Jerk: Delinquent Rebels MC (9 page)

CHAPTER TEN

“Well, fancy running into you here.”

April glanced up from her phone, surprised to see James in a coffee shop of all places. She and Van were on their fifth date in two weeks, in non-stop contact ever since their night in the guest house, and she couldn’t have been happier—until she spotted James. Since she and Van had agreed that they would give this dating thing a shot, she’d only seen his father on a few occasions, and always fleetingly, but he’d never looked as irritated as he did now.

Shifting on her oversized armchair, she sat up and pointed to the bathroom. “Are you looking for Van? He just went to the—”

“I never need to
look
for my son,” the man growled softly, leaning down with his hand on the back of her chair. “I know precisely where he is at all times.”

She blinked up at him, both knowing the meaning behind his words, but she refused to acknowledge anything. Instead, she licked her lips and sighed, reaching for her half-finished latté on the small round table between her and Van’s armchair. The coffee shop, located in the heart of Cascade Falls’s downtown core, was usually pretty popular with the high school and college crowd. As it were, most of the tables were full for the evening, and the noise level would have been bothersome if she hadn’t been enjoying Van’s company so much.

Unfortunately, Van wasn’t there now. They’d spent hours together that afternoon, enjoying his night off from the bar by taking a jaunt on his motorcycle along the country roads like she’d wanted to, and then ending up at the coffee shop for a little evening snack. Their dinner reservations at the resort were for later that night, accompanied by drinks and… whatever followed in some dark corner where prying eyes couldn’t see them fucking. A tingle of excitement shot through her just thinking about it, but it was hastily stamped out by the look in James’s eyes as he watched her.

He wanted an answer. He probably wanted to see fear. Van
wanted
to be with her, and she’d set aside her reservations—for now—so that she could be with him and be happy. And damn it, she’d been
happy
. Genuinely happy for the first time in years. Pushing him away for as long as she did hadn’t done either of them any good.

“You and he have been doing a lot of things together lately, haven’t you?” James hissed, and she wondered if he might have grabbed her had they been alone. She gave a little half-nod then looked back to the bathrooms again. “Yes, Renee tells me all about your little
dates
. She barely approves, April, and you know where I stand.”

“You have no right to interfere with my life,” she told him, sounding much stronger than she felt. “You have no right to tamper with your
son’s
happiness. He deserves—”

“I know what he deserves,” James spat, and a few heads swiveled around to check out the commotion from a nearby table. April swallowed hard, determined not to cower. “It isn’t you, I’m afraid. I warned you, didn’t I? I warned you to stay away from him.”

Fuck you
. The words were on the tip of her tongue, and while she didn’t say them aloud, he probably saw the sentiment in her eyes.

“I am a man who follows through,” James remarked, straightening up and smoothing his hand down the front of his shirt. His leather jacket looked a little too polished, like he was a fraud trying to fit in with his boys. “Know that when you see the consequences of following through on some stupid school girl crush, it will be entirely on your shoulders.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, her eyes narrowed. He departed with a curt nod, stalking out of the coffee house and slamming the door behind him. A few people around her studied her curiously, but she looked back to her phone like it had been nothing but a normal conversation. Mere seconds later, Van wandered into her peripherals.

“Was that my dad?” he asked, as he settled into his chair, peeking out the coffee shop’s windows. April nibbled her lower lip and debated telling him everything, but then thought better of it. James spouted a lot of hot air anyway.

“Yeah, he was getting a coffee,” she lied with a smile, reaching for her drink. “Just stopped by to say hello…”

And issue some empty threats.

Hopefully.

***

“April… April, wake up!”

She jolted upright in bed, her mom shaking her, and then groggily checked the time. Nearly four in the morning. Groaning, she ran a hand through her hair and tried to shove her mom off, but the woman just wasn’t letting go.

“Are you drunk?” she muttered, blinking heavily in the darkness. “Go back to bed—”

“My boutique is on fire!”

That managed to get her attention. Immediately all thoughts of sleep vanished, as April leapt out of bed and threw on whatever clothes she found first. Apparently her mom had received a call from the local fire department ten minutes prior to let her know that her high-end clothing boutique, the one she’d spent her life cultivating and nurturing, had gone up in flames. Luckily the other buildings around it were spared from the heat, but when April and her mom arrived at the scene, she was told her two other stores in neighboring towns had also been set ablaze.

“It’s not likely a coincidence,” the fire chief told them. April stared at the ashes of her mom’s life numbly, barely registering Johnny when he stopped by to ask if she was okay. “We suspect arson at this point.”

It didn’t take long for Van and James to arrive on the scene, summoned by her mom’s blubbering phone call, but April didn’t clue in to anything until she saw James’s face. Then, it was all crystal clear; James was a man of his word, and this was her fault for doubting him.

“April,” Van said as he hurried toward her, enveloping her in his arms and holding her close. He smelled wonderful for having just woken up, and she figured he’d just gotten off work at the bar or something a few hours prior. However, she couldn’t stand there in his arms, not when her relationship with him was the reason the tragedy had taken place.

It wasn’t his fault. Van wanted to love her, to treat her right; she’d seen that. But it was almost painfully clear now that they had no future together, not with James around. So, she broke free from Van’s hold, knowing precisely what she needed to do. There was no way she could fully fix what had happened. She couldn’t purchase replicas of the vintage clothes that were destroyed, gobbled up by the flames. She couldn’t replace the tasteful black-and-white photos of her mom and dad that were in her mom’s office. She couldn’t do anything now to bring back all that the woman had lost in a matter of minutes.

But April could damn well make sure that nothing like this ever happened to her again. She shot Van an apologetic look before turning away. Their relationship needed to stop for the sake of her mom’s safety—that much was painfully apparent now—but she wasn’t going to break both of their hearts right there on the street in front of firemen and onlookers alike. No, she’d do it in classic April fashion: she’d just run away.

Another day. Not now. Right now, her mom needed her. April hurried across the pavement to where the woman stood next to James, tears streaming down her face, a hand over her mouth. The glare April shot to the man who was supposed to be her future stepfather could have killed him on the spot, and it intensified when she saw amusement flicker across his face.

Still, she said nothing.
Did
nothing. Nothing but pull her trembling mother into her arms, listening to her cry as the heat of the fire, though mostly vanquished, warmed her back. Over her mom’s shoulder, she met James’s eye one last time, and in that moment, she admitted defeat.

He’d won the war. She couldn’t fight any other battles. If James wanted her to leave Van, to squash her ever-growing feelings, she had no choice but to give him what he wanted.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“Whoa there, easy girl,” Van laughed, as April dragged him into her mom’s empty apartment, undoing his belt before they’d even shut the door. “What will the neighbors think?”

“They’ll think… damn, that guy is getting lucky tonight,” she purred, as he finally slammed the door closed. Stepping back, she peeled off her shorts, then yanked her t-shirt over her head. “Are you just going to stand around making jokes, or are you going to fuck me?”

“You don’t need to ask twice,” he growled, pinning her against the wall, his lips descending on hers. This was it.

This was their final night together—only Van didn’t know it yet. Under her bed, she had a bag packed with the essentials, and a note for her mom and Van to read tomorrow morning. For her mom, she wrote that she was needed back at her store—some managerial problem had broken out—and that she would be back as soon as possible. The woman was so frazzled with rebuilding her stores that she probably wouldn’t even notice April had left. 

To Van, she simply apologized. It had been a week since the fires tore her mom’s boutiques apart, and she knew James was probably getting impatient to see her relationship come to a screeching halt. So, April planned to take things into her own hands and simply end it. For the safety of her mom
and
for April, it was probably better this way, because James was a psychopath.

After things had calmed down, April vowed to find a way to stop the wedding; her mom couldn’t end up with the guy who was responsible for destroying her livelihood. Police had turned up no leads on the case of the burned boutiques, but April didn’t need a man in uniform to tell her who was behind the disaster. She knew. And for that, she had to put her feelings aside and bid Van farewell.

There was no room for excessive foreplay tonight. As much as she loved it when Van kneeled between her thighs and lapped at her slick pussy while she gripped his thick shoulders, that wasn’t what tonight was about. It wasn’t about forming a connection; it was about breaking one. Before she left, she wanted to give him one last night together. They’d already done the whole dinner and drinks thing, and this… this was what came naturally after.

Van groaned when she gripped his steadily hardening cock, pumping her hand up and down its length as they shared a punishing kiss. She encouraged teeth tonight; she wanted him to manhandle her—anything to appease her guilt for what she planned to do after they went to bed.

“Fuck me, Van,” she hissed, pushing his pants down, her nails scraping his skin. Groaning, Van turned her around and pinned her to the wall. April closed her eyes, spreading her legs and arching her ass out, as he dragged her underwear off. She was slick with anticipation. Even with the added weight of her feelings about leaving in the middle of the night, being with Van always made her hopelessly wet.

She cried out when he thrust into her, his hips slamming into her ass, as he filled her completely. Her body protested only slightly, needing a few seconds to accommodate his impressively thick cock—and Van waited, kissing her neck, her hair swept to one side. Patient. Giving. Forceful. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a lover and more.

And she was forced to give him up. The thought made her eyes prickle with tears, but she blinked them away.

As he thrust into her, April experienced a brief period of pure happiness. Connecting with Van on such an intimate level had made her exceedingly happy, and for a split-second, she allowed herself to feel that again.

Always thinking of her, he reached around to play with her clit, massaging it with his palm and flicking it mischievously. She moaned, as she climbed higher and higher to the brink of an orgasm, able to lose herself in the moment for just long enough to come with a heady sigh. Her body relaxed, as pleasure rippled through her limbs, stars dancing around in the forefront of her vision, and Van chuckled in her ear. The sound sent a shiver down her spine, and it helped her forget that she was one step closer to walking out the door.

“You think I’m done with you?” he asked, spanking her hard enough to make her hiss in surprise. “I’m just getting started, baby.”

She giggled softly, glancing at him over her shoulder. “If you can manage, I suppose.”

He spanked her again, harder this time, and she bit her lower lip. Pulling out of her, Van snatched her hand and hauled her through the dark empty apartment to her bedroom. Then, he tossed her on the bed and slammed into her over and over again, fucking her, pulling her hair, making her scream with delight.

Things quieted down an hour or so later, after they’d showered, had a light snack, and climbed into bed. She found she struggled to carry a conversation. So, she pretended to be tired—when really she just worried he’d detect the sadness in her voice. So, she lay there quietly instead, wrapped up in Van’s arms. Eyes closed; she waited, listening until his breathing evened out. He was a heavy sleeper—always had been—and she wanted to use that to her advantage when she broke both of their hearts.

***

It was difficult not to look like an enormous creep loitering outside her mom’s apartment building at two in the morning, but April did her best to be inconspicuous. With her packed bag in one hand and her phone in the other, she resisted the urge to call the cab company again and demand to know what kind of ridiculous detour her driver had taken. Hell, she’d called for a ride about a half hour ago; she should have been well on her way to the train station by now.

Nibbling her lower lip, she glanced up to the bay window that would have been her mom’s living room. Just a few rooms over, Van was passed out happily—and would wake up to her gone, again. She exhaled deeply, trying to put it out of her mind. She was going to be gone, one way or another, and it was better to cut the ties now, no matter how hard it hurt, than do it later when she’d fallen madly in love.

Right?

At least, that was what she told herself. That was what would get her to sleep every night for the next few weeks when her mind threatened to wander to Van Palmer.

Suddenly, a few feet from her, the front door flew open, slamming against the wall as a familiar figure stormed out. Van looked right first, and April’s instinct was to flee down the street; he had the note in his hand and everything. He wasn’t supposed to find that until late in the morning when she was long gone. However, her feet wouldn’t align with her brain, and she stood there in a stunned silence as he rounded on the spot.

He seemed just as surprised to see her there, standing awkwardly in front of the building, but he snapped to attention faster than she did.

“What the hell is this?” he demanded, thrusting the note in her face. His anger made her heart hurt, and she tried to hide the way her lip wobbled. “Are you fucking
kidding
me with this? You’re running?
Again
?”

She opened and closed her mouth a few times, eyes desperately searching for her cab. “Van… I…”

“Don’t you think I deserve something more than some half-assed apology? Haven’t I earned that?”

“Yes, of course you have,” she said quietly, her cheeks flaming. Van shook his head and crumpled the letter. She braced herself, imagining him throwing it at her, but he just slipped it into his pocket instead.

“April, what the fuck are you doing?” He ran his hands through his hair, sounding like he was trying to be
very
patient with her. “How do you think your mom’s going to feel about you bailing? Have you even told her?”

“I’m doing this
for
her!” April let out a sob and turned away, bringing a shaky hand to her mouth to hide her crying. Behind her, Van sighed heavily, and when he touched her shoulder, she pulled away.

“April, I don’t understand.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and a part of her just wanted to grab her bag and start walking. Surely she’d run into the cab somewhere along the way. However, another part of her, one that was more entrenched in all of her feelings, demanded she give him the truth—the honest truth about why she was abandoning them at the start of something fantastic.

“Your dad…” She took a deep breath and faced him, and his expression softened when he no doubt realized she was crying. “You dad told me when I first got here that you and I weren’t allowed to… you know, get close. He didn’t say why, but he just said that he wouldn’t stand for it, and if we
did
get close, there would be serious consequences.”

His jaw clenched, and she gave him a few moments to absorb her confession.

“He never said anything like that to me.”

“I don’t know why he felt the need to tell me, but he did.” She wiped her hands across her cheeks and sniffled. “He told me the day we were painting… Maybe he saw something that we didn’t, and he wanted to put a stop to it before it started. I don’t know. And then... my mom’s boutiques burned down, and I got scared—”

“There’s no way he had anything to do with that,” Van insisted—though he didn’t sound like he quite believed the words he was saying. “He loves your mom. He wouldn’t hurt her just to prove a point.”

“Whatever the reason is, I can’t be here with you because of him!” She almost threw her arms up in exasperation, then she grabbed her bag again. “I can’t. It’s too hard to be
told
that I can’t want you when I do.”

“April, hey… hey, come here,” he urged, crossing the distance between them and gathering her up in his arms. It felt so good to be held by him again, especially when she thought the last time he held her would be it forever. Closing her eyes tight, she snuggled against his chest, wishing the world would just fade away. Van pressed a kiss to her forehead, as he rubbed her back then muttered, “Fuck him.”

She looked up slowly, surprised. “What?”

“Fuck him,” he said, more strongly this time. “He doesn’t get to dictate who I date, or who
you
date for that matter. You’re mine, and I’m yours. You belong to me, and I don’t think you should go anywhere. Who gives a shit what he thinks?”

“But, the boutiques—”

“I’ll get to the bottom of it,” Van promised, and when their eyes met, she saw the passion lurking beneath. He really meant what he said. “First thing tomorrow, I’ll confront him about all of this. I’m not scared of that old man, and you shouldn’t be either. I’ll keep you safe. Your mom, too. He’s probably just worried what people will think about us if we got together.”

Her lips pursed; that wasn’t the reason why James threatened her, but she desperately wanted to believe it anyway. Who knew what was going on in the guy’s head, but if anybody could straighten this out, it was Van.

“I guess I should have come to you sooner,” she admitted, clinging to him as the world started to fall back into its rightful order. Van nodded then tipped her head back and kissed her.

“Yeah, you should have,” he whispered, his breath hot against her cheeks. “Give me that…” He took her bag then her hand. “You’re coming back to bed with me, and I’ll make things right.”

“Why?” The question slipped out as they approached the front door, and Van gave her the most meaningful look she’d ever seen, his brow furrowed, eyes wracked with concern.

“Because I told you already,” he said, as she punched in the security clearance, “I want to take care of you, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

April studied him for a moment, taking in the sincerity in his voice and the adoration in his eyes, then stood on her tip-toes to kiss him. If he planned to take care of her, then who was she to stop him? Maybe James’s threats really
were
hollow. Maybe she’d read too much into things. Van would set it right. He had to.

She told herself those words over and over again, as they climbed the stairs back to her mom’s apartment, wishing desperately to believe them.

But she couldn’t.