21. Kate
Kate
Isat on the edge of the narrow bed in the small room the club had given me while Noah slept quietly in his cot beside me.
Late afternoon light filtered through the thin curtains, painting pale stripes across the worn wooden floor.
I brushed my fingers gently through Noah’s curls, grounding myself in the soft warmth of him.
Because everything inside me still hurt.
“She means nothing.”
The words wouldn’t stop replaying. I squeezed my eyes shut hard but tears still slipped free.
Maybe I wasn’t supposed to hear it. Maybe Finn never meant for me to. But I had. And somehow that made it worse. Because only moments earlier, he’d kissed me like I mattered.
Like he wanted me.
My chest tightened painfully. God, I’d been stupid. Stupid enough to believe the way he touched me had meant something more than lust. Stupid enough to forget men could want your body without wanting you.
Noah shifted in his sleep, and I immediately leaned forward, adjusting his blanket even though it didn’t need fixing.
Anything to stop thinking. Anything to stop remembering the way Finn looked at me that morning.
The way he’d whispered, “You have no idea what you do to me.”
A broken sound caught in my throat. Now all I could hear was, “She means nothing.”
A soft knock sounded before the door opened. Lucy leaned against the frame, taking one look at me before her expression softened.
“Well,” she said gently, “you look like you’re having one hell of a time up here.”
I huffed out something that wasn’t quite a laugh. “Was it that obvious?”
Lucy stepped inside and crouched beside Noah’s cot.
“He asleep?”
“Yeah.”
She smiled faintly at him before glancing back at me. “You heard, didn’t you?”
I looked down at my hands. “Hard not to.”
Lucy sighed. “Kate?—”
“He said I was nothing to him.” My voice sounded small even to me. “Kind of hard to misunderstand that.”
Lucy’s jaw tightened slightly. “Men say stupid things when Reaper’s in their face.”
I gave a weak shrug. “Still said it.”
She didn’t argue. Instead, she stood and held her hand out to me. “Come on.”
I blinked up at her. “Where?”
“Downstairs.” She gave me a pointed look. “Maria’s threatening to throw somebody through a wall, and honestly, I think watching that might cheer you up.”
Despite everything, a weak smile tugged at my mouth.
Lucy smiled back immediately, like she’d won something. “There she is.”
I hesitated, glancing over at Noah. “What if he wakes up?”
“Baby monitor’s on,” Lucy said gently. “And I swear, nobody gets near this room without going through me first.”
I stared at her hand another second before finally taking it.
Lucy squeezed gently. “C’mon. You’ve been hiding long enough.”
Lucy didn’t let go of my arm until we reached the bar downstairs.
The clubhouse felt quieter than usual. A few brothers played pool near the back while Maria wiped down the counter, muttering threats under her breath about grease stains and lazy men.
For a while I let Lucy and Maria carry the conversation. I nodded when expected, smiled when I had to, but every quiet moment dragged me right back to Finn.
“She means nothing.”
The humiliation sat like acid in my stomach, because somehow the worst part wasn’t that he’d rejected me. It was that for a little while, I’d believed him when he touched me.
Eventually, the walls started closing in around me again.
“I’m just gonna get some air,” I murmured.
Lucy looked up immediately. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” I forced a smile, “just need a minute.”
She studied me carefully before nodding once. “Don’t go outside the gates.”
I slipped outside before anyone could stop me. Cool evening air hit my skin immediately.
I wandered slowly along the side of the clubhouse, wrapping my arms around myself as gravel crunched beneath my shoes. The farther I got from the noise inside, the heavier everything felt.
Then—
“Kate.”
Every muscle in my body locked.
I turned slowly towards the dark sedan sitting just outside the gates. The passenger door opened, and my mother stepped out.
For one horrifying second, I couldn’t breathe.
They’d found us.
Relief flooded her face when she saw me. “Oh, thank God.” I stared at her silently. “We’ve been worried sick.”
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Worried?”
Her smile tightened. “Kate, don’t start.”
“Don’t start?” My voice shook. “You tracked me down.”
“Honey, you disappeared with a baby.”
“I disappeared because you tried to sell my son.”
Her entire expression hardened. “We were trying to help you.”
“No,” I shook my head, “you were trying to profit off him.”
Her jaw tightened sharply. “You really believe that?”
“I heard Rick talking about money.”
“We were trying to secure Noah’s future.”
“There it is.”
She sighed dramatically, like I was exhausting her. “Someone in this family has to think practically.”
“You mean profitably.”
Something cold flashed across her face, then she smiled. Not warmly. The kind of smile that used to make me hide in my bedroom as a kid.
“Oh, sweetheart,” she said, “you always were desperate for attention.”
My stomach twisted painfully.
“You’d cling to anyone who looked at you twice.” Her eyes flicked towards the clubhouse behind me. “Even bikers. You really think those people care about you?”
“I know they care more than you do.”
Her eyes sharpened. “They pity you, Kate.”
“That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” she asked. “You couldn’t even keep Caleb.”
I flinched before I could stop myself.
“You always ruin things eventually,” she continued calmly. “Friends. Jobs. Men.”
My throat burned painfully.
“You get too emotional. Too needy. Too difficult.” She tilted her head slightly. “Just like your father.”
“Don’t.” My voice cracked.
“You think one biker playing house changes what you are?” she asked cruelly. “You’ve always needed someone to rescue you because you can’t stand on your own two feet.”
My hands shook at my sides.
“Finn will get tired of you again,” she continued. “Especially once he realizes you come with baggage and another man’s baby.”
The words hit so hard, I physically stepped backwards. They knew about Finn.
Her expression softened slightly. Not in kindness, but in satisfaction. Hurting me was the point.
Then her face changed suddenly. Fear flashed across it as shouting echoed across the lot. I turned sharply.
Finn had burst through the clubhouse doors, running hard, several brothers right behind him.
“Finn,” someone shouted, but he didn’t stop.
The look on his face made my stomach drop.
Pure fury.
I looked back at my mother. The colour had drained from her face.
Another shout echoed across the gravel, and my mother stumbled backwards towards the sedan. Then the passenger door slammed shut behind her.
A hand caught my arm gently.
Lucy.
“When did you get out here?” I whispered.
“Inside,” she said sharply. “Now.”
“What happened?”
“Inside, Kate.”
I looked towards Finn again as he disappeared across the lot with the others.
Fear curled low in my stomach, because whatever was happening . . .it was bad.