Second Chance Love (Heaven Hill Book 6) Page 13

  “Where’s Tatum?” he asked, not wanting to do something in front of the little girl.

  “Mer’s got her tonight. You know she loves her, and with Tyler hanging with Drew, she was going to be alone.”

  “Then I’m gonna call Roni, tell her to pick up some booze, and meet us over here. We’ve all had a rough few days, and sometimes, you’ve gotta go back to what you know.”

  The side of Liam’s mouth tilted. The hell they raised as teenagers was legendary, if only in their own minds. If he was being honest, he could use a little of it. “Call her, let’s see if anyone else wants to raise some with us. Tonight, I gotta get my mind off this shit, and I have a feeling you do too.”

  Rooster couldn’t agree fast enough. Sometimes to get okay, you had to go back to where it all started.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Two hours later, the little room was hosting its own throw-down. Liam glanced around and saw that not only Roni had joined them, but so had Jagger, B, Steele, and Christine. It was melancholy for the most part, but at the same time, it seemed to be something they all needed. Layne and Jessica were watching Steele’s cave as the others relaxed for the night. Rooster had explained as best he could to everybody what he thought was going down at the school. Bianca had been shocked.

  “I can’t believe Coach Thistle has a hand in this,” Bianca mumbled as she poured another shot. “Out of anybody at that school, I wouldn’t have ever thought him. Even though he’s the football coach, he’s quiet, almost a loner. He doesn’t have many friends, and when I do see or hear him talk to people besides the kids, he stumbles over his words and seems to have a hard time making sense. For him to be some sort of bad-ass steroid dealer? I just don’t see where he would have the guts to pull it off.”

  “It’s because he can be an authority figure over the kids,” Rooster told her. “He knows he’s in a position of power with them, it allows him to put down his insecurities and be the type of man that he always wanted to be. With adults, he’s not the authority figure. Chances are that scares him and he has to lay the act down. Truthfully, adults probably intimidate him.”

  She turned to Liam. “So what are you gonna do? We can’t let him continue dealing drugs out of the football locker room. We’re setting those kids up for failure right now, as is.”

  Liam rubbed his hand over his head. “I have an idea but Jagger’s not gonna like it.”

  Jagger put his arm around B. “Don’t bring her in the middle of this shit.”

  “I’m a big girl,” Bianca reminded the table. “Why don’t you all let me decide if I can handle it?”

  “Do you know where he lives?” Rooster asked.

  “No.” She shook her head. “But it should be in any database that Steele can hack into.”

  “It’s not,” Steele piped up. “When I ran my background check on him, the address that’s on everything is just a mailbox. Like literally. No house, nothing. We need to know where he lives. He’s hiding his real address because he’s got something stashed there, mark my words. This dude is not on the up and up.”

  “How do you think I’m gonna get that out of him?” she asked, throwing another shot back.

  “You’ve got to get close enough to him to plant a tracking device either on him or in his bag—something,” Liam told her, his eyes never leaving Jagger.

  “I don’t like this,” Jagger told them, using his arm to bring her close. He didn’t want her any closer to this guy than she had to be.

  “You don’t have to.” Liam glared. “I’m not asking you to do it.”

  It had been a long time since Liam had spoken to someone like that, and at first Jagger was surprised, shocked even. That didn’t mean that he didn’t understand it and realize what that tone of voice meant. It meant that he didn’t want anyone to question his authority, and if Jagger did that, he was going to pay for it. “Understood, but I’d like to have someone close to her when she does it.”

  “I’ll be there,” Rooster told him. “He won’t even know that she did anything, you have my word on that.”

  Jagger glanced over at the former cop and saw that he was serious. He wouldn’t let anything happen to the woman he loved; he had to trust that the two of them knew what they were doing. “I’m counting on you.”

  Rooster threw back another shot. “You won’t be sorry.”

  A few hours later, the crowd was dwindling. Roni had stopped drinking a while ago, but Rooster and Liam were still going strong. She was sure they were going to hate each other in the morning for thinking this was a good idea.

  “I owe you two an apology,” she told them.

  Immediately, they both sobered up and glanced at her in surprise. “What do you mean?” Liam asked.

  “I was selfish back then. I let the two of you take the fall for something I did.”

  They both tried to interrupt her.

  “No, please let me get this out. I’ve seen Doc Jones once by myself, after you and I saw her.” She looked at Rooster. “I explained to her how my guilt is holding me back from so many things that I should be able to enjoy in life. She suggested that I apologize to the both of you in my own way. This may not be something you need, but I do.”

  She took a deep breath and a few minutes to compose herself, trying to think of how she wanted to say this. Trying to figure out what would be the best way to phrase everything without it coming off like she was a whining bitch.

  “That night changed my life. It set forth a series of events that none of us will be able to get back, but I have this guilt that I hold onto. I’m a lot like everyone else has been in this clubhouse—at one time or another—a victim. I hold onto that victim status because it’s easier. It’s easier to be a victim than it is to claw out of the victim status and be a productive member of society. For too many years,” she glanced over at Rooster and pushed her hair behind her head, “I’ve gone through the motions. I’ve not lived. I was scared to. A lot of that had to do with William. I’ll admit, I was more afraid of him than I ever told anyone. He knew all my secrets, and he was like Coach Thistle is with these kids. He was the authority figure that held all the power over me. I was scared to go against him.”

  “I would have killed him,” Liam told her. “Had I known what he made you do, truly what an evil man he was, I would have killed him before I let him go to jail.” He was dead serious—the words a vow.

  “I know.” She reached across the table and grabbed his hand with hers. “I know, and that’s one of the reasons I never told you everything. I couldn’t have too much on my conscience. I already had what happened to the two of you there. I couldn’t handle any more. After the abortion, I almost had a nervous breakdown; I was scared to put myself under too much pressure. I know that’s also selfish.”

  “Taking care of yourself isn’t selfish,” Rooster told her, putting an arm around her neck and pulling her close to him.

  She smiled sadly. “The two of you have always been good to me. You’ve always made excuses for me and made life easier on me. You’ve got to stop doing that, because now, I have to stand on my own two feet. That means I have to apologize to you and let you know that this guilt I’ve carried around has, at times, almost pulled me down into a dark hole that I couldn’t get out of. I appreciate what you did for me, and I will always be sorry for the way things played out, but I need to know that you both forgive me and aren’t mad at me. I need to forgive myself.”

  Rooster was the first person to speak up. “You feel the need to tell us you’re sorry, but I feel the need to tell you that we both made a decision. We wouldn’t have done it if we didn’t love and respect you, Roni. I’ve never blamed you for a damn thing and I’m telling you here and now—let it go. I already did a long time ago. You’re going to be so much happier, and I promise that I will do everything in my power to make you happy. This is a new beginning, and that beginning can’t start until you let it. Stop holding us back.”

  “He’s right,” Liam told her. “You’re the
one holding it back. I’ve never blamed you either and I would still go back and do the same thing again. Sure, I think about it and I wonder how different things would be, but everything happens for a reason. If things hadn’t happened the way they do, who knows what this club would be like. Who knows where William would have had us, and who the fuck knows where I would be. I have a family—one I never in my life thought I would have. I have a woman who loves me, I have kids, I have you. It’s not perfect, but things hardly ever are. I forgive you,” he grinned. “Forgive yourself and start being happy. I want my sister happy. You’re one of the most important people in my life, and you’ve always made me a priority. Make yourself one. Nobody is going to think less of you if you do.”

  Silent tears were streaking down her face, and she didn’t realize it until Rooster reached over and wiped one away.

  “Let these be the last tears you cry over this bullshit. It’s done, it’s over, and I want to think of the future we have together. Who knows what that will bring, but I’m excited to be spending it with you.”

  She nodded, sniffling as she turned into his body and buried her head in his neck. For the first time in years, she took a breath and it felt like a full one. It wasn’t stilted by the weight of a brick on her chest or the weight of memories buried deep. It was real, full, and tangible. She was getting her second chance.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Meredith glanced at her phone, laughing at the message from Bianca. Apparently the night before, Liam and some of the other club members had tied one on. Meredith knew that Liam was probably trying to forget about the horrible situation his son was in, and she had heard rumblings that other things were going on. She was glad that she had taken Tatum for the night. The toddler slept on the couch beside her as she did work for the CRISIS house.

  Glancing over, Meredith smiled. Tatum was the perfect mixture of Liam and Denise. Her hair was dark, and as it got longer, it was starting to curl, just like Liam’s did. Her face held Denise’s mouth, but her blue eyes were all her daddy.

  As she was about to turn back to the laptop, she heard Tyler’s motorcycle coming down the drive. That made her nervous. He’d been gone for right at twenty-four hours, spending time with Drew while he detoxed from the drugs he’d placed in his body.

  She got up from the couch, making sure that Tatum was okay before walking out to the porch and meeting him. She winced at the look on his face. There were dark circles under his eyes and his mouth sat in a grim line. She hadn’t seen him look like this since the days following her attack at the hands of an informant when she was a reporter.

  “How is he?”

  Tyler glanced up and sighed. He was tired, so very tired. That was one of the hardest things he’d ever done in his life. “Finally resting somewhat comfortably. I couldn’t get Denise to go home though, she’s still sitting in a chair beside him, holding his hand.”

  “She’s his mom, I’m sure she doesn’t want him to wake up and think he’s alone.”

  “I’m sure,” he agreed, hugging her tightly. She was his lifeline when things got bad, and he needed her right now. “But I don’t know how much more she can take. I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.”

  “Hard to watch?”

  “You have no idea.” Tyler shook his head and had a seat on the steps, pulling Meredith down with him. He didn’t want Tatum to hear what he had to say. “The things that came out of that kid’s mouth. I mean, I know it wasn’t him, I know he was in pain and he was cycling, but I don’t know how Denise stood it. He cussed her for the hard life they had before coming to live with Heaven Hill. He called her a slut for getting pregnant with him and Mandy in the first place. He told her he hated her. My heart broke for her.”

  Meredith was shocked. She’d never heard words like that come out of Drew’s mouth. “He wasn’t himself.”

  “He wasn’t, but he’s not ever going to be able to take back what he said to her, and I don’t know how you forget that. How do you move on?” Tyler ran a hand through his long hair, his eyes cloudy. Those words had hurt him, how had they made Denise feel?

  “It’s going to be difficult.” Meredith ran her hand along his arm, clasping their fingers together. “But she loves her family; she loves her kids like no other. She’ll forgive him. She won’t forget, but she’s not the type of woman to hold a grudge. She’d definitely never hold a grudge against him.”

  Tyler nodded, but he was raw from everything that he’d seen go down. “Have you talked to Liam?”

  “He dropped Tatum off and said he was going to get shitfaced. I think that Drew asking you to be there really hurt him.” She said it in a quiet way, almost as if she were afraid to say the words out loud. That move wouldn’t be easy on their friendship, she was sure.

  “I know it did,” Tyler answered. “But halfway through, I found out why. He’s so ashamed that he disappointed Liam. He’s worried that Liam doesn’t want to be his dad anymore.” He was going to have to have a talk with his friend and explain, he didn’t want that hanging over the two of them.

  “Funny how kids go there in their minds, huh? When Liam’s wondering how he failed him so badly that he’s not sure whether Drew wants to be his son.”

  Tyler chuckled. “I know, but I think Drew’s going to be okay. It was difficult, and I don’t think he’s going to want to go through anything like that again. We were lucky; we got his buddy Dalton in there with us too. I guess Liam went and threatened his parents and got his uncle on board. Horrible situation all the way around.” He let out a yawn, more tired than he’d ever been in his life.

  “You wanna go take a nap?” she asked. “Tatum’s on the couch, so the bed is completely yours.”

  He pulled her into his arms, resting his chin on her head. “I really wish you could join me, but I understand that you can’t.”

  She couldn’t. Tatum would be here for at least a few more hours if the message she got was to be believed. “As soon as someone comes and picks her up, or I drop her off, I’ll come join you,” she promised, running her hand down his arm.

  He leaned in, the leather of his cut creaking, and tilted her head around so that he could catch her lips with his. She grounded him more than anything else could and after the long day he’d had, he needed that grounding. “Love you,” he whispered before their lips touched.

  Meredith grinned and tilted her head up to meet his. “Love you too.”

  Bianca made her way towards the coach’s office, checking behind her to make sure that Rooster followed. She groaned as she turned her head back around, it was still pounding.

  “I’m back here,” he said.

  “Not so loud,” she whispered. Teaching had been a bitch today. She wasn’t sure why they’d all had the bright idea to tie one on, on a weeknight.

  “I know,” he nodded. “I’m about to rip that damn bell out with my bare fucking hands.” He glared up at the ceiling.

  “If you do, you’ll be my hero and I’ll never tell Jagger,” she joked, smiling when he chuckled along with her. “Can you stand outside like you need to talk to him?” She gestured towards Coach Thistle’s office. “He kind of gives me the creeps.”

  He could understand that after what Bianca had gone through with the former principal that had once become scarily infatuated with her. He considered himself lucky that Jagger didn’t have himself parked up the hallway all up in their business. “I’ll be right here, nobody’s gonna touch you.”

  While she always felt safest with Jagger, Rooster made an imposing presence, and she was lucky to have him with her. Taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders, she knocked on the coach’s door. When he told her to come in, she walked through the door.

  “Hi, Larry,” she greeted him, using his first name.

  The other man glanced up from the papers he had on his desk. “Hello, Bianca. What can I do for you today?”

  She held up a box that Rooster hadn’t even noticed she’d been carrying. He told himself to look alive and pay
attention.

  “The drama club is selling these chocolate bars to help pay for the sets and backdrops for the fall play. We were truly hoping that the big boys on this team would need some. You put them through their paces, and I know that sometimes they need a treat.”

  Rooster did his best not to laugh when she barged around the desk, insinuating herself into the coach’s private space.

  “I’m just going to put these in your bag.” She bent over in front of him, not bothering to do it lady-like, even though she was in a skirt. Dropping the box in his bag, she attached the tracking device to the inside of the bag, discretely, the way Jagger had showed her. “Is that okay, Larry?” she asked as she stood up and turned around to face him, smoothing her skirt against her legs.

  Larry stared at her, words not forming in his mouth. “S-ss-sure, Bianca, thank you.”

  She gave him a bright smile and ran her hand along his shoulder. “Thank you so much, we seriously appreciate it.”

  As she left the room, she put an extra sway in her hips. “Rooster, if you could help me grab the other boxes in my room, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Sure.” He nodded and took off after her, leaving the coach wondering what the hell had just happened. He laughed when they got far enough away. “He’s wondering if you played him big time or came onto him.”

  “I didn’t know how else to do it,” she whispered. “How the hell else was I gonna get in there? I have no use for a football team. Do you know how much I had to pay for those candy bars?” she laughed. “Y’all better appreciate me, that’s all I gotta say. I take payment in forms of flowers, dinner, and gift cards.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” he told her. “Do you have the remote switch that Steele stuck on that thing?”