Vanessa
Chapter fourteen
When we get back to the motel, I don’t want to let go of Braxton.
He was right about the ride and going to the falls.
I feel more centered now than I have in weeks.
Hell, maybe even years. There’s no doubt in my mind that it wasn’t just about being on a motorcycle or going somewhere so peaceful.
It had everything to do with the man with me.
Braxton could have taken my apology and never offered one in return. I’m still not a hundred-percent sure I deserved it. He could have left me to my own devices and completely written me off like I expected.
When he showed up at the motel, I was terrified that my first instinct was right about him.
That I was going to meet the same fate as Carl.
But that’s the thing about instincts. They’re shaped by your life experiences, and mine haven’t been great, not by a long shot.
Of course I was terrified he would come after me to dole out the punishment I thought was coming.
That’s all I’ve ever known. There was no grace, no understanding from anyone in my life. Not until Braxton.
It takes me no time at all to throw everything back in my suitcase in the room. And just like the first time Braxton came to my rescue, he doesn’t let me carry the bag.
“Do you need to settle up with the front desk?” he asks, closing my car door after putting the suitcase in the back seat.
“No, I paid cash for three nights.”
“I’ll go get you a refund,” he says and turns toward the office.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” I call after him.
“It does today.”
Within minutes, he’s walking back toward me and pulls a wad of cash from his pocket, handing it to me with a cocky little grin playing on his lips.
I chuckle and shake my head. “Thank you.”
Braxton winks and walks to his bike. “I’ll follow you home, sweetheart.”
He probably didn’t mean anything by that, but hearing him call the clubhouse home as though it’s our home and not just his anymore sends a flutter through my chest. We’re a long way from being back where we were—no, not back.
Somewhere better, where trust and honesty are the top priority.
Where I can count on him to have my back, and he can count on me to tell the truth.
That’s where I want us to be. But I’m willing to put in the effort. And that is a first for me.
I get in my car, and we’re on the highway back to Shine. It takes about thirty minutes before I’m pulling up to the front gate with Braxton behind me. Logan is at the gate and waves at me when I pull through.
The entire drive over, I kept thinking about what I was going to say to everyone when I saw them again.
I won’t lie and say I’m not nervous as hell about it.
Braxton may have forgiven me, or at the very least, he’s working on it, but that doesn’t mean his brothers are going to show me the same grace.
Braxton parks his bike next to me and opens my car door. He takes my slightly sweaty hand in his, and we walk inside the clubhouse together. Ozzy and Knox are sitting at the bar, and Linc and Jude are at the pool tables. Cash and Cece emerge from the kitchen, and all eyes are on me.
Ozzy is the first to stand and walk over to me. “Welcome back, Vanessa. I’m glad you decided to stay.”
“Ozzy, I can’t tell you how sorry I am. You brought me in when you thought I had no place to land, and I…” I shake my head and look down at the floor.
“You did what you thought you had to. Braxton told us about the threats to your mom and sister. Family means something different here than it does where you’re from, Vanessa. I hope you can trust that.”
I look back up at the club president, and he’s wearing a soft smile without a trace of anger. I expected at least some anger, some threat of violence of what would happen if I betrayed them again, or didn’t help them find Russ, but none of that is on his face. Just understanding and forgiveness.
My gaze travels to Cash. “I am so sorry, Cash. You got hurt because of me. I can never…I can never take that back.”
Cece walks over to us, and for a second, I’m afraid she’s going to punch me in the face or something.
She has every right. I got her old man beaten to hell.
Instead, she does something completely unexpected and throws her arms around me, bringing me tight against her while one of my hands is still in Braxton’s.
“I’m so sorry you had to go through what you have. It’s not the same, but I used to have to do things with my body that I was too young for and should never have happened. If you need to talk, I’m here. And if you need to beat the shit out of something, I can arrange that, too.”
Okay, I’ve cried more in the last twenty-four hours than I have in my life, save for when my father died. And here I am again with tears streaming down my face. Braxton was the only person who has ever expressed sadness for me, for what I’ve had to live through, and now Cece.
“Thank you,” I choke out, and she releases me, squeezing my hand before she steps away.
“Ozzy, we need to get Vanessa’s mom and sister out of New York. Russ might go after them in retaliation,” Braxton says.
“Okay, brother,” Ozzy says with a nod.
Jude and Linc walk over to us and Jude says, “Linc and I will follow in my truck just in case there’s any trouble.”
Braxton looks down at me. “Sweetheart, give your mom a call and tell her to pack up. They’ll stay at the clubhouse with us until this is over.”
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dial my mom’s number.
“Hello?” she asks, answering on the first ring.
“Hi, Mom. Listen, I’m going to explain everything when I see you, but I need you to pack. We’re coming to get you, and then we’re bringing you back to Shine with us, okay?”
“Oh, that sounds great. Yeah, I can do that.”
My brows furrow. That’s not exactly the response I was expecting.
“Is everything okay, Mom?”
“Absolutely, Noel will be so excited.”
She doesn’t sound right, and it’s setting off warning bells in my head.
“Mom, are you alone?”
“We’re just finishing up a visit with my stepson, Sharon; then we’ll be ready to come over. Thank you so much for inviting us. I’ll let you know when we’re on our way.”
My mom hangs up the phone, and my blood runs cold.
Slowly, I lower the phone from my ear and look at Braxton. “Russ is there. I think…I think she’s going to let us know when he leaves? I don’t know; she couldn’t say much.”
“Fuck that. We’re not waiting,” Braxton says.
“My truck’s here,” Ozzy says, then looks at Linc and Jude. “Are you armed?”
Jude rolls his eyes as though that was the dumbest question he’s ever heard. “Of course.”
“Okay, you and Linc with me, and Braxton can drive Vanessa’s car. If that asshole has someone watching the apartment, I don’t want to tip them off.”
“I should go with Vanessa, then,” Cece says. “It will look less suspicious if it’s me instead of Braxton.”
“Cece, you don’t have to do that,” I say. “I don’t want you to get hurt if he’s there.”
She looks me dead in the eye, and there’s a hardness behind her gaze that wasn’t there a moment ago. “I can handle that asshole, trust me.”
This is the first time I’ve seen Cece as anything other than the sweet baker. The change in her is a little alarming, but if she says she’s capable, then I’m not in a position to argue.
“Then I’m riding with you, Ozzy,” Cash says.
“Alright. I want everyone carrying and ready for anything. If Russ is still there, I would prefer him taken alive.” Ozzy gives every brother, including Cece, a meaningful look. “Let’s go.”
It’s the middle of the day, so traffic isn’t terrible on the way into the city. When we get onto my street, Cece’s phone rings in her purse.
“Hi, honey,” she says, answering her phone.
“Okay. I’ll let Vanessa know.” She disconnects the call and puts her phone back in her purse.
When she leans back, she has a small pistol in her grip.
“The guys are going to loop around the block to make sure no one is casing the building. He said to park and stay alert, but don’t go inside until they’re back. ”
I do as she says, and Ozzy’s truck passes us. My eyes are zeroed in on the kitchen window that looks out onto the street we’re parked on. There’s no movement behind the lace curtain my mom hung to try to give the place a more cheery feel. It never worked.
A few minutes pass before Ozzy’s truck comes toward us, and he parks it on the side of the road in front of my car. The brothers hop out, walk over to my car, and Braxton opens my door.
“We didn’t see anyone,” he says as I step out. “Ready?”
I nod, and the six of us walk toward my building. Once inside the small vestibule that opens to the staircase, all the brothers—and Cece—have their guns ready.
I’m scared of what I’ll find as we make our way up the three flights of stairs to our apartment. Is my mom hurt? Is Noel scared? Is Russ still there? I never heard back from my mom, and I was afraid to call and raise Russ’s suspicions.
Braxton is on one side of the door and Ozzy is on the other with their guns drawn as I unlock the door and open it.
“Mom?” I call into the apartment and step inside. The space is quiet, and Braxton follows me in, followed closely by the rest of the brothers and Cece.
“Bedroom?” Braxton asks, and I nod toward the hallway.
“Two on the right, and the bathroom is on the left,” I answer quietly.
Cash and Linc walk over to the kitchen and disappear around the corner for a brief moment. When they emerge, Cash shakes his head, letting everyone know there’s no one in there.
Ozzy, Braxton, and Jude walk down the hallway and stop in front of all the closed doors before looking at each other.
Ozzy nods once, and the three men open the doors at the same time with their guns pointed in front of them.
Jude, looking inside the bathroom, comes out and shakes his head before Ozzy and Braxton walk out and do the same.
They aren’t here.