Chapter 1
CHAPTER 1
EMILEE
“ E milee, Emilee, wake up!” The low command came through the passenger side window of her car. Someone was aggressively knocking on the window. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and squinted trying to see who had woken her up.
“Could you turn off the light?” she asked, rolling her window down. “It’s too fucking bright.” She couldn’t see the man holding it, but assumed it was one of Grand Ridge’s finest. She learned she was wrong when the cell phone flashlight lowered, and a tall, tattooed man stood before her. He looked familiar. She was sure she’d seen him at The Citadel. The embroidered patch on his motorcycle cut read Arrow.
“Look I don’t know who you are?—”
“Arrow,” he said gruffly. “Why are you sleeping in your car? It’s snowing and?—”
“No shit, Sherlock,” she bit back. “The white stuff falling from the sky is snow?”
“Drop the attitude and watch your language, little girl,” Arrow warned ominously.
“What’s going on over here?” Detective Dax Allard asked, walking up to stand next to Arrow.
Fuck.
The last thing she needed was a cop digging into her life. She couldn’t trust cops, not after the last one hit her with his patrol vehicle and dumped her at the hospital.
“Nothing. Nothing’s going on. Nothing to see here. Just move along,” she said.
Dax and Arrow both raised their eyebrows at her. “She’s sleeping in her car.”
“Is that so?” Dax asked. “It’s too cold to be sleeping in your car, Emilee.”
How the fuck did he know her name? She looked back up at him again. She’d definitely seen him at The Citadel. His girlfriend was a close friend of Catie’s.
Crap.
Crap on a cracker.
He probably had his mind made up on her based on the unfair rumors being spread about her. Not that she could blame Catie. If the roles were reversed, Emilee wasn’t convinced she wouldn’t react the same way. The entire situation was a mess.
FUBAR.
Fucked up beyond all recognition.
That’s what her dad, a Marine Corps Vietnam veteran, would have said. In fact, that’s what she could categorize her entire life as right now. FUBAR. She wouldn’t be sleeping in her car if her life was going well.
“Emilee, you were asked a question.” Arrow’s gaze pierced hers, interrupting her thoughts and bringing her back to the present and the two large men standing outside her window. She’d been warm and fuzzy until she’d rolled down her window. Now, the late fall wind was whipping into her car.
“I’m fine. I have a blanket and I’m inside a sleeping bag rated for negative forty degrees.” Her car offered more security than when she lived on the streets. It was definitely better than the shady motel on the edge of town she’d been staying at. She was two years into recovery, but still needed to be as far away from drugs as she could get. The homeless shelter for women and children filled up within ten minutes of opening. She couldn’t take a spot away from a woman who had children. Besides, she felt perfectly safe parking in the lot adjoining The Rusty Crab. The veteran who owned it, Corky, had an apartment above the building that he lived in, and the lot was secured by cameras. No one bothered here, not yet. They’d run her off from every park in town but not from here. The Rusty Crab was open late and only closed for a few hours a night.
“Still, this is private property and—” Dax said.
“Did you ask the owner? I’m pretty sure he knows I’m parking here,” she interrupted. “And I’m not hurting anyone. Isn’t there a murderer or someone you could be out there bothering instead of me?”
“Snappy little thing, isn't she?” Dax asked Arrow, before turning back to her. “I am not waking Corky up at two in the morning to ask him if you can park in his lot. Chances are, he's aware you've been parking your car here. The question is, did he know you were sleeping in your car after you parked it? Likely not. Corky wouldn’t be okay with a woman sleeping outside in these temperatures. Regardless, you can't stay here.”
“That's fine. I'll head over to the truck stop off of 70.” There was a large truck stop right outside of Grand Ridge near the interstate. It was open twenty-four seven and had a sub sandwich place inside, along with showers she could rent. Even though it was a bit out of her way, she always got gas there. Their loyalty program gave free showers with so many gallons of gas. She'd been parking there, but some truckers mistook her for the working girls and hit on her. She'd had a hard time getting good sleep there, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Emilee scooted out of the backseat of the car, shut the door and walked around to the driver's side.
Damn.
It was freezing out.
“Where's your coat?” Arrow asked her.
“My what?” She'd heard him the question, but it surprised her. Why did he care if she wore a coat or not?
“Your coat. It's snowing and below freezing.” Arrow said in a not so patient voice.
“It's on the front passenger seat. I don't sleep with a coat on.” She had on heavy fleece pajama pants and a sweatshirt over long sleeve thermal Long Johns. It was plenty warm in her sleeping bag. She’d splurged on it, buying one that backpackers use up in the mountains. Opening the front door, she slid into the driver’s seat and started the ignition.
“I don't like her sleeping in the car,” Arrow turned to Dax.
“I don’t recall asking you what you liked,” she said. Arrow scowled at her while Dax pretended she hadn’t spoken at all.
“Me neither. People don't sleep in their cars in Grand Ridge.” Dax said. “I can call Phantom and see if he has anything available on Valhalla. I know they were getting ready to open the new guest lodge.”
“At two?” Arrow asked.
“She’ll come home with me.” Arrow said, then looking as surprised as she was at the suggestion.
“Look, I appreciate the concern, but I will be fine. I won't be in Grand Ridge and not your problem,” Emilee said. “If you don't mind moving your patrol car, I will get out of your hair.”
“Sleeping at the truck stop isn't safe either, “Arrow said. “There is... a situation happening over there we’ve been monitoring.”
“What situation?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “There are plenty of situations that occur over there.” She knew drugs and sex trafficking were definitely happening, and she'd heard rumors about a motorcycle club terrain war.
“A situation we aren’t at liberty to discuss as it involves an ongoing investigation,” Dax answered. “You sure you are okay with her coming to your place? She's a stranger.”
“She’s not exactly a stranger. I've seen her at The Citadel a few of times, which means she’s a member. All members have background checks run. We can call Jay and see what he knows,” Arrow said.
“She and Catie used to be friends,” Dax supplied. “She was working for a catering company and there was a bit of a scene last year at an event.”
“A scene? What kind of scene?” Arrow asked, his brow furrowing.
“The two girls had words and--”
“You know, as nice as it is to be spoken about while I am sitting right here, if you aren't detaining me, officer, I'd appreciate it if you moved your damn car. I'm not going home with him or anyone else and...”
“The mouth on this one,” Arrow said. “If she was my little…”
“But I’m not. I’m not yours or anyone else’s.”
“No, because if you were, you wouldn’t be out here at two o’clock in the morning and you sure as heck wouldn’t be using the language you are.”
“I'm going to give you two choices,” Dax said. “The first choice is I can detain you and you can stay in the jail tonight. It's warm and you will be safe.”
“Detain me? For fucking what?”
“For trespassing on private property,” Dax said.
“Watch your mouth, little girl,” Arrow commanded, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her. “I’ve had about enough of your cursing at my friend.”
“This is bullshit,” she muttered. “Who do you think you are?”
Dax shook his head and ignored her question. “The second choice is to head over to Arrow's house. I can personally vouch for his character. He has a large four-bedroom house. He won’t force you to do anything you don't want to do, Emilee.”
“You know my name, too?” Emilee startled at hearing it.
“I do. I'm one of the board members at The Citadel who voted on your membership application. While you might have had a personal issue with Catie in the past, we aren't the type of organization who is going to prevent people from joining based on drama with other members. Littles have spats. It's not uncommon.”
“I'm not a Little,” she protested.
“Oh?” Dax raised an eyebrow at her. “So why are you attending the DDLG playdates?”
“Is this really a necessary conversation right now? You are outing me…” She looked pointedly at Arrow.
“No, he's not. I just said I’ve seen you at The Citadel. I was there last week at the playdate. I saw you speaking with Mia and Makenzie.” Arrow said. “Now, Dax gave you two options. If I were you, I'd take the second one. I have a guest suite with its own bathroom. I won't make any moves on you, Emilee. You aren't my type, anyway. Come back to my place, have a warm bed to lay your head on and we will figure everything else out tomorrow.”
You aren't my type.
Of course she fucking wasn't. Was she anyone's type? A former drug addicted prostitute with no formal education. Not to mention the amount of weight she'd gained since she'd been in recovery. No, she didn’t imagine she was anyone’s type. Let alone a man who clearly worked out and took good care of his body.
Arrow cleared his throat, and she looked up to see both men staring at her.
“Fine. It doesn't sound like I have a fucking choice, anyway.”
“You always have a choice, Emilee. Sometimes it might not be what you want, but there's always a choice.” Arrow said. “This time, you made the right one.”
Emilee followed Arrow's motorcycle to his house on the outskirts of town. It was an older, but well maintained, two-story farmhouse on what appeared to be a large lot of land. He pulled into his garage and she parked directly behind him on the driveway.
She couldn’t help but notice how sexy Arrow looked straddling the Harley. She watched as he glided one leg over and stood. He hung his helmet up and turned and walked towards Emilee. Not wanting to make him wait, she quickly exited the car.
“Home sweet home,” Arrow said, motioning to the door. “Let’s get you inside and settled.” Emilee grabbed her duffle bag from the front seat and followed him inside. The house was clean, and the furniture looked comfortable. He led her through the main floor, up the stairs and to the first door on the left. He went in and flipped on the light switch.
The guest room was beautiful. A pale-yellow handmade quilt on the large bed paired well with the robin blue walls. The room reminded her of her great grammy’s house. Not for the first time did she wish Grammy was still alive. Of course, if she were, Emilee would be snuggled into her room there.
“The bathroom is through there,” Arrow said, interrupting her thoughts as he pointed to the door at the other end of the wall. “There are towels and everything you might need in the closet. Feel free to take a shower or bath, whatever. Do you need anything from me?”
Emilee suddenly felt overcome with shyness. “No, thank you.”
“I'll see you in the morning. Don't take off without talking to me first,” he ordered.
Sheesh. He was one bossy man, and if she were to be honest, she kind of liked it.
You're not my type.
His words from earlier echoed in her memory. Shaking her head, she put her duffle bag on the top of the large dresser and opened it. She debated on whether she wanted to crawl into bed and return to sleep or bathe. The last shower she had was a quick five-minute wash three days ago. Since then, she’d been relying on adult baby wipes to clean herself. Deciding to take advantage of the free hot water, she removed a pair of clean underwear and headed into the bathroom. It wasn't anything fancy, but the oversized soaking tub and shower combination called her name. She turned the water on and shimmied out of her clothes. Opening the small closet door, she found the towels Arrow had mentioned, along with several bottles of shampoo and body wash. She picked out what she needed and slipped under the hot water.
As the warm water cascaded over her skin, Emilee let out a contented sigh, relishing the simple luxury of a shower in Arrow's home. Taking a shower inside of a clean, safe house was a stark contrast to the days she spent scraping by, struggling to find her next fix, and the nights she spent shivering in her car, the cold seeping into her bones.
Now, two years sober, she was grateful for every small pleasure, every moment of peace. As she lathered up her hair, Emilee's thoughts drifted to her new job at the rehab center in town. It had only been a few days since she started, but already it felt like she had found her purpose. Helping others navigate the treacherous path of addiction recovery gave her a sense of fulfillment she hadn't known was possible. You’ve come full circle, the owner of the center, Samantha had said.
Samantha O'Reily was an ER charge nurse at St. Mary's Hospital. She ran a local community health clinic called Community Hope for underprivileged and financially challenged citizens, and recently, she’d founded the only drug and alcohol treatment center in the area. She’d converted a large old house into a sanctuary of hope and promise. Samantha was the one who'd interviewed and hired Emilee.
During the interview, Sam spoke about being taken hostage by a veteran with PTSD a few years back, and how not too long after, she’d found herself as a hostage a second time, by a drug trafficker wanting her to cut drugs out of a poor girl's stomach. Sam's eyes were opened to the part of Grand Ridge that wasn't the idyllic downtown area. With help from her friends and her boyfriend, Sam expanded the mission and recently opened a Drug & Alcohol Addiction Treatment Center called Renewed Hope. Emilee had been honest with Sam about her own recovery, expecting judgment. Instead, Sam showed her compassion and empathy.
Emilee's job at Renewed Hope wasn't glamorous. She was doing administrative work and some light cleaning, but she hoped to eventually become a peer support specialist. Sam was worried about the possibility of her relapsing being around other addicts, but they'd worked out a plan to help lower her risks. Unfortunately, the job was only part time and Emilee was going to need to find another one if she hoped to move out of her car and into a small apartment of her own.
She closed her eyes, letting the steam envelop her, feeling a sense of gratitude wash over her. Despite the hardships she had faced, she was alive, she was another day clean, and for tonight, she was safe. She'd learned how to count her blessings as they came.