His Young Queen: (Steel Jackals MC #1) Read Free Page A

disengaged herself from his arms. Taking one step toward her sun, she absorbed the intense, regretful look in his gold eyes, and for the first time in her life whispered the words, “I love you.”
    Only once. She didn’t shout them. She didn’t repeat them. She said them once. Then calmly stood there and watched until her life disappeared down the street.
    A few hours later, she was sitting on one of the puffy couches next to the pool table in the clubhouse, frozen to the bone. Nick had gone to the bathroom, leaving her alone for the first time since they’d taken Josh away. What did he think she was going to do? Kill herself? She made a soft sound. No. That would be silly. She couldn’t be with Josh if she were dead. She couldn’t visit him. Couldn’t wait for him. Be here for him when he came home. Right now she simply needed her questions answered. Why wouldn’t anyone tell her why he’d been arrested?
    She looked over when she saw what she thought was Chase’s dog rushing to her. But it wasn’t Nom, it was Rachel, hunched over, as though trying to hide in plain view. There was no one left to hide from. Everyone had gone home except for her, Nick, Chase, and two of the other guys.
    When Rachel landed on her knees at Tish’s feet, she jumped, startled.
    “I’m sorry,” her mom whispered, eyes wild because she was high. “I’m sorry.” The repeated whisper was eerie, and it raised the hair on Tish’s nape, but she nodded anyway, accepting her mother’s idea of condolences even though they didn’t mean much right then.
    “I didn’t mean to take him away from you. I know how close you are. Sorrysorrysorry…”
    The bottom fell out of Tish’s stomach. “What did you say?”
    “I didn’t mean it. It was an accident !” her mom hissed. “I grabbed his jacket and put it on to go down the street to make a buy. I thought it was my brother’s!” She glanced behind her, as though afraid someone might catch her tattling. “When I came in, I tossed the jacket but forgot my shit in the pocket because I took a bump outside. When the cops landed with the warrant and pushed us all to the side, I was too scared to grab my stash ’cause I bought a double load this time and I wouldn’t have made it to the door without them seein’ me, right?”
    Tish sat there, her eyes wide, her heart barely beating as she listened to this selfish, horrible person try to excuse her appalling behavior.
    “When the cops waved the jacket around, and Josh put his hand up to claim it, I almost fuckin’ died. Then they took my stash out of the pocket, well, I couldn’t say anything then ! You wouldn’t have either! And…and he didn’t even seem to care!” She was talking fast and no longer whispering now because she’d spotted Nick and Chase crossing over to them from the back hallway. Both men looked livid. “Ask anyone! You know what he said? You know what that asshole said?” She deepened her voice to imitate Josh. “ ‘Better me than you. Go home and take care of Tish.’ Like I need him to tell me how to take care of my kid.”
    As her uncle and his VP descended and all but dragged Rachel away, it was at that moment, after everything they’d been through, that Tish’s love for her mother finally died.

~ Chapter One ~
    Three Years Later
     
     
    Tish waved to her co-worker as he took off down the street with a chirp of his tires. Couldn’t get away fast enough. Seemed Brian’s girlfriend had just texted him to hurry home because she “needed him”. Tish, who’d known them both since seventh grade, would have been totally insulted had he not told her why he was dropping her on the corner rather than in front of her driveway the way he normally did. Instead, she was amused. Sex ruled. Or so she’d heard.
    She didn’t allow herself to dwell on why, at nearly twenty, she didn’t know personally. She couldn’t go there tonight. She felt weepy. Maybe her period was coming.
    She took in a useless lungful of