“Are you saying you don’t want to be there?”
“I want to be with you,” she says, and her voice breaks before she regains control of herself. “But that wasn’t an option offered to me. Either I helped out Clive, or you had to. I knew he wasn’t trustworthy, but I thought Immee was.”
“I love you,” I say, suddenly afraid she’ll hang up. “I miss you so much. Uncle Clive said I had to marry some lame fuck in Bismarck, so I ran away.”
“Who was the girl who gave me the phone?”
I look at Conor, still wary of telling my mom too much. Even if Needy can be trusted, who knows if the people in her life will force her to fess up details.
“I’m safe,” I say despite wanting my mom to instantly ditch her hubby and join me in Elko.
Needy remains silent, and I think she might hang up. “Did you go to your dad’s?” she finally asks. “That wasn’t him who answered.”
“How would you know? It was more than twenty years ago.”
“The man who answered sounded younger.”
“It’s Barbie’s son.”
“What about Bambi?” Mom asks, and I finally know who scared her off.
“She’s around. I headbutted her daughter recently.”
Mom laughs quietly. “My little tomboy is always willing to get dirty to stay in the game.”
“Can you leave that place?” I ask, panic rising in me again. “Do you want to? I could help you. We could be together. Is that what you want?”
“You’re the only person I’ve ever loved completely, Monroe,” Mom says, and I look at Conor. “I can try to run, but not for a while. Clive must have told Francis that you ran off. He’s been extra careful whenever I’m out of the house. They probably assumed you’d come here.”
“I knew that’s what they’d think, so I didn’t try.”
“That’s my girl.”
“I want to find a way to bring you here. Tell me that’s what you want, and I’ll find a way.”
“I don’t want you risking yourself.”
“Stop the martyr bullshit,” I mutter, losing the temper I inherited from her. “You made a deal with Clive, and he fucked you over. Do you want to leave, or do you want to stay? If you like it there, I won’t hate you. We can communicate with secret phones and emails. You can have your life there if that’s what you want, but you need to be honest.”
“Well, if you’re going to be a bitch about it, Monroe, then it sucks here, and the guy is really into butt action. So, yeah, if you can find a way to get me out, I’m all for it. But if it’ll put you in danger, it’s not worth trying.”
Smiling, I say again, “I love you.”
“I love you, too, baby. I’ve missed you so much. The women here are the most tedious cunts I’ve ever met. I had more in-depth conversations with the methheads in Georgia.”
“Then, I’ll find a way to bring you here. I don’t know how long it’ll take, but be ready.”
“There’s nothing for me here. I can go at any time with only what’s on my back.”
I think to ask if he hurts her, but the answer doesn’t matter. Mom wants to leave, and I’ll get her out. Not that I have any clue how.
Of course, based on what Conor went through to slip a secret phone to my mom, I suspect he might already have a few escape plans in mind.
CONOR
A burden lifts off my shoulders when Needy calls. Monroe hangs up and looks at me with eyes threatening tears.
“You’re a good man, Conor Jessup.”
“Happy?” I ask, loving the joyful expression on her beautiful face.
Her arms wrap around my waist as she relaxes against me. “I might cry for a minute. Let me try to get that under control.”
Holding Monroe against me, I look at the lot where our home will one day stand. I can imagine us here. A basketball hoop in the front so my honey can keep her skills sharp. Mom will likely take over the front yard, picking the bushes and flowers to plant. I can even imagine that son Monroe has her heart set on. I don’t know what she’ll do if our kid ends up sporting an innie versus an outie, but that’s a problem for another day.
“Thank you,” she says, tugging me down for a grateful kiss.
Before Monroe’s hand gets too comfy between my legs, I free my lips. “I have a plan to save your mom.”
“I know. You’re very smart,” she says, stroking me through my jeans. “I need you to fuck me. Let’s go to your house and get naked.”
No arguing with that plan, I climb on the Harley, and she slides on behind me. Her hands never stop fondling my cock. More than once, I nearly come before my dick is free from the confines of my jeans.
Once we’re naked and satisfied, I move Monroe’s hand from my dick to over my heart. “I don’t want to ask Lowell and Bronco for help with freeing Needy.”
“Because they’ll say no?”
“Because they’ll micromanage everything. Also, I feel as if they’re still testing me.”
Monroe bites at her lower lip, seeming unsure. “What if the men in Kansas hurt you?”
“You understand my life, don’t you? About how I could get hurt every day?”
Pouting now, she looks so young. Then, the fire returns to her dark eyes, reminding me of her father.
“I get that, but I refuse to celebrate how your life is in danger. Fuck you for thinking I should.”
“I never said that.”
“No, you did. I heard you,” she says, shoving a pillow between us. “Just for that, I refuse to suck you off for two hours. I hope you’ve learned your lesson.”
“I’m a smart guy, and I really love blowjobs. So, yeah, I learned real good.”
Smiling now, Monroe sighs. “I want you to save my mom and bring her here. But I’m also afraid that I’ll be the reason you get hurt. Getting fucked up,” she says, caressing the scars across my stomach, “for the club isn’t on me. That’s who you were before we met. It’s the man I fell for. Can you understand the difference?”
Turning over in bed, I kiss Monroe’s cheek. “Yeah, I get it, but Needy is my second mommy now. Isn’t that how marriage works?”
“She’s going to love you,” Monroe says, but worry clouds her gaze. “I’ve spent months wondering if she ditched me. Now, I know she didn’t, and I feel guilty for ever doubting her.”
Monroe’s pout reveals a shameful vulnerability that I can’t bear to see. Even as I kiss her, she sinks into her doubts.
“On some level, you probably needed to believe she left willingly,” I say, and Monroe frowns harder. “Knowing she was miserable with that man hurt more than believing she ditched you. Besides, it’s not as if you could have saved her.”
“I should have found a way.”
“Don’t make yourself responsible for crap you have no power over. I played that game plenty when I was little,” I say, and Monroe’s pout shifts into curiosity about my life. “My mom acts like a cranky bitch, and she is, but that’s not all she is. There were times when she got weird and would keep making me shower. Or, one time, I came home from school to find out that she sent away our dog. She just sensed he would attack me, so he was gone. Sometimes, my dad would get fed up and stay at the Overlook for days. Through it all, I believed I needed to keep Mom calm or to make Dad understand her.”