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  Collision

  Red Bird Trail Trilogy Book #2

  By Laramie Briscoe

  Copyright © 2015 Laramie Briscoe

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, distributed, stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, without express permission of the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages for review purposes.

  This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to any person, living or dead, or any events or occurrences, is purely coincidental. The characters and story lines are created from the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.

  Edited by: Lindsay Hopper

  Proofread by: Dawn Bourgeois & Monica Holloway

  Beta read by: Danielle Wentworth & Keyla Handley

  Cover by: Kari Ayasha of Cover to Cover Designs

  Formatted by: Paul Salvette

  Photography by: MHPhotography Stock & Custom Photos

  Models: Thomas Addison & Leigha Heverly

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Summary

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Connect With Laramie

  Other Books by Laramie

  Also by Laramie Briscoe

  Summary

  Secrets

  Lies

  Broken Hearts

  When Cash and Harper are blindsided with custody papers for his brother, Remy, neither one of them know what to do other than what they’ve done in the past. Ask the Heaven Hill MC for help and hope for the best.

  As they prepare for the fight of their lives against Remy’s parents, Harper wonders if the sins of her father will come back to bite her. A time in her life she thought she’d left behind rears its ugly head and threatens everything the two of them have been working towards.

  When worlds crash, they are left looking at the wreckage and wondering if they’ve survived the collision.

  Collision—An instance of one person striking violently against another.

  Collision

  Red Bird Trail Trilogy #2

  ‡

  Prologue

  Cash Montgomery was numb. In reality, he knew he should be feeling a million different feelings in this moment, but he couldn’t or wouldn’t allow himself to. When he let himself feel, things got out of hand, shit turned bad, and he was left to pick up the pieces of a life he wasn’t ever sure would be calm. Staring at the summons in his hand, he read it, and read it again. It still said the same thing it had over an hour ago when it had been delivered.

  A lot of legal jargon he didn’t understand, and something regarding custody of Remington Sawyer and a coerced protection order. Everything he’d worked so hard for was about to crumble around him.

  “Cash, what are we going to do?”

  He glanced up at the soft voice of the person who had quietly become his partner in everything. To put a label on their relationship was too stifling. Harper Stillwell had gone from necessity in his life to the glue that held him together. The fact that she was using the term we when all he wanted to do was curl into a ball said a lot about her. No promises had ever been made, no declarations of love. They just were.

  “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t have the first idea as to what we need to do.”

  There was only one thing that appealed to him, and that was getting away from her probing gaze. Even though she was the glue, she saw too much. She knew him much too well. While he still prided himself on keeping his emotions on lock down, it was much harder to keep them away from her than it had ever been. Without another word, he stalked towards their bedroom, seeking refuge on the back deck.

  Sitting on the covered deck on the back of his and Harper’s apartment, he inhaled the cigarette he smoked, deeply. The nicotine flowed through his body. For a fleeting moment, it calmed his nerves, but it didn’t last as long as he wanted it to. He had no idea what he was going to do, and right now, he was scared to death. The back door to the apartment opened, and Harper came out holding a beer that had been left by the previous occupants of the apartment, Jagger and Bianca. Since they were friends of theirs, she figured it would be okay if he indulged.

  “Here.” She set it down in front of him. “You need to calm down, and it doesn’t look like that cigarette is doing anything for you.”

  There were so damn many thoughts in his head, he wanted to scream for the world to stop. Swirling, rolling, and tumbling. His brain felt like one of those lava lamps, with blobs floating to the surface and then breaking apart again to sink to the bottom. “Thanks.” He snagged the beer and used his finger to pop the top on it. He could count on one hand the number of times he’d drunk in his life, but this was probably the one time he felt like he actually needed to.

  “What’s our plan?” she asked as she had a seat next to him, stretching her legs out in front of her.

  “Plan?” He laughed. “I have no fucking plan. I never thought she’d come after him, Harper. For our whole lives, except for the few times she got clean, she’s only worried about where her next high came from. When I asked Liam to get that Emergency Protective Order, I wasn’t sure it would work. I wasn’t sure I had enough evidence to get one. Why do I feel like trying to do things right has now started World War Three?”

  “Well, she’s not clean now,” Harper pointed out. “So what does she want to use him for? If we can figure that out, then maybe we can make Remy not as appealing to her.”

  Cash wished it was that easy, but he knew his mom and the man who called himself Remy’s father. When they were in the grips of mind-altering drugs, there was no rhyme or reason as to why they did anything. Needing something to anchor him, he grabbed hold of her neck and pulled her closely to him, tucking her head under his chin. When her arms came around his waist, he closed his eyes and let himself melt into her embrace.

  “I can’t do this alone,” he admitted.

  Harper’s eyes watered as she heard the tone of his voice. He sounded gutted, and she wanted to kill his mom in that moment. No one should ever have to be put through what he was being put through, and to let a child be in the middle of it? That was dirty.

  “You’re never going to be alone. I’ll be here. I love Remy too. He’s kind of hard not to love.”

  Truer words had never been spoken. The kid in the next room had a way of worming his way into hearts and not letting go. Cash knew he couldn’t let his mom and Remy’s dad destroy that. He would do everything in his power to keep that from happening. It di
dn’t matter what it took, what he had do, what he had to sell, or how many trips down the Trail he had to make. He would ensure they were never able to hurt his little brother.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, pulling her as close to him as he could. He rested his chin on her shoulder, hiding his gaze in her hair. It was easier to be vulnerable that way.

  “If you need me to be your armor, Cash, I will be. If you need me to stand in front of you and protect you from the feelings your mom brings to the surface, I will. You feel what you need to, I won’t let anything get to you.” She reached up and kissed his jawline.

  Nobody had ever made that promise to him before, and he wasn’t prepared for the emotions it evoked. He swallowed roughly, turned his head to the side, and ran his tongue over his bottom lip before he faced her.

  “You’re amazing.”

  She smiled up at him. “Only because you make me that way.”

  ‡

  Chapter One

  Driving Cash around felt weird. Almost as if the end of the world was approaching. It was one of those apocalyptical things that you never thought of, but once you did it, you were pretty sure a meteor was going to take everyone back to the time of dinosaurs. It was very rare that he was not in the driver’s seat whenever he got behind the wheel of a car, but after the previous night, Harper had thought it would be best for her to drive. He was leaning against the passenger side door, his head resting against the glass as they made their way to school.

  “Maybe drinking that six-pack of beer was not the brightest idea I’ve ever had,” he admitted as he cracked the window, letting some fresh air into the car.

  “Sometimes, you’ve got to do whatever helps you get through the night, and you had a shock. I think you were allowed,” she told him as she pulled into the parking lot of the technical college.

  He was somber as he leaned his head against the headrest. “I still don’t know what the fuck I’m gonna do.”

  “And I told you we’d figure it out.” She grabbed his hand, entwining their fingers together. It was the only way she could think of to offer support. “I think your first step is to talk to your friends in Heaven Hill. They probably have connections.”

  Cash knew they did indeed have connections, but he’d asked so much of them already. Then there was the issue of telling Remy what was going on. He didn’t want Remy to feel like he was a burden. His stomach hurt the more he thought about it. “They’ve already done so much for me, Harper. I can’t involve them in this, and I know that I need to talk to Remy.”

  She carefully avoided the fact that he’d blown off her suggestion about the guys from Heaven Hill. She’d continue to make her feelings known. Sooner or later, he would have to admit they needed help. “How do you think he’ll take it?”

  “I honestly don’t know.” He yawned and ran a hand over his face. “He’s very scared of his father, and with good reason. He’s an asshole. The thing with Remy, though, is he remembers my mom when she’s good. If she acts like she’s good, then he might be tempted to believe her. He’s a ten-year-old kid. He doesn’t have the world experience yet to be able to tell when she’s being manipulative and when she’s not.” He blew out a deep breath. “It’s a fuckin’ mess.”

  Harper wished there was something she could do for him, some way she could make it all better, but she wasn’t close enough to the situation. Sure, they lived together and had shared a few moments of pleasure. Their relationship wasn’t defined, and she didn’t want to overstep her boundaries. “I’m here if you need me.”

  Those were the only words she could offer him, but they somehow were enough.

  He lifted their entwined fingers to his lips and kissed the back of her hand. “Thank you. That means more than you know.”

  *

  Cash tried to concentrate on what the teacher was saying. It was useless. So many things kept going through his mind. So many scenarios. He thought of all the emotions and situations he’d dealt with as a kid. He didn’t want Remy going through any of it.

  “Cash, are you okay?” Slim asked as he looked over at his friend.

  Cash shook his head as every image of every time a fist had connected with his face came back to him, every time he’d gone to bed hungry came flooding back. His stomach growled, gnawed at itself, and he heaved a deep breath.

  Get out. Those were the first thoughts that came to his mind. He had to get out. He was suffocating under the weight of the memories.

  Not worrying about if he’d get in trouble or not, he grabbed his stuff and ran for the nearest bathroom. Once he got there, he went into a stall, locked the door, and sank to the floor. His chest hurt as he tried to regulate his breathing, as he tried to get some sort of normalcy back into the cadence. Putting his head on his knees, he willed the black spots in his eyes to go away.

  An image of Harper was what his mind conjured up, and immediately his heart stopped pounding, and he started to level out.

  Harper was his calm. He realized with great certainty that Harper was how they would get to him. There was only so far they could go with Remy. With Harper, they had power, and with Harper, they had his equal. He knew without a doubt as soon as Janet and George figured it out, they would make a play for her.

  *

  Harper did her best to concentrate, but it was difficult with all the noise in her head. The piece of paper in front of her didn’t hold notes for the class, it held ideas on how she could help Cash. There weren’t many, but she knew she had to do something. In the short amount of time the three of them had been a familial unit, both of the boys had won over her heart.

  She blew out a deep breath and glanced up, trying to concentrate on what the teacher was saying. This was an important class for her degree, and she couldn’t afford to fail and retake it. The quicker she could finish her degree, the quicker she could begin earning real money and, hopefully, open up her own business. After what felt like three hours, the class dismissed, and she made a beeline for the hallway.

  “Harper.”

  Cash’s voice was one she knew she was never going to tire of hearing. Out of a million voices, she would always know which one was his. Turning in the direction that voice had come from, she saw him leaning against the wall.

  “Hey, you okay?” He looked worse than he had when she’d left him to go to class. That had been a little over an hour ago. What had happened in that time?

  “Yeah. Having a freak-out. I think I had a panic attack, for real.” He shook his head. “It’s been a long time since I had one of those.”

  She could relate. Knowing that sometimes all you needed was a link to the real world, she reached up and put her arms around his neck, squeezing hard. “We’re in this together. You aren’t alone.”

  He pulled back from her. “You know I can’t do this on my own.”

  “I know, and I’m not going to let you.” She clasped their hands together. “I think we need to talk to Jagger.”

  *

  Talking to Jagger was the last thing Cash wanted to do. Jagger in particular had done more than he needed to when it came to their situation. He hated to ask so much of people that it would cause them to leave. That was his biggest fear. Cash didn’t ever want to be a drain on a friendship.

  “I don’t want them to think I’m some dumb kid who can’t handle his shit, Harper.” He ran an agitated hand through his hair. “I want to take care of this.”

  “Newsflash, Cash. We can’t take care of this. There is absolutely no way in hell that either of us can take care of this. The situation we’ve been thrust into is far out of—not only our comfort zones—but our knowledge base, it isn’t even funny.”

  He ground his back teeth together. “Don’t get pissed at me. I don’t like your tone.”

  “I am pissed at you. Why would you let your pride stop you from asking for something that could help you? That’s not like you.”

  Explaining it to her was hard. Hell, it was hard to explain it to himself. He guessed it was a control i
ssue. When he gave up control, he was basically telling someone else it was okay to stick their nose in his business. As a kid, that had meant social workers, counselors, and basically anyone who wanted to fix him. When he had turned eighteen and knew no one could fuck with him anymore, he’d decided he would handle everything on his own from then on.

  “I don’t like people in my business, Harper.”

  She rolled her eyes. “I don’t either, Cash, but even you have to admit that we can’t handle this on our own. The only person who’s going to suffer is Remy, because you’re being an ass.”

  The accusation washed over him, and he realized she was right. Remy was the only thing that mattered, and he would do anything he could to keep them from taking him away. Even if that meant he had to swallow his pride and his fears and ask for help.

  Knowing he couldn’t lose both his brother and the girl who trusted him more than he’d ever been trusted before, he realized he did need help. He needed more money, more protection, and harder criminals than he’d ever thought he would need. It was time.

  “Fine,” he ground out. “Let’s go now, while I’m agreeable to it. Might as well get it over with.”

  With a triumphant smile, Harper grabbed her keys out of her purse, and they walked towards the parking lot.

  ‡

  Chapter Two

  Nothing in his life had ever prepared him for how uncomfortable this felt. Cash sat in the office of Walker’s Wheels and laid out his entire situation for the members of the Heaven Hill MC. He breathed easier as he realized there was no judgment in any of their eyes, there was no interrupting as he told the story, there was no pity. Thank God. He wasn’t sure he could deal with pity right now. Saying every word out loud made him feel less tense, and it helped him to know that there were people who could potentially make this better for all involved. He realized maybe asking for help was the mature thing to do, not the weak thing to do.