Page 4 of Kiwi

2

Piper

PRESENT

Shoving the last of my clothes into the suitcase, I slide the zipper closed, then haul it off the bed and roll it over toward the door, sitting it next to the boxes I packed the day before. Turning, I let my gaze linger on the small dorm room that has been my home for the past year. I never thought I would find myself hundreds of miles away from my home and the people I love, but I have come to learn life can be an unpredictable shit show sometimes. I chose to handle my unsettling set of circumstances by pretending they didn't exist. Like the fact that my birth mother decided to show up after eighteen years, suddenly wanting back in my life. I'm not ready to deal with my mother and listen to her excuses for why she abandoned me. I don't know if I ever will be. Besides, moving away from home has given me a chance to spread my wings; to find who I am outside the club. Here, I am just Piper, not the daughter of a member of The Kings of Retribution MC. I adore my family though. And lately, missing them has made me more and more homesick.

A year ago, my decision to come to Texas was not an easy one. During my senior year of high school, I got a job working for Doctor Lillian Channing DVM. She owns a veterinarian practice in New Orleans. My job was helping tend to the animals, feeding them, cleaning out their cages, and walking the dogs. I soon fell in love with the animals I was helping and became enthralled with what Doctor Channing was doing. Doctor Channing noticed my interest and took me under her wing when I mentioned wanting to know more about what she does. She even helped me when I was researching colleges. By the time I graduated high school, I had accepted the chance to attend a University in Texas. My dad had been blindsided with my announcement to go to school out of state. He and the rest of my family had assumed I would stay close to home. I felt guilty for not talking with him sooner. But being the great guy he is, my dad shoved his feelings aside and supported my choice. The truth is, I didn't know the career path I wanted until working at the clinic. I was never one of those kids who knew what I wanted to do with my life at an early age. Dad always said it would come to me when the time was right.

My phone vibrating in my back pocket pulls me out of my wandering thoughts. A smile tugs at my lips when I see who the caller is. Swiping my finger across the screen, I answer. "Hi, Dad."

"Bean," he grunts. "You should have been on the road an hour ago if you want to make it home before dark."

I chuckle. "You do know I have driven at night before, right?"

"It's not safe to drive at night after you've been on the road all day."

"I'll be fine, dad. If I get tired, I'll find a hotel to crash at for the night."

"It's not…"

I roll my eyes and finish his sentence. "Safe."

I hear him sigh over the phone. "Piper."

"Dad, I'll be on the road in an hour, and I'll be home before dark. I got eight hours of sleep last night, so I'm rested. Should I need to stay in a hotel, I have my pepper spray and my taser. And don't forget that I've mastered the perfect ball shot. I promise any would-be assailant will be left without the ability to reproduce."

"I don't know if I should tell you to stop busting my balls or to be proud of you," he grumbles.

A second later, I hear my little brother Jaxson crying in the background.

"I have to go, Bean. Promise has court this morning, so it's just my boy and me. Call as soon as you leave, and when you stop for gas, check-in. No texting and driving either."

"I know the drill, Dad. Love you. And give my baby brother a kiss for me."

"Will do, sweetheart. Love you too, Bean."

When I hang up with my dad, there is a knock on the door, followed by my best friend barging in. "Look, I know we said our goodbyes yesterday, but I woke up this morning already missing you." Jia throws her arms around me, nearly knocking me over.

"Damn, Jia," I laugh. Jia is tiny, but she's a powerhouse. My best friend stands at barely five feet tall, has long, sleek black hair that she gets from her father, who is Korean. Jia is a rambunctious, fearless, spontaneous, little spitfire, and I love her. I met Jia on my first day on campus when dad, Uncle Abel, and Uncle Malik rolled up to the school on their bikes. Three large men riding Harleys on a college campus has a way of attracting attention. Dad said the guys wanted to come help get me settled. I didn't buy it. I was proven right when I caught them making faces and growling at any guy who dared to look in my direction. I've moved past the stage where my dad and uncles embarrass me. I mostly ignore their boorish behavior. On the other hand, Jia found the three hulking men that followed me across campus toward my dorm, swoon-worthy. She proved it by strolling up to me out of nowhere, saying, "Nice entourage. Know where I can get my own alpha bodyguards to follow me around? Your badass, biker eye candy puts the pink Polo wearing preppy's around here to shame."

"This is only for the summer, Jia. You do know we'll see each other again in a couple of months?"

Jia releases me. "I know.

"My offer to come along still stands. My dad and stepmom said it was okay."

Jia sighs. "Yeah, but I promised my mom and dad I'd visit them at our beach house in Florida."

Jia's family is loaded. Her dad is a successful businessman, and her mom is your typical trophy wife—her words, not mine. From the way she talks, she and her parents are not close.

"Well, if you decide to cut your visit with them short, hit me up."

I've been on the road for two hours, and already my stomach is in knots. I would be lying if I said the situation with my mom and wanting to be a veterinarian were the only deciding factors that led me to leave New Orleans, but they're not. Tai Cooper, or better known to the club as Kiwi, is the number one deciding factor in my decision to leave New Orleans. I'm in love with a man who is not only forbidden but a man who doesn't even know I have breasts. To Tai, I am like a sister. He came into my life when he was nineteen, and I was eight. It didn't take long for me to care for Tai like I did the rest of the club guys, but my feelings changed somewhere around seventeen. And they intensified shortly after when someone attempted to assault me at a rally the club was hosting not long ago. While my dad was trying to murder the dirty son of a bitch who put their hands on me, Tai was the one who swooped in and carried me away to safety.

I'll never forget the way his arms felt as he wrapped me in his embrace or the smell of his leather cut and his cologne when I buried my face against his neck. Or the way he looked at me the moment he brushed my hair away from my face and used the back of his hand to dry my tears. I could have sworn the heat I saw in his eyes said he wanted to kiss me. Our lips were inches apart, and his breath skirted across my lips. My heart was about to beat out of my chest, but I wanted it to happen. I closed my eyes and waited; I waited for a kiss that never came because a second later, Tai had distanced himself from me. He still comforted me by keeping his arms around me, but he wouldn't even look at me after that moment. I was mad at myself for acting foolishly. All Tai was trying to do was calm me down after a man had attempted to violate me, and there I was embarrassing myself by trying to kiss him. Thank god he never spoke of that awkward moment, and neither have I. After the incident, we went back to being the friends we've always been toward each other.

Spotting the sign for a gas station, I pull off at the next exit. When I park at the pump, the first thing I do is reach back and grab my purse from the back seat in search of my cell so I can text my dad.