Chapter Twenty-Three
When Mac walks toward me, I can see it on his face. This isn’t good.
Thankfully, Tanner and Emily are playing chase with Bear. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to keep my anxiety from them.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” I ask him point-blank.
He sits down next to me, taking my hand in his. “It is. It seems he found you in the back of someone’s photo on social media. I’m thinking the guy from the fair was sent to confirm if it was you or not.”
I look down at our joined hands as my body starts to tremble.
He found us.
I always knew he would. This day was always going to come, but why does it hurt so much more than I thought?
I look back up at Mac.
It’s because of him. This club. These people have quickly become more than friends to us. They have become our family, and the village I rely on for the children.
We can’t stay, though. Evan is a powerful man. He will take the kids from me and most likely kill me. He doesn’t like to let his possessions go.
“We have to run. I know the car is the club’s, but do you think Smoke will let me take it?
I can pay for it. I’ll send money back until it is fully paid for.
” I start talking really fast. “I need to get to the house. That’s where all the documents are that you had made.
I’m so stupid. I should have kept them on me.
This is my fault. I became complacent. I forgot that we were on the run.
Now he has found us, and if I don’t get out of here, he will kill me.
They can’t go back to him. Promise me, Mac. ”
“Shhh. Calm down. No one is running. You are staying right here where I can protect you. Until we get a location on his exact whereabouts, you will stay here at the clubhouse with me and the kids. We will make up an excuse why they can’t be in school.
Some sickness, so that they can make it up from here.
We are going to figure this out. Together. ”
Tears start to fill my eyes. “I don’t get it. Why me? Why do all of this for some woman you barely know?”
He cups my cheek. “You think I don’t know you?
I know you better than you think. When you get nervous, you bite your lower lip.
You like fresh onions on your burger, but hate onions otherwise.
You hate ketchup except on hot dogs. If given the choice between a book and television, you will choose a book every time, but not a romance book.
You prefer thrillers. I think you like the adrenaline rush it gives you.
Your entire life is those two children. You treat Emily like a princess because she likes the attention, but you treat Tanner more like an adult because he prefers it that way, even if you wish he still acted more like a kid more times than not.
You are an amazing cook, but you hate doing it.
You will do laundry all day long, but wish dishes didn’t exist. You like almost any kind of music, but you tend to listen to sad country music the most. Should I go on? ”
As he lists every single thing he has picked up about me, I realize that he does know me. These past few months, he has been going out of his way to get to know me, even when I wasn’t paying attention.
It’s not only that, but I have been learning about him. Like how he likes his coffee when he comes over for breakfast, or the way his face lights up when he talks about his bike. I could go on and on about him like he just did to me, but it’s pointless.
I am in love with Mac, and I think he loves me too.
“I didn’t realize you paid such close attention to me,” I admit softly.
“You and the kids. I know lots about you, but I want to know everything. I want you here, by my side, all the time as my old lady. I want to adopt those kids as my own, so they don’t ever have to wonder if their father loves them, because I will be their father, and I will show them each and every day.
Tanner will never again have to feel embarrassed at school because he doesn’t have a dad to come because I will be there, even if I have to cancel a million things to show up for him.
Emily too. I want to be the man you deserve, Jane.
If only you would let me. So don’t run. Stay here with me.
Let me fight for you. It is what a real man would do.
” He pulls my hand to his lips to kiss it while the hand cupping my face wipes away my tears.
“Okay. I will stay and fight. What do you need from me?” I ask.
He nods. “It won’t be easy, but I need to know the whole story from the very beginning. I need to know everything about this man that we can possibly know. It’s the best way to defeat an opponent.”
I look over at the kids. “They don’t need to hear all of this. I can’t do this with them here.”
He nods. “I figured you would say that. Smoke and Kelly are on their way to watch them. Bear will stay with them until then. How about you and I go for a little ride? It will clear your mind and give us somewhere private to talk.”
I bite my bottom lip before he pulls it free.
“Smoke and Kelly are the best people to care for them. They will be safe. Smoke will take a bullet before he lets anyone touch them.”
That helps ease some of my concerns. I know it’s true too. Smoke and Kelly love my kids. The whole club does.
“Okay. Let’s go,” I tell him.
He stands, pulling me up to stand. “You ever been on a bike before?”
I shake my head no.
He smiles. “You are in for a real treat.”
We drove around the outskirts of the city for thirty minutes. I could have taken her to my special place at any time, but I wanted to give her time to collect her thoughts and enjoy the ride.
At least, I think she was enjoying the ride when she was screaming out and laughing. As I pull up to the small beach right off the Gulf in Perdido Key, I turn off the bike. I help her off, smiling when her legs are jelly.
“Did you enjoy it?” I ask.
She nods. “Did you go fast just to make me hold you tighter?”
I laugh. “No, but I will next time. I’m glad you liked it. I want you to be the only woman to ever be on it, other than maybe Emily when she is of age.”
She widens her eyes. “Emily would love it, but she is way too young.”
I laugh. “I know. I was thinking maybe thirteen. We will see. Come on. Let’s go chat. The wind will swallow up all the words so no one can hear us.”
She takes my hand as I lead her down onto the sand before sitting down. She sits next to me. The water is calmer today, with only small waves. It’s later in the day, so most people have already left, especially with how chilly it’s gotten.
Looking over, I smile when I still see my leather jacket on Jane. I like seeing her in my clothes.
This isn’t the time for the fantasies that come with that, though. No, now is the time to figure out how to keep her safe.
“When you are ready,” I tell her.
She doesn’t speak for several minutes. When she finally does, anger fills me.
“I met Evan when I was fourteen. He was eighteen. I was a freshman, and he was a senior. I didn’t know anything about dating.
My father forbade me from it. He said I was to marry someone from an affluent family so he wouldn’t be stuck caring for me all my life.
Looking back, I think he was a lot like Evan. It’s probably why they got along.”
“So he let Evan date you?” I prompt.
She shakes her head. “Not at first. I wasn’t interested in Evan, really.
He would hit on me, but he was older and part of the cool crowd.
I thought he was playing a joke on me. So when he showed up at my house and asked my father to date me, I was shocked.
My father said no because he was too old and to find someone his own age.
Evan didn’t stop, though. He would still flirt and talk to me, and I guess I started falling for him.
He was nice at first. He would buy me nice things and send presents to my parents.
Finally, he asked my father if they could sit down together, man to man. ”
“He convinced him.”
She nods. “I don’t know what he said, but when they walked out of that room, my father told me I was now dating Evan and that I would be faithful to him. It was like I didn’t get a choice, but Evan was good to me at first. Made me feel special. He didn’t hit me until much later.”
“What happened then?” I prompt, reaching over to rub my thumb against her palm.
She starts to tear up. “I graduated, and there he was, waiting to propose. We hadn’t had sex up to that point because I wanted to wait, and he waited for me.
Looking back now, I think he knew that with one wrong move, my father could have him arrested if he did.
I found out later that he had been sleeping with women at the college he went to.
” She sounds so devoid as she says it. I hate it.
“Anyway, we had sex the night of my eighteenth birthday. It wasn’t like I thought.
He was rougher. He told me what to do, but I had nothing to compare it to, so I thought it was normal.
We were married within six months and then pregnant within a year. ”
“When did the abuse start?” I ask.
“He had hit me twice before Tanner was born. He always said I caused him to be so angry. It was my fault. I couldn’t figure out what I had done, but I didn’t leave him.
When I confided in my mom about it, she told me that I should be the perfect wife, and then I wouldn’t get hit, that men like Evan need women who obey.
So I did. After Tanner was born, though, I paid too much attention to him.
The beatings started coming more frequently.
There wasn’t always a reason. At least not that I can think of now, but he would always pick a fight and make it my fault.
Dinner was cold. Dinner was too hot. His drink wasn’t made right.
I folded his shirt wrong. I embarrassed him in front of his friends.
You name it, and he said it. I wanted to leave, but then I found out he had thrown my birth control away.
Every time I would try to get more, he would stop me.
Then I was pregnant with Emily. That’s when I realized what he was doing. ”
“He was trapping you,” I tell her.
“He was.” She leans her head against my shoulder, the tears starting to fall heavily.
“I can’t regret them. They are the joy of my life, but after Emily was born, all rules went out the window.
I suffered abuse almost every night. I didn’t leave until the night he hit Tanner.
I distracted Evan and took another beating.
Then once he was tired of using his fists, he took his anger out on me in other ways, but after, when I went to check on Tanner, he begged me to leave, so I did. ”
“I’m glad you did. Now you are safe.” I kiss her head. “What does Evan do for work?”
She snorts. “He works for his parents’ tech company. It’s why I knew he would find me. He has the tech part down, but he also has money and connections. He has a best friend who is a detective. Total slimeball. I guarantee he was looking for me.”
“He can’t hurt you. Not with me here. Anything else that might help?” I ask.
“He won’t come for the physical fight. Not with you.
He is a coward and only hurts those he knows he can overpower.
He is going to attack the club. Make me seem unfit and maybe even insane.
He will use the power of attorney he has over me to drag me and the kids back, and then he will set his sights on ruining you for helping me. ”
I cup her cheek, pressing a kiss to her lips. “He won’t get us, and he won’t get you. I need you to trust me.”
The way she looks up at me has my breath catching. She is looking at me like I am her lifeline, and damn if I am going to fail her.
“I do trust you. More than anyone I ever have in my life. It’s why I’m so scared. You could hurt me far worse than Evan ever did,” she admits.
I smile. “I never will, though, and that’s why you trust me. We should get back. It’s late, and you look tired. You need to rest.”
She nods, letting me help her up. When we get back to the bike, I soak in the feeling of her arms around me.
After I take care of the piece of shit husband of hers, I am claiming her as mine.