Author: Teresa Mummert

“I don’t need you to defend me, Cass. I don’t give a fuck what he thinks.” I knew Jax was moments away from really losing his temper.

“Want to know what I think?” Tucker stepped closer and now his chest was against mine. I could feel the heat radiating off his body. “I think that you’re a worthless prick who likes to beat up little girls to make his dick feel bigger.”

“Jesus Christ, Tucker.” I felt as if my world were imploding. I knew he could feel my heart racing in my chest as I pushed back against him, struggling to keep this fight nonphysical. I closed my eyes, bracing for a blow to come from behind me. I didn’t know if Jax had the balls to fight Tucker, but I knew he wouldn’t mind taking his anger out on me. “Please stop this. I appreciate your concern, but this is between me and my boyfriend.” I stared into Tucker’s eyes, pleading with him to let it go.

He took a step back, his expression turning sad.

“Cass? What is going on out there?” Larry was standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

I took a deep breath. Coconut. I love that smell. “Nothing,” I called back, and turned around to grab Jax by the wrist. I pulled him toward the door, keeping my gaze fixed on Tucker, hoping he wouldn’t follow. He would only make things worse for me later.

Once we were in the parking lot, I began to lose my cool. “What are you doing here, Jax?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I needed some money, but I guess you were busy with the fuckstick.” His voice grew louder with every word. “I hope he tips you well.”

“Go home, Jax. I can’t afford to lose this job.”

“Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to, Cass?” He stepped forward, our noses touching.

I refused to back down. I balled my hands into fists at my sides and begged for strength. “Please, Jax. I need this job. Please?”

“I thought you needed me.”

“You know I do, Jax. I’ll be home in a few hours.”

He took a step back and kicked dirt at me before retreating toward the trailer. I let out the breath I had been holding and turned back to the diner.

I slipped inside the door, suddenly nervous as hell.

Tucker was pulling money from his wallet as I entered. He tossed it on the table. His eyes caught mine for a brief moment before he shook his head. “You deserve better, Cass.” He walked past me and out the door.

I felt horrible. Why had Tucker defended me anyway? He didn’t even know me. Why did he give a shit? I forced myself to take deep breaths and count to ten. I didn’t want to cry. I would never hear the end of it from Larry. If he wanted me fired, he could make it happen.

Chapter Four

THE NEXT FEW hours dragged by painfully slowly. I never had more than two tables at a time. Larry wasn’t speaking to me. He would just shake his head and look away whenever I came near him. It was obnoxious. I passed the time decorating my future home in my head. I imagined an immaculate two-story home, white from floor to ceiling. I would plant a garden in my yard and learn to live off my land as much as possible. As much as I tried to picture Jax with me, I could no longer see it. No matter how many times I went through the scenario in my head, it always ended badly between him and me. It was becoming harder and harder to imagine my own mother the way she used to be when I was little. The world was nothing like the fairy tale she’d painted in my head as a child.

The sound of a motorcycle made my heart begin to race. I leaned over a table to look out the dusty window. It wasn’t Tucker, so I turned away, disappointed. Why did I even care? Some random man showed me kindness for the first time in years and I wait by the window like a puppy?

The man who came in looked to be in his early twenties. He ran his hand through hair that hung in black curls to his shoulders. His clothing seemed extreme for the warm weather. He wore a leather jacket and had a motorcycle helmet topped with a red Mohawk under his arm. He pulled off his mirrored sunglasses and glanced around. His eyes landed on me and he smiled before sliding into an oversize booth. He looked exotic with light eyes and a strong, angular jawline.

Just what I needed. I grabbed a menu and made my way to his table. He was looking around the surroundings, and if it were a nicer place, I would think he wanted to rob us. Here, of course, there would be no point. No self-respecting fool would bother.

“Hello. My name is Cass. Can I start you off with something to drink?”

He peeled off his jacket, revealing a wifebeater underneath. His tattoos showed right through it as if it were made of gauze rather than cotton. He was extremely muscular and intimidating. “Beer?”

I just nodded. I could have told him no, but it didn’t seem as if no was an answer he was used to hearing. I hoped Larry wouldn’t mind. I slipped into the kitchen and grabbed a longneck from the fridge. As long as it was paid for, it shouldn’t matter. At least, that’s what I told myself as I got the damn beer.

When I stepped back into the dining room, I did a double take. He’d multiplied. What the . . . A man identical in every way sat directly across from him.

“Hi. I am . . .” I slowly set the beer down in front of the original biker.

“I’ll have a beer, too, Cass. Thanks.” He smiled and I stood stunned, staring at him for a moment before fetching another of Larry’s beers.

What a strange fucking day. I took the doppelgänger his drink and asked them if they wanted to order any food. They declined so I left them to their own devices while I tended to my other customer.

Larry kept an eye on them and made sure I knew he thought they were up to no good, but they didn’t cause any trouble. The only sound from them was the occasional outburst of laughter.

That is, until Jackson appeared about forty-five minutes later. He stumbled inside the door and scanned the room for me. It took a minute for his eyes to focus, but when he finally saw me, he yelled across the diner, slurring, “Get your ass over here, Cass.”

I hustled toward him, not wanting him to make another scene.

I made it a few steps from him before a hand grabbed my shoulder and pulled me backward and the menacing-looking twins stepped in front of me. Jackson was in absolute shock, as was I.

“What the fuck, Cass?” He tried to yell around them but they blocked his view. “You better hope I’m not up when you get home.” It wasn’t an empty threat. I knew I would suffer for this later.

They never said a word to him, just kept their arms crossed over their chests until Jax gave up and left out the front door.

I was speechless. The bell above the door chimed as it closed, and the men slid back into their booth and continued talking as if nothing had happened. I hurried to the kitchen and slipped inside. I grabbed each twin a beer. Larry shot me an angry glare, but I ignored him and took the bottles out to the guys. One of them was on the phone, but he paused to say thank you. I nodded, not wanting to interrupt his conversation.

“Here she is,” the guy said, and held out the phone for me to take.

I looked at it as if it might explode in my hand, but still, I took it and slowly raised it to my ear.

“Cass, sorry I wasn’t there this time. I have some work things to take care of. My boys promised they won’t let anything happen to you.” It was Tucker, his voice laced with concern.

“Wait . . . what?” I ran my hand over my hair as I tried to process what the hell was going on.

“You really shouldn’t let that guy treat you like that. You deserve better, sweetheart.”

There was a long, pregnant pause as I listened to his breathing on the other end of the phone. I should have told him I was not his sweetheart. I should have told him I wasn’t his problem.

“Thanks,” I whispered, my voice barely making a sound. Why does he care? He didn’t know me. He didn’t know my situation. My free hand ran up my arm to the fresh bruises from this morning. Maybe he understood better than I realized.

“No problem. I’ll drop by as soon as I can get out of here. You working until closing?”

I chewed my lip as I looked at the guys sitting in front of me. “Yeah . . . yes.”

“Good. I’ll see you later.”

“Bye.” I handed the phone back to the twin and made a beeline for the restroom.

Once inside, I leaned against the door and took a deep breath. No one had ever cared. Not for years. Not my parents. Not my boyfriend. It was overwhelming.

I floated through the next few hours in a daze. I was nervous about seeing Tucker. I didn’t understand why. He was the only person . . . a stranger . . . who gave a damn about me. I should have been excited, but I found myself questioning his motives. Trust wasn’t easily earned from me, not that anyone had ever before made an effort to gain it.

I washed down every empty table in the restaurant. When the place was sufficiently clean, I used my tips to buy myself an order of fries. I was starving and I didn’t want to pass out in front of Tucker. He already saw me as the damsel in distress.

I ate by myself on the far side of the diner, keeping my eyes on the twins. They had to be really good friends with Tucker to waste hours out of their day keeping an eye on me. I wanted to know more about them, but I wasn’t going to ask. Maybe they belonged to some weird altruistic biker gang that went out of their way to help others. I snorted and laughed to myself. I wished they would leave. I had taken care of myself all of these years, I didn’t need someone to babysit me now. Still, it felt good that someone cared. I still wished that someone were Jackson.

I finished my fries and grabbed the old broom and dustpan from the supply closet to clean the ancient tile floor. I’d never put this much effort into taking care of the diner, not that it made a difference. It didn’t shine like a new penny, and all I had successfully done was wear myself down.

The bell above the door chimed and I stopped dead in my tracks, holding my breath as Tucker stepped inside. He scanned the diner, and when his eyes met mine, he smiled. I smiled back and felt heat as a blush washed over my face. This boy was nothing but trouble, but damned if I cared.

He slipped into the booth with his friends, and I headed to the kitchen to grab him a beer, leaving the broom propped against the wall. My palms were sweating and I felt excited. This was new for me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt excited about anything.

I grabbed a longneck from the fridge and took a deep breath before slipping back out onto the main floor.

I placed the drink in front of Tucker on the table and gave him a smile. A genuine smile.

“Thanks.”

I looked down at my feet and back to him. “Anytime.”

He smiled, and his cheeks dimpled. “This is Chris and Terry.” He pointed to the guys with him with the neck of his bottle.

I nodded. “Nice to meet you.” I felt like an idiot, standing there grinning like a fool.

Terry . . . or was it Chris? One of the twins broke the silence. “We’re gonna head out, man. Got that party to hit, and Eric is probably already swinging naked from a chandelier. You sure you ain’t coming?”

Tucker’s eyes flickered to mine and back to his friend.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so,” the twin said, and gave me a small grin. The guys got up from the table and headed for the front door.

Tucker and I stared at each other awkwardly for a moment as the bell chimed, signaling their exit.

“Wanna sit?” He motioned to the seat across from him.

I had no other customers to tend to, so I slid onto the bench seat and fidgeted nervously with my fingers. “Why did you do that?”

He gave a half grin. “Well, I couldn’t be here. I had a work obligation.” He took a drink from his bottle.

“I don’t mean why did you send someone here, I meant why did you try to protect me at all?”

He looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language. “Why wouldn’t I?” He sounded insulted. He took a long drink from his beer, his eyes trained on mine.