Tabor Read online

  Stepping under the spray of the shower, he winced as the hot water hit the lacerations along his arms and torso. He closed his eyes and swore as dried blood loosened and washed down the drain. At least he hadn’t been a complete idiot about what he was doing. He had bought a first aid kit, expecting injuries.

  Leaning out the shower, he grabbed the half empty bottle of whiskey, cursing again as the liquor coated his busted lip. He closed his eyes as he heard the phone ringing from the other room. Fuck his client, he could wait till tomorrow for an update.

  ***

  Chaos erupted in her apartment as men took over the entire space. Echo hadn’t noticed she was still holding the gun until one of the men gently took it from her and introduced himself as Angel. Two men draped one of her new bedsheets over her kitchen table. Obviously they had no problem grabbing things from her laundry basket that was next to the sofa. Before she could move, they were carrying Tabor over and laying him on the table. My new sheets!

  “Echo, is your daughter here?”

  Snapping out of thoughts about the damn sheets, she looked back down the hall. The voice belonged to Angel, the one she had called. His name was also on his vest.

  “Yes.”

  “Why don’t you check on her.”

  Doing as he suggested, she went to check on Katya and clean herself up. She didn’t need her daughter seeing her covered in blood. Still, she couldn’t help but peek in on her daughter. She closed the bedroom door, fighting to hold back tears. Opening the bathroom door, her resolve came to an end as her hands started to shake. Tears came, there was nothing she could do to stop them. Yanking off her nightshirt, she scrubbed frantically, trying to wash the blood from her hands and what had seeped through the thin shirt onto her skin. Looking into the mirror, Echo wanted to go back to five and a half years ago when she had let him leave without her. Why hadn’t he taken her with him? Why hadn’t she begged him to stay? Because that wasn’t the deal. Stupid fucking deal.

  A knock at the door had Echo tugging on a pair of pajama pants and top that hung on the back of the bathroom door. Opening the door, she saw Angel standing there. He asked if she was okay. Echo knew her eyes were red, probably swollen from crying. Stepping out from the bathroom, she nodded and followed Angel back down the hall.

  Chapter 5

  Having no intention of getting in the way, Echo stood off to the side. She kept one eye on the hall, making sure Katya didn’t wake up and wander out looking for her. A man they called Bishop began working on Tabor, and the precision and speed of his work temporarily distracted Echo from her guard. She didn’t notice a man had brushed past her and made his way down the hallway until he had stopped at Katya’s bedroom door. Echo grabbed him by the back of his shirt and demanded to know where the fuck he thought he was going. When he attempted to open her daughter’s bedroom door, she punched him in the back with everything she had. The door popped, open waking her daughter.

  “Mom?”

  Echo glared at the man as he stepped back, holding out his hands as if saying, “you win.” Facing her daughter, she whispered, “Everything’s fine sweetheart. Go back to sleep.” When Katya’s head laid back on the pillow, Echo gently closed the door and turned to face off with the man.

  Before he could say a word, she launched herself at him like a mother bear protecting her young. She punched, kicked, and even pulled his hair as he stumbled back, clearly trying to get away from her. Echo took the opportunity. Reaching down and grabbing a shower rod from one of the shopping bags, she started swinging. Only one man had ever laid a hand on her child and he had learned a valuable lesson. This man may be a badass biker, that didn’t matter to Echo. She would KILL him if he touched her baby.

  Angel and another man came rushing into the hall. The one she didn’t know grabbed her from behind, trying to get the rod from her hand, but Echo struggled to get free while continuing to swing out with her weapon.

  “What in the hell is going on? Echo, stop already!” Angel did not need this shit—although seeing a woman assault Wick was funny. Wick backed up against the wall while Tool continued to struggle with Echo. Angel once again told Echo to stop.

  “He was going in my daughter’s bedroom!” The swinging started again. “I’ll kill him.”

  “Tool, I said let her go. Wick, explain yourself. Echo, I swear if you hit Wick with that fucking shower rod again…” What will I do?

  “What will you do, Angel?”

  “Please, just stop.” For the love of God, stop. He didn’t need this.

  Wick continued to inch away from Echo as he explained that Bishop had wanted him to find somewhere Tabor could rest. “I went to the first room I saw; I wasn’t looking for her daughter. Hell, I forgot she even had a kid.” Damn woman fought like a wildcat. “She punched me in the kidneys, she hits like a man!”

  Echo pointed the shower rod at them. “Tabor’s not staying in my house. I can’t have him in my house. Get out!” She would not have Tabor staying in her home. It was not going to happen, she had to think about her daughter.

  “Wick, go with Tool and see if you can help with Tabor.”

  “Sorry I frightened you,” Wick mumbled, walking away.

  When both men were out of view, Angel asked Echo to check on Katya. I need a minute. “Make sure she’s okay.” Echo paused, but then quickly checked on her daughter. When she returned, she still held fast to the rod. Angel had to smile. Hellcat. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s sleeping. Please, leave. Look, I’m not trying to be a bitch, I’m just not comfortable with a strange man staying in my home.” Echo set the shower rod down, resting it against the wall, but keeping it close in case she needed it again. She kept her eye on Angel for any sign he would come at her. Finally, he stepped back a few steps and she felt less caged. Before she could ask him anything else, his phone rang.

  Angel looked at his phone. Seeing it was Gypsy, he asked Echo to give him a moment. “Gypsy.”

  Echo tried to not listen, but Angel had her blocked from going back in the front of the apartment. She could hear him explaining what had happened and where they were in a clipped tone. Whoever Gypsy was he didn’t seem happy. Echo chewed on her thumb, a habit she had struggled to stop. Do. Not. Offer. Watching Angel put his phone away she told him again, “I don’t want a strange man in my house.”

  “Doamma, you can lie to yourself about Tabor being a stranger, but it doesn’t fly with me.” Angel cocked a look at her. “You know his name.”

  Huffing out an exasperated breath, Echo shrugged as she walked down the hall, telling him to follow her. Opening the door, she hit the light switch, allowing Angel to see into the room. “I don’t use this end of the house. There’s a bathroom over to the right and the back stairs are through that door to the left.” I’m so screwed. Sucker. Echo hated this end of the house; the last occupants had chopped it up with walls they made themselves instead of hiring carpenters. There was no sense in the design. “There’s a large room to the right where the bathroom is located.”

  “Why aren’t you using this area?”

  “I sleep on the sofa. If you can get a bed in here for your man, he can stay for a few days, no more than a week.”

  “We can handle that. We will also use these stairs, so as not to bother you.”

  “That’s fine, one week—two tops—and he’s out of here. You’re all out of my home. Deal?”

  “Deal.” Now to get a bed in there. Turning, Angel left Echo alone standing in the large empty room. Looking back over his shoulder, he couldn’t miss the loneliness and even a little heartache in her eyes. Tabor was a fool for not pursuing her. Before he could get any farther, she stopped him.

  “Angel, do you guys know a carpenter I could hire?”

  “For?”

  “This area is a nightmare; I would like these walls taken down.”

  “Let us do it for you in exchange for letting ‘our’ man stay here.”

  Looking at him warily, she agreed.

  C
hapter 6

  Tabor wanted out of the apartment and away from Echo and her daughter. His brothers came and went but left him on his own for hours at a time. He didn’t blame them, they all had jobs. Bishop came by every day to check on his recovery. He’d kept what happened the night of his accident to himself, not wanting Gypsy to come home from his honeymoon. Once he got out of the apartment, he would hunt down the motherfucker that attacked him.

  Shoving the covers off, he put his feet on the floor. As he pushed off the bed his stitches tugged, sending a searing pain up his side. Pansy. His eyes caught movement to the left of him. Turning quickly to assess the threat, the pain had him reaching back for the bed as his knees went weak. Idiot. “What do you want?”

  Echo paused in the doorway, and the food tray she carried shook as her movement came to an abrupt stop. Tabor was an ass; she had withstood his bad attitude over the past week. Placing the tray on a small table, she moved over to his side, refusing to allow Tabor’s rudeness to stop her from helping him sit back down—until he growled at her.

  “Did you just growl at me?” What a fucking asshole, did he really think this was an easy situation for her?

  “I don’t want to lie back down, I want to get to the bathroom.”

  “Fine, take your ass and your attitude to the bathroom. Go on, let’s see it. Walk on over there mister man.” Echo folded her arms across her chest, stepping back and allowing him the room he needed to get around the bed. However, the lover that still lived inside her wanted to push past his gruffness and help him no matter what his attitude was toward her.

  ***

  Angel stood in the doorway, watching Echo shake her head at Tabor. His brother was not used to being taken care of. Angel also knew Tabor well enough to know he wanted Echo, that simple fact explained his attitude toward the woman. Echo was not only intelligent, she didn’t put up with an attitude, especially from a man she had opened her home to and helped care for.

  “Are you that pigheaded to not allow a beautiful doamma to help you?” Angel sauntered into the room, keeping an eye on Echo. He was well aware she was uncomfortable with them coming and going from her home. “Gypsy is on his way back.” Angel watched Tabor stumble forward. Smirking over the sheer idiocy of his brother, he went to check out the tray Echo had brought in.

  “Looking to see if I’m trying to poison him?” Glancing up at Angel, she was unrepentant about her attitude.

  “Not at all doamma, thinking about eating it myself. Smells great.”

  Rolling her eyes, she replied that there was more in the kitchen. If he followed, he followed, she didn’t care at all.

  In the living room Katya watched TV while playing with her dolls. Echo was fixing her daughter’s lunch as Angel appeared in the kitchen. “Are you hungry?”

  “Starving, haven’t stopped all day at the mechanic shop.”

  “Sit down, I’ll make you a plate.” Echo grabbed a large bowl and began to ladle roast and gravy for Angel.

  “You don’t have to; I can make my own if you would like.”

  “Sit. And while I make your plate, which you should not get used to, you can tell me why he doesn’t like me and my kid.” He used to love me.

  “Oh, it’s not that he doesn’t like you doamma, he likes you a lot. Matter a fact, I would bet money that he wants you badly.”

  Echo was not prepared for that statement; she dropped the ladle into the hot pot of gravy, splashing it back onto her hand. “Damn it.” Turning from the stove, she ran cold water over the small burn. Trying to change the subject, she asked, “what does doamma mean?”

  “Doamma means lady.”

  Shutting off the tap, she turned to find Tabor hobbling into the kitchen with his tray. He raised an eyebrow at Angel, who just sat smiling. Shaking her head, she stepped away from the sink and took the tray from Tabor, who actually allowed her to do so. “Sit, I will remake your lunch.”

  Angel tried not to laugh; it was just priceless. Here was his badass brother worrying about him spending time with Echo. If he didn’t make his mind up soon and stake a claim, there were sixteen others waiting to fight over a good woman who could cook. “So, couldn’t go pee by yourself, but you can get to the kitchen for lunch.”

  “Maybe I wanted you to hold it for me, Angel.”

  “Hey, there’s a child present!” Echo pointed a wooden spoon at both men as she gave them her sternest “Mom look.” She would not have them talking trash at the table. She didn’t care how scary they were. She watched Katya turn the TV off and walk to the table. “You ready to eat, piccolo?”

  “That means little one.”

  Smiling at Angel, Echo told him he was correct. Echo watched her piccolo meander over to the kitchen, her eyes still glued the TV. Snapping her fingers, Echo pointed for Katya to have a seat.

  Katya pulled her chair out as she looked at the two enormous men. Shrugging, she climbed on up to the table and placed her napkin under her chin. She folded her little hands in her lap and waited for her lunch. Angel found the child delightful. Scooting back his chair, he stood, circled around, and stepped up behind Katya’s chair.

  “Let me push you up, mademoiselle.” When Katya slapped her forehead with her tiny hand, he laughed out loud. Her reaction suited her perfectly. “You have a delightful daughter.”

  “She is pretty cool.” Echo winked at Katya, watching her daughter beam with delight. Turning with two hot plates, she realized Tabor never sat down. “Are you going to eat standing up?” Setting the plates down, she went back to the stove to make Katya’s lunch, which was a completely different meal. Her piccolo was very set in her ways for being so young. Katya liked certain things for lunch and certain things for dinner, Lord help Echo if she changed things up.

  Setting down a bowl of mac and cheese alongside a ham sandwich (cut in triangles with no crust), Echo kissed the top of her daughter’s head as she went back to the stove to stir what was the start of dinner. Having a second and sometimes third or fourth mouth to feed kept Echo busy.

  “We would have eaten a sandwich. You didn’t have to cook a full lunch.” Angel felt bad the woman was doing so much and Tabor was being an ass.

  “It was in the freezer and I needed the room. Eat, don’t worry about it.”

  Echo found it surprising that the two men stayed at the kitchen table for an hour or more discussing matters that didn’t concern her, or so she thought. Katya had eaten lunch and curled up on the sofa for a nap. Now Echo was working on bread dough, trying not to eavesdrop.

  “Do you cook all your meals from scratch?” If Angel could get Tabor to engage with Echo maybe, just maybe, he would get a little more insight into what was between the two of them.

  “Yes, my grandmother taught me to cook. She was from the old country.” Echo made the sign of the cross, sending a prayer up for her grandma. She missed her immensely. Going back to her task, she did her best to ignore the two men. Her grandma would be pleased that she was taking care of Tabor. It would be something she herself would have done.

  She had heard the name Gypsy mentioned many times but had yet to figure out who he was exactly. It sounded like he was the one who called the shots. Echo didn’t think to ask if Angel and Tabor wanted coffee or a slice of pie. When she made hers, she automatically made theirs. Setting the cups and plates on the table in front of the two men she couldn’t miss the looks. “I’m having coffee and pie; do you not want any?” She smiled as the two shook their heads rapidly. Evidently, they didn’t get waited on very often.

  “Did you say earlier Gypsy is on his way back?” Tabor directed the conversation away from the woman sitting beside him. All he wanted to do was run his hand up her shapely thigh all the way up searching for that heat he knew so well.

  “Yep, they’ve cut the honeymoon short and are on their way back.”

  “Because of this shit.”

  Echo cleared her throat, cutting Tabor a look. “Child,” was the only word she said, which had him looking to see if Katya was stil
l sleeping.

  “Sorry. Angel, they don’t need to come back early.”

  “You’re lucky he didn’t pack Quinn up ASAP when he got the call.” Quinn was Gypsy’s wife formally known as Mariquinn. After the two were married and went off on a month-long honeymoon, the Kings got to know her family better and found they called their new queen Quinn. They would see how well it went over with the brothers calling her that soon enough.

  “Angel, this is fu…. Stupid.” Tabor pinched the bridge of his nose. Swearing was part of his DNA and having a child around cramped his style. Turning his attention and aggravation on Echo, he asked, “What’s up with your daughter?”

  “I don’t know what you mean?”

  “Don’t play coy with me. She never says a word. No kid is that well-behaved.”

  Not wanting to elaborate, Echo left it simple. “She can speak, she chooses not to is all. If she ever whispers in your ear, it will be something of great importance, so make sure you listen.” Echo didn’t say anything else as she ate her pie. Once everyone was finished, she cleared the plates, poured more coffee, and retired to the sofa to lay down for a few minutes with Katya.

  “You’re a damn fool,” Angel whispered to Tabor, who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Echo.

  “You don’t know anything.”

  “Then explain it to me. Because soon, one of our brothers is going to make a play for that.” Angel nodded his head toward Echo. He knew damn well Tabor wouldn’t give him any information on his past with Echo. He still hadn’t told him a single hint about what happened a week ago when he was attacked.

  “You tell them she’s off limits, you hear me. You fucking tell them, Angel.” The simple thought of someone else touching Echo had his anger rising, and rising fast.

  Chapter 7

  Over the next several weeks a few of the Kings came and went. Wick, the one man Echo had misread the night of Tabor’s accident, was the one person who came daily to work on her house. After Tabor had lain in bed for a week, the MC had once again taken over her place, tearing down walls, ripping up dry-rotted carpet. Surprisingly to Echo, Wick had his own small construction company that mostly dealt with small builds. He was all about helping get the building back to its original grandeur.