Chapter Seventeen
THE SHOCK OF his words paralyzed me for a moment, rendering me speechless. Crap, he knew I was here the whole time! My breath caught in my throat as I processed what he had said. Slowly, I pulled the blanket off and peered over the seat, meeting his steady gaze in the rearview mirror. His dark eyes held no malice, just curiosity and a hint of amusement. It must be my imagination playing tricks on me, but he looked a lot like Kaven. With a shaky breath, I uncurled myself from the back seat, my hands trembling a little from being caught.
“Why didn’t you say anything if you knew I was here?” I asked, climbing into the front seat and eyeing him suspiciously. “You’re not some serial killer, are you? Because that would be just my luck.”
“Can’t say I am,” he laughed, introducing himself. “Name’s Ry. You’re safe with me.”
“Hadleigh,” I replied, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Okay, Hadleigh, what’s going on?” he asked, his tone softening.
“I just needed a ride into town,” I said, looking out the window, giving him only a half-truth.
“Why not just ask? You act like you’re escaping... are you?” His eyes flicked to me and back to the road.
I sighed, leaning my head against the seat. “It’s complicated, and I can’t go into all of it. But I wasn’t being held against my will, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“That’s exactly what I’m thinking,” he said, his voice tinged with concern. “So, if that’s not the case, why are you running?”
“Because Kaven—” I stopped, realizing I was about to spill my private business to a stranger. “I just want to move on.”
He looked surprised, then thoughtful. “So, I take it Kaven is your boyfriend, and he did something to piss you off.”
“Like I said, it’s complicated. If you could just take me to the bus station or something, that would be great.”
“You don’t even have a phone or money on you. You won’t get very far,” he stated, his eyes sliding over to me. “How about I take you back to my place until you figure things out?” He leaned over, reaching into the glove box, and handed me a small handgun. “It’s loaded. It’ll give you peace of mind that I’m not going to hurt you.”
I felt the heavy metal in my hand and checked it to make sure he wasn’t lying. “Okay,” I said, sticking it in my pocket, since I had no better options.
“You seem familiar with that,” he smirked.
“My grandfather taught me early how to protect myself, if need be,” I informed him, smiling at the memory.
“Smart,” he replied, returning my smile. Again, a feeling of familiarity washed over me, but I shook it off. He pulled into the parking lot of an apartment building and said, “Come inside, and don’t be surprised if my brothers notice you and ask questions. They’re a nosy bunch.”
“You guys live together?”
“No, we all have our own apartments, all on the same floor so we can look after our mama,” Ry said, holding the door open for me and then leading me down the hallway into his apartment. Before my eyes could even scan the apartment, a knock sounded, and two other men entered. I immediately knew they were Ry’s brothers. And again, I thought of Kaven.
“Hey, Ry,” one said, looking me over with curiosity. “Saw you come in and thought we’d stop by and meet your lady friend.”
“Hadleigh, this is Fenix and Grey,” Ry introduced me, giving them a long look. “She hitched a ride from the clubhouse.”
Fenix raised an eyebrow in surprise. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear he recognized me. “Really? How’d you end up here?”
“Like I told your brother, it’s complicated, but he’s helping me out.”
“Yeah, she’s having problems with her boyfriend, Kaven,” Ry said, and something passed between the men. “And I told her she could crash here until she figures things out.”
Grey looked me over. “You’re lucky you ran into Ry. Surely you weren’t planning on traipsing around with only the clothes on your back?”
Before I could answer, another knock sounded, and another man entered, also looking eerily similar to Kaven. “Hey Ry, heard you brought a woman to your apartment,” he smirked, his eyes finding me and unabashedly looking me over. “A redhead, you surprise me.”
“It’s not like that, Cam,” Ry and Fenix snapped in unison.
I looked between the men, realizing this was no coincidence; the resemblance was too strong, and the knowing looks between them triggered memories of past conversations with Kaven about his family, and his five brothers. My eyes widened. “You’re Kaven’s brothers!”
“And thank God it was Ry you pulled this stunt with,” Kaven’s angry voice came from the doorway. “Anything could have happened to you! What the hell were you thinking?”
I HAD BEEN going out of my mind looking for her. After Patch tore Valley and me a new asshole for keeping my relationship with Haddie a secret, I frantically searched everywhere, but she was nowhere to be found. Just as I was about to start combing the woods, a text came in from Ry: he’d found a red-headed stray in his truck and taken her home.
“You ratted me out!” Haddie screamed, spinning around to confront Ry, pulling a gun from her pocket. “I’m not going back!”
Ry held up his hands in defense, a nervous laugh escaping. “No need to get violent, Hadleigh. You can put the gun away. If you don’t want to go back, nobody here will make you.”
Why in the hell did she have a gun?
I reached Haddie and yanked the gun from her hand, her scream of outrage cutting through me as I tossed it to Ry. “What do you mean you’re not coming back? Why the hell did you run in the first place?”
“I’m not some prisoner. I can do what I want,” she spat, her eyes blazing. “I want to start my life over, on my own terms.”
“All this because I said we needed to get married?” I asked, feeling the ground shift beneath me at her attitude. “I know we have some misunderstandings to clear up, but isn’t this extreme? And you do realize there’s a reason you’re in hiding? Don’t be stupid.”
“Don’t call me stupid!” she shouted, tears beginning to stream down her face. “And I don’t think we have any misunderstandings to clear up. Things are clear as day, and I understand everything completely!”
“Haddie, quit being stubborn and calm down!” I reached for her, concerned at how upset she was, but she jerked back and out of reach.
She jabbed her finger at me. “Listen carefully, Kaven. I will not marry you just because I’m pregnant with your baby!”
A shocked gasp from behind us reminded us we weren’t alone. We turned to see Mama rushing over to Haddie. “My Kaven is going to have a baby?” she exclaimed, wrapping Haddie in a tight embrace and kissing her cheek. “Come, you need to calm down and eat. This isn’t good for the little one.”
“I...” Haddie stuttered as Mama led her from the room, a bewildered look on her face.
“This is the most interesting thing to happen in a long time,” Cam chuckled, his eyes gleaming. “Little Bro, the first to become a daddy and making Mama’s dream come true.”
“Yeah, I never saw this coming,” Ry laughed, shaking his head at me. “What the hell did you do to her to cause her to act this way?”
“Did she catch you with someone else? One of those women you guys keep around that clubhouse?” Bo smirked. Still bitter over Sarah, he won’t stop bashing the club, and I’m damn sick of it.
“Shut your mouth, Bo. You don’t know what you’re talking about!” I snarled, fury rising in me. “This is not your business.”
“Did she?” Cam asked cautiously. “I mean, shit, your girl tried running from you. That’s not normal and usually means you cheated.”
“Really Cam? You should know me better than that. What the fuck?” I snarled, getting even more pissed off by the minute.
“Hey, we’re just trying to figure out what the hell is going on, and it’s no secret you like the ladies,” Cam shot back, defending himself.
“I think things have changed,” Fenix said, watching me thoughtfully.
“Okay, let’s stop the bickering and talk about this later. We should probably go save Hadleigh before Mama stuffs her fuller than a Thanksgiving turkey,” Grey said, and he was right. Mama had been after us to get married and start families for years, and with Haddie being the first, she’s going to get the overloaded version of Mama’s attention.
I’m still reeling from her running away. It’s still dangerous for her, and I needed to get answers so this wouldn’t happen again. She was carrying my baby, and I didn’t take that lightly. Now I had two lives that meant everything to me to protect.