Page 24

Coast

The ride didn’t do shit for my mind or my mood. But at least it kept me out of the clubhouse and away from the guys with their questioning eyes and probing questions.

When I made my way back, the party had mostly died down.

Velle was still at the pool with his music and several of the women who didn’t make their way upstairs with one of the brothers.

I underestimated him when it came to his particular kind of charm with the opposite sex.

Because he had three girls hanging on his every word. Two were on the loungers to the side of him. One was resting against his chest.

Did it sort of have ‘cult leader’ vibes? Sure. But you had to respect his game.

I offered him a nod before making my way through the back door and into the kitchen.

Eddie had already put the food away and headed home for the night. The dishwasher was humming and sloshing its way through a cycle as I walked over to Mackie’s cage and carefully shut him in for the night. He was already asleep inside, his head tucked into his back, feathers all fluffed up.

Upstairs, various stereos and TVs were playing, masking whatever extracurricular activities were going on behind closed doors.

I knew I should go right out the back door, make eye contact with one of the girls, and nod her into the clubhouse, take her up to bed, then try to fuck Zoe’s memory out of me.

But I knew that wasn’t even remotely possible. So I grabbed a sports drink out of the fridge and used it to wash down one of Eddie’s brownies he had left on a tray on the counter. He didn’t even bother to cover them, knowing they would be gone before the end of the night.

I was still polishing off my drink when there was a knock at the front door. Tentative at first, then harder and more desperate.

My gaze flicked to the clock.

No one good would be calling at that time of night.

I walked across the kitchen, reaching up to the top shelf in the pantry for the gun I knew was hiding there, then made my way to the front of the house.

I kept the gun hidden as I reached to open the door, not wanting cops to see it if it was them darkening our doorstop.

But I damn near dropped the thing when I saw who was standing there instead.

“Zo?” I asked, not quite believing I was seeing what I thought I was seeing. It was the raw vulnerability in Zoe’s eyes that had the relief washing away, getting instantly replaced with concern instead. “What happened?”

“We need help,” she said, wiggling Lainey, who reached out toward me.

“Okay,” I agreed, stepping back and putting the gun down on the end table, then reaching for Lainey. “Come here, Lil’ Bit,” I said as Zoe stepped inside.

It wasn’t until she’d dropped down onto the couch and I went to close the door that I noticed it.

The driver’s side window on her car.

Spiderwebbed.

“Were you in an accident?” I asked, my gaze moving over Lainey, then her mother, looking for injuries.

“They came after me,” she said.

“Who came after you?”

“Them. The men. From the parking lot.”

“ What ?” I asked, stiffening. “What do you mean they came after you?”

“Tonight,” she said, looking dangerously close to breaking down.

She’d clearly been trying to hold it together until she knew they were safe. It wouldn’t be long before she lost her battle with control.

“And I think… I think a while ago.”

“You think?”

“I came home from staying here that one night to find my room at the motel tossed. Everything had been pulled out. Every drawer opened. Even the mini fridge had been gone through.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that when we ran into each other again?”

“I thought it was just a random opportunistic criminal looking for cash or something to hock. Nothing happened again, so I figured that was all it was. Until tonight.”

“Okay. Tell me exactly what happened.”

“Lainey was being really… difficult tonight. So I figured I would take her for a ride to see if she passed out. I decided to stop for some ice cream at the convenience store. We were just looking at the options when the door sensor dinged. And there they were.”

“You’re sure it was the same guys?”

“Well, even if I wasn’t sure at first, I was within a minute or two. They were talking about trying to find me. I ducked down and made my way away from them. When they went to check the bathroom, I just… bolted.

“I managed to get in the backseat and the doors locked. But as I was getting Lainey in her seat, then crawling up front, he was hitting the window. Eventually, it webbed.

“I reversed out, then threw it into drive and floored it. I think I hit him.”

“Good.”

“I don’t know how bad. I just needed to get out of there. I think… I think they followed me from the motel.”

“Why do you think that?”

“When I was leaving, I was talking to someone and he looked over my shoulder at, I think, a car parked there…”

“Black sedan, heavy tint, engine running?” I asked, feeling my stomach twist.

“I don’t really know for sure,” she admitted, shrugging. “Why?”

“I saw it too. Got a weird feeling, but just shook it off.”

If I hadn’t been so stuck in my head about shit, I likely would have checked things out further. And saved Zoe from another run for her life.

“I was afraid to go back to the motel and maybe put the other women and kids at risk.”

“That was probably a smart move.”

“I didn’t know where else to go,” Zoe said. “I tried… somewhere else first.”

The way her whole body tensed at that got my attention.

“Where?”

Zoe sucked in a breath and glanced up at me. “Lainey’s father.”

“When’s the last time you saw him?”

“The day the stick turned blue.”

Lainey’s head rested on my chest, clearly exhausted from the events of the night.

“How’d that go?” Not well, clearly, if she came to my door.

Zoe snorted. “If I ever needed a reminder of why I was willing to struggle like I do, that little visit was it.”

“He’s a dick, huh?” He had to be to let his baby’s mother and his baby live in a motel, doing gig work to just barely keep the two of them fed and clothed.

“You have no idea.”

“Was he always?”

To that, Zoe let out a snort. “That’s complicated. I’d say he wasn’t an asshole for the first couple of months.”

“What made you stay after the switch?”

“I had nothing. My mom had recently passed, and I got this message on social media. He went on and on about my silly little dance video I posted. Telling me how he could manage me, could take my career to new heights, could make me a ton of money.”

“So you came down here.”

“So I came down here. And to be fair, he did make me famous.

I mean… not famous famous. But I had a ton of viral dance videos.

I never actually saw the money for them, though.

Travis technically owned my accounts. The money was his.

I mean, I did get to live in a mansion. And while I was there, I had nice clothes and good food, trips out, all that.

“But as Travis became a more abusive boss—”

“Boss or partner?”

“Well, I guess it’s hard to differentiate. He screamed at me as my boss, but that boss was also my boyfriend, so, yeah. It felt all- around not great. But, yeah, I had no idea how under his thumb I was until I got pregnant.”

“He didn’t want kids?”

“I don’t think he even saw the pregnancy as his .

He just saw the situation as the end of my virality.

He wanted me to terminate. And, I mean, I debated it.

But I just… I wanted her. Even if it meant my career would take a backseat.

I thought we were in a good place to have a baby. Travis clearly had a lot of money.”

“But he wasn’t on board.”

“As soon as I said I wanted to have the baby, he kicked me out. Practically dragged me out of the house while barking at his assistant to tell him to pack my things.

“It wasn’t until I got to a hotel room that I checked my bags and realized that Jake had only packed the things I showed up to Miami with.

All the new clothes, the electronics, the jewelry, even my one decent pair of shoes weren’t packed.

Thank God I never sold my car like Travis suggested.

It might not be much, but it’s the only thing that allowed us to survive. ”

“Fucking hate the deadbeat dads. You made it, you take care of it. Even just financially.”

“Yeah,” I agreed. “But it seems like a lot of men don’t feel that way. Travis. Brooke’s and Tasha’s exes. The list goes on.”

“You didn’t want to force him to pay, knowing he has the money?”

“I was worried he would use her against me,” she said, glancing down to where I was rubbing my hand up and down Lainey’s back while she slept. “And, worse yet, would exploit her for views when she got a little bigger.”

“Yeah, I get that.”

“I have… enough leverage that I think I can prevent him from trying to take her sometime in the future.”

“Blackmail?”

“Something like that. But chances are, he will forget all about us. He already replaced me. She was even wearing my swimsuit when I went over there.”

“Real prince.”

“Yeah. I ended up just… storming out without a place to stay or money. I just couldn’t be near him. He made Lainey startle twice.”

My jaw clenched.

“What’s his name again?”

“Travis.”

“His full name.”

“Why?” she asked, shooting me a knowing smirk.

“Might want to have a talk with him.”

“The same kind of talk that blackened your eye and bloodied your nose?”

“Nah. No. A much more in-depth talk than that,” I said, getting a little laugh out of her.

“Coast, what should I do about these guys? Do I go to the police?”

“I can’t tell you not to go to the cops.

But shit gets complicated with you not having reported the crime you witnessed originally.

And even if you don’t tell them that part, the chances of them being able to find them are kind of low.

And the best they can do when it comes to protecting you is to have a cruiser pass by the motel every now and again. ”

“What then? I need to uproot? Move? How far?”

I could hear the silent question there: How much is that going to cost?

Because if money wasn’t an issue for her, she would have been long gone. She and Lil’ Bit would be somewhere safe.

“How about you stay here?” I suggested.

“I can’t ask—”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”

“Can you do that? What about your president?”

“It’s fine. You would be safe here. And I can work on figuring out the next steps to deal with these fucks.”

“I don’t—”

“Just say yes. I can go collect your shit from the motel. Maybe give Brooke a warning about what is going on, so she is keeping an eye out. But if you’re not there, I don’t think they’re in any sort of danger.”

She wanted to say yes.

She just needed a push.

“You need to keep Lil’ Bit safe.”

Her kid was her Achilles’ heel.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Okay. Thank you, Coast. Really.”

“How about you take Lainey up to my room? The playard is in my closet. I’ll go get your shit, so you can feed and change her if or when she needs it.”

She got up, reaching to peel Lainey off of me and press her to her own shoulder.

“Hey,” I said, grabbing her hip and leaning forward to press my forehead to hers. “I’m gonna handle this. You aren’t alone anymore.”

It wasn’t until after Zoe pulled away that I noticed we weren’t alone.

Velle was standing in the doorway, keen eyes taking everything in.

“I have to run out,” I told him. “I’m taking the club car. Zoe is gonna be staying here for a while.”

“Sounds good,” Velle said, nodding at me, seeming to understand the situation with no explanation at all. “Do you need any help with anything, Zoe?” he asked as Zoe grabbed for her keys, passing them to me.

“No, thank you. I’m just going to go put Lainey down.”

She made her way up the steps.

Velle was silent until we heard her moving around in my room.

“Shit hit the fan?” he asked.

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“Just another day at the clubhouse then,” he said, shrugging, as the girls from out back moved inside. “We’re having a movie night,” he explained as the girls climbed up on the couches, leaving a space for him. “So, I’ll keep an ear and eye for Zoe while you’re gone.”

With that, they got busy with the movie, I grabbed the keys, then headed out back to the motel.

I drove around for a few, looking to see if I spotted that car again. But when I didn’t see anything suspicious, I pulled into the lot, popped the trunk, and made my way upstairs.

“Sorry to break it to you, hon, but she went out.” Brooke was sitting cross-legged in front of her partially cracked door. There was a chunky notebook sitting on her leg and ink marks on her finger from the pen she was tapping against the pad.

“She’s at the clubhouse with me, actually. She had a little… incident.”

“What kind of incident? Is she okay? Lainey?”

“Just barely. Look, it’s looking like the fucks who broke into her place are targeting her.”

“What? That’s crazy. Nothing else has happened around here, though.”

“But there’s been a suspicious car. Dark car, dark tint, idling in the lot.”

“Holy shit,” she said, eyes going round. “I did notice that!”

“They found her at the convenience store and chased her. She just barely got away. She didn’t know where to go.”

“Sure seems like she did, actually,” Brooke said, giving me a little smile. “Everyone here is just giving me so much material.”

I had no idea what that meant. And I didn’t want to waste time asking.

“Listen, I don’t think anyone else in the motel is going to be in danger now that she’s gone, but—”

“Oh, honey, don’t you worry about me. I inherited my good looks from my mama, but my love of cussing, fighting, and firearms from my daddy. Me and mine, we’re gonna be just fine.”

“I like you, Brooke,” I said, shooting her a smile.

“I like you too, sugar. Now, I know you’re taken by Zoe and Lainey now, but keep an ear out for men who like single moms and future bestselling smut writers, okay?” she asked, moving back into her room.

“Will do.”

“Bonus points if they have a pool. The kids and I have grown attached to the luxury.”

With that, she was inside her room, door locked. And I would bet good money that one of those firearms she mentioned would be nearby, just in case.

Brooke’s room seemed just as she left it. And I took a while just folding up and stuffing their clothes into the large totes she had.

Then there was all the bathroom stuff and the toys.

In the end, though, it all only took four or five trips to the club’s bulky SUV to move everything they owned, playard and new swing included.

It wasn’t right.

The two of them deserved a life full of crap: clothes, bedding, knick-knacks, toys, everything that they could need or want.

On the last trip, Brooke caught me in her window, giving me a nod.

“Take care of the girls.”

“Take care of yours,” I said back.

And with that, it was all over.

Zoe and Lil’ Bit had moved in with me.

And I was going to go ahead and pretend that the thought didn’t make my heart feel like it had grown two sizes in my chest.