Chapter Four
Grace
I don’t know who is trembling more, Harley or me, so I hold him tight and pray for the best.
The millions of times I’d played out this scene in my head, none of the scenarios had been in a biker bar, terrified that my brother would reject me. My anxiety has me so far in my head that when the door slams open, I scream and almost drop Harley.
The man walking toward me looks nothing like the brother I remember. All of his soft lines have been replaced with steel. His once-naked skin is tattooed, and a massive beard covers his once-clean-shaven face.
I step back, clutching Harley to my chest as he begins to whine. I can’t blame
the pup. This man is terrifying.
“Brian?” I whisper.
Stopping, he stares at me with wide eyes. “Grace?”
I nod, unable to speak, as his hand cups my face, tracing the old scars across my neck. The tears running down his cheeks match my own. Covering his hand with my own, I lean into him. “I’m not dead,” I whisper.
My words break him. He hits his knees, sobs wracking his body.
“I’m sorry, so damn sorry,” he repeats when I follow him to the floor. “I should have come for you.”
“You couldn’t have known,” I whisper. “Mom and I ran for it. We wanted him to think we were dead, but we wrote to you, sent you letters so you’d know the truth.”
He shakes his head. “I thought he lied, that he killed you, that it was my fault. I threw away any mail from home. Didn’t want anything to do with him.” Grabbing my face, he makes me look at him. “I abandoned you, failed you. You and mom.”
“No.” I grip his arm. “You saved yourself. It’s what we wanted. Mom loved you so much. She was so proud of you.” I hate that he was never able to say goodbye to our mom. She’d been a light in this dark world. She loved him until her last breath.
“She’s…”
I nod. “Last year. We never stopped looking for you. She was the one who finally found out where you were.”
The anguish on his face breaks me, allowing me to release years of pent-up emotions. We hold each other on the dirty floor in a biker bar. I don’t know how long we sat there, but when I finally looked up, I saw that Ink was standing beside us with a man I didn’t recognize.
“You okay?” Ink asks, offering me a hand after Brian gets to his feet.
I nod as I stand, but my thoughts and gaze are still on my brother. He looks like he’s seen a ghost, which I guess in some ways he has. I walk over to him and squeeze his arm. “Are you okay?”
Bear nods, taking me into his arms. “I’m so fucking glad you’re alive.”
“Me too.”
He laughs. “You staying, or you got somewhere to get back to?”
I sigh, not wanting to tell him the truth, but Ink interrupts before I can.
“She’s still on the run. She”s got the dog and the clothes on her back.” He glances at Harley. “She left her truck on the side of the road a few miles back. I figured we could get it later.” He pulls my brother to the side where they speak in hushed voices.
“I’m Crow.”
I startle, having forgotten about the other man. “Grace,” I respond as I take his hand.
“It”s Good to meet you, Grace. My wife is about your size. She’ll be able to help out with some clean clothes.”
I shake my head, “No. I don’t want to put anyone out. I can find a job and make money to get my own.”
Crow laughs. “That’s not how things work here. We take care of each other. Considering I’m President of this MC and these two are officers, you’re one of us now.”
My heart pounds as I instinctively take a step back. “You’re okay with me being here? I would have asked first, but I didn’t know how.”
Before Crow can speak, a woman walks into the room, not stopping until she’s at my side. “If he weren’t, I’d kick his ass,” she says as she links her arm in mine. “I’m Faith—this one’s better half. I’ve got you. Let’s leave the men to business.”
Crow is laughing as she leads me back into the bar.
Ink
“It’s not your fault,” I say, trying again to get Bear to respond. He’s spent the past five minutes frozen and staring at the wall. I look over at Crow for help.
“Get your head out of your ass, Bear. That’s an order. Your sister is alive, and she needs your help. Sounds like your dad is still chasing her.”
“I’ll kill the fucking bastard,” Bear growls, his fist darting out and smashing into the wall. “Should have done it years ago.”
Crow grabs his arm, pulling it from the plaster. “Stand down. I’ll take care of it.”
Bear begins to shake. “I thought he killed them. That it was my fault.” He hits his knees, a loud keening sound spilling from his lips.
It shakes me to my core.
Crow slaps a hand on my shoulder. “Take care of him. I got the rest.”
I nod, grateful.
As the door closes behind him, I crouch before Bear. “Come on, man. You didn’t know. You got to forgive yourself.”
He rubs his eyes. “I shut it all down. The damn feelings were too much. How do I do this?”
“One step at a time.” He clasps my arm, and I help him to his feet. “You’ve both been through hell. You can heal together.”
Bear watches me. “You still love her?”
I roll the question around my mind. “Yeah. Never stopped.”
He grunts. “Going upstairs. Got to think.”
“Don’t do anything stupid.” When he doesn’t respond, I grab his arm. “Crow’s got this. Your sister needs you.”
He yanks free. “Piss off.”
Satisfied, I watch him walk away.