Heaven Hill: Losing Control Part 26

"I know," her voice was soft on the other end. "I figured you were on your way."

"You're okay, right?" He had to ask her because something didn't sit right with him. They were friends, great friends, but not friends in the way that you just show up at each other's home. In the past when they had gone to see each other, it was planned for weeks in advance. He'd had hours this time. His intuition and instincts were on high alert.

The silence was deafening. "I've been better, but I'll be fine until you get here. I'll just find a place to sit. Let me know when you're close."

A harsh laugh escaped from his mouth. "I've been close for over an hour, but this d.a.m.n traffic won't move," he honked his horn and disconnected, throwing the phone back into the cup holder.

Traffic made him twitchy. In his time in the Army, with the Rangers, he had seen more than one roadside bomb on a highway as congested as this. Another reason he loved his bike, he wouldn't on this congested road if he was on the bike of that thing. He would have easily taken the emergency lane and gotten to his destination. Finally inching up so that he could see the exit he needed to take, he noticed there in fact was an emergency lane. Using his training from the military to his advantage, he looked behind him, noting there was just enough room for him to back up. Throwing it in reverse, he jerked the wheel hard, ignoring the horns honking at him and then maneuvered the front end of the car so that he had enough room to jockey it out of line. Clear of the car in front of him and the car behind him, he checked his rearview to make sure no cops were around. Once he saw he was in the clear, he used the Dodge Charger (thank you Uncle Sam for your disability compensation when medically discharged honorably) to its full capability, blowing past the line of vehicles.

Now on a clear stretch of road, he could breathe easier. The hair on nape of his neck didn't stand on end, his palms weren't sweaty, his stomach not rolling with awareness. He took a deep breath as he eased his foot off the accelerator. He didn't need to get a ticket not after everything he'd already gone through to get to the airport. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he saw his destination and picked up the phone, once again calling Jessica.

"I'm almost there, where are you?"

She rattled off a coffee shop inside the airport, one he wouldn't have to pa.s.s through security to get to while he went to find a parking spot.

"I can come out to you," she offered.

"I'll be d.a.m.ned. You aren't carrying your luggage through that place. I'm parking right now. See you soon."

He got out of his car, leaving his cut inside for the time being. Airport security tended to get nervous when they noticed the leather and patches that showed his membership into the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club, Bowling Green Chapter. Going through the automatic doors, he took his sungla.s.ses off and let his eyes adjust to the muted light inside the building. Quickly reading the signs, he made his way towards where Jessica had indicated she would be.

Jessica sat in the corner of the coffee shop, her head down, bent over her phone. A couple of people had already recognized her, even with the changes she had tried to make to her appearance. What she wanted was to be out of this place and soon. Glancing up, she caught sight of Layne making his way towards her. Tamping down the urge to run to him and throw her arms around his waist, she quickly got up from the table and slowly walked towards him.

"Layne," she called out to him once she was close enough.

The smile that spread across his face told her more than words that she had taken the right chance. She had come to the only person that could help her.

"You wanna get outta here?" he asked, as he put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her tightly to him.

The kiss he dropped on her forehead caused her to close her eyes. She breathed deeply and willed the tension to leave her shoulders. "I do," she nodded.

"How much luggage do you have?"

"It's over there," she pointed to the table she had been sitting out.

There he saw a duffle bag and three suitcases. "You plannin' on stayin' a while?"

She nodded, but didn't comment.

If there was one thing Layne didn't like, it was flying blind. "You know that when we get back on the road, you're going to have some explaining to do. I have a lot of s.h.i.t going on right now."

"I know," she nodded, swallowing hard against the lump that had risen in her throat. "I didn't mean to put you out at all."

"Now, I didn't say you put me out. I just want you to understand, there's a lot of s.h.i.t going on right now in Bowling Green and with the club. You sure you want to be involved with that?"

The double meaning didn't escape her, she knew the things he was involved in were sometimes illegal. "I just need to get away and you were the first person that I thought of. I need to disappear for a while."

"You sure nothing is wrong here?" His tone told her that he didn't believe a word that had come out of her mouth.

"Can you just respect that I really don't want to talk about it right now?"

That he could respect. There were a lot of things he didn't want to talk about. Didn't mean that he didn't want to talk about what was bothering her, but even he could tell that she was distressed.

"Okay."

And like that, he didn't ask her another word. As they walked to his car, she looked around at the landscape and did her best to keep up with him.

"Is it always this hot?" she asked, pulling her shirt away from her sticky body when they made it and he popped the trunk.

"If you're plannin' on stayin' you might as well get used to it. Hot and muggy haven't even begun yet."

She nodded as she watched him lift her luggage into his trunk and then slam it shut. Walking over to the pa.s.senger side of the car, she opened the door and slid into the seat, breathing easily for the first time since she had left Calabasas. He watched her closely as she removed her sungla.s.ses and the hat that had obscured her red hair.

"I haven't been able to say it yet, but thank you for coming to get me."

Layne took her hand in his and rubbed the back of it. "It's not a problem at all. I'm glad that you came to me even if you haven't been forthcoming in what the f.u.c.k is going on I'm glad that we still have that kind of relationship."

"There's nowhere else I knew to go, nowhere else I felt safer."

He raised a dark eyebrow. "So you're feeling unsafe?"

"Please don't try to read into this," Jessica shook her head, looking out the window as he directed them back onto the interstate.

"I'm not, I'm just trying to figure out what you want from me here."

She knew that was a fair way to feel, but she just didn't want to get into it. "All I want is for you to be my friend."

"Then that I can do," he smiled across to her. "I'm already your friend."

Jessica sighed deeply and leaned her head back against the seat. Within minutes, she was fast asleep leaving Layne to wonder just what he had gotten himself into.

The Heaven Hill Series.

Meant to Be.

(First in the Heaven Hill Series).

Single mother.

Laid off factory worker.

Drug runner for the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club.

When Denise Cunningham is served with foreclosure papers on her birthday it's the last straw in a long line of bad luck. Sitting and crying about things has never been how she solved her problems, but this time she decides to do just that. A phone call interrupts her pity party and changes the course of her life forever.

Loyal brother.

Grease monkey mechanic.

Vice President of the Heaven Hill Motorcycle Club.

William Walker Jr., known as Liam to his club, needs a new recruit that is just naive enough and desperate enough to do what he asks without question. When Denise Cunningham lands in his lap, he decides to hire her-not because he wants to, because he has to.

Neither are comfortable in their new roles, but he needs help and she can't stand to lose anything else.

As bullets fly and a local Bowling Green, KY reporter works to bring the club down, Liam and Denise find themselves getting closer to one another. When the stakes get high and outside forces try to keep them away from each other, they have to decide if they really are meant to be.

Buy Meant to Be at Amazon.

Out of Darkness.

(Second in the Heaven Hill Series).

Ex-News reporter.

Rape survivor.

Former enemy of the Heaven Hill MC.

Meredith Rager's life completely changed the night she was attacked by an unknown person. Once a vibrant force that threatened everything about Heaven Hill, she is now under their care. The only place she feels safe is inside their compound. When she decides to take back the part of her life that her rapist took away, she discovers secrets that once again could tear the club apart.

Orphan.

Formidable force of nature.

Loved member of the Heaven Hill MC.

Tyler Blackfoot came into the world a John Doe. An orphan from the moment that he took his first breath, the only thing anyone knew was his Native American heritage. For most of his life, he's been alone except for the club that has taken him in as their own. When he rescued Meredith, a protective side of his personality came out that he never knew he had. Protecting her means everything even when he discovers danger might be closer than either of them thought possible.

Together, the two of them are trying to make a life for themselves. Against everything they have, they're hoping to see the light that will lead them out of darkness.

Buy Out of Darkness at Amazon.

Losing Control.

(Third in the Heaven Hill Series).

Strip-club waitress.

Aspiring teacher.

Friend of the Heaven Hill MC.

Bianca Hawks met Jagger Stone in the most embarra.s.sing of ways. After watching him play music at Wet Wanda's for months, she fell half naked into his arms after a drunken bout with a stripper pole and the back of a pick-up truck. Avoiding him and his killer smile no longer works when she needs her car repaired and he comes to her rescue. His request for payment comes in the form of date nights spent with just the two of them away from both the strip club and the MC.

Tough guy with model good looks.

Talented musician.

Newly patched member of the Heaven Hill MC.

Jagger Stone only wanted two things to be a patched member of the Heaven Hill MC and to get to know Bianca Hawks. One for two isn't bad, but when her car breaks down and she's left with no one else to help her, he plays the situation to his advantage. Over late nights driving up and down the interstate and nights in spent at her apartment, Jagger realizes that there is so much more to Bianca than he ever knew.

When her dream of becoming a school teacher is threatened by someone who wants her all to himself, the two of them are thrown into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. For the first time, Heaven Hill isn't sure what they are up against or if they can keep their family safe. In times of danger, Bianca and Jagger know the only thing they can do is hold onto each other while trying not to admit they are losing control.

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