Jake’s Angel (King’s Of Fury MC #2)

Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Avery

I wake to a kink in my neck and the slight chill in the air coming through the open window of the truck carrying a hint of fried food with it.

“Have a nice nap?” Sadie asks, yawning.

Everyone has that one friend. They’re the ride or die. The crazy one who will do anything once, just for the sake of saying they did it. No matter if what they’re doing is legal, embarrassing, or borderline insane. They’re still down to do it. Sadie Jenkins is my one friend .

Most of the time, I’m sure we’re going to die, but that’s just because Sadie isn’t your typical wild child. She’s too smart for her own good. But she’s also the only one I trust.

When Sadie moved to Baron’s Edge, she was miserable and full of venom. She walked onto campus the first day dripping with attitude, and more than one person got to experience her wrath.

She is a handful, to say the least, and fearless to boot, which means most of our adventures go one of two ways; either life changing, or panty changing, depending on the situation. Both outcomes leave her laughing at my expense. She’s been known to hide things from me before, to keep me from backing out of plans. This adventure was no different. When she said she was down to help me escape I expected her to race us out of town in her Challenger, but instead she showed up in this old beat-up pickup truck with a horribly uncomfortable bench seat, she borrowed from a friend.

“Not really. The woman even haunts my dreams,” I answer, stretching my arms and rolling my neck. I must’ve fallen asleep shortly after we left the estate because the scenery is no longer familiar to me.

“You never have to go back there. You’re free, babe.”

“Where are we?” I ask, sitting up taller and stretching my back after the long night’s drive.

“Only the best diner in town,” Sadie says. “This is Magpie’s. Trust me, you’ll love it.”

“If you say so,” I reply, climbing out of the old pickup truck she borrowed to come get me.

Three months ago, I turned eighteen. A week ago, I graduated from high school. And two nights ago, with Sadie’s help, I left everything I’ve ever known and got the hell out of Baron’s Edge.

She parks next to a white Dodge Ram and cuts the engine. We roll out of the old truck, my back popping as my feet hit the ground. Sadie comes to my side at the back of the bed, laughing as she flicks my ponytail.

We walk through the front doors and I’m assaulted by the smell of grease and sugar, and I swear I’ve died and gone to heaven.

I love this little diner. It’s got a vintage ‘Happy Days’ feel to it. There’s framed black-and-white pictures on the wall of James Dean and Marilyn Monroe. The booths are white vinyl with vertical teal stripes down the center. The tabletops and bar are stainless steel with tiny jukeboxes and condiments on top. The bar stools are the same teal as the stripes on the booths, and the floor is black-and-white checkerboard. It’s awesome.

We walk toward the podium and an older woman whose name tag says “Patsy” comes around the front and hugs Sadie. She looks at us both, grabbing Sadie’s face with both hands, she says, “Oh, aren’t you a pretty sight for sore eyes? Haven’t seen you in a long time. How long are you here for, baby?”

Sadie’s smile is so wide, her eyes sparkle. She leans into the woman’s hug and tells her she’s home to stay. Those words earn her another tight squeeze before the woman turns her eyes to me. “Who’s your friend Sadie Jay?”

“Um, this is my friend, um …” Sadie’s eyes go wide, looking for me to throw a name out there.

We didn’t give any thought to my name. Shit!

“I’m sorry. Where’s your restroom?” I blurt, not knowing what else to say. I glance at Sadie, whose brow is furrowed.

The woman looks me up and down, twisting her mouth like she’s about to call me on my bullshit, but for whatever reason, she has pity on us and nods instead.

“It’s right back there.” She gestures toward a small hallway on the far side of the restaurant.

“Thank you. I’ll … uh … be right back.” I say as I prepare to take my leave.

“Why don’t you two take the booth back there and I’ll send Misty to take your order?” She kisses Sadie on the forehead. “It’s sure good to see you, baby. I bet the boys are going to be so happy to have you home.”

Walking into the restroom, I head to the sink, turn on the water, and splash cold water on my face then fix my ponytail. I’m staring at myself in the mirror, berating myself for not thinking about this ahead of time. Shit . Of course, people will want to know my name. It’s customary when greeting someone to tell them who you are. Socialite etiquette 101—Know who you are and make sure everyone else knows too.

Suddenly, my mind is filled with images of my face plastered on media websites, newspapers, and TV news stations. I groan to myself.

“Get a grip on yourself, girl.” My quiet reprimand does nothing to calm the anxiety I feel. She won’t go to the media; it would draw too much attention to the fact another child ran away from her. People would question her parenting and reputation.

Which means the punishment will be so much worse if she does find me. Shit!

My internal panic attack is interrupted by a pretty blonde woman coming out of the stall, wiping her mouth with one hand and holding her stomach with the other.

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was in here. I hope I didn’t ruin your appetite with all my retching in there. The food here is amazing, I promise. I’m just having an off day.” She smiles, turning on the faucet. I watch as she cups water in her hands and proceeds to rinse out her mouth. She looks a little pale and I find myself feeling concerned for her.

“Are you alright?”

She dries her mouth with a paper towel and smiles up at me, her cheeks pink with what I presume is embarrassment, but I’m happy to see there’s some color to her face.

“No. I’m afraid I have a condition that no one can help, per se, but I’m not upset about it.” It takes me two seconds to register what she’s saying.

I gasp. “Oh my God. Are you … are you pregnant?”

Her smile is sheepish as she nods. “Let’s keep this between us though, okay? I’m afraid I haven’t broken the news to anyone else, not even the father, and since I like my newfound freedom, I’d like to hold off on telling him just yet. At least not until the doctor confirms that everything is all right. You know?”

“Freedom?” Her words speak to a place deep inside me, which is the only reason I can think of that has me blurting out my next words. “Are you in trouble? Do you need help? My friend and I … we can …”

“Whoa!” Her hands fly up, halting me mid-sentence. “I’m sorry. That probably sounded worse than I intended.” She smiles softly. “What I meant was, my husband has an overactive protective streak. It’s a good thing, most days. But when he finds out about my … condition … he’ll want me grounded on the couch until the baby’s born.” She shakes her head, still smiling. “I love him and his need to take care of me, but I also love training in the gym and going out dancing with my girls. It’s been too long since I had a social life. I’m not ready to give it up just yet.”

“I get that,” I sigh, not liking the tightness I feel in my chest. I don’t know why I feel this way. I’m a mix of scared and excited, but there’s something else there, too. Longing. I’ve longed to have a social life of my own choosing. To have my own ‘girls’ to go out dancing with. People who I actually like and who enjoy spending time with me. Not because they have to, but because they genuinely enjoy my company, or shared interests. People who fucking care.

“Hey,” a soft voice and gentle hand touching my shoulder shake me out of my thoughts. “You, okay?”

“Um, yeah. Sorry. I was thinking about … I mean, I’m new in town so I wouldn’t know who to tell about your pregnancy, but I get it. We all have our secrets, right?” She eyes me suspiciously but doesn’t question. “Well …” I clear my throat, stand up a little taller and call on my practiced manners, plastering my best ‘public smile’ and say, “Congratulations! It sounds like you’re happy about everything and have a wonderful husband who will be just as happy and caring of both you and your baby.”

She hears the bullshit I’m spewing. The polite, proper response, but she doesn’t call me on it, which I appreciate. Instead, she gives me a soft smile, slight nod, and opens the bathroom door.

Relax, Avery. You don’t have to be perfect anymore. No one here will care. They don’t know who you are.

I don’t know who I am.

The thought is sobering.

We walk out into the diner and the blonde squeals when she sees Sadie and Patsy chatting by the booth.

“Hey, I heard you were moving back this weekend. Did you and Jayde get everything settled? If not, I can grab Lilah and we can come by and help.” The woman excitedly chatters.

“I think we’ve got it, but I’ll keep you in mind if something comes up.” Sadie looks from the blonde woman to me and back again. “Are the guys back? Are they coming for breakfast?”

“Yeah. Ethan should be in any minute. I told him I was grabbing food on the way to the gym. Even offered to bring him and Violet something, but he, of course, said no.” She rolls her eyes. “The way I see it, the fight’s over. He isn’t scheduled for another one yet, and I’m sick of eating healthy. I need some sugary sweet carbs.” When the woman groans, the sound causes people at the surrounding tables to stare in our direction.

“Jesus, Skyler.” Sadie grabs her arm, pulling her to sit with her in the booth. I take a seat on the opposite side. “You need to tell Ethan to do a better job of satisfying you if the thought of sugar and carbs can make you make that kind of sound.”

Skyler smiles wide, “Oh, trust me. That man keeps me plenty satisfied. But he doesn’t know dick about a woman and her food cravings. Except chocolate. But I think he only keeps my Reese’s stocked because Hawk mentioned something about throwing chocolate at women when we’re on our period. I could’ve kissed him, but then I’d have to explain to Gabe why Ethan beat Hawk to a pulp.” She waves her hand in the air. “It would become a whole thing, and I just don’t need the stress of it all.”

Sadie is cracking up laughing and I have zero clue as to anything they’re talking about.

“So, how was moving? Were you able to grab all your things from Baron’s Edge or do you need the guys to make another run? I have my truck. If you need to make another trip, I can drive down with you.”

“Like Ethan would let you make an overnight trip without him,” Sadie sasses. “He just locked you down. He’s not letting you out of his sight.” She nudges Skyler’s arm. “Hell, I’m amazed he let you out of his bed to come here alone. We all know how much he loves seeing you cuffed to the headboard.”

“Bitch!” Skyler snaps, laughing. “Not everyone knows everything about my sex life. Jesus!”

“Please.” Sadie laughs. “Ethan borrowed those cuffs from Hawk, who we all know can’t keep his fucking mouth shut about anything. Not to mention the way Cash bragged to the brothers about how he fully expected you to put Ethan on his ass for the way he got you to admit to being his.”

I am so lost. I pick up the menu and start reading through the options, letting them get caught up. It feels odd to be sitting here watching such a normal interaction between two women who clearly don’t give a crap about what other people hear them saying. They seem so uninhibited.

I find myself wondering what it would be like to be that carefree. To have the ‘I don’t give a shit’ mentality Sadie has always had. Even in high school, she said what she wanted. She did whatever crazy idea popped into her head and gave zero fucks about what other people said or thought about her.

I want to be like her. So badly.

“Aves!” Sadie grabs the menu, slapping it down on the table. “You good?”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I’m trying to decide what I want to have for breakfast. There aren’t many healthy options here.” Skyler looks between us, leaning back with her arms across her chest, saying nothing. I feel her eyes boring into mine, but don’t acknowledge the awkward tension at the table. “I’m starving.”

Sadie’s hand reaches across, grabs my forearm and squeezes. My eyes meet hers. She smiles.

“You can have whatever you want, Aves.” I tilt my head, watching her in confusion. “You can eat anything you want. You don’t have to worry about carbs or your weight or fitting into some dumbass pageant gown.” She rubs my arm, then turns to the page on the menu with a long list of waffles and pancakes.

Skyler is still watching us, but something Sadie has said seems to have sparked her interest and dropped her guard a bit.

“Try the waffles. Trust me,” she says.

“The waffles, huh?”

My stomach growls at the sight. My mouth waters. Proud of herself, Skyler points at the Belgium waffle and says, “Those are to die for. And … if you ask nicely, Patsy will make Frank load it with fresh strawberries and whipped cream for you. In fact, I think I’ll have the same. And sausage. Maybe some bacon.”

Sadie looks at Skyler curiously, then laughs when Skyler’s response is to tell her, “Ethan is a beast in bed. A girl must eat to keep up with the man and his appetite.” She emphasizes her words with a wiggle of her brows, and we all start laughing.

I feel my eyes get wider and my cheeks hurt from smiling so widely. “Oh. My. God.” Sadie claps her hands, laughing at me.

“You’ll have to excuse my virgin friend here. She’s not sure what to make of everything you just said.”

“Hey, you’re a virgin too.” I accuse, but her cheeks blush, and Sadie quickly turns her attention back to the menu. “Sadie?”

“So, Waffles and sausage. Sounds like a plan. Maybe we should get you a milkshake too? What do you say, Aves?”

About the same time she makes her decision, the waitress approaches the table. We all give our orders and wait for her to leave before we all start laughing again.

Skyler’s eyes are wide. She nudges Sadie and says, “You know I won’t judge you for your choices, but … do not, under any circumstances, let any of the men know you’ve been deflowered.”

“Ew. I was not deflowered. You make it sound like I’m a child,” Sadie grumps.

“You’re barely eighteen,” Skyler rebuts.

“So? I fucked a guy for the first time when I was sixteen. He was hardly the one . I’ve had other partners since.”

“What?” I shout, glaring at her. The surrounding people are staring again, but I don’t care. Sadie having sex not once, but multiple times with multiple people is news to me. “I’m your best friend and you’re just now telling me this information?”

“I didn’t want to tell you since … it wasn’t ever a good time. You were always busy with work, and pageants, and charity events. I guess I didn’t think to mention it before.”

“Hmm.” It’s all I can say in the present company.

I know why she didn’t tell me. She felt guilty.

We turned sixteen the same year, a few months apart. She had a wonderful birthday with her family and some friends and apparently a gentleman friend. I had a fancy dinner party and was physically attacked a few days later by the asshole I shot down for a date at the party. Sadie was the one who found me and took me to the hospital.

I never told her who did it. I never told anyone. We never spoke of it again.

“Just don’t tell the guys. Please. They will go on a head hunt so fast you won’t see anything but the smoke and blur of colors as they ride out of here. Mack, Jake, and Hawk would … Oh God. Hawk would lose his fucking mind.”

“Pshh. He couldn't care less about what I do, or who, for that matter. He has his own harem of women to worry about.” Sadie spits the words like venom. I want to ask who this Hawk person is but think better of it.

Our plates are served quickly, and the table becomes covered with a mountain of various foods. Waffles, pancakes, syrup, sausage, bacon, and three milkshakes. One chocolate, one strawberry, and one vanilla.

“You have to try some of everything,” Sadie urges. “It’s about time you started enjoying the finer things in life!”

It’s time to enjoy the finer things indeed.