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From the entry, there was a living area on the left, complete with a stone fireplace. On the right was a gourmet kitchen and dining room. Dividing the space was a large open staircase straight ahead that led to the second floor. She followed him up, and he showed her the master bedroom that faced the front of the property. It was huge, with a giant four-poster bed and a set of French doors that he showed her led out to a covered porch.
There was a beautiful master bath, and two more bedroom suites in the rear of the second floor.
After making sure she had his number for emergencies, he left, instructing her that she had the place until November 1st. That gave her a little over six months to put her life back together. She’d need to find a job and another place to move to when she had to give this place up.
She stood on the porch after the owner drove off. The home was on high ground. From the porch, she could see several mountain ridges in varying shades of blue-gray fading into the distance. Birmingham sat on the foothills of the Appalachian Mountain range, and it was quite beautiful. Just beyond some poplar and pine trees she could see a green pasture with horses grazing in the distance.
The house was set so far back from the highway she could just barely make out the sound of a car driving by.
Would she be safe here?
She couldn’t be sure. And then her thoughts returned to Rusty. Although, she hadn’t been in love with him, she had cared about him a great deal. He’d always been good to her. God, she prayed, please forgive him his sins. She hoped he was at peace. She’d prayed for his soul all the way from Atlanta. A tear slid down her cheek, and she brushed it away.
She turned and went back inside. She didn’t even have anything in the car to unpack. She’d left town with the clothes on her back and her purse and what little she’d had in her car. She didn’t even have her cell phone. Eric had made her leave it, telling her they might be able to track her down if she used it. He’d instructed her to buy a disposable phone when she got to town and load it with minutes. Thankfully she had the money he’d given her. It would have to make due until she found a job and got an income.
The only thing she had going for her was that the club didn’t know her last name. All they knew was that her name was Skylar. Eric planned to give them false information, if they ever came asking. A false last name and a false social security number, so if they ever did try to track her down, it would lead them nowhere.
Luckily the one thing she did have was her laptop. She’d left it in her shoulder bag with all the files from work she sometimes carried around with her. It had been in her car, thankfully. She pulled it out now. The owner had said there was cable and internet set up, and he’d given her the password.
Opening her laptop, the first thing she did was close her Facebook account. She had no idea how technical any of the guys in the Devil Kings MC were, but she wasn’t taking any chances.
Then she immediately stopped her mail. Thankfully, Eric had taught her to shred her mail daily, so she didn’t think there was anything incriminating to be found if the MC searched her apartment.
If they questioned the apartment manager, they’d only find that the apartment was rented in the name of Eric Ramsey. Another favor he’d done for her when she didn’t have the good credit to sign the lease. The electric was in his name, too. Although she paid all the bills.
Thank God for bad credit!
CHAPTER ONE
She rode back into his life when he least expected it…
Shades took a hit off his cigarette and looked up from the fire burning in the barrel in the backyard of the Evil Dead clubhouse. The Birmingham Chapter had just lost its VP and brothers were descending from all over the country for the funeral. Two bikes rode in through the back gate. Shades had to blink into the setting sun to be sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.
Holy shit.
Skylar.
He hadn’t seen her in years, and now here she was, the love of his life, riding back into his life—on the back of a brother’s bike.
Fucking hell.
Earlier that day…
Skylar drove through downtown Birmingham. It had been years since she’d been back home. She got off on 20th Street and drove her little silver Miata through Five Points South. She had the top down, and the wind blew through her long dark hair. Stopping at the light, Skylar looked around her hometown. The place was the same, but the businesses had all changed. The fountain was still standing center stage on one corner—still attracting the hippie-homeless types. A couple of musicians were set up, playing—a guitar case taking tips. The restaurant on the corner with the outdoor courtyard had now become a microbrewery. The music hall where she’d snuck out to see her first concert was now a pool hall.
Following the directions she’d been given, she turned left onto a side street, and parked half a block down. Climbing out of her car, she pushed her sunglasses up on her head and looked up at the storefront window. Lily Pad was painted across in block letters. The trademark statue of a frog sat center-stage in the window. Smiling, she moved up onto the sidewalk and headed inside.
A bell tinkled over the door as she entered the shop. Skylar glanced around. Her best friend may have moved locations, but this place suited her. The floors were wood, the walls brick. Pottery, sculptures and assorted art pieces filled the place. Recessed lighting from the ceiling spotlighted different pieces haphazardly arranged on upturned wooden crates. Brightly colored scatter rugs lay throughout.
The smell of incense permeated the place. Skylar had to grin though, knowing what it probably was an attempt to cover up.
She strolled toward the back, her heels clicking on the wooden floor. She was half way to the back, when she spotted her. Her best friend all through high school, and the closest friend she’d ever had. So close, she felt more like a sister than a friend.
Although her back was to Skylar, she’d know the shape of her body anywhere—her thin shoulders and arms sticking out of the faded denim overalls she wore. A tube top, all she had on underneath. Her feet—as usual—were bare.
Her hair—now that was new. Her beautiful long golden brown hair now hung in long dreadlocks to her waist. The top of her head was covered in a blue bandana tied atop her head—the little triangle points falling in the back.
“Hey, girlfriend!” Skylar watched as she turned, her face lighting up with happiness.
