CHAPTER 18
Kaya
I listen to the thump, thump, thump, of Maverick’s heartbeat, trying to relax before seeing Gretchen.
She is going to need Sophia and I to be strong.
Losing Ty nearly killed her and I have no idea how she is going to react when she finds out how everything went down.
I was vague in my texts to them. I told them to stop what they were doing and get here immediately.
Gretchen tried to say she couldn’t because she was at work, but when I told her it had to do with Ty, she said she could make it in twenty minutes.
I lean into Maverick, trying to push down the guilt I feel for not telling him I’m pregnant. But I can’t tell him now. How can I open that can of baby right before Gretchen gets here. No. It will have to wait a little while longer. It’s not like it’s going anywhere.
“You good?” he asks, obviously picking up on my tension.
“No, I’m not. Gretchen is going to completely lose it when she gets here. Her and Ty were literally planning their wedding. He was so good to her which was why him just up and leaving had us so floored. Boy practically worshipped the ground she walked on.”
“How long were they together?”
“Four years! They actually dated in high school and broke up during our senior year. They kept talking and hanging out and officially got back together when they were like 19. He was always in love with her. I can’t freaking believe he never contacted her.
” I shake my head, still not able to make sense of it.
“He was miserable. He told me he tried to convince Ace to let him call her, it was a no go.”
I glare up at him. “But why? How was it better to leave her not knowing anything?”
“For her safety and his.”
I roll my eyes. “She would have gone with him.”
His eyes meet mine, shifting his gaze back and forth between them, but he doesn’t speak.
“She would have dropped everything and gone with him, but nobody gave her that option.”
A drop lands on Maverick’s cheek followed by another. For a second, I think he’s crying until I feel drops on my hair. The clouds open without warning, so we quickly head into the clubhouse.
Once inside, I glance around to find Lexi and Hannah sitting together at the bar. My first instinct is to go over and give Lexi a piece of my mind. I take two steps when Maverick wraps his arm around my waist pulling me back.
“Where are you going, firecracker?”
“I want to talk to Lexi.”
Maverick shakes his head. “You shouldn’t.”
I narrow my eyes at him. I glance around and then lean in, talking low. “She fucking knew the whole time where Ty was. She watched Gretchen hook up with Flip, knowing her man was alive and well. I’m sorry but I can’t just let that go.”
“I’m guessing you’re upset with me.”
I whip my head around and come face to face with the first lady of Carnage. This woman is intimidating as hell, but I’m pissed and have no filter.”
“Upset? Try livid,” I spit.
Lexi nods slowly. She’s calm, as if she was expecting my reaction and for some reason, that just pisses me off more.
“You knew! You pretended to care about her, knowing the whole time that Ty didn’t really leave her. How could you do that?”
“So, it’s true?” Sophia cuts in.
I turn to see Sophia with her hair damp from the rain, standing in front of the door.
“Yes.” Lexi says simply. “When Gretchen gets here, we’ll try to explain.”
“She just pulled in,” Sophia offers.
Nora enters from the kitchen, instantly crossing her arms, gripping her biceps with her hands. Regret and sadness mar her face. Her eyes meet mine for a moment before dropping to the floor. Son of a bitch.
I look at Sophia and she shakes her head. Maverick is silent, just standing next to me, with his hand on my waist. I get the feeling he’s readying himself to pull me away in case I lose my shit.
The door opens and Gretchen comes in, the only smart one who keeps an umbrella in her car.
She closes it as she enters and leans it against the wall near the door.
She stops and eyes us. We all know each other so well that I’m sure she’s reading mine and Sophia’s faces and realizes this is serious. Her face falls.
“Tell me,” she says.
Sophia and I approach her together. I put my arm around her shoulder just as Ace enters the room from the hallway with the majority of the brothers behind him. Ace’s eyes find Gretchen before he turns to Lexi. “He stopped at Quick Check. He should be here in ten minutes.”
“How the hell did he get here so fast?” Maverick asks
“He pretty much drove straight through. He’s barely slept.” Ace takes a few steps forward with his attention back on Gretchen. “I’m sorry sweetheart. This is just how it had to be.”
Gretchen looks to Ace and then to me and Sophia. “I don’t understand. What’s going on?”
Riker walks up and stands next to his dad. His voice is warm and soft. “Ty has been in Texas for the past 14 months. He witnessed a high-profile murder and the Bad Blood MC was after him. He came to me for help so we moved him to keep him out of danger.”
“Wait. What?” Gretchen asks. Her breathing picks up and her face pales. “He’s been in Texas? Where? With who?”
“With the Long Hill chapter of Carnage,” Ace says.
“He even patched in while he was there,” Tank cuts in. Dom elbows him in the ribs.
Gretchen’s eyes snap to Tanks. The wheels are turning as she glances around at the faces in the room. She locks in on Nora. “Is that why you approached me? Is that why you brought me here?” Her voice cracks.
Nora blinks her eyes closed, her chin quivering.
Sophia and I both have an arm around Gretchen’s shoulder. She takes a step back. “All of you knew that my fiancé was alive and hiding? And no one told me?”
The devastation on her face is breaking me. It’s the same look she had for the first few months after Ty left. Tears stream down her cheeks as she turns to the door, but before she can take a step it opens.
It feels like the air is sucked from the room as Ty enters.
He moves slowly taking in all the faces now staring at him.
He looks the same but different. His sandy brown hair is longer than it was.
He used to always have a buzz cut but now it’s puffier on top and longer in the back.
His face is covered in scruff, making him appear more rugged than he ever did before.
The Carnage cut over his jean jacket is proof that he is in fact now a member of the club, which is blowing my mind.
Ty drops the helmet he was holding when he sees Gretchen. He starts toward her with purpose. She moves away from Sophia and I and runs to him. He lifts her off the floor and she wraps her arms around him.
As they hug I hear Ty say, “Fuck, baby. I missed you so much. I’m so sorry. I’m so goddamn sorry.”
The hug lasts for a long minute. When they separate, Gretchen brings her hand to his cheek taking him in.
And then before I know what’s happening she pulls back and punches him square in the face.
Blood sprays from his nose as his head snaps back.
She then storms toward the door without looking back.
Sophia and I exchange a glance, and then run after her, out of the clubhouse.