He was also the exact opposite of her dad, making her admire everything about him. He was a dedicated family man despite not being married and having kids. There was nothing more appealing to her than a man who put forth the energy to stay close to those he loved.
Her respect for him spanned the bridge of their age gap. She found him intoxicating. If that all-encompassing love came with maturity, she wanted what he had. Men her age were merely boys who kept a list of every girl they ever fucked. They treated girls like her as if they were toys to play with and then throw away.
Romeo had invited her into his house and treated her like family.
That's why she had to leave now before she started getting deeper feelings for him.
Having her dad show up and throw money at her only pounded the truth into her. She would never get the life she wanted. Forever would she be on the run, jumping from one location to the next.
She thought Spokane would be far enough away she'd stay safe and unbothered by her parents' lifestyle choices. She was wrong.
She always wondered why her dad hadn't taken her and mom to Spokane, considering Killere Motorcycle Club was based in eastern Washington. It only made sense that if her dad had removed them from the Seattle area, they would've remained safe. She couldn've had a different upbringing.
It angered her that he would selfishly leave them to fend for themselves.
But once she hit her teen years, she realized no matter where she lived. Her father would always neglect her. He would never want her around him. He would forever ignore her existence.
The short ride ended too soon, and she slid off the back of his motorcycle behind the diner. Romeo got off the bike and undid her bag for her.
She looked up into his eyes. "I want to thank you for everything you've done."
"Are you sure you get the new place today?"
She nodded.
"I can take you there after work," he said.
She swung the strap of the bag over her shoulder. "Vega's letting me use her bike to get back and forth to work. It's not far."
"How far?"
She motioned her hand. It was exactly three miles. A twenty-minute bike ride, one way—she'd Googled. Because she was not used to pedaling or sitting on the bike seat, she'd need to give herself thirty minutes to make it to work.
"I better go inside, put my bag away, and wash up before my shift starts." She stepped toward him, raised to her tiptoes, and kissed his whiskered cheek, right over his dimple. "Thank you for everything, Romeo. I'll never forget what you and your brothers have done for me."
Licking her lip to see if she could taste him, she slipped inside before he could ask more questions. Anytime her mom and dad forced her to move, she wasn't allowed to mention where she was going to any of her friends—not that she ever had any warning. She'd change apartments, schools, neighborhoods, and friends overnight.
Tomorrow was a new day.
The only thing that would stay the same was her job. She wasn't going to quit working at Killere Truck Stop. If her dad thought he was going to pay her to leave, he would find out that there wasn't enough money in the world for her to go back to Seattle.
At least here, she had the other girls who worked at the diner. She had Willow, who checked in with her every day and always seemed interested in how she was doing.
And there was Romeo. Even if she was no longer staying at his house. She'd still see him at the diner.
Chapter Sixteen
Dice walked into the alley off East Trent Avenue. Romeo swung his head around while riding with the flow of traffic, not believing what he was seeing. What was Dice doing in town?
Last he'd heard, Dice had hightailed it out of Spokane after giving Timber a wad of cash.
He held out his hand, taking the corner, and backtracked around the block. Once at the sight where he'd spotted Dice, Romeo parked and got out to walk, to try and find his MC brother.
Timber's attitude toward her dad was rubbing off on him. He had a feeling his MC brother was bringing trouble down on Killere.
He'd seen how much money Dice had forced on Timber and her quick response to move out of his house. They could both pretend that nothing was going on, but he'd come to know Timber better, and the way she reacted was not like her.
She was a strong woman. The biggest truckers who walked into the diner never pushed her around because she could stand up for herself. But she'd cowered to Dice. She even opened her mouth and spoke to Dice without any cajoling when it'd taken her days of living with him to return a good morning exchange.
What sealed his suspicions about Dice's activities was how he'd treated Timber. Her moving out and skirting his questions about where she was going sat wrong with him.
There were only a handful of places close enough for her to commute to work on a bicycle. He would find her and figure out why she'd moved out and do what needed to be done to bring her back home again.
But first, he needed to find out what Dice was doing.
He stepped into the alley, catching Dice going into a side door. Looking behind him, he wrapped his fingers around the handle of his pistol tucked underneath his belt and walked forward.
Unable to tell which business he entered from the back, he had a high suspicion it was the tattoo joint with the closed sign in the front of the building.
He tried the door handle, feeling it move. Taking out his pistol, he stepped inside to bright lights.
A man shoved away from a desk, moving toward the cabinet to his right. Romeo lifted the pistol and shook his head. "I wouldn't if I was you."
"What do you want?" The man held up his hands.
"I'm looking for the man who just walked in. He's wearing the same patch."
The man sat back down, keeping his hands on top of the desk. "He's with Rudy."
"Where?"
"Out front."
"Is there anyone else here?"
"No. We're closed."
"Take a walk, and don't come back until I'm gone." Romeo motioned with the end of the pistol toward the back door. "Give me five minutes.
"Dude, you can have the afternoon." The man pointed toward the wall. "Toss me the keys, and you haven't seen me."
Stepping over, he grabbed the ring of keys from the hook and lobbed them through the air. Staying out of the way, he waited until the man got up and left the building, then locked the back door.
Once he was alone, he could hear voices from the other side. He walked down the hallway, seeing the two men before they noticed him.
"Don't move." He entered the room, ignoring Dice and concentrating on the other man.
Fully tattooed from his neck down until the man's jeans covered the ink, the man rolled back on the stool and put his hands on his thighs. "A friend of yours?"
Dice's gaze narrowed on Romeo. "You don't look like you're here to get more ink, brother."
"Killere doesn't deal on this side of town." He lifted his chin. "Let's take a walk."
Dice reached into his vest, took out an envelope, and tossed it on the tray. Then, he walked past Romeo and disappeared into the hallway.
Not turning around, he walked backward, keeping an eye on the man until he was safely away. He gritted his teeth, unlocking the back door.