Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 15552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 15552 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 78(@200wpm)___ 62(@250wpm)___ 52(@300wpm)
“No.”
“Parents?”
“No.”
“What did you do before you opened a strip club?”
He finished his bacon and looked at her. “You really want to know?”
She nodded.
“I was part of an MC. I’m not going to tell you which one. It doesn’t matter and it’s for your own safety.”
“Are you still part of an MC?”
“No.” He knew his vague answers would only make her even more curious. “If you must know, I rode with one of the meanest motherfuckers around. We weren’t good people, but when I saw they were going to darker shit than I was prepared for, I cut my losses and got the hell out of there.”
“Wow,” she said.
He held his hand up when he saw she wanted to ask more questions. “You don’t get to ask anything else about them. They’re off-limits, got me?”
“Got it.” She licked her lips. “But you’re safe now?”
“I paid my dues. What about you? Did you see yourself working in a strip club?”
“Behind the bar, maybe. I don’t know. I never really had any plan or direction. I just knew you had to work hard in this life to make a good living. That’s about it.” She shrugged. “Sorry, I don’t have any dark past.”
“What about your folks, do you miss them?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Not really. I mean, they weren’t bad parents. They were just more interested in themselves than their kid, which was fine. More than fine.”
He took another large bite of his food. “You’re an interesting woman, Talia Clark.”
“Not that interesting.”
They finished breakfast, and he helped her into his truck, taking Russ along with him for the ride to her apartment. He’d helped get her set up four years ago, but as he climbed out of his truck to see where she lived, he wasn’t happy.
He noticed the men lurking outside the apartment building and they screamed dealer and pimp.
“If you wait here, I’ll grab a few things.”
“Not happening.” He climbed out of his truck, Russ jumping out of the back to follow him.
Talia followed and he took her hand, walking across the street. The men were tense. He didn’t pack a weapon, but he didn’t need it.
During his forty-five years, he’d had a few run-ins with dealers and pimps. Very rare for him to not come to blows.
As he came to a stop in front of them, he stared them right in the eye, waiting.
No one moved.
Russ released a growl.
“You know what, I’ve got somewhere I need to be. Got some sluts to go and find.”
One by one, they moved out of the way, and Sarge took Talia to her apartment. He couldn’t believe she was paying for this place.
When he saw inside her apartment, he was even more pissed. The rent was through the roof and she couldn’t afford even the basics. It looked like she slept in her one chair. No furniture, and the space was small.
He found a bag, packed her shit up, and took her back to his truck. He left Russ with her as he went to find the landlord.
Sarge wasn’t a fool, and as he pounded the truth out of the bastard’s face, he knew he’d been overcharging Talia because she was young and didn’t know any better. He got her a refund and a clean break.
There was no way he was going to let anyone take advantage of his woman. No fucking way at all.
****
Talia spent Thanksgiving with Sarge.
He didn’t allow her to look for another apartment. Their time together soon worked its way toward Christmas. They put up a tree together during the first week of December. Their relationship was still a secret from everyone they worked with, and she didn’t mind. Cherry had long ago stopped asking her about who she was dating, but that could have something to do with the man she was dating.
They shared Christmas together and with the refund he got from her landlord, she’d been able to buy him a brand-new bike helmet. He’d gotten her a whole new array of lingerie and he’d insisted on seeing each garment that very morning.
New Year’s Eve came and went. This time, they celebrated inside the bar with everyone. He did kiss her in front of everyone, and then announced she belonged to him as people gawked at him.
Now, as Talia looked down at the pregnancy stick on Valentine’s Day, she felt sick to her stomach. She’d never gotten on the pill. Going to the doctor had long ago faded from her mind and now, she was in big trouble.
She’d started to feel sick around Christmas, but she’d put that down to her cooking. Then, her breasts had started to swell. Her stomach as well. She couldn’t deny the warning signs. Had already ignored them for nearly two months.
As the test said, she was pregnant.
Getting to her feet, she wrapped the evidence in tissue paper and stepped out of the bathroom.