O’Brien - Cash

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Cash , The Ride Series Second Generation

Copyright Megan OBrien 2019

All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, photocopying, mechanical, or otherwise, without prior permission of the author.

Edited by Hot Tree Editing

Cover Photography by Wander Aguiar :: Photography

E-book formatting by Maureen Cutajar

www.gopublished.com

Contents

Chapter 1

LAYLA

T he muted hum of conversation drifted around me with few actual words filtering through. The clamor of sound reached my ears as though through water; appropriate, since I felt like I was drowning. The soft suede of my nans couch underneath my fingertips offered much needed support as I grasped anything remotely familiar, drifting as I was on a sea of loss.

Did you hear me, Miss West?

The lawyers impatient tone implied hed spoken more than once.

Im sorry, what?

I said its yours. The house.

This house? I asked in disbelief, gesturing around the home my nan had retired to over a decade ago in Hawthorne, Nevada.

This house, he affirmed. Now if youll just sign the papers. He held what looked like a small novel out for my perusal.

I stared down at the stack of paperwork and back up at him in bewilderment. My nan just died, I whispered. We were just at the cemetery, I continued, pointing out the obvious. I dont even, I cant even.

Marty, why dont you get a beer and give Layla a freaking second to breathe, a familiar voice ordered as Emmie Jackson slid in next to me and wrapped a protective arm around my shoulders.

Thanks, I muttered gratefully to the woman whod started as my nans nurse and had become a friend in recent months.

Hes a shark, she grumbled irritably, glaring at Martys back as he made his way hastily toward the kitchen. He went to high school with us and was never the brightest bulb. She rolled her eyes. Im not sure how he managed to become a lawyer, to be honest.

I wasnt surprised hed jumped to her command. One thing Id learned about Emmieand it hadnt taken longwas that she was respected and well-known. Her brother was the president of the Knights Motorcycle Club, and though I didnt know much about the club other than that the few men Id seen were easy on the eyes, anyone paying the slightest attention could tell they ran things in the town of Hawthorne.

My nan, she left me the house, I shared through numb lips.

She gave me a gentle squeeze before dropping her arm. Are you surprised? Her gaze drifted to my five-year-old daughter on the opposite couch watching a show on my iPad. She wanted whats best for you and Riley.

I bit my lip as the reality of my situation hit me hard. My nan and I had been close. Though we lived in different states, we talked frequently, and Riley and I had visited as often as we could. Shes really gone. Even saying it out loud, I still didnt entirely believe it.

Yeah, she is, Em acknowledged gently. But she left you with options. Youve said things havent been ideal in San Francisco. Maybe a change of scenery is exactly what you both need.

A change of scenery and financial securitythe latter my top priority for Riley and something we didnt have nearly enough of in San Francisco.

Leave it to Nan to give me a nudge from beyond the grave. I nearly smiled at the thought.

The girls and I will help, she added, referring to her close group of friends who were more like family and all associated with the club somehow.

Em, they barely know me, I protested.

She rolled her eyes. Please. They know you enough to know they like you. Who wouldnt? Youre awesome, Layla. Well always welcome another kick-ass female into the tribe. Plus, then we get Riley. She grinned affectionately. The two had developed a tight bond over the past few months.

Shes not up for grabs. I laughed for the first time in days.

She looked at me, her eyes warm. But youre a package deal.

I nodded, acknowledging what had been true for the past two years, when Id turned from Rileys aunt to her adopted mother. We are, I agreed softly, looking over at her and feeling my chest expand with pure love, a love that had only grown since wed become an us.

I can have Gunner look over the paperwork, she offered, referring to one of the guys in the club Id met once in passing. Hes good with lawyer shit.

Anybodys better than me, I muttered. That would be great.

I wasnt about to turn away help, not now.

What else can I do? she asked gently.

Um, get rid of all these people? I pleaded, looking around the room at the sea of unfamiliar faces. My nan had been popular in town. With her big personality and quick wit, it was no surprise so many people wanted to pay their respects. But it was Rileys bedtime and if I was being honest, mine too.

She stood up with a nod that, through seeing her in her element at the hospital, I knew meant business. Done.

True to her word, people almost immediately began filtering out, some coming to share their condolences one more time. I tried to force some semblance of being put together, to remember names or, hell, at least a face or two but it was all just an endless wave of numbness.

Finally, when the house was blissfully empty, I curled up next to my girl.

Time to turn it off, baby, I told her quietly, pulling the iPad from her lap.

She looked up as though surprised to find an empty house. The way she could zone out so completely was mildly terrifying and why I limited her screen time, but on a day like today, I was grateful she could. Everyone is gone?

Yeah, honey. Time for bed. Lets get you changed.

Her brow wrinkled in confusion. Were staying here?

Maybe forever. I kept that thought to myself as I pulled her into my arms, intent on carrying her up the stairs.

But Nans not here, she confirmed.

Thats right, baby, I replied around the lump in my throat.

Because shes dead? she asked. At five, Riley didnt understand how to sidestep a question or to frame it gently; it was refreshing most of the time. But now, when I was exhausted down to my bones, her blunt question made my eyes prick with tears. Yeah, baby, Nans in heaven, I reminded her.

The idea of death wasnt something wed talked about before, and she was clearly still trying to understand what it meant.

Hell, werent we all?

Right. She nodded thoughtfully. Will I see her in the morning?

I cleared my throat, trying not to show my emotion. No, honey. Lets brush your teeth.

Thankfully, she was too tired to keep asking questions as I got her ready for bed, tucking her into the guest room Nan had decorated just for her.

Oscar! Riley squealed when Nans albino cat appeared from under the bed. The cat was deaf, had been since birth, and not a fan of crowds or people in general. Hed disappeared when the first guests had begun to arrive that afternoon.

Not that I blamed him.

He jumped on the bed, his purr like a small motor as he curled up next to Riley. She seemed to be the only exception he made to his whole anti-person stance.

Night, baby, I whispered as her eyelids drooped. It had been a long, confusing day.