Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Had the man standing in her kitchen lost his damn mind?
Zeke’s excuse to stop over was to say goodnight to his son. Once he did that and Ledger had fallen asleep, he’d hung around for some reason.
Originally, Kyra thought he’d done it in hopes they’d hook up again, but it hadn’t taken her long to learn the real reason. Or at least the main reason.
“I have a year-long lease, Zeke. It’ll cost me a small fortune to break it.” And just because he was Ledger’s father didn’t mean he could dictate everything else in her life.
Was her apartment perfect? No, but it did the job and was affordable. It was also close to both her parents’ place and her brother’s.
“Got it covered.”
He got it covered? “Why are you insisting that I move onto the farm?”
“Safer for you.”
Something smelled off. “Why are you worried about my safety? Is something going on that you’re not telling me about?”
“Ledger’s the son of a MC president.”
That was a fact she obviously knew, considering she’d given birth to him. “So?”
“Never know when another MC’s gonna cause shit.”
Her eyes went wide and her heart did a somersault. “Are you saying Ledger is in danger?” Holy shit.
He scraped a hand down his beard. One of his tells when he was trying to avoid a subject. “Ain’t sayin’ that. Just tryin’ to make sure my family’s safe. Just like when my old man built the DAMC compound. He was lookin’ out for his family. You’d also be close to Vi.”
She could easily visit Vi whenever she wanted. They lived in a mid-sized town surrounded by suburbia, not a sprawling metropolis. “While that’s nice, I’m not sure I can afford one of the cabins.” Especially once they’d been renovated after Vi and her sisters inherited the farm.
If she remembered correctly, the cabins were so much nicer than her humble apartment. The Dougherty women had them upgraded to justify an increase in rent.
“You can afford one.”
That statement made her eyebrows rise sky high. “You don’t know how much I earn.”
“Don’t need to know. Got it covered.”
Those same eyebrows took a deep dive. “Who’s got it covered?”
“For fuck’s sake, Ky. Got it fuckin’ covered. My kid. My w—”
Her eyebrows shot up again, so high this time they almost launched off her face. “Your…”
“Mother of my kid.”
Of course he had been about to say “woman” and caught himself.
My woman. Grunt, grunt, grunt.
Only problem was—and it was a big one—she was no longer his “woman.” She was the mother of his child. Nothing more.
“Even if I could afford one of the cabins, I’m sure they don’t have any available.”
“Ain’t true.”
She narrowed her eyes on him. “Did you make arrangements without consulting with me first?”
“Talked to Vi. Wanted to see if she had any open. She’s gonna in a coupla weeks. One of the tenants gave notice last month.”
“Really? Or did you pressure that poor tenant to move out so you could move us in?” She wouldn’t put it past him to intimidate someone to get what he wanted. And for some reason, he wanted her to move out of her current apartment.
“Didn’t do shit ‘cept talk to Vi.”
“I don’t want to share a room with Ledger. We both need our own space.”
“Gonna get one with two bedrooms.”
With a groan, she slapped a hand across her forehead. “You have it all figured out, don’t you?” How convenient was it that one of the few two-bedroom cabins was suddenly becoming free?
“What the fuck’s wrong with lookin’ out for you and my boy?”
Kyra pulled in a breath. “While I appreciate you looking out, you don’t get to make decisions about us without me being involved.”
“Tellin’ you now.”
“You’re telling me? I think you meant you’re asking me if I’d like to move onto the farm, right? Right?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled.
“Then, my answer is no. I might consider your offer in the future, but I like how close my place is to—”
“Ain’t acceptin’ that answer.”
She blinked at his bossiness. Then some of the stories she heard over the years began to flood her memories. Most of them tragedies.
Vi’s mother, Jewel, had been kidnapped by the DAMC’s rivals, the Shadow Warriors, long before she was born.
Rage’s mother, Kiki, had been kidnapped and assaulted. Lyric and Nix’s mother, Jazz, had also been taken during that same incident and had been raped, assaulted, and sliced up with a knife.
Jayde, Adrianna and Gage’s mother, had been attacked by that same MC, causing her to have a miscarriage.
Wheels and Jigsaw’s father, Slade, had been captured, beaten, and used as bait to ambush the club.
Sophie’s Sweet Treats, the bakery run by Zeke’s own mother, had almost been destroyed by a Molotov cocktail when she had been inside.
Those were only the incidents she easily remembered them talking about, but she was sure they were just the tip of the iceberg since the Warriors had been thorns in the DAMC’s side for decades.
But she also learned once the Shadow Warriors disappeared, the war between the two MCs ended.
The back of her neck prickled and her stomach dropped. “Are the Shadow Warriors back?”
Zeke’s eyebrows pinned together. “Fuck no. Got nothin’ to do with the Warriors.”
“Then I don’t understand this concern.”
“Always gonna be another MC out there like the Warriors. Just tryin’ to make sure we’re prepared in case one pops up to create trouble.”
“But you don’t know of any right now?”
Please say no. Please say no.
When his face became a blank mask, her gut churned.
If something ever happened to Ledger due to him being tied to the club, it would be all her fault. She was the one who decided to come back to Shadow Valley thinking it would be better for their son. Maybe it would’ve been better to stay far, far away.
Had she screwed up by returning to Shadow Valley? She’d never be able to live with herself if she had and her actions caused Ledger to be harmed.
She’d also never be able to forgive the man standing in front of her. Because his club would be the cause of it.
It was one thing to be dating a biker when she was single and wanting to party and have fun, it was quite another when she was responsible for a child.
A child that could easily be made a target.
“Gonna get my brothers to help you pack and move your shit over once that other guy moves out.”
“I didn’t agree to it.”
“Don’t fuckin’ forget Ledger’s mine, too.”
“It’s hard to forget that fact, Zeke, when you keep reminding me,” she spouted in frustration.
“‘Cause you fuckin’ forgot that important fact when you fuckin’ split!” he yelled, then quickly reined in his temper. He planted a hand on his hip, dropped his head and took a couple of deep breaths.
Oh yes, something was obviously up. Clearly, he was hiding whatever it was from her.
But whatever it was had to be serious enough. He wasn’t pushing them to move in with him and become the “family” he kept hinting at. He was only pushing her to move onto the Doughertys’ farm.
Where some of the cabins were occupied by Vi’s Shadows. Shadows who wouldn’t hesitate to protect her and Ledger, if need be. Even if those actions were questionable. Or downright illegal.
She not only heard what havoc the Warriors had wreaked in the past, but she also knew the now-retired Shadows had taken out most of that rival club.
Those nomad bikers were never seen again.
The former Shadows had all been retired military and, in reality, could have been labeled mercenaries when they worked for Vi’s father, Diesel. From what Kyra remembered, they had all been scary as hell and not to be messed with.
“For me to even consider this move, I need to know the truth, Zeke. If I find out you’re hiding things from me—things that might put Ledger in harm’s way—I won’t ever forgive you.”
“Still haven’t forgiven me for that shit with Bunny, anyway,” he grumbled.
She rolled her eyes. “Thank you for that reminder.”
“For fuck’s sake,” he muttered and shook his head. “I lay it out, you gonna seriously consider it?”
“Yes. Just to be clear, you said no rent?” That alone would be a huge plus. Along with no upstairs tenants making a bunch of noise.
“No.”
“You have no plans to live with us?” She stared at him when he hesitated. “Right?” she prodded. “The cabin would only be for me and Ledger? You wouldn’t be worming your way into our space?”
His mouth twisted. “Right.”
Riiiiiight.
Her lips didn’t twist but they certainly flattened out. “Let’s make a deal. I’ll give the cabin serious consideration if you tell me the whole truth.”
“Ain’t much to tell.”
She folded her arms across her chest and lifted a single eyebrow. “Tell me what you know. Or are worried about.”
He sucked on his teeth for a second as he considered her demand. Finally, he asked, “Remember the Deadly Demons?”
She thought back. “I think so.”
“Didn’t fuck with us directly, but before they were wiped out, they were slowly creepin’ north. My old man was keepin’ a close eye on them.”
“Didn’t some members of a federal task force go undercover with your club because of them?”
“Yeah. But we try not to talk ‘bout that bullshit partnership. Anyway, ‘nother club’s takin’ over their territory.”
“Is this other club dangerous?” Did her voice just crack?
“Ain’t sayin’ that. Just makin’ sure all our bases are bein’ covered. Anytime another club wants to increase their territory near us, we gotta take it seriously. The fuck if we want to be unprepared and have shit go sideways.”
“Shit like what the Warriors pulled.”
Him tipping his head confirmed it, but then, so did his next words. “Same shit we’re tryin’ to avoid.”
“They did some really awful things, Zeke,” she whispered, her chest getting tighter.
“No shit. And they fuckin’ paid for it.”
“But not until after they did a lot of damage,” she reminded him.
“Reason I wanna be prepared, babe.”
While that was all fine and good, it didn’t relieve her worry. In fact, she would now have to seriously consider moving her and Ledger to the offered cabin.
Admittedly, living near Vi and Indie—and eventually Scarlet, once she was done with her military service—along with being surrounded by the Shadows, would be a lot safer than where she lived now.
The other option would be to move back to Chicago, but she had no family or job there and it would take Ledger away from the man he now knew as his father.
Ledger was excited that Zeke was now in his life. To rip him away from his biological father, his uncle and cousins, as well as both sets of grandparents wouldn’t be fair to their son.
He deserved to be surrounded and loved by family, too.
She closed her eyes and considered everything. She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t.
So far, Zeke’s interactions with Ledger had shown he had the potential to be a good father. He’d made some newbie mistakes, but that was to be expected.
Taking Ledger away from him again would be wrong. Not to mention selfish.
Zeke wanting them to move somewhere safer was proof he cared.
But again, a risk wouldn’t exist in the first place if he wasn’t the president of a damn motorcycle club.
She was so damn torn.
She could only hope he was being overly cautious and this other club wouldn’t be a real threat.
Using her hips to spin her around, Zeke leaned back against the kitchen counter and pulled her into him.
“Zeke…” When she tried to half-heartedly pull away, he dug his fingers in deeper to hold her there.
His fingers weren’t the only thing digging against her.
Someone thought he was getting something more than conversation tonight.
“Think he’s asleep?” he murmured, sending a wave of goosebumps over her skin.
Her eyes sliced over to the clock on the microwave. “I’d say so. He falls asleep pretty quickly.” She purposely added, “So, if you were looking forward to reading him a bedtime story, you’re too late.”
“Got stories but ain’t for bedtime.”
“Then I’d prefer you stick to Dr. Seuss.”
“Kid don’t need to hear ‘bout moldy eggs and ham.”
“Moldy…” She couldn’t stop the laughter that erupted from her. “They aren’t green because of mold.”
Lord, did his lopsided smile heat up her insides.
She wished she didn’t find him attractive.
His blue eyes were heated when he announced with a low, grumbly voice, “Wanna eat your pussy.”
That same pussy clenched. But she needed to resist him. While she had no choice but to let him be involved with Ledger, when it came to herself, she really didn’t need to get entangled with him again.
She was currently seeing a decent guy. While it might be new and not serious, it could eventually turn into something worth holding on to.
In reality, Glen could end up being a much better father figure than Zeke. If anything, his normalcy might counteract Zeke’s biker ways and teach Ledger how to be a decent human.
But despite her brain being logical, she had too many other parts of her being the opposite.
Sleeping with Zeke wasn’t smart. She knew that. Her common sense needed to smack her upside the head.
Having sex with him again would only give him more fodder to be bossy and possessive.
She knew that, too.
“That buffet is closed, Zeke.”
“Bullshit. Bet I can get it up and runnin’.”
“I’m seeing someone. Remember?”
“Didn’t stop you last time.”
Ouch.
“Bet he don’t make you wet like I do.”
He didn’t. But, again, not everything was about sex.
“Want to chow down on your cunt ’til you come and cover my face in your juices.”
Instead of rolling her eyes, she shuddered. While his words were raw and unromantic, they turned her on to no end. Unfortunately.
Why, why, why, why was he like her crack?
A dangerous addiction she couldn’t kick.
Her weakness over him due to his bad boy charm…
His sexy swagger…
His “not give a fuck” attitude…
Any and all of that was why she’d left Shadow Valley in the first place. She had figured—and hoped—distance might break that spell.
She was wrong. However, something else was becoming very clear…
Glen did not make her nipples stand at attention. He did not make her pussy slick. Or make her want to climb him like a tree.
He was comfortable. Like a warm blanket.
While Zeke set that blanket on fire.
He made her pulse race. Her pussy throb. Her clit quiver.
Her toes curl.
But life was more than hot, satisfying sex, right?
Being consistent. Responsible. Solid. Law-abiding.
None of that would describe the man currently pressing his erection into her belly.
The man with whom she shared a child.
Only, she didn’t want to deal with reality.
Because the reality was: she didn’t want Glen.
She wanted Zeke.
No matter how bad he was for her.
No matter how much he lived up to his road name.
No matter how many times he’d been in prison.
No matter he was the freaking president of a motorcycle club.
Despite fighting it, she was sliding down that slippery slope again.
She thought she’d grown stronger than this.
But no. The truth was, she was weak.
And Zeke was her fucking kryptonite.