Page 36 of Rolling Thunder

She recoiled slightly from him. For a second, she looked scared, and then she straightened up and her eyes flashed in anger. “That’s not why I came at all,” she bit out. “And fuck you for assuming it!” She started for her truck, giving him a wide berth. He took a step sideways to reach for her arm, but she dodged him.

She paused long enough to say, “It wasn’t easy coming down here. Just so you know. I wanted to see if you were okay. I guess you answered that question already.”

“Kayla, wait. I’m sorry, okay?”

She hovered by the door to her truck.

“I’m sorry. Don’t go.” His forced his tone to be gentle, even though he was boiling with frustration. He blew out a breath, trying to let go of the angst that she didn’t deserve.

“What happened?” she asked hesitantly.

“My little brother Jake happened. He got mixed up with the Pirates back when we were young. He thought he was invincible. I kept trying to stop him from going down that road. They wanted him to prospect for the club. I couldn’t talk sense in to him, so one night, I followed him when he was playing errand boy for them. I thought maybe I could at least watch his back a little bit. Instead, I wound up in the wrong place at the wrong time and got arrested by a dirty cop who framed me for a big drug bust. They needed a fall guy, and I was convenient. I was even a biker, so it looked right. A couple years later, some undercover feds busted that cop and found out he was in the club’s pocket and doing their dirty work. My conviction was overturned. All the evidence was planted, and they had proof. He actually bragged about framing me to one of the undercovers.” Evan shifted uncomfortably.

“But Jake was the golden boy, and shit still isn’t right between me and my folks. We don’t talk much.”

“Why not?”

“It was too easy for them to believe that I did it. Meanwhile, Jake was still running around with these assholes trying to get patched in. My life got ruined trying to keep Jake out of trouble. I was the stand-up guy, Kayla. My folks ought to have known that. They wouldn’t put up bail money for me, but my dad loaned Jake the money to start his business in the Keys. Now the network wants to talk to us about our contract because of this. All my life, I’ve been the stand-up guy, and all my life, I’ve been punished for it.”

KAYLA

There was no way the hurt in his voice wasn’t real, and she couldn’t leave him alone with it. She was genuinely at a loss for words, so instead, she reached out and touched his brawny arm where it was crossed over his chest. His muscles felt like steel coiled to spring. She thought of how many times he’d ridden to her rescue, despite not knowing her very well. It wasn’t hard to imagine young Evan trying to look out for his little brother. To think he had gone to prison for it was heartbreaking.

He blew out a breath, loosened his arms to scrub a hand across his face. She took a step closer to him, unsure what she was offering. What did he want? What did she? Before she had time to ponder that further, he pulled her against him and nestled his face in her hair, holding her tight. She snaked her arms under his and locked her fingers behind his back.

Then his mouth was on her neck, and she gasped at the shock of it. It was like an invitation. He grabbed her hair, wielding her by it to reach the hollow in her collarbone. He needed her; she could feel it. It was one thing she could give him.

She let him shuffle her through his front door, and as soon as it closed, a frenzied pulling at clothes began. He walked her backward into his bedroom, already hard as a rock. She was breathless, boneless, at his mercy. He stopped long enough to take a long look into her eyes. She nodded slightly. Then he thrust inside her with as much shock as his initial kiss had been. A cry welled up in her throat as he drove into her, pinning her hands to the bed as he wrung what he needed from her body.

She’d totally lost control as usual, but the way he held her down sparked a new bloom of fear mixed with excitement that she didn’t understand. She’d never had an orgasm during regular missionary sex before, but she felt a desperation unfurl inside her, gripping him harder, her mouth open under his as they drove into each other with unfinished need.

They came simultaneously in a tangle of arms and legs, and when it was over, he collapsed on top of her. For a moment, she felt trapped beneath him. The quivering from her orgasm combined with the sheen of sweat on her skin became a real chill, and she shivered.

He stirred and threw a big warm arm across her, pulling her against him. Cuddling after sex was a hundred percent not allowed in her world. But his words echoed in her mind. No one had believed him. No one had stood by him, and he’d faced prison and having his life ruined for nothing. If he really was what he seemed to be, that was a tragic miscarriage of justice. She knew a little something about not being believed, and having everything she cared about taken from her.

Even if they had no future, and she couldn’t see how they did, she could give him this moment. She knew she cared for him, and she wanted to give him comfort. She told herself that was why she let him hold her now.

KAYLA

Just when he thought he was about to hit rock bottom, she appeared on his porch. She hadn’t come to grill him, or to condemn him, or even to break up with him. She’d come to comfort him. The gesture started to heal a broken place in his heart, where he’d been misjudged and written off. She hadn’t assumed the worst, and she’d come to offer support.

He pulled her close, smelled her hair, cherished the soft curve of her body against his.

It wasn’t until he was faced with the true threat of losing the TV show that he realized what it had come to mean. He had finally made it. The income from the show was enough to make sure he and Dan had a comfortable buffer for buying properties, even if they didn’t immediately sell. For the first time in his life, he had an honest job that paid well enough to see him through. For a short time, it felt like he had finally outrun the bad luck that seemed to follow him around. He enjoyed working on the houses with Dan. They were good at it. The thought of losing everything he’d worked for, again, for the same goddam lie, made him want to punch a hole in the wall.

“Why did you change your name? You didn’t do anything wrong, so why the new identity?”

He groaned a little. “I was a little bit of a local celebrity when I got out. There was settlement money from the state for wrongful imprisonment. I got involved with a girl. I was fresh out of prison with a bunch of cash and a band-new bike. I’d been on the news. Everywhere I went, people knew who I was. I got involved with this girl, and I was stupid enough to fall for her. She just wanted money and recognition. She thought dating me would launch her as an influencer. It was just a blow I didn’t need right then. So I took my mother’s maiden name and moved out here to get a fresh start. I invested most of the money into the business with Dan. I didn’t ever want a girl to try to get with me for that again.”

“Well, you know I’m only after your body, anyway,” she said drily, and he laughed. A warm feeling overtook him. He’d been angry and hurt. Now he was laughing and relaxed. She did that. When the shit hit the fan, Amber had tried to profit off him. His parents hadn’t taken the time to listen. Kayla had shown up, listened, and comforted him. “All the same, I’m surprised you’d want to be on TV after all that.”

“Trust me, I didn’t. I don’t. Me and Danny had no plans of being on TV. They approached him, and the whole thing just took on a life of its own. He wanted to do it, and I owed him…then he had this idea about salvaging houses damaged by Ian. I loved that spin on it. We could really help people.” He swallowed. “I don’t know what’ll happen now that they know I was in prison. They aren’t happy. It might sour the deal.”

“Maybe that would be for the best. You can have your private life back,” she said softly.

Could she be for real? She honestly didn’t care if he was on TV or not, what money he had? His deepest darkest secret was making the rounds on gossip news, and she simply showed up to make sure he was all right.

“Hey, remember the man-eater? She’s running barrels tonight at the fairgrounds. Want to come with me? Take your mind off all this drama.”

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