Chapter Eleven
Lila
“Why did you guys do that?”
I ask, staring at the three women behind bars.
“He could have seriously hurt you.”
“Because he deserved it,”
Riley fires back without hesitation.
“He deserved far worse,”
Abby adds, her chin tilting defiantly.
“Matter of fact, break me out of this joint so I can pay him another visit.”
Sunny’s voice is softer, but no less sure.
“We know that video wasn’t true. There’s no way you’d ever touch that creep. I just don’t understand why the guys wouldn’t help you.”
“Because I’m the little boy,”
I say quietly.
Confusion flickers across their faces until I explain.
“You know that story? The boy who cried wolf? So many women falsely accuse men of things they never did that when someone finally comes forward with the truth, no one believes her. Your men weren’t willing to risk their reputations on someone they barely knew. I get it. It made me angry, yes. But I do understand. And I had everything under control.”
“You did not,”
Riley snaps, planting her hands on her hips even from behind the bars.
“You did what you had to do to keep your job. But you never should’ve been put in that position.”
“I need a job, Riley,”
I sigh, the fight draining from my voice.
“I live paycheck to paycheck as it is. If I lose work, Bree goes hungry. And I can’t afford the extra hours the nurses have to cover.”
“Wait,”
Sunny frowns.
“Doesn’t Micah’s insurance pay for the nurses?”
“Yes and no,”
I admit.
“Insurance covers five hours a day. I pay out of pocket for the other five. Sometimes more, if I’m stuck on a double. And half the time, the nurses end up watching Bree, too. Luckily, Micah’s teacher doesn’t cost us anything. But I can’t go even a couple of days without a paycheck.”
“Then come work for me,”
Sunny offers.
“It’s not much, but I can guarantee you the job.”
“Or me,”
Abby jumps in.
“My new boutique opens next month. I was going to run it myself, but I really do need help.”
“You bitches are crazy,”
my best friend calls from the doorway, half-laughing, half-fuming.
“When I heard what you did, I was pissed. How dare you plan a revenge beating without me? I wanted to get a few swings and kicks in, too.”
“Don’t incriminate yourself,”
I tell him, shaking my head.
“What they did was dangerous. I don’t even want to be here when the Shadows find out.”
“Yeah! Too late for that,”
Sunny says, sheepish and proud at once.
I turn and see a ring of furious men watching us. Not a single one speaks. For a second, the silence is worse than anything they could yell. Then Skip pushes Tank and Bones aside and strides forward.
“My heroes,”
he says, laughing.
“You girls are fucking awesome.”
An officer steps up and produces a set of keys.
“You’re free to go,”
he says.
“You’re just lucky Mr. Gumphrey isn’t pressing charges.”
“Give me five more minutes and I’ll give him something to press charges about,”
Riley snaps.
“Should I keep you locked up?”
the officer asks.
“Probably,”
Riley answers without missing a beat.
“You do realize that dickhead was going to fire our friend if she didn’t suck him off, right?”
“Is this true?”
the officer asks, turning to me.
“Don’t put her on the spot,”
Abby interrupts as the officer opens the cage.
“It’s hard enough being a woman in a man’s world. That doesn’t mean you have to treat us like we’re nothing more than holes. My friend is doing her best alone, and then some stupid man decides to kick her while she’s down. Well, I’ve had enough.”
“We all have,”
Sunny adds, stepping in close so the three of them form a wall behind me.
“That bastard can try to shove her to her knees again, but I can guarantee you this…if he does, we’ll be right there to kick him in the balls. Again. Come on, Lila. Let’s get out of here.”
“My car is…”
Spike starts, voice hard.
“We’re fine,”
Riley snaps, cutting him off with a glare.
“We’re going to go home with Lila for a few hours. When we’re ready to go back, we’ll go back.”
“Asher…”
Spike begins.
“Is at Lila’s with the nurse,”
Riley says.
“Right now, we need a break from the lot of you.”
“Come on, Skip,”
Abby urges.
“You can come with us. Otherwise, my brother will have someone tailing us anyway. At least this way we choose who watches over us.”
“Don’t worry, ladies,”
Skip says, hands on his hips, trying for a heroic tone.
“I’ll keep you safe.”
“Not a lady,”
Cody quips.
“but I can be if you want. Also, I have to get home, but I’ll call later.”
I hug Cody quickly and tightly, watching him leave without sparing the bikers a second glance.
“I didn’t drive here,”
Skip says.
“We can all fit in my van,”
I offer softly, feeling Max’s eyes on me from across the room.
“The seats are folded down for my brother’s chair, but we can easily pull them back up.”
“Okay,”
Skip says.
“But I’m driving.”
I nod and fall in step behind him and the girls as we leave.
“Riley,”
Spike calls after us, but she doesn’t answer. None of them do.
And it makes me smile. I have people on my side.
When we reach my van, I show Skip how to raise the seats and stifle a giggle as he wrestles with one of them.
“Need some help, brother?”
the voice haunting my dreams asks.
“Fucking thing’s stuck,”
Skip grunts.
“Grab the other end.”
Max gives me a quick wink before leaning down to help, his hands efficient and sure as they work the mechanism loose.
“I think he likes you,”
Abby whispers.
“He definitely does,”
Riley agrees, smiling at me.
“Nonsense,”
I tell them, looking away as Max’s broad back moves in and out of view while he tugs.
“He just feels sorry for me. He’s met me three times, and every time I’ve been in some kind of mess. I’m nothing more than a charity case.”
“Hate to break it to you,”
Riley says.
“but Max’s life has been a mess, too.”
“That’s not nice,”
I protest automatically.
“She’s not wrong,”
comes the low rumble from the man himself.
“Give us a minute?”
I assume he wants to talk to his friends, so I nod and take a step toward the van. But before I can move more than a few inches, a large hand closes firmly around my hip and tugs me back.
Straight into a wall of hard muscle.
“Not you,”
Max murmurs, his breath brushing my ear.
“Ooo,”
Sunny sing-songs with a grin.
“We’ll be in the van, waiting to hear all the juicy details. Remember, Lila, we’re pissed off at the men, but they’re still good men. They just made a bad decision. So, don’t be mad at Max.”
My eyes widen as everyone, even Skip, piles inside and slams the doors, leaving me alone outside with Max.
“Make some new friends?”
he asks softly, his chest still pressed against my back.
“Looks like it,”
I manage, fighting to keep my breathing steady.
“They’re good friends to have,”
he says, his hands gentle but firm as he turns me to face him.
And just like that, it’s worse. So much worse.
Because looking at him straight on is like staring into the sun. Blinding, overwhelming, dangerous. Can I go back to not meeting his eyes? Please?
“I’m sorry,” he says.
“For what?”
My pulse spikes at how close he is.
“For not being there to protect you.”
His face goes hard with something that looks a lot like regret.
“It’s not your job to protect me,”
I tell him.
“It is now.”
He steps closer until there’s almost no space between us.
“Lila, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the first time I saw you. You’re driving me fucking crazy.”
My mouth goes dry. I stare at him, trying to catch up.
“I’ve done some bad shit,”
he says, cupping my face like I’m fragile glass.
“I can’t promise I won’t do more in the future. But I’ll fight for what I want…my club. You. If you’ll have me.”
If I’ll have him? The question hangs there, huge and impossible.
“I’m so confused,”
I admit, voice small.
He leans in and presses a soft kiss to my forehead that makes my knees wobble and give out. He chuckles, looping an arm around my waist and pulling me flush to him.
“You okay, baby?”
he asks, the laugh in his voice low and dangerous.
“Huh?” I manage.
“If a sweet forehead kiss makes you weak in the knees, I can’t fucking wait to see what happens when I get my mouth on the rest of you.”
His grin is wickedly pleased.
“Oh, my,”
I breathe.
The air between us grows hotter, tighter, until I can’t breathe. Maybe he feels it too, because Max finally eases his grip and takes a half step back. The loss of his body heat leaves me unsteady, but at least I can think again.
“I hate what I’m about to say,”
I say, my voice low but steady.
“I can’t get involved with someone. My life is chaos on a calm day. When I’m not working, every minute goes to my daughter and brother, making sure they know they’re loved, that they’re safe. I don’t even have time for myself, let alone a relationship. I can’t hand you pieces of a life that barely feels like mine. That’s not fair to you.”
“Hmm.”
Max hums low, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, his arm still firm around my hips.
“What’s not fair is asking you to give me a chance when I know exactly how dangerous my life can be.”
“I’ve seen the women in your club,”
I tell him, meeting his eyes.
“And I’ve never in my life seen women feel safer or more loved than the ones currently sitting in my van…regardless of how royally mad they are right now.”
He doesn’t answer at first. Just studies me, his gaze sharp and unreadable, like he’s weighing every word I said against everything he’s seen in his own life. The silence stretches, heavy and almost unbearable.
Then, quietly but with that same rough conviction, he says.
“That’s what I want with you, Lila. Not just attraction. Not just chaos. I want to be the one who makes you feel safe. The one who stays when everyone else has left. I know what it means to fight for family. And I’d fight like hell for yours.”
“I don’t come alone,”
I remind him quietly.
“I’m a package deal. And it’s a heavy package.”
His face softens in a way I didn’t think possible. “I know,”
he says quietly.
“And I’ve thought about that. About you. About them. More times than I can count.”
“I don’t do short-term,”
I say, trying one last time to push him away. Because if it doesn’t work this time, I don’t think I have it in me to try again when I so desperately want what he’s offering.
“I don’t have the physical or emotional energy for games.”
“I’m not here to play games, Lila. I don’t want a night or a fling. I want the long haul. You, your daughter, your brother… all of it. I wouldn’t be standing here if I didn’t.”
“I don’t think you’re fully grasping what you’re asking,”
I say with a small smile.
“I think you just need to give me the chance to prove you wrong,”
he answers, smiling back.
Should I? Am I overthinking this? Does he even find me attractive, or is this pity wrapped up as something more? My head spins with questions I don’t have the answers to.
“Okay,”
I whisper.
If I thought he’d been smiling before, I was wrong. The grin that lights up his face at my answer is blinding, filled with so much hope it makes my chest ache.
“Thank you, baby,”
he murmurs, brushing a feather-light kiss across my lips before I can even catch my breath.
“Can I take you to lunch tomorrow?”
“Well, I don’t think I have a job anymore,”
I say automatically, remembering the chaos of the last hour.
“Bree will be at school, Micah will be finishing with his tutor, and the nurse will be there. If I start the laundry in the morning, it should be done by lunch. I need to go job hunting, but that can wait until Monday. Alright, yes. I can do lunch.”
Max’s grin widens, and that’s when I realize…I’d just spoken all of that out loud.
“My bad,”
I say sheepishly.
“It’s easier if I map out my plans when I can actually hear them. Weird, I know.”
“No,”
he says softly.
“Cute. Now go have fun with your friends.”
When I slide open the van door, laughter bursts out of me. The girls are piled into the back, but Skip has somehow wedged himself into the driver’s seat. Since I’m short, the seat’s pushed far forward so I can reach the pedals. Skip, on the other hand…is not short.
“How the hell did you manage that?”
Max asks, baffled.
Riley’s doubled over, tears streaming down her face. Sunny hides a quiet smile behind her hand, and Abby just shakes her head like this is nothing new.
“How in the world do you move this seat back?”
Skip grunts, completely smashed against the steering wheel.
“Where are your legs?”
I wheeze between breaths.
“Well, one’s bent sideways under me, slowly losing blood circulation. The other’s still outside the van, helplessly kicking around for traction so I can get myself the fuck out.”
Circling around to the other side, the sight burns itself into my memory: Skip’s long leg flailing desperately outside the van while the rest of him is twisted, contorted, and somehow stuck between the seat and the wheel like a pretzel that’s lost all dignity.
Trying to pull myself together, I reach for the seat controls. Nothing happens.
“You have to turn on the van,”
I manage between breaths.
“Fucking how?”
Skip practically yells, his voice muffled from where he’s folded up.
“I’ve tried everything.”
That’s it. I lose it. My stomach aches from laughing so hard, tears spilling down my cheeks before I can even breathe again.
“Just press the big button,”
I finally choke out.
“If the key fob’s close enough, it’ll start.”
“Where the hell is the key fob?”
he snaps, glaring at me like this is somehow my fault.
I dig into my pocket and dangle the keys where he can see.
He growls…actually growls…before stretching forward and smacking the button. The van roars to life.
Moving fast, I help shove the seat back, jaw dropping at just how much of his body he’d managed to fold into that tiny space.
“You girls better not tell a damn soul about this,”
he mutters darkly once both legs are finally inside. He jerks his chin toward me.
“Get in, woman. I want burgers.”
Then his eyes widen, darting past me. Straight to Max.
“Fuck,”
Skip groans, sagging back in defeat.
“Everyone’s gonna know about this before I even get home, huh?”
I turn just in time to see Max holding his phone, recording every second. He grins wickedly, taps a few buttons, and a text chime pings from Skip’s pocket.
Skip fishes out his phone, scowls at the screen.
“You sent it to the whole fucking club? Dammit, Max. I’m gonna get you back for this.”
Max just laughs, leans down to brush a quick kiss across the top of my head, winks, and strolls away like he didn’t just ruin Skip’s social life.
“Now I want burgers and steak,”
Skip grumbles.
“And tacos. Get in, woman.”
Sure, today I may have lost my job… again. My new friends may have gotten arrested for beating the crap out of my old boss. The sexy man I haven’t been able to stop thinking about just asked me to lunch. And a giant man got stuck in my van.
But I have to admit, today has been the best day I’ve had in a very long time.
“I know a place,”
I shout as I run for the passenger seat.
“Can we have them delivered to your place?”
Sunny asks as I get in the van.
“I want to visit Bree and Micah for a little bit. I just know you guys are going to love them.”
“Yeah,”
I say, soft and grateful.
“Let’s do that. They love having company, and tacos happen to be Bree’s favorite. Not to mention, when you guys beat up my old boss, I took Asher back to the nurse, remember?”
“Yeah, I really should have left him with someone at the compound before I decided to go and assault someone,”
Riley shrugs.
“But it’s hard enough sneaking out as it is.”
Skip shakes his head, but his smirk is there for all to see.
“Oh, by the way,”
I add, glancing at the girls in the back.
“Max and I are going to lunch tomorrow.”
The van explodes. Riley shrieks, Abby gasps, Sunny squeals, and Skip slams on the brakes just enough to make us all jolt.
“You’re going to lunch? As in…a date?”
Riley demands.
“Not what you think,”
I insist quickly, cheeks burning.
“It’s just… lunch.”
“Uh-huh,”
Abby drawls.
“Tell that to the look on your face right now.”
“What?”
I demand when I catch Skip smirking at me.
“Just drive the dang van. I thought you were starving?”
“He’s always hungry,”
Abby mutters.
“He’s like Tank. I don’t understand how they can eat so much without getting fat. It’s so unfair.”
“We find fun ways to burn it off,”
Skip smirks, his tone suggestive.
Abby’s expression darkens instantly, her lips pressing into a thin line. Clearly, she doesn’t find that idea amusing.
Must be something I’m missing. Does she have a thing for Skip?
“Not cool, Skip,”
Riley snaps, glaring at him.
“Yeah,”
Sunny agrees.
“That was actually pretty cruel.”
“It’s alright, guys,”
Abby says, forcing a smile.
“I’m sure he’s right. It’s not like Tank hasn’t turned me down multiple times already.”
“Wait! Tank’s turned you down?”
I ask, stunned.
“But you’re gorgeous. Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s an asshat,”
Skip mutters. Then his expression softens.
“And I’m an ass. I’m sorry, Abby girl. I wasn’t thinking.”
“No, it’s alright.”
Abby laughs, but her voice cracks with heartache.
“I’ve liked Tank for a long time now, Lila. But he’s always turned me down because I’m Spike’s sister.”
“A club princess,”
Skip adds quietly.
“But my brother gave him his blessing,”
Abby continues.
“And Tank still won’t hardly look at me. He thinks I’m too fragile… because I was abducted and held hostage for three months by a faction of the Mexican cartel.”
“What?”
My voice comes out sharper than I mean.
“Story for another time,”
she says quickly, shaking her head.
“The point is, I need to accept his refusal and move on. I just don’t know how, when my heart keeps pulling me back to him. Call me silly, but I know without a shadow of a doubt that Tank and I are meant for each other. I just… need to figure out how to let go and settle for someone who actually wants me.”
The van goes quiet after Abby’s words, heavy with the kind of pain no one knows how to answer. How do you respond to something like that when the person is so clearly hurting?
“You know,”
I say softly, breaking the silence.
“sometimes the people we want the most are the ones least capable of seeing us clearly. Tank’s blindness doesn’t make you less. It doesn’t mean you’re not strong, or beautiful, or worth fighting for. It just means he’s not the man brave enough to stand where you need him to. You matter because you’re you. Because you’re a woman with her own strength, her own heart, and her own story. And you deserve someone who looks at you and knows it without question.”
Abby’s eyes glisten, her lips trembling. Riley reaches across the seat and squeezes her hand tight, like she’s saying she agrees with every word. Sunny leans in, resting her head briefly on Abby’s shoulder with a quiet, steady smile.
Even Skip, usually quick with a joke since I’ve met him, stays uncharacteristically silent. His smirk is gone as he glances at Abby in the rearview mirror.
“Stupid idiot,”
he mutters as he turns into my driveway.
“Agreed,”
I say, then blink.
“Wait! How do you know where I live?”
“Foster told me,”
he shrugs.
“How does he know?”
Skip gives me a look.
“Sometimes it’s best not to ask that question. Just accept that he knows everything and move on.”
Well. Alrighty then.