Chapter Seven
“THEY’RE ALIVE, RIGHT?”
“Of course, they’re alive, asshole. Why the fuck wouldn’t they be alive?”
“I dunno. I’ve known Ty for years and never seen him with a woman.”
“He was fucking married for a long-ass time.”
“Yeah, I heard she was a real bitch, but I mean, I’ve never seen him with a woman. Like this.”
“Like what? They’re fucking fully dressed and sleeping.”
“Yeah, but they’re close.”
“You’re an idiot.”
Jinx and Spec made the shittiest alarm clock in the universe.
“You’re both fucking idiots,” Ty said without opening his eyes. Aside from annoyance at the unwanted visitors, the first sensation he woke to was a wicked ache in his back.
Fucking forties.
“Why the hell are you in my house?” he asked without peeling his dry eyes open. “Did my shop burn down?” How hungover was he that he didn’t even care that much?
Jinx snorted a laugh. “You ain’t at home, Sleeping Beauty.”
What?It was then he realized he wasn’t lying flat, which meant he wasn’t in a bed, and the couch beneath him was leather instead of the microfiber one he had in his den.
What the hell?
A warm, soft weight shifted against him. Ty frowned once before memories of the evening came crashing back with the force of a semi-truck.
“Oh fuck,” he whispered as his eyes flew open.
Jinx and Spec stood over him, wearing matching smirks and eye twinkles.
“Good morning, VP,” Jinx sing-songed.
“Fuck,” Ty whisper-yelled. “Go! You gotta go. Get the fuck outta here.”
“Excuse me?” Jinx frowned.
For fuck’s sake. The biggest man in the club, standing alongside the man Kelsie almost stabbed a few months ago, would be the first thing she saw when she woke up in the clubhouse she’d only agreed to enter because no one else was around. He’d meant to pour some coffee down their throats and give it an hour for the caffeine to replace some of the alcohol in their bloodstream before walking her back to the women’s shelter.
But they fucking fell asleep on the new couch right there in the main area of the clubhouse.
Fuck me.
Kelsie was going to lose her shit when she woke up, and it’d be his fault. The instinct to protect her, to keep anything from causing her an ounce of discomfort, roared to life, and he scowled at his brothers. “Go in the fucking kitchen.”
Spec rolled his eyes but grabbed Jinx and tugged the mountain of a man toward the kitchen. Spec had been the first one in the room when the club rescued Brenna and Kelsie from sex traffickers, and he knew better than anyone how traumatized Kelsie had been. She’d rid Spec of his own knife and nearly gutted him with it.
Kelsie shifted. Her blonde head rested against his upper arm. She’d have one hell of a crick in her neck, but he didn’t have the heart to wake her. In sleep, she appeared even younger than her early twenties or however old she was. He refused to ask. Finding out for sure would only prove he was a pervert.
She shifted again, letting out an adorable grunt. Her head slid, and she ended up practically in his lap. Ty gritted his teeth as his dick took notice of the beautiful woman with her head very close by. She thought he saw her as a kid, but the truth was, he forced himself to refer to her that way to keep his lust under control.
She moved again, and he let out a groan. Goddamn, she felt so fucking good, and they were fully dressed, not doing a damn thing. He had to wake her, or he was likely to start humping her head like some freak.
“Kels,” he murmured as he brushed a lock of hair off her cheek and tucked it behind her ear. “C’mon, beautiful. It’s time to wake up.”
Maybe he should have expected it, but he didn’t. She woke with a harsh start and a shriek, going from zero to one hundred in one second flat. His dick shriveled, and his pulse went bonkers.
She flew off him as though his skin burned her and stood wild-eyed and gasping for air. “Ty? What’s happening?” she said around her rapid breaths. “Where am I?”
Her head whipped back and forth as she tried to make sense of her surroundings, but Ty could tell the fear had taken over any rational thinking, and she couldn’t figure out where the hell she was.
“Hey, Kels,” he said as he slowly stood so as not to spook her further. “You’re okay, sweetheart. It’s just us right now, and no one is going to hurt you. Try to take a deep breath for me.”
“Ty?”
“Yeah, honey, it’s me. We hung out last night by the fire, remember?”
She locked eyes with him. Hers began to clear as the night came back to her. “Y-yes,” she said, nodding. “I remember. But how—”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s my fault. We came inside to sober up but fell asleep on the couch.”
“Oh. Right. Yeah, that’s right.” Her shoulders sagged as tears sprang to her eyes. “I’m sorry I freaked out. I woke up in a strange place and didn’t remember. It-it took me…”
Right back to where she’d been a few months ago—captive, abused, tormented.
“Fuck, I’m so sorry, Kels. I fucked up.”
She waved a shaky hand in the air. “No. It’s okay. Please don’t apologize. Um, are we still alone? What time is it?”
“I’m not sure. It’s morning, though. And we aren”t alone—”
She froze, mouth open and eyes wide again.
“I promise you are completely safe,” he rushed to add as he cupped her shoulders. “I told my brothers to stay in the kitchen. We can head right out and—”
“Dude, you’re gonna spill my fucking coffee!” Spec shouted as Jinx shoved him from the kitchen into the main clubhouse. The big man followed, laughing hard and loudly.
“For fuck’s sake!” Ty hollered. “Can’t you two idiots get lost for ten minutes?” He leaped toward Kelsie, who’d doubled over, bracing her hands on her knees as she gasped and choked. The sound, a broken sob, shattered his heart. He wanted nothing more than to haul her into his arms and hold her until the panic passed, but the thought of spooking her worse terrified him. And he probably would make it worse. In her mind, being touched by a man was out of the question and the most anxiety-producing trigger she could imagine.
“Fuck, shit, we are so sorry. I thought you were gone.” Spec and Jinx hadn’t moved but stood watching the scene with horror.
“Just fucking leave!” Why the hell weren’t they going?
“N-n-no,” Kelsie managed to get out despite hyperventilating. “D-don’t l-l-leave.”
What? Why the hell wouldn’t she want them to go? Their presence is what set her off.
He glanced at Jinx, who looked torn between bolting and granting Kelsie her request. He shook his head and shrugged, arms out to his sides in a helpless gesture. “Should I go?” he mouthed.
Ty didn’t know what to say, so he focused his attention back on Kelsie.
“C-count… five…” she rasped.
“What?” God, at the very least, he wanted to rub her back, but he curled his fingers into tight fists and resisted.
The panic attack seemed to last forever when, in reality, it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes. Each second felt like taking a punch to the head with his damn hands tied behind his back. He wanted to go back in time and kill the men who’d hurt her all over again. Then tack their bodies to the clubhouse door as a warning to any man who wanted to lay a hand on her.
She started mumbling words he could barely make out. He caught a few—men, leather, tables.
“She’s grounding,” Spec whispered.
Ty glanced at his brother.
“It’s a technique to pull her out of the panic attack. You name things you can smell, hear, see.”
It needed to work faster. Ty was going to claw his skin off if he had to watch her suffer much longer.
“I can do this,” she finally said, still breathing hard but able to speak clearly now. “I need to do this.” With each passing word, her voice grew stronger. She straightened, the tremor in her hands obvious, but she held her ground. “I need to be able to be near men. It’s not possible to avoid them. It’s just a fact of life.” She met his gaze. “You’ve promised me I’m safe here and so have the ladies. I-I trust you, so I’ll start here.” She shifted her attention to Jinx and Spec who still hovered near the kitchen. They’d relaxed their postures and now watched Kelsie with awe in their expressions. “If-if you don’t mind the occasional panic attack and promise not to touch me at all, please don’t leave. I need to beat this.” Her voice caught, and she whispered. “I need a win.”
Jinx and Spec”s expressions changed from shock to admiration. Ever the fun-loving guy whose goal was to make people around him have a good time, Jinx spoke first. “Darlin’, if you’re worried a few panic attacks are gonna scare away this crew, you can rest easy. When I tell you you won’t meet a group with more head issues, you can trust I mean it. Every one of us is fucked in the noggin for some reason or another. We consider it an A-plus day if the least that happens is a few panic attacks.”
Spec laughed. “The man speaks the truth. We are a messed-up bunch of misfits. But I can promise you one thing… you’ve never been safer around a group of men than you are here. We’re loud, we’re gruff, and we can be more terrifying than the devil when necessary, but that will never be turned on you, Kelsie. Not fucking ever.”
Goddamn, he loved his brothers.
Some of the strain visibly evaporated from Kelsie. She exhaled a long stream of air, straightened her shoulders, and inhaled a deep, steady breath. “Okay then,” she said, voice still wavering a smidge. “I’m going to conquer this fear.”
A surge of pride rose in Ty, so strong it almost took him to his knees. The powerful feeling matched the gratitude he felt for his brothers. It was then he realized how mortally wrong he’d been. In the hospital, he’d accused Kelsie of being weak and doing something stupid. But he was beyond wrong. Kelsie was strong, one of the strongest women he’d met. There she stood in the face of her fear, battling with every ounce of courage and might, determined to regain the part of herself she’d lost.
Whatever monster drove her to take such a drastic measure as to attempt to end her own life must have been unfathomable. Even more devastating than the suffering he was aware of, Ty vowed to find out what haunted her and eliminate it. She had so many years ahead of her and deserved to live them in peace.
“Now that we have that settled,” Jinx said, walking a few steps into the room without coming too close to Kelsie. “How about some coffee? You two look like you were dragged across the farm by gators.”
A flicker of a smile ghosted Kelsie’s lips. She was pale and tense but present. “Tequila.”
Jinx snorted. “Well, shit, then I guess we’re lucky we didn’t find you two crazy kids naked on that couch, huh?”
Ty whipped his gaze toward Jinx. For fuck’s sake, five seconds in, and he was making raunchy jokes toward a woman who’d been traumatized by men. He’d be having words with the idiot later.
But instead of sending Kelsie back into a panic attack, Jinx’s joke had her snorting out a laugh. She slapped a hand over her mouth as another giggle erupted.
Jinx beamed as though he’d won the lottery. The man lived to entertain and would no doubt make it his life’s mission to make Kelsie love him.
“Coffee sounds perfect,” Ty said.
The door to the kitchen opened again, and this time, Harper came in, followed closely by Liv. Harper wore a pair of navy blue joggers and a fitted T-shirt, but as usual, Liv looked ready for the catwalk in a simple sundress that probably cost more than his customers spent on a set of tires.
“Kelsie!” Harper’s jaw dropped, and her wary gaze bounced between the three men. “What’s going on here?”
“What do you mean, babe?” Jinx asked as he threw his giant arm across Harper’s shoulders and tugged her close. “We were just chatting. Spec offered to get everyone coffee.”
Spec snorted and flipped Jinx off.
Harper’s forehead scrunched. She looked like she wanted to say something about how Kelsie was not only in the clubhouse for the first time but hanging with three big guys. Thankfully, she kept her thoughts to herself. Kelsie didn’t need everyone to point out the situation.
“Just coffee?” Liv said, pulling her phone from a tiny purse dangling off her shoulder. “How about I text the rest of the gang, and we have a big ‘ol family breakfast?”
Oh shit. Ty shot his gaze to Kelsie, who wrung her hands at her waist.
“I don’t think—”
“Ty,” Kelsie cut in. “It’s okay. I’ll be okay if…” Her face turned an adorable shade of pink. “Maybe if you sit on one side of me at the table and one of the ladies sits on the other, maybe I’ll be good.”
Jesus fuck, when she looked at him with that combination of nerves and hope in her pretty blue eyes, he was helpless to do anything but give her what she wanted. If she only knew what a weapon she had at her disposal, she could have him robbing banks and knocking off casinos with one look.
“Whatever you need,” he said.
The simple promise had a smile breaking out across her face. It was the first genuine show of happiness he’d seen from her, well, without tequila”s aid, and it tightened his insides.
It also made his dick twitch, but he thought about all the work waiting for him at the tire shop to keep that fucker in check. The last thing he needed was to pop a boner in front of his brothers. Jinx would mock him for the rest of his life. He could hear all the dirty-old-man and cradle-robber jokes already.
Hurricane Liv took over, and within forty-five minutes, the entire club had arrived, and preparations for a mountain of food were underway in the kitchen. Kelsie disappeared into the kitchen to help the ladies whip up the feast. Normally, the women didn’t let the men get away with sitting on their asses, even if they sucked at cooking, but today they had a free pass to hang out, probably in deference to Kelsie’s discomfort in their presence. A small kitchen packed with big bikers would be like tossing her into the deep end of the pool with a weight tied around her ankle.
“So…” Jinx sidled over to where Ty sat at a table with his back to the kitchen door as though it was a sufficient barrier to keep him from checking on Kelsie. Jinx carried two fresh cups of coffee. “You and the cute young thang, huh?”
Raising one eyebrow, Ty merely stared at him.
“Black like you like it,” Jinx said, handing over the coffee. “Saw the empty tequila bottle outside and figured you could use as much liquid fuel as you can get your hands on. Though you’re not looking particularly worse for wear today. Could that be because you slept with a cute young thang last night?” He sat in the chair on the opposite side of the table, making the poor piece of furniture creak under his bulk.
“First of all, we didn’t sleep together, as you know. And second, why the fuck do you keep saying thang like that?”
Jinx shrugged. “Because it’s fun. And it pisses you off.” He winked. “Added bonus.”
Ty grunted. Jinx might be annoying, but the man made a good cup of coffee.
“Seriously,” Jinx said before sipping from his mug and sighing. “Damn, that’s good java. What is going on with you two?”
“What the fuck do you mean? Nothing’s going on.”
Jinx merely stared at him with disbelief all over his face.
“Stop looking at me like that. She’s twenty years younger than I am.”
“So?”
“So, I’m not a fucking pervert.”
That had Jinx laughing his booming laugh that drew the attention of anyone in the vicinity.
“What are you guys talking about?” Tracker asked as he, Spec, and Curly wandered over.
Fucking fantastic. More people to grill him about nonsense.
“We’re talking about the VP wanting to jump Kelsie’s bones.” Jinx hid his smirk behind his coffee mug. Or he tried to, but his head was so damn big it didn’t work.
Ty threw his hand in the air. “For fuck’s sake, I do not want the woman. She’s a goddamned traumatized kid. I feel fucking sorry for her, that’s all,” he shouted.
The room grew deathly quiet as the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight up.
Dread filled his stomach.
He closed his eyes. “Shit,” he whispered. He could hear music to a slow-motion movie scene as he turned his head.
Liv, Jo, Brooke, and Kelsie stood outside the kitchen doorway, each holding a platter full of delicious-smelling breakfast foods. Liv, Jo, and Brooke’s scowls and narrowed gazes promised pain and suffering in his immediate future, but it was Kelsie’s devastated face that stabbed him in the gut.
The phoniest smile he could imagine transformed her expression from crushed to counterfeit happy. She cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Here are the pancakes,” she said as she set the platter down. “Hope you all enjoy them.” She straightened, still smiling like a doll on a shelf, but her voice held steady.
God-fucking-shit. How was this woman so strong?
“Kels—”
She held up a hand. “If you’ll excuse me, I just remembered I need to…” She shrugged and took a step back. No point in making up a lame excuse. Everyone in the room knew why she was leaving.
Because he was an asshole.
Had silence ever been so thick and uncomfortable?
“Don’t leave. I’ll go,” he said, standing. His brothers’ disappointment and the women’s anger pelted him through invisible airwaves.
“Ty.” Curly stepped toward him. “You don’t have to go.”
“It’s fine. I need to swing by my office anyway.” Without another word or looking back, he tromped out of the building and toward his bike. Fuck going to the tire shop. A nice ride along the coast should help him forget how he’d shoved both feet in his mouth in front of Kelsie—again, and why he cared so much.