Protecting Her Secrets (Mountain Men of Culver Springs #1)

Chapter 31

Chapter Thirty-One

Skylar

I chew on a nail, seething at the way Walker left without telling me what was going on. I hate being left in the dark; it leaves me feeling out of control, and I’ve had enough loss of control to last a lifetime. I was just starting to get it back when the club decided to invade the town.

It was a dick move for him not to discuss it with me before he left, and when he gets home, I plan on making sure he knows that.

If he gets home.

No, I can’t think like that. Walker is smart and would never do something to put his or my safety at risk. And with me being pregnant, the stakes are too high. I just have to trust that whatever he’s doing will bring him home in one piece and get the club out of our lives for good, even if that seems like a tall order.

My cell rings, startling me. Gently, I ease Sprocket’s head off my lap, where it has been since I sat down. The poor little guy is beside himself, feeling my tense energy and not being able to calm me. I rush over to grab the phone, positive it’s Walker calling to tell me everything’s okay, but it’s not his phone number. Matter of fact, there’s no phone number at all. The caller ID is blank.

“Hello?”

“Sky?” I don’t recognize the woman’s gruff voice.

“Who is this?”

“It’s Aunt Amy.”

Amy is the enforcer’s ol’ lady. She has known me my whole life, and although there’s no blood relation, I’ve always referred to her as my aunt. When Mom died, she was there for me, doing things with me moms usually do. She’s one of the few people involved with the club I’ll actually miss.

That being said, my hackles still rise because this is a burner phone.

“How’d you get this number?”

“I begged Puss to do his computer thing. I don’t know how all that works.” Her chuckle sounds like rocks in a dryer from her two-pack-a-day habit.

“Why are you calling?”

“Don’t be like that, girlie. I missed you. You just up and disappeared without a word. I was worried.”

Hearing the sadness in her voice, I relax a little. “I’m sorry. I just couldn’t go through with the wedding, and besides that, I’m kind of already married.”

“I heard, you little brat,” she teases. “Keeping a secret like that all these years. No wonder it took so long to agree to marry Klutch.”

“It wasn’t that. I don’t love him, Aunt Amy.”

“Oh, honey. Love ain’t something you just feel. It’s earned, and to be fair, you haven’t even tried.”

She’s right, but she’s also wrong. Yes, love is earned, but it’s also a feeling. The first time I saw Walker, I knew it would take very little for me to love him. There was an immediate, undeniable connection. The only thing I feel with Klutch is repulsion.

“I don’t want to try. He’s mean, and he scares me.”

“He’s not?—”

“He rapes me, Aunt Amy.”

“You don’t understand. A man like him has certain needs. He has lots of people relying on him to lead the club, and that’s a lot of pressure. You can’t blame him if he needs to blow off steam now and then.”

“He has plenty of patch pussy who willingly let him blow off steam,” I seethe. “What he does to me is a power move.”

“That’s not true. He loves you.”

I shake my head, feeling tears spring to my eyes. “If the reason you’re calling is to get me to come back, you’re wasting your time. I’m happy for the first time in fifteen years, and I’m not giving that up.”

“I’m real sorry to hear that. I love you like family and hate that you’re walking away from us, but you’re a big girl and can make your own decisions.” She sniffles, making me feel a pang of guilt. The club is the only family I’ve ever known, and she’s right. I’m walking away from them. “But I wasn’t calling to try to convince you to come back.”

“Then why?”

“Did you hear about the fire?”

My stomach sinks. “No.”

“Apparently, there was some kind of wiring issue at your mom’s house. I’m so sorry, Sky, but it was a total loss.”

“What?” I sink to the floor in the middle of the kitchen. Sprocket rushes over, covering my lap with his warm body and resting his head on my chest.

“I know what that house meant to you, so I thought you should hear it from someone who loves you.”

“I-I can’t believe it.” My mind races, drawing the only conclusion that makes sense. “There was no wiring issue. Klutch did it to get back at me.”

“He’d never. He wanted to live there with you and raise a family, just like your dad wanted.”

“But I ran away, and he realized the house wasn’t enough to get me back.”

“He wasn’t convinced of that. He thought you’d come to your senses if he gave you enough time.”

I’ll never convince her otherwise, so I don’t bother. Wiping away tears, I say, “Thanks for telling me, Aunt Amy. I have to go.”

“Wait. There’s something else.”

“What?”

“Klutch had us clear the house out, you know, to get it ready for when you came back. I spent all last week moving boxes of photos and some other stuff to a storage unit, and I thought you might want it.”

“Oh my god. Really?”

“Hand to God.”

“I’d love it. What’s your number? I’ll talk to Walker about how I can get it from you.”

“No reason to. When Klutch said the club was going to that little town you’re living in, I asked to come along so I could bring it to you. Let’s meet up.”

“I can’t leave right now.” Walker wouldn’t be okay with me leaving for any reason.

“It has to be now, kid. I lied to Loner and told him because my arthritis was acting up, that riding up there in the cold wouldn’t be good for me, so I brought a cage. No one knows I snuck the boxes in the trunk, and with the guys all busy right now, this is the only time I can get away without them noticing.”

Part of me is wondering if this is a ploy, but I can’t imagine Aunt Amy lying to me about this. She was more like Mom’s sister than anything. They grew up together, and after Mom married Dad, Aunt Amy married Dad’s best friend. Since Aunt Amy couldn’t have kids, they raised me together. There’s no way she’d betray Mom and do something to hurt me. Plus, her story makes sense, and I really want those photos.

“Okay, but you can’t come here, and I don’t have a car. All I have is an ATV, so you’ll have to meet me close by.” I refuse to let her near the house. I don’t trust her that much. But I could meet her at the base of Walker’s hill. I’ll shut off the security system only long enough to grab the boxes from her and come back. Walker will never know.

“Whatever’s easiest.”

I give her directions and tell her I’ll be there in a half hour. Quickly, I bundle up and fish out the keys to the ATV from the bowl in the mudroom. Rowan taught me how to drive his when I spent the day with him, so I’m hoping Walker’s operates the same way.

Thankfully, it does, and within ten minutes, I have everything in place, driving down the hill with Sprocket running after me. He’s not a guard dog, no matter what Walker thinks. He’s small and gentle, but if something goes wrong, Sprocket being outside will be a warning to Walker that I need help.

I only have to wait five minutes before a beat-up Plymouth comes creeping down the road. I’m glad when I see Aunt Amy is alone. She stops in front of me, not even shutting down the car before she’s out and wrapping me up in a hug. She looks the same as she always has—feathered bangs, thick black eyeliner around her eyes, pink lipstick. I breathe her in, allowing myself to relax into her. She and Mom always wore the same perfume, so for a split-second, it’s easy to pretend it’s Mom embracing me.

“How are you, kid?” she asks, holding me at a distance.

“Really good.”

“You look good.” She takes me in, stopping when her eyes lock on my middle. I immediately realize my mistake. The sun is bright and warm, so as I stood waiting, I took my vest off, leaving me in leggings, a long-sleeve work-out shirt, and a cropped fleece hoodie.

I pull away from her, tugging the hoodie down. “Hopefully, I can get the boxes back up the hill on this thing. Wanna pop the trunk?”

Her eyes narrow. “Sure.”

Walking around to the back of the car, I wait for the snick of the latch before lifting. Just like she said, there are three boxes labeled ‘Photos’ in Mom’s handwriting. I open one, and my breath hitches at the picture on top. It’s Mom and me when I was just born. She looks exhausted, with ruddy cheeks, face damp with perspiration, but her smile is infectious as she gazes down at her afterbirth-covered baby on her bare chest.

“Thank you, Aunt Amy. These mean the world to me,” I say when she joins me, looking over my shoulder.

“I remember that day. The happiest day of both our lives. Your dad was on a run and couldn’t get back in time, so your mom asked me to be in the room with her.” I can hear the smile in her voice. “Damn, you had some lungs on you. The second she pushed you out of her cooter, your mouth was wide open, yelling at the world.”

“She was the best mom.”

“She really was.” Amy rests her hands on my shoulders, and I lean into the touch. “She’d be disappointed to know you’re turning your back on the club, Sky. I know you’re an adult and can make your own decisions, but her dream was for you to follow in her footsteps.”

I shake my head. “I know you’re okay with the way things are in the club, but I’m not. I want a partner who sees me as an equal and doesn’t try to control me.”

“You’re looking at it all wrong. Those men think they run the show, but they’d be nothing without us. We just let them think they’re all big and powerful.”

“I could never love a man who takes something from a woman she doesn’t freely give him.”

She turns me around to face her. “And you’re okay with that baby never knowing its daddy? You’re acting awful high and mighty, but what you’re doing is fucked up.”

“He lost the right to this baby the day he forced himself on me.” I place a protective hand over the innocent life growing inside me.

“You know, I was feeling real bad for this. I almost didn’t go along with it because I really do love you like you’re my own, but now I see you for what you really are: a spoiled fucking brat.” Before I have the chance to process her words, she’s pulling a syringe from her pocket and jabbing it into my neck. I swat it away, but not before she pushes the plunger.

“What did you do?” I slur, the world becoming blurry and my feet unsteady.

“Sit your ass down.” She shoves me to the ground, and I watch helplessly as she tosses the boxes out of the trunk. Sprocket, who had been watching our interaction from next to the ATV, crouches as he approaches, growling menacingly. “Call off the mutt before he gets hurt.”

My head spins, fear making my hands tremble uncontrollably, or maybe it’s whatever drug she injected me with, but I can’t form the words necessary to tell Sprocket to go home. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to him. He’s completely innocent in all this.

Aunt Amy lifts me by my armpits. She’s stronger than I thought she was. I push and shove at her, but I’m so weak, I’m no more than a nuisance to her. Shoving me into the trunk, she glares down at me, hatred making her lip curl. I’ve never seen her look at me like this. How can she say she loves me?

My vision narrows to pinpricks, but I can still hear, so I know the moment Sprocket lunges at her. I have no idea what she does to him to make him yelp, but I’ve never felt as deeply sad as I do when his cry pierces the air.

“No,” I whisper.

“Just remember, you did this to yourself.”

I don’t know if my world goes dark from the drug or from Aunt Amy slamming the trunk closed, but either way, I sink into a fitful sleep.