PROLOGUE
MARNIE
(roughly five years ago)
“It’s done.” The gravelly male voice says. It’s coming from the end of my hospital bed and has me looking in that direction.
Not that I can see very clearly; one eye is almost completely swollen shut while the other has a patch covering it due to the optic surgery I had to have for a detached retina. I try to express my thanks, but as soon as I open my mouth, I remember that my jaw is wired shut, and both lips are badly split. In fact, my lower lip had sixteen stitches in all between the inside and outside. So, I raise my hand, the one that doesn’t have multiple IVs sticking out of it and give a thumbs up, which isn’t too difficult since that arm is in a cast up to my elbow.
In short, I’m a hot fucking mess right now and can’t even articulate how much I appreciate the fact that he and several of his companions stepped in to help me when they happened to walk by and see me being physically assaulted by my boyfriend.
Well, ex-boyfriend now, I guess. All because I told him no. I had just turned eighteen and was planning to go to the local technicalcollege. I didn’t want to have sex with him and risk a pregnancy or even worse, a sexually transmitted disease because I was well-aware of his playboy reputation. While I wasn’t sure what I was going to study, I was leaning toward a diploma in a trade of some sort so I could earn enough money to get out of this podunk town.
“You just get better, girlie. Shouldn’t be any blowback on you at all,” the man promises. I hear his footsteps echo as they walk away and realize that once again, I’m alone in my room.
“I’m sorry, Mama, but I can’t stay here,” I whisper to my mother who lies comatose on her hospital bed. “Pace’s brothers have been harassing me.”
Ever since that day, six months ago, when I woke up in a hospital room with a stranger telling me that ‘it was done’, Pace has been missing. His brothers, Porter and Paxton, have made my life a living hell. They’re convinced I know what happened to their brother and while I have a suspicion, I don’t know for sure. Why? Because by the time the man and his friends found me, I was already heading toward a state of unconsciousness. So, while I suspect that Pace is no longer on this earth, I can’t say with any certainty.
I already have my meager belongings packed, which wasn’t easy since I’m still recovering. Thankfully, the wires came out of my jaw three months ago, and my arm, while still stiff at times, has full range of motion once again. I chose somewhere that no one would expect me to relocate to by opening up a map of the United States, closing my eyes, and then pointing. Hopefully, it’s far enough away from here that they’ll never find me becauseI have a feeling if they do, I might not survive their brand of interrogation.
Leaning down, I kiss my mom’s forehead. She’s in what the hospice nurse called a transitional phase, so I know her time is short. Because of that, I have a cot in her room, so I can be here for her when she draws her last breath, just like she was there for me when I drew my first one in. Our rental house has been packed up and the keys turned over to the landlord. Everything I wasn’t able to pack in my small SUV was sold, and I closed my bank account, choosing to put the cash on a prepaid card so I didn’t have so much money on me.
“Well, this is home sweet home, at least for a little while,” I murmur as I look around the furnished apartment that’s above the bar where I’ll be working as a waitress.
I ignore my boxes that are neatly stacked against the far wall and decide to explore my new environment. I don’t start working until tomorrow afternoon, according to the bar manager, so I have plenty of time to unpack my personal belongings and then explore my new town. Excitement punches through the pervading sadness over losing my mom. With her gone, I’m totally alone in this world since she was my last known living relative.
Shrugging off the melancholy, I start hanging up my clothes in the closet because I don’t have time to spiral into a pit of depression. The ones that’ll go in my dresser will have to wait until I buy cleaning supplies and scrub each drawer thoroughly. I don’t have to do the same with the mattress and box spring, since Ash, who’s the man that hired me, told me that they hadrecently replaced them with a new set. Instead, I tear off the plastic that covers the pillow top, so that when I buy bedding and get it washed, it’ll be ready to make.
It doesn’t take long to put my things up, so I make a list of the items I’m going to need and groan out loud. “It’s a good thing that the rent for this place is part of your employment package, Marn,” I grumble out loud. “Because you need every stupid thing there is to set up a kitchen, a pantry, and your bedroom. Oh, and let’s not forget a shower curtain and bathmats.”
I take one more look around before I grab my purse and keys. Looks like it’s time to go and do a little damage to my poor prepaid card. At least I’ll be able to explore the town a little bit and maybe even stop in at the diner for something to eat before I start spending money. If my mom taught me nothing else, she taught me that much at least; never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach.
As I head down the stairs that split in two directions, one to the back parking lot where my vehicle is parked and the other to the bar, I look back and smile. No matter what happens in the future, it’ll be my choice.
ONE
MARNIE
(Present day)
“Isn’t Holly about to pop any day now?” I ask Ash as I wait for him to pull a pitcher of beer.
Things have been… weird with Ash for a while now. Well, ever since Holly and Rebel tied the knot, anyhow. I can’t say I’m not attracted to him, because I definitely am, except he’s one of my bosses since the Steel Raiders MC owns the bar which Ash holds a position of authority in, so he’s off limits as far as I’m concerned. The last thing I need to do is get involved with him then have it all blow up in my face. I’ve come to love this little quirky town I chose by pointing at a map. My bank account is healthy, since I still live in the apartment above the bar and have minimal expenses, and I finally have a best friend.
When Holly first came into the bar looking for a job, I knew she was definitely out of place, but so was I when I first arrived in town. I took her under my wing and showed her the ropes, and she showed me what it was like to have someone to confide in. The fact that I think her little girls are beyond precious is a wholedifferent subject. Mina and Ruby have helped heal the little girl inside of me that didn’t get to watch Disney movies or run and play on the swing set at the park. I had the best mom in the world, but she had to work two jobs just to keep a roof over our heads and food in the fridge, so there wasn’t a lot of time for fun because I tried to help by keeping the house clean. While Holly’s grandparents often watch the girls, I’ve also babysat them countless times. Seeing Holly and Rebel’s love story play out in real time was something and it made me believe there are good guys out there after all.
“She’s getting close,” he replies, setting the pitcher and four frosty mugs on the tray as his eyes gaze around the bar. “Busy tonight,” he muses.
“Always is once the kids go back to school. Next thing you know, it’ll be Halloween,” I say before heading to the table in the back to deliver the drinks. Several regulars raise their hands and I nod to let them know I saw them, and I’ll take care of them on my way back through.
Several years of experience has me avoiding Mr. Grabby Hands as I set the pitcher and mugs in the middle of the table. “Do y’all want to run a tab or pay as you go?” I ask the guy who placed the original order.
Right now, I’m grateful that the only ‘uniform’ I wear, per se, is the T-shirt that has the bar’s logo on it, because Mr. GH just ran his hand up the back of my exposed thigh from these short shorts that I wear due to the heat while I was waiting for his friend to tell me what they’re doing with regard to the bill. Adeptly, I step away from his roaming hands even as he asks, “So, sweetheart, what time do you get off? Maybe we can hang out and have a little fun.”
Yeah, that would be a hell no, fucker. Five years in this place has taught me better than to think my Prince Charming would be with his buddies on a Tuesday night drinking. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, per se, because their tips help pay my bills, but there’s something kind of skeevy about his attention and I’ve learned to pay attention to my gut since it’s the only Yoda I have.
Prophet, the club’s enforcer and our bouncer, steps up to the table and glares down at the jerk. “She’s got plans after work and they won’t include you.” He then looks at the guy who initially ordered and said, “It’s not hard to decide if you’re paying now or running a tab. She’s got other tables to tend to so if you don’t make up your mind, then it’ll be on a pitcher-by-pitcher basis. Marnie, your other customers are waiting.”
