Chapter Twenty-Eight
Addison stretched her arms over her head, rolled her neck, and sighed heavily.
It was late, she’d pulled a double, and all she wanted was to get home and crawl into bed.
She glanced over at the drying rack. She should probably put the glasses away, but…
It would give Barry something to bitch about in the morning.
He’s gonna love that.
A month after her initial departure date of three weeks, and she was still working at the bar.
Barry had gotten his cast off, and she had expected him to get rid of her.
It turned out he was a lazy son of a bitch who would rather pay her than tend bar himself.
Besides, the locals had threatened a mini-strike if she was no longer making their drinks.
It had all worked out beautifully. But not without a little pushback.
Surprisingly, Hannah had only given two speeches about coming home.
She’d eventually relented. Her father had been fully on board with her making a new life in Killcreek.
And her mother? She was still on the fence, insisting that she and Cross visit for Thanksgiving before she made her final assessment of Addison’s life choices. That should be interesting.
It would be another month or two before their house was move in ready. Construction had wrapped up on Jekyll’s house, and they were working on finishing up Cue and Cross’s houses now. I mean ours. Cross constantly corrected her when she slipped up.
Ours.
Addison peered around the dimly lit, empty bar.
It was after two in the morning. It was a far cry from her fancy bar back in Iowa.
The tips were less than stellar, her boss was kind of a dick, and the pay was subpar.
Some people would look at it as a demotion.
Not Addison. I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.
Addison double checked the front door locks, turned off the lights, and walked through the curtain leading into the strip club.
It was closed for the night, but she’d started to park in the back lot, as per Cross’s request. Girl, it was a demand.
He’d given her a long speech about safety.
There was more lighting and cameras in the back lot.
Addison went with it. After all, his intention was good.
She walked into the strip club, making her way toward the back door. A small noise coming from the bar had her gasping, and she spun around. As far as she knew, they’d shut down at one. No one was supposed to be there.
Ava was behind the bar, glass in hand, staring across the room, deep in thought. Addison tried not to stare, but there was a familiar sadness.
“You okay?”
Ava glanced up and immediately smiled. “Thought you’d be long gone by now.”
Addison walked down to the lower level, heading toward the bar. “Monty.”
Ava laughed. “One of my favorites.”
Mine too. He was a local, a heavy drinker and a recent widow. Most people cleared out of the bar by one in the morning. Not Monty. He stayed ’til closing at two. Loneliness was as painful as grief. Dealing with both? I’ll hang out with Monty until two.
“Wanna drink?” Ava lifted up the bottle of tequila. “Or do you gotta get home?”
Addison wasn’t going home to anyone. At least not tonight.
Cross was on a run and not expected back until tomorrow.
Aside from Cleo, she hadn’t hung out with many women since arriving in Killcreek.
But she’d always felt a kinship with Ava.
She walked over to the bar area as Ava came out from behind, gesturing to one of the tables.
She took a seat as Ava set up the glasses, giving each a generous pour.
She sat across from Addison, toeing her heels off and hiking her feet up on the empty chair.
“Feel better?”
Ava sipped her drink and sighed. “I’ll take sneakers over heels any day.”
Same.
“So” —she raised her brows— “no club party tonight? Thought the big one was always on Saturday.”
Addison was still learning the schedule, but it was a slow process. For the most part, there was always something happening at the club whether it was a bigger party or a gathering of bikers and women.
“Cross is on a run, so I’m flying solo.”
“The biker got you to stay, huh?” Ava smirked.
“Who would’ve thought?”
Ava shrugged, sipping her drink. “It happens to the best of us.”
Addison stilled mid-sip, glancing over the rim of her glass. That was an interesting response. And a little telling?
“Talking from experience?” Addison arched her brow.
“Unfortunately.” Ava snorted. “It was a long time ago.”
“And I’ve got time to hear this story.”
Ava chuckled. “Years ago, my friend convinced me to go to a MC party. I was in my twenties, living my best carefree life, and thought why not, right? Partied the entire weekend and met a guy. And that was where the mistake began. The beginning of the end.”
“In Killcreek?”
“No, he was a member of a club in Lawry. Pretty big one, and he’d been with them for years. He was older.” She sighed. “Much older.”
How much older?
“Ten years?”
Ava fisted her hand, raising her thumb and gesturing upward.
“Fifteen?”
She motioned again for higher.
Addison widened her eyes. “Twenty?”
“Twenty-three.”
Now that’s an age gap.
“We were together for about a year. I spent all my time at the clubhouse, partying all night, sleeping all day. Went on runs and bike outings. It was a really good time.”
“Dare I ask?”
Ava laughed. “What happened? I got off work early. He wasn’t expecting me. Walked into my own little live porn show of my man and two club whores. Apparently this wasn’t the first time. I was so pissed. This was my man, and he had chicks on the side?”
“You break up with him?”
“Oh yeah, and I broke a lot of things.” She laughed, grabbing her glass.
“I was fucking done. Until I realized I wasn’t.
A month later, I found out I was pregnant.
Unlike him, I hadn’t fucked around on the side.
He was the only guy I’d been with. Spent the next month debating on whether or not to tell him.
Ultimately, I wanted nothing to do with him, but it didn’t sit right denying our child the right to know his dad even if he was a lying, piece of shit, cheating bastard.
” Ava shrugged. “I thought it was the right thing to do.”
It spoke volumes of Ava’s character being able to set aside her own feelings, for the sake of her child.
“That’s good parenting.”
She snorted. “I don’t know about that. But in the end, it was the choice I made.
Went down to the club unannounced ’cause you know.
” Ava smirked. “Fuck him. It turns out, it was more like fuck me. I go down there. They’re having a huge party, and I can’t find him anywhere.
I ask one of the girls, and she points across the yard to him and his wife. ”
Addison’s jaw dropped.
“Yeah, imagine that. I was so pissed thinking my man had side chicks. Little did I know, I was a fucking side chick.”
Addison rested her elbows on the table. “What happened?”
“I left. I wanted nothing more than to completely call his ass out in front of his wife. Until I remembered how humiliated I felt when I’d walked in on him with the club whores. I wasn’t going to publicly embarrass her. He deserved that. She didn’t.”
“But did you ever tell him?” Addison asked.
“Oh yeah. I called him to meet up. He came to my place thinking it was a hook up. My announcement ruined his mood real quick. He said it wasn’t his, and if I wanted any money from him I’d have to take him to court ’cause” —she lifted her hands in air quotes— “and I quote, ‘I ain’t paying for your mistake.”
Addison fell back in her seat, stunned speechless.
“And believe it or not, that was one of the biggest defining moments of my life. I realized the best thing I could do for my kid and me was to walk away and never look back. So I did. My son will be eleven in a couple months, and he’s absolutely perfect.”
Addison’s thoughts went to her own father. Not perfect, far from it. But her dad showed up, showered her with love and never missed the opportunity to remind her of how proud he was. But not all dads were created equally.
“The guy never came around to see your son?”
She shook her head. “Not once.”
Asshole!
“Is he still with the club?”
“Last I heard, him and a few other members went missing.” She smirked. “That’s the thing about karma. Eventually we all get what we deserve.”
Addison lifted her glass in a toast. “To karma.”
They clinked glasses but stilled when the back door suddenly opened. Neither woman was prepared for it and jumped in their seats, Ava jerked around.
“Who is it?” she shouted.
A familiar figure appeared, walking slowly. In the dim lighting it could’ve been anyone, but Ace had a distinct swagger. As he moved closer, he came into full view. Addison stood.
“Hey Ace. Is something wrong?” For a brief second, panic set in. Cross had been secretive about his run, not giving her any details. Had he been in an accident?
“Is Cross okay?”
Ace shifted his gaze to Ava, who hadn’t said a word but stood grabbing the bottle of tequila. His gaze lingered before turning to Addison.
“No, he’s not okay. He’s fucking pissed.
You were supposed to call him when you got home.
You didn’t, so he sent Oak to your place.
” He cocked his brow. “You wanna know if he’s okay knowing you ain’t there?
Or can you fucking guess how he reacted to that, especially since you’re not answering your goddamn phone. ”
Shit.
“I stayed late to clean up, and then my phone died, and I forgot to charge it.”
He sighed with a hint of annoyance and waved his hand. “Well, let’s get you home, and you can call him so he can chew your ass out instead of mine.”
Her cheeks heated, and she smiled at Ava. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Her lips twitched. “I’ll be here.”
Addison gathered her bag and walked up to the second level. As she approached Ace, she noticed him staring in Ava’s direction.