Page 31 of Infinitely Mine
She mumbled, and it sounded a hell of a lot like words of love.
Rowen Casey bulldozed her way into my heart, and I fucking planned to marry her right after I asked little Jacob for permission. Although, with the drawing he showed us, I didn’t think he’d say no.
Chapter 8
“I’ll be back late tonight,” Mammoth promised. “Got some club business to sort.”
Okay. I wasn’t sure what that meant or what it involved and figured I wasn’t supposed to ask. “Are you still thinking of coming over?”
“You bet, Gorgeous. I might be too tired to do more than sleep,” he joked.
Just thinking about how we spent the last couple of nights after Jacob went to sleep made me blush. Mammoth was taking things slowly, and somehow, the anticipation made it so much better, heightening every touch and brush of his lips. His fingers knew how to coax pleasure from my body, and his tongue, wow, it was positively wicked.
“Well, I’ll be sure to wear something special.”
“Fuck, Rowen. You can’t tell me that shit when I’m ridin’ out. I’ll have a fucking hard-on the whole trip.”
I couldn’t help giggling, especially when I heard a few of his club brothers laughing in the background.
“Motivation?” I teased.
“Hell yeah. Keep the light on for me, Gorgeous.”
“Always.”
“I’m only a text or phone call away. You need me, reach out. Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be seein’ you soon.”
He ended the call, and I pocketed my phone. I rarely watched television or the news, but I turned it on while I cleaned the kitchen. I hadn’t been paying attention until a reporter began speaking about a dead woman who had called 9-1-1 and how the operator heard gunshots, but the police didn’t arrive in time tosave her. The plate slipped from my hand into soapy water as tears filled my eyes.
When I first moved to Tonopah, I had searched social media for Kate or any hint that she’d gone missing, ended up in the hospital, or had died. I’d been too scared to reach out to her family or any of our mutual friends. Too risky.
And now, with the confirmation of my best friend’s murder, I felt sick to my stomach. I should have done more. Maybe I should have gone to the police or left an anonymous tip.
My heart felt heavy as I finished the dishes on autopilot. I switched off the news and let the tears fall, slipping down my cheeks and off my chin, my heart aching with the loss. Jacob had never asked about her since our arrival in Tonopah, and I wondered if he knew. Did he see her in his drawings? Shit.
I almost panicked. What if he saw her beaten or shot? What if he saw Dag or his ruthless crew coming for us?
But he never seemed upset or worried. My son had been happy here. His heart seemed light and carefree. I didn’t sense fear or that he had seen anything that traumatized him.
We lived in a happy bubble the last few weeks, and I hoped we could stay in it, far away from danger. I couldn’t fight Dag on my own, and I never wanted to see him again. Part of me felt guilty. Kate deserved justice. Her killers shouldn’t be free.
But how could I deliver vengeance on her behalf when I had a small child to care for and protect?
There was no comfort in my cowardice. I wasn’t able to go to her funeral or say goodbye. My shoulders shook as I tried to calm down, worried I would alarm my son. He didn’t like to see me cry, and he’d seen it enough when my ex was still in the house. Tom’s cheating finally ended things between us, and I kicked him out. The fucking asshole never even came around to see his son. Tom was a shit father and husband.
I hoped he would stay gone for Jacob’s sake.
For the next few hours, I tidied the house, read a bedtime story to Jacob, tucked him in, and used my new electric teapot to make a cup of my favorite Earl Gray and mint combination. It ended up that I sat outside on the porch, swinging in the evening breeze. The night was populated with dozens of bright white stars, and the cloudless sky provided the perfect canvas for their ethereal glow.
I used that time to make peace with my choices and Kate’s death. My heart would always feel her loss, but I had to be strong for Jacob and couldn’t allow this to pull me under and into depression. I fought that battle once already when I found the texts on Tom’s phone proving he’d been cheating on me for months. Pictures of several naked women were saved in his photos, along with descriptive sexual messages.
My biggest issue since all that went down was trusting other people. Kate was one of the few in my life I didn’t have to build walls to keep out. She stayed by my side through all the bullshit with Tom, and now it felt like I abandoned her when she needed me most.
With a sigh, I sipped my tea. It didn’t make sense how fast I trusted Mammoth, especially since I knew bikers who didn’t have the same moral compass.