On the top floor of the warehouse, Madam Angelica was standing at the head of the room in front of a wall of mirrors, holding on to a bar and performing stretches.

Jasmine loitered nervously in the doorway as Brick and Maddy wandered inside and Maddy ran up to the front and started to twitter and chirp at her teacher who instantly smiled and started to encourage her to join in with the stretching.

Brick hung back and then turned and looked directly at Jasmine. She felt her face flush with embarrassment as she stepped forward to meet him in the middle of the room, and then a silence weighed between them.

“She’s very sweet,” Jasmine said finally to break the tension. “A lovely little girl.”

“She is,” Brick said as he turned again and motioned for Jasmine to follow him to a set of chairs toward the back of the room.

“Does she dance alone?” Jasmine asked as she noticed there were no other children in the room.

“No,” Brick said.

He seemed to be a man of few words and it was unnerving to her. She just wished he would speak to her normally.

“We’re early,” he said finally. “As were you.”

“Of course,” Jasmine laughed. “I’m forgetting, her class doesn’t begin until eleven?”

Brick shook his head.

They sat in silence some more but she was aware of his eyes on her. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking, but she had the feeling he was trying to figure her out. It was as if he were looking for flaws. As if he were checking that she was who she said she was.

She turned her head and met his eye.

“So,” she said, trying to encourage her confidence. “Can you tell me more about the job?”

Brick nodded his head and relaxed back on his seat. The size of him compared to her was making her even more nervous. He was tall, incredibly muscular, his frame was like a giant’s, and the fact that he was older, too, made him all the more intimidating. There was a slight fleck of silver in his dark hair and the gentle wrinkles around his eyes were enchanting. Jasmine forced herself to look away.

“It’s just Maddy and me,” he said as he crossed his feet and stretched his legs right out in front of him. “I work strange hours and need to leave sometimes without much notice.”

He paused and waited for Jasmine to say something. She didn’t. She just nodded and waited for him to continue.

“I need someone who is flexible in that respect. I need someone I could call at eleven at night, who would drop everything and come to sit with Maddy.”

Jasmine was surprised by the revelation, but she knew it wouldn’t be an issue for her. It wasn’t like she had anything else going on.

“I’m offering good pay. For the right person, nothing would be too much, if I’m honest with you.”

At the front of the classroom, Jasmine watched as Maddy stretched out with Madam Angelica and she remembered back to her own dance classes when she had been a kid. She was sure fragments of memories were coming back to her with each minute she was spending inside the dance studio.

“I know it’s not going to be the easiest arrangement,” he said. “Some people in my position would have a live-in help, but I can’t do that. I don’t want that. It doesn’t fit my lifestyle.”

Jasmine nodded.

“How does this sound to you so far?” he said with a half laugh.

“Go on…” Jasmine urged him to continue.

“I can give you set hours during the days, if you wish,” he said. “And then, in the evening, it would be as and when needed. But I will be honest, this isn’t for the faint hearted.”

Jasmine’s heart began to race.

“In what way?” she asked.

Brick laughed and shook his head. “Don’t worry, I’m not referring to Maddy, she’s a dream kid, trust me. What I mean is, I could call you at four in the morning and I’d need you there. Do you understand?”

Jasmine nodded.

She had never heard anything like it, but the more she talked to him, the more she knew she wanted the job more than anything.

“What do you do?” she asked bravely.

Brick raised his eyebrows and exhaled before he shrugged as if he wasn’t sure he wanted to answer.

Jasmine’s pulse quickened with each passing second and it felt like he kept her waiting an eternity.

“I’m a Forsaken Rider,” he said finally. “I run a few businesses here in town, a lot of them that are open after hours.”

Jasmine felt as if her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

This man, he was a biker?

An outlaw.

A criminal…

It made her nervous and it turned her on. She tried to keep focus on what he was saying, but suddenly, all she could do was imagine a big, powerful bike between her legs and wondered if he would take her for a ride.

“Oh,” she managed to croak. “That’s… great.”

Brick snorted with laughter and grinned.

“It’s all right, you don’t have to pretend. It is what it is.”

She felt herself blushing again and she brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Around them, more children were filtering into the classroom and Maddy had been joined by some of her friends down at the front. They started to run around in a circle and Jasmine couldn’t help but smile. She seemed like such a happy little girl, and she had instantly put Jasmine in a much better mood. She could imagine working with Maddy would really help the soul.

“I don’t have anything to conflict with that,” Jasmine said as she locked eyes with Brick and felt her stomach flip.

He held her gaze as if he were studying her all over again and it made her heart begin to pound. She wanted to be confident and not break eye contact first, but there was something about him that was unnerving to her and it was making it difficult to hold her composure.

“What I mean is,” she continued. “I don’t have a lot on my schedule. I can be free for you in the evenings.”

He smiled and nodded.

“Of course, I’ll always try and give you plenty of notice,” he said as his tone warmed even more. “I’m not going to be calling you in the middle of the night each night. I generally know when I need to be away from home. But, it’s just that chance, you know…?”

Jasmine nodded.

“I want Maddy to have a bond with someone. I don’t want to be calling in all kinds of people here, there and everywhere.”

“I understand,” Jasmine smiled.

There was a tinkling of ivories that rang out from the front of the room, and Jasmine looked up to see a little old lady with a shock of white hair sitting at a battered old antique piano. She started to play a tune and all the little girls spread out in a long line, and placed their arms over their heads, they pointed their feet and bent their knees just a little so they were ready to go.

“Do you bring her here every Sunday?” Jasmine found herself asking before she knew the words were even coming out of her mouth.

Brick nodded.

She didn’t know why she had been so quick to speak; he had already told her that it was just him and Maddy. She hung her head slightly and cursed herself for being so foolish. But she still found herself looking at his hand to check he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring.

Jasmine’s face began to flush red and she looked down at her feet and closed her eyes, willing the moment to pass.

“I’m not married,” he said, sensing her unease. “It’s okay, though. It’s always just been Maddy and me, really.”

Jasmine smiled a half-smile and nodded her head as she looked to the left and tried to not let it be obvious she was blushing.

“So,” Brick said as he nodded to the front of the classroom and grinned at Maddy. “After here, we were going to head home. Maybe you could stop by as well and I can show you around? It would be good for you to spend some time with Maddy, that is, if you’re still interested in the job?”

“Yes!” Jasmine said enthusiastically as she sat forward in her chair and instantly reined in her delight. “I really would like that. I think Maddy and I are going to get on really well.”

Brick smiled and nodded.

“I have the same feeling,” he said. “She seemed to like you instantly, trust me, I can tell. Sometimes, she just hides behind my legs and refuses to speak.”

“I remember being a little like that myself,” she said.

“Well, there you go,” he laughed. “Kindred spirits.”

Jasmine smiled.

She followed his gaze and looked toward the front of the classroom, as Madam Angelica ran through a dainty little routine with the girls and they all bounded around, looking as graceful as birds.

As they sat there longer together, Jasmine couldn’t help but try to watch him out of the corner of her eye. She let her mind wander, as she looked at all the tattoos that snaked their way down his arms, stopping just at his wrist. He had two full sleeves, covering his perfectly tanned skin, and even though he must have been at least forty, he looked damned good with them. They suited him, and it was clear they were a massive part of who he was. She hadn’t seen a man, his age, before, who could rock the look so well. He was clearly a seasoned badass, and although it should have sent alarm bells ringing, it really didn’t. She could already see there were hidden depths to him and the way he lived his life.

She turned away and tried not to get too engrossed in her secret spying. She had to be on the ball and keep her eye on the prize. She wanted this job. She wanted to be earning again, she wanted to keep her apartment and lifestyle, and she wanted to have something to fill her days which gave her purpose. What did she know anyway? She couldn’t figure a guy out from sitting and speaking with him for all of thirty minutes. He was going to be her employer and she was going to have to be on her best behavior around him, as well as ensuring her and Maddy had a nice time.

It was time to focus and do her best.

“Well done, girls,” Madam Angelica called from the front of the room as she clapped her hands together. “Perfect little ballerinas, aren’t you! Now, come on, let’s all move into first position and we are going to do one last practice of Dance Five.”

The girls all took their positions and Brick sat forward and rubbed his chin. Jasmine could see how proud he looked, even though he was clearly trying to hide it.

 

When the class was over, they made their way back out into the alleyway and Brick nodded toward a big, black truck with a flatbed out on Main Street.

“Can you drive?” he asked.

Jasmine had sold her car way back when she had decided to live alone. She rarely left Slate Springs, and she enjoyed walking around town or hopping on the bus if she needed to go a little further.

“I can, but I don’t,” she said.

“We’re not far, the truck was already down here,” he said. “But come on, you can get in with us so you can see where the house is.”

Jasmine followed behind them and clutched her bag to her shoulder. It was such a strange situation, it hadn’t once felt like she were being interviewed for a job, despite all of his questions. It was just as if she had met up with someone and was now being taken to their house.

When she realized that, the panic waved over her.

She was getting into a truck with a goddamn Forsaken Rider. An older man covered in tattoos, who, she knew, broke the law for a living.

She swallowed hard and looked around.

There was no one about on the street and it made her feel dizzy with nerves.

You’re insane, Jas, she told herself. You do know that, don’t you?

Maddy skipped along and Brick helped her up and into the truck and then he stood back and left space for Jasmine to climb in. Maddy sat right in the center of the long front seat and buckled a belt across her lap, and Jasmine moved past Brick and got in next to her, right on the passenger’s side.

Brick slammed the door and tapped the window frame. The windows were all down and she was thankful for it. At least, if he tried to veer off road, she could scream for help.

Stop being so paranoid, she instantly scolded herself. He’s with a child. He put an ad out online. He’s not going to do that if he wants to murder anybody. You’re such a worrier.

But just to be safe, she pulled out her cellphone and sent Cadence a quick text…

J: Just so you know… I’m in a car with a rather hot older man heading to his house. Oh and he’s a Forsaken Rider… Just in case I disappear! Love ya x

 

She hit send and smirked. She could just imagine the look on Cadence’s face when she picked up that message. It would be panic first, followed swiftly by jealousy and a what the fuck moment. Jasmine turned her cell to silent and slipped it back into her bag.

Brick climbed into the driver’s seat and slammed the door behind him. It felt funny, them all sitting next to each other in a row, and Jasmine was aware of Maddy’s adoring eyes on her. She looked down and smiled.

“Your hair is really pretty,” Maddy said sweetly.

Brick started the engine and he swung the truck out onto Main Street and Jasmine quickly grabbed her seat belt and clipped it on.

“So is yours,” she said to Maddy. “Do you like having braids put in it?”

Maddy nodded but with an air of uncertainty.

“My daddy can’t do it,” she said with a grin.

Jasmine smirked too and Brick looked across at them both, then put his foot down as if he couldn’t wait for the car ride to be over.

“Well, when we get to your house, maybe I could braid it for you?” Jasmine whispered to Maddy.

Maddy clapped her hands and grinned, and Jasmine just knew the two of them were going to get on just fine.