Chapter 5 #3
Outside, the forest is alive with activity, with club members securing the area and bikes parked haphazardly where they were abandoned in haste. In the distance, I hear sirens approaching.
"Police," Mason answers my unspoken question, appearing from around the cabin.
"Good," I say, surprising everyone including myself. "They should see this. See him. And I have evidence they need to see."
Greyson's arm tightens around me. "Evidence?"
"Diane sent everything. It's in my email and I forwarded it to all of you.
Records of all his victims, the payments, even his plans for me.
" I look up at Greyson, then at my father.
"I want him prosecuted. I want it all on record what he did, what he planned to do.
So even if he somehow walks away from this, there's a paper trail a mile long following him. "
Dad nods slowly, understanding dawning. "Smart girl. The legal system might fail, but the record remains."
"And if the legal system fails," Greyson adds quietly, for my ears only, "we won't."
The police arrive in a flurry of activity, where statements are taken, evidence is collected, and Richard is loaded into an ambulance under guard.
I tell them everything, showing them the files Diane sent, explaining the stalking, the break-in, the attack.
I leave out certain details, like exactly how Richard received some of his injuries, but the truth is damning enough without embellishment.
Through it all, Greyson stays by my side, a solid presence anchoring me when memories threaten to overwhelm me. His hand never leaves mine, a silent promise that I'm not alone, not anymore.
As the sky darkens and the last police car pulls away, I find myself sitting on the porch of Greyson's house, wrapped in a blanket someone found. The power has been restored, the broken window temporarily patched. Greyson brings me a mug of hot tea, sitting beside me on the steps.
"You were incredible today," he says after a long silence. "Most people would have collapsed under that kind of fear."
I sip the tea, letting its warmth soothe my raw throat. "I was terrified," I admit. "But something happened when he broke into the cabin. I just… refused to allow a man to harm me without fighting tooth and nail to make sure I make it back home.
"I'm also really fucking angry at Diane," I say, setting my mug down with more force than necessary. "She knew what kind of monster Richard was. She had evidence of what he'd done to other women. And she hid that flash drive in our apartment without telling me what I was living with."
Greyson's jaw tightens as he shifts to face me. "She put you in danger."
"Exactly! I was walking around clueless while a psychopath was stalking both of us.
" My voice rises with each word, the fear of the day transforming into righteous anger.
"She let me think I was just being paranoid when I mentioned the flowers, the feeling of being watched.
If she had just told me the truth, I could have been prepared.
I wouldn't have been blindsided by all this. "
"She should have warned you," Greyson agrees, his eyes darkening. "I'm pissed too. If she had come clean from the beginning, we could have protected you properly. Instead, you nearly died in those woods today."
I run my fingers over the bruises forming on my throat. "I understand she was scared, but we were roommates. Friends. You don't keep that kind of secret from someone who's literally sleeping under the same roof as your evidence against a violent stalker."
"It was selfish," Greyson says, taking my hand in his. "And reckless. She dragged you into her mess without giving you the chance to protect yourself."
I lean against his shoulder, suddenly exhausted. "I don't know if I can forgive her for that. Not yet, anyway."
"You don't have to," he says. "Some betrayals take time to heal."
We sit in silence for a moment, watching as club members patrol the perimeter of the property. The danger has passed, but old habits die hard in MC life—you protect what's yours, even after the immediate threat is gone.
"What happens now?" I ask, my voice small against the vastness of the night sky.
Greyson's arm tightens around me. "Now? Richard Keller goes to jail. Between your testimony, the evidence from Diane, and the attempted murder charges from today, he'll be behind bars for a long time."
"And us?" I turn to look at him, searching his face in the porch light. "What happens with us?"
A slow smile spreads across his features, transforming the hardened MC president back into the man who made me pancakes this morning—was it really just this morning?
"That depends." He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Do you still want that dinner I promised you?"
Despite everything—the fear, the pain, the betrayal—I find myself smiling back. "I think I've earned it."
"You've earned a hell of a lot more than dinner." His voice drops to a register that sends shivers down my spine. "But it's a start."
He leans forward, his lips brushing mine with exquisite gentleness, mindful of my injuries. The kiss is brief but filled with promise—of safety, of passion, of a future neither of us could have imagined just days ago.
When we part, I see my father watching from the edge of the yard, his expression unreadable in the darkness. But he doesn't approach, doesn't interrupt. Instead, he gives a small nod before turning away, as close to a blessing as I'm likely to get for now.
"Your dad's coming around," Greyson murmurs, following my gaze.
"He saw you today," I say simply. "Saw what you were willing to do for me."
Greyson's eyes darken with remembered fury. "I would have killed him with my bare hands if your father hadn't stopped me."
"I know." And I do know, with bone-deep certainty, that Greyson Reed would burn the world down to keep me safe. It should terrify me, this capacity for violence in the man who holds me so tenderly. Instead, it feels like coming home to a truth I've always known.
"Come on." Greyson stands and offers his hand. "You need rest. Real rest, in a real bed.”
I let him pull me to my feet, wincing at the protest from my battered body. "Will you stay with me?" I ask, not caring if it sounds needy. After today, I've earned the right to need someone.
His answer is a kiss pressed to my forehead, my temple, the corner of my mouth. "Try and keep me away."
As we walk back into the house, I realize something fundamental has shifted, not just between Greyson and me, but within myself.
The woman who left two years ago, searching for something beyond this town, beyond MC life, has found her way back.
Not as the same person who left, but as someone stronger, someone who understands what really matters.
And what matters, I now know with absolute clarity, is not where you are, but who stands beside you when the darkness comes.