The Complete Box Set Demented Revengers MC - Quitman Chapter Page 2

  “Thank you, Kaden, for everything your family is doing for me. I really, appreciate it. I have the money for the groceries and phone. I can pay rent, too.” Kaden gets a deep, gruff voice I’m sure makes most people pay attention.

  “Jilly said you need this and I trust her instincts. I will tell you up front, I did some digging on you and everything you have said checks out, so we’re good. We just want to help you get to a safe place and get yourself established and then maybe someday you can help someone down the road.” He may sound like an old bear, but I know he has a good heart or he wouldn’t be doing this.

  “I’m not worried about Kendall, it’s more his family. I think when Kendall thinks about it this will be a relief to him, but his mom will do whatever it takes to get Shelby. I just hope she doesn’t push him into doing something. Ever since we found out Shelby was a girl, Kendall has hated his own daughter. His mom is the only reason he came back after that. The thing about it is, I think he would try to harm us before he would hand Shelby over to his mom. He and his parents aren’t close, but they like to keep up appearances. He’s afraid they will disown him, and he won’t get his share of their money when they die. His dad is into making the family name continue, so if Shelby had been a boy they would have signed over some land and built him a home for us on it. Since she is a girl, he won’t get it until they die unless he has a son. Kendall doesn’t want or like children, that’s what shocked me when it was his idea for me to get pregnant. That just means he shares his inheritance when his parents die. I would just love to have my parents back, not want them dead so I could have their money. Kendall has changed so much in the last year, I don’t even know how we ever got to the point of living together.” Kaden is staring at me. “What?”

  “That’s the most I have heard you say since we met and you said it all at once.” I smile at him, and he smiles back into the mirror.

  “If you are going to help keep us safe then you need all the information and know all the people involved.”

  “You’re right. Thank you for that. I won’t be around all the time, but you will have a number you can reach me. My aunt and uncle live across the street and they will help. I will have a couple of your other neighbors keeping an eye out for you, too.”

  I feel a little better about the situation with that information. He turns into a drive and I see a big front porch that wraps around the house and has a swing on it. It’s beautiful. It’s not like mansion beautiful, but homey beautiful. The grass is freshly mowed and it looks like the neighborhood you used to see in all the sixties sitcoms. Children playing in the yards and people sitting out on their front porches. Anyone would be lucky to live here. I look over at Shelby in her car seat and I see she is still peacefully sleeping. I just hope I made the right decision coming here. Jilly gave me the courage I needed to take this chance and the means to make it happen. So, I need to make this work and give my daughter the life she deserves because, no matter what, she will be safe. “Let’s get that little princess inside.”

  He parks and gets out and comes around to my side of the truck. I already have Shelby out of her car seat and have grabbed her diaper bag and my backpack. I get out and stretch my aching legs. An older man comes walking across the road with two women trailing behind him. As I walk up on the porch I see Kaden getting our few belongings out with this man helping. The two women have come up on the porch with me. Shelby is squirming around in my arms trying to check out the two ladies.

  “Hello sweetie, my name is Gladys Samms and that man out there helping Kaden is my husband, Charlie. We live across the road, and we are Jilly and Kaden’s aunt and uncle. This lady here is my best friend, Audie Sanchez. She lives right next to you on this side.” She points out the house to the left. “We are here to welcome you. Anything you need, please, just ask. We are here for you.” This lady looks like someone’s sweet grandma. I instantly feel at ease with her, but I don’t want to get too attached in case I have to run again.

  “Thank you. I am Gracie Roberts, and this is Shelby.” Shelby is awake but playing shy. She usually takes a while to warm up to people.

  “I’m right next door. If you need anything, just stick your head out the door and yell. I’ll come a running.” Audie smiles but then a mischievous look pops up on her face. “Ok, that’s not true. A few years ago, I would have come running. Now, I’ll walk real fast.” She pats me on the shoulder. I think I will like these two ladies just fine. Gladys takes the keys from her pocket and unlocks the front door. Then hands the keys to me. Audie and I follow her in, and Kaden and Charlie follow behind.

  “Gracie, I hate to just drop you off and run but I have to get home. Seems like one of my boys has decided to take their ma’s vacuum cleaner apart and they can’t get it back together. Not an earth-shattering crisis, but she’s fit to be tied. Aunt Gladys, Uncle Charlie, and Mrs. Audie will take good care of you and Shelby. I will be looking in from time to time. Aunt Gladys, did you get the cell phone for her and program our numbers in it?” Kaden is making sure I feel safe. I can’t ask for more than that. “I texted both Rebel and Brody so they will be keeping an eye out.” Kaden’s looking at his uncle as he says this. There’s an unspoken conversation going on, I just don’t know what it is.

  “I got the phone, and I already talked to Brody. He’ll be back home tomorrow, early, or late tonight. He’s finished up his hunt and headed home. He had to go all the way to Utah to find this one. He’ll be home for a little while.” Charlie’s eyes light up when he talks about this Brody. I don’t know who Brody is and I guess my face looks puzzled because Gladys answers my unspoken question.

  “Brody is our son by love. We weren’t blessed with children, but Brody is ours in our hearts, and that’s what’s important. He lives on the other side of you. He hunts bad guys and turns them in.” Gladys' eyes show the love she has for her son.

  “What she’s trying to say is he is a bounty hunter and he’s darn good at his job.” Audie fills in the blanks. “He’ll help keep an eye out for you and that gorgeous baby you have there.” Shelby is holding onto me tight not wanting me to let loose of her. I rub my hand down her back to let her know everything is fine and she relaxes her hold on me. “My son will be by here soon. Him or one of his club brothers. They’re all a little rough looking on the outside but they are good men if you don’t get on their bad sides.” I wonder what kind of club.

  “Thank you, Kaden.” Kaden nods his head and leaves. I just want him to know how much I appreciate him.

  “Gladys, you and Audie let the girl get in the house and get settled. I’m going to make sure everything is locked up around here and go on back to the house. Don’t outstay your welcome here on the first night. Give the girl some breathing room but be sure and show her that darn alarm system.” Charlie is as kind as his nephew. It’s strange after so long of no one helping me, and now I have people who want to help. I am a lucky woman.

  “Thank you, Mr. Samms. I appreciate all your help.” Charlie nods his head.

  “Name is Charlie. No Mr. Samms.” He’s a man of few words I would say. He walks back out the front door.

  “Well, the kitchen is pretty well stocked. Come this way and I will show you the kitchen.” We walk through the living room and into the biggest kitchen I have ever seen. It has a big refrigerator with freezer standing beside it. I’m used to smaller, much smaller. There’s a door off to the right and I stick my head in to see it is a dining area.

  Gladys opens another door and flips the light switch on. “This is the laundry room and there is a little room off the back porch for shoes and such, that is where one of the alarm pads is located. There’s also an extra pantry in there. I think Laura stocked it, too.”

  I see there is a set of stairs to go to the upper level. They must connect to the ones in the front room. “We can go upstairs from here so we can show you the bedrooms. There are four. Two on each end of the hall.” Gladys goes up the stairs and Audie follows.

  Shelby is looking a
round and hanging on tight. This is more room than we have ever had. I follow close behind so I won’t miss anything. “This is where we sat up the baby’s things. This was always the temporary nursery for Phyllis until she put them further down the hall. You can see the door opens into the bathroom that connects with the master bedroom.” Gladys is pointing to the door that opens into the adjoining bathroom. The door on the other side is open and I see a huge bed in the bedroom.

  “Phyllis could never let Kaden or Jilly sleep in their own room until they were at least six months old. After the children outgrew it, Bob used it as an office of sorts. We moved the crib in here so you’d have Shelby close but still have some privacy. Rebel had some of his club brothers help Charlie move all the office stuff into the garage.” She mentioned the club again and what kind of name is Rebel?

  Gladys moves from the nursery into the bathroom which has a huge shower and bathtub. I’m glad our rooms join. Shelby has slept with me most of the time, when Kendall wasn’t at home. When he was, Shelby and I usually slept on the sofa after he passed out.

  When I walk into the bedroom I can’t believe the space and the huge king size bed. I walk over to the window and there is a huge backyard. If this place were mine, I would never leave. “There is another bathroom down the hall and two more rooms. None as large as this one, but one of them has a good view of the front yard and neighborhood.” I turn and follow her and she points them out as we walk to the other end of the stairs.

  “This house is old but it has been treated with love so it is in excellent condition. Jilly comes in twice a year to open it up and visit Gladys and Charlie.” Audie chimes in. “No one has lived here since Bob died three years ago. Wasn’t the same after Phyllis went the year before him. Bob was lost in this big old house.”

  We follow the stairs back down to the front room. Gladys leads us into a den-like room with a good size television set and sectional sofa. The room has a bay window that looks out into the yard.

  My house wasn’t even half this size. Shelby and I will be lost in this house, but we shouldn’t be here too long, if I can find a suitable babysitter and work. I don’t want us to get spoiled by things we can’t afford.

  I hear a rumble and it sounds like motorcycles. I look out the window, and sure enough three huge looking men on motorcycles are in the front yard. Gladys and Audie don’t seem to be alarmed. Shelby is covering her ears. It’s one of the things she started doing when Kendall would start yelling or throwing things in our house.

  “That’s my son, Rebel. Well, Rebel isn’t his real name, but it is what everyone calls him now. The other two are his club brothers, Sin and Cue Ball.” Audie goes out through the den to the front door and opens it. I guess Gladys sees my hesitation.

  “It’s ok, Gracie. Those boys may look mean, but they are as good as gold. They won’t let anything happen to you or Shelby, not on their watch.” All I can do is take their word for it. Gladys tries to put me at ease by patting my arm. Then she slips the phone into my hand that Kaden had been talking about. We both follow Audie to the front door, even though I had rather hibernate in that huge bedroom and just sleep.

  As soon as my eyes see the men up close, I automatically know that they are trouble. Trouble, with a capital T. They are all tall, broad-shouldered, trim-waisted, tattooed, and sexy as sin. Bad boys. One has a mustache and dark Hispanic features. I think he is the sexiest man I have ever seen before. I would guess that is Rebel, Audie’s son. One of the other two has a red beard and mustache and the other one’s clean-shaven and bald. All of them look very intimidating.

  I suppose I should feel some attraction to such handsome men, but I feel absolutely nothing, but tired. I’m not blind, I see their attractiveness, but it just does nothing for me.

  “Gracie, this is my son, Rebel, and two of his club brothers, Cue Ball and Sin.” Cue Ball is the one with no hair and clean shaven. Sin is the redhead. We all walk into the living room.

  “Boys, this is Gracie Roberts and her daughter Shelby.” I put my hand out to shake Rebel’s, but he kisses my hand instead. I am shocked and don’t know exactly how to react to it.

  “Beautiful names for such beautiful girls. But then Gracie, you are not just a girl, are you? You’re a very beautiful woman.” He is still holding my hand, and I pull it back.

  “Hello, and thank you. I guess.” I duck my head. I don’t want this guy to get the idea I am flirting with him.

  “You guess. Surely you look in the mirror, and can see that you are very beautiful.” He’s just not going to give up.

  “Rebel, you’re making Gracie uncomfortable. She’s not one of the club girls you always have hanging around. Leave her be. She’s had a hard time of it.” About that time Shelby squirms just right, and her foot catches me in my bruised ribs. Tears spring to my eyes.

  “Shelby, baby, please, mommy’s side hurts.” I move her foot away from my ribs.

  “What is wrong with your side?” Rebel asks. As bad as I look, I can’t believe he can’t figure it out. I guess I don’t look as bad as I did a few days ago, but you can still see the bruises on my arms and the marks on my throat. “Ma take the baby. I need to see something.”

  I don’t know what he thinks he will find but I hand Shelby to Audie. She goes reluctantly, at first, but once in the older woman’s arms Shelby snuggles into Audie. Rebel turns me around and runs his hand down my throat gently and when he reaches the bottom of my shirt I don’t fight him. As he lifts it, I hear him take in a small breath. He gets a furious look on his face. “Did your man do this to you?” Gladys is shaking her head, looking at the bruises and wrapped ribs.

  “Kendall, the man that used to be mine, did this to me, then again, I wonder if he was ever mine. It was Shelby’s dad and the man I’m running from so he doesn’t finish what he started.” I know if I want help, I have to be honest.

  “Did you back talk him or cheat on him? Are you married and this is just a lover’s spat?”

  I can’t believe this idiot just said that to me. No one deserves this, no matter what they do. Rebel has to be kidding, but he has a completely serious look on his face.

  “Did you just ask me if I deserved this because if you did, I am in the wrong place! The sin I committed was giving Kendall a daughter instead of a son. I don’t cheat, and I don’t lie. No, we were not married, but he is the only man I have ever even dated. We’ve been together since high school. I’ve never even kissed another man and the garbage you are spewing at me; I don’t deserve.” I take Shelby back from Audie and try to get away from this awful man.

  “He doesn’t mean it that way, Gracie,” Audie says and then she faces her son. “Tell her you didn’t mean it and explain yourself.” Audie has one of those authoritative voices all people pay attention to, and that includes her son.

  “Rebel, Gracie has been through a lot the last few days.” Gladys puts in.

  “Get your panties out of a wad. Damn woman, I just meant are you two going to kiss and make up in a week and you’ll be gone. Believe it or not, some relationships go that way.” Rebel has a grin on his face, but I do not find it amusing.

  “Mr. Sanchez, I can guarantee you I will not be going back. Not in a week or a year. This isn’t the first time this has happened, but it will be the last. If I go back, he will kill me and then my daughter will have no one. I don’t care if he has another woman or twenty. I only took the money I have left from my parent’s life insurance money, one diaper bag, and one backpack. I’m selling the only thing I have left from my parents, our home, to get away from Kendall. Jilly is a kind woman, and she is letting me stay here until I am on my feet. I don’t want a handout but a hand up. If you condone this kind of behavior, then I don’t want or need your help.” I know I am going to start crying and I don’t want to give this idiot the chance to make fun of me for it. I start up the stairs to get away from him and everyone else. I just want to be alone.

  “I did not mean it that way. I just want to know what I’m facing. I’d
hate to shoot the man if you still want him.” Again, he has a smile on his face. The other two men have not said a word, and they have no expressions on their faces at all.

  “I tell you what Mr. Sanchez, loan me the gun and I will do it myself.” Maybe that will let him know how unhappy I am now.

  “Now Gracie, where would that leave your daughter?” With that, I go up the stairs, I know they’ll find their own way out.

  Chapter Two

  Rebel

  “What are you doing, son? Gracie needs our help, and you could show a little compassion. You’re too used to those women of the night you always have hanging on you to know a good girl when you see one.” Ma is jumping to the wrong conclusion again.

  “Ma, I had her pegged as a good girl the first glimpse I had of her, but that doesn’t mean I want to stick my neck or the neck of my brothers out to be chopped off if she is just going to run back to her man. Do you know how many women play these damn games? They fight with their man and run off for a week or two and then go back and return to the fighting. Jilly is a smart woman, and I believe she has judged this woman correctly, but I still had to ask so I could see the look in her eyes when she said it. I believe Gracie will stay away from this Kendall at all costs, and I believe she will protect that precious baby of hers, but I had to make sure. Now I am. She has fire, and she will survive. Don’t worry Ma, we’ll help her.”

  “You could have been nicer about it. She’s going to think you’re a thug.” Ma is probably right. Gracie needs to keep thinking of me that way because she is way too beautiful for her own good. She has luscious curves, and her eyes are the bluest I have ever seen in my life. Her lips are full, and I want to devour them. No, Gracie needs to keep her distance. I have not been this attracted to a good girl since Jilly. Even though I know Jilly and I will never be anything but friends, she still has a place in my heart. I wonder how my good friend Brody will react to Ms. Gracie. No, actually I don’t. I know exactly how he will he’ll react and I don’t like that thought, at all.