Chapter 14 #2
Laura paused, giving me a confused look. “Girl, we had maps and security footage. We found you because of Pen. I guess her mom dated someone from Sons of Speed or something but she remembered one of the locations.”
Her phone came up, and on the screen was an image of Laura’s living room, Silas standing there in his cut, his dark jeans and black boots, staring down at Connor all bundled up in a deep green muslin blanket.
Seeing Silas holding a baby was like a live wire hitting me in the ovaries.
Holy shit.
I mentally pinned that image to dream board material because suddenly the idea of having kids with my husband wasn’t something that felt too far out of reach. The image came and went within a single second but still hit me harder than a brick.
A small cottage, the bedroom window open with the curtains shifting from the summer breeze. Silas standing there without any leather, or cut… our son held to his shoulder, while he patted his back and reciting poems and stories that he’d learned as a child in that soothing tone of his.
Laura whispered, “One of these days you’re going to have to explain your relationship to me, because if I didn’t know better I’d say he acted like you were his—”
“You both ready?” Killian interrupted us with a gentle hand on Laura’s shoulder.
We both looked up from the phone, as if we were guilty of something. He looked down at the phone and smirked.
“She tell you about our little search party for you?”
I moved with them toward the main hall. “I heard.”
What I didn’t say was how it made me feel that they cared enough to arrange it.
Or that Pen was the one who located me, or that Laura had known I’d want a photo of Silas with Connor.
She had no reason to entertain me or my relationship with the man who had held her at gunpoint and threatened her life. She had done it for me.
Silas was the president of a motorcycle club.
He had people loyal to him, and I’d never begrudge him that, but these were my people.
The Stone Riders was my home, and after two years of hiding here, I had finally accepted that this was where I was meant to be.
For as long as I could remember that had always been Silas…wherever he was. I was happy to just tag along, run in his footprints, land where he’d lead. Now, I wanted my own path…even if it meant soldering that hole in my heart that he’d left me with.
I’d been bleeding out for two long years…maybe it was time to bind it, and let it scar.
We were seated in a room I’d never been in before.
The Stone Riders called it Church, their place to meet and discuss…I’d seen them disappear a thousand times into this room, but I’d never been inside it. Silas held me in his lap, his hand protectively over my stomach, almost like he was afraid I’d disappear any second.
Killian glanced at Laura briefly, who gave him a small nod.
I assumed that was their way of discussing my mental preparedness for this conversation.
“Walk us through what you heard, what was told to you.”
Killian’s voice was calm, but there was a cold edge to it.
Wes had arrived with Callie, so had Penelope and Jameson.
Harris was next to Pen, holding Connor. Brooks and Rune were on the end.
I missed Giles. I was happy that he’d taken over his cousin’s club, now the president of the Chaos Kings, but I still missed his smiles and happy demeanor.
I watched everyone’s gaze drift over to where I sat, most of their focus fell on the man holding me, which helped me find my voice.
I rubbed my hand over the one holding my stomach and cleared my throat.
“Fable and Alec are working together…but Fable is the one with the plan, pulling the strings. Alec is his lap dog, does whatever Fable says.”
Wes glared at Killian, then peered over at Jameson as if they were all silently speaking. I ignored it and kept talking.
“From what I gathered, Fable wants Silas distracted. He was hoping my abduction would have him so distracted that he’d be able to take the Death Raiders from him. Or at least that’s the story they tried to sell me.”
“So he didn’t want to hurt you?” Penelope asked, wincing the smallest bit. “I mean that wasn’t his purpose for taking you.”
I shook my head. “He would have, and threatened it, but he gave me over to Alec…”
Silas’s grip tightened around my stomach.
With a shuddery breath, I tried to continue, but Wes asked, “What do you mean by gave you over to Alec, did he separate from Fable? Just trying to figure out if there are multiple locations.”
The hand moving along my spine froze and I felt Silas move so he crowded my back.
“Fable wanted me alive, out of the way…he has plans for Silas, that much I know. It’s all about him. Alec has…well he had affections for me from when we were younger. He—”
Shit, maybe I couldn’t say it.
It was as simple as saying I was handcuffed to another human for four days and was emotionally manipulated, while being sexually assaulted.
But I couldn’t seem to say a single word.
“He treated you okay?” Laura asked quietly, tentatively while glancing at Callie and Pen.
Her words were soft, but they felt like road rash, gravel sliding under my skin, burning in a way that made me feel like I’d never be okay again.
The answer was burning in my throat, to explain what he’d done, but with everyone’s eyes on me, I couldn’t.
“Non hic Caelum.” Not here, Heaven.
I sunk into Silas’s chest and took a deep breath. Everyone in the room must have realized I wasn’t ready to talk about it because Killian spoke up.
“Was there anyone else there that you can remember?”
My eyes flew up.
“Yes.” I looked over my shoulder, trying to see Silas, but I was sitting too close. “Silas was supposed to tell you.”
Killian leaned forward, waiting for me to continue, while glancing back at Silas.
This time I adjusted myself so I could make eye contact. “You said you would tell him.”
His hand idly slid up my back, where he toyed with the ends of my hair.
“Said I would once you were settled. You’re not settled.”
I let out an exasperated sound. “Silas, I can’t be—”
“Can you just tell me?” Killian interrupted; an angry edge set to his jaw.
“Yes, sorry. There was a woman named Rachel there…she showed me kindness and didn’t seem to be there completely of her own free will. I’d like to go back and look for her.”
The president of the Stone Riders stared at me with a bewildered expression until something in his gaze shifted. He glanced quickly over at Laura and then back at me.
“Rachel? Did she…” He paused, as if he was too nervous to continue. “Was she,” he tried again, this time his throat working—his Adam’s apple moving.
I nodded as my own emotions began to grow thick in my throat. My eyes burned and I wished there weren’t so many people in this room right now.
Killian stared, his eyes going wide until he breathed a simple, “how?”
“We didn’t get to talk much, but she tried to help me the first night I was there…she made me a little escape bag…but I wasn’t given the chance to use it.”
Laura placed her hand over Killian’s, gripping it firm as tears began welling in his eyes.
It was Wes who spoke up, ordering men around.
“Rune, get a team prepped, we’re heading back out immediately.”
Rune jumped up, along with the other members around the table, all but Wes, Jameson and Killian, and filed out of the room.
Laura waited until they were gone and cleared her throat and asked me, “Are you sure?”
I could understand her desire to protect the man she loved; she didn’t want to get his hopes up.
“I’m positive.” I glanced back over at Killian. “She has your eyes, mentioned you…said she only ever wanted you to be happy.”
Laura’s lip wobbled, her chin quivered and then she was out of her chair and throwing herself into Killian’s lap, whispering something in his ear. He buried his face in her neck as he held her to him, and he murmured something back.
It seemed the rest of us wanted to give them a moment of privacy, so we all stood and exited the room. Silas was at my back, his hand guiding me as we walked. Penelope came up next to me and wrapped her arm around mine.
“We need to catch up. Connor needs some more stuffed penises, care to teach me how to create those masterpieces?”
I broke into a laugh as Silas asked from behind me, “You knit stuffed penises?”
“Look what you’ve done, Pen, you started a rumor!” I joked, swatting her side.
She laughed into my shoulder. “They’re supposed to be squids according to her, but they don’t look it. Just think one day you two might have kids, and your entire nursery will look very phallic.”
I nearly started choking at Silas picturing a nursery full of squished penises, but more than that, us having a kid. We were married; it shouldn’t feel that insane to imagine, but it did.
The silence at my back was loud enough to make the swooping in my gut feel like a failed nose dive from a plane.
Silas would never want that…he had his club, and no doubt he’d be after Fable now that he was back, just like he had been all our lives.
Penelope flicked a glance over her shoulder, obviously catching on to the awkwardness of the moment. I didn’t look, but whatever she saw had her lips pursing and her grip going slack.
“Well, when you’re free, why don’t you come over to my house and you can see Connor. We’ll go to that pond you love so much in the back.”
“Sure, sounds good.” I squeezed her hand and she walked ahead of us, exiting the club while Silas led me to the stairs, and we headed back up to my room.
Once we were inside, I walked to the sink and started rooting around for cleaning supplies. It had only been days, but I just felt so weird and out of place…like I needed to reset. Silas walked past me, heading toward my bookshelf, where he picked up one of the small plush squids I had knitted.