CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Heather—
Before I can react, Cody reaches out and tugs my lace blindfold down.
“Hey,” I snap, swatting his hand away as panic hits me.
“Sorry. Just wanted to see your eyes.” His gaze narrows, and his chin pulls to the side. It’s like he thinks he recognizes me but can’t put his finger on where we’ve met.
“I should go,” I whisper and move to walk past him, but his hand clamps on my wrist, stopping me.
“Do I know you?” he whispers.
Before I can answer, his eyes widen when he figures it out. “Wait a minute. You’re Ryan’s girl.” He pulls back. “Aren’t you?”
I try to pull free, but he won’t let go.
“Are you Heather? Answer me.”
A long moment drags out while he won’t let me go until I answer, and I don’t want to admit the truth. Finally, I realize he’s not going to give up until I do.
“Yes, okay. Now, let me go.” I tug and pull on my wrist. When he releases me, I dash from the room, flying past Tiny with tears in my eyes.
Tiny’s jaw drops. “Ginger, wait. Are you okay?”
Glancing back, I see him whirl to confront Cody, shoving him backward with two hands on his chest.
“You said you wouldn’t hurt her. I trusted you,” he roars, and I’m suddenly fearful for Tiny’s job.
“I didn’t hurt her. It’s cool, man. I just figured out her real name. That’s all. That’s why she’s upset.”
I hustle through the crowd and toward the dressing room, leaving them behind.
I’m at my locker, throwing a robe around me when the door flies open, banging against the wall. Myself and several of the other dancers jump in surprise at the outburst.
“What the hell, dude?” Velvet snaps.
Cody ignores her, his eyes only on me.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Heather?”
“In San Jose?” I ask, knowing full well what he really means.
“In San Jose… and in this goddamn club, for Christ’s sake.”
The commotion has Ronnie and Tiny both at the door.
“Cody, you need to leave my dancers alone,” Ronnie snaps. “Out. Now.”
Cody shoves him off and stalks out.
When he does, Ronnie turns back to me. “You okay?”
I nod, my eyes sparkling.
“What was that about?” he presses.
Before I can say a word, Tiny speaks for me.
“It was his birthday. Some of the guys were celebrating with him. They ordered him a lap dance and a VIP room with her. He did something to upset her, and she ran out of the Sapphire Room in tears.”
“You’re supposed to be monitoring them. Were you watching on camera?” Ronnie snaps.
“He asked me to turn them off while he was in there with her. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Ronnie gets right in his face. “You don’t turn those cameras off for anybody. Not even the MC. Is that clear?”
“Yes, boss.”
Ronnie drags a hand down his face. “Ginger, get dressed and come to my office.”
With that, he leaves, and when the door closes, all the girls turn open-mouthed to stare at me.
“What happened?” Coco whispers.
“Nothing,” I say, dressing.
“Did he force himself on you?” Velvet asks. “Did you tell him no?”
“No, nothing like that. Just drop it, okay?” I finish dressing and walk out.
When I tap on Ronnie’s door, Marnie is in there and he’s on the phone. He motions me inside, and I close the door behind me, taking the chair next to Marnie.
She reaches over. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
Ronnie slams down the phone. “That was Cole. He’ll take care of his guy. That won’t ever happen again. Got my word.”
“He didn’t hurt me or assault me or whatever you guys are thinking,” I say.
“Then what did happen?” Marnie asks.
“He just realized he knew me, that we’d met before. He was surprised I was here, and really shocked that I dance. You know how it is with guys—they all love dancers until it’s someone they know up there doing it.”
“Is this going to be a problem?” Ronnie asks.
“No. Everything is fine.”
“That’s not what Tiny said. He said you ran out of there in tears.”
“Please don’t blame Tiny. Cody put him in a spot.”
“I get that. That’s why I called their president. Cole will make sure shit like that never happens again.”
“Can I go now?”
“You want to finish your shift, or do you need to leave?”
“I need to finish my shift. I need the money.”
Ronnie looks at Marnie. “Go see if they’ve left the building.”
Marnie leaves and returns a minute later. “They’re gone. I even looked out the door. They’re bikes are gone.” She meets my eyes. “You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. Can we just put this behind us?”
Ronnie nods to the door. “Sure, kid. Go on.”
I finish the night, dancing at 2:30 and again at 3:30 for the closing number. The club closes at 4am, and I’m exhausted when I head to the back door with Coco and Velvet. Tiny is there, waiting to walk us to our cars.
When he opens the door, he pauses, putting an arm out to hold us back. Glancing over his shoulder, I see the reason.
Cody is standing next to his parked bike.
It’s obvious he’s waiting for me.
Tiny turns. “You want to wait in Ronnie’s office until I take care of this, honey?”
“I’ll be fine. He won’t hurt me. He said earlier he wanted to buy me breakfast and talk. I’m sure that’s all this is about.”
“Darlin’, you don’t have to go with him. That’s not part of working here.”
“I get that, and thank you for looking out for us.”
“Hell, I’ll go with him,” Velvet offers. “He’s adorable.”
“He’s a patched member of the MC, you nitwit. You don’t call him adorable,” Coco snaps.
“Shut up, bitch. I didn’t say I’d call him that to his face.” She pushes past Tiny and waggles her fingers at Cody. “Hey, doll. You want some company?”
“Nope,” comes his short response.
Velvet puts her nose in the air and stalks to her car, peeling out.
Coco squeezes my hand. “Be safe, okay?”
“Absolutely,” I reply.
She goes to her car, and I pat Tiny’s arm. “I’m okay. Really.”
“Just the same, I’m not leaving until you get in your car and drive off.”
I know he means every word.
“Thanks.” I slip past him and head to my car.
Cody follows me.
I beep the door open, and he stops at my bumper.
“Have you been waiting long?” I ask.
“A while. I wanted to apologize.”
“Is your president making you do that?”
“Yeah, he talked to me. Guess Ronnie told you, huh?”
“Are you banned from this place?”
“No. Should I be?”
“Depends. It wasn’t cool what you did with Tiny.” I feel the need to defend him.
“Yeah, I know, and I owe him an apology, too. He’ll get one.”
I lift a brow because I haven’t really heard an apology yet.
He grins. “Right. So, I’m really sorry for upsetting you. I was just a little shocked. I shouldn’t have grabbed your arm or busted into the dressing room. It wasn’t cool.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“So, are we good?”
I shrug. “I suppose.”
“I still want to have that cup of coffee with you. You up for breakfast? I know a great little place that’s open all night.”
“I don’t know.”
“Come on, babe. Please.”
“All right, but just so we’re clear… This is just breakfast. Understand?”
“Got my word.”
I yank my door open. “I guess we’ll find out if your word is worth anything.”
Before I can pull my door shut, he leans into the space. “It is. I’ll prove that to you.” He glances at Tiny. “Give me a minute, then follow me. Okay?”
“Okay.” I watch in my rearview mirror while he crosses to talk to Tiny. I suppose he’s apologizing. After he’s through, he holds his hand out, and Tiny shakes it, then he heads to his bike.
A minute later, I’m pulling out of the lot behind him and following him down the street.
He looks good on his motorcycle, and I notice he keeps checking his side mirror.
We pull into an all-night Denny’s, and I park next to him.
He holds the door for me, and we’re soon seated at a booth near the window.
A moment later, a waitress approaches with a pot of coffee. She turns our cups right side up in the saucers. “You want coffee, honey?” she asks me.
“Yes, please.”
“And you?” she asks Cody.
“Please.”
“You know what you want, or you need a minute?” she asks while she pours the dark, aromatic brew into our cups.
“Steak and eggs for me,” Cody says, and the waitress shifts her attention to me.
“And you, doll?”
“Um, two eggs scrambled and sausage.”
“You got it. Any juice?”
“OJ, please,” he says.
“Same,” I reply.
“I’ll be right back with your drinks.”
After she leaves, Cody locks eyes with me. “What are you doing in San Jose?”
Fiddling with my coffee, I add cream and sugar, then stir. “You want the truth?”
He huffs a laugh. “No, lie to me, babe.”
“You gave me the idea. That day at the cemetery. I needed a fresh start for myself and Tucker.” I shrug and sip my coffee. “California seemed as good as any place.”
“Bullshit,” he says.
My cup clatters on my saucer. “What do you mean by that?”
He grins. “You just decided to move you and your kid out here and leave your family behind? You know anybody out here?”
“I guess I do now. You.”
He tilts his head, studying me. “You are the strangest woman I’ve ever met.”
The waitress returns with our juice, then retreats.
“When did you start dancing?”
Here we go. I suck in a deep breath, and get into it. “When Tucker was about a year old. I needed money. There weren’t a lot of jobs to choose from, not that paid well, anyway.”
“Didn’t Ryan’s family help out?”
“They never really liked me. Somehow, they thought I was the one who talked him into joining the military.”
“That’s a load of crap. He told me he signed up because of 9/11. Wanted to do his part.”
“Well, tell that to his mom and dad. They were grief-stricken.”
“And they didn’t want to be a part of the baby’s life?”
“They tried to take custody from me. Thank God my parents helped me fight that legal nightmare.”
“That sucks. Do they have visitation with him?”
“Nothing legally, no.”
“And now you’ve taken their grandson two thousand miles away?”
“I don’t plan to keep him from them. I’m sure we’ll go back and visit. I just… after everything, I needed to get away.”
“There any other reason?”
He reads me like a book.
“A guy?” he prods.
“Okay, there was this guy. He got abusive, and I needed to get away from him.”
“Give me his name. I’ll take care of him.” He’s completely serious.
“I’m not giving you a name. That’s over, and you don’t need to take care of him. What does that even mean?”
“It means I’ll deal with him in a way that he won’t ever bother you again.”
“Cody, I—”
“I’m serious as a heart attack. This guy ever shows up, you come to me, understand?”
“Sure.” I say it to placate him.
“Glad we got that straightened out.”
“Cody?”
“Yeah?”
“Are you saying that because you feel like you owe a military buddy a favor?”
“I owe Ryan a hell of a lot. Band of Brothers? That shit’s real. So, yeah, I’ll do anything I need to keep you and his kid safe. You think he wouldn’t do it for me if the situation were reversed?”
“I suppose he would.”
“Damn straight he would. It’s the least I can do.”
“So, is that all this is? A debt you feel you owe?”
“I don’t want to talk about debts I owe, because that’s a heavy topic, but no, that’s not all this is.
Guess I’ll lay my cards on the table right now, because I’m not sure I’m ever gonna get another shot with you.
For all I know, you may blow me off after this.
I’m attracted to you, Heather. Big time.
Guess you already saw that. I feel a connection with you.
I have since the moment I stopped on that bridge.
I know that sounds weird as fuck, but it’s true.
I wish we could have had that meal I promised you that day.
I guess I wish a lot of things. What I’m hoping is maybe this is our second chance. ”
“Wow. That’s a lot.”
“I guess it is. Let me ask you something. Do you believe in coincidences? Do you believe in fate?”
“What do you mean?” I frown.
“Maybe this will sound crazy, but I think Ryan put me on that bridge at that exact moment so I could save you. I don’t think running into you at the cemetery was a fluke, and I don’t think you being here in Cali, working at Sonny’s is either.”
I stare at him.
“Come on, babe. I wasn’t even supposed to be on that bridge at that moment.
I was supposed to have already been long gone.
Only reason I was hours behind the rest of my club was the fact that I needed to change a plug on my bike.
It was a freaky thing. My plugs weren’t old.
One shouldn’t have given me trouble, but suddenly, out of the blue, it did.
The thing looked fine when I took it off.
I didn’t understand it. But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I think none of it was random.
I was where I was supposed to be at that exact moment. ”
I sip my coffee. His words are freaking me out. “That’s some heavy shit, Cody.”
“It is. Doesn’t mean it’s not true.”
“That makes all this preordained or something?”
“Not preordained, just, I don’t know, guess you’ve got a guardian angel.”
“And Ryan’s roped you into being mine, is that it?”
He shrugs. “So, now you’re here.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m glad, but Sonny’s? Maybe I can help find you something better.”
“I don’t need you to do that. Really. I can make my own choices, Cody.”
He sees he’s touched a nerve and lets it slide. Our food arrives, and we dig in.
“Want to try this steak? It’s really good,” he says around a mouthful, and I giggle.
“I’ll take your word for it.”
“Who’s watchin’ your son?”
“Marnie’s mother, if you can believe that.”
“Marnie from Sonny’s?”
“Yep. She’s been a godsend. Tucker just loves her.”
“She spends the night?”
“Yes, it’s only three nights a week, so it works out.”
“Guess that’s one good thing about that job, huh?”
I nod.
“When do you have to be back?”
“They usually sleep until 6:30.” I check the time. It’s 5am.
Cody checks the time as well. “So, we’ve got about an hour and a half. You want to take a ride with me on the bike? I know a pretty place we can watch the sunrise.” He leans and looks under the table. “You’ve got boots on with those jeans. Look at you, all ready to ride.”
I laugh. “Hardly.”
“Ever been on a bike?”
“Nope.”
“Bet I get you hooked with one ride,” he boasts.
I scoff. “That’s a big claim.”
“I’m that sure.”
“All right. But I’ve got to be back in time.”
“Then we better eat fast.” He snaps his fingers and looks toward our waitress three booths down. “Check, please.”