Chapter 1: Madisen
It was unbelievable. After so many years of dreaming and saving, I would finally own something that was mine. Admittedly, I don’t own it all. The Archangel’s Warriors were the majority owners, but it was still a start. It was something that no one could take away from me. A first for me. Coming to Hunters Creek three years ago had been the right move.
I looked around the bakery. It had come together beautifully. When Jocelyn and the Warriors’ President, Bull, had approached me about partnering with them on opening a bakery in Hunters Creek, it had stunned, excited, and worried me. What if it failed? What if no one liked my baked items? What if I wasn’t ready for this? Despite all those thoughts, I had agreed to their proposal.
I knew Jocelyn and her daughter, Devyn, from a book group we all had joined about a year ago. Over the year, we’ve grown to be friends, and they have sampled more than a few of my baked goods. They had always told me how great my pastries were, but I never imagined they’d think they were so great that they would offer me this chance—a chance of a lifetime for a girl, who grew up in a trailer park and lived with the dregs of society.
The Archangel’s Warriors MC was moving its bar, The Dark Angel, to a bigger location. They were expanding the dining and bar areas to accommodate the demand. Bull and Jocelyn told me they wanted to transform the old location into a bakery. Currently, if you wanted custom baked goods, you had to go to Spencer or Sparta. They thought it was time Hunters Creek had its own bakery. They’d offered me twenty-five percent ownership of the business. I’d snapped up the opportunity.
Over the last few months, I’d worked with Jocelyn to design the bakery and then have the renovations completed. Everything had turned out perfect. The walls were painted a pearly gray, with the cases, chairs, and tables all done in shiny black. The accent colors were royal blue and white, in line with the Warriors’ club colors. It was a nontraditional look that I really loved. I thought the colors would showcase the delicate and decorative desserts. After much debate, we decided to call it Angel’s Delights.
I was brought out of my meandering thoughts by the chime of the front door. Looking up, I saw Jocelyn, Bull and two other Warriors, Ajax and Joker, enter the store. Over the last month, Joker and Ajax had helped finish a lot of the renovation work. Unbelievably, I had become close to both guys and Bull.
If you’d told me six months ago that I would become friends with a bunch of bikers, I would have told you to go get your head examined. However, Bull and his brothers weren’t like what you read about or saw on television. Well, not completely anyway. Yeah, they were tough, big, and alpha badass guys, but they cared for their community, friends, and family. I saw how all of them treated Jocelyn and Devyn. Hell, even how they treated me and they barely knew me. They were here so we could make the last walk-through before the grand opening tomorrow. Everyone gave me a hug. Joker grinned at me.
“How’re you doing, sexy girl? Are you ready for tomorrow? Do you need a big, buff man to help you with anything? Because if you do, I’m your man.” He winked. I’d found that Joker loved to tease and flirt. It was just his way. After we’d established his flirting wasn’t getting him in my pants, we’d formed a friendship. Now I flirted and teased him back without worrying he would take it as an invitation.
“No, stud, but if I do, I’ll be sure to let Ajax know.”
Ajax threw me a wink and smile. Joker grabbed his heart and cried out, “You’ve wounded me to my soul. How will I ever recover from this devastating blow?”
“Oh, I think a few drinks and a hot babe on your lap will do the trick.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “Do you want to be the hot babe?”
“Sorry, not looking to be part of your harem.” He laughed.
Like all the Warriors I’d seen so far, Joker was very attractive. Honestly, all of them could be on the cover of romance novels—rippling muscles, tattoos, and brutally handsome faces. What can I say? Even if I wasn’t looking for a man, they were fabulous to look at. Bull, Jocelyn, and Ajax were laughing at the two of us. I elbowed Joker in the ribs.
“Enough of your flirting. We need to get down to business. I think we have everything ready, but I’d like a couple more sets of eyes to check things out to be sure.” He sobered up. We spent the next two hours going over supplies, equipment, and checking that everything worked appropriately. I had to admit; they hadn’t skimped on outfitting this bakery—top-of-the-line everything. I offered to use some of my savings, but Bull insisted the club would foot the bill. He claimed my baking expertise was enough to earn me twenty-five percent. After much arguing, I had agreed. After finalizing our walk-through, Jocelyn turned to Bull.
“Will Rebel be back for the opening?”
“Naw, sorry babe. He’s still taking care of business. He’s hoping to be back in the next few weeks. A month at the most.”
I tried not to feel disappointed. I hadn’t gotten the chance to meet Rebel yet. Jocelyn and Bull had explained he’d be the Warrior who would help me oversee the business side of the bakery. Apparently, every business the club owned had at least one member assigned as a pseudo manager. The club’s manager got a bigger percentage of the profit than the other guys. I was curious to see what he was like and how we would work together. Oh well, I guess I’d find out in another few weeks.
After sitting and talking with them a little longer, they left, and I set about shutting down the bakery. I wanted to make calls to be sure the other workers we’d hired would be here at seven sharp tomorrow morning. The bakery would be open from seven in the morning until four in the afternoon. This would allow people to get pastries before work and hopefully during their lunch hour. I was the only baker, so my day would start at four in the morning. If we hired another person later, then I could think about extending the hours to later in the day and opening earlier. This would allow me time to prepare fresh baked items daily before opening. Then I’d work until at least noon while my other workers, Serena and Trudie, would help to cover the later hours. We were only going to be closed on Sundays. I foresaw that even with help, I’d be putting in more than eight-hour days, but I was more than willing to put in the hard work. I was no stranger to it. I've worked since I was thirteen.
Humming as I locked up, I headed to my car. It was time for me to go home, soak in a hot bath, drink a glass of wine, and read a book. My favorite author, Cee Bowerman, had just come out with a new romance. As I drove away, I couldn’t help but smile. Tomorrow was the start of a whole fresh life for me. Hopefully. Though the last few weeks seemed to have taken more time with no end in sight.
The last three weeks had flown by in a blur. The bakery had opened to a crowd which had continued to grow almost daily. We were busy most of the day. Bull and the club were happy with the sales. I was ecstatic about them and the response my baked goods were getting. We already had orders for specialty cakes for a few birthdays and even a wedding. If we kept this up, we might need another person sooner than we’d anticipated.
Everything had been going perfectly. That was until today. Serena had come into work at seven o’clock, as usual. At first, I was busy in the back and didn’t see her. After finishing the last of the cakes I was baking, I came out to talk to her. That’s when I noticed her face. Her cheek was bruised, and her eye was swollen. Seeing no one in the bakery, I took her in the back.
“What happened to your face, Serena?” She looked at me nervously, then away. I waited. She was young, just out of high school. At twenty-five, I felt ancient next to her. “Serena?”
“Remember I told you I was dating this new guy, Chris?” she asked nervously. I nodded.
“Well, he got a little upset with me last night. We argued, and he ended up hitting me. I don’t know what to do, Madisen. I’m afraid he won’t leave me alone. I made a gigantic mistake ever going out with him. He’s mean, treats people like crap and tries to dictate what I can and can’t do. He told me he didn’t want me working here anymore. I told him I loved it and I wouldn’t quit. That’s when he started yelling and things got physical.”
“Did he do more than hit you and yell?” It worried me he might have done something worse, like rape her. She adamantly shook her head no.
“How did you leave it with him?”
“I told him we’re through. That I didn’t want to see him anymore. He laughed and said we were done when he said we were done. I barely slept last night, worrying about him coming back. He only left to begin with because one of my neighbors heard the hollering and threatened to call the cops.”
I sat her down and hugged her. “Here is what we’ll do. You pack a bag and come to my place. It isn’t huge, but I have a small guest bedroom. If he continues to bother you, let me know and I’ll take care of it. No one should ever lay a hand on you. Don’t let him intimidate you into doing something you don’t want to do.”
She nodded, and tears welled up in her eyes. She was a very timid person. I knew it had to have taken a lot for her to stand up to him. Now, we just needed to make sure he got the message and moved on. He might intimidate Serena, but I wasn’t afraid of him. I've had my share of bullies over the years. I learned the hard way how to stand up for myself and how to take care of myself too. I left her to freshen up.
As I waited on customers, I thought of what else I could do to get him out of her life. I briefly thought of telling Bull about it, then decided against it. He and his guys didn’t need to be brought into this. Not unless it got exceptionally bad. I stayed with her until it was time for her to get off work. When she did, I followed her to her place and waited while she packed a bag. I didn’t want to chance him showing up when she was there alone. Once she was packed, we headed to my apartment. We spent the evening watching television and relaxing. I hoped I had taken her mind off him so she could sleep. If he figured out where she’d gone and came by my place, he’d get the surprise of his life. I had no problem putting him in his place. Even if it included being six feet under.