Lani Lynn Vale - [ MC 01] - Lights to My Siren

Text copyright ©2014 Lani Lynn Vale All Rights Reserved The purchase of this E-book allows you one legal copy for your own personal reading enjoyment on your personal computer or device. You do not have the rights to resell, distribute, print, or transfer this book, in whole or in part, to anyone, in any format, via methods either currently known or yet to be invented, or upload to a file sharing peer to peer program. It may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Such action is illegal and in violation of the U. S. Copyright Law. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. If you no longer want this book, you may not give your copy to someone else. Delete it from your computer. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

Dedication This book is dedicated to my Mimi and my husband’s Good Grandma. It truly makes my day to know y’all love my books. I also can’t begin to thank my mom for all the constructive criticism she gives me. To Jessie Lane, you are my idol. You will forever have a special place inside my heart for taking me under your wing. To Asli, my editor, you deserve much more than a thank you for all of the work you did on Lights To My Siren. Finally, to my husband and kiddos, y’all are the lights to my siren. The cheese to my macaroni. The beat to my heart. I love y’all.

Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Epilogue

You’re The Lights... Sebastian had one rule. No women on the back of his bike. Period. The one time he broke that rule, he killed the woman that was carrying his child. If it were not for the quick thinking of a nurse and a trauma medic that he’d been safeguarding, he would’ve lost his son, too. Then comes Baylee Roberts. She makes Sebastian want to break every single rule he ever implemented. Hell, she even makes him consider that dreaded H word: helmet. To My Baylee Roberts innocently walked into her bathroom never expecting that she’d find a man in there. It is her bathroom after all, and she lives alone. He was supposed to be helping her build her deck. From the moment he placed his hat on her head to protect her from the sun, Baylee’s mind becomes filled with thoughts of a certain biker. She really shouldn’t go there. There’s no telling what kind of dangerous things he does for The Dixie Wardens MC. Siren Sebastian has fallen in love for the first time in his life. But Baylee’s brother is a cop. Baylee’s father is a cop. Which inevitably means that Baylee is going to have certain hang-ups about being with a man like himself. It’s his job to convince her that he can be that man she deserves. Baylee has a strong will, and it’s possible that he won’t be able to break through; especially when her brother hates his guts and everything he represents. Sebastian has a lot on his plate with his busy job as a firefighter, a single father, and the vice president of The Dixie Wardens MC. But not too busy to make sure Baylee never leaves him. Baylee’s his. Sabastian will just have to convince her.

Chapter 1 A good man breaks your headboard, not your heart. -Rules to live by Baylee I watched out of the corner of my eye as the man, two yards down from my own, stepped up onto the diving board, faced me, and then laid his hands against the top of the fence. Then, unsurprisingly, he leaned his head down until his chin rested on top of the hands that rested on the fence. His eyes were on me as I screwed another screw into the board between my legs. “If my stupid brother were here, I wouldn’t have had to worry about some creepy, old man watching me while I worked out in the yard.” I grumbled, as I tried not to notice the creepy old man. I regretted taking off my shirt now, but it was so unbelievably hot out that it was either take the shirt off, or give up on the deck until fall. The weather in Texas was absolutely boiling. In the summer months, it reached upwards to 110 degrees. If I lived to be a hundred, I would never get use to this horrid Texas heat. It was a far cry from the cooler summers in Casper, Wyoming. At least there we had defined seasons. In Texas, one day it could be sunny and stifling, and the very next it could be dreary and cold. My brother was the one who’d recommended project ‘fiasco,’ saying it would help the resell value of my house to have a deck around the pool. He’d even planned the deck out, bought the wood, and built the framing. Then it sat for two months before I’d finally decided to just do it myself. Apparently, they’d been super busy at the station lately, and he hadn’t been able to utilize his free time like he’d previously done. Sweat dripped down my chest and back, in slow moving rivulets, disappearing in the waistband of my shorts that said ‘cheer!’ across the ass. The bra I put on that morning was thoroughly soaked through with sweat, restricting my breasts like a serpent. The thick material was anything but forgiving, and I cursed my mother for passing down the big boob gene that required me to wear extra supportive bras, instead of thin cute ones like normal women. On top of everything else, my knees were killing me. Two years after my accident at work, and I still felt the effects of that night. That night, my life changed forever. I’d been working my third 24-hour shift of the week. There’d been a call involving a fifty-year-old man complaining of chest pain, while out for dinner with his wife. My former partner, Cory, and I were dispatched. After loading the patient, Cory had taken lead, which left me driving to the nearest hospital. We’d been ten minutes out when a car had run the stop sign, barreling into the ambulance before anyone had even noticed it was there.

When I’d come to, the patient that had been coding in the back was dead, and Cory was unconscious and fighting for his life. I hadn’t been as severe, but I wasn’t able to feel my legs from the knees down at the time, either. The loud roar of a motorcycle pulling up outside signaled the arrival of my new partner. Winter had learned of my side project during last night’s shift and immediately offered her assistance once she caught up on her sleep. Winter was a fellow female medic at Station number three. She’d been there just shy of a year when I had arrived. We’d gotten along instantly. We’d been paired together ever since. From then on, we spent quite a bit of time together, and over the past six months, I’d gotten to know the other women that lived in the same compound as Winter, as well. Winter’s husband , who was former military. When his old team had gotten out, they’d started a motorcycle shop and then moved in behind it. There they’d established quite a reputable custom bike business, and had flourished since. Winter said she’d be asking her husband to drop her off so she could drink if she felt like it afterwards. I told her she wouldn’t have the desire to do so after being outside so long, but what did I know? The doorbell chimed a few moments after the sound of the bike shut off, and instead of getting up to answer it, I just yelled. Honestly, I was beyond tired. If I got up, it would be to lay down on the couch and crack open an ice cold Coke. “Come on in! I’m in the backyard!” Winter’s answering yell confirmed that she’d heard me, and I went back to screwing. I laughed at how idiotic that sounded. I had what you would call a very naughty sense of humor. Anything you had to say, even the most normal of statements, I could turn it into some sort of sexual innuendo. With one hand, I lined the tip of my screw gun with the notched head of the screw. With the other, I pushed down while depressing the button. A movement out of the corner of my eye had me looking up in time to see the man a few yards down taking a picture of me. Flustered, I turned back to my screwing, making a mental note to let my brother know sooner rather than later. As usual, my coordination and lack of attention fucked me over, and instead of pushing down on the screw, the screw slipped. The head of the drill bit slammed down into my finger, shooting a burst of pain through my body. Although I’d managed to pull back, the puncture still hit deep enough that blood started to pour from my finger. “Goddammit. Motherfucking bitch of a whore’s son.” Painfully, I got up to my feet with my bleeding finger clutched to my chest, then ran to the backdoor, slamming inside without looking. I ran straight to the bathroom, blood seeping through my clasped fingers. I passed Winter on my way, but didn’t acknowledge her. Instead, I went for expediency, forgoing the

niceties in exchange for prolonging the life of my brand new beige carpet. Blood wasn’t the easiest to clean up. I should know. I’d been a paramedic for eight years now. Without thinking, nor acknowledging the fact that the door was closed when I’d specifically remembered leaving it open, I barreled through the door, and ran to the sink. I cursed as the cool water hit my finger and shot a blast of pain coursing through my veins. “Goddamn, this hurts.” I muttered. “Looks like it.” A man said from behind me. Whirling around, I stared in shock at the man who was now zipping up the fly of his jeans. “What are you doing in my house?” I half screamed. The man grinned. If he hadn’t been so unbelievably hot, I might’ve had the common sense to be more scared than I actually was. However, my common sense took a flying leap out of the window and my attitude came out to play. “I was using the john. Then you burst in.” He said by way of explanation. “Why would you be using it in my house when I didn’t let you in?” I asked with a raised brow. “That would be my fault. I informed them that they needed to come help.” Winter said apologetically. Well if that didn’t take the wind out of my sails, nothing would. Reluctantly, I turned to the man I’d nearly seen with his pants down, literally, and smiled contritely. “I’m sorry. It was just surprising to have a strange man in my house.” He nodded, and then gestured to my still bleeding hand. “Do you need some help?” I looked down at my bleeding hand and groaned; I was a bleeder. I had von Weelbrand’s disease, which pretty much meant that if I cut myself, I would bleed. A lot. The disease guaranteed that any cut I received bled much more than it should. That didn’t even begin to take into effect my horrid periods. Those puppies lasted for way longer than they ever should have, which was how I knew I had the disease in the first place. I held out my hand and extended it to him, showing him the wound. “It’s not too bad. It’s actually just a scratch, but I have VWD, which makes me bleed more than normal. I end up pulling a Carrie way too often, if you ask me.” I teased. It was around that time that I realized I was in my sports bra and short shorts that would be illegal in the state of Utah. “Uhh, if you don’t mind, I’ll go change. I’ll be right back.” I didn’t wait for their agreement, I just ran to my bedroom. Then went to my stock of Band-Aids, double wrapped my finger, and then slipped out of my sweaty shorts, and bra. Just as I was about to change into a more sedate pair of shorts, I realized that the hair on my legs could rival Chewbacca’s, and decided that a quick shave was in order. Thirty minutes later, I was newly showered, shaved, and coiffed. Oh, and not to mention thoroughly

embarrassed. I’d never meant to spend that long in the shower, but just thinking about the man I’d walked in on made my blood run hot. When I finally emerged from the bedroom after putting on a fresh Band-Aid, the crew of five men Winter had brought with her, were hard at work. On my deck. “Shit.” I cursed and rushed out the door. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t get the bleeding to stop.” I lied, holding up my finger and showing the group at large. Sure enough, my finger was bleeding through the second bandage, but that was entirely normal for me. It’d stop eventually. It always did; it just looked bad until it did. Winter knew of my condition, and didn’t look the least bit concerned. The big surprise was the man I’d walked in on earlier. He looked downright horrified. Oh, and his shirt was off. The man looked damn fine in his jeans. Shirtless, he could rival just about any man in the fire department I worked with. Which was saying something, because to be a firefighter, you had to be in shape. If you weren’t, lives could be at stake. People depended on a firefighter to save their lives; if their bodies weren’t honed into a perfect tool, then that could mean the death of someone. This man had abs on top of abs, if that were even possible. He also had scars. One on his right lower abdomen that most likely indicated he’d had an appendectomy. Then there was a thin long one that ran down his side from armpit to hip. Oh, and did I mention he had tattoos? They were delicious on his defined chest, and muscled arms. The entire length of the top of his arm was covered. A beautiful American Flag dominated his upper chest and bicep. That would also make it hard to find a vein on the man if he ever needed emergency attention. “You’ll have to forgive her. Baylee has an obsession with veins. She stares at everyone to judge how easy they’d be to get an IV on.” Winter teased. My face flamed. I did do that. Not intentionally or anything, but when three days a week you spend the majority of your time thinking about those types of things, one tends to carry those weird habits into their daily lives. “Sorry,” I muttered and then turned to the activity of the other men. Those I knew. Not well, but enough that I’d say hello and ask how the kids were doing if I passed by them at the local diner or the grocery store. Jack, Winter’s husband, sidled up to his wife, slinging an arm around her shoulders. “How’s it going, Baylee?” I smiled at the man. He sure was handsome. Tall and built, much the same as the rest of the men; he was very pleasing to the eye. I was never one to poach, but I sure could look at the men of Free all day long and never get bored. They were all that hot.

“I was doing okay until the man two doors down distracted me, causing me to slip and stab myself with the screw gun.” I explained. “Why did he distract you?” Jack asked, tensing slightly. “He took a picture of me. He watches me all the freaking time, but it’s only recently that he’s begun staring so openly like that. Today, he went above and beyond.” I sighed heavily. The man I’d walked in on earlier tensed. “Which house?” He asked. I pointed. “Two yards over. The one with the pool.” He looked where I was pointing, noticing the man that was now using the pole to clean his pool, and came to a decision. “Be right back.” Then he was gone. “Uhh,” I said, confused. “What the heck?” “Uh, oh. Sebastian’s got a crush.” Jack laughed. Winter slapped him across the chest, but didn’t discredit his thought. “Okay, girl. I brought the manpower; they got directions from Luke, who’s paying them in Pizza and beer. Let’s lay back here and watch the show.” I snickered. “No, that’s okay. I’ll buy the pizza and beer. It is my house, after all. I’ll be helping, too. This is my workout for the week.” My eyes narrowed as I saw the bob of Sebastian’s head over the fence line as he made his way to my neighbor’s house. He didn’t go around though, instead deciding to use the gate, and walking straight inside without consent. “Well you just have to go and make me feel bad, don’t you.” Winter teased, turning to watch as well. “Fifty bucks says he beats the shit out of him.” James said, flexing his hands and popping the knuckles. James was another member of Free. He also worked at the station with my brother, so I knew him better than I knew the others. James’ wife, Shiloh, and James came to Luke’s place every month or so, attending the ‘team morale’ meeting that Luke’s forced to hold as required by the department. Apparently, they needed stress relief, and team building. Luke chose to implement it, only they drank beer and ate like shit instead of having campouts and singing Kumbaya. On those rare occasions I was able to make it, I’d bonded with Shiloh. Raised voices brought my attention from James to two yards down, and I watched in glee as Sebastian hauled back and punched the man so hard his feet left the ground. He flopped backwards into the pool. Once Sebastian was satisfied that he’d swim, he left and came back to my yard. I couldn’t keep the smile of satisfaction off my face. “You, sir, deserve a beer!” He laughed at my smile. “No thanks needed, but I’ll take the beer. You should put some sunscreen on when you head in there. You’re looking a little burned.” I nodded, took orders for beers, and went into the house to grab them. I was in luck when I found a brand new twenty-four pack of Heineken, and thanked Luke, silently, for bringing some over on his last

visit. When I returned outside, I passed out the drinks and went to work helping them where I was able. Mostly, I continued to screw the deck, although much slower since my finger was still throbbing since my last fuck up. I’d been keenly aware of exactly where Sebastian was the entire time I’d been working. Not once had he moved that I’d not been aware of him on some primal level. I watched out of the corner of my eye as his muscles flexed and bunched when he moved boards into place. Fingers trailed across my shoulders about an hour later. I looked up, startled to see Sebastian leaning over me. Of course, I’d seen him coming, but I didn’t actually think he was going to come towards me, or touch me for that matter. Swiping the hair out of my face, I looked up, gazing into Sebastian’s honey brown eyes. He looked so fucking edible. I wanted to run my tongue down the length of his torso. “Yes?” I questioned. “You’re really burning. Did you put any sun screen on?” He asked. I grimaced. I could feel my shoulders burning, but I didn’t have any sun tan lotion, and I’d have to go to the store to get some. “No, I don’t have any.” He scowled. “That’s going to feel like shit in the morning.” I knew it would. I’d experienced burns before. This wouldn’t be the first time. Nor the last. “Yeah, I’ll go in shortly and order pizza. When I go pick it up, I’ll get some.” “Won’t do you any good by then. You won’t have a need for it. Sun’s going down in an hour and a half.” He mused. I shrugged. There was no way I was leaving people here to work on my deck while I did nothing. That was pure laziness in all its finest. “Stubborn.” He growled, removing his hat and placing it firmly on my head. “At least wear my hat. Your face is going to burn to a fucking crisp.” I froze when he fixed the fastenings at the back, making it tighter to fit my head. Then he turned without another word and went back to cutting boards to the length that was called out to him. “Y’all are so going to fuck.” Winter whispered into my ear, making my head whip around. “Shut up!” I hissed at her, ignoring the knowing grin on her face. I wore the hat way past sun down, and even into the night. Sebastian left the hat with me, and whether it was on purpose or not, I vowed that I’d keep the hat forever.

Chapter 2 Cute enough to stop your heart, skilled enough to restart it -T-shirt Baylee I watched in amazement as Winter shoved the entire hot dog in her mouth in two bites, chased it down with a half a bottle of Mountain Dew, and ran with me to the medic. We’d just caught a home invasion call, with one patient who had major injuries due to a gunshot wound. We’d been eating at Hot Dog Express when the call had come in, and Winter decided to eat her hot dog before she left. Since I wasn’t driving, I waited until we were on the way to the residence before I opened the bag and ate my chili cheese dog and fries. Being a paramedic, I’d learned that it was best to eat, because if you waited, it was very possible you wouldn’t have the opportunity to for hours. Therefore, I’d practically sucked every single bit of chilidog down, finished off half my coke, and then wiped my hands with a baby wipe all in the three minutes it took Winter to drive to the patient’s house. We arrived on scene to find the local PD, and engine three already on scene, which was good because it meant that the scene was secure and we could proceed inside without waiting for the okay to enter. “I’ll grab the cot.” Winter said as she headed to the back of the medic. I grabbed the bag and followed behind Winter as she entered the house. The house itself was on the outskirts of Kilgore, just barely in the city limits. It was located off the Whispering Pines Golf course, and I could clearly see why someone would want to break in; the house was a fucking gold mine. A young police officer met us at the house front of the house and his sunny smile made him look to be about the cutest thing I’d ever seen. I hadn’t actually seen this one before, but since I’d only been working a short while, there were always new people to meet. “Officer Jones,” Winter said, nodding her head at him. “Winter,” He said, nodding back. “Who’s this lovely young lady?” Oh man, the young Officer Jones was a charmer. “I would be Baylee Roberts. Nice to meet you Officer Jones.” His smile widened at my no-nonsense-tolerated tone. “Nice to meet you, too. Did you hear what you’d be responding to?” Winter answered. “Gunshot wound. One victim. Why?” “It wasn’t the home owner, but the burglar. Owner, a twenty nine year old female shot him in the stomach, chest, both legs, and foot.” Officer Jones explained.

“Wow!” I exclaimed. “Did she unload the whole clip?” “Almost, more like the entire revolver. She has young kids in the house. She feared for her children’s life.” Officer Jones explained with a smile on his face. Good for her. Home invasions were all the too real. I should know. I’d had one nearly kill my mother when I was fifteen. My mom had been in the kitchen at the time, and would’ve died if the dog hadn’t killed the burglar before he could shoot her. My father was currently the Chief of Police in Casper, but, at the time, he’d just been a uniformed K-9 officer. Drone, our family pet, was a retired K-9 officer. The year I turned fifteen, Drone had been a victim of a knife wound. The knife wielder had been aiming for my father, but the dog had jumped in front of my father, protecting his partner. He’d sustained injuries, and although he’d healed, they’d thought it best to retire him. So he’d come home to the Roberts’ family homestead after his recovery, and stayed. The night we’d had our home invaded, it was because the thief had seen my father’s new TV box out by the trash. At the time, we didn’t have an alarm, and since my father had been on his way home, my mother had the front door open waiting for him to arrive home. In turn, it made the burglar’s entry exceptionally easy. When he’d arrived in the kitchen, he’d leveled his gun at my mother, but didn’t see Drone until it was too late. He’d died of trauma to his throat, bleeding out before the ambulance could arrive to offer assistance. “How bad is he?” Winter asked, bringing me out of my own childhood nightmare. “Oh, he’s dead. Just need the confirmation.” Officer Jones explained. “Well, that should be easy.” I muttered. The City of Kilgore had a new policy in place that required an EKG to be performed due to a lawsuit two years prior. The woman who’d been presumed dead had revived over an hour after her wounds were deemed ‘incompatible with life’ by a paramedic. Although the woman hadn’t had a pulse, and the lower half of her body was missing, she’d somehow revived without medical intervention, recovered, and then sued due to delayed medical care. She’d won the suit, and the new law of an EKG being performed became a new protocol. Hence why Winter and I were called to perform said task, and then transport. “All right, where do we go?” Winter asked. Officer Jones pointed us in the correct direction, and we arrived to find the dead man on his back, eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. A dead person gave off a particular stare paramedics liked to call the ‘thousand yard stare;’ where the dead person in question stared off into the distance, with none of the animation that alive people have. The man that’d been shot was doing that very thing. When I’d seen my first dead person, the woman had had that same blank stare as well. Hundreds of dead people later, and the look had never changed. Police officers had cordoned off the area, and the crime scene techs were waiting off at the side of the

kitchen, waiting for the removal of the body. My brother stood in the hallway, halfway in the kitchen, and halfway in the living room, keeping an eye on the scene. Luke didn’t normally fool with crimes such as this; it was a surprise to see Luke’s half smile directed towards me. Disregarding my brother, I dropped down to my haunches, snapped gloves into place over my hands, and checked for a pulse on the victim. Finding none, I started hooking up the EKG while Winter dropped the cot to the lowest position, and turned on the monitor. The EKG showed no electrical activity, so I called time of death. “Time of death, 0810 hours.” Two of the firefighters on scene, Dillon and Bowe, helped Winter and me load the body onto the cot. From there, Winter walked out with the body, Dillon and Bowe. She waved at Luke as she went. Dillon and Bowe were firefighter/paramedics that worked with us at station three. Dillon was the oldest person at station three at the age of thirty-six. He was of Irish decent, tall and blonde with arms the size of tree trunks. He was the FAO, or the fire truck operator, for truck three, and a stickler for the rules. Bowe was just the opposite. He was Italian, through and through. Dark complexion, inky black hair. The men at the station called him ‘Chef’ because of his excellent cooking skills. He didn’t just stick to Italian either. He was skilled in any type of dish he deemed to cook. He was one of the youngest at the station at twenty-nine. He was also a charmer. Peeling my eyes away from Bowe’s cocky knowing grin that said he’d caught me staring, I turned and regarded my brother who was watching my perusal of the young firefighter. “Hey, Lucas. What are you doing here?” I asked as I rolled the soiled gloves off my hands, folded them in on each other, and hugged my brother. Luke’s arms wrapped tightly around me, smashing my face into his chest. “How ya doin’, Bay?” I smiled into Luke’s chest. I loved my brother senseless. As children, we’d been very close. When he’d enlisted into the marines, and then was deployed, I’d missed him like crazy. Then he’d gotten out of the marines because of my niece, Katerina, was born. He stayed in Casper for a year before moving to Texas. Luke said it was because of a job offer; I had a different theory. Mainly, the she-devil of a girlfriend that broke up with Luke after she’d found out that he’d had a kid. It wasn’t pretty, and Luke had left her as soon as he’d become aware that Lydia wasn’t going to grow up and be an adult about the situation. I’d missed my niece horribly in the last three years, but I was here now, and I’ve been trying to make up for it ever since. “I’m doing well, big brother. Still sun burned, though.” I smiled wide at my brother. He groaned. He’d been upset that he wasn’t there to help me put the deck together, but he’d been right. The backyard looked freaking awesome. Now all I needed was to spread the rock I’d bought last week around the deck, and I’d be done. “I’m sorry again, Bay. I meant to get there, I really did.” Luke apologized.

I smiled at him. “It’s okay, big brother. I’ve got to run this guy down to the cooler. I’ll see you tonight when you drop Katy off for her sleepover.” Luke ruffled my hair as I left the room and headed for the bus that now housed the dead guy who’d made the unfortunate decision to invade a mama bear’s territory. Dillon was standing beside truck three with his arms crossed tightly across his chest. He looked intimidating with his trademarked scowl taking over his face. However, that wasn’t indicative of his mood. He could be in the best of moods and still be scowling. The way to tell was to watch his feet. If they were tapping, he was happy. If they were planted and still, he was mad. Now, for instance, they were tapping. “What’s up, Dillon?” I asked as I walked up between the two trucks. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Dillon looked almost nervous. “Hey, girl. I know you’ve not gotten to too many places while you’ve been here. The boys and I thought we’d rectify that. I’ve got two tickets to the Ranger game in Dallas tomorrow. Want to go?” He asked. Was Dillon asking me out? Or was he really trying to get me more acclimated to my new community? Was this platonic? I sure hoped so. I didn’t want to date anyone from the station. I’d done that once before and been burned. I liked it here. I knew better than to jump in that particular pool. “I’m sorry, Dillon. I’ve made plans with my niece to have a sleepover this weekend. I appreciate you asking me though.” I smiled. “That’s okay. The boys and I go a lot. We share a pair of season tickets between the station. There’ll be a next time.” He said before turning and climbing into the truck. The big beast roared to life with a rumble, and Dillon, Bowe, PD, and Fat-baby rumbled out of the parking lot. PD and Fat-baby weren’t ones I knew well. PD’s real name was Dean Hargrove. He was tall, like six inches over six feet tall, and towered over my own height. He was the second best cook in the station. They started calling him PD after Paula Dean. The men liked to tease him about his butter fixation, and the name Paula Dean stuck. Fat-baby’s real name was Aaron Sims. Aaron received his nickname because he’d bought a pair of Fat-baby boots without realizing they were women’s boots. From then on, the name had stuck. Although he’d been nice to me, he seemed a little standoffish, which wasn’t too surprising when I’d become aware that he had a wife who was a jealous bitch. Apparently, before I’d appeared, Aaron’s wife didn’t like the fact that there were women in the same building where her man slept overnight. Which was even more of the case now that I was there practically every other night. “Let’s go, Bay! If we leave now, we’ll get back to the station before shift change!” Winter called from the bus.

I walked quickly to the truck. That was one thing I hated doing was going past shift change. It didn’t matter if the call happened after we were scheduled to be off. If dispatch called us for a call, and we were in the ambulance, we’d be going to the call. Then we’d have to stay after to write up the PCRs (or patient care reports) once we were back at the station. That was also if we were lucky we didn’t catch another call in route to the station. We were lucky. Forty minutes later, we pulled up to the station, got out of the bus, and even walked inside to the table before another tone dropped. Even luckier, the shift change happened five minutes prior, meaning we’d dodged the call. We still had to do PCRs, but those would’ve been done regardless. In turn, it meant we were out of the station only an hour off schedule, rather than our normal two or three. Score! “Do you want to meet at The Back Porch tomorrow for dinner?” Winter asked me. I looked up from rifling through my backpack for my keys and looked at Winter. “Is this a girl’s night thing, or is this a family thing?” Winter smiled that devious smile of hers. “Well, the kids have a babysitter, but the youngest of the bunch will be there. Ember and Gabe’s youngest, as well as James and Shiloh’s. They’re too young to be left alone in a group full of rowdy kiddos. Hell, it’s hard to get Jack to leave ours alone and she’s sixteen months now. With all that said, there’s no reason it can’t turn into a girl’s night thing.” “Okay, well I have Katy tomorrow night. If you don’t mind that she comes along, then I can come. I won’t be drinking though.” I said, before crying in triumph when I found my keys at the very bottom of my bag. Yanking them out, Sebastian’s black baseball cap flew out in my exuberance, and I caught it as if it were a piece of glass that would shatter if it hit the ground. There was nothing really special about the hat. It was completely black with orrah embroidered in black thread on the side of the hat. It had sweat lines, and looked extremely broken in, which meant that Sebastian must’ve worn it a lot. Which, in turn, made me feel a little gooey in my center to know that he’d put a hat on my head that was most likely a daily wear for him. “Geez, don’t break yourself. It’s just a hat.” Winter laughed as I fumbled for the hat, nearly falling backwards when I tripped on my own feet. Hell, I couldn’t explain the attachment to the hat. I felt like the geek in high school who got to wear the letter jacket of the superstar jock that every girl drooled over. Then all the girls would envy me and call me a bitch behind my back because I got to sit with the most popular boy in school during lunch. Without saying a word, I carefully put the cap back in my bag, zipped it closed, and walked over to my Cutlass. “I’ll see you tomorrow, text me what time.” Winter laughed as she crawled up inside her lifted Chevy Silverado. Her husband bought it for her a few months prior, and Winter joked that she could run over my car if I wanted to collect the insurance

money for it. I’d laughed. The Oldsmobile Cutlass wasn’t the nicest car on the block, but it ran. I’d received the grass green 1971 Cutlass from my father for my sixteenth birthday. I hadn’t minded; I’d wrecked my father’s truck twice, and I was just happy to be getting a vehicle under the circumstances. He could’ve not gotten me anything, so even though the Cutlass was an eyesore to the extreme, I used it. The insurance on the big beast was affordable. It ran well, and it was safe. Those three things right there made me keep the vehicle. Only when it gave up the ghost would I get a new car. It just seemed a waste to me to get rid of a working car. Although every time I had to fill up the gas tank on the car, my heart palpitated. I had to wait to get out of the station’s lot because the tones dropped for a house fire in a residential district on the north side of town. The fire truck left first, followed shortly by the ambulance. I was glad I didn’t catch that call. Fires were no fun, and they were time consuming. There was a lot of sitting around and waiting, which for me, was hard. I had what they call ADHD. I was an awful child, and I fully admitted it. I couldn’t help it though, and my parents knew that. I’d gotten help when I was young, and luckily, the medication had worked well on me. Allowed me to focus better. To this day, I still took medication. If I didn’t, I couldn’t function. Some of the side effects of the disease remained, despite the medication. For instance, my inability to focus for long periods of time. PCRs were the absolute worst in my book, but over the years, I’d trained myself to get them done in between calls, which helped me at the end of the day so I didn’t have to write out ten reports. I’d learned that the hard way. Then there was my chronic lateness, distractibility, and disorganization. Those three things had cost me my last boyfriend. My life with Jackson, my ex, was more like a soap opera. There were a few times, okay a lot of times, that I stood Jackson up for dinner. Not because I was doing it on purpose, but I became distracted either at home, or at work, and I just didn’t realize the time. Then there were the times I was sitting right next to him, and he would talk, or explain something, and I just didn’t hear him. He thought I didn’t care, and I got frustrated that Jackson refused to understand that I had a disease, not that I didn’t care. I did care. A lot. However, Jackson lost the desire to try after I continued to be myself. I was devastated the night, eight months ago, when I’d gone on a call to a woman who had an allergic reaction to shrimp, and found Jackson sitting at a table with a leggy blonde practically curled around him. He’d had lipstick on his neck and cheek, and I’d died a little inside when Jackson saw me, knew that I’d seen him with the blonde. Then he proceeded to curl his arm around the woman, kissing her just like he’d done to me earlier that evening. It took me a month of moping after I moved my stuff to realize I couldn’t stay in Casper any longer. My father and mother had completely understood, and I’d gone to Texas, into the open arms of my big brother.

Although I couldn’t say I’d been happy here, I also couldn’t say that I didn’t like it either. I’d been just drifting along for the last six months. That is, until I’d barged in on a sexy biker. This last week was the best I’d felt in months. Sebastian had woken something inside of me that’d been buried for nearly a year now, and I was ecstatic.

Chapter 3 They know how to handle big...hoses. -Why you should date a firefighter Baylee “You ready to go inside, pretty girl?” I asked Katy as I helped her out of her car seat. I’d been adamant with Luke. Katy needed to be in a child safety seat at the age of four. Luke had argued with me that the doctor had said she didn’t have to be anymore, and then I’d pulled out my war stories, relating what happened to children who weren’t restrained properly. I had many stories. With over eight years of experience in traffic accidents of all kinds, there were many things I looked at with detachment that it was comical. Until it came to a kid. Then nothing about the situation was comical. The day I was no longer affected when it comes to a child, was the day I’d hang up my keys. “Yes, LeeLee.” Katy said, reaching her arms up high to be picked up. I lifted the tiny little sprite of a girl into my arms, and then cursed when she couldn’t find her cup. “Where’s your cup at?” “I dropped it.” She said with her twinkly fairy voice. “Fuck,” I muttered under my breath. “Here, sit in my seat. Don’t play in my change tray, okay?” At her confirmation, I dove into the depths of the backseat, searching for the elusive sippy cup. I found it, as well as the boots that belonged on Katy’s feet, a twenty-dollar bill, a bottle of beer, and a can of Wolf Brand Chili. I really needed to clean out my car. I hadn’t done that since the move to Texas Pocketing the twenty, I backed out of the back seat, cursing soundly when my knee struck the middle console and made shards of pain radiate throughout the entire lower half of my leg. “I wear this, LeeLee?” Katy asked during my haze of pain. “Yeah,” I panted as I continued to back out until I fell on the seat beside Katy. “You need help?” A deep low voice asked from outside of the car, causing both Katy and me to scream. The hat Katy was holding flew out of her hands and landed on the ground at his feet. A blush stained my face when I realized that Sebastian had to have seen my ass in the air as I backed out of the backseat. Nor could he have missed the fact that I was wearing bright neon yellow underwear underneath my blue jean skirt. My arms were full of a thirty pound four year old as I climbed out of the car, careful not to flash my

undies at the man who was now stooped down to pick up the hat at his feet. His smile said that I wasn’t effective in hiding the undies, nor the blush that now burned all the brighter. “You forgot your cup.” Sebastian said as he settled the hat firmly on his head. My heart wept when I realized he wouldn’t be letting me keep it. Not that he should. It was his hat after all, but I somehow felt that I had a claim to it. That it should be mine now. “Shit.” I said as I put Katy down on her feet, bent back in, rested one knee on the seat, and reached across the car for the sippy cup that had started it all. Too late, I realized that I’d flashed him...yet again. Jesus Christ, what was wrong with me today? “Alright, girl. Let’s go inside.” I said, smoothing my skirt down, and reaching for Katy’s hand. Sebastian stepped in line beside us as we made our way to the front door. Katy spoke nonstop while I stayed silent. I continued to take inconspicuous peaks at the man at my side, and liked what I saw. He was really tall, with long legs that kept up with our quick pace with ease. He was in much the same as he was the first time I’d seen him, only this time instead of a black t-shirt under his leather vest, he was wearing a white one. His jeans and boots were the same as well. His hair was shorter than the last time I’d seen him. He must buzz it once it reached a certain length, because now I couldn’t even make out the color where before I’d seen that it was a dark brown. His eyes were still the same honey brown, but with the sun setting as it was and shining in his eyes, it almost made them look like melted chocolate. “Your sun burn looks nice.” Sebastian teased, as he held the door open for the two of us. I looked down at my shoulders that peaked out from under the black halter-top I had on, and blushed. My skin looked horrible. The day after I’d worked on the deck, it’d been bright red. The following days it turned into a nice golden brown, but then started to peel and flake off as usual. Even after rubbing lotion on my shoulders, I could still see the peeling. “Yeah, it hurt like a bi- I mean mother the next day.” I confirmed. He chuckled, but refrained from saying ‘I told you so.’ I spotted the big group at the back of the restaurant that was reserved for large parties. The only two seats left were facing each other, which meant that Sebastian and I were very close. “You made it!” Winter said as she got up from her spot and squatted down next to Katy. “Hello, Katy girl. How are you?” Katy was dressed in her usual of tight skinny jeans, mono-colored t-shirt, and cowboy boots. The outfit was easy, which was a necessity for a single man living with a young girl. Katy was lucky to be dressed most days. I was the one to buy and dress Katy in her first skirt. Katy didn’t have eyes for Winter though, her eyes were all for Max who was sitting down at the very end. Before Baylee could stop her, Katy leapt up on her chair, stepped onto the table, and made her way down to Max, expertly avoiding each plate and drink along the way.

Max was another member of Free. He, like the others of the Free family, had served in the army. Katerina was born under harsh circumstances, and it made me happy that Katerina and Luke were loved here. Max, in particular, was a favorite of Katerina’s; they shared a special bond from the day that she was born. Katy’s mother was killed by an ex member of the team that the men of Free had been a part of. Katy’s mom was, what you could call, promiscuous. I only had the pleasure of meeting Leah Water’s once, and that was by pure accident. I’d walked into my brother’s home to water his plants, as I usually did every other day, to find my brother letting Leah out of his apartment from what I’d guessed was a one night stand. From what Luke had explained to me, it’d been a one-time only thing, and he hadn’t spoken to her again. Nor had he heard from her again. It wasn’t until the police notified him that he had a daughter, and that the mother was killed that Luke was even aware he had a daughter. That Leah had even been pregnant in the first place. From that day forward, Luke had changed. He’d been extremely grateful to Max though, since he’d visited his daughter every day until he’d been able to come home from Iraq. Max laughed as Katerina launched herself into his arms. He caught her expertly, and the smile that overtook my face nearly hurt. I was happy that Katy had so many wonderful people in her life. “Your daughter is cute.” Sebastian’s rough voice said from in front of me. My head turned to regard Sebastian, who looked....blank. I would almost call it mad, but his body language didn’t look mad, and he was fine just a second ago. “Oh, she’s not my daughter. She’s Luke’s daughter.” I smiled at him. His scowl became ferocious. “Who’s Luke?” The question was so sudden, so snappish, that I didn’t answer him, confused by the barked question. Winter laughed. “Luke Roberts, silly. You know, the police officer?” “You belong to a cop?” Sebastian asked, exhaling slowly. My brows furrowed at Sebastian’s rough tone. “No...he’s my brother.” Sebastian’s face changed. One second he was scowling, and the next he was relaxed. “Good.” My gaze went from Sebastian’s now blank one to Winter’s sly smiling one. “What?” I asked the other woman. “Nothing. I’m going back to my seat. You have fun up here.” She said cryptically, before squeezing in between the chair and the wall to go back to her seat. I sat awkwardly for a few moments, wondering what the hell to say after Sebastian’s probing questions, but he rectified my unease by asking me about the menu. “What are you having?” Sebastian’s deep voice asked. I looked up at Sebastian, studying his face while he looked at the menu. His eyes didn’t stop reading,

but I knew he was aware of my perusal. Which might have been why he was doing it, knowing that he’d freaked me out earlier. His hat was pulled down low, but I could still see his eyes, and the longer I studied him, the brighter they seemed to get. When his eyes finally caught mine, he asked, “Well?” I jolted. “Uhh, I haven’t even looked.” Looking down, I snatched my own menu from the table, thanked God that I took medication that allowed me to read the menu now, and decided on a burger right in time for the waitress to arrive at my side, wanting to know my order. The server didn’t even acknowledge me. Her eyes were all for the beautiful specimen of a man that was in front of me. “And what can I get you, miss?” I suppressed the smile that tried to break free, and ordered a burger. “What two sides?” She asked. “Fries and a side salad.” I answered, beginning to get annoyed with the woman’s lack of manners. “Drink?” Her eyes were still on Sebastian, who was beginning to look amused at my annoyance with the woman. Instead of answering, I waited until the rude waitress looked at me before answering. “I would like a sweet tea, please. The little girl down on the end,” I said pointing at Max and Katy. “Would like a corndog platter with a sweet tea.” She smiled sourly at me before turning her gaze back to Sebastian. “And for you?” “I’ll have the same as her. Only I don’t want lettuce or mustard.” He answered, not even giving her his eyes. Instead, they stayed on me, and my face started to flush. Elliott, the comedian of the Free group, laughed. Elliott was the type of man you would consider the class clown. Despite the humor, he also had one hell of an intensity about him. He came off as the joker, but if you watched his eyes, you could tell that he was also hyperaware of his surroundings. He was the shortest and smallest of the group, but that didn’t mean he was a runt by any means. At 5’11 and two hundred pounds, he reminded me of a runner or a swimmer; even a surfer with his shaggy blonde hair. “Oh, man,” he wheezed. “You are so fucked.” My eyes traveled from Sebastian’s amused ones to Elliott’s mirthful ones. What the hell were those two talking about? “Don’t worry about them, honey. How was work today?” Blaine, Elliott’s wife, asked me. Blaine was just Blaine. No words could really describe her. She was cute. Like a fairy. She was what I pictured Katy growing up to look like. She was on the small side; okay, more like the tiny side, since she was about four inches shorter Elliot

and skinny as a wisp. Her hair was blonde and styled to perfection, and her cute little floral patterned dress fit her perfectly. She was also the first one to welcome me into the Free group of women, and I counted Blaine as one of my closest friends. *** Sebastian I watched as the woman, Baylee, tried her hardest to figure out just what Elliott, the little weasel dick, was talking about, and failed. She looked overtly confused, and it amused me to watch the wheels turning in her head. And what a gorgeous head it was. She was around five and a half feet, about one hundred and thirty pounds, and smoking hot. She was the exact type of woman that I’d always been attracted to, yet never dated because they had an air about them that clearly said, ‘Relationship only material.’ However, I was willing to make an exception, for once. The woman had an ass that could make a grown man cry and those muscular thighs of hers, the ones I’d seen in nothing but tiny fucking skirts and shorts, just begged to be pressed close to her chest while I fucked the ever-loving shit out of her. Her hair was dirty blonde and hung down to about mid back in soft waves. It was the perfect length for me to sink my big hands into, and yank back while I took her from behind. The bangs at the front were parted and off to the side, tucked neatly behind each ear. Each time she spoke or moved her head, they would slip from behind her ear, and my fingers itched to brush the strands back into place with a ferociousness that surprised me. She was wearing a black halter-top, a tight blue jean skirt, and sparkly flip-flops that fit her personality perfectly. Don’t let me forget those bright fucking yellow panties that molded to her ass like a second skin underneath that skirt, either. When I’d seen her in the car, ass in the air, cursing as she tried to make her way out of the backseat, I’d nearly come in my pants like a pubescent little kid. I had complete control over my body. That included my dick. I came when I wanted, and how I wanted. No excuses. For the woman currently speaking sweetly to Blaine, the weasel dick’s wife, to produce that sort of reaction in me was a bombshell to say the least. Hell, even when the woman had walked in on me taking a piss, my dick had been so hard that I’d had to stop peeing so I didn’t miss the fucking bowl. Earlier, when I’d asked about the little girl, and then the man the girl belonged to, I’d been like a feral dog with the last piece of meat. Hell, I’d barely been able to keep myself seated. What I really wanted to

do was shout out, ‘She’s mine, fuckers.’ Yet, I’d managed to stay seated and watched Elliott out of the corner of my eye, smiling like a fucking cat that ate the goddamn canary. Oh, and let’s not forget to mention the fact that Luke Roberts was her brother. Luke and I have not seen eye to eye since we’d met about three years ago, when I’d been in an accident that had taken the life of my child’s mother. The accident had been totally and completely fucked up. I’d been following Max’s wife, Payton, when she’d left to go to work. Payton was a cute, spunky little thing that I thought was cute as hell. Although I’d never fuck her, I liked her personality, and the way she kept Max on his toes. Why was I following her? I couldn’t fucking tell you. My father had a fucked up sense of smell that always told him when trouble was afoot and surrounding his kids. I’d been following Payton because one of the other members of the club had lost her, and I’d picked her up on a side street where I was meeting my ex, Lindsey, for lunch to discuss our situation involving our son. I’d tried to just leave, but the woman refused, even going as far as to jump on the back of my bike, holding on with everything she was worth. I’d never given her a ride before. I’d never given anyone a ride before. I had a rule that if I was going to ride, it was going to be alone. Except, I’d allowed her to ride. Even though every cell in my body urged me not to. Look how that ended. That act had cost her her life. I’d only thought the ride would be just to the street and back so I could keep an eye on Payton’s car. When the prospect who’d been following Payton finally made his appearance, I’d gone through the intersection, passing Payton’s car, and was hit broadside, throwing both Lindsey and myself from the bike. Lindsey had been dead on impact. It was only the quick work of Payton and Gabe, another member of Free, which kept my son from dying right along with Lindsey. I hadn’t been as badly hurt, but the two collapsed lungs had fucked with my heart, and I was in the hospital for over two weeks, and couldn’t see my son. A few days later when I’d found out that the same bitch was in the hospital two doors down from me, I’d taken care of the loose end. Let’s just say that she was no longer a problem after that. That’s where Luke had appeared in my life, asking questions, and poking his nose where it didn’t belong. So, in all, Baylee spelled trouble, with a capital T. Did that stop me, though? Hell no. “So where’re you from?” I asked Baylee, interrupting her conversation about shoes with Blaine. Baylee’s eyes traveled to mine slowly, and then she smiled. “Caspar, Wyoming. You?”

“Texas. Galveston.” I answered immediately. My explanation sounded abrupt, but I couldn’t get my fucking tongue to work right. Closing my eyes and forcing myself to stop acting like a blushing bride, I took a drink of my beer and moved my eyes to Baylee’s full lips. Fuck, but then I started imagining her with those beautiful Cupid ’s bow lips wrapped around my hard cock, touching the base of my dick as I plowed deep down her pretty little throat. What the fuck was wrong with me? “Luke said he wanted to take Katy there soon. Do you live there or here?” Baylee asked sweetly, jolting me out of my daydream. “Uhh,” I said smartly. “Neither. I live in Benton, Louisiana now. I don’t visit home very often. My mom’s there, so every other Christmas my sister and I head down there to show our faces, and then come right back.” “Then what are you doing here?” She asked, confused. “Is this where your sister lives?” “Yeah,” I pointed at Shiloh. “That’s my sister right there. Shiloh.” Shiloh let out a wave when she saw me pointing at her, and I smiled before turning back to Baylee. “I didn’t know she was your sister! How often do you all visit each other? I moved down here because my brother was here. We’ve always been very close.” She smiled. Oh, I wasn’t there for anything much. Only to meet with the parole officer in Shreveport, check on my sister to make sure she wasn’t being mistreated, and then kill someone. Well, maybe not kill someone per say, but a broken kneecap or two wasn’t out of the question. Every day work for the VP of Dixie Wardens MC. Elliott’s snort said he caught my diversion from the fact of why I was really here. Then my sister had to go ruin my high by acting like a lovesick fool. Shiloh squealed like she’d been branded on the ass, and launched herself out of her seat, throwing her body into her husband’s arms. James caught her easily, and curled her into his chest, his eyes closing. I still didn’t know what to think of them being together. I’d met James before Shiloh even knew he existed. Our paths had crossed on numerous occasions, but it wasn’t until Shiloh had shown up to the fight night that took place at one of The Dixie Wardens’ warehouses, once a week, that I knew they were serious about each other. He’d protected my sister with his life when I didn’t; so, in my book, James was allowed to have my sister, under the condition that he treated her like the precious jewel that she was. One-step out of line and I’d feed him to The Dixie Wardens, who considered her their princess. My lip curled when I saw the man that came in the door behind James, and the only thing keeping me from exiting the restaurant right then and there was the man’s sister that was sitting across the table from me. Luke looked to be in a good mood until he spotted me sitting next to his sister, and then he stomped

over towards us, a scowl fixed on his pretty face. “What are you doing here?” Luke barked once he reached Baylee’s side. “My sister invited me to eat with her, why?” I replied innocently. Luke’s eyes narrowed on me, and it was everything I could do not to burst out laughing. It must really chap the man’s ass to see the two of us sitting so close. Leaning back in my chair, I stretched my long legs out from under me, and accidentally bumped Baylee’s chair, causing her to jump at the contact. Luke’s eyes narrowed even more. “There were no more chairs when I got here. This was the only spot.” I finally answered. “Do you two know each other?” Baylee asked. My eyes left Luke’s murderous ones, and connected with Baylee’s beautiful smoky blue ones. She really was fucking beautiful. “Yeah, we met about two and a half years ago.” I confirmed. Baylee smiled. “How nice! Where’d you meet?” Baylee asked. Luke looked to me and waited for me to answer, wondering how I’d get out of revealing that I’d killed my pregnant ex, but I sidestepped. “I was in a motorcycle accident, and your brother was the officer taking statements.” I explained. “Well, that sucks. Although, I’ve seen plenty of those in my time. Glad you’re okay.” Baylee said sweetly. The girl just had no clue. She was an innocent; probably never been exposed to anything bad in her entire life. Which was why I wondered how the hell I was going to play this. There was no way that Luke was just going to stand by and let me get with his sister. Baylee wouldn’t know what to do if she ever got around the club and saw all the shit that went down. I’d be better off just fucking leaving this one alone; yet, my body and my heart wouldn’t let me There was something about the girl that made me feel again. I hadn’t had these kind of feelings in....well, ever. I didn’t want to have feelings. Feelings led to sex. Sex led to love. Love led to Fucked-up-ville. “Yeah, it wasn’t very pleasant.” I agreed solemnly. She leaned forward, bracing her elbows on the edge of the table; eyes animated as she listened to me explain the accident in detail. “So you coded? Any internal bleeding?” She asked eyes wide. “No, the internal bleeding was minimal. Chest hurt like a fucking bitch for months though, after they did CPR. Or that machine did.” I admitted. “Had a circle printed bruise for nearly a month.” “They put the Geezer Squeezer on you?” She gasped. I grimaced. Even remembering the pain after that made my chest hurt. Absently, I rubbed my chest, remembering the explanation for the round circle on my chest when I’d woken up. The nurse had explained that I’d had quite a bit of bleeding, and while they’d put me on an automated

CPR machine, a “Thumper” a.k.a. ‘geezer squeezer,’ to take over the CPR while they got the bleeding under control. The lovely gash down my side one of the main sources of the bleeding. However, once that was closed up, I’d gone into shock from loss of blood, eventually stopping my heart. Her brother decided that he didn’t like how animated Baylee was getting, and pulled up a chair, situating himself at the very head of the table, and efficiently putting distance in between the two of us just by that one maneuver. “So that scar under your arm...was that from the accident?” Baylee asked, ignoring her brother’s obvious attempt to break up the conversation. I nodded, taking a sip of my beer. “Yeah, not really sure what I caught it on. Maybe the bike, I don’t really know. Was about an inch deep all the way down my side, from armpit to hip. The doctor that worked on me in the ER said he could see bones and muscles. It was really not fun. Fucking hurt. Chest hurt more though. They broke my sternum.” “Yeah, that’s normal. Freaked me out completely when it happened to me with my first patient. When you’re doing CPR and that first bone breaks, there’s this god-awful crunch, and then with each push down from then on you can hear the bones scraping together.” She explained before Blaine made a gagging sound. Luke’s face was impassive, as was Elliott’s, as well as the rest of the table that was now listening to our conversation. Blaine was the only one not in the medical field or the police/military occupation, and looked horrified and disgusted. “Oh, my God. Please, I’m trying to eat here.” Blaine gagged. “Oops. I’m sorry. It’s a pretty normal conversation for me.” Baylee apologized sheepishly. The rest of the table had seen it, heard about it, or experienced it all before. I had seen enough of that shit while in the Marines that hardly anything affected me anymore. Not to mention in my career. “I guess I should be thankful you weren’t talking about a STD or something.” Blaine murmured as she stuck another dip-covered chip into her mouth. “Maybe next time. Although that conversation won’t have anything to do with me.” I teased. “You get around enough that it could be about you.” Shiloh yelled from her end of the table. Reaching my hand into the roll basket, I picked one up and launched at my sister, hitting her in the chest. “Keep that shit to yourself.” Shiloh’s eyes were filled with laughter as she picked the roll up and took a bite of it. “If the shoe fits, brother.” The rest of the night was moving along smoothly until my pager started going off. Yes, a pager. Benton Fire Department didn’t believe in modern technology. Well, to be truthful, they just plain couldn’t afford it. I worked at the Benton fire department, as did quite a few of the other members of The Dixie Wardens MC.

When the club had first formed, it had been mostly dirty. However, once my father had arrived and became an influential member, they started to turn around. Slowly, the good started outweighing the bad, and most of the newer members were upstanding members of the small town and the surrounding community, such as police officers, ex-military, and firefighters. The club slowly turned from illegal money to completely legitimate businessmen. That’s not to say that everything we did was legal, but that was all moral code. Everything we did business wise was upheld in the eyes of the law. The old timers that didn’t like it either left, or got the fuck over it. The pager squawked again, the same urgent message, and I knew it was bad. “All right, I’ve gotta go. Thanks for inviting me sis. See you around, Baylee.” Throwing down a fifty-dollar bill, I headed to the door quickly. “Be careful!” My sister’s concerned words from behind me made me throw a smile over my shoulder. “Always, little sister.”

Chapter 4 Firefighters find them hot, and leave them wet. - Why you should date a firefighter Baylee “Holy crap. That man is so sexy.” I heard a woman say as I passed her on the way to the donut counter. “What can I get you, ma’am?” A pimply faced teen asked. “Uhh,” I said, surveying the selection. “I’ll have a cinnamon roll, a kolache, and a bag of donut holes.” The teen worked quickly and handed me the bag with my receipt, before gesturing to the cashier at the side of the store. “You can pay over there.” Walking up to the cashier, I could still hear the woman chatting animatedly about the sexy fire fighter on the front of the paper. “Will that be all?” The cashier asked as she rang up the price of the donuts. On a whim, I went over to the paper, grabbed a copy, and had the cashier ring it up, too. “That’ll be nine fifty.” Handing over the money and receiving the change, I made my way out to The Beast and sank down into the sweltering car. I’d planned to take my donuts home, but my curiosity got the better of me, and I snatched the paper up and quickly scanned the article that dominated the front page. “BENTON FIREFIGTHER TOWN HERO” The name of the town, Benton, caught my attention, and I unfolded the paper. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the object of my fantasies for the past week in vivid color, dominating the majority of the front page. The picture was of a burning building in the background, with a very dirty, sweaty, and mad Sebastian standing beside a fire engine. The coat that protected his upper body from the high heat and flames was tossed down haphazardly at his feet. The bottom portion of his body was encased in the bunker gear, with the suspenders bisecting his t-shirt clad chest. His body was just covered in soot, with the sweat he was producing running freely down his chest, arms, and face. The look on his face was murderous, most likely from getting his picture snapped when he didn’t want it to be taken. The caption underneath the photo read: Benton, Louisiana firefighter, Sebastian Mackenzie, rests after rescuing a man and his wife who lost their home to a fire late Saturday evening. “Holy shit.” I whispered. I didn’t know if it was the fact that Sebastian was a firefighter or the fact that I thought he was just a criminal. I’d automatically assumed he was bad when I’d seen the biker cut he’d worn each time I’d seen him. That hadn’t stopped my body from reacting to the man.

It surprised the ever-loving shit out of me that he actually had a legitimate job, instead of selling E and pot to teenagers. Of all the possibilities I’d pictured him doing, firefighting just wasn’t one of them. Who would’ve thought? Especially how Luke carried on and on about him being a bad guy. Luke was full of shit. “I’m going to beat him.” I declared as I started my Cutlass and headed back towards my house and my day off. *** Three days later, I was still thinking about the man. I’d wake up drenched with sweat, and doing things under my sheets that I’d only done in the deepest, darkest nights. The first day I’d woken with my fingers buried in my slick heat, I’d immediately withdrawn them and acted as if things didn’t even happen. However, by the end of that day I was positively vibrating with need, and when I’d woken on the second day doing the same exact thing, I’d masturbated to memories of him. On the third day, I woke up spent and knew I needed to do something to get this shit out of my system. I couldn’t function like this. It was affecting my work, and the damn man hadn’t even made a move towards me. It was especially awkward doing it in the shared room I stayed in at work. At least there were bunks and not twin beds side by side. It was thoroughly embarrassing. “What are you thinking about, Roberts? Your face is flushed.” Bowe teased me as he walked past to the kitchen beyond where I was sitting. “It’s this freakin’ show you all have me watching. Jesus, do you see his mother lovin’ abs?” I said, fanning my face and hoping that he didn’t look into my eyes. A commotion from the main entrance had us all turning and watching as the other firefighters, the ones not in charge of dinner or bathroom detail, came in from playing kickball along the side of the building. They were sweaty and nasty and, of course, every single fucking one of them had to pass by me and run their sweaty arms or faces along my back. Nasty little fuckers. “Quit!” I wailed trying to dodge the sweatiness. “What the hell are we watching this for?” Taima sneered as he saw what we were watching. Tai was a hoot. He was a very easygoing person, and I knew for a fact that he didn’t really have a problem with what we were watching. He’d sat there and had a conversation about all the books with me, even though it was targeted for the female persuasion. He was, however, an instigator to the extreme. He was the type of person who’d throw in a comment here and there, inciting the growing argument that he’d instigated in the first place. He was fucking gorgeous. He had deeply tanned skin, regardless of the season or sun exposure. His hair was silky and black

with a spattering of gray at the edges near his ears, even though he was only twenty nine years old; most of the time it was styled short and spiky. His eyes were a nearly translucent green that were positively hypnotic. His muscles were not overly large, but defined and honed to precision. He was around six feet and so freaking smart it was hard to keep up with him sometimes. Boos filled the air and I smothered the smile that was trying to overtake my face. “It’s my four hours to have the remote. There’s a list, remember?” I indicated said list with a point of my fingers. The boys groaned, and that smile I was trying to smother slipped free. “What? You boys don’t like Twilight?” “They’re going to get you back for this, Huckleberry.” Tai laughed as he took a seat beside me. “Why do you keep calling me that?” I asked, giving him my full attention. I’d asked before, but he’d told me he’d never tell. I’d looked the nickname form of the name up and found out it meant ‘friend’ or ‘sweetheart.’ Therefore I didn’t complain about being called the weirdest nickname on the planet. “What are you doing there?” He asked curiously. I looked down to the page I was studying and my eyes bulged when I saw that I’d written Sebastian’s name all over it like a damn teenager. I turned the page and hoped that he hadn’t seen it, and then explained. “I have an ACLS class to take next week. Figure I’d read the book again in case they ask me something trivial instead of the important stuff we know by heart. ACLS stood for ‘advanced cardiac life support,’ and we had to take it every two years. I’d worked so many calls over my career that I could look at a rhythm in my sleep and still know what to do. I didn’t need to take the class, but I had to. State laws and all that fun stuff. At least it counted towards my continuing education hours. “Took that last month. Class was boring as shit.” Tai acknowledged. Winter, giggling and looking supremely disheveled, came walking through the back door and took a seat next to Tai. She looked dreamy, and if I had to guess, she’d just fucked while on duty. Her and that man of hers were still just as in love today as they were when they married. Tai was her brother in law. “That’s disgusting.” Tai teased as he scooted away from Winter. “Your brother needs to control himself,” she sneered before turning to me. “Speaking of brother. Shiloh’s brother invited her to a barbeque this weekend. Who then invited me, and Jack can’t go. Want to go with me so I’ll know someone?” Winter asked her nonchalantly. A little thrill shot through my body at the thought of seeing Sebastian again. This might be the opportunity to get to know the man. Maybe, just maybe, I could figure out a solution for my overbearing lust that I had for the man. ***

“What do I need to wear to this place? Is it at his house? What?” I asked Winter as I stood in front of my walk in closet with my phone tucked between my shoulder and face. “He lives on the lake. So shorts and a t-shirt. Bring your bathing suit. It’s hotter than hell out; I bet we could swim if we wanted to. He’s actually pretty close to you. About thirty minutes or so. You know, I’ve never asked before, but why the hell do you live so far away from the station?” Winter asked. I grimaced. That was a sore subject when it came to my brother. He wanted me to be closer to him, but I found a house that I could afford, absolutely adored, and bought it; even though I’d never seen it in person. It was about three quarters of an hour away from the station, but I didn’t mind. My brother, who thought he was my keeper, wanted me closer to him. I, however, did exactly what I intended to do, and that was not to have my nosy brother breathing down my neck. That was one of the main reasons I’d left Wyoming. I was tired of my parents doing the very thing Luke was trying to do; even after six months of living there. “This house was too good to pass up. And it had a pool.” I hedged. Winter sighed over the phone. “You’re right. I’d kill for a pool. I’ll be there in about an hour. I’m just about to leave. Wear those cute little shorts you got at Cavender’s the other day. And a tank top. The one with the fringe and beads.” My mouth curved into a smile. If that didn’t illicit a reaction out of the man, then I might as well move the heck on. I wasn’t saying I looked awesome or anything, but the thing was, I couldn’t change what I looked like; or, at least, I didn’t want to. I had muscular legs and arms due to my job and all the heavy lifting I did, but the roundness of my tummy spoke of my love of snack cakes and powdered donuts. I could work short shorts though. My boobs were nothing to sneeze at either; the fringed top Winter spoke of really could accentuate those particular assets. “Okay. I’ll wear those. Boots or flip flops?” I asked into the phone, as I dug into my closet for the bag I’d tossed there the week before. “Boots. Make sure you put some lotion on those ashy legs. And maybe shave.” Winter suggested. She wasn’t lying there. I hadn’t had time to do that since the day I’d met Sebastian nearly two weeks ago. Yes, I know, gross. “Okay, see you in a few.” We hung up, and I rushed through my shower, shaved my legs, lathered my body up with my favorite lotion, and shimmied into my clothes. The shorts were on the shorter side than what I’d like, but they’d do for my purpose. The top was a pretty teal color, and the beads around the low cut neck of the halter top were shimmery black. I’d fallen in love with the top as soon as I’d seen it; and, even better, it’d been on sale. I made it to the front door with my bathing suit, towel, and purse with only seconds to spare. Winter blared her horn, signaling she was there, and I barreled out of the door, only managing to lock one lock with the excitement of seeing Sebastian again. “Wow, you can nearly see your panties in those shorts!” Winter exclaimed as I slammed the door.

“Yeah, if I were wearing any, that is.” I teased. Winter laughed, and I did the same. I knew better than to go without underwear. I also knew better than to wear dirty underwear. You wouldn’t believe how disgusting our job could be sometimes. Let’s just say that there would never be a time that I would found myself without panties. No matter what. “You’re such a liar. Now, put the address into the GPS. I’m gonna get lost without it.” Winter instructed. Thirty-six minutes and two wrong turns later, we were pulling up to freakin paradise. No, really. It was named ‘Paradise.’ Or the street was anyway. It was really off the beaten path, too. If it weren’t for the GPS and Shiloh’s instructions on how to get there, we’d have been beyond lost. “Holy shit. This house is awesome.” I breathed, as Winter found a spot off the side of the driveway. It was what you would call magnificent. It reminded me a lot of my parents’ home. The only thing different was the lakeside view. Sebastian’s house sat in a flat field at the top of a hill. You could see the lake down the hill from his home. The house was one story with stone finishing. The porch wrapped around the entire length of the house. Further down the hill was where the party must be being held. He had a large gazebo type thing with a dock that led about thirty feet into the lake with another large floating deck. “How the hell does a firefighter afford this place?” I wondered aloud. “Shiloh said he was single and didn’t have a place when he was in the Marines. When he moved back, he stayed in a rental property that their father owned. He bought this place about a year ago.” Winter said as she shut the truck off and opened her door. That hadn’t been what I was expecting explanation wise. I imagined that he was a criminal that led a double life as a firefighter. In his off time, he pedaled flesh and had a titty bar he laundered money out of. Willing the butterflies that were assaulting my tummy to stop fluttering so goddamned bad, I opened the door and hopped down. Sadly, my sense of balance was off, as always, and I landed awkwardly. I threw my hand out, managing to stop myself before I did a face dive by planting my hand on top of a sharp rock. The hand that caught me split open, and I knew instantly that I’d done something bad. “Son of a bitch.” I growled as I lifted my hand to survey the damage. The cut wasn’t too bad, but it was already bleeding. “Damn. Piss. Shit. Hell.” “Jesus, what the hell?” Winter asked once she reached my side of the car. “Cut myself. You got any napkins in there?” I asked, gesturing towards Winter’s massive purse. “I’ve got a pad.” Winter smiled widely. I hung my head, but accepted the pad with an extended hand. Winter laughed as I unwrapped it, wiped the blood that had run down my hand, and then placed it over the welling cut before making a fist to put pressure on the wound. “Well, that’s one use for it.” Winter teased, as she grabbed my bag and we walked towards the party.

Although the front door was open, I’d thought it’d be best to make sure it was okay with Sebastian before I just started going through his house looking for bandages. Then my heart sank in my chest as I finally spotted him among the masses. He was sitting on the gazebo, shirtless, with his black cap sitting firmly atop his head. His chest was bare, revealing the lovely ab muscles I’d been dreaming about for over two weeks. His bottoms were a pair of jeans that were so full of holes, that they might as well be shorts for all the air his legs were getting. Those big beautiful arms of his were lined on the back of the bench. Then there was the cute girl in a string bikini and knockers the size of Texas. Sebastian laughed as the girl snatched the hat off his head and sat it firmly on her own, and my hopes for anything more with the man sank to the bottom of the Pacific. Head hanging in devastation, I shored up my defenses and smiled faintly at Winter who was looking at me closely. “All right, I’m going to head inside to see if I can find something to get this stopped. If we’d taken the cutlass I could’ve taken care of it already.” I joked. “If we’d taken your car, we’d have never made it here.” Winter shot back before I lost sight of her as I made my way into the house. I bypassed the open kitchen and family room area, heading to the hallway where I hoped there was a bathroom. “Can I help you with something, sugar?” I looked over my shoulder to see an older man with one hell of a beard coming out of one of the rooms I’d just passed. He was also wearing a leather vest just like the one Sebastian wore. If I was into older men, I’d totally go for him, but I was currently pining over a man that had a girl stuck to his body, and couldn’t fully appreciate the bounty that was before me. “Uhh, yes, actually. I need a Bandaid and a bathroom.” I explained hesitantly, holding up my hand for him to see the devastation. “First door on your right, sugar.” He said before he disappeared back down the hallway. The door I came to was actually a bedroom, not a bathroom, and I prayed it wouldn’t be Sebastian’s. There was no way I could handle that. Sadly, my luck was never good.

Chapter 5 I can tell by the way you park your car that I hate you. -Female logic Sebastian “Shannon, do you think you can get the fuck off me? It’s too hot out here for you to be hanging on me. Go find somebody else to sit on, and give me back my goddamned hat.” I gritted through clenched teeth. I’d been dodging the woman’s grabby hands all fucking afternoon, and if I had to deal with it much longer, I’d be saying something I’d regret. It didn’t matter if the girl was a brother’s little sister. I’d kick her ass out just as I’d do to anyone that annoyed me. I dealt with enough shit on a daily basis in between the bullshit drama at work and the club to have to deal with other people’s shit in my own home. “Sebastian!” Shannon whined as I took my hat back from the little hoochie and replaced it back on my head. “Hey, boy. You got a girl inside that cut her hand. Looks pretty bad. Maybe you should go take a look.” My father, the president of The Dixie Wardens MC, said as he took the seat beside me. I sighed. I was tired. “What’d she look like and where’s she at?” His father smiled and looked out over the lake. “Sent her to your room. Cute little thing. Short shorts. Tight top. She’s got blonde straight hair all the way down to mid back. Muscular.” My heart sped as I listened to my father explain exactly the way Baylee looked to me. I’d hoped she would come, but wasn’t sure if she’d be able to make it. Nor was I sure if she’d even want to be around me anymore. Her brother had to have said something to her regarding me. Hell, I would have. “Thanks, pops.” I said as I strode toward the house. I passed quite a few people wanting to chat, but I only gave them cursory nods as I walked in through the sliding glass door and walked hastily to my bedroom. I found her bent over the sink, letting her hand hang over the porcelain bowl as she applied pressure to the dressing. Her legs looked fucking remarkable in those short shorts with the rhinestones on the ass. The shorts couldn’t be much longer than maybe three inches past her crotch, and just that little bit of knowledge had my dick raging to be let loose. “You need some help, Baylee?” I finally asked when her head remained hung. She startled and squeaked, whipping around quickly as her unhurt hand flew to her chest. “Holy shit, Sebastian. You scared the ever loving shit out of me.” I smiled, and then let my eyes roam from her pretty face to her cleavage that the low-cut shirt she was wearing exposed. “You look...” I hesitated, not even able to place the words.

“Like a mess?” Baylee supplied with raised eyebrows. “Edible.” My overstimulated brain finally managed to blurt out. She snorted and spun back around to the sink. Walking up behind her, I placed both of my hands on either side of her and leaned in, surveying the damage. I could smell the cool, sweet smell of her lotion, and that alone made me hard as a pike. Which, in turn, made me put a little more distance between our bodies just in case she leaned back accidentally. I didn’t want to scare her. “What’s the damage?” I asked. She shivered slightly and turned her hand over, removing the dressing from her hand. Or what I thought was a dressing. “Is that a pad?” She laughed. “Oh, God. This is embarrassing. Yes, it’s a pad. It’s all Winter had.” I joined in her laughter as I surveyed the cut. “I’ve got some 4X4s in the cabinet in front of you. Some alcohol in there too. Would you rather a Bandaid or vet wrap?” She thought for a minute as she reached forward and took the alcohol down, removed the lid, and poured it wholly on her hand. She hissed in her breath and something in my chest twinged when I saw the pain she was in, but I tamped it down. Moving closer to her, erection forgotten, I held her hand close to my face and blew on it. “You know, that’s not very sanitary. There are thousands of germs in your mouth, and you just blew them all over my open wound.” She provoked. I rolled my eyes, grabbed a 4X4 gauze pad and ripped the packaging open, placing it on her hand firmly. “Does this have medication you can take?” “This is with medication. You should see how it was without. Are you a medic, too?” She asked out of the blue. “Ahh, no. I’m a firefighter and EMT basic. Why?” I asked. “I saw your picture in the paper. Just wondering if you were a medic and firefighter.” She explained. “Oh,” I said, ignoring the part about the picture. I was pissed that night, and, even now, I was still pissed. If I wanted to stay in this good mood, it’d be best to avoid that conversation if I could help it. “Yeah, I’m certified as a basic, but that was a while ago. I was a firefighter in the Marines. Then came home and joined BFD.” He explained. “BFD?” She asked with a smile starting to break out on her face. I rolled my eyes again. “How old are you, again?” “Hey!” She snapped. “It’s not my fault that that’s the acronym for ‘big fucking deal.’ And I’m twenty eight, thank you very much.” “Hmm,” I said as I reached for the large Band-Aids I kept in the drawer that Baylee’s leg was currently blocking.

Using my hand, I wrapped it around her lower thigh, and pushed her gently backwards until her back was plastered up against my front. I couldn’t help but wish that her top was gone, allowing us to be skin to skin. However, that was too soon, seeing as I hadn’t even spoken to her about anything of significance since I’d met her. “Watch your leg. Band-Aids are in this drawer in front of you.” I instructed. I reluctantly let the smooth skin of her thigh go and opened the childproof lock on the drawer. “Why do you have childproof locks on your drawer?” She asked curiously. “My son is a curious little shit. Most of the time I keep my door closed, but there are times he likes to sneak in here when I’m not paying attention and dump all my shit down the toilet.” I said absently as I peeled the wrapper. “Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do with shit?” She teased. My eyes went from the cut I was covering, to her face. Her eyes were full of mirth, and I smiled back at her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. However, it’s kind of nice to be able to flush the toilet if I need to.” “Yeah, I can see how that’d be a plus. I didn’t realize you had a son. Were you married?” She said breezily. She said it so nonchalantly that I realized that she was truly interested in the answer, although she didn’t want to be. “No. Johnny never knew his mother. Lindsey died in the same motorcycle accident that I was speaking about the other night.” I expounded. “Oh, Sebastian. I’m so sorry. That’s terrible.” She said sadly. As she apologized, she turned in my arms so she could see my face, and I found myself nearly pinning her in. “I wasn’t that close to Lindsey. It made me feel awful that she died, but there was nothing I could do to change the outcome.” She nodded in understanding. “Where is your son? I didn’t see him as I made my way inside.” I stared at her. Her eyes were rimmed with black eyeliner. Not so much that she looked trashy or anything, but enough that it made her eyes pop with color. Today, those eyes looked more gray than blue, as they had the other day, and I wondered if they changed with her mood. She didn’t look like she was wearing anything else though, and that made me happy. I wasn’t a big fan of primping. I liked when a woman looked natural. “He’s with Lindsey’s mother. They have him every other weekend and Wednesdays.” I told her before backing away before I did something stupid like kiss her, and then fuck her against the counter. “That’s nice of you. You don’t have to let them see him.” She said, sounding grateful that I’d given her space. “Yeah, they’re good people. Older, but they have fun with Johnny.” I agreed as I held the door open. “Thanks for fixing my hand. It happens a lot. I should be better prepared than I am.” She said to me as she walked through my bedroom to the door.

We both studiously ignored the large bed that dominated the master bedroom and walked back out into the family room. My place was a fucking mess already, and I hated that I’d have to clean all this shit up by myself later. Those stupid fucking so called friends of mine didn’t know how to find a trashcan if it was right in front of their God forsaken faces. Baylee absently grabbed empty beer bottles and used paper plates as she walked past them, and tossed them in the trashcan as she headed out onto the deck. “You have a nice place here.” She observed as she took in the new deck chairs. “Yeah, I’ve been saving up for this place since I turned eighteen. Had it built on a plot of land my dad owned. He deeded it to me when I left the military.” I told her. “When I got out of college, my parents offered me their house. They wanted to move into something on the lake there. I didn’t want it though. It was fucking massive and I didn’t want to mow the lawn.” Baylee laughed. Hand on her lower back, I led her down the hill, heading for my spot I’d vacated earlier in my quest to get to a hurt Baylee. “Yeah, this place looks like a fuckin’ jungle if I don’t mow it once a week. Can’t deviate from that either, or there would be a ton of snakes hiding in the yard, using the taller grass as cover.” “Hey, I wholeheartedly agree. Snakes are not my friend. Nor are frogs. Or bugs. Or rodents.” Baylee’s laughter tinkled, causing everyone to stop their conversation and stare as we made our way down the hill towards them. A wave of possessiveness overcame me as I took in all the men from the station, as well as my own MC members, staring at the lovely vision before me. I wanted to rip their eyes from their sockets just for staring at my woman, but refrained. Barely. And when the hell did she become my woman? Hell, I didn’t know. What I did know is that I wanted her. And that I wouldn’t be letting her go. Especially since Baylee was all I could think about. I’d catch myself doing that constantly, daydreaming when I should be working. Shit like that was dangerous. In my line of work it could easily get me killed. My hand went out to Baylee’s, grabbing it tight as I could, while I helped her up onto the deck, and led the way down the dock towards the gazebo, and the rest of the crew. As we got closer, everyone noted Baylee’s hand grasped possessively in my large one. Eyebrows raised, but no one asked. They didn’t need to. Baylee was mine, and it was more than obvious. “Who’s your woman, Su...” Dad asked before I interrupted him with a curt barked retort. “Don’t you fucking dare.” I snarled, making Baylee jump. My father’s lips curved into an evil smile. “What’s wrong, Sue? You don’t want your lady friend knowing your name?”

My head fell back, and I contemplated the wooden beams of the gazebo’s roof while I willed my temper to take a back seat. My father was such a dick. He knew how much I hated that middle name. Hell, every time I even thought about my middle name, I wanted to rage at someone. Sure, it wasn’t that bad. But, when you took into account my father’s obsession with Johnny Cash, and then the name, Sebastian, I never heard the end of it. I sure felt for the man in Johnny Cash’s song, A Boy Named Sue. Flipping my head back down and glaring at all the people giggling like little fucking girls I groaned. “Thanks, dad. Really wanted her to know that.” “Anytime, son. Anytime. Take a seat. How’s your hand, sugar?” My father turned his probing eyes to Baylee. Baylee smiled at my father and sat down gingerly on the bench that only allowed enough room for the both of us to sit within inches of each other. She landed with a soft plunk, and I used the closeness of Baylee’s body to throw my arm up over her shoulders to run along her back. Winter and Shiloh, who were sitting by my father, both with huge smiles on their faces; I glared at them to make sure they kept their shit to themselves. “It’s okay. I’m a clumsy person. This happens a lot.” She told my nosy father. Torren, the comedian of all The Dixie Wardens’ brothers, watched the interaction with a smile on his lips. Then, as if on cue, he stood and faced Baylee. “Baylee, my dear. I’m Torren. It’s very nice to meet you.” He said as he held his hand out for Baylee to shake. I knew where this was going even before Torren stood up, and couldn’t help the groan that slipped from my lips before Torren’s mouth even started to move. “Nice to meet you, too.” Baylee said soberly. “I want to ask you a serious question, and you have to promise to be truthful. This is an ongoing debate at the firehouse,” Torren was interrupted by groans by everyone within hearing distance. We’d all seen and heard this particular argument before. Many times. He glared, but continued with the question. He asked every single woman that ever gets close to the club or firehouse. Why would Baylee be any different? “...do you watch The Bachelor?” Baylee stayed silent for a few moments before shaking her head. “No. I think that’s the most ridiculous show on the face of the planet.” Cheers rose throughout the men, and most of the women groaned. I found myself smiling, despite the ridiculousness of the entire debate. “Thank you, Jesus!” Torren said, pumping his fist before taking his seat. “What’s the big deal?” Baylee asked, pulling her feet up onto the bench, effectively getting closer to

my own body without realizing it. My hand came to a rest on her up raised knee, and she instinctively curled into my body, leaning her head on my chest. I turned my head slightly, letting my chin rub against the top of her head. The smell of her shampoo rose up, and I took a deep breath, smelling the clean smell of her. “You just screwed us, that’s what.” Shiloh whined. “How?” She shouted. My silent laughter shook my body. “The men think that’s the dumbest show on the planet. The women think it’s romantic. It’s just something that’s been a contention around here.” “I hate that show. I don’t see how twenty women can become friends when they’re all vying for the same freakin’ man. I mean, who in the hell would want to share her man with that many women? Then again, the same goes for The Bachelorette. That shit wouldn’t fly with a man that really wanted you.” Baylee informed the group. “That’s what the men think. The women disagree.” I agreed. “You’re supposed to agree with the women, no matter what.” Allison pouted. Allison was a cute little thing. She was older, as was Dave, her husband. Dave didn’t belong to the MC, but he did come to many of the parties. He and his wife married when they were young, seventeen. From there, he went on to join the fire department, and was the longest standing member. Allison stayed home with the children, and even now, eight years after the children moved out of their house to start lives of their own, she stayed home. They were there even before his own father was. Before the club’s particular chapter was, too. “I’m sorry, I just can’t. There’s no way I could kiss a man that’d just kissed another woman. Let alone respect him. Seems to me that a man, a real man, wouldn’t want to share his woman. My best friend from college and I came up with an idea to patent a show called ‘The Alphas’ that had a bunch of alpha males on a show vying for a woman’s attention. It’d play out just about how the Bachelorette would play out, only instead of trying to be pansies; they’d just beat the ever-loving shit out of each other. They’d host the show on The Outdoor Channel. Ya know, so real men would actually watch it.” Baylee exclaimed. Masculine chuckles and feminine peals of laughter filled the air; I even found myself laughing. That would be fun to watch. “What does the woman do? Does she just sit back and watch the magic happen? Whoever comes out the winner gets the woman? Kind of like a modern day bride competition?” Dave asked. Baylee’s lips pursed. “Yeah, except instead of doing competitions and placing in an event, like caber tossing or something, they just have bouts. Maybe a sanctioned fight where a referee is there and can stop the person right before he kills the other man. Then, they all fight each other, no weapons or anything, just their bodies, until there’s one winner. In the end, the winner gets the woman, and she doesn’t get to decide if she wants him or not. He does. He can also decide if he doesn’t want anything to do with her, and can

give her the boot.” “But wouldn’t it defeat the purpose if he gave her the old heave ho?” Winter snickered. Winter was well on her way to drunk. She must’ve been drinking out of Dave’s punch, because that shit was laced with vodka out the ass. Pulling my phone out of my pocket, I texted Jack, and left it open on my thigh waiting for the reply that I knew would come quickly. The conversation continued around them. Everyone was contemplating the merits of ‘Alphas’ and whether it would sell. “Why wouldn’t it sell? People pay Pay-Per-View all the freaking time. What makes this any different?” Baylee asked Shiloh, when my sister was adamant about it not selling. “Well....” Shiloh hiccupped, but couldn’t come up with a good answer. “I guess you’re right. Why do you both have to be so freakin’ smart all the damn time.” Shiloh was drunk, too. Fuckin’ great. My sister got chatty and argumentative when she was drunk. That was how my girlfriend in high school found out my name was Sue and told the entire fucking town. I’d gotten in more fights in high school about my goddamn name than I had when I was active in the Marines. My phone vibrated on my leg. Jack- Baylee can drive. Or Shiloh. We’ll come for the extra car tomorrow. Business tonight. New bird to pick up. New bird was code for a woman that was escaping an abusive relationship. On the side, Free did under cover charity work that removed women from dangerous situations. They used their knowledge and know how to make those women feel safe again. They accomplished it, too. They got them new names, places to live, and erased their old selves. The Dixie Wardens had even helped a time or two in the past year. That meant that option was out. They had other things they needed to concentrate on besides their drunk wives. “I can’t drive her car; it’s too big and new.” Baylee apologized. I looked down at her to see her staring at the message on his phone, studiously avoiding eye contact. Confused, I raised my brows at her. “You drive an ambulance for work.” Sebastian stated. She was shaking her head before I even finished the sentence. “I don’t.” She looked around nervously. Something told me that there was more to this conversation than what was on the surface; I decided to wait until we weren’t at a party before I brought up the real reason. “I’ll drive everyone home. This’ll be my last.” I declared before upending the bottle that was still sitting on the back of the bench. “I can call my brother....” She offered. I shook my head. I didn’t want her brother knowing where I lived; nor did I want him to know that his sister had been to my place. I didn’t want that big bastard interfering. I knew it wouldn’t last, but I needed to get my foot in the door before I took on Luke.

“It’s not a big deal. She’s my sister. I’ll take you home.” I stated, booking no room for an argument. She scrunched up her nose at my statement, but surprisingly didn’t argue. “Want to go for a swim?” I asked. She turned and surveyed the water. “Believe it or not, I don’t know how to swim. But I’ll go up to my chest or so, if you want.” I stared at her, dumfounded. I didn’t know one single person that didn’t know how to swim. Hell, even my three year old knew how to swim. “You have a pool!” Yes, that was the one intelligent thing I’d managed to get out. My exclamation stopped the conversation going on around me, making it to where everyone was now listening to our conversation. Baylee’s face flamed in embarrassment, and I felt like a pile of shit for saying that loud. Coming to a decision, I stood, pulling Baylee right along with me. “Let’s go get changed. I’ll help you.” She came with all the enthusiasm of a four-year-old being sent to her room. I caught the bag Winter threw at me as we passed, wondering what the hell she had in it to make it weigh fifty fucking pounds. It was when we were in the house and making our way down the hall that I turned and flattened her to the wall with my body. “What’s wrong?” She turned her face away, letting her hair fall down and cover her eyes. “Nothing.” “When a girl says ‘nothing’ it means something. I know. I have a sister. Now, tell me what’s up.” I said as I ran my hand down her arm in soothing strokes. “You’ve just touched on every single one of my sore spots in about an hour’s time. It’s not really that big of a deal, it’s just...sad.” She grudgingly replied. I watched her face, watched the emotions play over it. “Will you tell me?” I rasped. Instead of answering, she lifted her hands and placed them on my ribs, right underneath my armpits, and my brain short-circuited. The questions that were on the tip of my tongue were now gone, replaced by a burning need to feel this woman’s skin. Feel her hands running along my skin. My eyes connected with hers, and they stared. I didn’t know how long we stood like that. Seconds. Minutes. All I knew was that I would absolutely fuck her against the wall if I didn’t get myself under control. Leaning back reluctantly, I raised the hand that still had a death grip on her bag and placed it against her stomach. Her hands clutched at it desperately, still in the same spell I’d been in moments earlier while looking into her eyes. I cleared my throat, and took another agonizing step back. I felt like my body was attached to her somehow, and stepping back from her was something that neither my mind, nor my body, wanted to do. “You can change in that room right there.” I said, indicating with my finger to the room just beside my

own. That wasn’t a room I allowed anyone, except my sister, into. It was my own private room, and it meant a lot to me. So, by me allowing her to change in that room, I was welcoming her into my world. She turned, opened the door, and closed it softly behind herself. The soft click of the door latch made my feet reluctantly start moving towards my own room. I made quick work of my clothes, stripping off my boots, jeans, and then underwear, kicking them all into the corner of the room. I walked, naked, to my bathroom where I had my trunks hanging on a peg to dry out from my morning swim. Still slightly damp, I yanked them up my legs, and tied the string into a knot just below my hips. I went barefoot, padding back into the hallway and knocking on the door to my office. “You almost done?” “Yes, I’m done.” She hesitated, and then added, “Can you tie me up?” My grip on the handle tightened momentarily before I opened it and walked through the door. I didn’t see her at first, but as soon as I made it all the way inside, I found her nearly behind the door, staring at a picture of me that was taken during my time in the Marines. I’d been on my second deployment when that certain one had been taken. It was of me and three of my best friends the day before they were killed in a fire that had overtaken seven villages before it’d been contained. “You all look cute in your bunker gear.” She smiled, looking over her shoulder at me. Her smile froze on her face as her eyes traveled from my face, to my chest, and down to my lower half. She froze, taking in my swim trunks that hung low on my hips. I had to will my dick to behave, especially when the tiny little strings she was holding slipped loose from her hold, and loosened the tiny triangles that were the only thing covering her breasts. Clearing my throat, I startled her, causing her to spin around, presenting me with her back. Not before I saw the dark outline of her pretty nipple, though. They weren’t huge, but they weren’t small, either. I wanted to suck them with my mouth and devour them. Instead, I walked up behind her, lifted my hands, and followed the strings around her neck until it met the triangle of fabric covering her breasts. From there, I ran my fingers along the outside of the fabric, making Baylee shiver in anticipation. Once my fingers met the strings that were hanging limply in front of her, I pulled until they were wrapped around her back. From there, I tied them in a knot. “You were supposed to do it in a bow.” She instructed, voice heavy with something I couldn’t identify. “I don’t do bows. I’ll do a knot though. Sorry.” I rasped before letting my fingers trail from the knot I tied down her back, until it came to a stop just above the curve of her ass. “Let’s go swim.” Reluctantly, I took two steps away from her, tugged open the door, and stood to the side as she followed me out.

“I really don’t know how to swim. If you’re serious about me going out there, you’ve got to understand that.” She shivered, only this time it was because of fear, not need. “I can do that. I won’t let you go. Promise.” I said soberly. She stopped and turned just as we reached the back door. “Pinky promise?” She asked, holding up her tiny little pinky. I looked from her uplifted pinky to her face, seeing the seriousness in her eyes, and did what any man would do. I fucking pinky promised.

Chapter 6 Never do anything you’d be too embarrassed to tell the paramedics -Life Lesson Baylee Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I shivered as the cold water went from my knees, to my thighs, to my crotch, and then to my stomach before Sebastian came to a standstill, turning to survey me before going in any further. His eyes glanced down, and then right back up again. “Cold?” He smirked. My body chose that moment to shiver again. “What gave that away?” I asked dryly. “Was it the shivering or the chattering teeth?” He looked at her closely, weighing something in his mind before he finally said, “Neither.” My head turned slightly to the side, wondering what else would’ve given it away when he laughed. “Oh, Baylee. Please tell me you’re not as naïve as you seem.” That, of course, only served to straighten my spine and narrow my eyes at him. Then what he was saying dawned, and my face flamed. Sebastian was laughing and hauling me closer to him before sinking deeper and deeper into the dark murky depths. The further out he got, the more my heart raced. I also found that my arms were no longer crossed in indignation, but were wound so tight around Sebastian’s neck that I was pretty sure he couldn’t breathe. That didn’t make me let go, however. Instead, I wound my legs around his thick waist, and held on for dear life. “I won’t let you go, I promise.” He insisted, wrapping an arm around my back tightly, pulling me impossibly closer than I’d been only moments before. His arm felt like a metal band across my back, ensuring in its strength. My heart rate slowed, and it was only then that I realized how perilous this position could be. My crotch felt like it was on fire where it was touching him. Could he feel it? The longer it sat against his warm, hard belly, the more and more heat it seemed to emit. Then my heart was pounding for a different reason. “Have you ever tried to learn to swim?” He asked when he came to a stop with the water up to his collarbone. “Uhh,” I said intelligently. “Yes. I took swimming lessons, but each time I got into the water about waist high, some sort of survival mode seemed to kick in, and I’d start freaking out. Up here,” I said, pointing towards my head. “I knew it wasn’t going to hurt me. Not with all those lifeguards, or my father around. But down here,” I indicated towards my heart. “I just couldn’t do it. I was scared shitless. My

father tried, as did my mother, but after my last freak out, they didn’t try anymore.” I hoped he wouldn’t ask more questions on the matter, but with the quizzical set to his mouth, I knew I wouldn’t be that lucky. I’d have to tell him my most embarrassing secret. “Did you have an accident when you were younger to make you not want to be near water?” He asked, with his eyes still on my own. I thought long and hard for a moment, contemplating the merits of just getting the inevitable over with early. He’d have to know eventually that I had ADHD. He’d wonder about the way I acted, and I’d have to tell him. Then he’d leave. Wouldn’t it be better to just go ahead and do it before I became attached? Sebastian, a man I’d only known for a little over two weeks, had the power to break me. Not wound me, but literally break me. Finally, I was able to look away. Laying my head onto his shoulder, I looked out over the calm lake, and started to explain. “I was around seven or eight when my parents decided that I had a problem. I was in gymnastics, karate, softball, soccer, and girl scouts, all within about a six-month period. I’d be interested in it for about a week or two, but never much beyond that. There were other signs, too. I was hyperactive, regardless of my sugar intake. I had hellacious temper tantrums. At first they thought I might be bi-polar, but then I went to the doctor, and they diagnosed me with ADHD.” I explained. When he didn’t interrupt or say anything, I continued. “They pretty much explained my symptoms to my parents, and knew exactly what I had before they even got to the actual tests. They prescribed me a medicine, and they saw a different kid. They decided to try out the swimming lessons again with me on the medication, however, that particular medicine mellowed me out so much that it made me overwhelmingly scared to try anything, and I guess that just kind of stuck.” He waited to see if I’d say anything else, and when I didn’t, he spoke. “Are you on those meds now?” “No, they changed a few times in my growing years. Now I’m on what they consider adult ADHD medication.” I told him. I felt like I was holding my breath, waiting for him to just haul me to shore and drop me like the proverbial hot potato. But he didn’t. He surprised me. “You wanna try to swim now?” He asked, surprising the ever-loving shit out of me. I clung tighter. He chuckled. “Alright, we won’t do that today. We’ll just get used to the water. So why the big secret? ADHD isn’t that much of a surprise, now that I think about it. It doesn’t make you any different than half of the United States.” My snort escaped before I could contain it. “What?” He asked, momentarily tightening the arm that was still clamped tightly across my back. I lifted her head from his shoulder, and looked into his eyes. They reminded me of beer. A light beer,

with the golden brown color. “That’s a bunch of bull. It’s affected my whole life.” “You’ve let it affect your whole life. You’ve got it in your mind that you can’t change it, and you’ve sat in the same rut. You’re a very smart woman, I’ve learned that in the time I’ve been allowed to spend with you over the past couple of weeks.” My temper flared. “My last boyfriend left me because I kept zoning out during sex. He said that I didn’t pay enough attention. That it was causing him to be sexually unsatisfied. That was his answer anyway, when I caught him wining and dining some blonde.” Sebastian’s arm went from around my back to cup my ass, tilting it so my core grinded against his hard abs. “Honey, if he lost your attention during sex, he wasn’t doing it right.” His arrogance astounded me. That and the hot pulsing need that was now coursing through my veins, and settling in my overheated core. Good thing we were in the water, otherwise he’d be able to tell I was soaking wet by his high handedness. “I zoned out during conversations with him. We’d watch a show, and I couldn’t sit still for more than an hour, and then couldn’t tell you what it was about. I wrecked his car. I’m sure I did more to deserve the break up.” I practically snarled. His eyes turned from amused to serious. “You did nothing to deserve him cheating on you. What he should’ve done was tell you he was no longer interested in you, instead of finding a new woman to fuck behind your back. And who the hell doesn’t get tired of sitting for more than an hour? Why do you think they make concession stands and shit at the movies?” Our conversation was interrupted when Sebastian’s father yelled that the food was ready. Everyone that had been milling in the water around us went in, but Sebastian stayed. His hands didn’t stray from their perch on my ass, either. “I work a lot. But I would love to have dinner with you sometime. We can go to the boats and gamble if that doesn’t bore you. Whatever you’d like to do.” He asked hopefully. I smiled at his attempt to find a solution to my boredom. “I can’t say that I won’t get bored doing that, too. Just don’t get mad at me if my mind wanders easily.” “I’ll promise not to get mad. Now, let’s go eat before I decide to do something you’re clearly not ready for.” He instructed before he started moving us out of the water. Our bodies stayed together, even when he’d made it completely out of the water and we were standing on the shore. His hands stayed glued to my ass. My vagina continued to be so super-heated that I feared I’d need some ice a little later on. And his eyes still stayed connected with my own. “Eat.” He said again, either trying to convince himself, or me. Maybe both. Reluctantly, I let my feet drop from around Sebastian’s stomach. Sliding down, my crotch encountered Sebastian’s and it killed a little part of me to slide past that hard ridge. Sebastian’s groan didn’t help any. When my feet were firmly planted on the wet sand, I let my arms slip from around his neck, and took a good two-foot step back from him, just to make sure that I didn’t try

to jump on top of him and start dry humping him. That would be embarrassing. Sebastian’s cheeks were slightly flushed, and I wondered if it was from the sun that was just beginning to set in the sky, or the fact that he had an erection that could compete with a Louisville slugger in the hardness department. I was betting on a little bit of both. Hell, I was flushed, and couldn’t even tell. The rest of the afternoon went well. Winter and Shiloh were well and truly sloshed by the time we were piling them into the back of Sebastian’s truck and getting ready to go. We were the last to leave. It was nearing eleven o’clock at night, and most had gone home to their kids. Only a few of the ones I’d met that belonged to Sebastian’s MC were not married. They also didn’t act like any MC I knew... or thought I knew. Son’s of Anarchy couldn’t prepare me for them. They were down to earth. Family men. Held jobs as firefighters, police officers, mechanics, and one man even owned the local hardware store. Their chapter was one of five that spread over the Southern states. Although some of the men that attended the party were also not affiliated with the MC, they were part of the local police and fire departments; which was cool too. It made me feel like I wasn’t totally separate from the rest of them. “You don’t think they’ll throw up, do you?” I asked worriedly, staring at the two woman who were passed out on the back seat. “If they do, their husbands are going to be detailing my truck.” He grunted. I smiled and leaned back. In the next instant, I was out. I must’ve slept through pulling in to drop Winter and Shiloh off, because the next time I woke, we were in the driveway of James’ home, and the radio Sebastian had in his truck started squawking like the one in our ambulances’ did when they were receiving a call. “Truck one, truck three, medic one, medic three. All available units to 3331 Old Miller Rd. Structure fire. Multiple occupants.” The radio did the whole white noise thing before another voice responded. “Truck one, truck three, medic one and medic three responding. Have you called in the volunteer departments?” And so it went. I knew the fire had to be bad if they were calling in all available personnel. Kilgore was a small town that ran off one main fire department. We’d just started our own medics, which was good; otherwise we’d have to rely on another company to help any patients that needed it. And there was really a hit or miss on where each medic would be located at the time. My phone, which hadn’t made one single sound all day, rang and I groaned when I saw the number. “Hello?”

“We need you to come in. Winter’s out, but we have what looks like a five alarm, and we need your skills. We’re going to have a lot of victims.” Chief Allen Shepherd snapped into the phone. It had to be bad if he was the one doing the calling. He only worked as a higher authority now due to a heart attack that had happened a little over a year ago. His doctor had told him to slow down even more, and only now supervised. Which meant that he worked regular hours. Nothing after hours. And it being nearly midnight, they wouldn’t call him out of bed unless it was extremely serious. “I’ll be there.” I ensured before hanging up and throwing open the driver’s door. Sebastian, who had been standing on the front porch speaking to James in the dimness of the porch light, turned and looked at me. “I need to go. They’re calling in all available personnel to oversee a five-alarm fire. Can you take me?” I asked urgently. “You can’t wear that.” He informed me. I looked down at the shorts and tank top I was wearing and grimaced. Nevertheless, James solved the problem before I could really get worked up over it. “Shiloh has some of your clothes; jeans and a t-shirt you could wear. Want those?” I thought about it for a moment before nodding. Ten minutes later, I was giving directions on where to go, and we arrived at a place that was utter chaos.

Chapter 7 You said quiet. Now we’re fucked. -EMS rule number 1 Sebastian I collapsed on the back of the tailgate, only my tired body wouldn’t even hold me up that far. I fell onto my back with a groan. My body felt like it weighed four hundred pounds, with my head being two hundred of it. The movement of my body made the truck shift, and Baylee moaned and rolled over from her side to her back, throwing her arm over her eyes to block out the morning light. She didn’t wake, however. We were both utterly and thoroughly exhausted. The fire that Baylee had been called to was enormous, and had evolved fast. What started out as an apartment fire turned into a fire that had taken over nearly the entire block: houses and apartments alike. The source of the fire was yet to be determined, but it looked to have originated from a grill at the very back of the apartment’s property line. The scuffle of boots coming towards me had me sitting up, with the upmost reluctance, and coming face to face with an older man that looked to be just as tired as I was. He’d been the one to ask for volunteers, and since I kept my bunker gear in my truck, I’d been more than willing to help in any way I could. He’d introduced himself as Captain Allen Shepherd, checked my credentials, overlooked the fact that I wasn’t registered in the State of Texas as a firefighter, and sent me to do my best at containing the fire from spreading to any other neighboring homes. I’d lost Baylee in the chaos, as she was immediately treating multiple people for smoke inhalation upon arrival. Her job had been done well over an hour before my own, and I’d seen her take a load off on the truck. Once I’d made sure she was alright, and only sleeping, I came back to my assigned job until the last smoking ember had been extinguished. The Captain extended his hand, and I extended my own, giving him a firm shake before dropping it back down to my leg in exhaustion. “You look a little worn out there, young man.” The Captain observed. “Long day and really long night. I’m not as young as I used to be.” I agreed. The Captain acknowledged that with a nod of his own. “I understand what you mean. Mind if I take a seat?” He asked, indicating the empty tailgate beside me. “Of course. Just kick her feet over. She’s dead to the world.” I joked.

The Captain laughed. I moved Baylee’s extended legs onto my lap, and made room for Allen to take a seat. “You did a fine job tonight. I just wanted to say thank you for all your help. How long have you been in the fire service?” He asked conversationally. “A while. I started in the Marines as a firefighter when I was nineteen. Been doing that in some way, shape, form, or fashion for going on fifteen years now.” I explained. Allen nodded. “Sounds like me, only I went Army. Slowed down a lot about a year ago. Had a heart attack that made me get my head out of my butt and take better care of myself.” “Heart attacks are the main cause of firefighter’s deaths each year. You may be as healthy as an ox, but still be dropped down low from one due to the stress of the job.” I told him. “Yes, that’s what I heard from my doctor. I still hear it from my Linnie every day, too.” He chuckled. “You don’t happen to need a job, do you?” I burst out laughing. “To be honest, I’ve been thinking about a change in pace. I’m tired. Sounds to me, though, that you’re looking for someone to put that much effort in on a daily basis. This body isn’t up to too many more days like this.” Thirty-four wasn’t old, per say, but it wasn’t nineteen either. Not that I didn’t love my job, but I didn’t want to die doing it, either. He nodded in understanding. “Well, if you’re ever interested in one, let me know.” He shook my hand one more time before walking away into the smoke-filled night. Hopping down myself, I shucked my bunker gear, stowing all of it in the tool box in the back of my truck. It was good that I had that, because I reeked of smoke to high heaven. Even the noise of stowing my belongings didn’t rouse Baylee; so, instead, I scooped her up as if she were a child, and stashed her in the passenger seat, belting the seatbelt, and closed the door as quietly as I could. The ride to her house was quiet and soothing. There weren’t many people out on the road, and I didn’t have to deal with any road raged idiots trying to fight me for the fast lane. When I pulled up, I shook her gently awake; she groaned. “What?” She croaked. “Where’re your keys, darlin.” I asked quietly. “Bag.” She told me. I laughed. She sounded cute when she was grumpy. “Where’s your bag?” I chuckled. “Dunno.” She mumbled before falling back to sleep. After ten more minutes of trying to find the elusive bag, I gave up and pulled out of her driveway. I remembered her taking it into James’ place when she went to change. She’d wanted to get out of her swimsuit, and must’ve left it there in the process; that was why I was driving us back to my place. It was too late to worry about it now.

When I pulled up outside of my house, I cajoled her awake, and practically carried her inside, even though her feet were on the ground. Her feet shuffled like a zombie, but then again, I wasn’t feeling much better myself. “Will you be okay to take a shower?” I asked her. “Mmm-hmmm.” She agreed, head resting on my shoulder. I decided that maybe it would be best to just go ahead and put her into the shower in my own bathroom. While she was doing that, I’d go to the one that my son used, and rinse off quickly in there. I turned the water on, stripped her down to her bra and panties, and sent her into the shower with a tiny shove to get her moving. She moaned as the steaming water hit her flesh, and I shot out of there like my ass was on fire. I didn’t get out fast enough, however. I did happen to notice that when she was wet, her bra and underwear became transparent. Which, in turn, made me see the dusty brown areolas of her nipples, and the dirty blonde thatch of hair at the apex of her thighs, before I could get out of the door. Dammit. I grabbed a pair of underwear, a pair of flannel pants, and hurried to the other bathroom, less I get tempted to go back in there and do something we both definitely were not ready for. I made quick work of my shower, using my son’s baby shampoo to wash off before quickly drying off and dressing. I might’ve had ideas of lingering to take care of my little...big problem, if it hadn’t been for all the creepy as shit Dory and Nemo memorabilia staring at me as soon as I made it through the door. I’d hated it when Shiloh had done it, and hated it even more so now. I’d have to make a mental note to never come in here with those kind of intentions. Nemo and Dory would cock-block me again for sure. Slipping on my underwear and pants up slightly damp legs, I opened the door, flicked off the light, and headed back to my bedroom. My mind was working on overdrive thinking about where exactly I’d stash her for the night. That was taken out of my hands, however, when I came into my room and stopped dead in the doorway. “Fuck,” I hissed. Baylee was lying on the bed, face down, wearing one of my t-shirts, which had ridden up revealing the small of her back. Her butt was covered with my huge black down comforter. Thank God. Although I could only guess what she was wearing, if anything, underneath that comforter. I contemplated what to do, but in the end, my exhaustion decided that for me. There was no way I was sleeping on the couch. It was about three inches too short for me on a good day, and I wasn’t even going to go into the width. I was also, definitely, not sleeping in my son’s bed, either. Shoving her over to the other side of my large king sized bed, I stripped my pants off at edge of the bed, and slipped in beside Baylee. Luckily, she stayed on her side, otherwise, I couldn’t be held accountable for my actions. My brain was working at a snail’s pace, and I didn’t have the will power to push her off myself at that moment in time.

Sleep claimed me once I got the comforter settled over my lower half, and my last thought was I could get used to this.

Chapter 8 Baylee Monday I smiled when I saw my phone light up again. It happened a lot lately. Sebastian questioned me constantly. Sebastian- Favorite color? Baylee- Brown. Sebastian- Why brown? Baylee- I’ve become fond of the color of light beer lately. Sebastian- That’s incredibly weird. Baylee- Sexual preference? Sebastian- Blonde. Boobs. Legs. I snorted, drawing the eyes of my brother over the mug of his coffee cup. He just glared. He was used to it. Tuesday I barely held my laughter in check as I sent my latest text message to Sebastian. Baylee- Shoe size? Forty minutes later Sebastian- Fourteen. Baylee- Are you proportional? Sebastian- As in, is my dick the same size as my shoes? I wish. I snorted. I did too. Two hours later Baylee- have you ever been to Hurricane Harbor? Sebastian- The theme park? Baylee- Yes. Sebastian- Once when I was a kid. We usually went to Sea World. Baylee- How’s work? Sebastian- Trying my patience. Baylee- Do you not like working there? Sebastian- Boss is a dick. Baylee- :(

I felt bad for him. Each night, for the past three nights, I’d spoken to him, and he’d had nothing but trouble at work. Working in a place that you hated wasn’t healthy. Especially when you had such a dangerous job. Late Tuesday night Baylee- Have a good day? Sebastian- Been better. Just got Johnny in bed. Baylee- When do I get to meet him? Sebastian- Next week sometime, hopefully. Lindsey’s mother is taking him for the weekend. Baylee- What’s Lindsey’s mother’s name again? Sebastian- Doreen. Baylee- You’re lucky to have her. Sebastian- What are you wearing? One-track mind that man had. He was full of sexual innuendo. In all honesty, I was too. I just didn’t let him know that. I was lying in bed wearing a pair of boy short underwear and a tank top that said, ‘Spooning can lead to forking,’ I debated it all of three seconds before I snapped a picture of myself, making sure that you couldn’t tell that I wasn’t wearing any shorts. Before I could think better of it, I sent it, threw the phone down on the bed, and ran to the bathroom. Then I peeked out at it a few minutes later, wondering if it’d vibrated with a text message from him or not. Chewing my nails, I tried to control the butterflies as I walked to the bed and peeked at my phone. Then the butterflies took flight as I saw the blinking green light in the corner indicating I’d gotten a message. Scrounging up my courage, I opened the phone and my heart stuttered at what I read. Sebastian- Fuck. Tomorrow you’ve got some work to do to undo the damage you’ve caused tonight. Wednesday- Midnight I fanned myself as I put the book I’d been reading on my phone down. Was that even possible? Can you orgasm on a motorcycle just by riding it? Knowing better, but still wanting to know the answer, I clicked a snap shot of the screen and asked. Then cursed myself for sending it so late. Except, not even moments later, my phone pinged. Sebastian- Ummm, I’ve never actually tried that. Maybe you and I can reenact it sometime. My heart stuttered. That would mean I had to actually get ON a motorcycle, which I’d sworn never to

do. But an orgasm, not by my own hand, sounded freaking divine right now. I’d gladly break my rule just this once.

Chapter 9 There comes a point in your workday where you know you’re no longer going to be productive. That point came at 7:19 today. -text from Sebastian to Baylee Sebastian I stared at my Captain, and barely restrained the desire to plant my fist into the older man’s smug face. In all my years of firefighting, nobody had ever disregarded my fears and suspicions as this man just had. Devon McRae was a fifty nine year old powerhouse of a man. He was surly, unyielding, and he hated my guts. He’d actually hated me ever since I’d been hired, after leaving the military. He hated the fact that his boss, at the time, had made him hire me. He hated that I belonged to a club that was composed of ‘outlaws.’ And he hated the fact that I knew more than him. “Listen, Captain. I know what I saw. How does it make sense that two apartment fires happened within two weeks of each other with the same accelerant used, the same grill as a starting point, and the same type of building? I know what I’m talking about here. I think the two investigators need to compare notes.” I explained. Devon’s mouth pursed as if he’d tasted something sour. “You’re not an investigator. You don’t have anything other than coincidences. Go get your chores done.” My mouth compressed as I left Devon’s office before I could say or do anything that would look bad to my parole officer. I’d been arrested around a year ago for taking a gun into a hospital that was supposedly a ‘weapon’s free facility.’ The gun that’d been in question had really been James’ gun; he’d shot the man that had been threatening my father’s and sister’s life. I’d taken the blame for shooting the man in self-defense. James is an officer of the law, and it wouldn’t have looked good for them to convict him of shooting a man. Especially when he’d just started a life with my sister. I’d wanted them to be happy, so I’d made an executive decision to take the fall. However, I’d thought, at the time, that they wouldn’t be able to pin a damn thing on me since it was obvious that the man James had shot was going in loaded for bear. He’d been carrying three handguns and a sawed off shotgun on his person, at the time. I’d thought it would be a cut and dry case. I’d been wrong. They’d pinned a weapons charge on me for bringing in a weapon in a weapon’s free facility. A crime punishable by up to ten years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Luckily, I’d only been pinned with a $10,000 fine and a year probation with monitored activity. When that charge had come down, I’d been a lieutenant, much to the Chief’s chagrin. When the charges

were laid at my feet, I’d been demoted, and nearly canned. However, my pull with the Chief and the community’s high standing and public outrage were the only thing that kept me on the job. It was days like today that I didn’t think keeping my job was worth it. Sure, many of my friends worked with the Benton Fire Department, but I wasn’t the least bit happy. They always seemed to need my help, and never once had I complained. I knew I’d, supposedly, done wrong and needed to own up to those faults, but that didn’t give the Captain the right to treat me like a pile of crap that he accidentally stepped in. And let’s not even get into the fact that I hadn’t had sex in over a fucking month. I’d woken up the next morning, after the apartment fire I’d volunteered at with Baylee, to a raging hard on and a very warm, willing woman in my arms. Her overheated sex had been so hot and slippery, when I’d woken, that all it would’ve taken was a tiny push from me, and my dick would’ve slid in with zero effort. She’d soaked the front of my underwear just by rubbing up against me. It’d taken nearly all the strength in the world, times ten, to pull myself away from her and get out of bed when James had come to call. At the time, I’d been thankful that we hadn’t done anything, but now, as frustrated and sexually deprived as I was two weeks later, I’d have given anything to go back to that morning. Fuck her like I really wanted to. God. “Yo, Ian. What the fuck?” Kettle asked as I walked in the room, while waved his hand in front of my face. I hated it when he called me Ian. My name was Sebastian. Not Ian. I blinked, and stared up at the other man. “What?” I growled. “You’ve got a phone call. Sounds like your woman.” Kettle grinned mischievously. “What’d you say to her?” I asked suspiciously. “Nothing.” I laughed and left the room. I walked towards the kitchen where the old phone with the stretched out yellow cord sat on the counter face up. Picking it up and placing it to my ear, I listened to Baylee talk to someone instead of saying hello. “I told you to bring me a hamburger with no onions. Now I’m going to have bad breath when I meet him for dinner later.” Baylee grumbled. The response from a woman in the background made me laugh. “Just suck his dick; he won’t care what your breath smells like.” I secretly agreed with, who I guessed was, Winter. The sound of my laugh made her aware that I was listening, and she snorted. “Ian, huh? Kettle said you were in need of a good fucking. Do you agree?” Baylee teased. We’d spoken on the phone constantly for the past two weeks, and texted in between those times. We were like two teenagers with the way we carried on.

We hadn’t been able to see each other since the day James and Jack, Winter’s husband, had come to pick Shiloh’s car up, and had taken Baylee home, as well. Our jobs had kept us busy, and when that wasn’t happening, I had a son to take care of and visits from my PO. My parole officer had decided to do a surprise visit to search for contraband, and that had taken away the one night I’d planned to drive to Baylee’s and take her out to dinner. My parole officer had just laughed when I’d told him what I was missing. My response of, “Two more weeks, and this’ll be over and done with,” just didn’t help. Baylee’s tinkling laughter abruptly shifted my thoughts from my parole officer to her. “I’m getting out on time tonight. I think...” I hesitated. She laughed again. “Do your best. Do you like going by Ian?” I thought about that for a second. I didn’t hate the name, per say, but I didn’t respond to it, either. “I guess it’s okay. I’ve just always gone by Sebastian and nothing else.” Although, when I was younger, my mother liked to call me a ‘bastard.’ I was a bastard in all reality. My parents hadn’t been married when I, nor my sister, were conceived or born. In fact, my father had actually been married to someone else. Nonetheless, that was neither here nor there. “It didn’t sound right to me either, although Sebastian is a mouthful.” She conceded. “In more ways than one.” I grunted. I was rewarded with more than a laugh this time. “Oh, man. That’s awesome. I wouldn’t know, but maybe after our first official date, I’d be willing to find out.” “Sounds like a plan. I’ll come over after my shift.” Which, hopefully, would work, pending a call at the end of my shift that required me to stay, or anything else unpleasant. Johnny was at his grandmother’s house, since it was Wednesday, and would be there for the next four days. She was taking him to her sister’s in Tuscaloosa, and planned to spend the week there visiting. I didn’t mind. Although I’d miss the shit out of my son, I knew that I loved his ‘Gigi’ and would enjoy the extra time with her. Plus, I had plans on how to fill the time. “Alright, I. I’ll see you later tonight. Be careful on your way over.” She instructed and rang off. “Mackenzie!” The Captain’s voice bellowed from the bay area. I hung up the phone reluctantly, and followed the Captain’s bellowing until I found him in front of one of the engines. Benton, since it was such a small town, only utilized two engines. They didn’t have but two medics. They relied on an ambulance service to transport patients for them if things got too rough. The Captain was standing in front of Engine number two, the one I drove when the tones dropped. His face was nearly purple with anger. “Captain?” I asked as I came close enough that I didn’t have to yell. “This is completely unacceptable. I’ve told you numerous times that this is not a place to jack around. You’re getting written up for this!” The Captain snarled, pointing towards something on the front of the

engine. I walked around, and my temper finally got the better of me. “The kids of the first grade elementary classes made that. What did you want me to do, throw it away?” The Captain was taken aback by the vehemence in my voice. The thing that was so ‘unacceptable’ was a thank you poster from the children of the local elementary school for teaching them fire safety. Which had saved a little boy’s life in the apartment fire I’d worked the night I’d left dinner early with my friends, around a month ago. “That’s not protocol. You cannot have that on the truck. Seconds count when it comes to getting to the scene of a fire or a call. We don’t have time to take this shit off the window.” The Captain tried to save face. What he was doing was making himself look like a complete ass. Wanting to show him how stupid he sounded, I walked over to the front of the engine where the Thank you poster hung from the Engine’s front. It was held in place in between the glass of the windshield and the windshield wiper. With a small tug, the poster came free, and I held it up for the Captain’s inspection. “I have to come this way to drive the engine, Captain.” The Captain had nothing to say to that, especially in front of the entire fire department, as well as some police officers that were stationed right next door. I wasn’t feeling vindicated though. All I had to do was make it two more weeks, and I’d bring this incident up with the head of the Fire Department. This wasn’t going to fly anymore. I’d been dealing with the Captain’s shit for entirely way too long. It was either going to be me, or the Captain. By eight thirty, I was on my way to Baylee’s, and extremely happy to be away from that place. Sometimes the firehouse reminded me of a soap opera set, and I was glad that I could get some time to myself to ride and clear my head before it was time to meet Baylee for dinner. When I pulled into her driveway thirty minutes later, I walked up to the front porch and rang her doorbell. When no one came to the door, I started to pull out my phone, but I decided to check in the backyard since she’d said she was going to get some work done in her garden. With one glance over the fence, I saw her, ass in the air, as she picked what looked like weeds out of the middle of her garden. Giving a low whistle with my teeth to warn her, I unfastened the latch on the gate and stepped inside. “Sebastian!” She exclaimed when she saw me entering through the gate. I returned her smile and walked up until my elbows were leaning against the gate that surrounded the garden and surveyed the spread. “This has really begun to grow. They were tiny little plants when I was here last.” Her smile widened. “I’ve always had a garden. This one isn’t half bad. Next year I think I’ll extend it to run the length of the yard. I’ll just have to figure out a system that allows the pool water to drain when I need to, but keep it away from the plants. Chlorine will kill it.”

I nodded. Watching her work instead of talking. Today she was wearing blue jean shorts that looked like they used to be jeans, a black t-shirt that said Bulldog Pride on it, and a pair of tennis shoes that looked like they’d been worn for years. Her legs looked magnificent. And I wanted them wrapped around my waist, or over her head, in the worst way. “Are you ready to go?” I asked her, looking pointedly at the dirt staining her hands and arms. She snickered, but got up, washed her hands with the water hose and a bottle of soap that was sitting beside the hose. Once done, she gestured, and I followed her inside. She kicked off her dirty tennis shoes just inside the door, disappeared down the hallway, and came back shortly after in jeans and a pair of cowboy boots. His smile widened when I finally read the shirt she was wearing. ‘Sorry, I only ride boys with tattoos.’ “Nice shirt, Baylee.” I chuckled. She smiled wide and tossed a plastic bag towards me. “I got you a shirt, too.” I opened the black bag, dropped it out on the couch once I grasped the t-shirt, and held it up for inspection. “If you can read this, the bitch fell off.” I read aloud. “I’ve always wanted one of these.” I laid the t-shirt over the couch, lifted the cap off my head, grasped the collar of the shirt at the back of my neck, and pulled it over my head. Baylee’s inhalation had me glancing at her face, and she watched rapturously as I inadvertently flexed, and then shrugged back into the shirt she bought me. “How’s it look?” I asked as I re-settled my hat back in place. She looked at me for a few moments and nodded in appreciation. “Hot.” “Where do you want to go eat?” I asked as we both walked towards the front door. Once out on the front porch, Baylee locked the door with her key, and turned to face the driveway warily. “This scares me shitless.” She said eyeing the bike. I knew it scared her. “We don’t have to take it. It’s completely up to you.” “I know we don’t. But I want to.” She breathed as she walked slowly toward my bike. Motorcycles weren’t for everyone. It would be hard not to share one of the biggest parts of myself with Baylee, but I also wouldn’t push her. It was entirely up to her if she got on my bike or not. “Let’s do it.” She said before swinging her leg over the side of my Harley. She looked over her shoulder at me, and my breath hitched at the beauty. Her mid back length hair was in soft curls, haloing her face. The small of her back was showing, and I could just make out the tiniest bit of pink where her jeans gaped slightly on her back. She wasn’t wearing any makeup, which I liked, and her mouth was curved in to a knowing smile as she saw the direction of my stare. “I want to eat at Hooters.” She announced. “Really?” I asked, as I took the black helmet with the pink skull on the side into my hands. I’d picked it up at The Harley Shop on my way home yesterday evening, knowing when I’d seen it that it would be

perfect for her. I’d also gotten her a leather jacket, just in case. “Here. Let’s get this on.” I instructed as I placed the helmet on her head. “Where’s yours?” She asked as she fastened the strap underneath her chin. “I don’t wear one.” I said as I reached into my saddle bag and produced the leather jacket. She squealed in delight, and I helped her into it as well. Then she sobered when she remembered what I’d just said. “Why don’t you wear a helmet?” She asked with great concern. “I just don’t. Never have. I don’t like the way it feels.” I told her as I swung my leg over the bike and settled in front of her. “You really won’t like the way it feels when you have your head smashed open or your brain swelling because you didn’t wear your helmet.” She snapped, making me realize that she didn’t like the fact that I didn’t wear a helmet. “You’re worried about me?” I asked as I stuck the key into the ignition. I waited for her answer as I reached behind me to the back of Baylee’s thighs and pulled her in snug to my back. Once in the desired position, I took both of her reluctant arms and wrapped them around my torso tight. “Yes, I don’t want you hurt. I really wish you’d wear a helmet.” She pleaded. I hated helmets, but if it made her happy, I’d go get one as soon as I could. “I will as soon as I see a place to get one.” I conceded. “Good.” She said and then squealed as the motor revved to life, and evened out with a throaty growl. Her arms tightened around my chest, and I could feel the anticipation quivering through her limbs. Her body was positively plastered to mine, and I gave my own involuntary shiver. I hadn’t had anybody on the back of my bike since the accident that killed Lindsey. Although it wasn’t my fault, and I knew it, I still had misgivings about riding double with anybody. Hell, I’d been that way before Lindsey. The one time I let someone ride on the back of my bike, she’d died. Baylee mistook my shiver for pleasure, and she laughed before patting my tummy. “Take me for a ride, big boy.” With my heart in my throat, I set off at an extremely sedate pace. My vision sharpened, my hearing became hyperaware. By the time we’d made it out of her neighborhood and onto the main road that would lead us straight to the interstate, my heart was pounding and my palms were sweating; however, not with fear anymore, but with anticipation. And, surprisingly, contentment. Baylee always made me feel differently than other women did. So why wouldn’t she help me through my fear of riding double, too? Instead of taking the actual Interstate, I took the feeder road that ran beside the interstate. Both for her benefit and mine. Even though it added an extra twenty minutes on to the drive. When we finally pulled up into the Boardwalk’s parking lot that would lead us to Hooters, I felt

almost languid. The motor turned off, and it clicked as the heated engine cooled. “Well, how was it?” I asked her, running my palm on the outside of her leg, from ass to knee. “Umm, it wasn’t too bad, to be honest. My heart stopped slamming against my ribs once we reached the feeder road along the interstate. Thanks for taking that way.” She expressed, as she finally loosened her arms from around my torso. “Wasn’t only for your benefit, honey. I don’t let people ride with me all that often.” I said as I stood, swinging my leg off the bike. More like never, but she didn’t need to know that. She might not get back on with me for the ride home. “Well, thank you anyway.” She said, unfastening her helmet and handing it to me. I took it and offered her my hand. She thanked me again, offered her own hand, and I pulled her gently to help her off. I held on, though, because it was likely her legs resembled jelly at the moment. I set the helmet on one of the handlebars, pocketed my keys, and wrapped her hand around my bicep. “Oh, man. My legs feel like they’re still vibrating.” She laughed as she shook out her long legs. I kept ahold of her, and guided her through the throng of parked cars to the Boardwalk’s entrance. “Have you ever been here before?” I asked. “Nope. Winter told me I needed to come. I’m not much of a shopper, though. Well, in person at least. I could kill an online sale.” She joked as she took in the sights. “What’s that over there?” She asked, indicating the spread of boats across the river. The Boardwalk was a spread of shops that ran along the Red River. It had a bunch of restaurants, as well as shops. Mostly, it was for the daytime entertainment. The real fun was across the river where the casinos and subsequent riverboats, as well as adult entertainment, was located. The Boardwalk was the sedate, family oriented side compared to the other that saw more of the night action. “Those are the river boats. The casinos are located in them.” I told her. “Why?” She asked, perplexed. I led her to the wall that blocked anyone from taking a plunge into the murky depths of the Red River before explaining. “Laws. They didn’t want a ton of casinos spread out everywhere. So they allowed them to have a casino on a boat since it kept the casino pretty much dedicated to one area. They’d set sail for a couple hours, and then return to port. Then, over time, they didn’t make the boat actually set sail. The boats just became a permanent fixture at the dock, and the bigger hotel parts of the casino were built on the river front, and had a connection leading towards the boat. “Hmm.” She said, pursing her lips. “That must be why they can have them on the reservations back home.” I nodded in confirmation, but didn’t say anything. Baylee looked absolutely beautiful in that moment. Not that she wasn’t usually beautiful, only this time

it was different. What made this moment different was a multitude of things. The sun setting at her back made her skin seem to glow. Her hair flying around her from the breeze coming off the river. Her eyes alight with knowledge. Her smile. She looked positively stunning. In that moment, I was lost. I had to kiss her. Leaning forward, I captured her lips with my own. At first, I’d only meant it to be a small kiss. A prelude to things to come. But that didn’t factor in with the force that was Baylee. Baylee’s groan, followed by her hands fisting in my t-shirt, made me lose that moderation of decorum I was holding on to so desperately. My own hands fisted into her hair, forcing her mouth to remain against mine as I took her. Because that was what it was: a taking. My tongue plunged into her mouth, doing what it wanted to do for weeks. The sexy little messages, and the sly glances, as well as the dip in the lake they’d taken two weeks ago was nothing compared to this. And I was doing nothing but kissing her. Thoroughly. Her lips tasted like green apples, which I’d figured out when I traced her lips with the tip of my tongue. Her own tongue came out to meet my own, and they tangled in the depths of her mouth. She sucked my lip into her mouth, and then bit down gently, pulling it with the tips of her bright white teeth. A crowing teenage boy’s shout forced us to disentangle ourselves from each other. Panting from desire, my eyes flicked sideways, and I realized that we’d drawn a crowd. Fuck, there was even one man who was taking a picture with his phone. “Oops.” I said as I turned my eyes back to her. Her lips were puffy from my mouth’s assault, and her cheeks were flushed. “That’s okay. I’ve wanted that for weeks now. It was worth the wait.” My lips turned up at the side. “You ready to eat?” She nodded, still panting, and disengaged her body from my own. I pulled her back though. “I’m gonna need you to walk in front of me for a few. I got a little excited, and that man taking the pictures would probably post a picture of my dick on the internet if he saw it right now.” I teased. She gave me a dazzling smile, and took my hand, leading the way to Hooter’s. “I’ve never been to Hooter’s. How’s the food?” I snorted. “Their hot wings are delicious.” In all honesty, no one went to Hooter’s for their hot wings, no matter who told you they did. They went for the tight shorts, the low cut shirts, and the boobs. No if’s, and’s, or but’s. Now, who the hell knew why women went. Maybe it was for a comparison. I didn’t know. All I knew, was that if my wife or girlfriend worked at Hooter’s, they wouldn’t be my wife or girlfriend anymore. I didn’t like to share. And looking meant sharing. And particularly not with Baylee.

“Why do you want to go to Hooter’s?” I asked as my dick finally went down enough for me to walk beside Baylee instead of behind her. “I want a shirt.” She shrugged. “That’s it?” I asked as we reached the door to the fine establishment. “Yeah, I like tank tops. I bet they have some cute ones.” She admitted. I could understand that. I’d never seen a woman outside of working at Hooter’s actually wearing a tshirt, but hell, if she wanted one, she’d get one. I’d make sure of it. We stopped at the hostess stand, Baylee’s eyes wide as she took in the attire of those that worked there. “Wow, those are really short.” She observed. “Yep.” I nodded as my eyes followed one woman’s stroll through the room towards the hostess stand. Then I cursed as I recognized her. Motherfucker. Why couldn’t that girl stay the fuck away from me? “Sebastian!” Shannon squealed and wrapped herself around me. I held a death grip on Baylee’s hand, even after she started to yank at it. She glared at me, and I gave her a pleading look. “Shannon.” I said while pushing her bodily away. “What are you doing here? Did you come to see me?” She asked, practically bouncing up and down on her feet. I gritted my teeth, and pulled Baylee close to my body so my arm was wrapped around her waist. “I didn’t know you worked here. I’m here on a date with my woman.” Baylee relaxed when she noted the tone I’d used with Shannon, and the fact that I’d called her ‘my woman.’ Shannon’s face deflated. Hopefully she finally realized that I wasn’t interested in her. “Can we have a seat towards the back, please?” I asked Shannon, gesturing towards the back of the restaurant where there would be less traffic and less potential to be near Shannon. “Sure.” she said, picking up two menus and walking in front of us towards the table I’d indicated. Luckily, she left as soon as she set the menus down, leaving us in blissful silence. For a whole two point five seconds. “Wasn’t that the girl I saw all over you at that party a few weeks ago?” I swallowed the bubble of laughter that threatened to spill out of my throat and nodded. “Yep, she’s Kettle’s sister. She doesn’t know when to back the fuck off, either.” “You didn’t look like you were trying all that hard to accomplish that amazing feat.” She accused. I sighed. “She’s like a little puppy dog. One of the ones that just begs for any sort of attention. It’s hard to tell her no, because she just does that big eye thing and cries. Then Kettle gets pissed that his baby sister is crying. Although, I’m not sure he realizes that she’s working here. He’s going to flip.” She nodded in understanding. “I used to have a friend like that. It was incredibly hard to tell her no when she gave me that look.”

We both fell silent as the waitress, all of eighteen, at most, came up to our table. She was dressed in the patented orange pants, white, skintight tank that was tucked into the so-called pants, and white shoes. “Hi, my name’s Mallory. Can I interest you both in a beer?” She asked as she flipped her bleached blond shoulder length hair around. I turned my gaze from the waitress to Baylee and raised his eyes in question. “I’ll have a Coca Cola, please.” She said. The waitress turned to me next. “Same.” Mallory smiled so wide I could see her gums. “How about an appetizer?” “We haven’t even gotten a chance to look at the menu. Come back in a little bit.” I said, barely withholding my irritation. “Okay!” She said cheerfully, taking off with a bounce in her step. Baylee contained her laughter for all of five seconds. “How old do you think she is?” “Nineteen, maybe.” I said, opening the menu. “Nah, she’s at least thirty.” She said confidently. I looked up from my menu, looking at her skeptically. “You’re wrong. She’s still a teenager.” “No, really. She’s got to be older than that.” She emphasized. Menu forgotten, I sat back and eyed her. “Why?” “She has a butt flap. Women with butt flaps aren’t teenagers. I bet she’s even had a kid or two.” She nodded, laughing at my incredulous expression. “What, exactly, is a butt flap?” I asked finally. “It’s when there’s like a small fold of skin in between the ass and the thighs. Younger people don’t have that.” Skeptically, I turned to eye the waitress who was now filling up our drinks. Sure enough, her ass did have a tiny bit of ‘flap’ to it. “I cannot believe it.” I said, turning back to Baylee. She laughed at me. After we’d polished off our drinks, food, and dessert, I finally got the nerve up to ask her something that’d been on my mind for the last week. “I have to make a run up to Oklahoma for a personal errand this weekend. Are you working?” I asked her. Baylee’s eyes looked worried, as she hesitantly answered, “No.” “Want to come with me?” I asked. “As long as you get me home Monday morning by eight. That’s when my shift starts.” She agreed readily.

Chapter 10 Keep the fights clean and the sex dirty. -Keys to a healthy relationship Baylee “What are you doing, exactly?” Winter asked as I jumped in to the passenger’s seat of the rig. I turned my face towards Winter’s, and shrugged. “I don’t know. He just asked me if I wanted to go, and I said yes.” The sound of an incoming call postponed Winter’s next question. “Medic three, we have a possible heart attack at Brookshire’s grocery store.” The dispatcher called over the radio. Picking up the handheld radio, I confirmed. “Medic three responding.” Flipping on the lights and sirens, Winter navigated throughout the busy lunchtime traffic, bypassing slower moving cars as she went. “What the hell, people. It’s an ambulance, not a tank. Just move over slowly, we’re not going to run you over.” Winter grumbled as a person that was in the turn lane to their right whipped over to the shoulder, nearly clipping the ambulance’s left fender. I snorted. “Yeah right. It’s like we freak out or something when we see the sirens and lights. Their brain doesn’t work anymore. At least that one tried to get over. What about the ones that just stay in the lane and expect you to miraculously hop over them?” Another person we drove up on started weaving and darting from one side to the other, panicking as Winter pulled up behind them. “Fuck.” Winter growled, as she slowed down while I turned off the lights and sirens. Most of the time, people were able to function around an ambulance. They moved over to the side and slowed down. However, every once in a while, there were ones like this guy that just sort of froze and freaked. According to the Protocol, the best thing for us to do was turn off the lights and sirens and wait for the driver to get their shit under control again. Not that it wasn’t tempting to ride their ass. Most of the time, without the lights and sirens scaring them, they got their shit under control and moved over. Then we’d hit the sirens and lights, and proceed to our destination. However, other times, just like this one, the guy didn’t get out of freak mode, and stayed right the hell in the middle of our way. “Alright, buddy. You just stay there and we’ll be okay.” Winter murmured, as she moved to the turn lane to pass the obstinate man.

“I wish it played ‘Move Bitch, get out da’ way’ instead of these sirens.” I muttered darkly, making Winter bellow in laughter. Everything worked out, and we passed him without harm, arriving at the Brookshire’s within five minutes of the call. It was easy to find the patient. The large crowd was gathered around him, frantically waving their arms and legs, yelling that ‘he’s over here.’ I had always wanted to tell them that they didn’t have to wave like that. Paramedics and firefighters weren’t stupid. We could spot the person lying on the floor from across the room, but whatever. The moment we set our equipment down, it was immediately apparent that the man was in a ton of pain. His head was in his hands, and he was rocking back and forth on his knees. His daughter and wife were at his side. The daughter looked to be about seventeen or so, and the mom in her late forties, early fifties. “Sir, can you tell me what’s wrong?” Winter asked, as I took his vitals. He swallowed hard, tried to speak, but then doubled over in pain. The wife was the one to speak next. “He’s been complaining about a headache. It’s gotten progressively worse since it started about two hours ago.” Winter and I exchanged a look, and immediately went to work on loading him onto the gurney and getting him into the ambulance. “What’s wrong?” The daughter yelled as she trailed behind us. We all walked quickly, and were in the ambulance within three minutes of arriving on scene. “We’re going to take him just up the road to Good Shepherd. He’s going to be just fine. We’ll see y’all there shortly. Drive safely.” I instructed as I closed the doors of the ambulance on the worried wife and child. “Thank you.” The patient croaked. “For what, sir?” I asked as I started an IV on him, and then took his vitals again. “Lying to them.” He groaned. My eyes narrowed on the man before I asked, “What do you mean?” I had a feeling that what was making his head hurt was a brain bleed, but it was very possible that if we arrived at the hospital in time, it could be repaired. “I have a brain bleed. I know. I’m a doctor. I’m going to die.” He rasped, wincing slightly when the ambulance hit a bump. My heart stuttered. I hadn’t had a patient, in all my years of being a paramedic, practically vowing that he was going to die. “You don’t know that. You’re probably going to be just fine.” I soothed as I patted his hand. We arrived at the hospital just as he shook his head sadly and looked into my eyes for the first time. “I’ve had a bleed for over two hours. I shouldn’t have waited so long. Will you tell my wife and daughter

to come straight back when you get there? I want to say goodbye to them.” He instructed. I could only nod in affirmation as we unloaded him and rushed him into the ER. The doctor on call, one that I hadn’t met before, shouted instructions as soon as we came within sight. A nurse, one I had seen before, Lacy, asked, “Vitals?” “Blood pressure is 200/115. Patient is complaining of a headache that’s gotten progressively worse in the last two hours. He complains of light sensitivity and believes he has a brain bleed.” I informed Lacy as I helped unload him off the gurney and into a bed. We left when he was swarmed with people, and I felt something in my chest tighten in realization. He was probably right. He wasn’t going to make it. “Missus!” A frantic voice called from the long hallway that lead from the ER entrance. Winter and I stopped as the wife and daughter ran up to us frantically. “Where is he?” “He’s in room three. You can go on back.” Winter said as I punched in my code for the door and held it open for them. They thanked me and disappeared around the corner. “I heard what he said. Do you think it’s true?” Winter asked quietly, as we loaded their gurney back into the ambulance. “Yeah,” I said sadly. “Damn.” I silently agreed. *** By the end of my shift, I was dragging. The day had been a long one. “Hello?” Sebastian’s deep baritone answered on the third ring. “Hey,” I said softly. I was laying on my bed crossways. I’d managed to strip out of my pants and uniform top, leaving me in only a white wife beater and blue cotton panties. I’d meant to call Sebastian on my way home like I’d done for the past couple of weeks, but I’d not had the energy. “You okay?” Sebastian asked in concern. “Yeah. Had a man die today. It was just sad because he knew it. He was a doctor at the hospital we transport to the most.” I sniffled. “I’m sorry, baby. That’s rough.” “Yeah, I think I’m just going to go to bed. I’ll see you in the morning, okay?” I told him. “Okay, baby. I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.” Sebastian said before hanging up. I didn’t waste any time. I just dropped the phone on the bed beside me, grabbed the end of the comforter, and threw it over my body, only managing to cover half of myself.

That was enough. I didn’t have the energy, or inclination, for anything else. *** I felt my body being moved, placed under the covers correctly. Then a warm, male body slid into the bed beside me, pulling me close to his chest. I managed to crack one eye open to see the blinking numbers of the clock that read 12:23 A.M. Then I wrapped my own fingers around Sebastian’s thick wrists and pulled him closer. “Thank you.” I whispered into the darkness. His answer was to kiss my head and whisper, “Go back to sleep.”

Chapter 11 Don’t fall in love with men and their devil penis magic. -Note to self Baylee A hard body was plastered up against my back. A very hard body. My eyes opened warily, and I stared down at the hand that was resting on the inside of my thigh. It was a big hand. At least twice the size of my own. I’d woken up to this particular hand only once before, and that one time was enough to make my crave more. Turning carefully in Sebastian’s muscular arms, I stared up at the man that made my heart race and my stomach flutter. He was still sleeping, which was to be expected since he didn’t get off shift until eleven last night. The man had a soft heart, as I was beginning to see, and worried about me having bad shifts. Two weeks ago, when I ’d woken up at his house with him wrapped around me, almost exactly like now, I ’d freaked out because I didn’t recognize the room I was in. However, after explaining what had happened with the fire, and that I had been so tired, he’d explained that he’d decided to take me to his home. I had told him where to find my spare key in case anything like that happened again. Knowing me, it would. I could sleep anywhere. So he’d used my key to get in here last night, and being the gentleman he was, only cuddled with me to make me feel better. I, on the other hand, was tired of just cuddling. A soft snore came out of his mouth, making me focus on his mouth and lips. He had a scar bisecting his lip at the bottom, giving him an edgy look. His nose was straight, even though he’d said that it’d been broken three separate times. His eyes were closed, with his large dark lashes laying in half-moons against his cheeks. Then I started taking in the details on his lower half. We weren’t covered with a blanket, which was the reason I’d woken up. Upon closer examination, I saw that the blanket seemed to be on the floor. Along with a pile of his boots, uniformed shirt and pants, as well as his leather jacket. Looking at his chest, I saw his dog tag chain, and assumed the tags themselves had fallen behind his back, since I didn’t see them. My eyes ran down from his well-defined pecs, with their dusty brown nipples, to the ridged abdomen that, even in sleep, looked like perfection. The scar that ran from armpit to elbow looked mean and raw, still a deep purple, and probably always would be. I couldn’t see his appendectomy scar, but knew that one had healed much better than this scar.

Then my gaze lit on his boxers. Or boxer briefs. They were black with lime green stripes running horizontally, and the edging around his cock that allowed for easy access, was accented in a teal blue. I could clearly see the perfect outline of the head of his cock, and the long ridged column leaning to one side with the bulge of his testicles nestled between his legs. My fingers itched to touch him. Then I thought...why not? Getting up as quietly as I could, I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, and then searched quietly through my drawers for something I hadn’t needed for nearly a year. Coming up empty, I tiptoed to Sebastian’s pile of clothes, fished out his wallet, and found one lone condom in the money portion of his wallet. Thank God. Tossing it on the bedside table, I divested myself of my underwear, bra, and tank top, picked up the comforter off the floor, and laid down carefully. Once I was sure he wouldn’t wake up, I gently pulled until he was on his back. Getting on my knees, beside his torso facing his feet, I slowly started to work his cock out of the access panel in front, and gasped when I saw the I sheer size of it, even when he was nearly soft. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the man was the size of my ex when he wasn’t the least bit hard. What the hell would he look like when he was? Then I got my answer. Slowly, his cock began to rise, and when I felt his large, warm palm on my knee that was planted on the bed travel up, up, and up some more, I knew he was well and truly awake. I hadn’t intended for him to be asleep when I got down to business; it was good that he was awake. I had plans. When his hand reached the top of my thigh, I felt his large thumb sweep over the outer lips of my labia, and shivered. Needing more, I took the plunge, and straddled his big chest until my face was clearly in line with his ever-growing cock, and my vagina was on presentation for his viewing pleasure. My overheated clit came down on his chest, and it took everything I had not to grind my vagina back into his face. I needn’t have worried though, because in the next moment, he hauled my back until his face was buried in my sex, and his cock was tapping against my face in exuberance. My moan of pleasure opened my mouth, allowing his cock to slip inside. Once that happened, I kind of lost track of what happened next. I licked my lips, rasping the edge of my tongue along the head of his cock in the process. The hands that had been on my hips split, one going to my hair, and the other going to my leaking channel, filling me up with one blunt finger. His tongue worked wildly on my clit, circling the hardened bud while he worked another finger in my

core, causing me to cry out. When I moaned, the fingers in my hair nudged me forward, begging me to take more of him into my mouth; I obliged. Relaxing my throat muscles, I took as much of him in my mouth as I could, and still didn’t come close to having him fully inside me. Sliding the hand that wasn’t wrapped around his thick dick underneath the elastic of his boxers, I gently grasped the silky sack of his balls. Massaging them, I worked my mouth and hand in tandem up and down along his cock. Then, Sebastian worked a third thick finger in, and then curled them in, seeking the hidden spot inside of me that made me wild. Sitting up until I was nearly sitting on his face, I let the hand that was wrapped around his balls go, and used it to balance myself so I didn’t smother him with my vagina. The hand that was on his dick kept up its pace, though, coaxing drops of pre-cum out with every fourth pull on his massive erection. “Fuck my fingers.” He growled against my clit. I did. I used the muscles in my legs to work myself up and down on his fingers, using them as I would his cock. “Need you to come. Need you nice and wet so my cock will slide up inside of you and not stop until my balls slap against your ass.” He rumbled. His dirty talking was getting my engine turning. In three more short plunges, and a twist of his finger, my orgasm took over, and I hurdled over the side of a mountain that had the potential to kill me with its massiveness. “That’s right, let those juices go.” He rasped. Embarrassingly, I did. Sad to say a man hadn’t worked me long enough, nor had enough patience to get me off before. For Sebastian to was a first in and of itself. I didn’t have much time to contemplate that huge revelation, though, because suddenly, I was on my back, head where his used to be. His massive body kneed my thighs apart to make room for his hips. “Fuck me.” I panted, planting my feet into the mattress and rising so the head of his cock rubbed against my distended, sensitive clit. Sebastian growled at the sensation, fumbling for the condom on the nightstand with his fingers that were still covered in my juices. He ripped the foil with his teeth, and had the sheath rolling down his cock in the next instant; all the while, he watched me, eyes hooded. “You ready?” He asked as he planted his fists in the bed on either side of my head. At my nod, he took a thigh in each hand, separated them out wide, and positioned his cock at my entrance. With slow, precise movements, he worked his cock in and out, an inch at a time, until the entire massive length was buried inside of me to the hilt.

I panted, trying to get used to the fullness; he let me adjust. “I think you split me a new one.” I said, working my inner vaginal muscles. “You’d know if I split you a new one. Stop doing that unless you want me to start fucking you.” He growled. I was pretty sure I’d know if he ripped me a new one, too. I was just giving him a hard time. “Yeah, about that.” I said, raising my hips as best I could, since he still had my thighs in his hands. When I moved, he took that as assent, and started flexing in and out of me, very slowly. “God, you’re so hot and wet. I can’t wait to fuck you without this covering my dick.” He rasped. I looked down, seeing his condom-clad cock disappearing and reappearing from my weeping hole. “You ready for more, baby?” He asked through gritted teeth. I let my hand move, passing down my stomach, tickling over my sensitized clit, until I came to the point where we were joined. It didn’t seem possible that my skin could stretch that much, but it did. Jesus, but he had to be as big around as my wrist at the widest part. “I’m gonna take that to mean you’re ready.” Sebastian grunted before using the hands that were parting my thighs wide to travel up until he had a hold of my feet. From there, he pulled my feet back until my knees rested against the bed, leaving absolutely no room for me to add my own movements to the mix. “Hold on, honey.” He said before withdrawing until his dick just barely kissed the entrance, and then plunged forward, fast and furious. I closed my eyes. Sebastian had left me no room to maneuver, to counter his movements with my own. Which meant that all I had to do was sit back and feel. Each plunge and retreat of his cock from inside me started building the weirdest sensation in my core. Something I’d never felt, even with the help of my own vibrator. “Fuck,” Sebastian hissed, making my open my eyes. He was watching where we joined, as I’d done earlier. Watching his cock pull all the way out. Then he’d see the give of my pussy stretch until I was filled to the brim with his cock; stretched to the limits. “I’ve wanted in you so bad since the moment I saw you. Your pussy feels like nothing I’d ever dreamed of. And your tits are bouncing with each thrust.” He growled, now watching my boobs. They were bouncing up with each thrust, and down with each withdraw. “Feed them to me.” He growled, leaning forward. I did as I was told, cupping each breasts, and offering them like a dessert. He licked and sucked each nipple until they were hard, wet peaks. Once they were perfect, he roughly popped them from his mouth, and moved his mouth to my neck. I didn’t know what it was about my neck, but when he put his mouth on it, sucking, licking and nipping, I detonated. It was all just too much. Sparks of color exploded behind my clenched eyelids, and large bolts of lightning streamed through

my veins, bowing my body up, allowing him to hit that spot deep inside of me that he’d found with his fingers earlier. “Sebastian!” I gasped loudly. “God, that tight little pussy is clamped down on my cock so hard that I can barely breathe.” He gasped. It didn’t stop him from plunging in deeper and harder. With one, two, three strokes, he stiffened. His abs clenched, his fingers tightened on my ankles, his head fell back, and he shouted his release. “Motherfucker!” He bellowed. In that moment, I was glad I didn’t have neighbors, because it was obvious that neither one of us would be quiet during sex. Me with my moans and screams, and Sebastian with his growls and bellows. When he withdrew, I felt empty, and missed the feeling of fullness instantly. He disposed of the condom in the toilet, and fell back into bed, making me bounce with the force of his body hitting the mattress. “Mother of God, I think you killed me.” I gasped. “They don’t call it the ‘Little Death’ for nothing.” Sebastian agreed, as he himself was laid out beside me. “We need more condoms.” I breathed. “That we do.” Sebastian seconded. *** “Here. You’re going to want this. I don’t have near enough, since I know you’ll want to do it to everyone, but there’s over five hundred pennies there.” Sebastian said, handing me a thick Crown Royal bag. The coins in the bag jingled, and I sat it in my lap, looking at Sebastian curiously. “I guess I never really asked what kind of errand we were running. Will you tell me now?” Sebastian was currently driving on the highway. His right hand was on the steering wheel, and his left was hanging absently out the window. He had an empty Dr. Pepper bottle that he was spitting sunflower seeds into in between his legs. The black hat that was on his head partially shielded his eyes when he looked over to me and smiled sadly. “We’re visiting a few friends.” He said with a crack in his voice, and then stayed silent for the remaining miles it took to get to our destination. I stayed silent as well, feeling the change that had overcome him when he passed over the Oklahoma border. The radio was silent; the only thing breaking through was the sound of wind pounding through the open window.

It was when we pulled up to the Fort Hill Cemetery gates that I finally understood his somber mood. He said ‘we’re visiting friends,’ but I didn’t understand that ‘friends’ meant deceased. I’d thought he’d meant friends who were alive. Now, seeing the big beautiful gates, I understood. And my eyes started tearing up. The friends I’d seen in the picture hanging on his office. He’d spoken about them like they were his best friends in the world. Were they who he was visiting? When he found a parking spot towards the back of the lot, he put the truck in park, released his seatbelt, and reached behind him, removing a big black gun from the small of his back. Another one came off his ankle. And yet another one came from his other ankle. He watched my face impassively as he removed his weapons. Knives came from pockets, and I wondered what the hell he was doing. “What the heck are you doing with all those on you?” I asked baffled. He smiled. “I always have them on me.” Don’t think I didn’t notice that fucking ankle bracelet on him. Which meant he wasn’t allowed to have all those weapons. Although, I was more concerned with him getting in trouble, rather than the fact that a person with an ankle bracelet that monitored his whereabouts was carrying weapons. “Why are you taking them all off?” I asked. “Cemetery prohibits weapons, concealed or otherwise. Out of respect, everyone follows it. If you’re carrying anything weapon wise, you should take it out of your pockets.” He said, looking pointedly at the bulge in the pocket of my jeans. “How did you know I was carrying anything that resembled a weapon?” I asked as I removed my keys, which remarkably had a Swiss Army Knife attached to them, from my pocket. He gave me a look. You know, the kind that resembled a ‘do you think I’m a dumbass’ stare. Then he hopped out of the truck, walked around to my side, and opened it for me. I smiled at his chivalry, and squinted at the bright noonday sun. The sky was cloudless; so pure and blue that it hurt my eyes to look up. Sebastian pulled the sunglasses that were hung at the collar on his shirt, and slid them on his face, effectively covering his eyes, as well as his emotions from me. Then, he took my hand that wasn’t holding the coins and walked with me to the entrance of the cemetery. “Have you ever seen the coins on a grave before?” He asked as he nodded to the uniformed guards that were standing sigil at the gates. “No,” I asked, confused. His hand went to his necklace, pulling until the dog tags lay on top of his clothing. Then he started fiddling with the bill of his cap, and I finally understood he was nervous. “You’ll see a bunch of coins on these graves. Many times, people pay their respects by leaving pennies on the graves, it tells the families that someone visited. That’s why I brought you the bag. There’s

no way you’ll be able to put that on each grave, but there are 194 stones we pass until we reach the first one I’m after, and 139 until we reach the next one. I don’t know if you want to put out all the pennies, but I expect you will.” He said, clearing his throat. Consequently, that was how I found myself putting pennies on graves of soldiers that I never even knew. There were so many of them. It was like a sea of graves. Some dated as far back as 1919; although, Sebastian informed me that they founded the cemetery in the 1800s. I left Sebastian when he reached the first grave marked, Mitchell Ryan Reid, 1984-2006. He hadn’t said that he wanted time, but I’d given it to him anyway. I did see him place a quarter on the grave as I walked a few graves away. I’d noticed how there were other coins on the graves besides pennies, and decided I needed to know more. Pulling out my phone, I googled the practice, and found what I was looking for. Nickels meant that the deceased and visitor to the grave attended boot camp together. A dime meant that they served with the person in some capacity. And a quarter, like the one Sebastian had just left, meant that they were with them when they’d died. When I read the last sentence, my heart broke, and I knew for sure that was exactly whom he was visiting. The three best friends that had died while they were on deployment. Twenty minutes and two hundred pennies later, I found him at another grave a little further back from the first. As I passed, I placed my penny and read the grave. Albert Lee Cordell, 1982-2006. I had just placed my last penny on the grave of a young man who’d died when he was seventeen years of age, when I found Sebastian standing on the edge of the pathway watching me. “What?” I asked, surveying him. He shook his head. “Nothing. How did I know you’d go through all 500 pennies?” I smiled widely and walked towards him. Once I was in arm range, I lifted my own and wrapped them around Sebastian’s neck, and gave him a soft kiss on the mouth. He held me tight and looked into my eyes. “Thank you for coming.” I tried to study his eyes to gauge his emotions, but all I could see was my own reflection on the glasses he wore. “I don’t know that I was much help, but you’re welcome.” He shook his head, took his hat off, and ran the fingers of one hand through the very short locks before replacing the hat back on his head. “That drive is normally horrible for me. I visit them every year at this time.” He told me, taking me by the hand and leading me to the entrance. “Why are every one of these flowers on the graves brand new looking?” I asked absently, seeing a gorgeous display on one man’s grave. His eyes moved toward the graves before answering. “The cemetery’s keepers clean the old flowers off the graves when they start dying. They also don’t allow plastic flowers unless it’s during the winter

months.” “Wow.” Was all I could think to say. Then another thought occurred to me. “You only mentioned two graves. Why didn’t we visit the other grave?” I asked as we walked to the car. Sebastian grimaced. “His wife didn’t want me to visit him, and I’m respecting her wishes.” Baylee’s eyes turned up to survey Sebastian’s face. “What? Why?” He shrugged. “She blamed me. Was mad that I’d lived and her husband had died. Pretty much normal, I suppose.” I froze, and turned to look at Sebastian. The lines around his mouth were hard. His lips were thinned into a hard, immovable line. “Where is his grave, I’ll put the quarter on it.” I told him, turning to start back into the cemetery. I stopped once I realized Sebastian wasn’t following me. “Are you coming?” I asked, turning around. He looked like he really wanted to, so I decided to keep walking and let him catch up. Not that I knew where I was going, but, eventually, Sebastian would tell my where to go. I knew he’d know. He may not visit it, but he’d know exactly where it was. His large hand circled around the top fleshy part of my arm, and turned me until I was pointed towards the correct direction. We walked for another 500 yards until we came to a row that was near the back of the cemetery itself. “Fifteen graves down.” He instructed. He turned to go, but I stopped him when I grabbed the hand in his back pocket. He stopped where he was, but didn’t turn around. So I reached into his pocked, pulled out all of his change, and started walking, counting carefully. The fifteenth grave was excessively decorated, as if the wife came to visit the grave, and kept flowers there constantly. The grave marker read Jason Ray Merhens, 1982-2006. Squatting down to my haunches, I let my hand open until I could see the coins, grabbed a quarter, and pocketed the others. Placing the quarter at the very edge of the grave. “Don’t give up on him. He’ll visit one day.” I whispered, brushing a fleck of dirt off the stone, before standing up and heading back to my man who was nearly all the way back at the gates. I caught up to him at the truck. He was leaning against the side of it, arms crossed, and hat pulled down low. “Let’s go get something to eat, big boy.” “Where?” He rasped, going to my door and opening it for me. Once I was in my seat, I turned in the open door and studied Sebastian’s haggard face. “Anywhere. I’ll go anywhere with you.”

Chapter 12 I’m going to hell in every religion. -Baylee’s latest diary entry Baylee The ringing of my phone woke me. My eyes peeled open, and I glared at the offending object that was omitting the most obnoxious sound I’d ever heard. Sadly, it was my mother and I couldn’t ignore it. Otherwise, she would keep calling until I finally answered. I hit the answer button and let my hand fall back to the bed. “Hello?” I mumbled with face still partially smashed into the pillow. “Hi, pumpkin. Who’re you sleeping with?” She asked with a smile. My eye snapped open; I looked behind me before looking back to my phone, and realized that my mother was on the freaking screen, looking at a very naked Sebastian at my back. “My, my.” She said with a bright smile. “He’s in excellent shape.” I snorted, pulled the sheet up from the floor, and placed it directly over Sebastian’s most significant endowment. “Yes, he sure is. What can I help you with?” I asked as my head started to clear of the fog that sleeping deeply always produced. My mom smiled. “Your dad used to have abs like that. God, he used to be so very handsome. But then we had you, and I got fat, and then your daddy said if I was allowed to gain weight, then he was allowed to also. Is this the Sebastian boy your brother’s been talking about?” My brother was such a little shit. No. He was a big shit. There was a difference. Standing up, taking the comforter with me to conceal my own nakedness, I walked out of the hotel’s large room and into the bathroom. I closed the door quietly, trying not to wake Sebastian, seeing as we’d only just gone to bed a little over three hours ago. The man had been bound and determined to forget why he’d come to Oklahoma. And he’d used my body to help him forget. Just thinking about the night we’d just shared made heat rise to my cheeks. “Wow, you should really use some foundation on those hickeys. You don’t want to have people staring at that all day.” My mom advised, making my eyes snap to the mirror.

Sure enough, I did have a very large hickey on the side of my neck, where my shoulder met my neckline. I also had beard burn on both sides of my neck, and a couple of places on my chest that I could see. “Wow.” I said, surprised. “I just wanted to call and tell you that dad and I got new phones. I found this little feature this morning when Katy called me using it. Your brother had told me about it last night, and I’d intended to use it to call her later, except she surprised me first. Your brother probably got a little bit of an eye full.” I knew I shouldn’t ask, but my insane curiosity goaded and nudged until I asked. “What would he get an eye full of?” My mother smiled. “Your dad and I were in the shower. Let’s just say, it was good that it was him calling first, before giving the phone to Katy.” I snorted. Oh yes, my brother was probably scarred for life. “Is there a point to this seven in the morning wakeup call?” I finally asked. “No. I just wanted to talk to you about that young man in your bed. How about you call me tomorrow and fill me in, okay? We’ll be coming to visit, as scheduled, at the first of October. Don’t forget, okay?” After agreeing to call my mother tomorrow, I scrolled through my messages and texted my brother. Me- So you got a good look at dad’s weenie, did you? Luke- Fuck you. Snickering, I placed my phone on the bathroom counter, did a quick clean up, and used the facilities before making my way back into the room. Sebastian was now on his stomach. The sheet had slipped to the floor again, giving me an unencumbering view of his nicely muscled ass. As well as other, more significant, body parts. With his foot slightly raised to the side as it was, it allowed me a good view of the boys, as well as his penis that was lying parallel to his bent leg. This was the first time I’d actually seen it not hard. The man had an inane ability to stay hard, regardless of the fact that he’d just come or not. As I walked up to the side of the bed, I had to stifle a giggle. Last night, after the second time, Sebastian had to leave the bed to dispose of his used condom; Sebastian decided to bring the trashcan to the end of the bed for expedience. I, personally, thought the man was genius. His practicality meant I didn’t have to let go of him for more than a few moments. Moving the trashcan to the side with my foot, I crawled up behind the sleeping man, and settled on my knees, ass to calves. I’d woken up many times in the night to the man with his face buried between my splayed thighs, or my ass in the air and Sebastian’s hard cock tunneling into me. Now it was my turn. Reaching out tentatively, I ran one lone finger down the velvety skin of his scrotum. I’d softly cupped his balls in my palm, rolling them around my hand as I used to do with my Chinese Baoding balls. The

Baoding balls were supposedly healing and meditative, allowing one to relax while they used them. Well, I felt anything but relaxed holding Sebastian’s balls in the palm of my hand. In fact, the dampness between my clenched thighs, and the pulsating feeling coursing through my core spoke of anything but calm. Then the pattern of Sebastian’s breathing changed. It went from steady and smooth, to shallow and ragged. The size of his cock was anything but soft. In fact, it nearly tripled in size, and a small drop of milky white pre-come oozed from the tip, falling to the bed. I didn’t stop playing with his testicles even though I knew he was awake. I’d yet to explore the man as thoroughly as he’d explored me, and it was time to reciprocate. “Do you have any fantasies?” I asked him. “I dream about fucking your tits. Then coming all over them.” His voice was sleep roughened, and it took everything I had not to urge him onto his back and ride him like there was no tomorrow. “That’s it?” I asked, finally letting my hand let his sac go. His testicles fell softly against the white sheet underneath, and I moved my hands so they rested on the back of his thighs, and then further up to his lower back. He had two indentions at the top of his back where the muscles were so honed that they stood out blatantly, even with him laying down. I let my extended nipples trail over his ass, teasing them back and forth. His breath hitched, and I smiled. “I don’t mind you doing that. In fact, it sounds like something I’d love to do. Just not quite yet.” Moving from out between his legs, I walked on my knees until I was at his side, and then straddled his back, facing his legs. Planting one small fist into the bed next to his lifted knee, I used the other hand to move his engorged shaft carefully down, until it was lying straight out between his legs. His shaft was mesmerizing. Tanner than the rest of him, the shaft was a deep angry red. The vein that ran up along the underside was absolutely massive, and the paramedic in me was absolutely enchanted with the sight. I kept thinking, ‘I could totally hit that.’ He probably wouldn’t find that as amusing as I did. “Jesus, you’re burning me alive with that pussy of yours.” Sebastian groaned. The vibrations from his voice sent a little zing through my clit, and I had to stop myself from grinding myself into his back. Leaning down over his ass, I let the very tip of my tongue lathe over his ridged shaft. His sharp inhalation sent me forward minutely, and I took that as a sign to mean he’d liked it.

At this angle, I wasn’t able to actually take his dick into my mouth, or I’d suffocate myself. Knowing Sebastian probably wasn’t into necrophilia, I concentrated on working his entire dick with my tongue, sucking on the back of it. Flicking the frenulum with the very tip of my tongue. “Jesus Christ, get off me and let me have you before I buck you off and take you where you land.” He groaned, shoving his face into the pillow. I took pity on him. Sitting up, I swung one leg over until I was again kneeling beside him. But I didn’t stay like that for long. No. The next instant, I was pushed over until my ass was in the air, and Sebastian’s hard cock was pounding into me. Not liking the angle, Sebastian placed his hand in the middle of my back, and urged my head to lay onto the mattress, essentially canting up my butt, and allowing for a deeper angle of penetration. He grunted with each thrust of his cock, and pounded into me like a man possessed. “Fuck me, but you look good with your ass in the air, and those fat lips swallowing my cock all the way to the hilt.” He grated. His dirty talk was really pushing my arousal to the red line, and, sure enough, when he reached around my hips, and thrummed my clit with the edge of his thumb, I shot off like a bottle rocket. Sparks dominated my vision, and my own hips slammed back into his pounding ones, making him reach a point inside of me that prolonged my orgasm until I had no more breath in my lungs. Sebastian’s hips slowed, and finally came to a stop once I’d finished. His dick was pulsating inside of my own clenching sheath, and he grasped my hips with an iron grip, squeezing until the point of pain. I’d definitely be sporting bruises in the morning, but it’d be totally worth it. “Fuck me. Don’t move. Fuck, please stop clenching. Oh, Jesus.” He pleaded, pulling out ever so slowly. It was then I realized I’d forgotten the condom, as did he. Which explained his pleading tone, and the ironclad grip on my hips. “Turn over, Baylee.” He rasped. I followed his order, letting my hips fall to the bed and logrolling until I was on my back with my legs splayed. His eyes traveled the length of my body. His pupils dilated when his eyes came to settle on my beaded nipples. His nostrils flared as he took two fingers, and worked them slowly into my slippery heat. He bent down until he was eye level with my breasts, and he feasted, licking, sucking, and flicking my nipples and the valley of my breasts, all the while his two stiffened fingers worked me down below. Once he attained his objective, the two fingers slipped from my sheath, and he used the moisture that had gathered on the two appendages and worked them over my saliva slickened breasts. It was then that I knew what he’d planned on, and I smiled seductively at him, lifting my hands and

smashing my boobs together. He grinned deviously before dipping his cock back into my drenched opening, effectively lubing himself up again before pulling out and straddling my chest. The tips of my nipples were pointed straight up at the ceiling, as I held my breasts together, waiting for him to feed his cock into the valley of my boobs. “You ready?” He asked, easing down until his heavy testicles rested on my belly. At my nod, he guided his cock to the opening at the bottom of my breasts, and fed his cock into the hole they made. His groan of delight sent my core clenching at its emptiness, but the look of delight on Sebastian’s face distracted me from the yawning emptiness I felt down below. Instead, I focused on his ridged abdomen as it contracted, and the tip of his dick as it peeked out the top swells of my breasts. Sebastian’s hands no longer needed to help guide his cock, and found my nipples, plucking them lightly. His eyes traveled from his cock tunneling between my flesh, and up to watch how close his cock came to my mouth with each thrust. Knowing what he wanted, I grasped each thigh with my hands, and lifted my head. I tried my best to angle my head so his cock would enter my mouth as it exited the top of my flesh; it worked out well until my neck started getting tired. Sebastian, noticing my discomfort, placed a hand behind the back of my head, holding me in place. My eyes traveled up until they met his. They connected, and held. “This is everything I’ve ever fantasized. My cock filling your mouth. Jesus, all that’s missing is you coming, too. But we’ll remedy that.” He said, and punctuated that statement as he released my nipple, and buried the same two fingers he’d used on me earlier, back into my sopping core. Pleasure bloomed slowly inside of me. Everything that was happening right now was so very erotic that it wouldn’t have mattered if he was stimulating me, I was going to detonate regardless. But with the added help of his talented fingers, it wasn’t long until my hips were rising to meet each thrust of his fingers. He ground the heel of his hand against my clit, in between thrusts, and that was all the added stimulation I needed. My muscles clamped down hard on his burrowing fingers, and I screamed. Sebastian’s dick happened to be buried in my mouth at the time, and that seemed to set him off. His fingers withdrew from my core, and he brought them to his mouth and licked them clean before grabbing my head with both hands, and pumping his cock hard. Saliva, sweat, and pre-come coated my chest, and with each further thrust of his hips, he came closer and closer. With one final plunge, his cock jerked, and short bursts of come shot out of his cock drenching my chest, breasts, nipples and chin with his juices. “Fuck, yes.” He growled, watching his juices cover my chest. He released my head; it fell back onto the mattress. My arms fell down to my sides, and my chest

heaved in the aftermath of our lovemaking. I was utterly spent. I really could just lie here and sleep for another hour, at least. Maybe two. Except I found my body floating and being carried into the large bathroom. Sebastian sat me on the counter, and turned to start the large walk-in shower. When he turned back around, his eyes became hooded and possessive as they took in my crazy sex hair, as well as our combined juices coating my body. “God, you’re beautiful.” He said, kissing me slowly. I returned the kiss, melting into his body, and wrapping my arms around his torso. “You’re going to have to hold me up in that shower.” I added as he lifted me to my feet. He smiled. “I think I can handle that.” *** Sebastian “So, what’s the plan for today?” Baylee asked me. I looked at the woman in the seat next to me, and I couldn’t help the gratefulness I felt for her for coming with me. This trip tore me up every year I did it, and it never got easier. It still hurt every time I drove the three hours it took to get to that cemetery. This year was a hell of a lot easier than it usually was. Even though I hadn’t spoken with her much on the ride, her silent presence was more than enough to stop the roiling emotions that were churning through me. “I want to take you to a bar we used to go to while we were in boot camp. It’s got really good fried pickles.” I said, turning my grin on her. She grimaced. Baylee didn’t like fried pickles. We’d found that out the hard way when I’d taken her to the barbeque festival last week on my one day off. She’d immediately thrown up the massive amount of food she’d consumed through our time there. “That’s just awesome.” She said dryly. I laughed and navigated the streets of the town I’d made my home, through my years in the Marines. Not that I’d spent much time there. It was actually a little less than a year, at most, but that was where my stuff was housed, and where I came home to when I wasn’t on a tour. I noted the familiar car in the parking lot, denoting the one person who’d be least likely to want to see me in the entire world was currently inside, but I ignored the warning bells and walked around the side of the truck to help Baylee out. My truck wasn’t huge compared to some in the south, but it was big for a girl that had on a pair of tight jeans that barely let you bend your legs. She said they were stretchy, but I had doubts that she wouldn’t rip a seam and cause the men of Oklahoma a heart attack when they saw her goods.

Although, just walking into the bar had every man’s eyes on her. At least the shirt she was wearing covered up her tits. Just as I was walking in, my phone vibrated. Pulling it out of the pocket of my pants, I smiled when I saw my son’s smiling face. Yeah, I’d gotten the kid a cell phone. And yeah, he was only three, but to be honest, I was tired of giving up my phone. It was seriously getting beyond old to have my own phone covered in fucking cheese puffs and running my battery down from playing Angry fucking Birds. “Hey boy, how ya doin’?” I asked when I connected. My son was crying, and my heart dropped out of my chest, finding a home somewhere around my knees. “What’s wrong?” I barked. Hell, I got mean when I was scared. I couldn’t help it, and I’d never been able to contain it, either. “He’s okay. He fell outside when we were out at the pool. He has a bump on his head. He wasn’t even crying until I told him we’d have to call and tell you.” Doreen said, explaining his crying to my satisfaction. Taking a deep breath, I let it out, as well as the fear that had taken place in my heart. “Hey, boy. No more crying now. Be nice for Grandma or you’ll have to come home.” That shut him up. He loved his Grandma and hated coming home. Most likely it was because Doreen let him drink Coca Cola’s and eat ice cream because he asked. The woman had a problem saying no. Which is why he had a fucking trampoline, a Jeep Power Wheels, and a ten-foot blow up pool in my backyard. “Okay, daddy. I stop.” He said, not even a hint of tears evident in his voice. Baylee gestured that she was going to get a table, and I stayed outside and caught up with my son and his activities for the past day. After ten minutes, I said goodbye, and headed inside. My eyes took a few minutes to adjust, but when they did, I didn’t have any problem making out Baylee’s tight ass warming a bar stool, nor the three men in uniform talking to her. Sighing, I made my way to her, staring at her ass the entire way. The men that I passed made room for me as I crossed the wooden floor, either noticing my face that was set in stone or The Dixie Wardens MC cut that was covering my back. Either way, they moved, and I was grateful. Baylee looked over her shoulder, saw me coming, and stood, smiling. The ass that I’d been watching showed the faint outline of her panties, and I remembered when she’d slipped them on over her ass that morning. The little slips of fabric were bright green with lighter green polka dots interspersed throughout the miniscule amount of fabric. At first, they looked non-threatening, but then she’d turned around, and I was treated to half her ass hanging out. I never would’ve thought I’d be turned on by a pair of panties, but I damn sure was. When she’d come

closer, digging in her bag next to mine for the tight pair of jeans, I ran my finger along the fine lace that partially covered one ass cheek. And, even now, knowing what was under those skin tight jeans, I was hard and ready for her. Regardless of our previous night’s activities. She left her fan club and walked into my arms when I was a little over six feet away. The glares I received over her shoulder were totally worth it when she slapped my hand away from her ass and threatened to withhold her goods from me for the rest of the weekend. “How’s Johnny?” She asked, leading me to a table in the far back corner. I told her what happened, and it made my heart warm to see the concern for my boy on her face. “I hear boys are terrible about accidents. Lord knows I’ve seen enough broken arms, and noses for a lifetime.” She said, taking a seat on one side of the leather booth. “Yeah, we’ve already had stitches twice now. The first time he cut his chin while trying to climb the chain link fence in the backyard. The second time was when he tried to jump off the dock, but didn’t jump far enough and caught his backside on the dock’s edge.” I explained. Both of those times had absolutely freaked me the fuck out. I could deal with blood, guts, gore, fire, and dismemberment all day long with anyone that wasn’t my son. That time, though, I’d nearly passed out over a minuscule amount of blood. The waiter arrived taking our drink orders, as well as our food orders, and we spent the minutes waiting for our drinks to arrive in a companionable silence. Baylee’s next statement surprised me. Not that I hadn’t been expecting it, more so that I wasn’t quite sure what to tell her, even after weeks of contemplating this very scenario. “Will you tell me about your MC?” She asked, eyeing my cut. My hands steepled out in front of me, and I regarded her before answering. “The Dixie Wardens MC was founded in 1970. My father entered the MC at its lowest point. There was infighting, drugs, and all kinds of illegal shit going on when I first prospected. After my father became president of the MC, he stopped the illegal shit cold turkey. The other chapters had already turned their shit around, but our chapter was the founding chapter, and the last one with founding members. Once dad took over, all of our money came through hard work, and nothing that was illegal.” Baylee looked enraptured throughout my explanation, leaning forward more and more, listening intently as I explained. “So you’re the VP?” She asked, pointing towards the patch under my club name. “Yeah, not because my pop is the president either. Because I busted my balls to get where I am.” I muttered, taking a sip of my beer when the waiter set it down in front of me. The brew was perfect. Dark, cold and bitter, just like I liked it. “What does Shiva mean?” She asked, pointing to my name patch. I smiled, remembering when I’d gotten the name. “My brothers, JR, Hell, and Deuce went through

boot camp and then firefighter school with me. We were in the training program, and I was the only one without a nickname by the end of it. Anyway, the whole fucking unit somehow found out my middle name, and I got shit about that for the last month of the school.” Taking another sip of beer, I continued. “Anyway, I’m not really sure what the hell happened, but I just lost it one night, tired of catching shit from everyone. We were out at a bar on a rare night off, and a couple of Flyboys came in looking for a fight, and me being the perpetual state of annoyed, decided to give them one. Never heard another word about my middle name, and earned myself a nickname. Shiva. They said I was a God of Destruction. JR was a mythological nut, and decided I needed to be named that.” I could see the wheels turning in her head, and I wondered how long it’d take her to ask what my middle name was. It didn’t take long. “What’s your middle name?” She asked about two seconds later. I smiled. “Sue.” “I’d heard you being called that at the party, but I honestly thought that it was a joke.” She said. I was being 100% serious, unfortunately. Then she blinked rapidly, and promptly burst out laughing. “Why?” I shrugged. “My pops has a man crush on Johnny Cash.” Baylee snickered. “Seems you do too, naming your son Johnny.” She observed. I shrugged again. “Had to carry on the tradition and all.” “Well isn’t this sweet. Not to interrupt or anything, but you forgot this earlier.” A spiteful voice said from the edge of out booth. I looked up and nearly groaned. Damn, how had I missed her walking up to me? Fuck, I must be getting soft. My hand raised just in time to catch the quarter being thrown directly at my face. “Jesus Christ, Mary. I fucking told you I’d never go. Why are you being such a fucking bitch?” I snarled. “I know you were there. Who else comes to visit them on these days besides you? You’re the only one left. Or did you forget that part?” She snarled right back. I raised my hand and rubbed my chest, right where my aching heart lay beneath. “I made you a promise. I didn’t visit his grave.” I didn’t tell her that it was Baylee who’d done it for me. That would just be opening that huge can of proverbial worms. Baylee cleared her throat, drawing both of their attentions. Mary’s head snapped around and she glared at Baylee for interrupting. “Who’re you?” “She’s mine.” I declared. “Of course she is. You always liked them on the slutty side of curvy, didn’t you?” She scoffed.

“That’s enough, Mary. I think you need to go back to work and leave us be.” I ordered glaring at the woman I’d once called a friend. I hadn’t been able to admit it all those years ago, but the woman was a big bitch. At first, I’d just thought it was because Mary had been grieving, but as each subsequent year passed, and Mary continued to act like this, I couldn’t allow her those feelings anymore. Hell, the woman was even married again. “He wasn’t complaining about my curves this morning.” Baylee smiled, pressing her breasts together for emphasis. Hard doesn’t even begin to describe my dick when Baylee said that just then. This morning had been on my list of fantasies since first meeting the woman in her bra and bike shorts, while I was taking a piss. Reaching down, I adjusted my dick in my pants underneath the table. Baylee caught the movement and laughed. Mary caught the movement and snarled before leaving. Her stale perfume following in her wake. “What the hell was that about?” Baylee asked. “Mitchell Ryan Reed, a.k.a. Hell, was a hell of a man, which was where he got his name. When I first got to the town where boot camp was being held, Mary and I had a one-night stand, and I left the next day without a backwards glance. I was 18 and going into the Marines the next day. I didn’t need those type of attachments.” I hid my grin at seeing the silent snarl on Baylee’s face. When she made the ‘keep going’ gesture with her finger, I continued. “Anyway, six months down the road, Hell tells me he found the most awesome woman in the world, and he was getting married. Low and behold, it’s Mary. We both acted like we didn’t know each other, but I told him I’d slept with her the very day he introduced her to us. Then we were deployed, and she became the type of woman that would whine and cry every time he spoke to her. Write him sob letters about how lonely she was. Each and every time. It never stopped. Then, when he died, she blamed me because I survived, and her husband didn’t. Been that way ever since.” I finished. “Wow,” She said hesitantly. “Couldn’t agree more.” I nodded. The waiter brought Baylee’s Chicken Critters and my 72-ounce sirloin shortly after, and I’d just taken my first bite when what she said made me choke. “At least what you do isn’t illegal. I was really worried that your MC was a bunch of criminals who did bad things. It makes me feel better that you work in the confines of the law. It’ll help me get Luke off my back, at least.” Fuck. I never said I didn’t do anything illegal. I only said that what we did to make money wasn’t illegal. What the hell was I supposed to tell her now?

Chapter 13 When life feels overwhelming, remember that you will eventually die. -Life lesson Baylee The tones dropped, and we immediately tensed. This week had been absolutely nuts. There’d been three other unexplained arsons, and absolutely every one of them had the same M.O. as the first apartment fire just three short months ago. Luckily, this one wasn’t a fire at all. “Medic three, please dispatch to patient home at 318 Englewood Drive. Life alert was utilized. Patient fell and is unable to move.” The dispatcher called over the radio. Winter sighed while I ground my teeth. We received many calls on the elderly. It was actually quite sad, because the majority of the calls were on men and women that literally couldn’t do anything themselves; yet they didn’t have the money to pay for the care they needed. “Medic three responding.” I said into my mic at my shoulder. We pushed off the picnic tables we were eating at, tossing our half-eaten food into the trash before loading into the bus. Paramedics wasted a lot of food. Hell, only once in a blue moon was it possible for me to finish my meals without the tones dropping. Most of the time we were able to bring the food with us, but this time it was pasta, and that didn’t travel well. The residence we arrived at wasn’t a nice one. In fact, it was downright deplorable, and it made my heart hurt to think of an elderly man living here. I grabbed the med bag as Winter went ahead and knocked on the door. What surprised us both was the fact that someone actually answered the door. Usually on a fall call, we had to enter the residence by force due to the person being on the floor and unable to get up. The person was most assuredly not elderly, either. At most, he was forty. He was also juicin’ by the looks of him; he was jittery as fuck. “Hello, we received a call that someone had fallen.” Winter said by way of greeting. “Uhh, yeah. That was me. I pressed my girlfriend’s life alert. I didn’t fall though.” He explained, while looking around warily. Something in my brain told me this was fishy, and we should probably call PD; while Winter stepped inside, I hit the mic at my shoulder. “Dispatch, this is Medic three. We’re going to need a couple of blue and whites out here.” I said as I

crossed over the threshold. “10-4. Dispatched. They’re about three minutes out.” The dispatcher relayed. Somewhat comforted, I followed the sound of Winter’s questioning voice, avoiding the hoarders nest as I walked through the path. The place was one of the worst I’d seen. It was piled high with what looked to be trash. Newspapers stood about waist high down the pathway, with old cardboard boxes and trash interspersed throughout. In the corner of the room, I could make out the faint outline of a couch, covered nearly completely with old paperback books. In another corner was about five of those very old boxy TVs that had the wooden frame surrounding the edges of the screen, piled two and three high. Then there was the kitchen. That was where Winter was, standing beside what I could guess was once a kitchen table, except it was covered completely with dirty dishes, and black garbage bags. “If your girlfriend didn’t fall, Mr. Sutton, then I am unsure what exactly you needed us for.” Winter tilted her head in confusion. Mr. Sutton’s gaze turned to me, and then back to Winter before he finally explained. And rocked our worlds. “Well, I was pissing earlier when I saw bugs on my dick. I didn’t want them to get into my blood and start eating my heart, so I made sure they couldn’t.” He said, gesturing to his dick with a tilt of his head. We’d be adding psychotic to the list. Gotcha. Winter looked down where my gaze was already fastened before lifting her eyes back up to Mr. Sutton’s face. “Well, that’s unfortunate. Can I ask what you did to...um...block off the entry with?” Now this is the point where a paramedic’s job became interesting. You wouldn’t believe the utter amount of bullshit that we paramedics have to go through on a daily basis. This was nothing for us. “Zip ties.” He answered. We blinked. “Would it be possible for us to see the, um, infected area?” I asked with as straight of a face as I could muster. “Sure.” He answered, and dropped the sweat pants that he was wearing. Words really couldn’t explain. “Umm, sir, can you explain your thoughts as you did this?” Winter asked as I took a step back. The area really looked quite...agonizing. What he did was use industrial sized zip ties around his cock and balls. But he didn’t just stop at one. No, not Mr. Sutton. He went all out, being doubly sure. He had a zip tie on at least every quarter of an inch or so, spanning the entire span of his penis. Then there were his balls. Those only had one zip tie around the base of his scrotum where the skin descended from his body. The coloring of his balls and dick was what was most concerning. They were a deep, dark bluish

purple, indicating that the area hadn’t received blood flow in quite some time. Every single one of the zip ties were tied as tightly as they could go. He was really sure that those bad cooties weren’t getting into his blood. The cops arrived around the time that both Winter and I were getting a clearer look at the ‘affected’ area. The two men, both beat cops, were seasoned cops. So when we sat back and let them get a look, they didn’t burst out laughing, but they did shudder. “Holy shit. That’s gotta hurt.” The older of the two surmised. I silently agreed. “You can go ahead and lift your pants, Mr. Sutton. We’ll give you a ride to the hospital. Is that okay?” I asked him. At his assurance, we left the house without incidence, and Mr. Sutton made himself comfortable on the bench seat in the ambulance. How he could sit with his dick and balls hideously bound like that was beyond me. As we arrived at the hospital, and Winter gave the report, a crowd of ER nurses and doctors started congregating around the area, waiting for their chance to get a look at the man that had zip tied his dick and balls. Jesus, we were all morbid. The cops followed us to the hospital, and made a note of our concerns before following up with the man and his heart-eating bugs. “Do you think it was because they were playing some sort of kink games in their sexcapades?” I grinned devilishly at my partner. Winter snorted. “I really don’t want to know. Now let’s get our asses back to the station. We get off in five.” Miraculously, we made it back to the station and our vehicles without being called back. Which was freaking awesome since I had plans with a certain man and his son. *** Johnny was a bundle of energy if I’d ever seen one. The boy was just nuts. He barely ever slowed down, and when he finally did, it was because he was sleeping. The boy slept in the weirdest of places too. It’s like the need for sleep caught him during a weak moment, slowing him down long enough for him to realize his exhaustion, which, inevitably, left him sleeping the weirdest of places. Which was why when I found the young boy sleeping on the trampoline in Sebastian’s backyard, I wasn’t surprised. Someone, most likely Sebastian, covered him up with a beach towel, and zipped up the safety nets so he didn’t roll off in his sleep.

I found my man down at the dock with a Cane fishing pole at his feet, and a beer in his hand. “How are they biting tonight?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck from behind, giving his neck a kiss. His free hand came up and wrapped around my bicep. “Pretty good, actually. The mosquitoes, too. Spray some bug spray on real quick.” He said, pointing at the can of spray on the dock beside him. I was like a honing beacon to all mosquitoes. I’d be outside for all of seven seconds before I sported no less than twenty bites. Which was why I’d doused myself in the car before I’d even gotten out. “Already ahead of you.” I said, circling his chair and sitting down on his lap. His arms lifted as I sat gingerly on his lap, and then leaned back, letting my head fall to his shoulder. His face turned, and he ran his bearded face along my hair before kissing my temple. “How was work?” He asked conversationally. “Fucking awesome.” I quipped. “Anymore fires?” He asked, tensing slightly. He’d shared with me that he thought those fires weren’t quite what they seemed to be, and that he thought that it may be a serial arsonist. “No. Just a guy that zip tied his balls and dick.” I confirmed. Sebastian snorted, but it didn’t really surprise him. He was a firefighter, he’d seen just as much, if not more, than I had. “Jesus. People these days. I got a bite. Bring him in for me.” Sebastian said, tapping my thigh urgently. I leaned forward, and damn near did a header into the lake. I would have, too, if it weren’t for Sebastian grabbing my blue jean’s waistband before I could go over. Then whatever was on the pole started pulling extremely hard, and I had to hold on with both hands. “Oh, my God. Take this thing from me before whatever it is pulls me down below the water and kills me.” I shrieked. Sebastian chuckled before standing, grabbing the pole, and then setting it off to the side. I relinquished the pole readily, and looped my arms around the beam at the end of the pier, watching in fascination as Sebastian’s muscled arms tightened as the force of the fish on his pole snapped the cane pole in half. His quick reflexes reared their head, and Sebastian grabbed a hold on the line with his bare hand, and turned it, wrapping the line around his fist, and efficiently reeling the fish in at the same time. It didn’t take long until he had the fish up and out of the water with the help of the net that was hanging on the beam beside my head. He scooped the ugly monster up and grinned triumphantly. “What the fuck is that?” I gasped when I got my first good look at the ugly thing. “This,” he said as he held it up for my examination, “is an alligator gar.” “Those things are in the lake I swim in?” I gulped.

“Oh, yeah.” He said, cutting the line so it wouldn’t bite his hand off at the wrist. It fell back into the water with a large splash, and swam away into the murky depths of the water. “How big was that thing?” I asked eyes wide. “Three feet or so. You about ready to hit the BBQ joint I told you about?” He asked as he collapsed the rest of the cane pole and leaned it up against a tree at the end of the dock. “Yep. Who are we meeting?” I asked as I walked with Sebastian up the sloped yard. “Kettle and his date. We’d planned to go just the two of us last week, but the girl he wants told him the only way she’d meet him for dinner was if it was a group setting at a quiet place, and it just deteriorated from there when I had to bring y’all.” Sebastian replied grimly. I burst out laughing, waking the sleeping Johnny with the echoes. His little head popped up from the mat of the trampoline, and started back at his mile a minute antics. We both watched as he started jumping, using the blanket that had been covering him as a cape, shouting to the world that he was Superman. “Are you trying to say that bringing your girlfriend and kid with you deteriorated things?” I asked as I smiled up at him. His mouth was set in a teasing grin as he looked down at her. “Yeah, it started out as beer and barbeque. Now it’s going to be my kid going all Joker from Batman in the place and me chasing after him...not having a beer.” I snorted. “That’s just the price you pay when you have children. I always tell my brother that, too. What exactly did you boys think would happen when you had sex? There’s always that possibility, that’s the risk you take.” “If I could fuck you every day, I wouldn’t complain about any kids. As long as you were there to help. This single parent thing is no joke. Even with all the help I get from the club and Lindsey’s mother. And now you. I never realized it would be this hard. When he was a baby he was much easier. Now I have to watch him constantly. Or he’ll...oomph.” The breath hissed out of Sebastian’s lungs as Johnny tried to launch himself out of the trampoline without any thought to the fact that he wasn’t actually Superman, and he couldn’t fly. Sebastian had to dive forward to catch the boy before he did a belly flop on the hard, unforgiving ground. “Jesus.” He growled, tossing Superman over his shoulder and stalking back to the house. I followed, laughing at him as he stomped up the porch steps, into the kitchen, and set Jonny down on his feet. “Go take a piss, boy.” Sebastian ordered. Johnny followed his orders. Only he turned around and went back outside, and was peeing off the back porch before Sebastian, nor I, could object. When I looked back at Sebastian, his hand was covering his eyes in exasperation. “You know you love him.” I goaded.

“I love the fuck out of him. But sometimes it’s...stop pissing on my tomatoes you little shit!” Sebastian bellowed. Johnny turned his urine stream back towards the grass as ordered. In only a few more moments, Johnny was finished and they headed to Sebastian’s truck. They were situated and backing out of the driveway when Sebastian cursed. “Shit. Be right back.” Sebastian said as he threw the truck in park and released his seatbelt. He returned moments later with his leather cut over his shoulders, and the Dixie Wardens symbol dominating his back. I stayed silent as Sebastian got back in and drove to the restaurant. I really wanted to ask about a million questions about his club, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answers. Not to mention I didn’t want to be told I couldn’t have those answers. Kettle met us at the door wearing his own Dixie Wardens cut, looking intimidating as hell, despite his beauty. He was tall, nearly 6’5, according to Sebastian, and built to kick ass. His hair was styled into a Mohawk of rich chocolate brown, and his skin was a smooth golden brown. I guessed that he was of Italian descent with the patrician features. His face was eloquent, sharp lines, and a strong jaw. His nose was perfectly straight, and not a blemish was in sight. He looked like a badass to the extreme, even in his perfectly creased jeans and dark grey V-neck shirt. And his name was the shit. That’d been one of the only things that Sebastian had told me about one of the club members. He’d explained that despite his size, Kettle was a levelheaded man. He was easy to get along with, didn’t find much fault in anybody. One second he’d be perfectly happy, then something, or someone, would disrupt his calm, and he’d just snap. Like the whistle of a teakettle. One moment all was quiet, the next, the whistle of the teakettle would sound, and Kettle would ignite. Sebastian’s phone rang, and he cursed. “Will you get Johnny out?” Sebastian asked, not waiting for an answer before stepping out of the truck and slamming the door. “Of course.” I muttered. Johnny watched me with his father’s eyes as I unbuckled him from his seat, and then gathered him in my arms. He wrapped his hands around my neck, pulled me closer, and kissed my cheek. “I love you.” My heart warmed. “I love you too, Sweet Pea.” He was so sweet. He’d been telling me that for weeks now, whenever he saw me. He’d tell me over the phone, and as the weeks passed by, I fell more and more in love with the little boy. As we reached the entrance, I finally caught the tail end of the phone conversation Sebastian was

having. “...are you sure? Is there a gas can and a grill? Yeah? Fuck. I’ll be there in five.” Sebastian growled as he punched the off button and barreled back to the truck. “I’m sorry, baby. I have to go. There’s been another arson. Kettle, can I borrow your truck?” He asked urgently. In answer, Kettle removed his keys from his pocket, tossed them towards Sebastian’s waiting hand, and caught Sebastian’s in return. “Give ‘em a ride home for me. We’ll switch back trucks later. Thanks.” He said rushing towards me, giving me and his son a quick kiss, and then taking off at a dead run towards Kettle’s truck. We all watched in silence as he pulled out of the parking lot, and sped in the general direction of downtown. Turning my eyes to Kettle, I smiled uncertainly. Kettle wrapped his arm around my shoulders and walked us inside, leading us to a seat where a very pretty woman sat. The woman was about my age, twenty-seven or so. She was Hispanic with hard brown eyes. She looked like she took shit from no one and ate nails for breakfast. And I loved the shirt she was wearing, and told her so as soon as I made it up to the table. She smiled shyly before glancing at Kettle at my side, and then coming back to rest on me. “Thank you.” Kettle held my hand out for Johnny, who went willingly. Johnny and Kettle had a relationship like no other. It was like Kettle understood the three year olds every word, despite the fact that the majority of the time it sounded like gibberish. Now that my hands were free, I held them out to the woman. “I’m Baylee Roberts. That’s Johnny. Sebastian, his dad, had to leave. He was called to the scene of a fire.” I said by way of greeting. “I’m Annalise. It’s nice to meet you.” I said politely. It didn’t go unnoticed that she failed to mention her last name, which I felt had more to do with the fact that Kettle was watching and listening to her intently. I enjoyed dinner with them, but felt horrible that Kettle had to drive me home, and Annalise had refused to go with us, citing work in the morning. Kettle agreed, albeit reluctantly, to let her go. However, he’d made her promise to call him. I knew she wouldn’t, and Kettle did too by the hardness to his jaw. I sensed more to this story, but since this wasn’t my friend, nor someone I knew all that well, I didn’t feel like it was my right to ask him what was going on. Kettle was a nice man, and I appreciated him taking me home, even though he’d really, really wanted to stay with the woman. Being the nosy woman I was, and searching for something neutral to talk about, I asked. “Why weren’t

you called out to that fire?” He grimaced. “You heard that Sebastian was demoted when he’d been arrested, right?” Sebastian had told my about his demotion a few weeks ago when he’d been released from wearing the ankle monitor that tracked his movements. He’d told me exactly why he was wearing it, and what had happened at the station in the aftermath. “Yes, he told me he used to be Lieutenant. Why?” I asked him. Kettle’s jaw tightened and I admired how handsome he was, yet again. “He still has the same duties as a lieutenant. Same responsibilities. Same respect. Everything but the title and the pay. The Captain is fucking him over, and Sebastian won’t do a single thing about it.” He told me, turning on his blinker, and turning onto Sebastian’s street. Well that just...sucked. “When will he get that back? He’s no longer being monitored. Hell, they expunged his record in exchange for the ankle monitor. What exactly is he supposed to do now?” I asked as Kettle pulled into Sebastian’s driveway, parking next to my car. He sat there silently before answering. “He needs to report the Captain’s behavior. He won’t do it, though, because he doesn’t want to be a dick about it. He won’t let anybody else do it, either.” My mind whirled. “What if I did it?” He shrugged. “I don’t know. You’d have to have something to report first, and that’s not happening right now. He won’t ever bring you into this shit storm willingly. So he’ll keep getting called out on false alarms, and expected to show up when he’s not really needed.” “So, today, he wasn’t needed?” I asked confused. Kettle opened the door and stepped out into the cool night air. “He was needed. The Captain’s not stupid. The boys look up to him and his leadership. They don’t do that for the Captain and he knows it, which is why he was required tonight.” I opened my own door and exited the vehicle. Kettle got the sleeping Johnny and settled him into bed before he turned and started back for his truck. “See you later, Lee. Take care of our boy.” “Hey!” I called to his back. He turned and squinted at my through the glaring brightness of the porch light. “Yeah?” “What’s your real name?” I asked curiously. “Kettle is my name. Or, at least, the only one I care about. Later.” I took a quick shower, pulled one of Sebastian’s t-shirts that was at the foot of his bed, and went to check on Johnny. Satisfied that he was okay, I curled up in bed, and fell asleep to thoughts of a mistreated Sebastian. The bed shifting woke me, and an exhausted Sebastian curled up at my back moments later. “Hey,” I murmured into the darkness. His body smelled of the Irish Springs soap he has in his shower, and a faint whiff of smoke. “Hey,

baby.” I was almost back to sleep when I felt my leg being lifted, and the persistent prod of Sebastian’s dick at the folds of my heat. I didn’t know what it was about the man that turned me on so much, but as soon as I felt the wide head of his cock prodding at my opening, I was right there with him, despite my lethargy. Pushing my ass back into him, and widening the stance of my leg, I moved my hand down until I was cupping his cock. He was hot, hard, and pulsing in the palm of my hand. The veins of his dick throbbed with each pound of his heart. “I need you.” He said insistently. Not able to deny him anything, I tilted my hips as Sebastian positioned the wide crest of his dick at my entrance, and started pushing against the resistance my body offered. I wasn’t as ready as I normally was, but I could care less. Right now, I wanted it, no matter if it came with a little pain or not. When he started to stop, recognizing I wasn’t as ready, I took control, pushing him until he rolled over on his back, and I straddled his thighs. Reaching between his legs, I positioned his cock straight up, and started sinking down on his cock. My hand hovered where his cock disappeared into my body, feeling as inch after slow inch disappeared into my body until, finally, I’d taken him fully. He filled me up to the brink, just to the point of pain, and I loved it. My hips undulated over and around his cock, working back and forth, side to side. “Fuck me.” Sebastian hissed, fingers digging deep into the soft flesh at my hips. My ass rose, letting the head of his cock drag along my insides deliciously slow before dropping back down, letting my weight and gravity work their magic. Sebastian’s need took over then, and I found myself flat on my back, with Sebastian between my splayed thighs in the next second. I gasped as he folded first one, and then the other leg, almost as if I was sitting Indian Style but on my back, and plunged down into me. Over and over again, letting his body weight and superior strength pound that large dick of his into my core until I was hurtling over a cliff I wasn’t even aware I’d been standing on. “Sebastian, yes!” I cried loudly as my vaginal muscles pulsed, coaxing the cock inside of me to let go as well. “Oh, yeah,” He hissed, ramping up his thrusts until I was seeing stars. With a hoarse cry, Sebastian pulled from my body abruptly, throwing my legs wide as the snap of latex sounded through the room. The darkness prevented me from seeing what he did next, but when Sebastian’s knuckles rubbed furiously over my slick center, I knew he was furiously pumping his cock. Then the warm splashes of heat denoted his orgasm right before he collapsed onto the bed beside me, breathing heavily.

“Jesus, Seb, I think you killed me.” I breathed. He chuckled, and left the bed. The bathroom light turned on, illuminating the room, allowing me to see the thick creamy remnants of Sebastian’s orgasm staining my chest. I lifted my hand, and trailed my finger through the come that started at the apex of my thighs, and trailed up to the very edge of my collarbone. I stopped when I felt the heat of Sebastian’s gaze on me as I did so, held out my tongue as I lifted the finger covered in his juices to my mouth, licking it clean. He laughed. “Did you want me to wait to clean you until you’re finished, or would you like me to clean you now?” In answer, I took my finger, trailed it over the largest splash of come on my stomach, and repeated the process. Sebastian’s eyes heated and he dropped to his knees at the bottom of the bed. Crawling up between my still splayed thighs, he ran his own finger through the juices, and held the finger up to my mouth for me to lick it clean. The process was repeated five more times, until my body was clean. “Jesus, I’m hard again. What you do to me.” He rasped, bending over my body and kissing me full on the mouth. “You’ll have to take care of that little...big problem.” I teased. And he did. Three more times.

Chapter 14 Relax, I’ve seen worse. -T-shirt Sebastian I pulled up to Station three and parked my bike in the visitor allotted space. What I was about to do went against everything that was ingrained in me, but it had to be done. I’d been taught that the chain of command was everything in the Marines. I’d furthered that rule by joining The Dixie Wardens, and abiding by their laws. I’d furthered even that by working in a chain of command at my job, as well. I’d followed those rules to the T until the last fire, and I couldn’t keep that promise anymore. I needed back up and reinforcements or even more people were going to die. Both ambulances were gone, indicating that Baylee wasn’t currently at the station, which was good because I needed to talk to Allen, and I’d rather do that without having to explain everything to her first. I’d been keeping an eye on the paper and news and, so far, there’d been well over twenty fires between Kilgore, TX and Benton, LA that fit the same MO. When my own Captain wouldn’t listen to me, it was time to take the info I got and bring it to someone else. Someone that would actually give a fuck. “Can I help you, sir?” A dark haired man about mid-twenties asked. I knew instantly it was Jack’s brother, Tai. There was no denying those genes. I held out my hand for the younger man to shake and I introduced myself. “My name’s Sebastian Mackenzie. I’m here to see Chief Allen.” The man surveyed me from the tips of my black boots to the black hat that was covering my head. “Chief’s in his office. Do you know where that’s at?” After receiving directions, I made my way through what had to be a living room, past the women and then men’s bunkrooms, and then finally made it to the offices. Chief Allen’s office was located at the very end of the long hallway with the door standing wide open. The office looked to be a spare gear room as well, because along the sides of the room were extra oxygen tanks, bunker gear, masks and... “Are those mannequins giving each other head?” My voice didn’t startle Allen. Although I didn’t trying to mask my presence, he very well could’ve heard my boots hitting the wood floor on my way back there. That, or Tai had called ahead and warned him. Allen smiled and glanced at the CPR dummies in the corner. “My employees find it funny to position them in new and exciting ways every day. ” At a closer examination, I realized that there was also a dummy positioned underneath the two, hip to

hip with the closest dummy. “You’ve got some mature employees.” I surmised. Allen laughed. “It’s all fun and games. Especially with the tension in the air lately. We’re all on pins and needles just waiting for another arson call to come in. What can I help you with?” Allen stood and gestured at the seat that was positioned in front of his desk. I sat, crossed my right ankle over my left knee, and then blew out a long breath. “We need to talk.” Thirty minutes later, Allen was walking with me, side by side, towards my Harley. “I understand where you’re coming from, son. I’ll have a talk with our investigator, as well as Longview’s investigator. You’ll be hearing from me as soon as I speak with them. Have you reconsidered my job offer yet?” The abrupt change in direction surprised me. Leaning against my bike, facing Allen, I shook my head. “Nah. Not really. I love my job, and the location. The main thing, though, is that I don’t want to make it awkward with Baylee and me. We’ve gotten pretty serious, and I don’t want to jeopardize that in any way. For now, I’ll decline.” Allen’s weathered face looked pleased when I’d mentioned Baylee. “That girl really loves to talk. We know all about your son, and the Wardens. She’s very proud of you.” My heart warmed at the knowledge that Baylee spoke of me often. Especially to those she called her closest friends. Just as I was about to reply, the chief’s cell phone chimed, making him remove it from the holder on his belt. After seeing the expression on the chief’s face, and then his worried glance in my direction, I knew immediately it had to do with Baylee. Coming off my bike slowly, I stood with my arms crossed, waiting somewhat patiently for the Chief to finish his call. When I finally did, I wished what I’d heard had come from someone else. So that I could have the illusion of doubt. That maybe it wasn’t true since it wasn’t coming from the top. But Allen was the top. And that meant that Baylee was going to get throttled. Maybe not right away, but as soon as she healed from the broken ribs she was now sporting, thanks to the psychotic drunk guy that tried to refuse transport, and then kicked the ever loving shit out of Baylee when she tried to make him. “You want a ride?” “Nah,” I thanked him and headed for my bike. “Her brother doesn’t really like me so much. I may need a way to leave before it’s all said and done.” Allen chuckled before walking to his KDP issued SUV, flipped on the lights, and headed out of the parking lot. From what I could tell from the little info we’d been given on the stubborn woman, she was perfectly healthy despite two broken ribs and a sore upper body. By the time I walked into the ER with Allen, and found my wayward woman, I was really worked up.

Baylee was laying on her back, her feet up and resting flat on the bed in front of her. Her wavy hair was up in a messy knot on the top of her head, and the white little tank top she usually wore underneath her clothes was now on display, as were her tits, stained a deep scarlet. I walked up to the side of Baylee’s bed. She was wide-awake and staring at me with fear in her eyes. “Hey.” She said hesitantly. One eye was swollen, and a scratch above her eye accounted for the blood that stained her front. My body gave a shudder at seeing all that blood just from a tiny little wound. I’d known the disease she had made her bleed but, seriously, how was I supposed to handle this shit? What would happen if she actually had a major wound? Would she bleed out faster? Would she live? “Hey, pretty girl. I see your wearing your favorite color again.” I teased, running my finger along her stained shirt. She smiled sadly. “Yeah, it’s the bane of my existence. I’m used to it though.” Winter, who was sitting on the chair on the opposite side of where I was standing, stood and placed her hands on the side of the bed. “That girl of yours is a brawler. You should’ve seen what she did when that guy tried to take the meds we had on board.” Baylee looked at me quickly, and then adverted her eyes before she could see the admonishment look on my face. “So what happened?” Allen asked authoritatively. “I’d like to know the same thing.” Luke said from the partition. I knew he was there. Had seen him enter as soon as the doors opened at the front of the room. Had even received the silent message that Luke had something to say to me, and not to leave if I wanted to live. Baylee groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Shhhiiiit.” Winter snorted. “You could say that.” Sighing, Baylee’s hands dropped from her face, and she looked from me, to Luke, to Allen, to Winter, and finally back to Allen. “The guy was supposed to be a drunk and disorderly. Except he wasn’t that drunk. Found him outside the IHop nursing a brown bag special. Got him loaded into the bus, took his vitals, and then he just went...nuts. Demanded medication for his headache...medication we damn well don’t even carry. Winter was driving, and trying to pull over, but we were in the middle of rush hour on the interstate. Then he started threatening to rape me. What the hell was I supposed to do? Spread my legs and let him take me?” Baylee finished on a snarl. Luke and Allen took a step back at her vehemence. I didn’t. I closed the distance between us, placed one fist on either side of her face, and leaned in until our noses were touching. “No. You never just lean back and take it. You fucking gouge his eyes out, and do just exactly what you did. You wait until your man gets there; you hold on, you fight for your life. ‘Cause once I get there, that man’s finished. Do you understand me? Done. God help me if he tries it while I’m

there, too.” Baylee’s eyes widened, and flicked nervously towards the side to the partition separating her from the next room, and suddenly I knew. The man that had the nerve to lay his hands on my defenseless woman, to threaten to rape her, was in the very next room. Smiling a tad manically, I leveraged myself up and sauntered out of the room. And how about that, they left him unattended. Walking in quietly, I had nearly gotten the door closed when a hand stopped its movements, and Luke pushed his way inside. I ignored her brother, cracked my knuckles, and went to work. Luke and I had some sort of bonding moment in those fifteen minutes. Words weren’t spoken or anything, but we came to an understanding. One where Luke’s sister, my woman, were put first above all others. With that, we became...not enemies. *** “Do you want to go to my place, or your place? You won’t be working for a good week, if not more.” I told Baylee as we walked carefully out to my bike. I’d asked if she wanted her brother to take her home since he’d had a vehicle, but Baylee shook her head and declined, saying she’d probably be more comfortable with me against her front to hold her steady. I’d been skeptical, but she’d been insistent, and I decided to just let it lie. She was tired, and arguing with her about it wasn’t going to help. “Your place. My parents are staying at mine.” She said tiredly. I stopped and stared at her. “Your parents are at your place, and you want me to take you to my house? Why?” She shrugged. “If you take me home, then I won’t be able to sleep next to you all night. I don’t want that.” I pulled her into my chest tenderly, kissing the top of her head softly before releasing her and heading to my bike. “I guess I didn’t realize it was already time for them to be here. When did they get in?” I asked as we arrived at my bike. “They aren’t going to be worried about you if you come to my place?” I asked worriedly. “They don’t know. Luke pinky promised that he wouldn’t tell them if I told them tomorrow. Plus, Katy is at my house with them; I just want to sleep, and she won’t let me if I go home. Not to mention the fact that you won’t be there. So, I think I’ll stay with you, if that’s alight?” She explained.

I nodded in confirmation. “My sister has Johnny tonight, so that’ll work out for you getting some shut eye. I have to go pick him up in the A.M. though. James can only handle so much.” “You want something to eat before we go home?” I asked as I put the key into the bike. “No, I just want to go home, down my painkillers, and sleep for sixteen hours straight.” “That, I think we can do.” I acknowledged just before the bike rumbled to life. “Hold on to me, girl. This’s gonna hurt.” Baylee wrapped herself around me tighter, and then buried her nose into my back. *** Baylee The sound of shrieking laughter, followed by the patter of little feet woke me from my drug-induced haze. I made the mistake of rolling from my side, where the pillows kept me in one place, to my stomach, and about died at the pain that radiated out from my ribs. Bile surged up my throat, but I knew from experience that if I puke, I’d only make things infinitely worse. I’d learned that the hard way after my last work accident. It was zero fun, sir. My mother’s familiar calming voice came from the porch beyond Sebastian’s room made me peel my eyes open to see mid-morning sun streaming through the pulled blinds of Sebastian’s window. The next five pain filled minutes were spent shimmying off the bed, and then shuffling to the bathroom. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that Sebastian had made a half-assed effort to remove the toys from the bottom of his shower. I didn’t think I could manage to bend and toss them over the side at this point. I felt so bad. At least my head didn’t hurt. That was something, wasn’t it? The feel of hot water streaming down over my skin helped soothe some of the aches and pains. I managed to run the bar of soap down my stomach, chest, and shoulders. However, when I got down to my legs, I just couldn’t handle it anymore. My legs would be hairy. So be it, because there was no way I was shaving today. Then again, it wasn’t like it would matter if my legs were hairy, because it wasn’t like I’d be getting any anytime soon. Not without a little bit of pain; Sebastian, nor I, got off on that type of thing. At least I didn’t think he did. When I finally made my way into the living room wearing the only thing I could stand to put on, a tshirt with the Dixie Wardens MC logo on it and a pair of Sebastian’s flannel pants, I was ready to go back to sleep, exhausted with the effort. It was only the sweet sound of my mother’s voice that kept me moving to the living room, and then to the kitchen where my mother was at Sebastian’s stove wearing his apron and cooking. It smelled heavenly, and I knew instantly what it was. Chicken fried chicken. My favorite.

My mom only made it on special occasions. She said it took too much effort to make it any more often than she did. “Mom.” I called once I stepped barefoot onto the kitchen tiles. My mom whirled at the sound of my voice, dropped the spatula on the counter, and moved towards me slowly, gathering me into her arms carefully. “Oh, baby. You have such a dangerous job it scares me and your papa.” Ugh. Not this argument again. For the love of all that’s holy. “Mom, you know I love my job. I don’t want to do anything else.” “But, baby, this is the second time you’ve gotten hurt on the job within two years. Can’t you go work in the hospital or something?” she pleaded, curling my palm around her cheek. I sighed and pulled back, going to the coffeemaker and smiling slightly when I saw my favorite cup waiting for me. Punching down the large button, because I was pretty damn sure I’d need it, I turned and surveyed the kitchen, my mom included. “What do you think of Sebastian?” I asked, trying to get my mother’s attention focused on something other than my career choice. Before I could answer, my dad’s voice filtered in from the porch. “Paige, bring me a beer!” He bellowed. “Get your own beer, Travis! I’m busy! Lunch isn’t going to cook itself, or did you want to get up and make it?” My mother screeched back. Ahh, I knew I missed my parents. Then Sebastian’s voice interrupted. “That’s okay, Mr. Roberts. I got it. I’m gonna go check on Baylee anyway.” My mother turned and smiled at me. “I know that he doesn’t yell at his future mother-in-law for a beer. I know he cares a lot about you. When he showed up today, with his son in tow, and explained what happened to you last night, I fell in love with him. He’s won your daddy over pretty good too. Just gonna take him some time to get used to the whole motorcycle club thing he has going on. It’d help if we knew just a little more about it.” I snorted. “To be honest, I don’t know much.” Eyeing the door warily to make sure Sebastian wasn’t quite there yet, I whispered to my mother. “I don’t think he does anything bad. He told me they made legitimate money in the eyes of the law. So I trust him.” “Okay. We’ll talk more about this when we’re alone. Are you ready to eat? Have you been sleeping a long time?” “Eighteen hours.” Sebastian’s deep voice called from the entrance to the back deck. I jumped and turned around, feeling guilty about discussing Sebastian so openly in his own home. Then immediately regretted turning due to the agony shooting through my ribs.

I couldn’t even appreciate how hot he looked in his black jeans, black shirt, and black hat. Normally the sight would have made me flush in excitement. Now I was clammy in discomfort. Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed the shards of pain away. Then the next best thing happened as Sebastian’s warm arms wrapped around me, pulling me close. “Did you take your meds yet?” He asked quietly, rubbing his bristly beard against my head. “No. I don’t know where they are.” I admitted softly. “By the coffee pot. Why don’t you go take a seat and I’ll bring them to you?” He offered. “Lunch’s almost ready anyway. This is a good time to get everyone seated; I’ll bring out the food shortly.” My mother ordered, before going back to the gravy she’d been stirring. I eyed the table that was covered with paper work from both the station and the MC, and wanted to laugh at the thought that my mother wanted to have dinner at that very table. “Uhh, Sebastian...you’re going to have to move your office to the actual office for now.” I teased him as I took a seat. He snorted at the idea, walked to the coffee pot to grab my coffee, the medications, and a roll before coming back to me. He offered me all but the roll, stuffed half of it in his mouth, and then started gathering up papers. I helped on my own side, gathering the closest papers and piling them into a small pile. One such paper caught my eye, and I was a little bewildered as to why the club would need a list of the businesses in Benton. I made a mental note to ask him later, because my mom was following behind Sebastian as he cleaned, placing down place mats in his wake. “My mom likes a pretty table.” I told Sebastian, as he finally made his way to my side with two piles of papers in his hands. “I can see that.” He laughed as he gathered my piles into his own and left the room. I watched his ass as he disappeared down the hallway. I hadn’t been aware that I’d sighed until my mom laughed. Looking up, I raised my eyes in question. “What?” “Your dad and I were like that once. I was a little street urchin from the wrong side of the track, and he was the Sheriff’s son who was so straight-laced that I never even thought I had a chance. Then he saved me, one night, from a couple of boys who wanted me to help them break into a pharmacy. They wanted to shove me in through the drop box, if you can believe it.” she explained as I started setting forks down on the placemats. I didn’t have the heart to tell my mother that I’d already heard this story eighteen thousand times. Instead, I let her continue without interrupting, picturing the way my mother would look trying to be shoved into a drop box. Now, my mother had the padding that most mothers had; but, back then, she could totally pass for supermodel thin.

My mom was on the shorter side at 5’4, but before she had Luke, my mother had a smoking body. Mom liked to attribute it to life on the streets and not getting enough meals; dad liked to say it was in the genes. I had to agree that it was, indeed, the genes, because I had the same muscular build as my mother. Although a lot of my metabolism had to do with my demanding job, and the fact that my ADHD meds made me not want to eat. “Your daddy caught them while they were trying to shove me in. I was kicking and screaming, and your daddy swooped in like a knight in shining armor, with his shiny gold badge and hauled those boys to the county jail. I, of course, ran and tried my hardest to stay out of trouble, but he found me that next week, and we became friends.” She smiled wistfully. “Your momma wouldn’t put out until I married her. She tricked me.” My dad called from the doorway, making me look up and smile. I just sighed as I waited for the inevitable argument to ensue, and it did, like clockwork. “Do they always do this?” Sebastian asked as he came to a stop by my side. I nodded grimly. “All the freaking time. Do you know how traumatizing it is to hear your parents fight constantly, and then go have sex? I knew exactly what they were doing the minute they left the room. It’s so gross.” Sebastian snorted. “At least you don’t walk in on your old man having sex with a woman that’s thirty years his junior.” I gagged. “What?” Sebastian nodded sagely. “Yeah, it’s been known to happen. “That’s...” I started. “Just wrong.” He snorted. “Tell me about it.” Just then, a very wet Katy, a muddy Johnny, and an exasperated Luke came walking in the back door. “Stop, boy. Don’t move.” Luke yelled, as Johnny tried to take off across the kitchen. He stopped immediately, and pouted, arms crossing over his chest, and glared at Luke with the best of his ability. “Johnny, don’t act like that. You know better. Why are you covered in mud?” Sebastian questioned as he stood and walked to the laundry room that was off the kitchen. He came back moments later with two towels. He tossed one to Luke and wrapped the other around his son before hauling him to his bathroom; most likely to hosed him down. “Go to the room you changed in earlier and get changed, sweet pea. Grammy has some food ready for us to eat. Don’t take too long or I’m gonna eat yours.” Luke instructed Katy. “What were they doing?” My mom asked as she set a bowl of steaming mashed potatoes down on the table. Luke, dad, and I watched in hunger as she went back for the chicken, and then followed shortly after that with the green beans and rolls.

“Oh, man. I haven’t had a home cooked meal like this in forever.” Luke groaned, taking a seat, but waited patiently for his child to get back before he started. My dad walked behind me, kissed my head, and took the seat at the opposite side of Luke, leaving the head of the table for Sebastian and my mother, as was custom in our family. “Me neither,” I agreed, sneaking a roll from the bowl and shoving three quarters of it into my mouth. “Did you just take a roll?” Katy asked as she plopped down beside Luke. “No.” I said around a mouth full of roll. “Grammy, she’s eating before everybody’s sat down!” Katy squealed. “Tattle tale.” I groaned, eyeing my mother’s expression out of the side of my eye. It wasn’t a happy one, either. It was an ‘if you do it again, I’m going to hit you across the knuckles with my spoon, and I don’t care how hurt you are’ kind of look. While my mother’s disapproving look was centered on me, everyone missed when Sebastian and Johnny entered the room. What they didn’t miss was the fact that Johnny was now dressed, full out, in a Superman costume. Cape, mask, abs and all. “Wow, Johnny. I want to be Superman, too!” Katy proclaimed as soon as Johnny took a seat at the table. “I like what you’ve done with yourself. Can I borrow your cape sometime?” I asked him. He shook his head. “It won’t fit you.” “Hey!” I said indignantly. “Don’t feel bad. He won’t let anybody wear it. Not even Kettle.” Sebastian rumbled as he took some beers out of the fridge and handed them off to my father and Luke, before taking a seat. That was surprising. From what I knew, Johnny was absolutely obsessed with Kettle. When Johnny was at their clubhouse and Kettle was anywhere in sight, Johnny was attached to him at the hip. “Who’s Kettle?” My father asked, scooping out a large helping of mashed potatoes and passing the bowl to Luke’s waiting hands. “Kettle is a member of the Dixie Wardens, dad.” I explained as I lifted a piece of chicken onto my plate. I’d hoped my dad would just leave it at that, but of course, the cop in him wouldn’t let him. Sebastian was incredibly tightlipped about the club, barely giving out information about them unless absolutely necessary. What I’d learned came from the internet, or from Winter and the ladies I’d recently made friends with. “Kettle and I became prospects together. I’d worked at the station for a little over a month, after being discharged from the marines, before I decided to go ahead and give the club a go. Kettle and I became fast friends, and he decided to prospect also. We bonded over shitty jobs, all-nighters, and performing menial tasks. He’s been my best friend ever since.” Sebastian said as he scooped green beans onto Johnny’s plate and then his own.

When Sebastian started giving out information about Kettle like it wasn’t any big deal, I was stunned. And, to tell the truth, a little bit hurt. Why couldn’t he have told me this? It wasn’t as if I hadn’t asked him before. He, of course, had changed the subject immediately, but with one innocent question from my father, I’d learned more about the club in one measly hour than I’d learned in three whole months. “How long did you have to prospect.” Luke asked. My mother had to nudge my arm with the mashed potato bowl to get me to take it when my eyes remained locked on Sebastian’s face. Taking the bowl, I scooped out a helping that was entirely way too much for me to eat, and clinked the spoon so hard onto my plate that it echoed around the room. “Careful there, honey. You don’t want to break the plate. Are your ribs bothering you?” My mom asked in concern. “No.” I muttered, setting the bowl down in the middle of the table. My mother didn’t risk handing the green beans over, instead standing up and giving me a heaping spoon full. “Thanks.” I muttered. I hated green beans, and my mother knew it. Witch. The conversation between the men about the MC, the workings, and the business aspects of it continued to flow. My mother and I stayed silent, interacting with the children when they would ask something, but otherwise staying quiet, as was our usual at dinner. If I spoke, I’d get distracted, and then my food wouldn’t be eaten. A multitasker I was not, even at the most simplest level. My mother, in deference to me, typically stayed silent as well. Mostly out of habit, because if she didn’t speak, then her daughter wouldn’t answer. Easy as that. Just as I always did when my mother cooked green beans, I slipped two and three at a time onto my father and brother’s plates. Both of them knew I was doing it, as they always did, and never ratted me out to my mother. My mother was a firm believer in finishing what was on your plate. She hated wasting food. If anything was left over, we’d have it for lunch until it was all eaten. That was the bane of a one-income household. You had to be money conscious while skimping and saving where you could. “We’re having a barbeque this weekend at the clubhouse if you would like to go.” Sebastian said to my father. Huh. That was the first time I’d heard anything about a barbeque. Was I invited? “We’d planned to watch Katy for Luke this weekend while he worked. But thanks for the invite. Maybe next time we come down.” She declined politely. A wave of exhaustion made me sway in my seat, bringing everyone’s attention to me. The concoction of pills I’d consumed earlier must’ve finally kicked in, because I was so tired that I

felt like I’d fall asleep sitting in my seat. If I didn’t go to lay down now, I’d be falling over in my proverbial soup. Deciding that a bed was best idea for now, I shuffled to the bedroom, went to Sebastian’s side, and laid down. Burying my nose into Sebastian’s pillow, I let the sharp, strong scent of him fill my lungs before passing out, my stomach full of homemade goodness, and my mind filled with questions.

Chapter 15 This isn’t a bakery. I don’t sugarcoat shit. -why Sebastian pisses Baylee off Baylee Questions about the club persisted until the day before the big barbeque with the club. I had opted to go home so I could spend time with my family. By making that decision, it meant that Sebastian and I couldn’t talk about the Dixie Wardens, unless I wanted to do it over the phone. Sebastian had a way of controlling any, and all, situations. That included our phone conversations. The single time I tried to bring up my concerns, while on the phone, he’d shut it down so fast that my head had spun, by telling me he’d talk to me about it when he saw me next, and then hanging up. Hanging up. Without a goodbye, at that. He’d called me about an hour later claiming that he’d had a call, but I wasn’t stupid. I knew that a tone actually rang in the station that indicated an actual call had come in; none of those sounds had played. Which was why I was driving to his place at ten o’clock on a Friday. With the few and far between phone conversations we’d had, I knew he’d be working today until ten. Johnny would be with his grandmother, so we should have some uninterrupted time to have a sit down conversation, without Sebastian able to hang up on me. ‘Should’ being the operative word, because when I pulled up in front of Sebastian’s home, he was nowhere to be seen. His bike and truck were both gone. How he’d managed that little feat, I didn’t know, but I’d be sure to ask him when I saw him again. Deciding the best thing to do was wait, I backed my car into a spot at the back of Sebastian’s yard so he’d be able to pull under his carport without having to maneuver around my car. Once the lights were out, and I was standing beside my car, I gave an involuntary shiver at the darkness surrounding Sebastian’s place. It was extremely dark here. The lights that were normally on at night, were out. I’d thought that they were motion detected, but I must’ve been wrong since they weren’t catching my movement. Then again, I’d never been over without Sebastian being home before. I’d been shielded by the car, and hadn’t realized it’d gotten as cold as it did. Although, I’d heard there was a cold snap coming through.

Looking down at my capris, I contemplated staying in the car, but decided I could probably hack it. It wasn’t that cold, just barely sixty-four degrees, according to my phone. Plus, I had one of Sebastian’s huge sweatshirts. If it got too bad, I could just tuck my knees inside of it. My destination had originally been the back porch, but with one look at all the bike parts strewn all over the seats and the table, I turned to the dock and took a seat on the lounger. The walk on the unsteady dock made my ribs ache for the first time that day. I’d been pretty careful not to do any sudden moving, or walk more than I had to; this was the first time, in days, I’d actually felt more than the aches. My mom also waited on me hand and foot. If I had to pick anytime to get hurt, doing it while my mother was in town was the perfect plan. I didn’t know how long I’d stayed there like that, bundled up in Sebastian’s sweatshirt and listening to the calming motions of the lake. I’d guessed it’d been about an hour when the sound of Sebastian’s bike came barreling down the road toward the house. I decided to stay right where I was, though, too relaxed to move right then. I watched as the single headlight of Sebastian’s bike pulled into its usual spot beside the carport door, and then the twin headlights of Sebastian’s truck pulling in beside it. I knew it was Sebastian’s truck because of the weird looking headlights. They were shaped differently than most other new Chevrolets I’d seen. A red outline surrounded the outer rim of the headlights, and they had that really annoying brightness to them that probably blinded passing motorists. When I’d asked about them, Sebastian had laughed and told my they were the ones that had the emergency lights already built so he didn’t have to have an ‘unsightly light bar’ on top. Due to the openness of Sebastian’s place, I could hear him clearly when he spoke. “Thanks for bringing it. Give me a minute to stow my stuff and flip the lights on and I’ll be right back.” “Oh, Sebastian. This is the best truck ever. Do you want to let me borrow it sometime?” A flirty, feminine voice cooed. My eyes crossed at the syrupy sweetness. Jesus, but the women that congregated around that man made my want to gouge my eyes out. I couldn’t keep count of the number of calls he received while he was with me that was of the feminine persuasion. He’d always turned them down flat, telling them he had a girlfriend now, but it was enough to make me realize that my man was a slut before I’d met him. “Yeah, pet. I like it. Be back in a few.” Sebastian said before I heard the bang of the porch door being opened and closed. I didn’t want to be left alone out here by myself all night, and started the trek up to the carport when I heard the whispered conversation inside his truck. “Did you ask him?” The woman whispered to someone. “No.” A man’s voice I didn’t recognize, answered.

The sound of the truck door opening and the distinct sound of a Zippo Lighter opening followed his abrupt answer. “But he’s done it before. Ever since that stupid bitch, he doesn’t bring around the club showed up he doesn’t even party anymore. Doesn’t play. He doesn’t even fight. The girls keep complaining that he won’t visit with them, either. What kind of hold does the stupid girl have on him that keeps him from his life?” The girl whined. I froze, seeing the opportunity for what it was, and listened as I leaned against the side of the house. “He likes her. Nothing more you need to know.” The man said, lighting his cigarette, and flipping the lighter closed. The flare of the cigarette lit the man’s face, and I recognized him. Trance. I’d only met him from afar, but that was enough to realize why the man was called Trance. He was beautiful with blonde curly hair that, on a person with straight hair, would’ve been around an inch or so long; but, on him, it made it extremely short looking. That wasn’t even the most beautiful part about him, though. He had two different colored eyes. One crystal blue and one emerald green. His eyes were the stuff of fairy tales. I’d asked Sebastian about him, but he’d only told me, offhanded, that he was a cop and had been with the club for around seven years. “But Trance, I haven’t gotten to play with him in forever!” The girl whined again. The sound of the carport door opening again put a halt to their conversation as Sebastian yelled, “Trance, are the lights coming on on your side?” Trance threw his cigarette onto the ground, putting it out with his boot, and distinguishing the only light with it. “No light on at all out here.” “Fuck, why aren’t these working?” Sebastian growled as he slammed the door shut. Thinking now was a good time to announce my presence; I stepped out from around the house, and ran smack into a solid wall of muscle. “Oomph.” I said as my face hit something hard, and then my ribs met the same hardness. I didn’t have time to feel pain, though, because in the very next instant, I found myself face down on the ground, my mouth being shoved into the grass, and a body straddling my back. I hadn’t realized that I screamed through the haze of pain my ribs were now feeling. The body had disappeared from my back just as quickly as it appeared, but it didn’t stop the shards of agony shooting through me at the feel of being thrown onto the ground and then sat on. It was long minutes later that I could finally work through the pain enough to realize I was being cradled against Sebastian’s chest. I’d been sobbing in pain for quite a while, if the wetness underneath my cheek was any indication. “Shhh, I know it hurts. Please stop, baby. I’m so sorry.” Sebastian soothed.

My breath hitched, and my sobs slowed, but the pain was still very much apparent. “I-I’m okay. Hhurts.” I breathed. “Where’s your meds?” He asked, standing up as carefully as possible. “Car.” I said softly, trying not to breathe deep. “Honey, I don’t know where your car is. I didn’t see it when I pulled in.” He said. “Tillie, get the door for me, would you?” Tillie got the door as I answered. “I backed it into the woods when I saw your truck wasn’t here. I didn’t want to park in your spot.” “Trance, find her car and bring her purse in.” Sebastian demanded as he walked me into the living room. “Why didn’t you call? How long have you been waiting here?” He asked, sitting down in his recliner with me, as Tillie turned on some lights. I buried my nose into the crook of his neck as the pain in my ribs slowly leached to a dull thudding ache. “An hour, maybe. I thought I’d surprise you, but I think I fell asleep.” “Here.” Trance said, making me lift my head from Sebastian’s chest. He was holding out a cup of, what looked like, tea and a pain pill. Sebastian helped me sit up, leaning me against his chest, and supporting me with an arm around my back. “Thank you.” I said as I took the proffered goods. The tea was sweet just as I liked it. Sebastian didn’t like sweet tea, but he’d made it a habit to have some on hand for when I came over. After I finished half the glass, I handed it back to Trance who’d been waiting patiently for me to finish. “Anything else you need?” He asked with a raised brow. Up close, his eyes were even more impressive; both so shockingly different than the other, but both of them just as beautiful. “No, thank you,” I finally managed to answer. He took my half-finished glass and placed it on the coffee table beside my feet, which, not surprisingly, was also covered in greasy motorcycle parts. “What’s going on with all the parts? I was going to sit on the back porch, but those are covered, too.” I asked Sebastian as I leaned my head back against his chest. Sebastian played with my hair as he answered. “I have a new side project. Ribs feeling any better yet?” I nodded but didn’t answer. “What the hell were you doing sneaking around his house at night? What idiot would do that?” Tillie busted out. Even though Trance reprimanded her for her rudeness, I decided to answer, hoping the woman

wouldn’t hate my more if I explained. “I was walking up from the dock. I heard voices so that’s where I headed.” “Why wouldn’t you have called out or something?” Tillie sneered. I turned my head so I could look at Tillie. She was cute and blonde, with big boobs. The skirt and leather vest she was wearing barely covered her breast area and crotch, fairly screaming ‘I’m easy!’ “At the time, I didn’t want to scare y’all. Guess it wasn’t the best of decisions now that I think about it.” I admitted. “No. That was stupid. Especially around here. That shit’ll get you hurt.” I snorted at the irony in the statement. “It did.” “Trance didn’t know it was you. He’d have never hurt you on purpose.” Tillie continued. So it was Trance who’d sacked me like a quarterback. Turning my eyes to his face, I didn’t see an ounce of regret written there, which wasn’t a surprise. He wouldn’t apologize. I was the one in the wrong, walking around out there without announcing myself. Hell, I’d have done the same thing. Or at least tried to. “I know.” I said softly. “You want us to get out of here? I can call Porter.” Trance asked Sebastian. “Yeah, if you don’t mind. I don’t want to leave her alone.” Sebastian confirmed. “But you’ll miss your fight! People have been waiting weeks for you to come back and fight.” Tillie cried. I sat up painfully and turned so I could see Sebastian’s face. “You fight? Fight what? Like in a boxing ring?” I asked him. Sebastian’s eyes took in the new red mark on my cheek and ran the pad of his thumb over it. “Yeah, something like that. It’s no big deal.” “No big deal?” Tillie screeched. “Enough.” Trance hissed at her. Her mouth snapped shut comically, and I turned back to Sebastian. “I would like to know more about you. Ten more minutes for my pill to kick in, and I’ll be able to move more. I’d like to see you fight, if that’s all right.” Sebastian’s thumb on my hip hit a sore spot, making my breath hiss into my lungs through clenched teeth. When he saw the pain in my eyes, he lifted the front of my shirt to review the damage. “Oh, my God.” Tillie gasped making me turn from Sebastian to Tillie. Tillie’s gaze was on my lifted shirt, and the bruising I’d received from the broken ribs. “Who did that?” The question was from Trance, who was now at my side as well, staring down of the mottling of

bruises that covered the torso of my body. “A guy, while I was at work.” I explained trying in vain to tug the shirt down that Sebastian was trying to tug up. Sebastian’s eyes skimmed my stomach and ribs, surveying the damage. “Jesus this looks bad.” “I’m a bruiser. But you know that already. Part of the deal with me, unfortunately. You should have seen me after the accident a couple of years ago. I looked awful.” With one last look, Sebastian tugged my shirt back into place and leaned his forehead against my shoulder. “I don’t like it.” “Me either.” I agreed. *** “Holy cow. This place is massive. And definitely against fire code regulations.” I surmised, as Trance led me to my seat. He snorted. “This makes enough money in one outing to pay off any fines we receive through any ordinance violations.” “I thought you were a cop.” I asked, taking a seat where he’d indicated. He gave a humorless laugh before taking the seat beside her. “BPD has better things to do than bust a fight. Not to mention the twenty or so off duty cops interspersed throughout the crowd.” I decided to keep my mouth shut. I wasn’t too sure that Trance liked me all that much. I already knew his woman didn’t like me. They proved that by leaving my presence as soon as they’d parked the truck. Tillie had sneered and glared the entire time they were in the backseat together. “Baylee!” A woman called from my right. I turned and saw Shiloh’s smiling face as she dropped down into the seat next to me. Thankfully, she didn’t hug me either. She’d obviously been appraised of the situation, since she was currently shoving a pillow behind my back and opening up an ice pack. A very large ice pack. “Jesus, what kind of cold pack is that?” I asked, purely amazed. Shiloh laughed. “I got the biggest one Walgreens had. Sebastian called us about twenty minutes ago asking us to stop on our way. James is fighting tonight, too. He’s not fighting my brother though. I won’t let them.” I sighed as Shiloh put the cold pack against my stomach, and then wrapped a large ACE bandage around my middle. I refrained from pulling the paramedic card and telling her I’d do it myself. Shiloh was just trying to be nice. “So, I hear Trance threw you down on the ground and sat on you.” Shiloh chided Trance with a disapproving look. I nearly laughed at the thought of Shiloh getting on to a grown man that looked as bad ass as Trance

did, but I refrained from commenting about that. “He didn’t mean to.” I explained. “It was dark. The lights were out, and nobody could see me. I startled him.” Trance and Shiloh started talking about some kid I didn’t know, which caused my mind to wander, wondering how many people were in the crowd tonight. I’d gotten to two hundred and fifty before the roar of the crowd brought my attention back to the square ring that was in the middle of the floor. Trance had set me up in a camp chair beside the bleachers so I could see the fight, and I most definitely could. I was six feet, at most, away from the ropes that outlined the ring. I could see perfectly, even when the announcer called for the fighting to begin and the crowd went to their feet. “Ladies and Gentlemen, tonight you get a special treat! The one, the only, Scope!” The announcer boomed. “Do I have to cheer for James?” I yelled over the din. Shiloh looked at me horrified that I wouldn’t automatically do so, making me laugh. “Of course you do, you big dope!” James’ fight went about as I expected. He won. I never had any doubt. Even when the large man with the flat face entered the ring. He seriously looked like he’d been in way too many fights; but the man could fight, and made James work for it. Shiloh screamed throughout the entire thing, jumping up and down on top of the bleacher seat like she was in high school cheering for her quarterback boyfriend. Trance, on the other hand, stayed seated and watched the fight with a dispassionate eye. I’d seen more emotion out of the man when he was taking a drag of his cigarette in the truck on the way to the warehouse. “We’ve got about fifteen minutes until the next fight. I need to pee. Do you want to go with me?” Shiloh asked as she stood. “Sure.” I shrugged as I, too, went to stand. Trance beat me to it though, helping me up with both hands on my elbows. “Thanks.” I said as I brushed invisible wrinkles out of Sebastian’s sweatshirt that I was still wearing. “Glad to see you dressed up for this.” Shiloh teased as I looped her arm around mine and led us to the bathroom. I couldn’t help the snort that escaped my mouth. “I wasn’t intending to come to some fight night. In fact, I don’t think your brother meant for me to come, either. I was just there when he was going, and he couldn’t really go and leave me, could he?” I didn’t mean to sound bitter, but I couldn’t help it. Sebastian and I had spoken earlier that afternoon, and not once had the subject of a fight come up. We’d spoken about what we’d be doing later that evening after we got off, where Johnny would be, and what our plans were for tomorrow morning. Hence, why I’d

decided to come up to see him; it’d never occurred to me that he wouldn’t be there. Maybe I just didn’t know him that well. Maybe he wasn’t as serious as I was. Maybe I was over thinking things. And it wasn’t like I could ask Shiloh anything either. Not with the silent, but so very much there, Trance stalking along behind us. “Here. We’ll use my brother’s bathroom, in his office. It’s cleaner.” Shiloh said, pulling me carefully into a side door near the end of the hallway. “What do you mean your brother’s bathroom?” I asked. Shiloh had entered through a door that was barely noticeable; but the inside was anything but. It was painted navy blue. There were no windows, but the walls were lined with biker paraphernalia. Pictures. Old motorcycle handle bars. A tire. A helmet. A few framed quotes. The floor was painted gray, and in the middle of that floor was a massive desk covered in papers. Behind that desk sat Sebastian. With a woman sitting on his lap wrapping his hands in tape. Sensing the emotional turmoil pouring off me, Shiloh pointed towards a door. “Bathroom’s that way.” I went. Without saying a word to Sebastian. After doing my business on autopilot, I sat on the closed toilet lid for well over five minutes trying to decide what to do. I wasn’t sure of much, but there was one thing I was sure of, and that was that I couldn’t handle the double life. I’d caught on to too many things lately that bothered the ever-loving shit out of me. Why did he send me to a seat when he could’ve taken me to his office and let my sit with him on his big motherfucking couch? Why did he have some chick wrapping his hands when I could’ve done that with twice the efficiency, and triple the competence? What exactly had the two of us shared other than sex? Did we talk about hopes and dreams, or our future? No. We didn’t. Sebastian didn’t know that I wanted four kids. He didn’t know that I wanted to go back to school to get my Master’s degree. Didn’t know that I wanted to live in a two-story house with an in ground pool in the backyard since I was a young girl. Hell, he didn’t even know that I was so broke I could barely afford the gas to get to his house on a weekly basis. I’d been scraping by ever since I’d purchased my house. I had a ton of student loan debt on top of having bills that came with owning my own home. Well, I could at least fix that part, couldn’t I? As of right now, I wouldn’t be driving to his house at all. Wouldn’t need to. Because I was done. Now I just had to figure a way to get out of this god-forsaken place and get back home. “Shiva, you’re up in five, you ready?” A voice called into the room beyond me. I breathed a sigh of relief. There, I could leave as soon as he did. “Yeah, I’ll be right out.” His deep voice rumbled.

I heard it really well, which meant he was close to the bathroom door. Luckily, I’d locked it, because I just couldn’t face him right now. “Baylee, you all right? You need anything?” Sebastian called through the door. I snorted. “No, I’m peachy.” My response must’ve been muffled from the door, because he didn’t pick up on the extreme sarcasm I’d infused into that comment. “Okay, well I’m going to head out. Shiloh went to the locker room to see James. Do you remember how to get back to your seat?” He asked me. “Yes.” I clipped. “Okay.” He left after that, and I gave it another five minutes before I left the locked bathroom. To my relief, the office was empty when I made my way out. The papers that had recently been on his desk were gone, leaving only the gleaming top of the massive wooden desk in its wake. Had he put them up because I was in here alone? What did it even matter if he did? That’s right, it didn’t. If he’d wanted me to know, he would’ve told me a long time ago, wouldn’t he? The door opened across the room from her, and Tillie sauntered in, the skirt she’d been wearing before replaced by some spandex number that left even less to the imagination. It’d seemed impossible to me before, but now I knew it was, in fact, possible to be wearing less, with more on. “Sebastian sent me in here to show you to your seat.” she sneered. I smiled, sadly. He hadn’t wanted my in here by herself. “Actually, can you take me to Shiloh?” I asked sweetly. After giving me the once over, she turned and huffed her way out the door. I was about to follow her when the black hat that Sebastian always wore caught my eye, hanging on a peg right next to the door frame. On a whim, I pulled it off and stuffed it up the back of my sweatshirt, thankful that the garment hung loosely on me or I’d never have been able to pull it off. I had to hurry to catch up to Tillie’s bounding strides, and was nearly panting in exertion as I finally came to a stop at a room that was labeled ‘locker room.’ “They’re in here.” She said, indicating the marked door before stomping away. Instead of entering, I knocked, and only had to wait two or so minutes for a very disheveled Shiloh to open the door. “Hey,” she said breathlessly. I smiled. Well, tried to, but I didn’t think I was very successful. “I need a ride to my car. Can you take me back to Sebastian’s place? Something came up.” I lied.

Shiloh stood up straighter and nodded, pulling the door open all the way and stepping to one side. “Sure, I didn’t drive, but James’ll let me take you in his truck.” James was leaning against a padded bench with his arms crossed over his naked chest. He was wearing a sweaty pair of gray cotton shorts, and sweat was dripping down his body in rivulets. I really wasn’t in the right mind because the sight of the man leaning in front of me did absolutely nothing for me. Not even a twinge. “Is that all right, J?” Shiloh asked James. At his nod, she walked over to a bag in the corner of the room and pulled out a key ring with no less than thirty keys on it. I avoided eye contact with the very perceptive James, and moved slowly out the door so I didn’t have to answer the man’s questions that lingered in his eyes. “You sure you’re okay?” Shiloh asked as she joined me. I nodded but didn’t say anything. “Alright, well James parked in the back where the club parks. This way is easier.” she said, indicating a different direction than the one I was taking. I turned and started heading in the direction Shiloh had indicated. It was a much shorter way to go. Well, figures. Sebastian had dropped me off at the front door. She’d thought originally it was because he didn’t want me to walk far. But the back way, where Shiloh was leading me, was much shorter. Shiloh led me past a long line of bikes, Sebastian’s truck, and then even more trucks until she stopped at James’ truck and hit the locks. The lights flashed as the doors unlocked, and I climbed painfully into the truck, thankful that there was a step that came down when the doors opened and a handle for me to hold on to. “I’m sorry! I should’ve helped you. Do you need me to help with the seatbelt?” She asked in concern. “No, I got it. Thank you.” I said. The ride to Sebastian’s house was quick and silent, Shiloh sensing that I was not in the mood for chitchat I thanked her quietly as I slid from the truck, only jarring myself slightly when my feet met the uneven ground beneath me. Just as I was about to close the door, Shiloh stopped me with a statement. “He’s a good man, don’t give up on him.” I slammed the door a little harder than I’d meant to, annoyed that I’d been so transparent. Sebastian would know shortly that I was mad at him, but I didn’t care. I was beyond caring at this point. Shiloh left once the lights of my car flipped on, pulling out of the driveway in a spray of gravel and

dirt. Starting my car and rolling down my windows to feel the cool night air on my face, I pulled out of my parking spot, thankful that I’d gotten out without Sebastian stopping me. It wasn’t until I was back on the interstate that it dawned on me that he might follow me home. Knowing that I couldn’t handle seeing him right now, I turned around and headed back to Shreveport. I’d stay in a hotel for the night. Hell, maybe I’d even gamble my last twenty dollars on the craps table. ‘Cause that was where my life was right now. In the crapper.

Chapter 16 It’s better to lose a lover than to love a loser, asshole, bastard, lying, son of a cock whore. -Life lesson Sebastian “What do you mean she’s not here? How’d she leave? Where’d she go?” I snarled at my men. The men that I’d assigned to watch her tonight, and help her anyway she needed it. Stupid fucking prospects. “Sir, she was with your sister. We didn’t think you’d want us to interfere.” Tunnel, the newest prospect, hedged. “Well you thought fucking wrong. Where exactly is my sister?” I snarled. The two men pointed in the direction of the bar, and I turned and stomped away without another word to the two useless human beings. “Where is she?” I asked as soon as I made it to within hearing distance. I was tired, aggravated, and needy. I wanted my woman in my arms, and I wanted her there now. Shiloh turned from the conversation she was having with their father and scowled at me. “Not that it’s any of your business, brother, but you fucking gutted her today. Why the hell didn’t she know you had an office? And why the hell did you not tell me that she didn’t know? I would’ve never brought her back there if I had known. You made me look like a shit. Why’d you have Mandy in your lap, anyway? That was just fucking stupid.” I was confused. “What are you talking about?” “You know, Mandy, the one that did your tape for your hands? Yeah, when Baylee saw that, her eyes told everyone that was looking at her how devastated she was. Why are you even talking to me?” She snarled. “Jesus Christ, Shiloh! It was the Warehouse’s trainer! What did you want me to do? I don’t know how to do tape!” I snarled right back. “Yeah, well she didn’t have to sit on your fucking lap!” She screeched. I threw my hands up in annoyance. She wasn’t sitting on my lap...was she? James, who’d been sitting quietly beside Shiloh, watching the family drama play out, turned and held up his hand for silence. “How about we go take a walk.” He suggested. Knowing I wouldn’t get anywhere with the craziness that is my sister, I agreed and walked with James down to my office. The office felt very empty all of a sudden, like something important was missing and I knew exactly what it was. Baylee.

“I’m not going to tell you how to run your life, but I think you need to make a decision about letting Baylee in, or letting her go. You have two parts of yourself that you try to keep separate, and it’s not going to work for much longer. If you let her in to only half of your life, you’re going to lose her.” James said right before walking out. I walked to my desk and sat down heavily. My sweaty back stuck uncomfortably against the leather of my office chair, and I stared at my wall, wondering what the hell to do. I wouldn’t be telling her anything about the club without a few promises from her end first. My life was with my club, and it always would be. To let her in that part of my life, she’d have to be a permanent fixture. She’d have to want to be there, and to this day, she hadn’t made the effort. The more I sat here and thought about it, the more upset I became. Did she not want to know that part of my life? Hell, he’d share with her in a heartbeat; but club life wasn’t for everyone. With her father and brother being in law enforcement, she had a better idea than most civilians did when it came to what a motorcycle club was. She had to know they weren’t all angels. Then I noticed my hat was gone. Knowing what I had to do, I picked up my phone and made a call that could very well change my life. *** I ran my fingers over the fine stitching, looked up at Porter’s old lady and smiled. “You did good, pretty girl. It’s stunning. I really appreciate you staying up this late and getting it done for me.” I thanked her. Minnie blushed at the compliment before wrapping the work she’d done in tissue paper, and then placing it into a box. Her fingers worked nimbly as she tied a bow on it, and then used her scissors to do some fancy shit with the bow, making it twirl around and in on itself. “My girl is the shit. She always has been. Always will be.” Porter said approvingly. Minnie blushed even more, smiling wide at her old man. They’d been together for seventeen years now, and never once had I seen them fight. Minnie was the perfect woman. Strong. Intelligent. Giving. Supportive. Everything an old biker like Porter could ever need. Porter had exactly what I wanted. A woman that would be there for me through thick and thin. Who would forever be by my side. “Alright, I’ve got places to be. Thank you again.” I said, picking the box up and tucking it underneath my arm before heading to the door. “Bring her by to see us.” Porter ordered, as only one of the oldest members of The Dixie Wardens MC could do.

I smiled over my shoulder and nodded my head in confirmation. “Will do.” Once I was at my bike, I stowed my package in my saddle bags and mounted the bike before pulling my phone from my pocket and making one more phone call. “Get anything?” I asked without a hello. “Yep. I’ll text you the address. She’s at the Horseshoe. Her credit card was used at the ATM. She withdrew twenty bucks. Nothing else since.” Kettle said. I thanked him and hung up. Twenty minutes later, I parked my bike in the garage parking, glared at a couple of kids that were eyeing my bike with appreciation, and walked into the casino. I nodded at the man shining shoes at the entrance, and again at the guard that was checking IDs at the door. I didn’t stop when a waitress offered me a beer, and kept circling the room until I spotted her in the very corner of the room at the craps table. Surprisingly, she had a stack of chips in front of her, and upon getting closer, I realized that she had nearly a thousand dollars in three stacks of chips. Jesus Christ. Baylee looked pitiful as she rolled. Her arms were resting on the edge of the table with one supporting her chin. The other hand was extended out in front of her as she threw the dice towards the far end of the table. She had on what she’d been wearing earlier, with my black hat pulled down low over her face, concealing her eyes not only from people from catching them, but also from her eyes connecting with anything except what was directly in front of her. She wasn’t able to see me approach, nor did she see me as I took up a spot beside her, squeezing in between an older woman wearing a moo-moo and her. At the displacement of air, Baylee’s body shifted away from me, trying her hardest not to touch me. Of course, she didn’t know it was me, but it still hurt to see her withdraw from me. After watching her roll unenthusiastically five more times, I moved closer to her, lifted my hand, and pushed the bill of my hat up off her head. When she turned to me, startled and fighting, I restrained the elbow she’d aimed at my gut easily and pulled her closer. Upon seeing me, she seemed to wilt, and sink into me. “I made a hasty decision.” She said sadly. “You and I have some talking to do. How much longer until you win?” I teased. Baylee shrugged, threw the dice the dealer maneuvered towards her, and crapped out. Aww’s and ohh’s filled the air as the chips were cleared from the table, and Baylee moved the stack of chips as close to her as she could before grabbing a hand full and jabbing them into my pockets. “You know, they make these little cups that you can put these in without stuffing them into pockets.” I

said dryly. Baylee stuffed my pockets so full I looked like I could barely walk. Then took the single last stack into her hand and walked towards the exit. “Don’t you want to cash these out?” I asked worriedly. Baylee shook her head. “No, I was about to leave. I need to drive to the grocery store I passed on the way here. Like stat.” Deciding not to argue, I walked behind her, guiding her with a hand on her lower back as we maneuvered through the crowded boat. Once we reached the exit, I had to practically run to keep up with the pace Baylee was keeping. “Hey,” I said. “Where’s the fire?” She didn’t stop until she reached her car, tossed me her keys, and then snapped her fingers at me when I looked at her with a bewildered expression. Sighing, I dropped into her piece of shit Cutlass, started it up, and puttered out of the parking lot. Just with driving it for three minutes, I knew that the timing was off, it would need brakes soon, and I was fairly sure that the car’s transmission was about to go out. “Turn in here. Hurry.” She said somewhat desperately. Growing more and more concerned by the minute, I parked, and had to run to catch up to her as she threw the door open and jogged to the front doors of the Dollar Store I pulled into. Just as she reached the first aisle, she looked up frantically, found the aisle she was looking for, and jogged toward it. I didn’t know what exactly I was expecting, but to find her frantically grabbing boxes of tampons wasn’t even in the equation. She tossed me two boxes which I caught awkwardly, only bobbling them twice, and gathered them against my chest as Baylee ripped into a box, pulled two out, tossed me the opened box saying, “Pay for these,’ as she ran towards the back of the store. I no longer needed to know what was wrong. I could guess. When I made it to the register and saw the young girl there, I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable as she slowly checked the three boxes of feminine products out. She didn’t look at me, and I didn’t look at her. Instead, I studied the wall of candy that was laid out on the opposite side of the conveyor belt. With just a few more seconds of contemplation, I grabbed one of each chocolate candy bar on the first three shelves and placed them on the belt without a word. I heard the rowdy boys get in line behind me, but I didn’t acknowledge them until one of them decided to open their mouth. “Jesus, are you expecting a flood?” I turned and gave cold eyes to the boy closest to me.

He was all of sixteen, at most, all lanky bones and styled hair. His collar was pulled up on its end, coming to a stop right below his ears. His pants hung low with a chain going from his wallet to his outer belt loop. And his shoes. Well, don’t even get me started on the shoes. They were just plain hideous. The boy stepped back when my cold eyes met his, and held up his hands in apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it.” I snorted and turned my head back to the total as the woman rang it up. Thirty-seven dollars, three boxes of tampons, and seventeen candy bars later, I was standing by the front door with my arms crossed against my chest watching as Baylee slowly made her way to the front of the store. The ache in her ribs a lot more evident now that she had the problem temporarily fixed. Not one hint of embarrassment shown on her face, though. In fact, she looked somewhat pleased, if what I read on her face was correct. That surprised me since I vividly remembered my sister getting her period while we were visiting a zoo in junior high, while we were with a group of friends. Now I could laugh about the fact that she’d made me buy tampons and toss them into the women’s bathrooms like they were bombs. She’d come out beat red, and refused to look at me, or any of my friends, for the rest of the trip. I’d been grateful that she’d not said anything else, either. My friends, on the other hand, had teased not only her, but me for the rest of the day. Baylee didn’t show one single sign of embarrassment. We were silent as I drove back to the hotel where my bike was parked, stopped for the package in my saddlebags, and still silent as I paid for a room for us to stay in for the night. As the elevator doors closed on the busy lobby, I finally turned and looked into Baylee’s eyes. Or at least tried to. My hat was pulled low over her eyes again, making it hard for me to see her face. Reaching forward, I tipped the hat back until I could see her eyes, and what I saw nearly tore me to shreds. She was silently crying. Her eyes were leaking fat tears that trailed down her face, and disappeared down the collar of my sweatshirt that she still wore. Closing the distance between them, I lifted my hand and dashed the tears away with the palm of my hand. “Stop crying. You’re tearing me apart.” She nodded, closed her lips tightly, and visibly willed her tears to stop. She wasn’t successful though.

“Come on.” I said, as I gave her hand a small tug when the elevator doors opened on the seventh floor. I’d purchased the biggest room they had on the top floor, at the end of the hallway. I really hated the traffic outside hotel room doors. In fact, I would’ve rather gone home, but I wanted neutral territory for Baylee, and my place wouldn’t offer that. Once I sat her down on the bed, I tossed the package on the bed beside her and started to pace. “Okay.” I said. “I think it’s time we had a long discussion. First and foremost, we’ll start with why you left tonight. Talk to me.” My demand hit her hard, and she turned her face down so the hat concealed her eyes. Frustrated, I ripped the hat off her head and threw it to the ground at her feet. “Let me see your fucking eyes!” She flinched back from the booming sound of my voice, and then flinched again in pain. Which made me feel like a world class shit. “I’m sorry. Do you need another pain pill?” At the shake of her head, I continued. “Please talk to me.” It took her a few minutes, but she finally answered. “You never tell me anything about your life.” She swallowed hard. “It’s like you keep that part of you separate from me. Like you don’t want me to be a part of that.” I sighed, and dropped down to the red chair that faced the bed and let my head fall into my hands. “You never acted interested in that part of my life. I didn’t know if you wanted to be a part of it.” She snorted. I looked up, barely keeping my glare from taking over my face. She looked tiny sitting there in my huge sweatshirt. It was an old one from the very early days from my stint in the Marines. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun at the top of her head. Her eyes were red, her cheeks splotchy. And she was beautiful. “When I tell you about the club, bring you in, what you do and don’t do becomes my responsibility. This isn’t something that you can just leave if it gets to be too much for you. You’ll have to stay and work it out with me. You won’t be able to talk to your mom, or your brother. You’ll have me, and the club. Sometimes my sister, but not even she knows everything. Do you think you can handle that?” She hesitated. Going on a hunch, I let her in. All the way. And when I left two hours later, I still didn’t know which way she was going to run. Towards me, or away from me.

Chapter 17 This bitch won’t fall off. -T-shirt Baylee I looked down at the leather vest again. For the millionth time. It sure was beautiful. The stitching was extraordinary. And the patch that said, ‘Property of Shiva,’ gave me tingles. I’d gone over what Sebastian had said hundreds of times. I examined every word that had come out of his mouth over and over again, looking at it from every angle I could think of, and kept coming up with one single truth. I loved him; did it even matter at this point whether I liked the club? I loved the man, and if that man was part of the Dixie Wardens MC, then I was supporting that man with every bit of myself, and then some. With shaking fingers, I picked the leather vest up, and brought it up close to my face, smelling the new fresh scent of leather. It was soft, like butter. The stitching on the leather was a hot pink accent that really made the word ‘Property’ pop. The design was very simple. There were only three words on the back in big bold letters, but I loved it. With a terrifying thrill coursing through my veins, I slipped the soft vest over the tight hot pink t-shirt I was wearing, and settled it on my shoulders. The button on the front was pink, too, and I couldn’t help the smile that overtook my face as I buttoned the two buttons, and then looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I remembered what he’d said as he was leaving that night. You put that on, there’s no turning back. You’re mine. Forever. Your body. Your soul. Your heart. It’s all fucking mine. With one final smile, I turned to survey the writing on my back, and walked out of the room. Then, as if sensing the change, Sebastian’s ringtone started playing on my phone, and I plucked it up off my side table with shaking fingers, and placed the phone to my ear. My old man. “Sebastian?” I asked excitedly. “Ahh, honey,” a grizzly voice said from the other end. “This is Silas. Honey, there’s no easy way to tell you this, but Sebastian was hurt while at a fire. Something happened, and they’re taking him in to

Bossier Memorial.” He kept talking, but my hearing and vision had narrowed. With one single purpose in mind, I hit end on the cell phone, shoved it into my jeans pocket, and rushed out the door. I forgot that I was wearing shorts that were short enough to make a nun blush. I forgot that I’d not been wearing a bra. I forgot that I was supposed to meet my family for dinner and discuss my relationship with Sebastian. My only focus was on reaching the hospital in Bossier City, and making sure my old man was all right. I was thankful that my car was being extra nice today, allowing me to go five miles over the speed limit without shaking too badly. I’d noticed that my phone had started ringing again in my pocket, but right now my focus was on getting to the hospital as fast as I could. Not on trying to talk to someone who was probably only trying to make sure I was all right. I found the hospital in less than thirty minutes, parked, and ran walked into the entrance of the ER. I came to a halt when I was surrounded by a wall of black leather, but my eyes quickly fastened on Silas, and I barreled towards him, stepping on steel-toed boots as if they were stepping-stones along the way. “Where is he?” I demanded. Silas looked a little disheveled. His beard, which was usually in a line down his chin and tamed by a ponytail, was loose and unkempt. His hair looked like he’d been trying to run his fingers through it, but the shortness of it kept him from actually grasping it, only making it stand on end. Murmurs rose behind her, but I ignored them, keeping my eyes on Silas as he perused my attire. I snapped my fingers in the old man’s face, demanding his attention. “Where. Is. He?” I said again. He blinked, as if he wasn’t used to people speaking to him like that, and shook his head as if to clear it. “He’s okay. Which you would’ve known if you’d have answered your fucking phone.” “Don’t you cuss at me, old man! Now, where is he?” I snapped. Chuckles filled the air behind me, and a nerve in Silas’ jaw started to tick. “He’s in room three. He’s been asking for you. Go through that door, and they’ll show you the way.” I didn’t need any more direction. I practically flew through the door, found a nurse who pointed the way, and ran towards the room that was marked with a large red three. When I found Sebastian sitting on the bed, stripped naked to the waist, in his bunker gear, I didn’t stop to think that he may be hurt, or that my own ribs were still healing.

No, I hurled myself forward, and threw my arms around his neck, knocking him backwards until his back hit the bed with a soft thud. I held onto his neck like a vise, shaking as the adrenaline that had fueled my flight or fight mode started dissipating. “Oh, Jesus. You scared the shit out of me. Are you okay?” I cried quietly against his neck. “Is your ass hanging out? These shorts seem really, really short.” Sebastian’s anger surprised me. Sitting back, I dashed the tears that were running down my face away, and laughed. “Yeah, I’d meant to change, but your dad called, and I didn’t stop to think. I was working on my flower beds.” His eyes softened, and then lowered as they took in the gift he’d given me three days prior. “You look good in it.” My body lowered until it was pressed up against his chest. “Yeah, fits like a glove.” I said right before I lowered my mouth to his and kissed him. The kiss was deep and all consuming. Built up with the passion that we’d held back for the past three days. It was needy, and raw. Both of us poured our emotions into the kiss as our tongues dueled. I hadn’t realized that I was straddling Sebastian’s hips until a very annoyed voice spoke behind us, pulling me out of my lust-filled haze. “Excuse me, but you’re still on duty, Mackenzie.” A man growled. Pulling away from Sebastian’s lips slowly, I looked into his eyes and saw pain. Which I realized he must be in, but he hadn’t complained about it once; not even when I flew towards him in desperation. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry Sebastian. Are you okay? What’s wrong? Why are you here? What happened?” I volleyed at Sebastian, as I extricated myself from him. He shrugged and sat up with me, gathering me close so my back was to his front. When I looked at him in surprise, he leaned forward and whispered, “Your ass isn’t for every male in Benton to see. It’s mine.” I rolled my eyes, and leaned into him as he explained. “We had another arson, but we got there before it was fully engulfed. The arsonist didn’t like that and decided to throw a gas can through the back window when we were inside. I was the last one out before it blew; I was thrown down some stairs. I might have a couple of broken ribs.” Sebastian said hesitantly. Kettle snorted, bringing my gaze to him. I hadn’t realized it before, but he’d been there since I’d entered the room. He was dressed much the same as Sebastian, only he still had his shirt on. He was smudged with dirt, his hair was plastered to his head from sweat, and he had a gash under his cheek that needed stitches. “Of course, going down over the second floor balcony isn’t really the same as being thrown down stairs.” Kettle said dryly.

I gasped, knowing Sebastian had to be in extreme pain when I’d thrown myself at him, but he hadn’t complained even once. “Oh, Sebastian. I’m sorry.” Instead of saying anything, Sebastian gathered me close, holding me tightly, much to the consternation of the grizzled old man that was taking up a silent vigil across the room. Kettle, on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind in the least. He was wearing a smile that practically lit up the room. “Stop looking at her shorts.” Sebastian suddenly growled from behind me, making me jolt. I looked in between the two in confusion. “What’s wrong with my shorts? They’re not really that bad.” I said hesitantly. Sebastian snorted while Kettle decided to put in his two cents. “You’re wearing black panties with pink hearts.” I gasped, and looked down at my legs. Okay, they were a little short, but they really weren’t that bad! Instead of arguing, I crossed my arms and glared at the man. He laughed. The bastard. Wanting to change the subject, I turned in Sebastian’s arms and looked at his dirty, smudged face. “Do you want a drink or something? Do you need anything?” Sebastian shook his head. “You’re not leaving my side. Especially not in those shorts.” He growled, sending shivers down my spine. “Who’s the man that’s glaring a whole in my chest?” I whispered into Sebastian’s ear. He snorted. “That’s my boss.” His lips moved over my skin as he spoke, and I really started to feel the heat. My nipples puckered, and I was supremely happy that I was wearing the leather vest. It concealed my nipples quite nicely. Just as I was about to say something else, Trance, in his black BPD uniform, came through the door with a notebook in hand. “Hey, brother. How ya doin’?” Sebastian’s boss growled and left the room, a trail of aggravation trailing in his wake. Stepping out of Sebastian’s arms, I went to the doorway and watched as the man stomped down the hallway. Turning back around, I placed my arms on my hips. “What’s his problem?” I asked the three men. They hadn’t been surprised at his abrupt departure, but I was. Didn’t he need to answer just as much as Sebastian did? Wasn’t he there? Wasn’t he concerned about his employee? Three sets of Warden eyes turned to me, all three assessing. Kettle was the one to answer, though. “He’s mad that he got reprimanded in front of the whole department. Not to mention demoted. Sebastian’s the new Captain.”

My mouth fell open, and I smiled widely. “Really?” I asked excitedly, bouncing on my toes. Sebastian shrugged. “We’ll see. The Chief got wind of all the fires, finally, and he had a lot of questions; ones The Captain didn’t have the answers to. I did, and it made him look bad. When he reacted badly, The Chief told him to he needed to speak with him in private. The Chief showed up here about twenty minutes ago, telling me I was the new acting Captain.” “Well...” I said, trying valiantly to control the smile that I had no hope of containing. “That’s just fucking awesome!” “What’s fucking awesome? That you finally got your head out of your ass?” Silas growled from behind her. I spun and glared at him. I crossed my arms across my chest, planted my feet, and said, “What kind of woman would take on a man like Sebastian without a little hesitation? He’s vice president of a prominent motorcycle club that nearly dominates the area below the Mason-Dixon Line. I’m not stupid. I didn’t want to jump into this without having my feet firmly planted on both sides. Not to mention the fact that I only got the full picture three days ago. I think I did remarkably well, if you want the truth. You can just...suck it.” My hand flew to my mouth, covering it, while my eyes went wide in surprise. I hadn’t meant to say that, and by the look on Silas’ face, he hadn’t expected me to speak to him like that, either. But he also looked a little...proud. “You’re lucky we don’t beat our women.” Silas muttered as he walked fully into the room and held up the wall beside Kettle. I turned, and was surprised to see the worried looks on the other three faces in the room. “What?” I asked. Trance came unstuck first, glancing from me to Silas and back again. Sebastian did the same, only a little more wide eyed. What? Had no one ever said ‘suck it’ before? What was the big deal? *** I learned later that night, as I started cooking dinner, what the big deal was. “Hey,” Sebastian said, walking up next to me and leaning his hips against the counter. “My dad’s old fashioned. He doesn’t like when women speak so...strongly. He also hates change. He was trying to make you feel bad, yes, but he was also worried about me. So try not to say ‘suck it’ to him anymore, okay?” I snorted, poured one of the cheese packets into the cooked noodles, and began to stir. I was making fake macaroni since it was one of the few things Sebastian had in the house. He’d said he hadn’t had time to go to the store in a while, and it showed. Which was why we were eating macaroni and sausage instead of a home cooked meal made by scratch.

I didn’t much like boxed food. Then again, I’d been spoiled growing up. My mom made something homemade every night. It was very rare for the family to actually go out to dinner. Now, when I had the chance, I made sure to cook from scratch, craving that touch of home. “Why are you massacring that box?” Sebastian asked concerned. “I spilled the cheese out of the other one. I need another cheese, so I’m trying to get it out of this one, but the stupid ‘press here’ perforated edged shit doesn’t work. Mother of pearl!” I growled. “Give me the box.” Sebastian snapped his fingers holding his hand out. I glared at him, determined to do it myself. After the next minute of struggling, I finally relented and handed him the box. With smooth, deft movements, the son of a bitch opened it, and handed it to me with a look of incredulity. “Are you serious...you couldn’t open that?” I snatched the box out of his hand, spilling uncooked noodles all over the ground in the process. Extracting the cheese, I poured the package into the pot and stirred. “Why didn’t you make the third box?” Sebastian asked as he nudged me out of the way and took over the stirring portion of the job. I glared at him. He did that easily as well. “Two boxes seemed enough. Why?” I asked warily. “Well, considering me and the boy can down two by ourselves, if you’d been interested in eating more than a tiny helping, then you should’ve made three. I didn’t put three boxes out just for the hell of it.” Sebastian grumbled. “Whatever. Guess I won’t eat.” I sniffed. The metal spoon Sebastian was using hit the side of the pot with a clink when he dropped it. He’d turned around, crossed his arms over his chest, and glared at me. “Don’t pull that pitiful shit on me. What’s your fucking problem?” He finally asked. I didn’t want to tell him I was feeling emotional. Didn’t want to tell him that the last three days had been horrible. I’d missed him terribly, and my being on the most dreaded time of the month didn’t really help matters, either. “What’s your problem?” I shot back. “My problem? You really want to go there?” He finally asked. My back straightened at his tone of voice. “Yeah, I really want to fucking go there.” Then I felt instantly bad because Sebastian’s child was at the table behind me. Or he had been. Now he was on the floor underneath the kitchen chair sleeping. I wanted to laugh, but I was in too good of a snit to stop it now. “My problem,” he said, stepping so close that my hips bumped against the kitchen counter as I tried to step away from his advance. “Is that you keep fucking jumping to conclusions. You took three torturous

days to decide that you wanted to be with me. Now that I think about it, I’m not really sure if you chose me on your own free will or if it was because someone called to tell you I was hurt, and you felt the need to be there for me. Oh, and I’m fucking horny!” I stopped retreating at his asinine assumption and pushed forward. “I’d put the vest on even before I got your call. I was coming to see your ass at the station. This is the first day that I haven’t felt like utter shit. I’ve texted you a ton in the last few days!” “Property patch. And what could possibly have bothered you that much that you couldn’t come to me?” He growled, leaning closer. “Oh, just, you know...a period! They aren’t very forgiving for me. I get weak and sick to my stomach. The blood loss isn’t anything to sneeze at either. I don’t even work those times of the month. I have to call in sick.” Sebastian’s eyes narrowed. “You’re going to tell me that because you were on the rag you couldn’t come see me?” I ground my teeth together to keep from shouting my head off at him and risk waking up Johnny. “Yeah, I’m telling you it was because I’m on the fucking rag that it took me three days to come see you. I sure didn’t see your ass at my front door. I invited you over!” “I was busy. I couldn’t just drop everything to come see you, even though I wanted to. Why is this so bad for you, when millions of other women function with their periods every damn day?” He said, caging me in with his arms. Was he being serious, or was he provoking me? Did he want to fight about this? Because I was about to oblige him. “You remember when I fell and scraped my hand? Or how about when I poked my finger? Imagine that times about ten. Except for, you know, lower.” The conversation got harder to speak about after that. Needless to say, by the time I was finished explaining, he felt sorry for me and wanted to buy me a cupcake and even offered a backrub. “Now, go wake that kid of yours up and let’s try to get him to eat.” I instructed, placing Johnny’s plate on the table. Sebastian yelled at Johnny to get up while he fixed his own plate, and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Hey! I could’ve done that!” I hadn’t meant to, but I was laughing. It felt so good to laugh with him again. Even if it made my ribs ache. The sound of Sebastian’s phone had his smile dying from his face as he dug it out of his pocket and answered it with a frown. “Yeah?” He answered as he walked stiffly into the hallway, and then beyond to his bedroom. His voice was muffled after that, but I could tell he was pissed. Knowing he wasn’t going to get off the phone in the very near future, I woke Johnny up, fed him, and

got him in his pajamas before I sent him to his bed. “Will you read to me, Monster?” Johnny asked as he wrapped his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around him, pulled him close, and rubbed his hair. “Your daddy calls me Monster when I’m not around, doesn’t he?” Sebastian, who’d just finished his phone call, smiled unrepentantly at me. “Oh, yeah. He called you his bitch the other day, but he told me not to repeat that. He said you’d get upset.” Johnny told me in his little boy voice; it was so cute I couldn’t keep the smile from overtaking my face. Sebastian had covered his face with both hands, and was trying gallantly not to laugh. He managed, but only barely. “I need to drive to the clubhouse for a few. Well, I need you to drive me. I don’t think I can drive by myself yet. And we’ll have to take my truck, because I don’t think I can manage to move his car seat over without hurting myself in the process.” He looked nervous as he explained his reasoning for needing me to drive, but I agreed, albeit apprehensively. “You’re going to have to help me. Make sure I don’t sideswipe any cars.” I bit my lip nervously. Twenty harrowing minutes later, and we were pulling into the driveway of the Dixie Wardens’ clubhouse. “Wow that was really easy to do. That back up camera comes in really handy!” I said gleefully. “I’m going to have to get one of those!” Sebastian chuckled as he carefully dropped down out of the passenger seat of his car. “Why don’t you go ask Normus if he can find you that?” I’d yet to meet Normus. Although, I’d learned, he owned a garage on the outskirts of Benton. He was the resident mechanic, and what I’d heard from Trance, the resident flirt with anything that had a working pair of legs. ‘Working,’ meaning they could spread them on their own, that is. He didn’t discriminate. Big, short, tall, old, young, he didn’t care. If they’d open their legs for him, he’d do them. “Do you think he has one?” I asked, being completely serious about the fact that I needed a backup camera. Sebastian ignored the question, and I decided that he was being serious, and I made a mental note to ask him when I saw him. Apparently, he wouldn’t be hard to find, from what Trance had told me the last time we’d seen each other. Just follow the sexual innuendos. I forgot all about Normus and his innuendos as soon as we entered what Sebastian liked to call the ‘clubhouse.’ It was nothing more than a glorified saloon. There was a bar along the front wall of the room spanning nearly the entire room. Only a small open space at the very corner of the bar allowed anyone to go behind

to the area beyond. Along the front, there were barstools made out of old motorcycle seats, even going as far as to have license plates on them. The rest of the place was a mass of mismatched couches, recliners, and loveseats. The wall closest to me was sporting a screen that dominated nearly the entire wall. Then there were the men. Only seven of them in all, but each and every one of them were intimidating. Two of them I knew. One was Trance, who was sprawled out on the closest couch, a finger curled around the lip of a beer bottle. He had a bowl of popcorn resting on his stomach, and his eyes moved to us as soon as we entered the room. As for the other man I knew, that would be Silas. He stood as soon as we got there, and went outside to retrieve the sleeping Johnny from the truck. Once he was back, he placed him on the couch in the furthest, quietest part of the room and covered him with a blanket before nodding to Sebastian to follow him. With one last glance towards me, he followed his father into a hallway behind the bar I hadn’t seen, and disappeared a moment later. Nervous as hell to be left in a roomful of men I didn’t know, I chose the recliner nearest Trance and sat carefully. It just happened to be the one Silas had just risen from. I fairly sank into the most comfortable piece of furniture my ass had ever had the privilege of feeling. “Oh, Jesus. This has to be the best seat ever.” I sighed, sinking into the goodness. Trance snorted, and a man that was just to my right laughed. My eyes traveled from Trance to the man, and I just made out the name that was on the front of his cut. Loki. My eyes flicked to his face, and I had to control the wince that wanted to take over my body. He had a visible scar along his neck, from one side to the other that obviously indicated he’d had his throat cut. The scar itself looked old though. It was white, indicating that the accident had happened quite some time ago. His hair was dirty blonde and messy. If he didn’t’ have a scar on his neck, he’d look very much like the boy next door. His face was clean of blemishes, his teeth were white and straight, and his eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. He was sitting with his thick arms crossed tightly over his chest, bunching the leather of his cut so that just the name on front was visible. The scarred and dirty boot of one large foot was propped up on the edge of the recliner’s footrest, and the other was planted firmly on the floor.

Finally meeting his eyes after my perusal, I was surprised to see a smile on his face. Looking back at Trance, I noticed that he, too, had a smile on his face. “What?” I asked him. “You should ask Silas if you can take it home. I’ll bet he’d let you.” Loki said from beside me. Chuckles filled the air behind me, making my extremely curious Trance snorted. “He won’t let you. But you could always ask. Couldn’t hurt.” Shifting to the side, my leg pressed against the side of the chair. Then the TV started emitting moans, groans, grunts, and squeals. I looked up to see two men screwing a woman on the large screen. One was in her mouth, and another was in her vagina. My eyes widened at the sight. Hoots and hollers echoed through the room and I could feel the blush overtaking my face. I turned wide eyes to Trance, and he was looking at me expectantly, like he expected me to freak out. Well, I would prove him wrong. Turning back to the show, I watched with my arms crossed tightly against my chest as the two men went on to fuck the woman. “Do you think her boobs are real?” I asked absently, watching the woman’s chest stay perfectly still after each thrust. “No, definitely fake. Normal boobs shake and jiggle when you fuck.” Loki supplied helpfully. “Yeah, that’s what I thought. That guy’s dick is kind of small.” I noted. The beer Loki had been drinking sprayed at my comment, and he looked at my incredulity. I just shrugged. It did look small. At least for porn star standards. “Is this a favorite channel for you guys?” I asked the room at large. “Nah,” Trance said taking a sip of his beer. “This is Normus’ channel. We don’t usually watch this in the main room. Must be a special occasion.” “Normus lives in the clubhouse. He also pays the cable bill, which means he can get whatever he wants.” Loki concluded. “Hmm.” I said in answer. Finally, the show ended, but was quickly replaced by another porn. One even cornier than before. This one was loosely based on the popular movie, Blair Witch Project. Except this one was called Bare Bitch Project. “Wow, this one is quality stuff, right here.” I laughed. Setting the footrest up on the recliner, I kicked back and tried not to get turned on in a room full of men I didn’t know.

Instead, I focused on the fake orgasms the woman was having, and the hair stubble on both the man and the woman. “She’s running through the woods naked. Why on earth would she be doing that for fun?” I asked the room at large. “Maybe she’s looking for some wild animal lovin’.” An older man said from the doorway to the clubhouse. I turned to survey the old man, and as he got closer, I finally realized that this was the infamous Normus I’d been hearing about. “If she tried that around here, she’d be catching that big bush on all the thorns and vines. Can you imagine poison ivy on all those private parts?” I asked him. He grimaced. “Nah, that I can’t.” Thirty minutes later, I was well on my way to being drunk, and cackling with the members of Dixie Wardens, bonding over Blair’s big bush. Normus was a hoot, and he reminded me a lot of my daddy. He was sweet and cuddly, like a big old teddy bear. “I see you met Dixie.” Sebastian observed as he came to a stop beside my chair. I looked up at him, confused. “Who’s Dixie?” Sebastian nodded his head in ‘Dixie’s’ direction. “Dixie? I thought your name was Normus.” He laughed. “It is. Dixie’s my road name. Normus is my real name.” Then I couldn’t hold in the laugh anymore. Seriously, my ribs ached like a son of a bitch, but really, who wouldn’t laugh? “You’re Dixie Normus?” I wheezed. Sebastian, Normus, and everybody else in the room got in on the laugh. “Oh, yeah. Want me to prove it?” That was when I realized what I’d said. “Uh, no thank you. That’s quite all right. I’ll take your word for it.”

Chapter 18 Did a cartwheel the other day. Found out it is most definitely not like riding a bike. -Note to self Baylee Two months later I woke up to screaming. It was the type of scream that meant pain. Johnny. Lifting up, I rolled off the couch with the next breath, and ran down the hallway towards the screaming boy. I heard larger, more prominent footsteps rushing from the opposite direction at much the same pace as my own. We both met at the porch door, Sebastian going out first, rushing towards the screams that still hadn’t abated in ferocity. He vaulted the railing, landing lithely on his feet, before he rushed to Johnny who was curled up in a ball at the base of the trampoline. By the time I made it down the steps and around to them, Sebastian was on his knees next to Johnny on the ground, holding him in place. “What’s wrong?” “My arm!” Johnny wailed. It was obvious to both of us that his left forearm was broken. It wasn’t aligned correctly, with one edge of a broken bone pushing against his skin forebodingly. “It’s broken. Go find me a magazine and some tape.” I instructed Sebastian. Once he was gone, I went about calming his son. “Hey there big boy. It’s all right. I know it hurts, but if you keep flailing your arm around like that, it’s just going to hurt worse. Shhh. It’s okay. I promise. There’s a good boy. Did you hurt anything else?” Johnny’s eyes came from Sebastian. With the tears swimming in his eyes, as they were doing now, they looked almost exactly like the golden brown of a Miller Genuine Draft. They were gorgeous on Johnny’s tanned face. His hair was a snow-white blonde that stood out greatly, compared to his golden skin. He sure was a cutie though. Dirt smudged his face where he must’ve hit his head when he’d fallen as he tried to get out of the trampoline. “Hold me, Lee.” Johnny sniffled. Not able to refuse that sweet face anything, I gathered him up carefully just as Sebastian returned with

a magazine and a roll of silver duct tape. The next ten minutes were spent stabilizing Johnny’s arm, finding him shoes, and then driving to the hospital. We were seen quickly, due to Sebastian’s notoriety in the Benton community, as well as the cut that was riding over his shapely back. The first stop was the X-ray room where Johnny started flipping out when they tried to put him on the table. Since he was in my arms at the time, I tried to calm him; he clung to me like a scalded cat while Sebastian looked on helplessly. “Ma’am, you can hold him, just bring him over here.” The x-ray tech instructed, indicating a small stool with the x-ray machine in front of me. As they brought the metal vest over to me, they started asking routine questions. “Is there any chance you could be pregnant?” The tech asked. Pfft. Yeah right. Sebastian and I had been using birth control ever since we’d first had sex. Well, most of the time, but my period hadn’t indicated anything yet. Nor did I feel like I was pregnant. “No.” “Are you sure?” I asked. When I hesitated, they persisted in that line of questioning. “What type of birth control are you on? Are you sexually active?” My mouth opened and closed like a guppy. “Well, condoms. And yes. Why does this matter?” I wondered. “If you do happen to be pregnant, this could harm the fetus. It’s against hospital regulations to perform this x-ray with someone that could potentially be pregnant. They always make us ask.” The tech explained. “Just let me have him. I’ll do it. I can’t be pregnant.” He teased, but his expression was still dazed. I passed the weeping Johnny over to Sebastian, and backed out of the room, coming to a stop at the edge of the wall and sliding down to my knees. “What the hell?” I muttered. However, the more I sat and thought about it, the more I started realizing a few things. One, I hadn’t had a period this month. Although it was unusual for them to be off, I’d attributed the change in period to the accident that had held me from work for nearly three weeks. But now, I had to wonder...could I be pregnant? Would I be happy if I were pregnant? I was happy now. Ever since I had taken Sebastian’s property patch, things had changed. Sebastian was more open about everything that was going on. I found myself flooded with information about the club, and not all of it was even from Sebastian.

Trance spoke to me. Loki spoke to me. Porter spoke to me. Porter’s wife, Minnie, spoke to me. Hell, even Silas spoke to me. I’d attended multiple barbeques. We’d go out to lunch and have one of the guys join us. We’d be relaxing at Sebastian’s home, or mine, and one of the Wardens would show up to hang. Motorcycles became a constant and permanent fixture on my driveway. Everyone loved my house because I had a pool that was perfect for playing volleyball in, and I had a new large deck that held a lot of people. With the addition of Sebastian’s new grill, it was a fun, safe place to enjoy a little break. However, there were things I didn’t like. For instance, I was on the receiving end of all kinds of petty women’s tongue-lashings. The club whores didn’t like me; mainly it was because I didn’t allow any of them in my house, and because I just plain didn’t like them. I wasn’t looking down on them for what they did; I looked down on them for how they acted. It was like high school all over again. All the women were rude, snappy, and hateful. They were also mean to Kettle’s new girlfriend the one time he had persuaded her to come to a barbeque at the clubhouse. And she’d never been back, which made me dislike the whores even more. There were only so many times I could handle the glares and petty comments before I snapped, and if their antics kept up, my control would be non-existent. Sebastian was mine, and they just needed to get that through their hair sprayed skulls. Another thing I disliked was how Sebastian would just...disappear. His father would call him, and he’d jump. Every single time. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, Sebastian would be out the door and on the road in the next instant, expecting me to be there when he got back. The door to X-ray opened, emitting a very exasperated looking Sebastian carrying a very angry Johnny. “I want my Monster!” The smile that overtook my face made the scowl on Sebastian’s face disappear. “They look at the x-rays yet?” I asked as I took Johnny from his arms. Sebastian relinquished him readily, looking a little frazzled around the edges. I’d heard Johnny screaming the entire time they were in there, but it must’ve been a lot worse inside for Sebastian to look so roughed up. “Not yet. They’re making sure they have a clear one. He was moving a lot.” Sebastian shook his head. The doctor entered their room a few minutes after they were settled with the X-ray film and a grimace. He walked straight to the light that they hung the films up on and turned it on before placing the film over it. With only one glance, I knew it was broken. I couldn’t help but cringe as I saw the very obvious separation in the bone that was supposed to be together.

“As you can see, it’s broken. This is the ulna here that you’re seeing. We’re going to put a cast on, and you’ll have a follow up with your pediatrician in 48 hours. Once that’s done, they’ll let you know what they want to do from there. We’re just going to go ahead and do the waterproof one, since he’s only three. It takes a bit longer, but I think it’ll be worth it. We’ll have to sedate him though. Which means we’ll have to get an IV started.” He said, grimacing. I figured out that trying to give a child an IV was much like giving a cat a bath. When they didn’t want to be there, it became extremely hard to do without getting your eyes gouged out. Then the authoritative father slipped into place, and Sebastian leaned in and looked at Johnny calmly. “You will sit still and have this done. Stop the screaming.” He ordered. With me on his lower body, Sebastian held the still straining Johnny down effortlessly. Where before I’d been struggling to hold just his arm in place, Sebastian held one hand planted firmly over Johnny’s chest, and the other holding the arm that was getting the IV still, and stared in Johnny’s eyes while the needle slid in. My heart broke at the sound of pain from Johnny, but continued to hold him until they got the IV in place, and then the medicine started to do its job. “Wow,” the nurse said, slightly flustered. “I cannot tell you how many times a day we have to wrap these kids in a sheet, and then have half the hospital staff laying over the top of them to get one IV in. This was a Godsend having you here. Do you need a job?” She teased, eyeing Sebastian with admiration. Sebastian snorted. “I have too many as it is, honey. I’ll always be here for my son though, so you’ll never have any problems from him. That I can guarantee.” “What color cast do you think he’ll want?” The nurse asked before leaving. Sebastian looked at me for direction. “What colors do you have?” I asked. In the end, we chose a neon orange to match Johnny’s shoes that he loved so much. When we were driving home that night, I could tell that Sebastian had something on his mind, but no matter how much I tried to coax the problem out of him, he wasn’t talking. The incident in the room wasn’t spoken of again for quite some time, but as the days, and then weeks went by, I had a niggling feeling that I knew the truth. Yet I was scared to even think about it, and I put it out of my mind. Not actually admitting it was like it wasn’t really true...right?

Chapter 19 Oh, you were about to eat? Sleep? Pee? Let me play you the song of my people. -Life lesson-tones drop at inopportune times Baylee Beep. Beep. Beep. Deedooodeedoo. I growled as the tones dropped. I looked down at my hamburger and French fries with a deep-seated sadness. Son of a bitch. “Medic three, Engine three. Gunshot victim at First National Bank on Broadway. Patient status unknown. Please standby.” “Son of a bitch.” I cursed, placing my delicious hamburger in the fridge, hoping it would still be there when I got back. “Noooo!” Winter yelled from the other room. She’d just laid down for a nap. Apparently, her daughter was teething and she didn’t get much sleep the night before. Dillon and Bowe banged through the door that led to the back patio and ran heavily towards the engine. Tai and PD were already suited out and in the truck. I followed closely behind, hopping into the bus and starting it. Winter pulled up the rear, buttoning her shirt as she went. “I really, really could use another three hours of sleep. I’m about to go crazy.” As we pulled up three blocks away from the bank, a uniformed police officer met us, and explained what was going on. “We’ve got some gunmen holding up the First National Bank. We know that one teller has been shot and, as far as we know, has sustained a non-life threatening shot to the leg. We...” “Rawls!” A man boomed from the edge of the police line. I followed the sound of the man’s voice to find James standing there in full SWAT gear. “Shit, must be really serious if they have the SWAT team here.” Winter observed as Rawls, as James had called him, went running to him. James didn’t even spare them a glance as he spoke to the uniformed officer and then took off. The officer returned moments later bearing instructions. “He wants us to move back. Says the main guy has a hunting rifle and could easily hit anyone from this distance. We’re going to need you to park around that corner right there.” He said, indicating the next side street. Winter moved the bus and Bowe moved the engine; we waited for what felt like hours.

“Do you think they’ll deliver pizza over here?” I asked over the radio to Dillon. Static. “Negative. The Chief would kill us.” Bowe replied good naturedly. “What about going to that Subway over there. I’m dying here.” I continued. Seriously, there was a Subway not even two stores down from us. We’d been sitting in the parking lot of the Speedy Lube for well over an hour, and I was dying. And I had to pee. Just as I was about to suggest it when Downy, my brother’s best friend and fellow SWAT member, rounded the corner. He looked pretty darn hot. I don’t mean sexy hot, either. Not that he wasn’t easy on the eyes...well, really easy, but he looked like he was sweating his ass off. He was in long sleeved cargo pants, a long sleeved shirt, a helmet, a protective Kevlar vest, a neck covering, and sturdy black boots. Then he had multiple weapons strapped on; one to his thigh, one across his back, a knife on his left leg, a utility belt, and, finally, one in a shoulder holster under his left arm. He looked well and truly pissed, too. Which was unusual for him. Downy was what you would call the class clown. He was tall, about two inches taller than my brother. He had broad shoulders, a strong firm jaw, and beautiful red hair. He reminded me of a Scottish Highlander with all those ropey muscles and Scottish heritage attributes. All he needed was a blue face and the mullet, and he could totally pull it off. He’d been on the police force when my brother had met him, and together they’d broached the subject of a SWAT team with the Chief of Police. He’d assigned a senior officer to the team, and Downy and Luke had been the first actual members. They’d become fast friends, and I absolutely adored him. I’d never seen him mad before, but with one glance at him now, I could definitely cross that particular item off my list. He’d approached the firefighters first, and when he didn’t get what he wanted, he came to us. “They’re allowing a medic to go in there and help the lady that was shot. You don’t have to do it, but they said they’d let the other hostages go if we showed good faith by sending one of our own in. I need one of you to tell me what to do, and we’ll see if we can help her.” Downy rushed out. That was just too hard to explain to someone who’d never had any basic medical experience. I didn’t really know how it happened, but one thing led to another, and I found myself strapped into a Kevlar vest and neck guard, heading into a building where there was a gunman. And my brother was pissed. He’d gotten into a fight with Downy, and instead of waiting, I just went in.

At the time, I wasn’t really thinking of the consequences. There was only one thing I thinking of and that was that there was an injured person in there, and I wasn’t letting her die if I could help it. *** Sebastian “Where is she?” I growled, once I pulled up on my bike. I parked the bike as close to the tape as I could without actually running it over with my bike. The cops probably wouldn’t see that in a good light. Everyone looked around nervously. There was a crowd behind the bright yellow strip of police tape, made up of her friends and fellow workers. They all looked concerned and very reluctant to tell me where she was. The surprising thing was that Luke was the one to point out where she was. I found her sitting on the floor of the open doors of her own motherfucking ambulance. She had a dressing pressed against her forehead, and the white t-shirt she normally wore underneath her uniform top was stained bright red with blood. When no one said anything, I assumed she’d gone inside and then had the nerve to get hurt in the process. Not waiting for permission, I stomped forward, in precise steps toward the woman who was about to feel the pain and terror I felt in that hour drive over here. I’d been so goddamned scared that she would get hurt, and low and behold, she was hurt. When she saw me, her smile widened, but immediately fell when she saw the expression on my face. She came to her feet warily. “I know you’re upset, I really do. But I was completely...” “Enough.” I hissed. Her mouth slapped shut so hard her teeth clicked together. She looked worried about what I was about to say, and she should be. “I’ve never had these feelings before. Never. I went through two tours of deployment. Watched my three best friends burn alive in front of me. I’ve just spent the last hour of my life worrying about you; whether you were dead or alive. I have never...never...felt this way before. It felt like a piece of my heart was ripped out. What in the holy fuck were you thinking?” I was all but yelling by the time I was finished. She sneered at me. “I’m a paramedic! We’ve taken an oath to preserve life! What’d you want me to do, let her die?” “Yes! You’re carrying my goddamned kid! You can’t put yourself in those kind of situations anymore! Because you have a responsibility to the life that you’re carrying inside of you that trumps any motherfucking oath you took!” I bellowed. Her mouth, which had been open to yell right back at me, closed again with another audible snap. I

could also see the crowd that was gathering, watching the interaction, but I could care less at that point. The woman I loved, the one who was carrying a part of me within her, almost took that part of me away with one reckless act. One heroic feat that could have ended so much more differently than it had. “I know that you think I was in danger, but I really wasn’t.” She said petulantly. “Really? Were you the one in control of that gun?” I asked sarcastically. “No...” “Did you have control of the four other men in there with him? Do you think you can take on four men at the same time? Because I’m not even sure that I could do that!” I growled. She shook her head, not saying anything this time. “I didn’t think so.” I snapped. “I think it’s time for you to grow up a little. Stop blaming all your problems on your disability. Let me know when you can act like an adult. Keep that kid of mine safe. I don’t want to hear about you going into any more dangerous situations. You won’t like the results if I do.” With that parting comment, I stalked back to my bike. Ignoring the anger on the women’s faces, even my sister’s. The men looked like they agreed with me 100%, but that was to be expected. No man wanted to find out that their woman went into a mother-fucking bank with a gunman and four other assailants to help a teller that’d been shot. I didn’t care if the woman was dying. My woman had a responsibility. And it sure as hell wasn’t to the woman who was injured, but to the unborn life inside of her that depended on her to keep it safe. I’d been in the down room at the station when I’d looked up at the Breaking News Alert on the television. It’d said that a paramedic had gone in to help a hurt teller during a robbery. The gunman, and leader, had allowed it to happen in exchange for a freaking helicopter. When I’d heard about the paramedic going in, I just somehow knew, knew, that it was Baylee. The girl had no fear, and although she blamed that little tidbit on her ADHD, this time it wasn’t going to fly. She had to learn that she couldn’t do that anymore. Not if I was with her. I couldn’t handle that. My heart couldn’t handle it. *** Baylee “You okay?” Luke asked me. I looked up at my big brother in his SWAT uniform and grimaced. No, I was anything but okay, and he damn well knew it. When Luke’s hand came out and swiped a few stray tears coursing down my cheek, I broke down. Luke pulled me close, and I buried my face into my big brother’s arms, just as I used to do. Although, the last time I remembered doing it was when my boyfriend broke up with me because my ADHD was too much for him to handle.

“You really pregnant?” My brother rumbled. A whimper escaped my lips. “I dunno. Maybe. Probably.” “Why don’t you know?” He asked curiously. His big arms squeezed me a little tighter before he let me go. His face was soft and open as he looked into my eyes, and I was struck with how very much I loved him. He’d always been the best big brother. He was so nice. Never complained that I followed him around constantly. He taught me how to drive a standard. Taught me how to change my oil. Took me to and from school. Protected me. “I’m scared.” I whispered. “Of what?” He asked concerned. “What if the baby is like me? What if he or she has the same problems I have?” I mumbled, looking down at my cuticles. Luke’s blunt finger went underneath my chin and brought my gaze to his. “What if it does? Are you going to love it any less?” I straightened in indignation. “No, of course not!” His blonde eyebrows raised at the ferocity of my voice. “Then what’s it matter? Get your head out of your ass and go to him.” With those eloquent words, Luke disentangled himself from me and left to talk to the Chief of Police. “I don’t think you need stitches. It just looks bad. The skin was scraped off along your temple, but there is nothing to fix.” Winter explained as I dropped down in the seat beside me. “What’d Allen have to say?” I asked looking in his direction. Winter grimaced. “He wasn’t happy that the SWAT team let you go in. He’s pretty upset himself. He told Dillon and Tai to take over the medic duties and told us we were off shift pending investigation.” I turned in surprise. “But you didn’t go in!” Winter shrugged my shoulder. “I would have. I was going to until Jack got here and forbid it.” My insides churned. I hadn’t really thought about it at the time. I’d just reacted. When we’d learned the severity of the injury, not to mention the fact that the teller was pregnant with twins, I hadn’t even considered anything else. “Sebastian is really mad at me.” I sighed. A low masculine voice startled me making me jump. “You have no clue.” Winter and I screeched as we turned to find Loki on the other side of us, leaning casually up against the back doors to the bus. He was wearing his cut over a black t-shirt, and a faded pair of jeans. His hair was even messier than the last time I’d seen him, and I could tell that either he’d just woken up, or had just as bad of a day as I had. “What’re you doing here?” I asked softly.

Loki’s eyes softened at the hitch in my voice. “You scared about ten years off everyone’s life. When Kettle called to tell us what happened, and that Sebastian may need some help, we followed. Caught up to him at the Texas border when your man nearly got himself killed the first time. A car pulled out in front of him and he nearly t-boned it. Then he nearly got sideswiped when he tried to get in front of someone going to slow for his liking. And then he nearly had to lay the bike down when a deer ran out of the woods and crossed the street right in front of him. The man’s lucky as fuck, if you ask me. Driving reckless isn’t the thing to do on a motorcycle.” My heart stopped in my chest when I thought about all the things that could’ve happened to him on his mad dash over to me. He could’ve been gone and I never would’ve known it. “Can you take me to him?” I pleaded. “Don’t know where he is, darlin’. But there’s no way I’m taking you on the back of my bike. Not after what we heard. He’d probably kill the one that tried. You’ll have to catch a ride home, and then I’ll drive your car if you still want me to. But there’s nowhere I can take you other than the clubhouse or his place. I don’t know where he went. If you want honesty, though, I think you should give him a few days to cool off. Let him come to you.” Feeling defeated, I nodded my head at him before turning around. “Thank you, Loki. If he asks, I’ll be at home.”

Chapter 20 You flipped the bitch switch, so buckle up and enjoy the ride, asshole! -text from Baylee to Sebastian Baylee “Hey, it’s me. Uhh, I have an appointment in about an hour. It’s in Shreveport. I wanted to make sure it was close to you so you didn’t have to drive so far. It’s at The Women’s Clinic on Center Street. I...” I hesitated. “bye.” My hand fell heavily against my leg like it weighed a million pounds. I’d called Sebastian numerous times in the past three days, and he hadn’t answered once. Deciding I needed to stop denying the truth, I set up an appointment with a doctor that was recommended by Winter for his expertise in high risk pregnancies. I’d spent the last three days scouring the internet on pregnancies of women who have von Wheelbrand’s disease, and what I’d found scared me to death. The first time I’d broken down and called Sebastian was after I’d read those articles. When he hadn’t answered, I’d contacted Winter who’d given me the number of Doctor Abrahams. They’d worked me in the next day, and now it was nearly time for me to go. I walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed when I contemplated what to wear. My eyes fell on the leather vest, and the property patch that I’d been so excited to wear the first time I’d laid eyes on it. I hadn’t worn it in three days, scared shitless that Sebastian might not want me to anymore. That would certainly explain why he hadn’t even bothered to call me in three days. Finally, I decided not to wear it, but to take it with me just in case he did decide to show. I slipped into a pair of yoga pants, a tight black t-shirt that said ‘I <3 a Marine,’ and my oldest pair of tennis shoes, before heading out to the living room. Glancing at the clock, since I was finished, I decided to go ahead and leave now. Maybe Sebastian would actually come, and I’d get a little extra time with him. He was always early. I knew he wasn’t working. I also knew he was getting his messages. He wasn’t the type of person to totally ignore me. He’d probably read them, but was still too mad at me to respond. Which was to be expected. In the three days I’d had to contemplate the act, I knew I shouldn’t have done it. I should have trusted my brother and not done it. Should have listened to my gut instinct. But I didn’t, and I very well might have paid for it. I contemplated my stupidity halfway to Shreveport. What snapped me out of the funk, rather abruptly, was the sound of my motor coughing and sputtering.

Then I watched in fascination as the little red needle that measured the RPMs on my dash go from white two to the red eight, make quite a spectacular boom, as something under my hood blew, followed quickly by the billowing of smoke from underneath the hood. “Oh, shit.” I whispered heartbrokenly. Managing to maneuver my old car to the side of the road and into the emergency lane, I turned the key to the off position, despite the motor no longer running and watched the cars pass me by for nearly five minutes. In those five minutes, I contemplated my options. There weren’t many. Luke was in Canton with the rest of the SWAT team for a team exercise. Winter was visiting with her sister that was down from up north. And I didn’t even bother calling Sebastian. He wouldn’t answer, so why bother? Since I was more than half way there, I decided the best idea would be just to walk to the doctors I wouldn’t make it in time, but I hoped I’d be able to be seen regardless. After the appointment, I’d figure something out. Sighing loudly, I stepped out of the car and was immediately regretted stepping out on this side when an eighteen-wheeler blew past. The wind that came off the truck blew my door closed, slamming my legs between the door and the bottom of the car. I cried out in pain at the jolt, knowing that tomorrow morning I’d be sporting some pretty lovely bruises. I walked quickly around the car, grabbed my bag, locked it, and then slammed the door. Then I thought of something genius and reopened the door; excited for the first time in two days. The little velvet Crown Royal bag Sebastian had given me rested between the seats of my car. The chips that I’d won that night at the boats clinked and clanked together as I snatched them up and then shoved them deep into the depths of my purse. Luckily, it was one of those across the chest ones, or I wouldn’t have even bothered bringing it. I made it about three quarters of a mile before the first person stopped. Once I got rid of him, I moved to the feeder road that ran along the side of the interstate. That saved me for another mile before the next stopped. After the fourth person stopped, I wasn’t so sure this was the best idea. I was about to call Sebastian and leave him a begging voicemail when I remembered the leather vest tucked securely into my purse. Dropping my purse from around my shoulders, I pulled out the vest, fed one arm in, then the other. I didn’t know what it was, but the moment I settled the vest around my shoulders, I felt relief. Like that was where it was supposed to be. After that, not one single person stopped.

At one point, a man on a motorcycle had started to stop, but as I’d turned to tell him I wasn’t interested, he’d taken off quickly, not even coming to a complete stop. I’d only seen the dark black helmet and Arkansas license plates before he’d taken off again. He did wave as he left, though. By the fifth mile, I decided I couldn’t do it anymore. My feet were tired, and I was nowhere near close. I must’ve been crazy if I thought I would be able to get all the way to my doctor’s appointment. When the gas station with the Arby’s came into view, I took the exit and walked straight to the bathroom. Once I was finished, I sat down on the bench that faced the gas pumps and watched for a good twenty minutes as person after person, truck after car, passed through the station. The phone in my pocket started vibrating just as I heard what sounded like hundreds of motorcycles pull into the parking lot. Scooting to the very corner, I raised my knees until it covered the front of my vest, and watched, wide eyed, as bike after bike pulled up and parked in three of the spots that were reserved for an eighteenwheeler. “Motherfucker.” I breathed. I’d never seen that many bikes in one place besides The Harley Shop’s parking lot. Jesus, but there had to be at least fifty of them, if not more. The first wave of men to pass me didn’t even spare me a glance. Not all of them got off their bikes though. Most of them stayed right where they were while others came in two and three at a time, returning moments later with a drink or a bag of chips. One had come out with a hotdog while another came out with a plate of the nasty nachos that frequented most gas stations. It wasn’t until they left that I realized that the group that every single one of them that I’d seen were Dixie Wardens. There was a difference between these Dixie Wardens and my own, though. According to their jackets and cuts, they came from a different chapter. Where Sebastian’s said ‘Louisiana,’ the others said ‘Alabama.’ I’d thought I’d been pretty inconspicuous as I sat there, but after about twenty minutes I realized I hadn’t been at all. At first, I hadn’t noticed that they were watching me. But as the minutes ticked by, I started noticing that they weren’t leaving. They were all just sitting there. Every single one of them. And they were staring in my direction. *** Sebastian

“Where are you?” I grumbled. I’d gotten Baylee’s message after we’d attended church. The annual barbeque was this weekend, and everyone was scheduled to arrive within the next few days. Every year we chose a different chapter’s location to meet and reconnect. Although most of the Dixie Wardens saw each other periodically throughout the year, we’d made it a habit to have a scheduled time and place to meet and discuss anything new that had happened over the past year. This year it was the Louisiana chapter’s turn to host. I’d been lucky to get Baylee’s call. Normally, when I was at the clubhouse, I didn’t get messages because there was no cell coverage. We had a landline, but stupidly I’d forgotten to give it to Baylee. She probably thought I was still upset with her, but the events of her fucking up royally and me trying to get everything together for our annual barbeque and getting all our ducks in a row coincided, making it incredibly hard to even talk to her in the last three days. I was lucky to fall into bed and sleep for four hours. Sure, I could’ve made some time to call her, but, to be honest, I was still pretty upset. However when I’d gotten the message of her asking me in a pleading voice to go to her doctor’s appointment, I’d dropped everything, much to my father’s consternation. Then there was the escalating arson fires. I barely had time to take a breath. But I’d do anything for my old lady. Even face my father’s wrath. The old man was still getting used to the fact that he wasn’t number one in my life anymore. My phone vibrated in his pocket, and I answered it quickly without even looking at the readout. “Baylee?” I asked quickly. “Nope. This is Stone. So, you got yourself a little woman?” Stone was the president of the Alabama chapter. He was supposed to be at the boats letting off steam, so why exactly was he asking about my woman when he’d never even seen her? “Yeah,” I answered cautiously. “She looks kind of upset. What’d you do to get yourself in the doghouse already?” I sat up from my sprawl, gripping the seat so hard that I heard the leather creak with the force. “What do you mean? Where are you? How do you know it’s my woman?” I asked quickly. “Gas station at the Louisiana/Texas border. She’s leaning against a plate glass window with your property patch plastered between her back and the window curled into a ball.” he replied just as quickly. “Don’t let her leave. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” I didn’t waste any time getting my bike started and flooring it out of the parking lot. The ride there felt a lot like déjà vu. Only this time I knew she’d be safe; but she didn’t. She was probably scared shitless. Stone’s men were somewhat rough around the edges.

Sure enough, when I pulled into the parking lot and parked my bike next to Stone’s, I could see Baylee curled tightly into a ball on the bench in the front of the store. Her eyes were looking anywhere but at Stone’s men. Sighing, I swung my leg over my bike, nodded thankfully at Stone, and headed in my wayward woman’s direction. The closer I got to her, the more she shrunk into herself. She had no idea it was me, but it still hurt. My heart wasn’t as intelligent as my mind. Another weird thing happened once I was within ten feet or so of her. My anger evaporated. I could make out the telltale signs of exhaustion. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Deep bags hung under each eye, and her skin was pale, as if she hadn’t been feeling well. Which she very well might have. I didn’t know shit since I’d avoided her calls, whether it was intentional or unintentional on my part. For the most part, though, she looked...defeated. Then she finally turned her face towards me, and every single sign of defeat vanished, and she launched herself at me. My ribs smarted from the impact of our bodies colliding with each other, but I relished the bite of pain. It was a good feeling to have her in my arms again. My nose found its way to the crook of her neck and I smelled the distinct sweetness that was her. The rightness. The primal part of me basked in the feeling of home. Then her nose buried into the crook of my neck making me shiver. “You’re freezing.” I said, wrapping my arms a little tighter around her. “I was feeling pretty good with just the long sleeved shirt and the pants when I got out of the car. Then I started sitting here, and all of those bikers showed up. I was too worried to move after that.” She explained “Why didn’t you make the appointment?” I asked her. Baylee started laughing humorlessly. “It died about five miles that way.” She said pointing West with her finger. I stilled when I realized she’d walked the entire way. Pushing her back slightly so I could see her face, I scowled at her. “Why didn’t you call me?” She produced her own scowl. “Would you have answered?” Touché. “It’s been a busy three days. I haven’t purposely avoided you. I’ve been getting tons of shit taken care of that comes with 500 bikers from our club entering into town at one time. I’m sorry, baby.” I explained. “You couldn’t spare one single phone call?” She asked skeptically. I grimaced, holding on to her a tad tighter. “I should have. There’s no excuse. I was just so fucking mad. You could have died, Baylee.”

“I know. I was monumentally stupid.” She whispered forlornly. Turning with her in my arms, I led her over to where Stone was still leaning casually against his bike. I had to laugh at the expression on Baylee’s face the closer we got to Stone and the other members of the club. They were all a little rougher than the Louisiana chapter. A little more into the hardcore side of the biker life. They lived a little bit rougher, and played a little bit harder. But they were a great bunch of men who’d lay down their life for anybody worthy just like the rest of them. Man, woman or child. “Baylee, this is Stone. He’s the president of the Alabama chapter of the Dixie Wardens. Stone, this is my old lady, Baylee.” Stone held out his hand and Baylee reluctantly held out hers. When Stone had Baylee’s hand in his, he brought it to his mouth and gave it a kiss. Even though it was an innocent gesture to most, it was a test for me. Stone was doing it to see what I would do. Stone knew it’d piss me off, and he wanted to see if I’d actually say anything, or play daddy’s little diplomat like I’d always done. Well, he was in for a rude awakening. Baylee came second only to my son, no matter what. My father was nowhere near first in line anymore. My duties were important to me but I wasn’t going to take anybody, even the president of another chapter, disrespecting me. “Stone.” I warned through clenched teeth. He chuckled. “Good to see you found one that means something to you boy.” he said as he dropped Baylee’s hand and stepped back. Baylee was confused by the interaction, I could tell, but I wouldn’t explain it to her now. Not in front of all of them. “Alright, well we’ve got a doctor’s appointment to get to. Check you guys later. You know where I’ve got y’all booked, right?” I asked as I got Baylee settled on the back of my bike. While waiting for him to reply, I extricated myself from my cut and handed it to Baylee. She clutched it tightly to her chest like I’d just given her a lifeline and watched as I stripped out of my sweatshirt, and then gave that to her as well. “Put that on.” I demanded as I took my cut back. “Thank you.” She whispered. “Yeah, at the Horseshoe. Thanks. That’s one of our favorites.” Stone said dryly. Stone didn’t gamble. He said it was a waste of money. But there were really no other places other than the flea bag hotels in downtown that didn’t have any gambling at them. “I could’ve booked you at the Budget Inn.” I offered wryly. Stone waved me off and mounted his bike. With a signal of his hand, the other men with him started their bikes, and one by one, they left the parking lot and headed for the interstate. “You ready?” I asked once the last one had left the parking lot.

She nodded, spread her legs a little wider, and patted the seat between them. “Always.” *** Baylee I felt better than I had in days. Sebastian was asleep on his stomach in bed next to me, dead to the world. After escorting me to my doctor’s appointment, we went to the warehouse where his office was located, and he continued to make arrangements for some annual party they had every year. He’d been on the phone from the time we’d entered his office to the time we’d left, four hours, later to go pick Johnny up from daycare. He’d spoken to some barbeque joint to deliver over a thousand dollars’ worth of meat the day of the party. Then he’d made arrangements with some man to bring wood. Some woman to deliver kegs. Another man was to bring a bounce house to entertain the kids. Hell, he’d even had someone scheduled to come DJ. I’d asked where they were planning to have it, and he’d told me at the warehouse He’d explained that it was big enough to house a small circus once they rearranged and pulled in all the bleachers. I hadn’t been aware that the bleachers were retractable, but he’d told me they’d had them installed for that very purpose. I hadn’t had the desire to ask Sebastian how a club that wasn’t doing anything illegal could afford something like that when most of their members were public servants in some capacity. I wanted to keep my illusions. I knew they weren’t completely legal in everything they did. There was no way they could be. I was just glad he let me in where he could. “Can’t sleep?” Sebastian rasped from the bed beside me. My eyes, which had been staring at his chest blankly, snapped up to meet his. “No.” He rolled over onto his back and held his hand in the air, waited, and laughed when I crawled into his embrace readily. “I missed you.” He said, kissing the top of my head lightly. “I missed you more. Like crazy bad. The past three days have been horrible.” I sighed, running my nose along the smooth skin of his chest. “Is that why you can’t sleep?” I hesitated before answering, and then let it all pour out of my in a rush. “I’m scared to death to be pregnant. I’ve learned a lot of bad shit about this disease I have. Childbirth is risky in the first place, then you add into the equation my disease, and I’m looking at a very high-risk pregnancy. Then, the doctor tells me I can’t even take my ADHD medicine, and I’m so nervous I can barely see straight.”

Sebastian hesitated for a few long moments before addressing my concerns. His hand, which had been curling around my shoulder went to my hair and started sifting through it. “Have you ever been off your ADHD medicine since you were in your teens?” “No. The meds have changed, but I’ve been on some form or another ever since I was young. Why?” “What makes you think that you’ll have a hard time handling stuff now? And if you do, why is it that big a deal? You’re with a man that loves you. Your boss at work will understand. What will it hurt if you’re are still affected but off of it? From what I can tell, the only real things I can see that you have trouble with are boredom, lateness, and you space out from time to time. Multitasking isn’t a problem that I’ve seen. You juggle everything very well that I have noticed. Why don’t you just take it one-step at a time? Plus, it won’t be forever. It’ll be another seven and a half months. That’s doable.” He made it sound so simple. So easy. I wasn’t sure it would be, but I’d give it the old college try. I wouldn’t disappoint him. I’d fight for him. For me. And for our family. “Wait, did you just say you loved me?” I gasped as I continued to replay what he had said in my head. He snorted. “Like fucking crazy.”

Chapter 21 Bikers don’t go gray, they turn chrome. -Biker Patch Baylee Two days after the party dawned dark and stormy. I was outside on the dock and watched as a fish jumped in the middle of the lake producing a large splash. Boots on the dock had my looking over my shoulder to see Silas walking towards me with his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He was wearing a black t-shirt that made me chuckle every time I saw it. “I love that shirt.” I said to him as he got close enough that I could see it. He looked down and studied it, then smiled. “I like it.” He agreed. The shirt had an old man riding a motorcycle with the top rocker saying, ‘Sons of Arthritis’ and the bottom rocker saying, ‘Ibuprofen Chapter.’ I’d asked him to get me one for my birthday since he wouldn’t tell me where he got it. “What’s up?” I asked him. He sat down, letting his feet dangle over the side of the dock, and leaned back putting his weight on his hands. “Nothing. Sebastian sent me to pick you up. Told me to take you kicking and screaming if you resisted.” I eyed the slight mist that was scheduled to turn into a hurricane within the next twenty-four hours. It was said to be, by the National Weather Service, one of the worse the country has ever seen. Sebastian had been scheduled off for the next week for his vacation; yet, as soon as we’d heard how bad it was supposed to get, Sebastian had volunteered to go in. “He did not say that!” I laughed. “No, he didn’t. But it made him sound like a pussy when he asked me to say please. I just wanted to make an effort to make him not sound so much like a little girl.” “I’ll go under one condition.” I cautioned. He looked at me skeptically, as if he didn’t believe I’d go without a fight. “What’s that?” *** Sebastian

Apartment fire at Town Oaks. Neighbors say it has fully engulfed the first apartment on the West Side. As soon as I heard those words, I knew it was going to be bad. We’d responded to call after call in the past six hours of my shift. Kettle and I had both been on the first hose as we’d pointed the stream into a large hole that was cut into the side of apartment 1A’s wall. Kettle had been at my back, his shoulder pressed against the middle of my back to ensure we both kept adequate control of the hose. Apartment 1A was the one below 1B, which was fully engulfed. All we were supposed to be doing was hosing down the apartment to ensure the area wouldn’t have a way to catch, but I’d been blindsided. “I think we need to pull back. Something doesn’t feel right!” I yelled at Kettle. As Kettle stepped back, giving me a little slack in the line, another firefighter walked up. Feeling somewhat mollified, I yelled out to Kettle to hold, and turned my head back to the fire. If they had someone else there to keep an eye on the situation around them, I’d keep hitting the house with my line. It just felt like something was off, and my senses were telling me to get the fuck out. Kettle must not have heard me because, suddenly, I had no more support at my back. The support I had holding the hose was suddenly gone, too. Not able to look over my shoulder because of my bunker gear, I managed to turn the water flow off with a push of the lever, and set it down. What I saw when I was clear was enough to chill my blood. Everything happened quickly after that. The fire ax that the other firefighter was holding came down quickly. One second it was above the man’s head, and the next it was buried in my chest. I looked down as if in a haze and saw the axe protruding from my chest. Then I looked back up to see the firefighter leaving. Saw the name on the back of the gear. McRae. I didn’t feel the agony like I should have. The only thing I could think was ‘good thing it’s not in my heart.’ Kettle, who’d been on the ground flat on his face, turned over, and removed his helmet. I would never forget the horror in his eyes when he saw the ax protruding from my chest. Hell, I probably wouldn’t be able to un-see that in the near future, either. That is, if I lived to see the near future. I didn’t know much of what happened next. Only that my knees gave out. My breathing became a little harder, and eventually I was on the ground watching the smoke billow up from the roof. My ears started ringing, and the beat of my heart slowed. Kettle crawled up beside me propping himself up on my elbow and was yelling something, but I couldn’t make it out.

I could only see his lips moving. I guessed he was yelling based on the amount of time his mouth stayed open. The last though I had was to tell Baylee how wide Kettle could open his mouth. She’d really appreciate the humor of the situation. Then my vision dimmed until all I could see resembled a tunnel, and then I was completely out. Bye Bye. Welcome to la la land. *** Baylee “I can’t believe he’s letting you have his recliner. Do you know how much that thing costs?” Tillie sneered at me while I was perched on Silas’ recliner. I ignored her. She’d been so freaking rude the last hour I’d been in the clubhouse that I was about to go insane. She’d have yelled at me if Johnny wasn’t currently asleep in my lap. And the child really could use his sleep. He’d been going 90 to nothing since the party days before. We hadn’t returned the bounce house until just this morning, and he’d been using it for his own personal enjoyment ever since. At my continued disregard for what she had to say, Tillie stormed off in a huff. All the women and children were in the clubhouse today. We were left with Normus, Silas and Porter. Minnie, Porter’s wife, sat beside me knitting a baby blanket for the newest addition to the Dixie Warden family. A loud boom of thunder shook the room, followed shortly by the power flickering three times before it went out completely. “God damn son of a bitch.” Normus growled from his position at the bar. “That was the best part of the movie.” We were watching Phenomenon with John Travolta, and it was at the part where the main character dies. Oh well, I hated that part anyway. Movies where the main characters died sucked. I’d read a book a couple of weeks ago where the main character died, and I’d cried for two hours straight. I read to escape reality, not to have reality intrude in my fairytales. “Turn the radio on for me, Porter.” Silas yelled from the recliner beside me. “Why can’t we turn on the generator? Wasn’t that the whole reason I came?” I teased. Silas snorted. “No. The reason you came was so that your old man didn’t have to worry about you while he’s out risking his life to save other people too dumb to get out of this shit and stay the fuck home.”

“Well,” I said trying to contain me laughter. “That wasn’t very nice.” “What isn’t nice is you teasing me while you’re sitting in an aging man’s chair. I bought that bastard specifically from the furniture store to help me with my aches and pains. And then you freakin’ take it.” Silas condemned. “Hey, y’all be quiet and listen!” Normus said. It was something in the tone of Normus’ voice that had everybody shutting up, rather than his words. Something about the half-hysterical tone had every single person, child included, stopping and listening. “...have been battling a blaze at the Town Oak’s Apartment Complex for well over an hour now. There have been multiple victims. Status on those victims have not been released as of yet. So far, there have been three victims of the fire and one firefighter that has been injured. Status on that injured firefighter is unknown, but as soon as we get some more information, we’ll get back to you...” I didn’t know what it was. Maybe it was a sixth sense, but I knew that it was Sebastian’s department that went. I knew he was the one injured. Frantically, I moved the sleeping Johnny off my legs and stood up, and then reached for my cell phone. Sebastian had told me the day of my doctor appointment that the clubhouse didn’t have good service. That was his reason on why he never got any of my calls, since he’d spent so much time here arranging the festivities for the barbeque. Right now, as I stared at the no service signal, my heart started to pound steadily. “My cell says no service.” *** The voicemails finally started coming two hours after we’d arrived at the hospital. Five hours ago, I, and every other member of the Dixie Warden family arrived at the hospital. The first call was the Chief of Benton Police, calling to inform us of an accident. The second call was from The Fire Chief telling us that Kettle and Sebastian had both sustained traumatic injuries and for us to come to the medical center ASAP. The third, and most disturbing, was from Kettle’s sister asking me to please call her and let me know if Kettle made it through all right. Preferably before next week when rent was do. She’d really appreciate it. Fuck me. I had other things to do, and calling that heartless, ungrateful bitch wasn’t one of them. “Mrs. Mackenzie?” A haggard looking doctor with the Harley Davidson head wrap called. I came to me feet quickly, rushing forward until I was mere inches away from the poor woman. “Yes?” I asked desperately.

“We’ve stabilized him. The wound he received from the axe to the chest-” “The what?” Was echoed around the room. She nodded sagely. “Yes, it was an axe wound. He came in with the axe still imbedded in his chest. We removed it in the OR. However, he sustained quite a bit of bleeding, and our reserves have been severely depleted from the recent influx of injuries due to the storm. On top of that, he’s a rare blood type of AB negative, and we don’t have that on hand right now. We’ve used as much O- as we could, and unfortunately, he still needs more. On a healthy person, he would’ve been fine two pints low, but with how much trauma he’s sustained, it’s just not looking really good right now. I’m really sorry.” I thought furiously for all of three seconds before I volunteered. “I have O negative blood. We have over thirty people here with me right now; surely one of them has O negative or AB negative.” “You are not, under no circumstances, donating any blood. That is just not going to happen.” Silas immediately replied. I knew immediately that he wouldn’t take any arguing from me on this, so I looked desperately throughout the men that were stuffed into the little waiting room with me . Nearly every single one of them shrugged. Trance came forward. “I have O negative.” “Me too.” Normus bowled through. Then a little boy, and seriously, he was a boy, eighteen at most, stepped forward. He was dressed much the same as the other men of the Dixie Wardens, except for one tiny little difference. He didn’t have the bottom rocker that declared him an actual member of the MC. Sebastian had told me that the ones without the bottom rockers were prospects. They were trying to join the club, and each prospect had a sponsor. This particular boy was Sterling. He was being sponsored by Sebastian. Sebastian found Sterling on the streets of Benton eating out of garbage cans and evading the police. I hadn’t really heard much more about him, but Sebastian had told me everything he knew, which wasn’t much. But it turned out that the boy was incredibly intelligent, and a good man to have at your back. He was also offering his own life force to sustain Sebastian, and in my book, that was enough to make him number one for life. “All right, young men. I’ll take you back to a room and draw some blood. Mrs. Mackenzie, if you’ll follow me, I’ll take you to see your husband.” The young doctor said just before she turned strode away, expecting us to follow. I turned and looked at Johnny, sleeping in Porter’s arms, hesitating before receiving a nod from Porter, as well as Silas. “We got him. Go take care of my boy.” I left just as the doors to the little room burst open and emitted Sebastian’s siblings, Sam and Shiloh. I didn’t stop and speak though. I was on a mission to get to my man, and right now, nothing short of an

explosion would stop me. The men were shown to a room just past the locked doors of the fourth floor ICU. “Wait here. I’ll send a nurse for you shortly.” The doctor ordered. Trance’s eyes caught mine; he brought his fisted hand up and placed it lightly over his heart. My eyes welled, but I choked the tears that had been threatening to spill all night, and followed the doctor to the very end of the hallway. She stopped at the second to last door and indicated with her index finger. “This is your husband’s room. When you go in there, I want you to talk to him. Let him know you’re there. He’s very pale due to the blood loss. His chest wound isn’t covered. He had a collapsed lung that required a tube to be placed...” The list went on and on. I could mentally see exactly what was wrong with him before I’d seen him. I knew enough about medicine to know that the road to recovery would not be an easy one for him. Lucky for him, though, he was in excellent shape, and he had a will to survive. Which would help immensely in the long road to come. “We’ll have to run some tests on the blood, but as soon as that is taken care of, I’ll be back. Let the nurses up front know if you need anything.” The doctor said as I left. Even though I could guess what I’d see as I entered the room, the broken shell of a man wasn’t one of them. Sebastian’s normally golden-bronzed skin was gray and clammy. His eyes had deep purple bruising underneath, and his normally strong persona was missing with him asleep and looking so broken. He had tubes everywhere. I wasn’t a newbie to all of this, but I hadn’t had to deal with one of my own in the hospital since my mom was injured when I was younger. Back then, I didn’t understand the logistics of the situation, how hurt my mother had to be to be in the hospital in the first place. I had no such disillusion now. I knew the wound was an extremely bad one. The axe tore through muscle and bone. The lung that was protected by the muscle and bone, was punctured as well. I could very much visualize every single piece of the puzzle, regardless of the axe no longer being there. Walking forward carefully, my hand went to the opposite side of Sebastian’s chest, to the unmarred side that covered his heart. Jesus, with how hurt he was right this moment, the potential that it could’ve been worse still hung in the air like a thick blanket. He could’ve been hit on the other side, and he would’ve bled out in a matter of moments then. I didn’t use the word ‘lucky’ since I started my job as a paramedic. I thought in reality. Some of the worse cases I’d seen, where the people were so hurt but still fighting, had a hard road to recovery ahead

of them; they weren’t lucky. Now I realized my error. There was luck involved in any situation where someone is hurt. Their family was lucky to still have them. The patient was lucky to have life left to live at the end of the day. The care provider was lucky that they didn’t have to see their patient die. There was luck surrounding them. Right now, I felt lucky. I felt lucky that I didn’t lose the love of my life. I felt lucky that the child growing inside of me would have a father. I felt lucky that it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. I was lucky that Johnny didn’t lose his father. I was just lucky. The wound in his chest was a good seven inches in length. The edges surrounding the wound were red and angry with dark black stitches, fifty in total, spanning the length of it. I hadn’t realized that I’d stood there staring at his wound for well over an hour. My hand had remained over his heart, feeling it pound strong and steady until a nurse bustled in with two bags of blood. The nurse was on the older side. Maybe mid forties. She was cute, too. She had brown curly hair that was short and cut off about mid shoulder level. The name badge on her left breast pocket indicated her name as Reba. “Hi, dear. How’s our patient doing?” Reba asked as she bustled to the other side of the bed. I watched as she hooked up the line to the first bag of blood after comparing the blood type with his armband. Then she repeated the process with a second bag of blood. She was quick and efficient, making the process look effortless. Of course, I only ever did things in a moving vehicle or out in the field. I’d probably make it look that easy if I was in a sedate situation, too. “He hasn’t woken up?” Reba asked me. “No,” I shook my head. “He hasn’t even moved.” The nurse nodded. “He might start moving around more once the blood gets into him. Give him time sweetie. Are you up for one more visitor to come in with you?” At my nod, she bustled out of the room as fast as she’d come in. She didn’t go far though. She’d stopped right outside the door; spoke softly to someone, and then the door pushed open to reveal Kettle. “Kettle!” I gasped rushing forward. “What happened to you, are you okay?” Kettle nodded, and then his face went utterly white for a few precious moments, before walking slowly forward and dropping carefully into a chair in the corner of the room. “Yeah,” he croaked, cleared his throat, and continued. “Just a little bump on the head.” I wasn’t so sure it was just a bump on the head. To be sure, I walked behind Kettle only to gasp. “Kettle! You’ve got a huge gash at the back of your head and a knot the size of Alaska! You should be in bed, not here.” He laughed humorlessly. “This is where I belong. I failed my best friend. I didn’t watch his back. I was supposed to have his back.” He rasped.

“You did have my back, dumbass. Why do you think I got hit in the chest?” A thready voice rasped from the bed. I gasped and moved carefully around Kettle to walk to Sebastian’s bedside. “What happened, Sebastian?” My hand involuntarily started drifting over his arm and up to his chest. Sebastian wasn’t looking at me when he replied. He was looking at Kettle. “You let the President know it was Devon McRae.” Sebastian’s voice was like ice. The name Devon McRae was familiar, and it took me a few long moments to realize just who the man was. His boss. Holy shit. Kettle stiffened at the mention of that name. “That’s the arsonist, too?” “Have you ever seen him there at one of those fires, even once? Cause I sure as fuck haven’t. He always shows up at least an hour after the fire starts. Sick fucking bastard.” Sebastian replied. When Kettle started to rise painfully to his feet, I snarled at him. “You sit your ass down before you fall. I’ll go tell the ‘President’ who it was. Don’t fucking move.” I glared at them both, gave Sebastian a soft kiss on the lips, and left the room. My steps were purposeful as I went down the long hallway back to the waiting room. I wasn’t really sure what I was expecting when I got back to the waiting room the ER nurse had guided them to once they’d arrived, but this wasn’t this. Possibly, I could’ve assumed that the same people that were there earlier, were there now. That was a big resounding no. They’d multiplied. By at least three. They no longer fit in the small waiting room. Now they spilled out into the hall. Some of the other chapters had stayed to do a little gambling and visiting while they were here; so, when I found them all here, most of them wet from the hurricane outside, my heart warmed. They were there for Sebastian. They were family. No matter what conditions tried to keep them from their destination. They’d always be there. Silas was talking to Stone at the end of the hallway, heads close together as they spoke softly. I didn’t hear anything of what they were saying, and they broke apart as soon as they saw me walking down the hall. I was still mad. The situation was beyond out of hand, and something needed to be figured out, fast. That man, the one man Sebastian should’ve been able to trust with his life, had been the one to nearly take it. And I could care less what the club was about to do to him. Personally, I hoped he burned in hell. Silas must have seen the resolve on my face, and the pain, because he was at my side in moments holding on to me elbows. I looked back and forth from him to Stone, hesitating.

When Silas gave me a reassuring squeeze and nodded, I told them everything I knew. “He’s not really...with us, yet. He’s still weak and tired, they started him on the blood, and the nurse thinks as soon as he gets that into him, he’ll get some life breathed back into him. Kettle’s doing...okay. He needs a bed, but as you can guess, he’s not up to leaving Sebastian right now. If you want to go back, I’ll wait out here.” Both men had taken me up on the offer. Murder was in their eyes, and I really didn’t want to be in on that conversation. The less I knew the better. That didn’t mean I didn’t want the man to pay for what he’d done to Sebastian, Kettle, and all those innocent people. It just meant that I didn’t want to be witness to what I knew they were about to do. Payback’s a bitch. *** Silas Two hours later “You know who I am, big man?” I asked the big piece of shit sitting in front of me. We’d found him at his own fucking place. It was obvious to me that the man didn’t have the first clue how to commit a crime without getting caught. My contacts and Sebastian’s expertise had figured out it had to be someone that could obtain a certain chemical accelerant, such as a firefighter who taught seminars on what certain types of accelerants do to a fire in any given situation. My contact had told me, just that morning, about each man that could’ve done it within a 50 mile radius, and only one single name popped up over and over again. McRae. That had been why I’d gone to get Baylee and my grandson. I’d told Sebastian, figuring he could hold his own while surrounded by his men that worked with him. But I’d miscalculated, and that had almost cost my son his life. “You know, it was sloppy to do your playing in your own playground. What did you think was going to happen?” I asked. Devon McRae, the former firefighter captain, refused to answer. “My boy idolized you. Had nothing but nice things to say about you for all these years. Then out of the blue I’m getting told by the members that you’re treating him badly, but that my boy refuses to say a single goddamned bad thing about you. You were supposed to be a role model as his lieutenant. Not fuck him over.” I barked. His mouth was closed tightly, and his big fists were balled so hard that the knuckles on his fingers

were white. “And using your own fire axe to do the job? That was sloppier. What, did Sebastian get there and steal your thunder?” When he still didn’t answer, I called to Trance. “Did you find the axe?” Trance moved up slowly, cautiously. “Got it from the OR nurse. They don’t mind releasing murder weapons to the police.” Trance’s eyes were gleaming with a muted light. He was overly pissed, and that was good for the situation. Anger had a purpose, and in this situation, anger was playing a large part in how they were going to handle this. “Let me see it.” He held out his hand. I studied the axe that was placed in my hand. The blade and handle was still stained with my son’s blood, his life force. That anger that I was speaking about evaporated at the sight of it. What was left was what I would call...justice. I raised the axe above my head...and smiled.

Chapter 22 If I were your pimp, you’d be my favorite hoe. -Text from Baylee to Luke Sebastian 9 weeks later Baylee was mad as hell. I had been home for six weeks now and I was tired of being there. I felt like a big blob of useless skin. I wanted to get out and do something. So I’d gone to the clubhouse to work out, and Baylee hadn’t been happy. At all. In fact, when I was on my way home, I’d seen her pulling out of the driveway in my truck. I’d moved over to the side of the road and started to stop, but she hadn’t even slowed down to speak to me. She’d just flipped me the bird and glared at me the entire time. Which had only made me smile. I knew she was just concerned, but I had to get moving some time. And now was as good as any. It’d been six weeks since I was released from the hospital, and nine weeks since the accident. It was bound to happen sometime, and I’d gotten the okay from my doctor for light activity. And I was grateful. I was extremely tired of fishing and sitting on my ass. There was one bright spot in my life. Baylee had moved into my house. At first, it wasn’t a permanent move, only until I was well enough to be there on my own. But, over time, it became something more. Something that meant something to the both of us. I’d asked her, officially, to move in with me a week ago. She’d put her house on the market the next day. She’d started back to work a little over four weeks ago, taking her vacation time to help me get back on my feet. I’d never been so smothered in my life. To add to that was the members of my own club. They came by day and night, constantly. One would leave, and another would show up. I hadn’t been left alone in well over two months. I loved them all, but a man could only take so much. And now, two hours after Baylee had left, she showed up with my truck loaded down with boxes, and I had to control the urge to yell.

I’d told her I’d send my men over there to get the shit, but, of course, she’d done it out of spite. Stubborn little bitch. “What the hell is that?” I yelled, stomping down the porch steps until I got to the cab of the truck and yanked her door open. She glared at me with her arms crossed against her chest. “What is what?” She asked innocently. My eyes narrowed before I snatched her up from the cab and yanked her bodily against me. “You know what, you shit.” I growled against her lips. “You made me mad.” She said indignantly. She started squirming, and my raging libido came roaring back to life. I’d wanted her for weeks now. Pined for her, and she wouldn’t touch me. It was against doctor’s orders, and she’d told me straight up that she wouldn’t be touching me until I was released. Which bothered me to no end because I couldn’t get myself off with my own hand anymore. My dick didn’t want my hand. It wanted the real fucking thing. And the real fucking thing wasn’t giving it to me; I had nine weeks of pent up frustration roaring to jet out of me. And her body. She was starting to show. She had a little tiny baby bump, and it made my dick harder than ever to know she was carrying a part of me with her. I was so beyond ready to fuck the woman that I couldn’t stand it. “Put me down. I weigh too much for you to be picking up.” She squealed, as I devoured her neck with my tongue and mouth. I nipped her shoulder for that foolish comment. “You’re not too big, honey. You’re just right. Your pretty little ass is perfect for me. Are you fond of these pants?” I ground my raging erection into her roughly, making her moan. “No...why?” My answer was to rip the fuckers at the crotch seam. “What about the panties?” I asked, fisting them in my hand. She shook her head this time, and I tore. She squeaked adorably. After that, I wasted no time in unbuckling my belt, unbuttoning my pants, and shoving my pants and underwear down to my knees. My bare ass hit the cool November air, but I didn’t relent. My dick was so hard it was unbearably uncomfortable and I needed to be inside of her now. Leaning forward, I forced her back up against the truck and pinned her body with mine. I pressed the ruddy head of my cock against the heat of her, rubbed the smooth head of it along her seam to coat it in her juices, and then placed it at her entrance. With one lunge, I was buried to my balls inside of her.

I hadn’t remembered. My memories didn’t do her pussy justice. She was so hot and slick that I nearly blew my load right then and there. “I can’t wait to come inside of you. I’ve done nothing but dream of it since I was released from the hospital.” I panted, grinding my dick even deeper inside of her. Her eyes were glazed with passion as she met mine. “Stop talking and do it then.” Fuck. Yes. My dick was sliding into her like a dream. Her overheated core was hugging my dick so tightly that I knew I’d be blowing in a matter of moments. “Touch yourself. Make yourself come. Quick.” I demanded, gritting my teeth in pleasure. Her hot little hand moved from clutching my shoulder to her clit without being asked twice. Squeezing my eyes shut tightly, I removed my eyes from the erotic show she was putting on, willing my dick to settle down so I could hold on to my control. What little of it there was. Turned out I didn’t have to wait long, because within three more thrusts of my hard cock, the walls of her pussy started pulsing, clamping down so hard on my dick that I saw stars. The control I had vanished. The sound of motorcycles pulling up my driveway didn’t make me stop pumping into my woman. My dick grew harder with each thrust, and suddenly I erupted. My cock pulsed as semen erupted from my cock and bathed her pussy. The orgasm continued for long moments, and once the last spurt was emitted, I leaned heavily against her, laying my forehead against the cool metal of my truck. “There’s a lot.” “Of your club here that just witnessed you fucking me and now see your bare ass? That would be an affirmative.” She agreed. “No, I mean a lot of semen. Spunk. Jizz. You’re probably going to need a shower.” I laughed. Her legs circled around my back, locking in place so I couldn’t withdraw. Well I could have, but she seemed to want to keep me there, so I stayed. “What?” I asked. She glared at me. “I like the Wardens and all, but I don’t like them enough to show my coochie to them. Carry me inside, but stay right where you’re at.” “That’s not really possible. First of all, if I stayed where I am, I’d have to stand in this spot and not move. Second of all, my pants are around my ankles, I’d have to drop you and pull my pants up to carry you inside. Still meaning I’d have to move.” She glared even more. “I don’t really care what you have to do, but you’re not turning around. They think it’s funny. And I do not want to show my hoo-haa to them. Just toe off your shoes and walk inside naked.”

I laughed, which caused my half-hard dick to jump inside of her, making her squeak. “But then they’d see my ass.” “Honey, they are already staring at your ass. Now get me inside.” She growled through clenched teeth. I did as ordered, toeing off first one boot, and then the other, before stepping out of my jeans and making my way inside. My chest twinged slightly at the added weight of her, but I ignored it, walking inside and yelling out the door before I closed it. “Don’t come inside for another twenty minutes!” I had plans for her. Ones that were not suited for immature eyes. *** Baylee 6 weeks later “Sit down already and let me shave your face.” I’d gotten into the habit of doing that for Sebastian since he’d been injured. I couldn’t stand the unkempt Sebastian look he had going on after two weeks in the hospital. So, the next day, I’d gone out and bought a razor and some shaving cream and shaved it off. I’d been doing it ever since. He didn’t complain though. He liked it. Plus, it gave him a little bonding time with his unborn child. He was at the perfect height when he was sitting on the stool that made his face even with my huge pregnant belly. Sebastian sat as I sidled up beside him and lathered his face with shaving cream. “What time do we have to be there today?” I asked quietly. His large hands pulled the tight t-shirt I was wearing up until the skin of my belly was exposed. Leaning forward, he spoke softly against my stomach as he always did. Today, I was twenty-one weeks exactly. We still didn’t know the gender of the baby. Sebastian hadn’t wanted to know, and I decided to grant him that wish since I didn’t really mind either way. “You need to be there around four. I’ll be going in about twenty minutes. That is if you’d get to shaving my face so we could leave.” He teased. I rolled my eyes. Today was Sterling’s initiation into the Dixie Wardens. He’d proved himself to the Wardens and would become a full patched member this evening.

What I was going to was the celebration, not the actual initiation. The initiation would happen with members of the club present, as per tradition. Just as I’d started the first stroke of the razor down Sebastian’s cheek, a tiny little kick in my belly made Sebastian rumble in delight. He’d felt the first kick just last night. I’d felt it about three weeks ago, but it was only last night that he or she kicked hard enough to be felt from the outside. The novelty was still new to Sebastian, and he got excited easily. “I can’t stay for long, though. I have to work tonight.” I reminded him. “I know. Just a couple of hours, that’s all I’m asking. The boy likes you for some reason.” Three more swipes, and I finished Sebastian’s shave with ease. I’d been nervous at first, never having done a place as sensitive as a face on someone else before, but now I did it with hardly any problem. And when a problem did arise, it was in the form of my old man letting his hands wander to where they shouldn’t be when I had a blade around his throat. Just as we were doing right now. His large hands moved from cupping my belly to below, where I wore only a pair of cotton bikinis, and slowly worked them down until they fell into a puddle at my feet. “Now, I have one more thing to show you, and then I’ll go.” He said, freeing his erection from the confines of his boxer briefs. Urging me down, I straddled his legs and slowly sank down on his cock. “What did you have to show me?” I breathed, looking into his beautiful brown eyes. “This,” he breathed and thrust upwards hard. *** Sebastian Three weeks later “What are you doing here?” Baylee’s father asked as he opened their door. I smiled and held out my hand for him to shake. “Travis.” I said and shook his hand. Travis opened the door wider to allow me to pass. “Is my daughter here with you?” He asked curiously, as he looked over my shoulder. “No. I came by myself.” I answered and glanced around their house. “What for?” He asked suspiciously. I straightened my button down shirt that cut off the circulation in my neck and grimaced. “I came to ask

permission to marry your daughter.” Cue the crickets. Minutes passed as he looked at me. “Isn’t it a little late to ask my permission? I mean you already knocked her up. Your kid’s going to be born and you won’t be married he’ll be a-” I held up my hand, stopping his rant. “I plan on marrying her as soon as you can fly down. I understand the need for a quick marriage, but I still want her to have a nice one, even if we do it at the Justice of the Peace. And I know she would want you to be there.” He nodded. “You have it.” *** Sebastian 3 weeks later “What are we doing here?” Baylee whispered with alarm. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes. The woman thought I was in trouble again. But I wasn’t. Well, not the kind of trouble she was thinking. We were there to get married, she just didn’t know it yet. “I have some business to attend to. Something that’s long overdue.” I answered. Tugging on her hand to get her moving, I led her up the stairs to the courthouse and through the lobby doors. The man on duty, Gus, didn’t stop us when the metal detectors started going off; instead he waved us through. All the while, Baylee looked around in surprise. “Why are you going to the courtroom?” She whisper yelled. “Oh, Jesus. I knew you’d get in trouble. I’m going to be having conjugal visits when you’re in jail, aren’t I? Do you think that they have a daycare program for convicts? Maybe they’d watch our kids for a few...What are all of them doing here? Those are my parents! What’s going on?” She was still whispering. I let her go, and she walked forward a few more steps before coming to a stop and turning around. She found me on my knees. “Baylee Roberts, will you marry me?” She dropped to her own knees awkwardly, and then scooted forward until she was right next to my face, ignoring the ring in my outstretched hand completely. “Yes, but I would still support you even if you didn’t ask me to marry you and you went to jail.” I rolled his eyes. “Why do you think I’m going to jail?” I asked in exasperation. She drew back a bit so she could look into my eyes. “You took me to a courtroom. I’d only assumed. You’re not in trouble?” I stood carefully, and then pulled her to her feet. “No, I’m not in trouble. Now answer my question.”

She threw her arms around my neck, and pulled me as close as her stomach would allow. “You know, I plan to let my ass get big. And my stomach might jiggle after this baby is born.” I controlled my laughter, but only barely. “Oh, yeah?” She nodded in affirmation. “And I can get mighty pissy around that time of the month. You’ll have to be nice to me even if I throw a shoe at you.” “So, is that a yes?” I asked. She waited a few moments and then nodded. “Yes, sir.” I finally let my laugh free and handed her off to her dad. Twenty minutes later, she was Mrs. Sebastian Sue Mackenzie.

Chapter 23 Nine out of ten children get their awesomeness from their mother. -Proven fact Sebastian I turned the alarm off and rolled over to look at my wife. Baylee was on her side, naked and crying. My fingers moved to her face as I wiped her cheeks. “Stop. You’re killing me.” I rasped. She sniffled once, but regained control and rolled over to her back. “I’m scared shitless.” I let my eyes trail over her protruding belly that stuck way up in the air. Today was the day we had our baby. It is a scheduled induction; nothing started without the doctor’s constant supervision. Today, Baylee was 38 weeks pregnant. We’d seen Doctor Theresa Adams twice a week for the last two months, and I had the utmost confidence in her abilities. Doctor Adams had addressed each one of our concerns, and then some. My wife was a fighter, and I’d be damned if I let her go without a fight. “You realize that if you die, I’ll have to find a replacement woman to take care of our kids. She’ll be sleeping in your newly remodeled house and cooking in your state of the art kitchen, right?” I said with as much of a straight of a face as I could. I didn’t really feel like that. God forbid if something were to happen to her, because I’d be fucking lost. She’d become such a big part of my life that I didn’t think I could survive without her, without great cost to myself. She’d also become an integral part of my son’s life. And the lives of the Dixie Wardens. She was a good wife for me. One that a vice president of a motorcycle club, like me, needed. Every day she had off, she spent at the clubhouse, or taking care of something for one of my brothers. Hell, just last week I walked in on her sewing a patch for my father. And that was huge. Bikers didn’t let just anyone touch their colors. “You’re such a shit head. Let’s go.” She said, rolling out of bed, as she tended to do lately. I got up as well and took a quick shower, while Baylee dressed. Once I was done, I grabbed Baylee’s bag and headed out into the living room to find her hugging her dad. Her parents had flown in last night for the birth. They’d also keep an eye on Johnny during the birthing process.

“We’ll meet you up there in a couple hours, sweetie. I love you, you’ll do fine.’ We left shortly after that, and arrived at the reception desk in the maternity wing at five in the morning on the dot. “Can I help you?” The nurse asked sweetly sending me nervous looks. Baylee looked down at her protruding belly and then up at the woman and glowered. “I’m here to have a baby.” I snorted, but otherwise stayed quiet as the woman checked Baylee in and then assigned her a room. “You’ll be in 3214 at the end of the hall. You’re lucky; it’s a birthing suite and the furthest away from all the others.” I wasn’t really seeing why being further away from the nurses was a good thing. It wasn’t like we were going to be doing anything private in there. She was having a baby. We’d be staring at her vagina all day long. But who was I to argue? “You can come right on in through that door right there, and I’ll have a nurse take you to your room.” She smiled sweetly at us. The next twenty minutes was spent changing and starting an IV on Baylee, drawing blood, discussing our birth plan that consisted of drugs and more drugs on top of drugs, and speaking with the nurses about Baylee’s condition. “Alright, this bag is Pitocin. I’m going to go ahead and check you, check your cervix and dilation, and then you’re all set. The rest is on you.” She said. A few minutes after she left the room Baylee finally asked, “Does this gown make my boobs look big?” “Very.” *** Seventeen hours later Baylee “If you eat that hamburger in front of me, I’m going to throw this book at your face.” I hissed at my brother and husband. They both looked at each other and shrugged before getting up and leaving the room. “Bastards.” I snarled. I’d been in this hospital for eighteen hours now, and hadn’t progressed past a five. I hadn’t eaten in well over 24, and those big bastards thought it’d be okay to eat in front of me? What the hell was that? “I just cannot believe that man brought food.”

I said to my mother. My mother looked over, with a mouth full of something, and shrugged. “What are you eating?” I yelled. Sebastian poked his head in from the hallway with a burger in his hand, and I accidentally let ‘What to Expect When You’re Expecting’ slip from my fingers. Towards his head. He slammed the door close in time to prevent a concussion, but I was frustrated. I was tired. Hungry. And I wanted a hug. I’d received my epidural when I hit five centimeters, and hadn’t progressed past that point since. The doctor was supposed to come in any minute to break me bag of water in hopes to speed up the process. “Hey, mom. Can you get me more ice chips?” I pleaded, batting my eyes for good measure. She smiled, snuck the package of cookies she was eating from her purse into her shirtsleeve, and walked out carrying the pink jug that was my friend. Planting my hands in the bed, I tried to get into a better position when I knocked the belt that was looped around my belly, causing the machine to start going crazy. The one measuring the baby’s heartbeat had been moving and sliding off my belly all night. It didn’t like me at all. I got frustrated, trying to get the thing to pick up the baby’s heartbeat when a nurse came in wearing a resigned smile. “It came off again? I wish we weren’t so busy or I’d go steal another room’s monitors!” It was clear, after another two minutes of moving the finicky piece of equipment, that something was wrong. “What, what’s wrong?” I asked frantically. The nurse shook her head, pulled the entire gown from my arms, leaving me naked and held the monitor over my own heart. The steady beating of my own heart was read by the machine, and then the nurse yanked the red cord above my head, making the room’s alarm start shrieking. “What’s wrong?” I screamed again. Sebastian came inside with a half-finished hamburger and dropped it on the floor on the way to the bed. “What’s wrong?” He asked desperately. “I d-don’t know!” I cried. The nurse spoke some kind of nurse-speak to the other nurses who poured into the room, and then I was being wheeled out, leaving a frantic looking Sebastian in the dust. I was moved into an operating room. The room itself was large, and freezing. I hadn’t been in an operating room before. At least not conscious.

A baby station, similar to the one in the delivery room, was set up in the very corner. The bed that they moved me onto felt hard and unforgiving, and I started to lose control. “I need him. I need him. Please let me have him. I need him!” I was screaming; by the end of my tirade a nurse bent over me. She looked familiar, but at the moment, I didn’t really care if I knew her or not. “Calm down, honey. I’ll go get him. They’re just going to get you set up for an emergency C-section, and then they’ll get him. I promise. It’s okay, calm down.” “What’s going on? Please tell me.” I pleaded. The woman smiled sadly at me. “Your baby doesn’t have a heartbeat. Something’s wrong, and they’re trying to get him out as fast as they can.” “I need my husband.” I whispered desperately. *** Sebastian “Why can’t I go in there?” I pleaded. “Mr. Mackenzie. They’re just getting her prepped. As soon as it’s ready to start, they’ll call you in. Please.” The haggard nurse scolded me. I didn’t care who I had to piss off. I was getting in there. She wouldn’t go through that alone. I’d promised. “The doctor knows about her bleeding disorder?” I asked again, clarifying. “Yes, sir. You’ve told me, and I relayed the message. The doctor on call is aware of her problem. They won’t forget. Her doctor’s on her way, but it’s not likely she’ll make it in time. Now please, have a seat right there, and I’ll come back for you.” My wild eyes went to my father’s, the calmness in them somehow settled me, made my rational brain come back online momentarily, and I nodded. “Okay.” I nodded, heading for the chair she’d indicated at the end of the hallway. The nurse came back a few moments later, handing me a pair of scrub pants, a shirt, and some booties that were never going to fit over my massive boots, but I’d try. The shirt was snug, and the pants were well over five inches too short, but I was wearing them. When I exited the bathroom she’d pointed me to moments earlier, she was waiting there with an indulging smile on her face. “You ready?” I nodded, not trusting myself to answer, and followed her cautiously into the room. My wife was on a table with a sheet that cut the top quarter of her body off from the bottom three quarters. Her arms were restrained straight out, and she had an oxygen mask over her face.

When I entered, she was staring at the door, as if she was counting down the seconds until I came inside, and I was glad that I kept pushing the nurse to let me come in, regardless of the fact that it was an emergency. I didn’t move, stopping just inside the door as I waited for the nurse to instruct me on where to go. “Just go sit to her side right there, where the little blue stool is. Please don’t move from that spot. No matter what.” She instructed. Baylee’s eyes followed me as I maneuvered my big body around equipment, until I came to a stop at the side of her head. Bending down, I kissed her wet cheek and let my hand fall to her head that was covered by a hair net. “This look is sexy on you.” I teased, plucking the hair net with his fingers. “They’re letting me keep it.” She rasped. “Alright, starting time is 2203 hours. Scalpel.” The male standing over my wife’s body said. His authoritative voice soothed something savage inside of me, and I calmed for the first time in twenty minutes, as I waited for my baby to be brought into the world. I studied Baylee’s terrified face as her body moved and jostled with the work they were doing behind the suspended sheet. At one point, a spray of...something, hit the screen and I cringed, hoping that it wasn’t blood that I’d heard, but knew in my heart that it was. “Alright, careful now. I need suction. More. More suction. All right, baby’s out. I need more suction.” The doctor’s voice echoed. I waited long moments for my child to cry, but the cries never came. Then, as if in a dream, Baylee’s eyes started to flutter. “Baylee?” I asked urgently. “I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” She whispered weakly. The operation room exploded in activity. The nurse that’d directed me to sit came to my side and yanked me up, urging me frantically to move out of the way. “Sir, I think it’s best if you leave. Can you please back away? They’ll need the room.” The nurse was repeating to me over and over again. But rational me wasn’t there anymore. Only reacting me. Emotional me. And I saw my wife dying on the table. I’d made her a promise to stay, and if I had to fight to stay, I would. Or I would have tried if the nurse hadn’t started shoving me out the door before I even realized that she’d done it. When I tried the door, it was locked, and all I could do was sit there and stare through the glass as the team of nurses and doctors worked frantically at my wife and newborns side, trying to preserve their

lives. Blood was pooling at their feet, spreading quickly on the bright white floor. My child, in the corner, had another team surrounding it, and I realized then that I never even heard whether it was a boy or a girl. I hadn’t realized I’d been screaming until somebody’s arms wrapped around me from behind. Those arms that used to mean the world to me twenty-five years ago meant nothing right now. The ache in my heart was multiplying, and I realized Baylee was going to leave me. “You promised.” I whispered brokenly. The last thought I’d had before my father dragged me away, in response to what she’d said right before I’d left the room. I’ll love you for the rest of my life, she’d said. No, Baylee, I thought. You may love me for the rest of your life, but I’ll love you for the rest of mine; you’re it for me. Don’t you leave me like this, you promised.

Epilogue There is a fine line between wearing makeup and looking like Crayola gangbanged your face. -Life Lesson Baylee I walked into the house cautiously. Slowly, stepping over the pile of cars in the entryway of Johnny’s room, around the half-finished bottle of Blaise’s in the hall, and over a pile of clothes belonging to Sebastian. Based on the white stain over the front of the shirt, I assumed Blaise had thrown up. Again. This is what happened when Sebastian watched the kids, however. But fuck it, even if I had to clean up afterwards, it’s worth getting my nails done. “She’s going to kill you when she finds out you did this without a shirt on.” Sterling said from the kitchen. I froze and listened to what Sterling and my man were saying. “Yeah, but I did it to show off the tattoo. It’ll totally be worth it. Especially when she finds out where all the proceeds are going.” “Yeah, she’ll like that.” Sterling said dryly. I rounded the corner, eager to find out what Sebastian would risk my wrath for, and came to a stop in my state of the art kitchen. Then, promptly, swallowed my tongue when I saw how much muscle Sterling had put on since I’d last seen him. Sterling was a conundrum to me. He was a very sweet and docile person, and it took me around six months to figure out what the appeal of the MC life was to him. Family. He wanted a family. And with us, he got that. He’d yet to have a nickname bestowed on him, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he did something stupid in front of the boys, and he’d have one. After patching in with the Dixie Wardens, Sterling had joined the military. The Navy, in particular. He’d gone to boot camp a few weeks after Sebastian’s accident, and then stayed for specialized training. It’d been well over a year since I’d seen him, and the changes in him were staggering. Then the fact that Sebastian was standing in the middle of our kitchen, stripped down to his boxer briefs, caught my attention, and my mind started to wander.

Until the smell hit me. “What is that smell?” I asked worriedly. Sebastian didn’t waste any time pointing to a large pile of vomit in the middle of the kitchen floor. For the life of me, I couldn’t figure how that much puke could come out of one small child. Surprised, I asked, “Blaise did that?” Sebastian shook his head. “No, Johnny did. And then Sterling did. Apparently, they can’t handle vomit, which is why they’re going to be cleaning it up. Not me.” He said looking pointedly at the offending pile. Which translated to Blaise projectile puking as she always did, and then Johnny puked, followed quickly by Sterling. “Jesus Christ, I’ll just puke again, that’s what I keep trying to tell you.” Sterling growled. “I’ll get you a bowl.” Sebastian offered. “Where’re the kids?” I asked, finally realizing they weren’t in the room. “On the trampoline.” Sebastian answered. Walking through the kitchen carefully, I stepped out on the back porch and had to laugh seeing Johnny stripped down to his tighty whities and Blaise in only a diaper on the trampoline with the sprinkler running. Did I mention that Sebastian was the fun parent? He did have the surrounding net zipped up tight, luckily. The screen door creaked open behind me, and I looked over my shoulder at my husband and best friend. “Could you at least clean up the puke?” I asked with a small smile on my face. Sebastian’s arms threaded around my midsection, pulling me in close to his body, before answering, “My clothes cleaned it up perfectly well.” I snorted, and leaned back against him. “How were the kids beside that?” “Blaise was good. She took a nap on my chest before puking on it. Johnny played Legos with Sterling the majority of the time.” “Bet that was nice.” I observed dryly. “It’s clean, asshole!” Sterling yelled from the kitchen. Sebastian buried his face in my neck and laughed. “He would’ve never spoken to me that way a year ago.” I rolled me eyes. “You were his sponsor, of course he wouldn’t. You’d have kicked his ass.” “He could’ve tried,” Sterling said dryly from the doorway. “On that note,” I said, giving Sebastian a peck on the lips. “I’m going to go get the kids dressed. We have to leave here in a few minutes. Turn the water off for me, please.” We had the annual barbeque this weekend, and we planned to leave this afternoon in order to get there

by seven. We were having the barbeque at the Arkansas chapter’s newly remodeled clubhouse this year, and I was really looking forward to it. Surprisingly, I’d made a ton of friends throughout the Dixie Wardens, men and women alike, and I enjoyed spending time with them. “Mommy!” Johnny yelled when he saw me coming towards him. Johnny had started calling me mom the day Blaise was born. That day was still a bit hazy for me. I’d remembered nothing of my delivery. Didn’t remember seeing my husband, and didn’t remember seeing my baby. I could remember being wheeled into the operating room, and then nothing. Sebastian wasn’t a fountain of information, either. He hated talking about it, in fact. He said it was the worst day of his life, and would never speak of it again because the memories were debilitating and they hurt to think about them. From what I’d pieced together from my family, blood and the club, it wasn’t a good few hours. When I started bleeding out, they’d gently tried to ease Sebastian from the room, but he’d freaked because he’d promised me he would stay with me no matter what. They’d gotten forceful, and had to literally push him out of the room when he started resisting. It was a full four hour wait as Sebastian watched through the glass doors while the medical team worked ruthlessly to save me and Blaise. Our child was born not breathing. Then his attention was split when they rushed our baby off to the NICU. From there, he was torn, not knowing where to go and who to keep the promise to. In the end, he’d chosen our daughter, trusting the rest of our family with me. After hours in surgery, the doctor had made the perilous decision to remove all of my reproductive organs. After they’d done that, my bleeding had been contained with a cocktail of drugs, and they’d sewn me up and sent me back to a postpartum room where I was watched closely for nearly forty-eight hours. Blaise started breathing on her own as soon as they’d gotten her to the NICU. She was a perfect six and a half pounds of pure anger. Sebastian had said that she reminded him of an out of control fire, which was why we’d named her Blaise. She’d lived up to the name ever since. Now, at ten months, she was hell on wheels. She and Johnny got into so much trouble together, and I loved every second of it. “Hi, pumpkin. You ready to go?” I asked Johnny as I reached for him. He came willingly, and I set him down on the grass beside me. “Go get dressed and potty so we can

go.” Johnny went without complaint, which was a rarity for him now a days, but I guessed it had more to do with the fact that we were going on a road trip rather than actually wanting to obey me. “Mamamama,” Blaise babbled. I turned and gathered up the wet and slippery baby into my arms and walked into the house. I was glad to see that the kitchen was spotless, because I wasn’t a fan of cleaning up puke. I had enough of that at my job; I didn’t need more of it at home. I worked still, but never offered to do overtime anymore. Sebastian was promoted from captain to Battalion Chief after his role in the arsonist case was uncovered. Devon McRae was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his temple the day after he’d attacked Kettle and Sebastian. Kettle had changed after that day. He’d mentioned to me once how he’d felt that he’d failed that day, and had been trying to make up for it ever since. He was all about the club and work, never taking any time for himself. “I can’t find my pants!” Johnny yelled from his bedroom. I diverted from my path and made a pit stop in Johnny’s room to find him pants before I went to Blaise’s room to get her dressed. The outfit I chose was a Harley Davidson onesie and a pair of tight skinny jeans that made her butt look enormous. Then I started hunting for the boots that Sebastian insisted on buying her in every single size available. No cute shoes for his girl. No, she had to wear baby motorcycle boots everywhere she went, or Sebastian would just take them off. His girl wasn’t what you would call ‘girly’ by any means. “You need any help?” Sebastian asked from the doorway. I looked up to find Sebastian staring at my ass that was in the air, as I looked under the bed for Blaise’s boots. “Know where her boots are?” I asked. His eyes moved reluctantly from my swaying ass to my face and smiled. “Sure do.” “Think they’re upstairs,” he hedged. I sighed, took Blaise to her playpen, and then headed upstairs to find the elusive shoes. I should’ve known better than to fall for it, but I did, every single time. “Sebastian, I don’t-eek!” I squeaked as Sebastian’s strong arms went around my hips and threw me bodily on the bed. I bounced, laughing breathlessly as he followed me down, pinning my front to the mattress. “What are you doing?” I asked breathlessly. “Your t-shirt is wet and I can see your nipples. And those jeans hug your ass so well that it takes my

breath away.” He said, pulling said jeans down until they were around my knees. “The kids.” I tried. “Sterling’s here. We can spare twenty minutes.” He said convincingly. And convince me he did. *** Sebastian “What do you think of it?” I asked my father. The ‘it’ in question was the Arkansas chapter’s new clubhouse. Earlier that year, a tornado had come through and ripped the old clubhouse to shreds. The club had gathered around and rebuilt it within weeks, and from there, we helped the community by rebuilding the surrounding buildings and town. “Looks good. Everyone did a good job.” My father replied. “What’s that girl of yours doing?” I squinted to see across the smoke from the fire to my wife sitting at the outdoor bar. “Looks like she’s arm wrestling Trance.” My father’s head moved from something to the left of my wife. “Yeah, that’s not the girl I was talking about.” My eyes moved around the room until they settled on my daughter. The light of my life. My little Blaise. Who was currently chewing a corn on the cob, sitting comfortably in Kettle’s arms. “She’s teething.” I shrugged. “Somebody’s going to have to slap some sense into that boy.” He said. I agreed. He’d not actually said it, but he blamed himself for me being hurt. Ever since, he’d been distant. He hadn’t acted like himself since then. He needed something, but I sure didn’t know what. “Let me know if you think of something.” I said before heading into the direction of my wife. The day that I nearly lost Baylee changed my life also. I saw things differently now. I lived life a little bit harder, and I loved a whole lot deeper. I knew what it felt like to nearly lose two of the most important beings in my life, and I lived life like it was meant to be. By giving all I had to give. I took the time to jump on the trampoline with my son. I held my daughter for a little bit longer than I probably should. And I made love to my wife like it would be our last time. I savored. I experienced. I repeated.

Why? Because tomorrow it could all be gone, and I had to live like today was my last. “You’re thinking deep thoughts.” Baylee whispered into my ear as she turned my hat backwards, and then wrapped her arms around my neck. My hands went low, until they cupped her ass. Then I leaned down and kissed her. “Nothing too deep. Yet. Just thinking about a place to sneak off to for a few minutes with my wife.” Baylee smiled seductively, and her eyes became hooded. “I saw a nice little bathroom inside somewhere. Maybe we should go check it out.” Some people might say that I wasn’t a lucky man having experienced all that I had over the last couple of years, but I saw things differently. She squealed as I wrapped her legs around my hips and started walking purposefully. I had the perfect wife. Two healthy children. A job that I loved. The best family that anyone could ever ask for in the Dixie Wardens. And I was living to tell about it. What more could a man ask for? “Did you know, Sebastian?” Baylee asked as I carried her to into the bathroom and slammed the door. “What?” I asked, pinning her against the wall. My lips skimmed up her jaw and came to a rest against her mouth. “That you’re the lights to my siren.” And that was why I was a lucky son of a bitch. *** Kettle I watched as my best friend walked away with his wife. Looking down at the baby in my arms, I realized what I was missing. Life was passing me by. If I wasn’t careful, I’d be dead before I ever really lived. I’d tried it before and lost. Could I try it again? Then I laughed harshly. What would it matter? There was no light at the end of my tunnel. That ship had sailed a long time ago.