AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you for doing that,” she said. “God, what am I going to tell June about her father?” she asked. He really didn’t have any answers for her. His own father was an asshole, and his poor mother was constantly covering for him and his bad behavior. But he and his brothers knew the deal. His father was a jerk and when he happened to be around, things were awful. Mav knew how much his mother struggled when his father would take off. She worked two jobs putting a roof over his, Steel, and Owen’s heads and food on the table. The thing was, he and Owen were so much happier when their old man was gone, and he had a feeling that June would feel the same way about her father not sticking around.
“When she’s old enough, you’ll tell her the truth. Tell her how her brave mother stood up to a man who liked to beat her up. Tell her how strong her mom is, but I’m sure she’ll already know all about it.”
“Thank you for saying that, Mav,” she whispered, swiping at the tears that were running down her cheeks. “I’m sorry I’m crying. I guess it’s just been a long day. I need to get over to Tilly’s. She’s expecting me.”
He grabbed her hand and she flinched, making him feel like a complete ass. Of course, she’d react to him that way. She had just had the shit beat out of her—Melody had the black eye to prove it. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I’d never hurt you, Melody.”
“I—I know that, Maverick. I’m just a little shaky is all. I didn’t mean to react that way.”
“I just wanted to talk to you about staying with Tilly and Owen,” he said.
“Okay,” she breathed, “is there a problem with me staying with them?”
“Not a problem,” he said, “more like an issue. Owen is worried that after Adam gets out of jail, he’ll come looking for you here.”
“Right, and when he can’t find me here, he’ll search for me at Tilly and Owen’s place. God, I’m an idiot. He doesn’t want me there because he’s worried that I’ll put them in danger.”
“No,” Maverick said, “God, I’m screwing this all up. He’s worried that he won’t be able to protect you, Tilly, and June all by himself.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” she said. “Um, I guess I’ll just have to find another place for me and June to stay—you know until everything dies down with Adam.” He didn’t want to be the one to tell her that things might never die down with her soon-to-be ex. If he got out of jail, he might not ever leave her and June alone.
“How about you stay with me?” Maverick asked. She looked up at him as if he lost his mind, and maybe he had.
“That’s not a good idea,” she said. “I mean, won’t I be putting you in danger then?”
He couldn’t help laughing at the idea of him being put into danger by a mom and her kid staying with him. “I think that I’ll be able to handle him if he shows up to my door.”
“Yeah, you do seem capable,” she said, looking him over. He liked the way that she took in every inch of him, letting her eyes roam his body. They had always had some unspoken connection, but he never acted on it knowing that she had a husband waiting for her at home. “But I don’t want to put you out,” she insisted.
“You wouldn’t be putting me out at all,” he assured. “I can keep you and June safe, I promise, Melody.” He was making promises and getting involved—two things that he swore that he’d never do. But then again, Melody had him doing things he never thought he’d ever do, and with her, playing the protector, felt right.
Riding Shotgun (Dirty Riders MC Series Book 2) universal link-> https://books2read.com/u/bOeMzQ
And as a special bonus, here’s a look at Riding Steel (Book 3 of the Dirty Rider Series)! It’s available now for preorder here-> https://books2read.com/u/mdqy9w
Steel
Steel Blaine watched as Justice paced in front of his makeshift desk. He really needed to go shopping for office furniture, but who had the time? Since joining his two brothers in their security team, he didn’t have one second to himself. His folding table worked just fine as a desk, and it also allowed him to believe that he’d be able to pick up and move on if necessary. A big, heavy desk would void that possibility and that wasn’t something he was willing to think about right now. No, right now, he had to decide what to do about the sexy blond nervously pacing in front of him.
“I know it sounds crazy, Steel, but I can feel him out there watching me. I’ve already been to two cities for my book tour, and he showed up at both of them,” Justice said.
“Wait, you’ve seen this guy?” Steel asked.
“I have and he’s not shy about letting me know that he’s around.” Justice pulled her phone out of her purse and handed it over to him. “Those are all texts from him.” He read through the disgusting texts and grimaced at the ones that were explicit requests that made him want to take the job for her on the spot.
“He has your number?” Steel asked, already knowing the answer to his question. He was holding the proof that the guy had her phone number.
“Yeah. I’m not sure how he got it, but he’s been texting me for months now,” she admitted.
“Jesus, Justice,” he growled. “Why didn’t you come to me sooner, or at least change your fucking number?” he asked.
“Because we didn’t leave things on the best terms,” she reminded. Justice was right. The last time he saw her, he acted like an asshole. The last thing she probably wanted to do was reach out to him and ask him for his help.
“Plus, I’ve been kind of busy with my writing, and I guess that I was just hoping that this mess would go away on its own,” she admitted. He knew just how busy she had been with her writing. Justice had built quite a name for herself over the past year, even landing a seven-book series deal with a big publisher. He had followed every step of her impressive career, but there was no way that he’d admit that to her. She already had one stalker; he didn’t want her to think that he was stalking her too.
“Obviously, this guy isn’t going to go away if he’s still sending you these messages and following you around on your book tour,” Steel said.
Justice rolled her eyes at him, “Obviously,” she grumbled. “Listen, maybe coming to you for help was a mistake. I should have realized that you’d still be pissed off at me. I just never imagined that you’d be holding a grudge or anything as childish as all that.” She took her phone back from him and put it into her purse. “Tell Owen and Mav that I said, ‘Hey’,” she said, turning to leave.
