Going Wild (The Wild Ones Book 2)(36)

He nods like he’s taking all that in.

“The bar doesn’t have a liquor license. He uses his brother’s liquor license, and his brother runs the liquor store downtown. They fudge the books and stuff. Then Caroline runs a gambling ring under her dance studio.”

“A gambling ring? The old lady with the beehive bun?” he asks incredulously.

I nod.

“Then of course there are the pot runners. A lot of runs are made to distribute all the pot the Wilders grow. Vick handles selling it to the locals. But, yeah. Nothing stronger than pot is allowed. You will go to jail for that. And then Molly sells baked pot goods at the bakery—”

“That suddenly makes so much sense,” he says, still driving.

The Wilders own a lot of land, so it takes a while to get back to town.

“What does?”

“Molly’s daughter was one of my admirers—” I growl a little, and he grins. “—and she brought me some brownies from her momma’s bakery. I ate the entire pan. Normally I don’t eat sweets.” He pats his abs through his shirt, winking over at me. “But I couldn’t stop once I started. And I laughed for no fucking reason until my ribs hurt. Felt high as a fucking kite for hours and hours. Then I raided my fridge for an hour. The next day I spent four hours doing sit-ups, worried I was going to be soft before I finally got to see you.”

I try not to laugh. I forgot how easy it was for him to do this to me.

The uncontrollable grins. The freaking stupid-girl giggles. The vagina butterflies.

How did I forget all this?

“Sugar is the main component of Killian’s and Hale’s diets, and they still maintain a six-pack with ease,” I decide to say with a mocking lilt.

He cuts his eyes toward me.

“I’m aware. Thanks for pointing that out.”

I laugh a little under my breath, trying and failing not to smile over at him. When he winks at me, I’m transported back to those three weirdly perfect weeks where he was mine.

“You’re really in Tomahawk for me?” I ask him, finally letting that sink in as stupid little butterflies restlessly rustle in my stomach.

“Why the hell else would I move here?” he volleys.

Slippery slope, here I come.

“My father won’t take it easy on you,” I say instead of rolling down said slope. “And he doesn’t even know you had a girlfriend while I was wearing out my jaw on you multiple times a day.”

He jerks the Jeep back on the road after he veers off course by accident, and he clears his throat.

“Damn deer,” he mutters.

There was no deer.

I don’t point that out to him as I grin.

“Stay with me tonight,” he says suddenly, keeping his eyes on the road.

I pretend to think about it. I’m not stupid enough to think I can keep living in denial. Liam is here. He bought a home in Tomahawk to be with me.

I’m fucked in every sense of the word, whether I want to admit it or not. But I don’t trust all these confusing emotions going to war inside me. My mother loved my father and me. Yet she walked away like it was the easiest decision of her life.

And she never looked back.

She has a husband and three step kids in Seattle now. Found that out through my cousins, who still keep in touch with their shitty parents on occasion. My mother went to be a mother to someone else because she liked the scenery better than our small town had to offer. Obviously I have trust issues with outsiders.

Not to mention…remember Felicia? I certainly do. I distinctly remember him telling her I was his savior, and not much else about me. Then again, he did tell her he forgot she existed, so there’s that. Still not making this an obvious decision for me.

“We need to swing by my house so I can grab some supplies,” I tell him, not responding to his invite just yet.

“Your house in town?” he asks, proving he’s done his homework and found out where I live, while his triumphant smile spreading.

He’s a good stalker, that one.

“No,” I say with a larger smile. “Not those kind of supplies.” I turn to face him fully. “We need to stop by my dad’s cabin.”

This time, when he swerves, I don’t restrain my laughter.





Chapter 15



Wild Ones Tip #119

Families are crazier when they’re all in one place.

Wild Families are just psychotic. Wear a helmet.



LIAM



I’m not too prideful to admit this is my worst nightmare realized.

But I heed Killian and Hale’s advice, and I don’t cower. As far as Kylie believes, I’m completely impervious. The very definition of confident.

In other words, I have balls of steel, because I’m acting like I’m not one bit afraid of having five men shoot holes in me until I sink to the bottom of the lake with ease.