Page 5 of Bond

“Okay,” I assure him, getting into the driver’s side. I hoped we’d be able to resolve Rochelle’s issue before that happened so she could be with him to say goodbye.

Starting the car, I slowly drove out, watching him disappear behind us in the rearview mirror before my gaze caught and held Rochelle’s tear-drenched gaze.

Nothing I’d say would make it any easier on her, so I let her cry and vowed I’d make sure that she didn’t shed many more tears if I could help it.

CHAPTER 2

ROCHELLE

I hated my life, and I had nobody but myself to blame for it. Instead of speaking to my dad first, I’d got married to a man I hated because I thought I was protecting him.

After the break-ins and then my dad being attacked and beaten up, I wasn’t risking losing him—not when he was the last parent I had alive.

He’d been furious with me when he found out what I’d done, but it was too late to do anything about it by then. The Black Mambas had been around for over thirty years and had grown bigger and bigger as the years went on. They’d obviously been watching our business before making their move.

I’d put up with the beatings and the verbal abuse as long as they left my dad alone, which they had done for the most part, even when he’d got into it with whiny Jared, my husband, about the bruises I’d been sporting more often than not.

It’s amazing how much abuse a human body could take. I always wondered how far he’d take the beatings, but it hadn’t gone any further than punches and slaps. I was just glad he didn’t seem all that interested in me sexually; the only time he seemed to remember I was around for that was when his brother got on at him or one of the other members mentioned me.

Then I knew I’d have to prepare and grit my teeth until he was done, which luckily never took him long. I’d long ago ensured that I wouldn’t fall pregnant; I’d been on the pill since I was sixteen, and I had no intention of ever not taking it. There was no way I would be bringing a child into the world I lived in.

There’s no way I’d want my son to grow up like his father and brothers or my daughter to be used as they saw fit. It was a literal godsend that Jared didn’t seem to be bothered with sex. I’d be worried that he was getting it elsewhere, but as we spent most of our days together, it didn’t seem likely, and in the years we’d been married, he’d not given me any diseases, for which I was thankful.

I’d been so lost in my thoughts, concentrating on the clipboard and the stock take I’d been mired in for the last three hours that I didn’t hear the doors to the warehouse open. It wasn’t until his shoe squeaked slightly against the floor that I realised I wasn’t alone anymore. Turning around, my heart stuttered in my chest at the man standing in my warehouse.

He was beautiful, if a man could be called that. He had blonde hair cut short and tidy, was clean-shaven, with a strong jaw and high cheekbones; he wasn’t overly muscular, but you could see he looked after himself. He wore khaki shorts, a grey T-shirt, and hiking boots. All his clothes looked neatly ironed and tidy—so different to the slovenly mess that I’d tied myself to. I realised he was as struck by me as I was by him, and then his eyes caught sight of the gold band on my finger, and his eyes shuttered, his face seeming to close down. My heart sank at the look on his face. I shouldn’t be surprised, though; I knew from the grapevine what type of men they were in Crowthorne. They’d had all the women aflutter, but none of them seemed interested in relationships, no matter how many women threw themselves at them.

It was well known that they’d been cleaning up their town and rejuvenating the hotel and shops in Crowthorne, a tiny town over three hours away from the city.

The tingle that had run down our arms when we’d shaken hands had sent shivers down me. I wished I could have kept him with me for longer, but I knew it wouldn’t end well for me if Jared found me in here alone with him, so I’d found his spare part and then watched as he turned around and hurried away from me. Disappointment filled me, and I knew deep in my heart that under other circumstances he’d have been the one for me. It made me irrationally angry, and I’d not watched my mouth when Jared had come looking for me; I’d been wearing bruises from that day for a few weeks.

Bond hadn’t come back after that first visit; instead, he sent two of his brothers, Blaze and Cairo, and while they were both good-looking, lovely men, I’d have preferred if I could have caught another glimpse of Bond.

Both had tried to get me to leave with them at one time or another and had offered help on several occasions when they saw the bruises I was sporting. I’d long since given up covering them up because I just didn’t care anymore—not when my heart hurt at what could have been.

Most would think I was stupid because I’d thought that all it had taken was one chance meeting and that I’d met the man meant for me. But when you grew up with parents like mine, who had met on a Wednesday, had their first date on a Friday, and got married the following Saturday—all within two weeks of meeting—you understood what instant love was.

When I’d found out I was pregnant, I’d wanted to cry because now I was well and truly stuck. I wondered how it had happened until I realised that the pill I’d been taking had been tamperedwith, and it made me wonder if Jared realised that I’d been making plans to leave.

Now that I was pregnant, I knew that it would be impossible to leave without help, even with the substantial amount of money that I’d managed to steal and put away.

Not while I carried a baby that had blood ties to the family that ran the Black Mambas, especially if the baby ended up being a boy. I’d never be able to disappear without help because they’d never stop searching. My dad and I had cried together when I told him about the baby and then again when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Then Jared’s best friend was killed while on a run when I was seven months along, and Jared went ballistic, taking it out on me. It was a miracle that our neighbours interfered and got me to a hospital in time to save Daisy, although it was touch and go for both of us. When I finally got to hold her, the feeling of all-consuming love flowed through me, and I knew no matter what, I had to leave for her sake. Because if I didn’t, we’d both be sucked into the world the Black Mambas were part of, and we’d more than likely end up being sold over and over again.

Jared had been killed while I’d been in hospital; nobody knew who had done both the hits. And that’s what they were. Taking out the second and third made the Black Mambas weak.

Dad had somehow managed to move me and Daisy in with him when we got out of the hospital, making up an excuse that I’d just had a baby and I was grieving the loss of Jared.

Which was the furthest thing from the truth. The Mambas were so busy trying to figure out who’d killed two of their members that they forgot about us, and I was eternally grateful. Putting our heads together, Dad and I made up a plan to get me out of town. Crowthorne was far enough away and not somewhereeither of us had any ties to. Cairo and Blaze had offered many times to help me out, but I’d always had to turn them down, even though all I wanted was for them to take me with them.

This time I was going to take them up on their offer. Never had I thought that I’d be leaving with Bond or that he’d offered to make me his Old Lady. Added in the fact that he’d been gentle when he looked at Daisy and had quickly arranged to have his name added to her birth certificate, I wasn’t sure what to think about a man who was both caring and protective. Other than my dad, I didn’t know of any others, and that was a sad state to be in.

Even though I knew we’d be leaving Dad behind, it was so hard to say goodbye. Because if this dragged out, it would more than likely be the last time that I saw him. I hugged his shrunken frame as hard as I could.

He’d slowly been getting worse and worse over the last two weeks, and I think if it wasn’t for the fact that Daisy and I needed him, he’d have left this earth already; it was one of the many reasons I didn’t fight him on leaving.

I didn’t look back as we drove away because I wasn’t sure if I’d have been able to not stop the car and demand Bond take us back. In the end, I’d ended up crying myself to sleep, hoping against hope that my trust wasn’t misplaced and that the decisions I made today wouldn’t be detrimental to either Daisy or myself.

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