Chapter 5

Five

If Addison thinks I'm going to give up just like that, she's got another thing coming.

I let her drive out of the parking lot last night, but never once did I believe it was the last time that I'd see her again, especially now after seeing her reaction to me and after seeing the child up close.

That's my son; I've got no doubt about it.

I check in at work and let them know that I'll be working from the field today. It's not uncommon for some detectives not to step foot into the station. The privilege is supposed to be used when working on a case, but I know there are some other officers like Riggs and his crew that abuse it.

I'm not usually one of those people, but making sure I keep tabs on Addison is enough of a reason for me to risk it.

I sit at the very entrance of the small road that leads away from the clubhouse, just waiting for her to drive by. I've seen two other women leave out and one man I'm not familiar with. I'm going to have to get more information about the people who live in that house. It seems like the clubhouse is the home base for a lot of people. I'm not sure it's something I'm going to want my son around.

I push out a sharp breath before refocusing my thoughts. Right now, I have no say in what goes on with my child, especially since I can't even get his mother to admit that he's mine in the first place.

Last night was sleepless. I kept going over the short conversation Addison and I had in my head. I said a lot of the wrong things.

I always thought if I did ever get a chance to speak to her in real life that things would go smoother than that. I don't want to be a threat or put any undue stress on her or the baby. That's not what I'm here for. I just want to make sure the both of them are okay.

Now that she's seen me and has labeled me the enemy, I'm going to have to do a lot more kissing up in order to prove to her that I'm safe.

If it's possible at all.

The roar of a motorcycle snaps me out of my daydream, and I look out the side view mirror to see if I can identify who is coming out.

"What the hell is this?"

I'm surprised when I don't see one of the other members of the club but Addison herself coming down the road on a motorcycle. I don't know when she started riding, but from her form and the tentative way she moves, I can tell that it's not that long ago.

She has a helmet on and a leather jacket but no other protective gear. It pisses me off that she'd put herself at risk like that.

Riding motorcycles is dangerous. Everyone knows this. I don't understand how she could be so reckless, especially when right now she's the sole provider to her son.

I hunker down further in my seat as she breezes by me. She doesn't bother to look in my direction, which is exactly what I wanted. I need to get her away from the clubhouse before things turn bad and I have the entire club on my ass.

I know if I keep down this road, I'm going to have to deal with them eventually, but right now I just want to get things back on solid ground with Addison. Everything else can come later.

Good or bad.

I follow behind her, keeping more than three car lengths between us. I don't want to spook her. Thankfully, she's so focused on the road and keeping her bike upright that she's not really paying attention to what's behind her.

My foot jerks on the gas pedal a few times as we're driving through when I see her make some rookie mistakes that can easily cause her to wipe out or, worse, crash into someone else. She doesn't check her blind side well enough, for one. She nearly merged into oncoming traffic at one point. If the other driver didn't lay on the horn, I'd be peeling her off the street.

The strip mall that we went to yesterday flies by, and we head deeper into the city where there are more people and busier streets. I have to get closer to her if I don't want to lose sight. My hands hurt when she finally pulls off to park her bike; I was gripping the steering wheel so tight.

I've learned my lesson from last time. I'm not going to try and sneak up on her again. My back still hurts from that hip throw she pulled on me.

Quickly finding a place to park, I hop out of my car and jog across the street just as Addison is about to walk into a bookstore.

I make it right behind her just as she's opening the door. "Addison, hold up." I tap her once on the shoulder and take two steps back. The last thing I want is for her to get scared.

She turns with a soft smile on her face until she sees who's calling her name. Quickly, that smile turns into a nasty grimace. "What the hell, man. I told you everything I was going to tell you yesterday. Get a clue." She steps away from the door to let another couple walk in.

"Easy, just relax--"

"Don't tell me to relax. I'm as relaxed as I'm going to be with having some man stalk me all around town. I don't know what you want from me." Her voice is raised, and I see a few people turn their heads, ready to either intervene or simply watch the drama that's about to unfold.

In this day and age where everything winds up on social media, I know I need to keep a cool head and calm her down without becoming Instagram-worthy.

"I didn't mean relax. I just meant you don't need to be scared or nervous around me. You're right; I am stalking you all over the place, but that's only because I need some answers. Answers only you will know. Just give me a few moments of your time, see for yourself that I'm not trying to run any game or anything on you. Just talk to me." I take a half-step closer to her, getting close without invading her personal space. She doesn't answer right away, but I'm not going to take no for an answer. "Come on, what's a little conversation going to hurt?"

"Fine, talk." She crosses her arms over her chest and glares at me. She really means to have this conversation in the middle of the sidewalk where everyone can hear us.

I'm not famous or anything like that, but I'd rather not be on the street where one of the passing patrol officers can see me.

"How about we go in the coffee shop right here? It's public, neutral?" I point to a small bakery across the street. It's not exactly what I'd call bustling with people, but there are a few customers walking in and out. Slow enough to be personal, but busy enough she won't have to feel uneasy.

"Fine, but you're going to have to make this quick. I've got things to do." She walks ahead of me, barely paying attention to the cars coming in our direction.

I grab hold of her arm and yank her back when a small coupe comes barreling up the road. She rips her arm away from me the second she can.

"You know I'm old enough to cross the street on my own, right?"

I could bite back, tell her that if she were capable of crossing the street, she should know to look both ways, but I doubt that will get me any brownie points with her.

I nod once and gesture with my hand that she should continue walking. I follow closely behind her, doing what I can to keep her safe from this distance.

We get into the coffee shop, and she beelines straight for a table right in front of the large floor-to-ceiling windows. She's not trying to give me even the least bit of privacy.

It's not ideal, but I'll deal with it.

"Are you hungry?" I ask.

"What? What does my appetite have to do with you taking your five minutes?" She squints her eyes at me and once again leaves a very large opportunity for me to fight back. I've got a whole war ahead of me; I'm not going to waste my time with these little battles.

"Give me a second, please. If we don't buy anything, we can't sit in here." It's a plausible excuse, but in reality, I'm walking away from her because I need to get my thoughts under control.

I need to figure out exactly what I'm going to say to her, what questions I'm going to ask. When I came up with this plan this morning to strong-arm her into talking to me, I didn't plan out the actual talk.

On top of that, I need to rein in my attraction to her as well.

Every time she challenges me or questions me, it feels like she's throwing another log on an already roaring inferno. She's exactly the kind of woman I want. I already know she can be submissive. When I had her, she was coy and soft. She follows instructions in the bedroom, and when she comes, it's glorious. The fact that she also has this disobedient wild side only makes me want her that much more.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I lean forward slightly, trying to decide between what kind of pastries and other baked goods I should get. I by no means think of this as a date or anything like that, but if she's sitting with me, I can at least make sure she has something to eat.

Ordering two large blueberry muffins, a tea, coffee, and a soda, I walk back over to the table with a tray full of food.

I sit in the chair opposite her and push the tray of food to the side. "Take whatever you want." I motion with my head, but she doesn't even glance at the food I'm offering her.

"What I want is to be able to get out of this coffee shop in the next three minutes. You should try to make that happen."

Her attitude is fierce. I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling. I'm always up for a good challenge.

"I'll do my best. So, do you want to start, or do you want me to just jump in?"

"You're the one who is following me around. You obviously have something you want to say to me." She shrugs her shoulders and leans back in her chair with her hands folded in her lap.

"I do... I have so many things I want to say to you. Just be honest with me, okay?" Of course, the first thing on my mind is finding out if the little boy is mine, but I don't want to scare her off by making her think this is some kind of attack or something. "Are you okay?"

It's a genuine question, but the way her face drops, I can tell she's not expecting it.

"Am I okay? Why do you care?"

"I do. I know we met under some really messed up circumstances--"

"You paid to sleep with me," she blurts out just loud enough that if anyone were walking by, they'd hear. I do a quick scan of the room and breathe a sigh of relief when I don't notice anyone looking in our direction.

"First, I didn't pay. My partner did. Second, I asked if you were a working girl and you told me no." I make sure to keep my tone low, hoping that she will follow suit.

She stares at me, but the anger is quickly draining from her eyes. "Hollister... He made me tell you no. It's supposed to be part of the girlfriend package. I was just supposed to be some girl who thought you were attractive. Someone who couldn't keep her hands off you. You know, the way two people would meet out in the real world."

"The real world?" I scoff and shake my head. "I've never had a woman meet me like that. Not even close." I fold my hands on the table and lean back in towards her. "Seriously Addison, I didn't know at the time. It was only after, when my shitty partner began holding it over my head, that I found out what you were doing. I'd have never forced myself on you. Never. It's not my way." I do my best to keep her gaze, but she's finding it hard to look me in the eyes for more than a few microseconds at a time.

"You didn't force yourself on me. I mean, after it was all said and done, I had a good time."

Internally, I beat a hand against my chest. I was right; she did have fun with me. I always thought there was a connection between her and me, but when Riggs told me she was a paid professional, I thought it could have been all part of the game.

"Now that we've got that out of the way, when did you get away?"

"Get away?" Her head pops up, and she stares at me with those expressive dark eyes. If I tried really hard, I'm sure I could read her like a book.

"Yeah, from Hollister? When did you get out of the life?"

"Oh, almost three years now."

"And that's when you signed up with the Eve's Fury Club?" Too soon. I shouldn't have let her know I know about her MC so soon.

"No, I didn't sign up with them. They rescued me. One of the members used to be a working girl for Hollister back in the day. He kidnapped her and tried to get her back in the game as well. She got me out of there. I've been with them ever since."

Shock is the smallest emotion I feel right now. I knew the girls in that club were all for community service, but I'd never think they were so intent on helping out the community that they'd take in a virtual stranger. It's exceptional. Not only am I feeling a little uneasy about my perception of the club, but I'm also feeling incredibly grateful. Who knows where Addison and the baby would be right now if she'd had to find her way on her own after all that.

Moving right along just so she doesn't know she's affected me, I ask, "What about Hollister? Has he given you any grief?"

That gets a small chuckle out of Addison, though I'm not sure why. "No. Let's just say Eve's Fury MC has him by the balls."

I didn't like the sound of that, but if she was telling me that she didn't have to worry about Hollister anymore, I was going to accept it.

"Did you know I was a cop when I saw you that first time?"

"Of course I did. It's one of the reasons Hollister made sure to tell me not to screw it up. I had to please you no matter what you wanted."

"Did you think of trying to get some help? Maybe telling me so I could get you out of there?"

"Look, I know you mean well, but it really wasn't that simple. There were a few men I met in my time who seemed like nice people. Stand-up guys in their normal lives. But there's no telling what would've happened to me or them if I had decided to ask any of them for help. I've seen what Hollister would do to girls who started trouble. I didn't want to chance it."

It bothers me that she had to go through all this mess on her own. More so, it bothers me that she didn't trust me to help her. I understand why though. She'd only just met me that day, and I was a job to her.

"Are you only staying with the MC because you think they are the only people who can keep you safe? That's not true. I can keep you safe too. I can-" She gives me a half-smile and I clamp my mouth shut. Talk about coming on strong. "Not me, I can set you up somewhere safe. I have connections all over the place."

"I'm sure you do, Hardy, but I'm not only with the club because they can keep me safe. I'm with them because I'm learning how to keep myself safe as well. They're my family, and we all look after each other."

I nod my head and lean back in my seat. I've already asked all the outside questions I can. Now I need to get to the real matter at hand.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, and I hate to press, but I have to. It's eating at my very soul not knowing for sure." I peer up into her eyes, taking a breath and praying that she doesn't get offended again and try to leave. "Is your son mine?"

I watch her jaw flex and her hands ball up into tiny fists on the table. She's upset and probably a bit scared. Quickly, I add on to my question, hoping to ease some of her worries. "I'm not asking you because I think you're a bad mom or that I want to take him away or anything like that. You're doing a great job raising him from what I can see. I just want to know if he's mine."

"And what if I don't want you in his life?"

"Why would you not? It's not like I'd try to turn him against you or anything like that. The courts don't have to get involved. I would be just an added support here when and for what you need."

The silence slices through the air, scratching against my skin with every second that ticks by that she doesn't answer.

"Well, is he?"

Addison closes her eyes, takes a deep breath, and whispers something so softly I can barely hear the words.

"Addison?"

"I said yes. Yes, Hardy, he's yours. After our time together, Harrington only let me out for one other person, and he used me for something different. I wasn't as marketable as I once was because I had gotten fat. I didn't even know I was pregnant until I gave birth to Glenn."

"Glenn? That's his name?" I say more to myself than to her.

I heard the atrocities that she went through, and I'm sorry for them, but I'm also relieved to finally have an answer. By some form of magic, it feels like my heart triples in size. The few images I have in my memory of the small baby replay on a loop in my mind's eye.

"Glenn seemed like a fitting name." She replies, pulling me out of my daydream.

"It's perfect. Great choice," I say a little too happily. There's nothing special about the name itself. I have no attachment to the name one way or another, but the moment I attach it to that sweet boy's face, it is the most perfect name in all existence.

"Can I... Do you have any pictures?" I ask, and she actually chuckles at that.

"Have you met any mother who doesn't have pictures of their child? Here, look..." She pulls out her phone and quickly gets to the camera roll. She pulls up the latest one. Glenn has a face full of what looks like cheese sauce from mac and cheese. He's smiling wide and reaching for the camera. She flicks through picture after picture, and suddenly along with my happiness comes a fresh wave of guilt. I've missed so much of his life already.

"Addison, I know you don't know me, but I swear you can trust me. I'm not going to hurt you or Glenn." My tone is serious, and I grab hold of her hand. The first real contact I've had with her since I met her the second time. "Please don't cut me out of his life. I just want to know my son."

"I hear you Hardy and despite the way you approached me I want to believe you're just trying to do the right thing. The problem is I've been wrong about people before. Until I can trust you, which I may never, I don't feel comfortable with you around my son." She shrugs and my heart drops just a bit.

It's not the answer I want but I'll accept it for now. It's a problem but there's also a solution. "Then get to know me. Let me prove to you that you don't have to keep your guard up around me."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Addison asks, hitching an eyebrow.

"Let's start by getting to know eachother a little better..." before I can finish my sentence I hear her stomach growling from across the table.

"Oops, sorry." She giggles and presses a hand against her midsection. Her cheeks flush red and she looks away.

"Have you eaten today?" She's laughing but I'm dead serious.

"I was going to get something to eat when I got back home. I wasn't very hungry earlier."

A deep growl rumbles in my chest and I have to swallow to keep it down. She's not taking care of herself. She's doing a great job with Glenn but it ends there it seems. Almost aggressively, I grab the muffin from the tray and put it down in front of her. "Eat."

"I already said I'd get some food when I got home. It's not that big a deal."

"Addison, don't make me tell you again. I'm not going to let you sit across from me and starve. Eat. The. Muffin." I'm not doing a very good job keeping the anger out of my voice.

She blinks at me a few times before she squints and tilts her head to the side, "What are you going to do if I don't? Punish me?"

My cock surges to life the instant those words pass her lips. I have to remind myself that we're a long ways off from jumping in the bed together. I have to do things slow if I want to get in good with her and Glenn. I can't fuck this up.

"Am I going to have to hand feed you?" I question disregarding her last statement.

She rolls her eyes and chuckles before plucking up one of the muffins from the tray and picking at it. "Simmer down, Daddy, I'm eating."

I lean back in my chair and watch her eat. Yeah, I'm going to have to take care of her and I'm going to enjoy every second of it.