Chapter One
Five Years Later
Kelley was so excited. This had to be the one that worked.
Pulling the nine-by-thirteen-inch pan out of the oven, she wanted to let out a squeal. This was only batch number gazillion, but that didn’t matter. She was determined to make the perfect brownie.
It had all started a few years ago, when she tried a commercial one, and now she wanted the real deal. Putting the pan on a wire rack, she went back to the oven and turned it off. She had baked a lot.
She was always baking in December, and every year without fail, Crow arrived.
He didn’t have to, as he stayed on the road a lot, but he always came by at Christmas, and also on her birthday, which he discovered the first year he got her into this place.
It was a small house, not too far from Storm’s Bar.
She knew his Prez was with the woman who owned the bar.
She lived in the small town, about a thirty-minute ride away. It was a cute town called Creek. That was it, nothing else, just Creek. When she first came here, she thought it would be filled with horror stories, creeps, and possibly even her death. Nope, it was the loveliest town around.
She didn’t know how Crow did it, but he made it possible for her to finish high school, live alone, and also get a job at the local supermarket, which she happened to love.
A nice, normal, calm life was so much nicer than the life her mother had to offer her, which was filled with drama, and being sold because she hadn’t fucked anyone. Yep, her virginity was very much intact.
She didn’t think about that night ... coming home, seeing her mother in a fur coat, and then introducing her to the men.
Her mother had sold her. She knew that some of the girls she encountered during her brief time with the men had been taken straight off the streets.
Their parents were worried sick. In fact, a few years ago, after Crow had put her in this place, she had seen one of the news bulletins about one of the girls.
Kelley recognized her, so she did what she promised she wouldn’t do.
She called it in. Told them exactly where they were keeping the girls.
She didn’t run away without making sure she knew where the girl was.
It was an anonymous tip, and she even traveled two towns over to make the call, before coming back to Creek.
She made the call and watched on the news as it came over the little ticket markers at the bottom of the page: Trafficking ring foiled.
The girl was reunited with her family. Kelley knew she had done a very dangerous thing.
A good thing, but dangerous. There was no coming back from it.
That was all she could do. She didn’t know if she saved a lot of girls, but it was better than doing absolutely nothing. At least, that was what she kept telling herself.
After cleaning up her baking dishes, she pulled the brownies from the tin and watched as they looked even better with every second that passed. This called for ice cream. She pulled the carton out of the freezer to allow it to soften just the way she liked it.
Rather than risk cutting into it, Kelley started to move around the house.
She didn’t ask how Crow could afford this place.
She had watched him kill a couple of men.
Any other woman might have been terrified.
Not her, she was damn happy with what he had done.
She knew that made her a little weird, but what else did they expect?
They had taken her, beaten her up, terrified her, and attempted to break her spirit.
They didn’t realize that after living with a selfish, self-centered mother, it would take a lot more to break her.
Her mother had been telling her for years how useless she was. That the reason she didn’t have a boyfriend was because she was ugly and fat, and no man would want a steaming pile of turd. That was her mother on a good day.
Still, she got up and went about her day as if her mother was completely normal. That the married men who visited the house for sex were all normal. She tried to be nice, but the truth was, she was hated for being her mother’s daughter.
The whole house was clean, and she had waited long enough.
She was going to try those brownies. Going back into the kitchen, she took a corner slice, and as she pulled it away, it didn’t do what another brownie did, which was leak all over the counter, looking more like a lava cake than an actual brownie. So far, so good.
She put the brownie on her plate, scooped up some ice cream, and placed it on top. It was already starting to melt. Perfection. So, she took a small spoon, added a bit of ice cream and brownie, and tried it. Heaven. Sheer and total heaven.
If at first you don’t succeed, keep trying until you do, or just be a little stubborn until it has no choice but to work.
****
Crow intended to leave Kelley and never see her again. However, that hadn’t exactly worked. Each year, he kept coming back to Storm’s Bar.
Some of the guys had stuck around and had already built a clubhouse on the back of the bar. Most of the guys were now quite happy to stay in one place. From what he’d been told, Rebel was also in the process of investing in a few businesses in surrounding towns.
He had no doubt they were going to be successful.
Some of the guys had already told him how good the bar was, that pussy was still in abundance.
So, each year he made sure to stop by the bar, and then take an added trip to Creek to see Kelley.
He kept telling himself it was just to make sure she was okay and wasn’t in any kind of trouble.
It had nothing to do with feelings, or any of that shit.
However, he knew he was lying. Big fat fucking lying.
His favorite part of the trip was always coming to see her.
Whenever he stopped by, she seemed to be in the process of baking something.
There were a few times he’d caught her as she worked in the supermarket, which she loved.
She said she loved stocking shelves, as well as serving. The locals were all nice to her.
The few bits and pieces she had given him over the years had told him she wasn’t used to people being nice to her at all. This included a mother, and the old place where she used to live.
He didn’t go hunting for trouble, but he had a way of having trouble find him. Just like that night five years ago when he was enjoying the simple pleasures of smoking a cigarette.
Kelley had proven to be a rare gem. She loved being alone and not relying on anyone else.
She never caused him any trouble. The house she lived in he’d paid for in full.
There were no worries in that department.
She didn’t even need to get a job, but she’d asked him for permission to get one.
Again, another surprise, as the women he was used to liked having everything done for them.
He didn’t go straight to Storm’s Bar but instead made his way toward Creek, and took the small turn in the suburban street.
It was a nice neighborhood. He’d made sure the house he got for her was perfect.
This meant he could leave her and know she was safe.
It also helped that some of the guys had promised to keep an eye on her.
This is why from time to time, they rode into Creek just to check on her.
She was a sweet girl. Hardworking. She never partied or did anything crazy. In fact, she seemed to love cooking and baking. Every time he was there, she always had something to eat. It wasn’t always good, but he knew she tried her hardest.
He pulled up onto the driveway and slid off his bike. He never wore a helmet, and like every time before he’d gotten off his bike, the front door opened up.
There was Kelley, in a Christmas sweater, arms folded across her chest, and waving at him. She was so damn cute.
“Hey, Kelley,” he said.
“Hey, Crow.”
She stepped out of the way, and he saw a box of Christmas decorations out in the hallway.
“What’s all this?” he asked.
“Oh, that is just for me to start putting them up outside. I went shopping the other day. I got some amazing bargains.” She clapped her hands. “Do you want to see?”
“Another time. I could really use a coffee.”
This always made her smile. He loved beer and good whiskey, but when he was around Kelley, he was more than happy with a hot cup of coffee.
“I’m on it.”
She spun on her heel, and that was when he saw she had already started decorating for Christmas. He’d been told that she spent Thanksgiving alone, which he hated. He’d been an hour’s ride away, but he was determined not to get too close.
Over the last five years, he knew she was making up for stuff she didn’t get with her mother. Christmas, Halloween, Thanksgiving, every celebration she could do, she did. It was sweet and sad at the same time.
He had a feeling Kelley got lonely, but she didn’t like to impose on anyone, and he could understand that.
Her love of Christmas was intense. The Christmas tree was up in the sitting room.
Fairy lights were wrapped around parts of the banister, along with tinsel and streamers.
Festive cookie tins were everywhere. She was immersed in the Christmas spirit.
He loved it. And he was a little ... in awe of her. He had never been one for Christmas.
Following her into the kitchen, he saw that even here, she had decorated. In that moment, he couldn’t help but think she would make one hell of a mom.
The coffeepot was already on, and she pointed to a covered cake tray with brownies on it.
“What do you think?” she asked.
“You perfected them?”
“Yep. I told you I wouldn’t give up, and I didn’t, and look at them.” She let out a little squeal. “Do you want to try one?”
She had come to discover he had a sweet tooth. In fact, Crow had come to discover he had a sweet tooth, which was very much news to him.
“Sure.”
She clapped her hands, and then rushed to serve him some. “Do you want ice cream?”
“Why not?”
She looked so at home and at peace. This is what he loved to see.
She flicked the fridge closed, then moved toward him, serving him a brownie with a dollop of ice cream and a nice, hot coffee.
Before he’d even taken a sip of coffee, he tried the brownie. Now, over the years, he’d tried ones that were still gooey, some that were so hard they nearly shattered his teeth. There were a lot he had gotten through. This one was delicious.
Kelley let out an excited laugh and threw her arms around him. “See, I told you I wouldn’t give up.”
When had Kelley gone from being a teenage girl to a beautiful woman?