Free Cease (Bayonet Scars Book 7) by JC Emery Page B

the edge of the ring to find Butch eyeing me with a knowing smile. "Your girl's here."
    The two men in the center of the ring turn in my direction, making me gasp. Standing just a few feet away from me is Grady, the newest patched member. One of his arms hangs limply by his side, and his lip is busted open. He wobbles in place but manages to right himself before falling over. Grady looks like shit, but it's Jim's appearance that makes my blood run cold. One of his eyes is swollen shut. His nose is bloody, and he stands awkwardly, favoring one leg. I move toward him without even thinking. These men have been fighting. They're jacked up on adrenaline and masculine pride. Jim's standing depends on him winning this fight, and Grady's young, but he's got a lot to prove to his brothers. He's also built like a damn semi and is a decade younger than Jim.
    Grady's woman, Layla, walks into the ring and brings him a beer. With his attention focused on her for the moment, I take a few steps toward Jim before stopping.
    Jim focuses on me with his good eye and smirks. He raises one arm and points in my direction. The smile that takes over his face is infectious. He crooks a finger my way, and I burst into the most ridiculous smile. It feels like an out of body experience or something. My entire body is buzzing, and there's this heavy thudding in my chest. My face is flushed, and my palms are damp. Everything about this moment feels right and amazing and something that I don't hardly deserve.
    I rush to Jim and throw myself into his arms only to realize how injured he is. I have to pull Jim upright before he topples over.
    "Careful, Momma," Jim purrs into my ear. His voice is silky smooth and totally devoid of the crazed undertones it had earlier. This is all Jim. This is the guy who loans me a fucking minivan so I can get my son to and from school--even if I've somehow ended up taking his son, too--and he pays me well above what I should earn just so I can feed my boy and give him normal. This man looks at me in a way that makes me feel like maybe I'm worth something after all.
    "Kiss me for good luck," he says, leaning in. Jim takes a deep breath and tries to suppress a groan.
    "You're in pain." I twist just enough to eye him warily. I don't want to hurt him any more than he's already hurting, but damn if the prospect of kissing him doesn't have my stomach doing flips.
    "Been in pain since I met you, Momma. Every day I'm working a plan to make you mine."
    A million things run through my mind at once. He's insane. He's saying the exact right things. He's also drunk, that much is evident from the scent of whiskey and beer on his breath. But he's still Jim. I'd convince myself it was the alcohol talking if he were pulling some cheesy one-liners on me, but he's not. Maybe I'm stupid, but this feels genuine. So I ignore every ridiculous thought that's running through my head and gently press my lips to his, careful not to hurt him any more than he already is. Jim's kiss is gentle but firm. And holy fuck, my body is awake and alight.
    In an instant, I feel like I've found my way home and been submerged under water at the same time. I don't think I've been lonely, but kissing Jim makes me feel like I've been missing a big part of me that I didn't even realize wasn't there. My heart thuds and my stomach acts up again, but this is right. We're right. And even if I can't have him right now, and he's still an asshole and I'm still a disaster, I want us.
    I just hope I'm not falling down the rabbit hole never to return.
     

 
     
     
    CHAPTER 9
     
    Jim
    Brooklyn, New York
    April 2016
    Mancuso's downfall
     
    "I'm gonna go clean up the rooms," I say to Layla, Grady's wife. She's had her ass perched at the bar for over an hour now and hasn't said much of anything after I pissed her off. She needed to hear what I had to say, so she can just get over her shit. Babies deserve a mother who puts them first, and fuck her for not putting all that shit aside