Free Never Enough: The Vipers MC by Lexi Cross Page B

Heathcliff?”
     
    “I can’t let him back into my life. He’s my past. It’s too far behind me. I can’t be that girl again.” I heard the panic in my voice, but couldn’t stop it. That was the truth of my feelings, plain and simple. I couldn’t be that girl anymore. I had loved him—God, I still did, with all my heart—but he was no good for me. He wasn’t even any good for himself.
     
    Besides, his true love was the Vipers. Always and forever, just like the tattoo of a viper on his right bicep. It would always be there.
     
    “I’ve gotta go,” Cindy murmured. “You get some sleep, Cathy.”
     
    I laughed. “Don’t call me that forever, okay? Jeez.” I heard her chuckling as I hung up. I knew I was blessed to have a friend like her, willing to go the extra mile for me time and again. I didn’t know where I’d be without her.
     
    I turned off the light, sliding down in bed until my head rested on the pillow. Moonlight streamed through the window, spilling onto my bedspread. It made me think of a particular night with Grayson, right after we got married. God, I was only eighteen then. I had my whole life ahead of me, and I’d chosen to join it with his. He’d taken me to a cabin in the woods. It belonged to one of the older members of the club—he’d let us take it for a week as our honeymoon trip. We certainly didn’t have the money for an actual trip. I’d felt so grown up, a married woman, going away for a week with my husband. That first night, the moon had been full and ripe. We’d made love in its light for hours, until the sun came up.
     
    A noise. Rattling on the fire escape. My heart nearly stopped, my body going stiff. I held my breath, waiting for another noise. Nothing happened. I relaxed slightly, taking a deep breath and releasing it in a long, shuddering gasp. I told myself it was only a cat—they were everywhere in my neighborhood, the strays. They liked the Chinese takeout place down the block, and the irony of that wasn’t lost on me. I closed my eyes and rolled over, willing myself to go to sleep. I’d have a long day ahead of me.
     
    Another noise, this one louder. My eyes flew open. Somebody was trying to break in. I froze in place, wishing I had a gun. I hadn’t wanted to keep one in the apartment, of course, for David’s sake. A curious little boy and a handgun didn’t make a good combination. What I wouldn’t have given to have a gun in the nightstand at that moment.
     
    There was no use wishing. I leaped out of bed, mama bear instincts jumping into action. I picked up the baseball bat I kept close by, then raced to David’s room. The fire escape was just off the living room, further down the hall. Whoever it was wouldn’t be able to see me from that angle.
     
    “Sweetheart? Up. Get up. Come on.” I picked David up, putting him over my shoulder, then raced down the hall to the bathroom. He was heavy with sleep, only partly conscious, and I heaved him into the bathtub. It was the only room I could think to hide in—and it had an additional lock on the door, since the one below the knob was a little sketchy and my little guy used to like walking in on me while I was on the toilet.
     
    I realized I needed my phone to call the cops. I looked down at David, who rubbed his eyes and looked around as though he thought he might be dreaming. I could understand why he would think that—nighttime trips to the tub weren’t exactly the norm. I held a finger to my lips. “Stay here and don’t say a word,” I whispered, then fled to my room. My phone was on the nightstand, my heart in my throat. I raced back to the bathroom before the living room window opened, locking both locks on the door and jumping into the tub with the lights off. I slowly, carefully closed the curtain, wincing at the slight noise of the rings against the bar above the tub.
     
    David whispered in his confused, little boy voice. “What is it, Mama?” He was clearly terrified, his little body