Page 55 of Cook

The thoughts bubbled in my head. I had fucked up. I shouldn’t have touched myself. I shouldn’t have made him horny.

“Fuck!” I pressed my palms into my eye sockets, trying to block the sight of him leaving.

Gone.

The loneliness of an unfamiliar house stifled me.

And when I only had my own thoughts, the memories thrashed inside my mind. Tommy G. angry. Signora hitting me. Every client who used me until I was bloodied and bruised, laying on the floor and whimpering for them not to hurt me anymore.

I wasn’t that girl any longer. I was a woman. I wouldn’t let my past take over my future.

Dropping my hands and reining in my tears, I walked over to the earbuds I had been listening to earlier and ripped them out of the charging case. I played the music on high, letting it drown out any thoughts. Then I spun around the living room. Cook wouldn’t just leave me here—he had important business to do, right?—so I had important business to do too.

The house needed mending. Cleaning. Cared for. Grabbing the mop and broom and the vacuum from the closet, I set to work.

Chapter 11

Cook

The stars blinked to lifeas my motorcycle roared down the two-lane road, carrying me toward something new. Something for Maddie. Fuck, how I wished she were wrapped around me on this bike, keeping me grounded. Instead, I might as well have been a kite, blowing about in every which direction.

I rolled the throttle, but no matter how high the speedometer climbed, I couldn’t outrun my past. Reminders of it slapped me in the face at every turn. The burst of anger over the photo Maddie found had been unnecessary.

Uncontrollable, but I’d scared Maddie.

Something I’d been trying very, very hard not to do.

Chalk that up to an epic fucking fail.

I had stopped outside the Ridge, calling Sloan Mercer—Ward’s contact at Club Serenity, but I wasn’t going there. I needed to check on Mom after having left her alone today, sending her home health aide away. I needed to make sure she was well.

But then why did I veer right off the highway instead of left? Why had I aimed my ride for downtown Phoenix rather than the burbs? Why did I end up outside a red brick building, staring up at the almost unnoticeable Serenity sign?

“Don’t worry, Cook,” I said aloud to the seemingly vacated block.“It’s only kinky the first time.”

I kicked down the stand and swung my leg off. My bones still vibrated with both the rattle of the road and the adrenaline. No matter how many years I had been riding, the thrill of it still made me tremble. The power and speed and danger were addictive. Like Maddie.

I needed to put her out of my mind. She was safe and warm, sated and sleeping in fresh sheets at my childhood home. Yet she was the reason I came.

The nudge of eyes on me made my hackles rise, and I checked my surroundings. I’d been careful when cruising through Park Ridge, not wanting to alert anyone in the motorcycle club of a lone bike’s departure. Others might’ve followed.

My brothers could be good company. We could write it off as bachelors going in for something raunchy, but I needed to do this alone. While the Mafia had sent a threat our way, Ward believed they were full of shit. With Gambino behind bars and his wife sucking six feet of sand, that left an ancient acting Don—Enzo Gambino.

Of course, our LA crew would stay on guard and keep eyes on his club, Enigma, but I didn’t really think his shriveled balls could muster enough piss or vinegar to come after us.

The other problem we had was the cartel. That big motherfucker Sasquatch had drawn the attention of the Medellín cartel with his new drug deals, and there would come a time to deal with the warehouse explosion. However, we hadn’t seen any sign of enemies since they’d blown up our stash of blow.

Regardless, if the cartel had eyes on me, I had bigger fucking problems than being caught walking into a sex club. That’d put Mom and Maddie in danger. Hell, all the MC’s ol’ ladies.

At the door, I sucked in a deep breath. “Here goes nothin’.”

Inside I went.

For Maddie.

I had to learn how to give her what she needed, and this was step one.

When I stepped inside Serenity, I immediately rocked back on the heels of my boots. I had been in many clubs before, ranging from smoking joints to techno-party nightclubs. This wasn’t anything likethose. I wasn’t even past the dark velvet curtains and the receptionist before I wondered if I had stepped into another dimension, like this might be Marvel’s fucking Multiverse.

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