Road to Absolution Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  2015 Piper Davenport

  Copyright © 2015 by Piper Davenport

  All rights reserved.

  Published in the United States

  Road to Absolution is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  CONTENTS

  Copyright

  Back Blurb

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Epilogue

  About Piper

  BACK BLURB

  Carter ‘Ace’ Quinn has spent his life running from the rage caused by a broken heart. After several tours in the Air Force, and continued missions as a para-jumper, he spends his down time within the Dogs of Fire Motorcycle Club.

  Cassidy Dennis is living with a choice she made years ago that lost her the love of her life but gained her something more precious. However, she misses her best friend and longs for the love they’d been building.

  When a chance meeting brings the two together, will they put aside their hurts and forgive each other?

  Will the jealousies of outsiders force the two apart?

  For JBJ

  I love you

  Cassidy

  Eight years ago…

  “CARTER,” I WHISPERED, forcing back tears. “I have to go.”

  “Why, Cass?” he demanded.

  I stared up at my best friend and tried not to fold. “You’re leaving—”

  “I’ll be back in less than a year.”

  Carter had driven to my place, rather than heading home after work, and he now stood in my kitchen (after sneaking in through my bedroom window), his face contorted in frustration as I tried to explain in person what I’d tried to explain over the phone. My parents were still at work and my sisters were out with their boyfriends, so I had the house to myself… which almost never happened.

  “But if you’re not here, there’s no reason for me to stick around.” I smiled. “Who knows where the Air Force will take you?”

  He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. “Damn it, Cass. I don’t get this need you have to run.”

  I giggled. “You’ve known me since I was six. I have always wanted to run.”

  Carter Quinn had been my constant shadow ever since my parents moved me and my sisters to the property adjacent to the Quinn farm eleven years ago. It had started on my first day of first grade when he put a cockroach in my hair and I calmly removed it and named it “George.” He was two years older than me, but ever since then, we’d spent pretty much every day together trekking through the wooded areas around our homes and lazy water “rides” on what he called the Quinn River. Of course, it was more of a pond, but it was safe to swim in and sometimes we would all take turns pushing each other in inner tubes in order to feel like we were all on some kind of rapids adventure. Silly kid stuff that I was going to miss.

  “That’s not what I meant,” he grumbled.

  “I know, buddy.” I sighed, trying once again to bolster my resolve.

  Carter was the fifth of six brothers, all rambunctious little boys who grew up to be gorgeous, strong, respectful men. They loved their Mama, and had a deep reverence for women in general, but that didn’t mean they didn’t take advantage of the fact they were all illegally good-looking.

  “I can’t believe you’re giving up your senior year.”

  “To dance in France, Carter!” I said for the umpteenth time.

  “You could dance in good old America,” he said, also for the umpteenth time. “What if you hate Paris and I’m not here to help you pack up and come home?”

  “You leave in a week.” I rolled my eyes. “You won’t be back for at least eight months, probably longer, and then that’ll be for what, a week or two? Then onto something else for another year or more, right? I’ll do my year in Paris and beat you back here either way. It’s the perfect chance for me to finish school and train with a prestigious ballet company… and take my mind off the fact that you’re going to be flying planes into combat. It’s a win-win.”

  He knew how much I hated school. I was never good with the politics of high school and once he left, I was bored… and a target.

  “Are you still dealing with assholes?”

  “Not since you forced your brother to stick close to me,” I said with a sigh.

  “I didn’t force him to do anything. You know he thinks of you like the sister he never had.”

  I chuckled. “Or wanted.”

  Carter grinned. “Aidan adores you. Just don’t let him know I told you.”

  Aidan was the baby of the family and one year younger than me, but you’d never know to look at him. He was six-foot-one and still growing, his best class was weight training, and, as was common with the Quinn brothers, he had a harem of girls who followed him everywhere.

  Once Carter graduated and I was left without my “shield,” Aidan took up the mantle and his harem didn’t like it, but I tried to keep my head down and ignore them as best I could. Easy to do for the most part since I was dancing more than going to classes my junior year.

  “My lips are sealed.” I tried for a goofy grin. “This isn’t a problem that you can make your bitch, buddy. We’re just going to have to let it all play out naturally.”

  Carter crossed his arms and studied me. “If you go, I’m gonna miss your eighteenth birthday.”

  “I’ll be back a full week before my eighteenth birthday, it’s you who’ll still be gone more than likely.”

  “You’re breakin’ our deal, Cass.”

  I scowled at him, my stomach churning. “You broke it first by running off to war!”

  “So, this is about getting back at me?”

  “No!” I snapped, and then took a deep breath. “No, seriously, it’s not. The deal was we would have a private wedding ceremony by the dead tree with Torbig the Troll as officiant when I turn eighteen, right? I’m not eighteen. So, as long as you’re back at some point before I turn nineteen, I will view the deal is intact. Unless of course, you find your forever love and marry her instead. At that point, I will admit that my heart will unequivocally shatter into a million pieces…” I let my sentence trail, hoping my joke would lighten the mood.

  Carter laughed. “Fuckin’ nut.”

  I giggled. “Says the bolt.”

  This had been a private joke I’d started back before I knew exactly what nuts and bolts were. At the time, he’d laughed hysterically, then explained the sexual connotation I’d inadvertently voiced, but still, the joke had stuck and it had been our thing.

  “You’re coming back, right?” he pressed.

  “Are you?”

  �
��Yeah, Cass, I’m coming back.”

  I slipped my hands into my pockets. “Well, so am I.”

  He wrapped his arms around me and drew me close. I pulled my hands from my pockets and hugged him back. I loved him more than I would ever admit out loud, but that was a story for another day. For now, it was time to grow up and figure out how to live my life without my crutch. It was something my mother had urged me to do… figure out how to exist in a world without Carter Quinn, but I’d always brushed her off, thinking one day, I’d have him forever. That he’d see me for something other than his best friend. But when he’d been recruited for the Air Force and jumped at the chance to be a hero, I realized he’d never see me the way I saw him, so I knew I had to let him go.

  “I’m coming to the airport,” he said, his voice low with emotion.

  I squeezed my eyes shut. “You better.”

  “I’ll email you every day that I can and you better do the same.”

  I smiled and leaned back to look up at him. “Do not go get all emotional and shit on me.”

  “Don’t use that fuckin’ language. You’re too pretty for it.”

  “You’re a dork.” I laughed and shoved at him. “FroYo and a movie? I’ll buy.”

  “You’re not payin’, Cass, but yeah, FroYo and a movie’s good.”

  “Do you want to climb back down the tree or use the front door like a regular person?”

  We had a huge tree that happened to have a sturdy limb that was like a ladder directly to my room. Carter had snuck in on more than one occasion, mostly when I was mad at him and refused to answer his phone calls. I’d tease him because if he didn’t talk to me at least once a day, he couldn’t seem to function.

  “I didn’t know your parents would be gone,” he countered.

  I giggled. “Whatever. I personally think you prefer the tree. Of course, it’s the middle of the day, so you ringing the doorbell would have been perfectly acceptable.”

  He grinned. “Keep it up, buddy, and there’ll be no movie for you.”

  “Oooh, you scare me,” I retorted as I grabbed my keys and followed him out the door.

  * * *

  One week later, I stood with my dad and Carter at the end of the security line, not quite ready to say my final goodbyes as I headed to my next adventure. Daddy was flying to Paris with me and checking everything out before flying home, and Carter had offered to drive us so my mom could say goodbye at home. She was a wreck, so had readily agreed to do her sobbing in private. My sisters on the other hand had a life outside of me and were happy to wave at Carter’s truck as we were driving away.

  I was consumed with the fact that Carter was leaving in two days for his tour with the Air Force, which meant we’d maybe have a day or two to email or Skype, but then nothing was guaranteed.

  I had done a really great job of keeping my warring emotions at bay. I was excited to go to Paris. I mean, it was freakin’ Paris after all, but I knew I’d miss my family. We were tight. Like Carter and his family, only we were sisters, so we fought a little dirtier, but we loved each other and our parents rocked.

  But leaving Carter made me sick to my stomach. I didn’t know where he was going or where he’d be stationed… neither did he. The not knowing was the worst and if anything happened to him, I’d be the eighth to know, unless one of his brothers called me before my parents did. I blinked back tears at the thought, saying a silent little prayer to keep him safe.

  “You okay?” Carter asked.

  I forced a smile and nodded. “Yep.”

  “I think this is where we leave you, Carter,” my father said.

  Carter nodded and shook his hand. “Have a safe trip, sir.”

  My dad smiled and nodded, and I lost it, throwing my arms around Carter’s neck and sobbing against his chest. “Ohmigod, Carter, if you get yourself killed in some Middle Eastern country, I will hurt you.”

  He chuckled, hugging me tight. “I’m not so easy to kill, Cass. I’m going to be fine, okay?”

  I leaned back and he cupped my face, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. “Please stay safe,” I whispered.

  “I will. A bolt must return to his nut after all.”

  I rolled my eyes and nodded. “I love you.”

  “Love you too, Cass.” He leaned down and gave me a gentle kiss on the lips. Not a romantic one, just one that reminded me he was my best friend and he adored me.

  Dad and I walked through the point of no return and as I was putting my shoes back on, Carter waved to me, and I know he waited until he couldn’t see me anymore before leaving. Don’t ask me how I knew. I just did.

  Carter

  CARTER WATCHED HIS girl walk with her father toward their gate, smiling as she blew him a final kiss and then disappeared from his sight. He stamped down the pain of losing her, reminding himself that he’d see her again in a year and he’d finally be able to tell her how he felt. He’d kept his adoration of her quiet because she was young, sheltered, and the epitome of a good girl. It wasn’t as though he was a bad boy, far from it, but he didn’t want to be the one to take her virginity before she was ready, especially since her father would kill him if he did.

  He wanted the timing to be right… when they were ready to make a life together. He’d dated a few girls, screwed a few girls, too, but it didn’t take long for him to realize there would never be anyone else for him. Cassidy Dennis was his. She had been since she was six and she would be until she was ninety-six. She was his best friend and he would wait for her as long as she needed him to.

  Arriving at his truck, he swore when he couldn’t get the door open. He’d lovingly restored his 1971 Ford pickup with his own two hands, and the occasional passing of a wrench or something from Cassidy. He’d always considered the truck just as much hers as his, considering they’d talked for hours while he worked on it, but he still had a few things he needed to fix, including a sticky lock.

  It took him a few minutes, but he managed to get the door open, and climbed inside. He started the engine and forced his desolation away. Cassidy would call him tomorrow, he’d hear her voice, and he’d know she was safe. He wished he’d been the one to go with her, but it didn’t surprise him that her dad had taken up that responsibility. Her family was close and Mr. Dennis wasn’t about to let his baby go out of the country without fully vetting where she’d be living, who she’d be living with, the faculty and school.

  Carter sighed. Cassidy had been gone fifteen minutes and his heart was heavy. As he reached for his wallet to pay for airport parking, his hand caught the chain he’d slipped into his pocket. At the end hung a nut and bolt, threaded together. He smiled and pulled it out, looping it over his neck. He’d kept it hidden from Cassidy because he’d had one made for her as well. A far more feminine version, granted, but matching all the same. He’d sneaked it into her carryon as she checked two bags at the ticket desk and he couldn’t wait to hear what she thought.

  His heart lightened as he headed home. He could do this. One year would go by quickly and they’d be able to pick up where they left off. It was their way and he knew nothing would change that.

  * * *

  I stared out the plane window and forced myself not to sob as we took off. Dad was on the aisle seat and we’d been pleasantly surprised to find that no one was between us.

  “You okay, honey?” Dad asked.

  I grimaced and turned to face him. “Is it wrong to feel like my heart is breaking?”

  “Not at all.” He smiled. “I promise, you’ll be fine.”

  “But will Carter?”

  “He’s made of tough stuff, Cass. He’ll be fine too.” He took my hand. “Just focus on this year and if you’re meant to be, you’ll be. I know those are just words to you, but when you get some distance, things will be clearer.”

  I nodded, although, I knew he’d never understand. He was cursed (he said blessed, but I personally think he just replaced the word to convince himself) with a house full of women and womanly emotions, which meant
drama was prevalent. Most things for my sisters, Shannon and Mia, were emotional tens (on a scale from one to…) when it came to boys and life. I was far more even-keeled, but that also meant I didn’t openly share my love of Carter with the world. I did to my mom, but Dad’s eyes would glaze over and Mom said he was going to his happy place when my sisters started in on their emotional blackmail, so Dad didn’t know about the extent of Carter.

  I turned back to the window and as soon as we were cleared to use our electronic devices, I pulled my backpack onto my lap and unzipped the front flap. Tugging out my iPod, I found a little wrapped package with Carter’s distinctive script scrawled on the front.

  I ripped it open and forced myself not to totally break down at thirty-five thousand feet. I pulled out a feminine but very sturdy silver chain that had a threaded nut and bolt, a pair of ballet slippers, and a mini dog tag hanging from it. It had been wrapped in tissue paper with a note.

  “What’s that?” my dad asked.

  “A little surprise from Carter.” I handed the chain to him and he smiled before handing it back.

  “Clever,” he said.

  “That he is.” I secured it around my neck and found myself reaching for it several times during the flight. I couldn’t wait to call him and tell him how much I loved it and him. I didn’t care that I was leaving for a year. I wanted him and if I had to wait for him, I would. Now I just had to convince him I was the one for him. That would prove harder.

  Still, I had a smile on my face as I drifted off to sleep, my hand over the charms that had settled over my heart. Appropriate.

  Little did I know, my phone call to Carter the next day would be too short to tell him anything substantial and the last time I’d hear his voice until I returned to the States. In less than a year, my safe little world would be rocked to its core.

  * * *

  Eleven months later…

  “Cassidy!” Pierre grinned and held his arms out to me as I walked into the practice room. “Vous êtes magnifique!”