Page 15 of Defended by Bama (Royal Bastards MC: Mobile, Alabama #1)
Brooklyn
It was still early when I went to bed the night before.
The steak was delicious and Sadie was in a great mood.
But I couldn’t get away from him fast enough.
How embarrassing. What was I thinking? A man like that would never fool with someone like me.
A washed-up single mom with nothing to my name. Do I even have a name anymore?
I sat quietly, mostly watching Sadie as she ate.
She and Bama carried on quite the conversation.
That only made the whole meal less comfortable.
I couldn’t even look at him. He was done before me and started cleaning as I finished up.
Men always ate so fast. But he said he was going to clean the grill, so once he was outside, I cleared our plates and hustled her to the bathroom so we could both get ready for bed.
He caught us as we shuffled down the hall to the room where he assembled the bed. Once I fumbled through pretending to be exhausted, he simply gave me a nod before I turned and headed to the room.
The sun wasn’t up yet but I’d hardly slept. He slept in his room last night, so I figured I’d be safe to head to the kitchen and try to make coffee. I was a pro at being quiet. The bathroom was down the hall from his room, but hopefully with both doors shut, he wouldn’t be disturbed.
I tiptoed from the room, thankful the door didn’t squeak when I closed it. Sadie would sleep in as long as she didn’t hear a lot of loud noises. Light didn’t bother her. I had no clue what time it was. Before we got here, this room was clearly just for storage, and there wasn’t a clock.
As I relieved myself and washed my hands, I almost slipped back into the haze from the two previous days.
It was a weird sensation, almost like a dream, that none of this was real.
Maybe it was shock protecting me from having emotions.
But once I looked up into the mirror, the unforgiving fluorescent lights slammed me back to reality.
The bruises on my face were turning different colors now–green, yellow, and of course brown. The swelling on my eye and lip had gone down tremendously, but the blood vessels in my eye were still bright red.
Sighing, I dried my hands and left the bathroom, only to be met with a wall. “Oof,” fell from my mouth before I realized the wall was Bama– shirtless Bama .
“Didn’t mean to scare you. I wanted to be sure to give you the phone to call the preschool.”
I was still trying to figure out why I wanted to just rub my face all over his chest, and even though I heard him, it didn’t register what he said.
Why was I acting like a silly girl with a crush?
The last thing I needed was another man.
Especially one who seems so good. Marshall seemed good at first, too.
That’s not fair . Bama hasn’t done anything at all to warrant being compared to that asshole.
“Brooklyn?”
“Huh?”
“The preschool? What time do they open?”
My God, how long was I drooling over him? “Oh, six.”
Bama pulled a cell phone from his pocket, typed something in, then said, “Here. It’s a burner but I still blocked the number to be safe. Don’t clear this, just type in the number, then hit send.”
I took the phone, once again brushing his hand against mine. Each time our skin touched there was a little jolt of electricity. Taking a deep breath, I dialed the number. Bama stepped away so I stood in the doorway, waiting for someone to answer.
Looking down, the phone said five thirty. They’d been open already for at least half an hour. I was pretty sure we were an hour behind.
“Sunshine Kids, Kami speaking.”
Oh thank God. “Kami, hi. It’s Brooklyn.” Shit, now what?
I must have paused too long because Kami asked, “Is there something I can help you with?”
“Uh, Sadie won’t be in for a while. I wasn’t sure what to do but figured I should let you know.”
“Hold on one second.” Her voice was perky. After hearing a click, it got much quieter on the line. “Are you safe?”
My chest tightened and I looked down the hall. The kitchen light was on, and it sounded like he was making coffee. I may have been embarrassed, but I was for sure safe. “I am. We are.”
“Good. Don’t worry about the paperwork. I’ll take care of it.”
Leaning against the wall, I asked, “Kami, can you do me a favor and see if Sadie shows up in the computer system? Like the school system?”
“Um, sure,” Kami said, confusion in her voice. After lots of clicks and a few weird murmurs from her, she said, “That’s weird. I can’t pull her up. But I have her student ID on the paper file.”
“Kami, I gotta go. I don’t want to get you into any trouble, but if that paper file disappeared, it wouldn’t be the worst thing.”
“Wait, are you sure you’re both safe? I know some people at shelters. If you need help, I can meet you later.”
Tears filled my eyes and my breaths became ragged. “I promise. We’re already far away. But if anyone asks–”
“Never heard of you.”
Swiping a stray tear from my cheek, I blew out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
After pressing the end button, I stayed there, leaning against the wall in the hallway while I gathered myself.
Kami had questioned me a few times about some bruises on my arms and legs but didn’t press too much.
The way she looked at me made me think she knew.
But Sadie had no marks. If they thought she was abused, they were required to report it.
But with no evidence on Sadie, they would likely stay out of it.
“You okay?”
Jumping at the sound of his voice, I looked over at Bama, then quickly looked away. “Yeah. Went better than I expected.”
I held the phone out but he pushed it back. “Hold on to that. My number’s saved on it. And you left yours behind.”
“Oh. Thanks, but you don’t have to do that.”
“It’s no sweat. Coffee will be ready soon. C’mon.”
Hesitantly, I followed him to the kitchen.
His back had several tattoos, all just black ink.
And it was muscular and wide. Would it be rude to ask if he could wear a shirt?
Because my hormones and emotions were completely out of whack and I wasn’t sure how much more of him walking around like this I could handle.
“How’d you sleep?” he asked as he stood by the coffee pot, two mugs out in front of him.
Shrugging, I said, “Not bad. Thanks for the bed.” What a weird statement.
“You must have been exhausted.”
“Huh?” I asked as I sat at the table.
He pulled the carafe out and poured coffee into both mugs, then turned to get creamer from the fridge.
He added some to mine, then walked over with both mugs, passing one to me before going to sit at the table.
“You ran to bed so fast after dinner. You must have been beat.” My brows furrowed, and his head dropped. “Shit. I just meant tired.”
“Oh. Yeah. Weird few days.” I sipped the coffee, and my eyes closed. It had the perfect amount of creamer and was already sweet. He got the good creamer.
“I’m sure. But it seemed like you couldn’t get away from me fast enough.”
I froze as his words hit me, the mug hanging in mid-air just inches from my lips. “I–why would I want to do that?” Smooth. Totally smooth.
He sat his mug on the table, then leaned forward. “Look, Brooklyn. It was my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten so close, especially after you’d been drinking. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. If you want, I’ll make arrangements for you at the clubhouse until we get you sorted out.”
“Wait.” What the fuck ? “Are you kicking me out?” I put my mug down, suddenly wanting to cross my arms over my breasts.
“That’s not what I said. I said if you’re uncomfortable, I can have you put somewhere else. I obviously don’t mind you being here.” He leaned back, his posture relaxed but also oozing confidence.
Okay, so maybe I did twist his words a little. But it was because I wasn’t sure how to reply. Do I beg him to let me stay here and ogle him shirtless every day? Or just casually say whatever?
“Brooklyn?”
“I don’t know how to respond to that. I’m uncomfortable, but not how you think.” Well, fuck.
“So I do make you uncomfortable?” He straightened a little in his chair.
Get it together, Brooklyn. You’re on the run from your abusive baby-daddy. This man has seen your face smashed, been kind to your kid, and gave you a hideout. Why are you scared? Just say it.
“I’m uncomfortable because I don’t know how I feel the way I do.
I’m uncomfortable because I haven’t felt things that I’m feeling in a long time and none of it makes sense.
And I’m uncomfortable because I wanted you to kiss me and you didn’t.
And now I’m really uncomfortable because I just said all of that out loud. ”
His demeanor didn’t change, nor did his posture.
But his dark eyes were fixed on me. The longer they lingered, the worse I felt.
I wished I could evaporate into dust. My brain worked overtime to replay what I said over and over in a matter of seconds.
It was like a computer program scanning for viruses but instead of identifying the bad stuff and eliminating it, it was playing it back like a movie. A horror movie. Over and over.
“I don’t mean like those kind of feelings,” I blurted out. That was worse. My God woman, shut up.
He finally shifted in his seat, reaching for his coffee.
“Brooklyn, you’ve had a fucked up few days.
Probably longer than that, but I’m only speaking on what I’ve personally observed.
” He took a sip, and I was momentarily grateful for now focusing on the way he said my name instead of all the shit I told him.
But why did it have to sound so sexy? “I’m sure you’ve got a lot going on upstairs, so it’s normal to be confused. ”
Confused? Is he mansplaining my emotions? I guess I did sort of say I was confused but not about what felt, just why and how. I put my hand up. “You don’t have to do this.” Please stop talking. Both of us could just be silent and maybe this would just be forgotten.
“I’m not doing anything,” he said, his brows raised.
I grabbed my coffee and took a sip, then another. “Can we just forget the last twelve hours, right up until sixty seconds ago?”
He nodded. “I have some errands and then some club stuff to do later. I’ll be out late. I can take you to the clubhouse or have someone come here.”
The stark change in conversation was welcome but also jarring. “Why? Do you think there’s a reason I should be worried here?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. On one hand it's great there was no missing persons report. But on the other hand, why wasn’t there?”
“Look at my face,” I deadpanned. “He’s a piece of shit, but he’s not stupid.”
Glancing over my mug as I sipped, I regretted what I said. Bama’s stare was unnerving. But I just told him to look at me.
“Maybe. But until the dust settles, better safe than sorry. Think about what you want and let me know.”
As he stood from the table and headed back down the hall with his coffee, I was left with that loaded statement…think about what you want.