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“IS SOMETHING WRONG?”
Cue Ball scanned the parking lot and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Uh, did you forget where you parked?” Gene snickered.
“I know where I parked my bike, but that’s gone,” Cue Ball grunted.
“What?” I gasped. “Someone stole your motorcycle?” Wouldn’t that just be the cherry on top of a craptastic night?
“That might be for the best since I wouldn’t recommend you roaring out of here on the back of a motorcycle. The doctor cleared you to leave, but you do still have a slight concussion,” Gene advised.
“Throttle took my bike and left a car for me. I just don’t know what car and where he parked it.” He pulled out his phone and sent off a message.
“You guys have that many cars that you don’t know which one they brought?” Gene asked. “I’m in the wrong profession if you biker boys have a ton of cars and bikes at your disposal.”
“You couldn’t be more wrong, Gene. Stick with being a nurse, trust me. You won’t have to sell your soul to make a go of it.” Cue Ball stepped into the aisle of the parking lot and looked to the left and right.
Gene tipped his head to the side. “Oh, okay. Could you be a little bit more mysterious?”
“Well, I guess it’s a good thing your bike wasn’t stolen, but you think they would have told you what they left you to drive,” I interrupted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to know why or how Cue had sold his soul.
“If it were anyone but Throttle and Compass dropping off the car, they would have told me. Well,” he pondered, “if it would have been anyone but someone from the club, they would have told me where the car was.” His phone dinged, and he headed off to the left. “I’ll be right back, doll.”
“How long have you two been together?” Gene asked.
“Oh, uh, well, not very long,” I hemmed. That wasn’t a lie, right? I mean, we had been together for the past couple of hours, so under a very loose definition, we have been together for a short time. I settled back into my wheelchair and fiddled with the hem of the shirt I had borrowed from Cue. My shirt had been torn and tattered from the explosion, and Cue had an extra shirt with him.
I assumed it was for when he was out and stayed the night with one of the many women who were pounding on his door. I may have been blown up, but I wasn’t blind.
Cue Ball was a gorgeous man who, without a doubt, never had a problem having a warm body in bed with him every night.
“Hold on to that one, honey. He’s a little rough around the edges, but you can tell he is a good guy.” Gene sat down on the bench next to me and crossed his legs. “He reminds me of my James. Rough on the outside, but a teddy bear at heart.”
“I like that for you,” I smiled.
“Me, too,” he laughed. “I wasn’t looking for anyone after being burned so many times in the past, but James just came out of nowhere. Swept me off my feet, and it’s been the best seven years of my life.”
I had given up on love for myself after Tag showed me how easily a heart broke, but I still loved love for everyone else.
“Son of a bitch!” a loud shout rang.
“Uh, oh,” Gene laughed. “Should we take bets on what kind of car Cue is going to roll up here with?” he chuckled.
“I can’t even imagine what his friends did to him since I can’t believe they didn’t even tell him where they parked it.”
“Pink Cadillac,” Gene guessed. “Or something that is pink. I have a feeling Cue might not be so in touch with his feminine side and would be put off by a pink car.”
“You might be right, but you would think with all that testosterone dripping off him, it wouldn’t matter.”
“You could be right,” Gene agreed. “But if he is driving a pink car, I am taking a picture. James would want to see.”
“I can’t argue with that. If I had my phone, I would do the same.” I had zero clue where my phone was. Another thing I was going to need to deal with when my head stopped pounding like a freight train was going through it.
Gene stood, and his mouth dropped open.
“What is it?” I asked. I couldn’t see past the row of cars to the left.
“Wow.”
“Oh,” I gasped when a white van stopped in front of us.
It wasn’t a minivan, though, that the soccer moms drove.
No.
It was one of those big vans that had no side windows, black rims, and dark tinted door windows.
A creeper van.
The ones you saw rolling slowly down the road and you just knew they were creeping looking for their next victim.
Stereotypical, yes, but I blame that on TV.
“If I didn’t know better, I wouldn’t let you get in the van, sweetie,” Gene snickered. “He might chain you up and never let you go.” Gene tipped his head to the side. “Maybe you should let me go instead.”
“Stop,” I laughed. “You and I both know that man wouldn’t have to kidnap anyone to have his way with them.”
“James, James, James,” Gene chanted. “I am in love with James, not Cue Ball.”
Cue Ball hopped out and rounded the front of the van. “Well, you’re in luck, doll. You can sit in the front, the second row, third row, or I could even toss you on the roof.”
“Uh,” I laughed. “I think I’ll go for the front seat.”
“I would have asked if his lap was an option,” Gene muttered.
“Gene,” I gasped.
“What? You know you were thinking the same thing.”
Well, I hadn’t been, but now I was.
“Everything okay?” Cue Ball called.
Gene popped up and wheeled me over to the van. “All good. I was just reminding Olive she needs to take it carefully for the next forty-eight hours. Having someone waiting on her hand and foot would be ideal.”
“Stop,” I laughed. Gene had been a sort of stick in the mud while I was up in my room, but he was like a different person out here. Probably because I had been discharged, and waiting for Cue to bring the van around gave him time to be outside.
“Someone will check in with you tomorrow to make sure you’re on the mend.” Gene helped me out of the wheelchair and into the van. “No abducting little kids on the way home, okay?” he instructed.
I gave a small salute. “I’ll do my best not to.”
Gene stepped back and waved. “Try not to get blown up again, Olive. You were pretty lucky this time.”
“Again, I’ll do my best not to.” Gene was just trying to make me laugh now.
Cue Ball shut my door and nodded to Gene. He jogged around the front of the van, and I fastened my seat belt.
“Good?” he asked. He slid into his seat and shifted into drive.
“As soon as you buckle,” I scolded.
Cue Ball rolled his eyes and pulled the belt over his chest. “Not used to buckling up, doll. Something motorcycles don’t have.”
“Please tell me you at least wear a helmet.”
“So, where do you live?” Cue asked, avoiding my very important question.
I rolled my eyes and settled into the seat. “King Road. I live in the blue house with a yellow door. My mom lives on Prescott Street.”
“In the country?” he asked.
I nodded.
“So you don’t live with your mom?” he asked.
I shook my head. “That is a big fat no. I love my mom, but we are like oil and water when we’re in close proximity for too long.”
“But she watches your son for you?”
“Yes. She was pissed as hell at me for getting pregnant ten years ago, but she never took that out on Rocky.”
“Is that why she wasn’t your emergency contact at the hospital?” he asked.
“Yup. I didn’t talk to her the whole time I was pregnant, and she wasn’t there when I gave birth. Though the day after Tag signed away his rights, she was at my door fawning over Rocky and hasn’t left since.”
“Sounds like she wasn’t a fan of Tag, not you,” he pointed out.
I hadn’t ever thought of it like that. I just figured she was there because she didn’t think I could do it on my own. “You know...” He was onto something there. Mom had never been a fan of Tag while we had dated, and when she found out I was pregnant, I was out the door before I could even get the sentence out of my mouth. “I should probably ask her, but I hate to ruin the good thing we have going.”
Cue Ball nodded and headed in the direction of Prescott Street.
“We could head to the gym to get my car,” I volunteered. “You can just drop me off, and I can get out of your hair.”
“Doll,” Cue Ball drawled.
“What?” I asked.
“Pretty sure your car has a weight bench on top of it right now.”
“No,” I cried. “Please tell me you are kidding.”
Cue Ball shook his head. “If you were parked in the back parking lot, your car is toast.”
Let’s make a list of the things I lost in the past day.
My job.
My car.
And now my sanity.
If I didn’t figure out another job, I could add my house to that list.
“It could be salvageable. I’ll get it hauled over to the garage and take a look at it.”
My car wasn’t the best before gym equipment was tossed on it. “Are you guys miracle workers there?” I laughed flatly. “I needed a new car before last night. I’m sure it’s just a big paperweight now.”
Cue Ball patted the steering wheel. “If you’re interested, I’m sure I could talk to Yarder to get you a sweet deal on this.”
“I know I need a new job, but I don’t think I’m that desperate that I need to dip my toes in human trafficking.” Not yet, at least. I would probably sell my own kidney before I would take someone else's. My kidney would probably be worth a good bit if I found the right buyer.
Oh lord.
Was I really contemplating selling my own kidney on the black market?
“She’s here if you want her,” Cue Ball laughed. “And you still have a job. The gym is going to be rebuilt, and I’m sure we can find something for you to do until it’s done.”
“What?” I asked.
“You technically work for the club, so we’ll just find something else for you to do.”
“I have very few skills that a motorcycle club could use, Cue Ball.” The Iron Fiends owned a gym and a body shop. I had been doing pretty much the only job I could.
“Don’t worry about it right now, doll.”
I sighed and laid my head back. Yeah, I could worry about what the heck I was going to do with my crumbling life when the sun rose.
“Which house is hers?” Cue Ball asked.
We turned onto my mother’s street, and I directed Cue Ball to her house.
“I’ll just run in and get Rocky, okay?”
Cue Ball nodded to the house. “I don’t think that is going to be necessary.”
The front door flew open, and Rocky came running down the sidewalk with my mom close behind him.
“Why on earth is he awake?” I cried. I threw open my door, and Rocky was wrapped around my waist when my feet barely touched the driveway.
“Mom!” he called. “Are you okay?”
I cringed as he squeezed me tight, but I didn’t push him away. “I’ll be okay, sweetheart. I just had a little accident.”
“You call being blown up an accident?” my mom started. She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close. “I was so worried about you, Olive,” she whispered into my ear.
I closed my eyes and soaked in the comfort my mother’s arms gave me. Things were good between my mom and me, but we had never talked about the time that things weren’t good. It always hung between us like a black balloon, and neither of us was brave enough to pop it.
“Your car was on the news,” Rocky called. “There was a weight bench on the hood and a dumbbell right through the windshield. He pulled back and tipped his head to the side. “Who’s that?” he asked.
“Is this the man who had the decency to call and tell me what was going on?” Mom scolded. “God forbid my daughter would have done that.” And there was that disapproving I was used to.
“Sorry, mom,” I grumbled. “I was a little preoccupied.”
“In her defense, that was the first thing she had me do,” Cue Ball called.
Mom stepped back from me and looked Cue Ball up and down as he walked around the front of the van. “Well, I guess that is something then, right?” She looked at the van. “Are you in a van club? A VC?”
Cue Ball smiled and shook his head. “No, ma’am. I didn’t really think Olive should be on the back of my bike after her accident. I managed to get this before she was released.”
“Sweet,” Rocky called. “You have a motorcycle?” he asked.
“Yeah, bud.” Cue Ball nodded to Rocky and held out his hand. “I’m Cue Ball.”
“Cool,” Rocky drawled. “I wish I had a name like that.”
“Rocky is a pretty good name to me. Way better than what my mom called me.” Cue Ball turned to my mom and nodded. “Hello, Mrs. Benson.”
“It’s Miss,” mom preened.
“What did your mom call you?” Rocky interrupted.
Cue Ball smirked underneath his bushy beard.
“Rocky,” I scolded. “You don’t ask someone what their real name is. For all you know, his mom could have named him Cue Ball.”
“Did your mom like pool?” Rocky asked. “My mom has a thing for Rocky Balboa.”
Shoot me now. I did not need Rocky telling Cue Ball who I have a thing for.
“Why don’t we get going?” I called.
Cue Ball and Rocky ignored me. “My mom did not call me Cue Ball, but she was a pretty good hustler when it came to pool and darts.”
“Is your name Dart?” Rocky asked.
Cue Ball shook his head. “Not that cool. It’s Jovi.”
I tipped my head to the side. Jovi?
“What is a Jovi?” Rocky asked.
“Like Jon Bon Jovi?” Mom asked.
Cue Ball nodded. “The one and the same. Your mom had a thing for Rocky Balboa, and mine had a thing for Bon Jovi. I guess Jovi is cooler than Jon, and I’m thankful she didn’t go with Bon.”
“Do all moms have a thing for weird famous people and then name their kids after them?” Rocky asked. “Because if my mom has another kid, I’m pretty sure she is going to call him Thor.”
I needed the earth to open up and swallow me whole right then and there. Why was my child telling all of my secrets to a man he had met two minutes ago? God help me.
Mom scoffed and covered her mouth to smother her laugh.
“Thor is a pretty badass dude,” Cue Ball pointed out. “I did know a guy from a different MC once whose road name was Thor.”
“Did he look like Thor, or did he have a thing for him?” Rocky asked.
“Uh, well, he did not have a thing for Thor like your mom does.”
“Then why did they call him Thor?” Rocky asked.
“I think that is a story I need to tell you when you’re a little older.” Cue Ball hitched his thumb toward the van. “Maybe we should get you two home?”
Oh, now Cue Ball was wanting to leave when things got uncomfortable for him. Oh, how the tables had turned.
“Am I old enough to hear that story?” Mom asked.
“Mother,” I hissed.
“What?” she asked. “He’s piqued my interest.”
“We’re going.” I herded Rocky toward the van and slid open the side door. “You need to get some sleep before work,” I told Mom.
She shooed her hand at me. “That ship has sailed. I’ll be making cakes and pies with one eye open today.”
“Or you could just call in for the day,” I called. I waited until Rocky buckled his seat belt and then slid the door shut.
“I’m not calling in. I couldn’t do that to your aunt.” Mom held out Rocky’s bag to me. “Though you might think about letting Rocky call off for school today. As soon as I got off the phone with you, he was awake, wondering why he was still at my house and where you were.”
Mom had worked for my aunt Ginger since before I was born. She owned a large bakery in Texarkana, and my Mom was her head baker. Ginger could survive one day without my mom.
“I’ll see how he feels when it’s time for school.”
She handed me his bookbag, but Cue Ball grabbed it. “I’ll put that in the back.” He nodded to Mom. “It was nice meeting you, Miss Benson.”
Mom nodded and pasted a friendly smile on her lips.
Cue Ball moved to the back of the van, and Mom grabbed my arm.
“Mom?” I whispered.
“Do not mess this up,” she hissed.
I reared back. “Mess what up?” I asked.
“You and that man. Do not bumble it up. He’s exactly what you and Rocky need.”
“I wasn’t aware that Rocky and I needed something,” I grumbled.
“You both need a man, Olive. Don’t act foolish.”
I tipped my head to the side. “Does that mean you like him more than Tag?”
Mom wrinkled her nose. “Why are you even saying that man’s name in my presence?”
“I guess that is better than seeing him like I did tonight?”
Mom’s jaw dropped. “You saw that poor excuse for a man tonight? Was he the one who blew up the gym?”
“What? No.” I rolled my eyes. “Tag is not a good man, but I don’t think he goes around blowing up buildings.”
“Then why did you see him tonight?” Mom demanded.
“Because the hospital still had him as my emergency contact.”
Mom cringed. “I’m surprised his phone number is still the same and that he actually came to the hospital.”
I had been more than surprised. “Yes, well, he did. Thankfully, he only stayed for a couple of minutes.”
“What did he think of Cue Ball?” Mom asked.
I squinted. “Uh, I didn’t ask him, Mom. Don’t really care what he thinks, either.”
“He was probably intimidated by a real man. No wonder he didn’t stick around for long.”
I shrugged. “I have no idea, but I hope I don’t see him again, though he said he had moved back to town a few months ago.”
“What?” Mom gasped.
I didn’t have time to go over all of this with her. I was exhausted, and if I was going to try to get Rocky to school in the morning, I needed to get him home. “Call me on the way home from work tomorrow, and I’ll fill you in on everything, okay?”
Mom pressed a kiss to my cheek and stepped back. “You can bet your butt I will.”
I hopped into the van, and I rolled down my window as Cue Ball backed out of the driveway.
“Don’t mess this up,” Mom called. “And I love you, Rocky!”
I rolled my eyes and gave a limp wave to Mom.
“Everything okay?” Cue Ball asked.
Hardly.
“Yup. All good. I’m just really tired, and I’m sure you are too. Rocky and I will just jump out when we get to my house, and you can be on your way.” I laid my head back on the seat and sighed. I needed this night to be over.
“Do I have to go to school?” Rocky interrupted.
“We’ll see in the morning.”
“It is the morning,” Rocky pointed out.
“We’ll see, Rocky,” I sighed. “Just push me out when we get to my house, yeah?” I smothered a yawn with my hand.
“I’ll show him where we live, Mom,” Rocky offered.
I don’t know how the kid was even awake. “Fine.” I didn’t have it in me to say anything more. My exhaustion washed over me, and I was out like a light.
*