Hollow (Hollow Point #1) (15 page)

I paced the floor as my phone continued to go off in my pocket but I ignored it. My mind was elsewhere. Deciding if I would finally commit to the club was weighing heavily on me. Tatum could have a decent shot at a future without someone like me around. This outlaw shit wasn’t something she needed to be dragged into.

When I saw Riley slip out of that tent, I’d fucking lost it. I don’t think I could have forgiven her if she’d let someone like Bryce touch her. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t because I wanted to be the one with her in my arms.

The world was unraveling around us as our plan was finally coming to a head. Soon she’d be back in the city, where she belonged, and I would either get out from under the club once and for all, or I would have to step in fulltime.

My phone buzzed again and I dug it from my pocket. “What?” I barked. Ivory chuckled before clearing his throat.

“Just reminding you that tomorrow is payday.”

I ran my palm over my face as I began to pace the floor. “I’ll meet you at The Hollow Spot with what I owe you. I have to collect on my last job first.”

“Clocks ticking. Knox,” he said before falling silent for a moment. “Joining us won’t make you like your father, running from your problems will.”

I hung up the phone. “Fuck.” I stepped back in the doorway of Riley’s room, watching her sleep peacefully.

TWENTY-ONE

My eyes cracked open at the smell of coffee. I blinked several times as I looked up to Knox, who was standing beside my bed, a cup in each hand.

“Peace offering?” He asked with the corner of his mouth twisted up in a small grin. I couldn’t keep my cheeks from flushing as I remembered what it felt like to have his mouth pressed against mine.

“It’s a little late for caffeine. I thought you didn’t drink coffee.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of things I wouldn’t normally do lately.” He shrugged, holding out my cup. “Apologizing being one of them.”

“Is that what this is? An apology?” I groaned as I pushed myself up and took a drink from his hand. He sank down on the edge of my bed, brushing a stray wisp of hair from my face before his finger trailed over the mark he’d left on my face.

“Eye for an eye? I can let you hit me if it makes you feel better. We could go a few rounds in the ring?”

I tried to fight against a grin. I wanted to be mad at him because it helped mask the hurt I was feeling. But it was impossible to not smile when he was looking at me that way.

“You’d let me hit you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. He stood, taking both of our drinks and sitting them on the stand beside my bed.

“Take your best shot.”

I put my feet on the floor, my toes sinking into the fuzzy carpet next to my bed. I stood, stretching my arm across my chest like I’d watched him do in the ring with Topher.

“Right here,” He pointed to the side of his face, and I could tell he wasn’t certain if I’d swing or not. “He took my hand in his and folded my fingers down into a fist before sliding my thumb down. “Tuck your thumb so you don’t hurt yourself.” His eyes closed and I stood, looking at him for a long moment. Even if he wouldn’t admit it, he trusted me and for once I wasn’t going to prove him wrong.

I placed my palm against his cheek, and I felt him stiffen for a moment before his eyebrows pulled together, eyes still closed.

“I don’t want to hurt you.”

His eyes opened slowly as his fingers wrapped around my hand, lowering it from his face and placing it flat on the center of his chest. “You already have, Princess.”

“Likewise.”

He took a step closer, closing the gap between us. “Do you trust me?”

My heart began to race.
Did I trust him? Trust him enough to let my guard down? To share my secrets? To have my heart?

“It’s a simple question, Riley. Do you trust me?”

“It doesn’t have a simple answer, Knox.”

His eyes pleaded with mine for a brief moment before his lips crashed into mine. His free arm looped around my back, and his grip on me was the only thing keeping me standing as our mouths moved hungrily against each others.

He released my hand as he gripped my hips, walking me backward until the backs of my legs pressed against the edge of my bed.

He broke free from our kiss, his eyes searching mine before he slowly lowered me on my back with his forehead against mine, his body coming down heavily on top of me, pressing me into the mattress. My fingers trailed over his neck, his pulse racing beneath my fingertips.

His hands tangled in my hair as he pulled my hair tie free. “We could never
just
be friends,” His eyes closed again, and I slid my hands to his cheeks, pulling his mouth back against mine, desperate to touch him again.

My body felt like it was on fire as his fingers burned a trail up my bare thigh, slipping under the edge of my shorts. His fingers wrapped around my panties and I pushed my hips upward, desperate for more contact.

When his mouth moved from mine, his lips trailed along my neck, and I was so afraid he’d stop I called out, “Please, Knox.”

He lifted his weight to yank his shirt over his head, tossing it to the ground before his mouth met mine again.

Pushing my t-shirt up my stomach, I squirmed as his touch tickled its way up my body, his heavy palm cupping my breast as I arched my back, pressing into him.

My own hands roamed desperately across his muscular back before I pushed against his basketball shorts, shoving them lower. His hips ground harder against me, and I moaned when I felt how much he wanted me as his body rocked against the apex of my thighs.

“Slow down,” he whispered against my throat, his breath fanning over the damp skin he’d just ran his tongue over, causing me to shiver. Propping himself up on his elbow, his eyes roamed over my exposed chest before settling on my face. He pressed his lips lightly against mine. “I’ve been wanting to do this since the moment I met you.”

I gripped the bottom of my shirt and pulled it over my head, refusing to break eye contact, no matter how badly my heart was racing.

He slid from the bed as he grabbed my shorts, tugging them down my legs with my panties and tossing them to the floor. As he stood looking down at me, I felt my entire body heat under his gaze.

He pushed his shorts down to the floor as he crawled back on top of me, his kisses hungrier, and I could feel his desire growing. With the final scrap of fabric fallen away, there was nothing left between us but his necklace, secrets, and lies.

My thighs gripped his hips as he rocked slowly against my entrance, our bodies slicked with sweat and the anticipation making it hard to breathe. 

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he groaned, his cheek pressed against mine. My hands gripped his shoulders tightly as I ran my tongue over the shell of his ear, eliciting a deep moan from the back of his throat as he slowly entered me.

I could tell he was struggling to keep his pace slow, treating me as if I would break and shatter beneath his touch.

I raised my hips, rolling them against him as his movements became less rhythmic, his breathing growing more ragged.

His lips found mine again, so all I could taste or feel was him. My body began to tighten as pleasure pulsed from every nerve ending in my body. “Knox,” I panted as his body flexed, muscles pulling and straining under my fingertips before he was still on top of me.

Pulling back he looked me in the eye, a lazy, lopsided grin on his mouth before he pressed it against mine in a chaste kiss. He moved to the side of me, pulling me against his chest and holding me tightly against his body.

His fingers twisted lazily in my hair as I struggled to not overthink what had just happened between us.

I listened to the thudding of his heart as it slowed, lulling me to sleep with its steady beating.

***

TWENTY-TWO

When I awoke, my body was tangled in my comforter, sore yet satiated. I reached beside me, groaning when my hands came up empty. I cracked open my eye, looking at the alarm clock. It was already after nine in the morning, and the last thing I wanted to do was go to school and face Tatum, but I knew I had to fix things with us.

I got up, grabbing my t-shirt from the floor and tugging it on before calling out to Knox. When he didn’t answer, I made my way to his room to see if he was in the shower but it was empty.

I had hoped I was awake before he headed out to work for the day, but if I could survive a few classes, he would be back this evening. We had the house to ourselves for several days, and I didn’t want to waste a minute of it.

I hurried into my room, grabbing my book bag and my purse. I made my way to the first floor, and my eyes landed on a plate full of fruit in the center of the island. Grabbing an apple from the dish, I hurried out to my car.

It was a warm day, and I opted to put the windows down, singing along the radio as I made my way across town to school. I pulled into the parking lot, still high on my night alone with Knox. I knew today was going to be tough, but I had to explain everything to Tatum. I knew once she heard why Knox and I had done what we’d done, she’d understand.

My smile widened when I saw his bike sitting near the edge of the lot. I parked next to him and hurried out of the car.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled me against him, squeezing me tightly before pressing his lips into my hair.

“I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.”

“I could skip today, and we could hang out.”

His eyebrow rose before he took a step back and I couldn’t help but feel like he meant it as a final goodbye. “I can’t. I have to go to the shop. Listen, Riley, you’re not going to tell Tatum about our deal, right?”

“I mean, I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. She already knows something is up. Honesty is kind of the only thing we have left.”

"I'm not sure telling her that we had been going behind her back all of this time is going to help.”

I took a step back from him, shaking my head. “Knox, she thinks I slept with Bryce. I think anything would be better than
that
.”

“That’s what you
wanted
her to think, isn’t it? You took him into the tent for Christ sake. Everyone saw him coming out with his zipper down.”

“I took it too far. I was upset, and I just wanted to hurt-”

“Me,” he finished as he shoved his hands into his jean pockets. “Either way, it worked, and Bryce is out of the picture. She’ll get over it.”

“She may get over him, but she’ll never forgive me.”

His jaw tensed. “Good. That was part of the deal.”

“What? I thought that-”

“You thought that because we fucked I would be okay with you and Tatum hanging out?” He shook his head as he ran his fingers through his hair, just as I had done last night when we were together, and I was finally able to trust. “You think it means we are together? I already told you, I don’t do the girlfriend thing.”

“For someone who acted like they cared about her so much, you don’t seem the least bit upset that we destroyed her life,” I snapped, wanting to hurt him as much as he was hurting me.

“
You
destroyed it, Princess.”

My eyes searched his, my stomach sinking. “I did it for you, Knox. You asked me to.”

He shook his head, his lips twisting up into a sardonic grin. “You did it for
you
, so I’d get Piper out of the way for your mom. Hey, I can’t blame you. You should be willing to do
anything
for family. We have that in common.”

I was glad my vision was blurred with tears so I wouldn’t have to see the smug look on his face as he continued to stomp on my heart.

“Last night?” I swallowed hard against the lump that formed in my throat. He looked over at the school before his gaze settled back on me.

“A mistake.” He grabbed his helmet and slid it onto his head before throwing his leg over his bike. “You should have listened to me the first time when I told you to stay away. You can’t say I didn’t warn you.” The engine of his bike had roared before he drove off, leaving me standing alone in the parking lot.

My stomach twisted, and the pain from his betrayal made me long for the days when I first arrived here, hollow and uncaring. I could hear Rachel’s warning that everyone here was close, and I should keep my head down. I ignored her, not believing anyone could penetrate my hardened exterior.

Looking Riley in the eye and telling her that last night meant nothing had ripped my heart out, but I couldn’t turn back now. We had a deal and now Tatum would move on. It was only a matter of time until Riley headed back to California anyway. If she stayed in this place because of me, I would never forgive myself.

I drove back to my shop. Regardless of what went down, I had a job to do, and if I wanted to make enough money to pay off my debt to the club, I couldn’t let this job slip through my hands.

I parked next to the beamer that was in the lot, nodding to the man inside as I got off my bike and unlocked the door to my shop.

I left the door hang open as the guy followed me inside, his eyes looking over the bike I’d been building for him. “You do great work.”

“Thanks,” I gave him a smile as I grabbed my shop rag and shoved it into my back pocket. “Unfortunately, we won’t be needing it anymore.”

“What?”

“The bike was for Ezra Bronx. He’s been cut from the show due to medical reasons, as I’m sure you’ve heard.”

“I’ve already invested a lot of time into this piece,” I snapped as the man nodded. “The parts alone set me back more money than I had.”

“I invested a lot of time and money into my show, and you took it upon yourself to destroy it.” His eyes narrowed, and I swallowed hard knowing he was right. I should have known Ezra would do whatever he could to get back at me. “I think we can call it even.”

He turned and walked out of the door, closing it behind him. The second the latch clicked I shoved my foot hard against the bike, kicking it over before I picked up a box of tools and threw them against the wall.

Sinking down on my haunches, I hung my head in my hands as I struggled to catch my breath. When I was finally able to clear my head, I grabbed my phone and texted Bea to meet me as soon as possible.

I sat, frozen, looking over all of my hard work now gone, dream shattered and future hanging in the balance.

A tapping at the glass window caused my head to snap up. Bea was on the other side of the glass with Emily in her arms, a broad smile on her face.

I pushed to my feet, kicking a wrench out of the way as I walked to the door and opened it for her.

“Thanks. My hands were full.” Her eyes danced around the messy garage. “What’s going on?”

“I have something for you.”

I pulled an envelope from my back pocket and held it out to her. “What’s this?”

I took Emily from her hands, talking to her as Bea opened the envelope. “Oh my God!” Her hand went over her mouth. “Where did you get this?” She asked, pulling out the stack of cash.

It wasn’t much, but it would help with diapers and formula, at least for a little while.

Bea threw her arms around me, tears in her eyes. “Thank you so much!”

“I told you I’d take care of you, Bea.” I pulled back to look at her face, wiping a tear from her cheek.