CHAPTER 35
Maverick
As I cruise the backroads of Sussex County, I let my mind relax and focus on the passing trees and fields.
I pass an old barn that makes me do a double take because it’s so beautiful with its worn, broken boards and ivy growing up the sides.
Beautiful, like Kaya. She’s a broken beauty too.
Broken but still standing. She lived through losing her parents, being abandoned by her family, and growing up in foster care, yet she’s one of the smartest, sexiest, and most charming women I’ve ever met.
And now, she lived through an attempted rape, an attack that never should have fucking happened. I never should have left.
My stomach is tied in knots as I think about her lying in that hospital bed while I’m out here, doing what?
Taking my time figuring out if I want a kid?
If I want her? Of course I want her. She’s all I’ve wanted for months.
The real question is, does she really want me?
Does she have the same feelings for me that I do for her or is it all for the baby?
Fuck! I slow down and pull over to the side of the road.
I let out a deep breath and shake my head. I need to go back. Maybe this ride is what I needed to realize that. How could I leave her there? I didn’t even tell her, I just walked out. What a dick move. Hopefully, I make it to her before she gets released.
I ease back onto the road and head back toward Dogwood Creek.
I don’t bother going back to the clubhouse to get her car because at this point, I just want to apologize for leaving the way I did.
I park in the Emergency lot and have no choice but to wear my bloody t-shirt back inside the hospital.
With being all stuck in my emotions, I forgot to go to my room to grab a clean one.
I enter through the door and start heading back to the area where Kaya was when I left.
“Sir! Can I help you?” A nurse says as she steps in front of me.
“Kaya Rhodes. She was brought in earlier today.”
The petite nurse’s brown eyes light up. “Oh yes, she was released about an hour ago.”
I stare down at her. “Did a couple of women leave with her?”
“I’m not at liberty to say, but just know that she was released.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. I turn away from her and head back out the door.
Back on my bike I start toward the clubhouse, but the closer I get I realize I have no idea if she’s there. She might be at her place or even at Sophia and Grayson’s. I pull into the parking lot of the Iron Petal instead. Pulling out my phone, I quickly text Ace.
Me: Where’s Kaya?
Ace: You didn’t go back to the hospital
Why does he feel the need to tell me shit I already know? I sigh in annoyance.
Me: I know. Where is she?
Ace: Here
Me: Tell her to use my room.
Ace: You coming back?
Me: Yeah
I sit on my bike in the parking lot staring at the front door of the bar.
I could go in for a drink to take the edge off before going back.
I lean on my handlebars and let out a sigh.
I’m being a fucking pussy. I need to go back and face her and the fact that I left her after she was attacked.
I’m so pissed off at myself that I would kick my own ass if I could.
I pull out of the parking lot and ride on, but still don’t return to Carnage.
I cruise past the park and drive into the lot that leads down to the creek.
I get off my bike and end up sitting by the water until after 11.
I’m going on that run tomorrow whether Ace wants me to or not.
I need it. But now, it’s time to go face the music.
The clubhouse is quiet. Walking up to the door there is no tunes playing and the lights through the windows are low.
I guess everyone bunkered down early for the run.
I close the door and glance around the common room.
Rebel and Hannah are sitting at the bar together, but no one else is around.
I give them a chin lift and head back to my room.
I push the door open quietly hoping Kaya is in my bed. She is. I slip inside and close the door with a soft click. I stare at my girl as I take off my clothes and throw the bloody shirt in the trash can. Stripped down to my boxers, I lift the blankets and climb into bed.
I wrap my arms around her, pulling her close. Feeling her soft skin against mine sends a warm rush of heat through me. I bury my face in her neck and breathe her in. Jesus, her smell. My cock starts to harden, but I will him down. I kiss her hair and she jumps.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
She lets out a soft hum and nestles against me. I give her a squeeze and just hold her. A calm washes over me, knowing she’s here and safe. Everything feels right for the moment until tomorrow when we have to face the reality of the situation.