BRICK (Forsaken Riders MC Romance Book 17) Read online

  “Well, in that case,” Jasmine said with a wicked grin. “We better get you laid as quickly as possible. We don’t want your life to pass you by and for you to only have had terrible sex with terrible boyfriends!”

  Cadence threw the menu across the table so it slapped against Jasmine’s hands and she hissed at her to shush.

  “I can’t believe you’ve just shouted that out in here,” Cadence scowled.

  “And I can’t believe you made me go to a modern art exhibition just so you could gloat and make me feel small,” Jasmine smirked with a raised eyebrow, happy she had finally been able to get a little revenge on Cadence and the superior attitude she had thrown about all day.

  “Okay, truce,” Cadence rolled her eyes. “It’s a good thing you’re my best friend and I love you.”

  “Aww,” Jasmine grinned. “I love you too.”

  “How delightful,” Arlene broke their banter and stepped up to the table with a hideous scowl on her face.

  The girls looked up at her and tried to smile, but they were each finding it as hard as the other. Being pleasant to Arlene when she was spitting so much poison was practically impossible.

  “So, come on,” Arlene said as she chewed her gum. “What are you having?”

  Jasmine could see the panic in Cadence’s eyes and she raised her hand as if she were asking permission to speak to take the heat off her.

  “I’ll just get a big cup of coffee, thanks,” Jasmine said. “And some of those blueberry pancakes.”

  Arlene didn’t say a word, she just jotted it down on her notepad and then sighed and rolled her eyes with impatience as she looked down at Cadence.

  “Erm…” Cadence was scanning the menu and Jasmine was sure she could hear her panicked heart beating. “Erm…fries?” she offered as she looked up at Arlene.

  Arlene looked back at her with some kind of pretend sympathy and then snatched the menus out of the girls’ hands and marched back toward the cash register.

  “Oh my God,” Cadence breathed a sigh of relief. “That was intense.”

  “I can’t believe how nervous you just got,” Jasmine laughed. “It was hilarious.”

  “Shush,” Cadence scowled. “She’s always terrified me.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing we don’t have to deal with her much in the real world, then, isn’t it.”

  “Just in here is bad enough,” Cadence said with a nervous grin.

  When Arlene brought the coffee, she slammed the cup down on the table and glared at Cadence again.

  “You don’t want anything to drink?” she barked at her, and Jasmine tried not to laugh as she watched Cadence jump with nerves.

  “I forgot to order,” she said slowly. “But, yes, I think I would like an erm… A…”

  Arlene clicked her teeth with frustration and put her hand on her hip as if she really didn’t have time for any of this.

  “Just a water,” Cadence broke. “A water would be great.”

  Arlene marched off and was out of sight before either of the girls were able to take a breath, and Jasmine couldn’t help but collapse in the seat and start to shake with laughter.

  “Oh, God,” she said through gasps of breath. “I really hope I don’t end up like her. Stuck working in this diner because there’s nothing else, hating my life, and then ending up a bitter and twisted old spinster.”

  Cadence laughed and shook her head with a warm smile.

  “Don’t be so silly,” she beamed. “As if that would ever happen to you.”

  “Jeez, at this point, who the hell knows,” Jasmine joked.

  Arlene came back over to the table with a glass of water and placed it down in front of Cadence before she stormed off again.

  The diner wasn’t particularly busy for a Saturday afternoon and it made it feel a lot worse having Arlene’s mood in there, and so close to them. When the place was packed full of bodies, it never seemed so bad.

  “I wonder where all the weekenders are,” Jasmine sighed as she looked out toward the highway and the rolling mountains in the distance.

  “Who knows,” Cadence yawned. “This town has been so quiet lately, I’m starting to wonder what the hell is even going on.”

  Jasmine nodded as she thought of the stores that had closed along Main Street, and then she turned and looked back over to the motel. What had once been a place where people had lived, stopped off at, and had made feel alive, now looked completely dead and empty.

  “I wonder when Sarah will reopen the motel,” Cadence said, as if she were reading Jasmine’s mind.

  “Maybe she won’t,” Jasmine whispered as she turned back to face the table. “I don’t know what’s going on around here, but it’s weird. I’ve never known Slate Springs to be so quiet and eerie.”

  Suddenly, from way off in the distance, Jasmine heard the roar of engines, and she was sure she felt the ground beneath her tremble. Her heart raced instinctively and she gripped the edge of the table and bit her lip with excitement.

  “Do you feel that?” she asked Cadence. And Cadence smiled and nodded back.

  “I do,” she said. “I wonder where they’re going.”

  They both turned and looked toward the window, and watched as, over the horizon, the band of bikers broke into view. There must have been twenty of them, all on wild, glistening machines, racing fast beside each other, making the earth shake, and looking so goddamn bad and dangerous it made Jasmine’s heart flutter and her pussy ache.

  The convoy of bikers all flashed past the diner in a matter of seconds, and she moved closer to the window, quickly, to get a better view.

  “There go the Forsaken Riders,” Cadence said breathlessly.

  “Yeah,” Jasmine whispered.

  Arlene broke the moment by slamming two plates down on the table between them but was gone before either of them had the chance to thank her.

  “Well,” Cadence said. “Bon Appetit… I guess…”

  And Jasmine couldn’t help but laugh. It may have been a miserable roadside diner, but the company was good and she had to admit, she had lots to look forward to. She just had to stay positive and trust that fate was leading her in the right direction.

  2.

  Jasmine walked back to her apartment slowly after she had said goodbye to Cadence and let the warm summer sun prickle her skin. She’d had a good day, even considering all the play fighting with Cadence, but now she was tired and ready for home.

  As she approached her building, which was just behind Main Street, she looked over her shoulder and smiled. She really hoped she didn’t have to lose the place. She had lived there for four years and loved every second of being in the center of town and around the hustle and bustle of life on Main Street. To leave it all behind now and potentially find somewhere a little more affordable until she managed to secure another job was all kinds of depressing.

  “It just means you have to work hard, right now, and ensure that doesn’t happen,” she whispered to herself as she checked her mail and began to climb the big, winding staircase to the second floor.

  She pushed open the door to her apartment and instantly felt warm and safe. This place really was home, and she couldn’t imagine herself being anywhere else. The rooms were as light and airy as the art gallery had been earlier that day, and all her furnishings were soft and feminine. She had spent years collecting bits, saving up and buying exactly what she wanted, rather than settling for second best or something she didn’t love. It had been a project all its own, but everything had come together perfectly and she had created a real home. From the soft and decadent couch to the silver frames and candlesticks she had dotted around the place. Clutter was to an absolute minimum, with only a stack of issues of Vogue on the center coffee table and a white linen candle and a fresh small bunch of pink roses.

  “Home sweet home,” she said as she closed the door behind her and flicked the latch to lock it.

  She kicked off her sneakers and reached down to massage the ball of her foot. She had w
alked so much lately while traipsing around the stores and restaurants of Slate Springs looking for work that it was a wonder she didn’t have blisters.

  She could see her answering machine flashing over on the telephone table and she wandered over and pressed play. A loud beep rang out and then she heard the familiarity of her mother’s voice…

  “Jasmine!” her mom began. “How are you, honey? I feel like we haven’t talked in so long. Anyway, I hope you’re having a fantastic weekend, and the job hunt is going well. Your dad and I are heading to Vegas for a few days. We’ve been saying we’re going to do it for a while now and he’s feeling lucky. I guess we may as well go and blow our money somewhere.” She paused and laughed. “Speaking of which, don’t be afraid to ask us for help, you know. I know things can’t be easy right now having lost your job, and we’re always here if you need us. Love you, bye.”

  The line went dead and a second beep rang out. Jasmine waited for a moment and sighed. It was kind of her mom to offer to help her, but her pride was too strong and there was no way she would ever live off handouts. For Jasmine to feel independent and strong, like the woman she was inside, she had to do things on her own. She never wanted someone to pay for her or make her feel as if she hadn’t been able to do things for herself.

  She smiled and turned away from the machine and moved over to the window, looking out and over the small sliver of Main Street she could see. The town was definitely a lot quieter than it ever had been, and she couldn’t help but wonder what the hell was going on. Lisa had been completely tight-lipped when it had come to talking about the closing of the store, even considering that it was Jasmine who was losing her livelihood as well. But she hadn’t wanted to press the matter, and she figured that if Lisa ever wanted to talk, she knew where Jasmine was.

  She turned away from the window and stepped over to her desk and tapped the button on her laptop to bring it to life. The screen shone bright and a picture of a cherry blossom forest in Tokyo beamed out at her.

  “One day…” she sighed as she traced her fingertips over the branches of the trees and then sat down in the chair at the desk, opening her emails.

  She worked her way down them, quickly deleting them without even opening them. She stopped when she saw a local job alert she had signed up for, and sat forward in her seat to get a better look.

  With her eyes wide and her heart beating fast, she clicked on the email and let her eyes scan down it quickly. She was reading so fast she was barely even taking any of it in, but she caught specific words like mostly evenings and when required.

  She chewed the end of her thumb and went back to the beginning and then she took a deep breath and read the advert from the very first word…

  Babysitter required for one child, girl, age 5.

  Must be local to Slate Springs.

  Mostly evenings, but some daytime hours may be needed.

  No set times. As and when required.

  Good pay.

  Urgent.

  Jasmine breathed out and quickly read over it again. She hadn’t looked after any children in a long, long time. But she loved kids, and she would happily do it again. She looked at the bottom of the advert for some contact details and saw a cellphone number was listed. She jotted it down on her notepad, ripped off the piece of paper, and walked over to the kitchen counter with it. She sat down on the high stool at the breakfast bar and pulled her cellphone from her pocket.

  She tapped in the number slowly and raised it to her ear, waiting with baited breath.

  The phone rang once, then twice, and then it cut directly to the answering service. She held her breath, waiting to speak, but then she panicked and hung up.

  “Idiot,” she cursed herself and then looked out the window, trying to think of something to say. “But you can’t call back to leave a message now,” she said. “They’ll know you called and hung up.”

  She chewed the edge of her thumb and tapped her foot against the leg of the counter.

  “Text,” she said as she opened up a blank message and started to type furiously.

  J: Hi there, this is Jasmine. I was just reaching out about the babysitting job. I’m local, have full availability and I’m very interested in the position. Any more information would be much appreciated, thanks!

  She knew it sounded informal, but she figured for something like that, informal was the way to go. She hit send and leaned back against the wall, breathing a sigh of relief.

  “Oh well,” she smiled. “Maybe things are looking up already.”

  She put the phone down on the counter and stared at it, willing it to pop to life and for the person who had placed the advert to call her back. But it just sat there, dark and silent, and after she had watched it for around five minutes, she began to feel restless and got to her feet. She looked up at the clock on the wall and could see it was only five thirty. She had a full evening stretching out ahead of her and she was already wondering what in the hell she could do to occupy herself.

  “You could go through your closet and throw away old clothes,” she said aloud as she peered through the hallway, toward her bedroom. She shook her head. “Or, you could run a bath, grab a glass of wine and relax for once…”

  The thought was too tempting for words.

  She wandered through to the bathroom and put the plug in the bottom of the tub before she ran the hot tap, the steam rising quickly around her. She went back to the kitchen and found a box of matches in one of the drawers and struck one to light all the scented candles in the front room and the bathroom.

  It felt so tranquil, she easily could have been in a spa, and she smiled to herself as she marveled, again, at how much she loved her home. It really was exactly her style, and it was somewhere she had created and made her own. She didn’t know many other people her age who had worked so hard and tirelessly to get exactly what they wanted, and she felt proud of her achievements when she waited for a moment and actually took stock of it all.

  She had done well.

  The beautiful scents from the various pink and white candles filled the apartment. Some were rosy, some were like cotton candy, and some were fresh and crisp like lilies. She turned off the overhead lights in the bathroom and just left the small vanity light on next to the mirror, and the flickering glow from the candles. She peeled her t-shirt up over her head and then began to unbutton her jeans. She unhooked her bra and slid off her panties and grabbed her white silk robe and slipped it around her shoulders before she tied it at the waist. Her long dark hair trailed down one side and almost reached her waist. Gathering it up, she swept it into a ponytail before securing it in a tight bun on the top of her head.

  She stared at herself in the mirror, in the half light, looking at the olive glow of her skin and the deep darkness of her eyes. She had never been overly confident or one to talk herself up, but she knew she was beautiful. She just couldn’t ever seem to find the confidence to exude her personality to match her looks when it came to men. She always found herself a stuttering mess if she was attracted to anyone and then she would find herself blushing and running away. It had been a long time since she had dated or had a real boyfriend, and when she had found herself concentrating more on her career and building her life on her own, she had kind of forgotten what it was like to even consider having a man in her life.

  She wandered back to the kitchen and reached for the refrigerator handle. Inside was a bottle of white wine which she had opened the night before and sipped one glass with dinner. She set it down on the counter, found a big, clear wine glass, removed the cork, and filled the glass halfway before she walked back to the bathroom.

  She rarely allowed herself such luxuries, and she certainly wasn’t the type of girl who enjoyed drinking and partying, but occasionally, she did enjoy a glass of wine with good food or when she was unwinding in a big, warm bubble bath.

  She had a little table ledge that fit over the top of the tub, and she placed the glass on it before she grabbed the book she had been
reading, setting it down next to it.

  “This is looking good,” she said aloud. “This is looking very good.”

  She turned off the faucets and slipped out of her robe, stepping over the side of the tub and immersing herself in the warm, bubbly water. She sighed as she slid down and rested the back of her head and neck on a rolled-up towel.

  “Dreamy,” she whispered as she reached forward and grabbed the glass of wine between her fingers and took a cool, crisp sip.

  She set it back down on the table and closed her eyes. It had been so long since she had indulged herself in such a way, it felt all the more amazing and she was so relaxed and at peace, it was almost as if the past couple of weeks hadn’t even happened. For the first time since Lisa had told her, the fact she had lost her job was completely out of her mind.

  In that perfect, tranquil moment, Jasmine honestly thought nothing could pull her back to reality. But, suddenly, from the kitchen, she heard the familiar trill of her cellphone blaring out.

  “Oh shit,” she said as she pushed herself up on her hands and got quickly to her feet. “I can’t believe I left it in there!”

  She pulled a towel from the rail and wrapped it around herself before she jumped out of the tub, trying not to slip on the wet tiles as she raced to the kitchen. The number calling her was flashing up on the screen as she scooped the phone into her hand, and although she didn’t have it saved, she knew she recognized it.

  “Hello?” she gasped as she answered it quickly and tried to catch her breath.

  “Is this Jasmine?” a gruff, deep voice came from the other end of the line.

  “Yes,” she panted as she rested her palm over her heart and tried not to breathe too loudly as her heartrate returned to normal.

  “I’m returning your call…” the man said sternly. “About the babysitting job.”

  “Oh,” Jasmine said cheerily. “Yes, I called and sent you a text… I was just wondering if you had any more information.”

  “Well, do you want the job or not?” he asked, and it took Jasmine by surprise.