Page 14 of Edge (Redline Kings MC #4)
CALLIE
I t was nearing lunchtime when Mrs. Winslow stepped up to the counter, balancing a stack of paperbacks in her arms. I had quickly learned she was one of Bookshell Cove’s most faithful regulars, and the coincidence in our last names always made her smile.
She came in every week without fail, usually with her beach tote already bulging with finished reads.
“Back again already?” I teased as I scanned the top book, a glossy romance with a windswept couple on the cover. “Didn’t I just ring you up two days ago?”
Her eyes twinkled over her reading glasses. “And I finished both of them. You young people waste your time on phones. I read.”
I laughed softly, sliding the stack across the scanner. “Well, I’ll never argue with that choice.”
After she paid, I handed her the bag with a smile, watching her bustle out into the sunshine with the wind chimes jingling over the door.
I stacked a couple of new paperbacks near the register before glancing at my aunt.
Gloria was perched on her favorite stool behind the counter, glasses low on her nose as she thumbed through a gardening magazine. She glanced up when I hovered, arching one eyebrow. “That look says you’re about to ask me something.”
“Lunch run,” I admitted, tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “What do you want today?”
She shrugged. “Surprise me. Just not the greasy pizza from across the street. Those boys over there will keep me in stretchy pants if I don’t quit.”
I laughed. “You say that whenever we order from there.”
“And I mean it every time,” she replied primly, but her eyes twinkled. “What about you?”
I hesitated, glancing toward the front window where the afternoon sunlight poured in.
“I was thinking about swinging by The Drift Café.” I tried to sound casual, but heat still rushed up my neck.
Aunt Gloria didn’t miss it. Her grin spread slow and wicked, like she’d just been handed fresh gossip. “Ahhh. That café.”
I ducked my head, fussing with the strap of my tote. “It’s close. Convenient.”
“Convenient, sure.” She set down her magazine, chin propped in her hand as she studied me. “But it wouldn’t have anything to do with a certain tall, tattooed man whose bike got in your way after I warned you how crowded it got over there at night, would it?”
My face went nuclear as I saw flashes of all the filthy, delicious things we’d done together the night before. “Aunt Gloria.”
“What?” She widened her eyes and pressed her hand against her chest, trying to look innocent. “A woman can’t help noticing when her niece starts glowing thanks to the new guy in her life.”
My lips pressed together, and the heat crept higher. I couldn’t argue with her when she was right. Falling in love with Tatum had made me ridiculously happy, and it showed. Or maybe the glow was an early sign of pregnancy since we hadn’t used a condom any of the times we’d slept together.
Her laughter was soft and affectionate. “It’s good for you, Callie. You’ve looked lighter since you met Edge. Happier.”
I mumbled something noncommittal, not quite ready to share the depth of my feelings for him with anyone else. Not even my aunt.
Grabbing my tote, I waved her off before she could press further. “I’ll be back soon. Try not to sell all the romance novels while I’m gone.”
She called after me, laughter still in her voice. “I’ll leave the love stories for you since you’re living one now!”
My cheeks flamed again, but I couldn’t fight the smile tugging at my lips as the door jingled shut behind me.
The walk from Bookshell Cove to The Drift Café wasn’t far, just a few blocks, but the air carried enough heat and salt that sweat prickled at my temples.
My phone lit up, and my smile widened when Tatum’s name flashed across the screen.
“Hey, were your ears ringing?” I answered. “Because my aunt was just teasing me about you.”
“She have good things to say about me?”
I rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “Definitely.”
Though if she knew exactly how much time I’d been spending with him, she might not have sounded so approving.
“Glad to hear it,” he chuckled.
“Are you free?” I switched the call to speaker so I could walk and talk more easily. “I’m on my way to grab lunch for Aunt Gloria and me, but I’m sure she’d understand if I ate with you and brought her order back a little later.”
“Sorry, baby. Can’t get away right now. But make sure you grab something heavier than a salad—gotta keep your energy up for later.”
I laughed, shaking my head. “You’re bossy, you know that?”
“Yeah,” he replied without a hint of apology. “But you like it.”
The butterflies that never seemed to leave my stomach lately swirled harder. “You have way too much confidence in your powers of persuasion.”
“You packed half your closet into a bag because I told you to,” he shot back. “You tell me who’s right here.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, sighing in mock defeat. “Fine. But only because your fridge is better stocked than mine.”
“Damn right it is. And so’s my bed.”
Heat rushed to my cheeks, and I almost tripped over a crack in the sidewalk.
“Tatum,” I hissed even though there was nobody nearby to overhear.
He just laughed, the sound vibrating straight through me. “Can’t see it but know you well enough to say your reaction is why I’m so damn confident, baby.”
My heart kicked up, pulse fluttering in a way that had nothing to do with the summer heat. I shook my head as I neared the corner where The Drift Café’s sign came into view.
“I suppose I can’t really argue with that.”
The cheerful hum of conversation from The Drift Café floated across the street as I neared the corner.
Tatum’s voice purred in my ear, my heart skipping at those two words I craved almost as much as I love you. “Good girl.”
Then an engine growled beside me, low and rough, shattering the moment. I glanced over and glared at the dark van without any logo on the side and tinted windows. I assumed it was on the way to a delivery until the brakes squealed and the side door slammed open.
Hands shot out, rough and fast, grabbing for me.
“What the—?” My phone slipped, clattering against the pavement.
Tatum’s voice called out my name.
Panic surged hot through my veins, but instinct kicked in. I screamed, shoving back, twisting my body as one hand clamped around my wrist. I raked my nails across skin—caught a cheek, hot blood welling under my scratch.
“Bitch!” a man snarled.
Another hand snagged my arm, yanking hard. I kicked wild, my foot connecting solid with a shin. He grunted, stumbling.
I’d never been in a fight, but adrenaline roared through my veins, drowning out everything but the need to get away. Not just for me, but also the baby Tatum had been trying to put into me. If I was pregnant, I had even more reason to try everything I could to get away.
I threw my weight sideways, aiming for the curb. My tote swung free, spilling books across the concrete. One of the men cursed, boot crunching down on a paperback as he lunged.
I snatched the nearest hardback and swung it like a weapon, cracking the spine across his jaw. His head snapped sideways with a curse, teeth flashing red where my blow split his lip.
I barely recognized the girl wielding books like weapons, but survival didn’t care if I was soft or small. And I knew that Tatum would want me to fight dirty.
The second man lunged. I drove my elbow into his stomach, hard enough to knock the breath out of him. He wheezed, doubled over, and I twisted, nails clawing again, this time catching him in the throat. He gagged, choking as I shoved away.
For one heartbeat, I was free.
The café sign glowed just ahead, safety so close I could taste it. Customers were sitting near the window, chatting, oblivious. I sprinted two steps?—
A meaty arm hooked around my waist and dragged me back, my feet kicking the air. My scream ripped out raw. I slammed my head back, catching his chin. He cursed but didn’t let go.
“Grab her legs!”
It was two against one now, but I knew I couldn’t stop. It was Tatum’s voice in my head that practically ordered me to keep fighting. I kicked, scratched, even bit, tasting copper when my teeth sank into someone’s hand. He howled and jerked, blood slicking his skin.
“Crazy bitch!”
“Hold her still!”
My throat burned from screaming. But for a heartbeat, the grip around my waist loosened. I twisted again, half my body free, one leg hitting pavement. Hope surged hot and bright that maybe I could break loose?—
Then the second man tackled me full force. My shoulder slammed against the side of the van, pain sparking white across my vision. A knee jammed into my thigh, pinning me.
“No!” I screamed.
“Get her in!”
Together, they hauled me off my feet, my heel driving into ribs hard enough to make someone grunt in pain. But it wasn’t enough to stop them from tossing me into the back of the van.
Through the chaos, I heard the faint tinny echo of Tatum’s voice from the phone on the sidewalk. “Callie? Callie!”
The van door slammed, cutting off that beloved voice along with the rest of the world. My scream echoed back at me in the dark before I was knocked out cold with a single punch.