CHAOS (Beneath The Secrets Book 1)

It was terrifying huddling inside with Maeve in the back room closet when Brody showed up yesterday. It sounded like he was going to break the door down.

But, after a while, I didn’t hear anything. This morning, I could swear that there was blood outside on the concrete.

“What the hell are you going to do about him?” Anna lays out four slices of bread on the counter and folds the bag closed. “This is the second time? Third?”

“Second. I don’t know what he wants. He was mad at the club when I wouldn’t dance for him, and it’s just gone downhill from there.” He’s been angrier each time he showed up.

“I thought he was there for his own bachelor party?” Anna drizzles mayo, then smears on a thick layer of guacamole. “And you have Jax showing up at your job? Geez, Sof. You really have your hands full.”

Funny she says that as I’m changing Maeve’s diaper. “Yeah. I do.”

“Are you ever going to tell Jax?” she asks quietly before adding the last few layers of our sandwiches and cutting them diagonally. “He’s going to find out if you start seeing him.” She takes a large bite and disappears into her bedroom.

I don’t know if I want to see him.

Well, a big piece of me does.

“What do you think, baby girl?” I coo against Maeve’s chubby foot. “Would you want to see him?”

I stare back at his eyes on her round face. His dark curls fanning around her head.

Could I handle seeing his rejection of her?

Maybe it will just be easier to deal with explaining to her once she’s older why he isn’t around. It would be better than her knowing that he didn’t want her.

It makes my stomach roll.

What if I’m wrong?

Could there be a piece of that wild, sexy man who would want to be a dad?

My phone vibrates where it’s wedged beneath her elbow, making her giggle.

Unknown: I’m outside. Want to say hi?

My stomach tightens. I scoop up Maeve, run to Anna’s door, and knock in a panic. Flinging it open before she replies, I rush to her bed.

“What the hell, Sof?” She’s stretched out, her cell in one hand and the last of her sandwich in the other.

“I got another no-name text. I know it’s not Brody, he’s saved under ‘Asshole’. Can you keep her back here until I figure out what’s going on?”

She rolls onto her side, tucking her shoulder under her ear. “Over a message? What did it say?”

“That they’re outside.”

Her blue eyes widen, and she sits up in one motion. “Yes, of course!” She pulls a squealing Maeve onto her lap and wraps her arms around my baby protectively. “Do I need to call the cops?” Her thumb hovers over her phone.

“Not yet. But, be ready.” I pull the door around behind me.

I wish I had a baseball bat.

Or a gun.

I’ve never had the urge to fight back, but that was before I had a child.

Slowly pulling the curtain back, all I can see is the dark form of a motorcycle parked in the street.

Shit. Brody rode one here yesterday.

The knock reverberates through the living room and makes my heart nearly stop beating.

It isn’t the same forceful pounding he used last time.

Grabbing my keys in my hand, I thread them through my knuckles.

I really need to get a better weapon.

Or maybe a big dog. I bet Maeve would love that.

When I slowly open the door, a dark shirted figure is leaning over my small handrail.

“What do you want?” I hiss through the narrow gap.

“Oh!” Jax turns around. “I was starting to wonder if you were home.” His broad smile is highlighted by a big bouquet of lilies and yellow roses clutched tightly in his hand. Just like my mom used to have scattered around the house. Yellow was her favorite color.

My absolute shock at his presence has me forgetting to be guarding the house. “What the hell are you doing here?”

He holds out the flowers to me. “It’s later.”

I must have a confused look, because he laughs.

“You said you’d go on a date with me ‘later’. Well, that’s now.” He starts to step inside, but I shift so I’m blocking him.

“This isn’t how that works, Jax. How did you get my number?” I toss my keys back on the table. I can think of better ways to punish him if he gets out of line.

Like sitting on his face.

Oh, man. The way his eyes work over me makes my thighs rub together.

“I called in a favor.” He gives me a crooked smile and leans closer so his lips nearly brush my ear. “Well? Gonna get ready?”

Maeve cries from Anna’s room.

Jax’s eyebrows raise as he glances past me.

Fear courses through me. I’m not ready.

“I’m babysitting, Jax. I can’t go.” I rest my hand on his chest. “I’m sorry.”

“We could stay in?” His finger runs lightly across my shoulder and down my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. “I like kids. My friends back in New York are popping them out so fast it’s like a daycare when I visit.”

God, he’s making this hard.

There’s a part of me that wants to pull him to show him Maeve.

But I also know that guys always say things they don’t necessarily believe. It’s one of the biggest things I learned at the strip club and my ex-husband. Empty words to fulfill their own fantasies for the night.

I can’t play with my daughter that way. I need to be sure.

“I don’t think so.” My palm tingles where it rests against him. So, I push him back a step. “You can’t just show up at my house like a stalker, Jax. Trust is to be earned, not taken.”

It’s funny, I don’t want to stop touching him.

But I do.

He catches my hand and brings my fingers to his mouth, lightly kissing the tip of each before letting go. “You can trust me. I’ll prove it. I can even follow the rules, if I have to.” His teeth flash in a wide grin before he skips off of the concrete step and heads back to his motorcycle.

Straddling the racing bike, he pauses with his helmet above his head.

“I will get that date, tigritsa. I’ll give you some time to get used to the idea that you’re going to be mine.”

His beard disappears beneath the dark visor. The rumble of his exhaust barely reaches me before he speeds away.

Pushing the door shut, I hug the flowers to my chest and fall onto the overstuffed couch.

Why does he have to be so damn perfect?