldn’t let me go. I glared at him. “Let me go, Kick.”

  He held me for another couple of moments before doing as I’d asked. I placed my hands on his chest to try to force him to step aside so I could enter the kitchen, but he didn’t move, and all I succeeded in doing was shooting more desire throughout my body at the feel of his body again.

  He glanced down at my hands on his chest and then looked at me from under hooded eyes.

  Those green eyes.

  Damn.

  “Feels good, baby,” he whispered, his voice thick with unmistakable hunger and those damn eyes penetrating mine, radiating more of that hunger.

  My core sang out its need but I acted like I had no clue what he was going on about. I remained silent and tried to push him again. Jesus, his muscles had multiplied since the last time I’d touched him. And they were rock hard. Good lord, I was done for if he pushed this. I could keep my heart closed but my body could never deny him.

  He dipped his face towards mine and said, “Your hands on me... feels good. Been too fuckin’ long.”

  God, why do you hate me?

  Why do you send temptation my way when you know it will only lead to more heartbreak?

  I dropped my hands and tried to harden my gaze. I needed to show him I had no intention of going there with him again. “And it won’t happen again,” I snapped. “Now let me through.”

  His brows raised but he stepped aside, and I finally entered the kitchen to find my mother busy at the sink washing up. Tupperware containers surrounded her, confusing the hell out of me.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  She kept washing but turned her head to look at me. Smiling, she said, “Kick dropped by to say hello and I’m thankful he did because I got him to change the washer on the tap. It had been leaking for ages, driving me crazy.”

  “You should have asked me to do it, Mum.”

  She frowned. “You know how to do that?”

  Kick chuckled from behind me and muttered, “Yeah she does, ‘cause I taught her.”

  I paid no attention to him and did my best to ignore the memories flashing in my mind of the hot summer day Kick and I had sex on the kitchen floor of his house after he showed me how to change the washer on the tap in that kitchen. “What’s with the Tupperware, Mum?” She must have had every single piece she owned on the kitchen bench.

  She stopped washing up, turned her body to face me and gave me her full attention, a look of humour crossing her face. “I had a bloody spider in the kitchen and the Tupperware cupboard was open. This was before Kick arrived. Anyway, the damn spider crawled in that cupboard and you know how much I hate spiders... I started madly pulling Tupperware out and onto the floor until I could see the spider. When I saw it, I shut the cupboard to trap it. I was gonna call you to come get it out, but Kick showed up and found it for me.”

  I spun around to face him. “Did you kill it?”

  His face softened and he murmured, “No, Evie, I didn’t kill it. I remember.”

  “I wanted him to, but he reminded me how much you hate that so he took it outside for me. Goodness gracious, I have no idea why you won’t just let us kill them,” my mother said.

  Undeniable warmth spread through me that he’d done that.

  For me.

  And that he’d remembered.

  I was still facing Kick and he whispered, “I get it, baby.”

  My breathing picked up at his words. More memories flashed in my mind - Kick and I at about sixteen, telling each other our deepest fears and heartaches. He was the only one w
ho got it, who knew why I was so against killing spiders.

  Shelly loved spiders.

  I stared up at him, lost in the memories, and then I took a deep breath and turned back to face mum. Brushing off what she’d said, I changed the subject. “I can’t stay long, but do you need me to do anything or pick anything up at the store for you?”

  “No, I stopped at the supermarket on my way home from work yesterday and picked up some groceries.”

  I smiled at her. “That’s good, Mum.”

  She returned my smile. “I’m trying, Evie, I promise.”

  I reached out and squeezed her hand. “I know.”

  Her face turned sombre. “How are you doing? After the funeral?”

  “I can’t believe he’s gone.” My voice choked up as Jeremy’s face flashed through my mind. For a moment there I’d had a reprieve from the memories.

  I watched as she swallowed hard and realised this would be stirring her memories and regrets up, too. She nodded quickly and then turned back to the sink and busied herself with dishes again. Mum wasn’t the kind of woman who ever liked to talk about her daughter’s death, in fact I could hardly recall having any real conversations of substance about it with her. I waited to see if she would say anything further but she didn’t, and I let her have that. It was probably not the best choice but I’d never pushed her to talk.

  Turning, I looked up at Kick. “Thanks for helping Mum.”

  He nodded, his intense gaze never leaving mine. “Anytime.”

  When he didn’t move to let me out of the kitchen, I widened my eyes and nodded at the entry in a let-me-out-of-here gesture. He took his time but he finally stepped aside, and I brushed past him. Without a backwards glance I left the house and hurried to my car. My mind and body were tangled with desire and confusion, and the sooner I got out of Kick’s space, the better.

  As I opened my car door, a hand grasped my arm and stopped me. I turned in surprise to find Kick behind me.

  Shit.

  “What?” I demanded.

  “Your mum’s doing well.”

  “You came after me to tell me that?”

  With a shake of his head, he said, “No.”

  We stood watching each other, not saying a word. I truly didn’t know what he wanted after all this time. “Yeah, she’s doing okay at the moment. I got her to see someone and start working through all her shit. Finally. Only took nineteen years, but she’s getting to the point where she’s leaving the house more and more.”

  “That’s good. I hated watching her shut herself away like that.”

  “Yeah,” I said softly, and then asked, “What do you want, Kick?”

  “You.”

  Unmistakable heat flowed between us at his statement and I sucked in a breath. We’d been here before and Kick did not want me. He only thought he did. “No, you don’t. You want what you think we can be, but as soon as you can have that, you’ll pull away, so why bother starting something we both know will only end badly?”

  “That’s the past, Evie. I’ve changed and realised I want you in my life. Give me a chance, baby.”

  Everything in me screamed to say yes, but my head knew better. “No.”

  I didn’t wait for him to say anything further before getting in the car and shutting the door. I turned the key in the ignition and attempted to ignore him, but he tapped on the window until I finally put it down.

  He leant his head in the car and said, “I was wrong, Evie.”

  “When?”

  “Three years ago when I told you I didn’t want you in my world.” His eyes held the truth in his statement; I saw regret, but I couldn’t let that sway me. Just because he regretted his choice didn’t mean he’d end up making a different one this time if I let him back in.

  “Well, it’s too late now,” I dismissed him.

  He shook his head. “Life’s too short to say shit like that. And it’s too fuckin’ short not to go after what you want. And I’m telling you now, baby, I want you, and I’m gonna get what I want.” And there was Kick’s trademark stubbornness. I could tell from the way his eyes bore into mine that he was trying to force me to go along with what he wanted.

  I stared at him, unsure of what to say to that. And when he moved his hand to cradle my face and rub my lips with his thumb, I sat there and let him do it. He’d taken me completely by surprise.

  He let me go and straightened. Tapping the top of my car, he said, “I’ll see you soon.” And then I watched him walk back into my mother’s house, my eyes hardly able to shift from his ass.

  Fuck.

  Chapter Four

  Kick

  I sat at the bar of the clubhouse and stared at Nitro as he told me about the bike engine he was rebuilding. His words drifted in and out as my concentration bounced between him and thoughts of Evie. It had been a week since I’d seen her at her Mum’s. I’d purposely left her alone, because if there was one thing I knew about her, it was how much she hated being pushed into doing something. After all these years, I knew when to push and when to back off.

  “Kick, are you fucking listening to me?” Nitro broke through my thoughts.

  I took a swig of my beer before answering him. “Sorry, brother.”

  He finished his beer and motioned to Brittany to bring him another. “All good, man, I know you’ve been through some shit the last week. But you should drop by my house one day and take a look at the engine. Could do with some help, ‘cause I’ve heard you know your shit around engines.”

  Nitro and I weren’t close but I’d recently realised how much we had in common and maybe helping him with his engine would stop me fucking thinking about Jeremy and Evie so much. “Yeah, I will.”

  Brittany brought Nitro his drink and leant across the bar, flashing her huge tits at him. I didn’t have much respect for her but she was the best bar bitch we had. “You think you could convince King to let me redecorate the bar?” she asked us, eager eyes flicking between the two of us.

  Nitro grinned at her. He often used her when he wanted a quick lay and I knew they had an easy friendship. “Darlin’, I could try and convince King of anything if you let me fuck you the way I want,” he said with a wink. He reached across the bar and traced her cleavage with his finger, which caused her to close her eyes and moan.

  “Fuck, you two, get a fuckin’ room,” I snapped, and gulped the rest of my beer down.

  Nitro slipped his hand into her top. Eyeing me he said, “I would if she’d play the way I want to, but she never does.”

  She slapped his hand away. “I told you I’m not interested in that, Nitro. You’ll have to find some other slut to let you do that.”

  He shrugged. “You’ll have to find someone else to convince King then, babe, ‘cause no play means no help from me. Besides, I don’t think any of us could give a fuck about paint and furniture and shit like that.”

  Brittany cast an unconvinced gaze around the room. “So you don’t care about the ugly cream paint that is peeling in some parts, or the out-dated wood tables and chairs, or the fact the couches in here obviously have seen better days and too much cum? I hate sitting on those couches because I know that nearly all of you boys have each fucked more than a handful of bitches on them and spread your germs everywhere. And what about the plants that are dying in here because whoever picked them chose the wrong plants for inside and no one ever waters them besides me? Oh, and your Storm logo on the wall behind the bar needs to be redone because it’s all worn and shit.”

  I raised my brows at her. “I see you’ve put a lot of thought into this, but, personally, I couldn’t give a shit and I doubt King does, either.”

  “Give a shit about what?” King’s voice sounded behind me.

  I jerked my chin at Brittany. “She wants to redecorate. Says it’s old and ugly in here. And she hates the cum on the couches.”

  King laughed. “You want new couches, sweetheart? You and I could christen them.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I get it. You d
on’t care what your clubhouse looks like.”

  King stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes on her. “Tell you what. You figure out a cost for me and I’ll think about it, but I want something from you in return.”

  Fear flickered in her eyes, and she didn’t respond. No one ever wanted to owe King anything, especially not a female. I’d heard the stories about what he demanded from women and I didn’t blame her for her hesitation.

  “Well?” he barked, waiting for her answer.

  “I think it’ll cost too much,” she said, her voice holding no trace of her previous confidence.

  He gave her a long, hard look before finally nodding. “Yeah, I thought it might,” he said darkly.

  I watched her walk away from us and head towards the other end of the bar. It was fairly clear she couldn’t get there fast enough.

  Nitro stood. “Gotta hit the head. I’ll catch you later.”

  After he’d left, King asked, “You heard anything around the traps about Silver Hell?”

  Had I heard whether they knew it was Storm who’d killed two of their guys?

  “Haven’t heard a thing.”

  “Yeah, me either. We need to try and find out more. You able to do that?”

  I nodded. “I’ve got some contacts. I’ll follow it up for you.”

  He slapped me on the back. “Good.” His gaze shifted from me to track Brittany’s moves and he leant on the bar in what seemed like an effort to get a better view. Once he’d had his fill, he looked back at me. “I’ve got a job for you today. Need you to collect some of our hard-earned cash.”

  “Who from?”

  His gaze had shifted back to Brittany for a moment, but his eyes came straight back to me. “Our coke-loving friend who never fucking wants to pay up. Sort him the fuck out, Kick, ‘cause I’m sick of his fucking shit. In fact, if I never have to deal with him again, I would be a very happy man.”

  King speak –Take him out or ensure he never comes knocking on our door again.

  I stood and watched as he continued to track Brittany’s moves. That bitch had zero chance of avoiding him now. She’d well and truly caught his attention today. “Consider it done,” I said.