Chapter 37
- JUST LIKE THAT
The rhythm of heavy breathing and my gloved fists hitting the heavy bag had become the only thing to calm the building anxiety I’d been feeling. I didn’t know where it came from, but it hadn't let up since that morning I woke up with that phantom pain.
Without work or really even an identity, a purpose. I had been spending most of my time at the gym with Trevor. My old identity was burned; it wasn’t safe for me to go back to being Molly… and even if I could…who was she? Who would I be next?
Living your life in constant fear, knowing that you couldn’t let your guard down… it was exhausting. A deep-seated feeling that even sleep couldn’t cure.
Maybe I should go far away, get a new identity and go somewhere where my past had no way of catching up to me… no way to find me. An ache settled into my chest whenever that thought crossed my mind. I stopped punching, took a few deep breaths, and instinctively rubbed at the spot.
Trevor came out of the back office, talking to a few of the guys on his way over to me. A few of the regulars had asked questions when I first showed up, but both Trevor and Marvin made it clear I was off-limits to discuss. That didn’t stop the curious glances though.
Trevor stopped beside the bag, his workout shorts worn low, a compression sleeve on his one leg, which he said was for stability…
even though I felt it was more to cover up the evidence of what happened to bring him home.
I took a deep breath and then looked up at him, avoiding his bare chest that had only broadened since I was last home.
“You’re hitting it like it did you wrong.”
I shrugged, not knowing how to answer him. When I told them what happened I gave them the details Marvin would want to know, kept the emotions out of it and anything that would be deemed personal… anything involving him.
He studied me for a second longer than normal. “You want to spar?”
I hesitated, he didn’t move or push. He just stood watching me with kind eyes that were both familiar and yet had changed so much.
“Yeah,” I said finally.
The ring ropes creaked as I ducked through them.
Marvin had a heavy bag that hung in the garage growing up.
At first I would go out, sit and watch quietly as he coached Trevor and then over time Marvin decided I needed to know how to defend myself.
So they started including me in training.
I remember how heavy those gloves felt when I first put them on, remembering feeling the strain of just trying to keep them up in a protective stance.
Trevor bounced once on the balls of his feet across from me, with a grin. “You are all up in your head, Molly.”
I grunted, shaking out my arms. It almost felt like I had something in my left glove, so I slipped it off for a moment checking my wraps, making sure nothing was in it. Flexing my fingers.
“You gonna talk about him yet?”
My gaze dropped before I could stop it and I saw the way my thumb brushed the empty space where my ring used to sit. Trevor followed the movement, he didn’t miss much. His mouth tightened slightly.
“No,” I said, shoving the glove back on.
He nodded once like he expected that answer and then rolled his neck
We circled each other once. Twice.
Then he said, casually, “Heard something weird this morning.”
I blocked his first swing automatically.
“What kind of weird?” I asked.
With Trevor it could be just about anything.
“Old contacts,” he said. “Some chatter about a club shooting.”
My stomach dropped, as my pulse kicked up, but I didn't stop moving, I kept my eyes on him… but it felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“Motorcycle club,” he continued. “Internal split or something. Members turning on each other. Big mess from what I heard.”
My guard slipped a fraction lower and he noticed. His eyebrow quirked up and he threw a jab. I blocked and got one into his side, before I moved back. Trevor was taller than me, with a much longer reach. I had to use my size and speed to even come close to being a match in the ring.
“Don’t know much,” he went on, throwing another light jab. “Sounded like it happened inside their own compound. Someone said the name was something like…”
He shifted his weight.
“…Dawn. Dawn something.”
Everything inside me went still.
“Dawnbreakers.” I didn’t mean to say it out loud, but it came out in a whispered breath.
The word barely made it out of my mouth and Trevor’s eyes sharpened instantly.
“Yeah,” he said slowly. “That’s the one.”
My guard dropped completely, it felt like my heart was trying to explode out of my chest. The next hit came fast and caught me square enough that the mat rushed up before I could stop it.
Trevor swore immediately. “Shit, Molly… why didn’t you block that?”
I blinked up at him, trying to breathe. Sweat rolled down his chest, catching in the line of muscle across his stomach as he leaned over me, concern written all over his face.
But it wasn’t Trevor I saw.
It was morning light spilling across bare shoulders.
Rough, tattooed, hands braced beside my head.
The weight of him close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath before he even spoke.
The smell of leather. The gravel in his voice the first time he said my name like it belonged to him.
The way my body had come alive the second I noticed him.
I tried to fight it, but it was like something inside me recognized him before my brain had time to catch up.
Like my body already knew what he was to me.
A tear slipped free before I could stop it. Panic was squeezing my chest, I couldn't pull in enough air.
Trevor froze. “Hey… hey, did I hurt you?”
I shook my head, because I couldn’t speak. I could barely breathe.
He crouched lower beside me. “Molly?”
My throat tightened, green eyes were locked on me with so much concern.
“Do you know…” I swallowed hard. “Do you know if anyone died?”
Trevor’s expression shifted immediately. He looked like he wished he hadn’t said anything at all now.
“I don’t know,” he admitted. “But… It sounded bad…” I gasped trying to pull in air, so he continued, “...But it was all second-hand chatter. I can find out more.”
Before I could ask anything else, the gym door opened. I didn’t look, I recognized the sound of the heavy boots, his measured steps.
Marvin didn’t even glance at Trevor. He walked straight to the ring like he had already decided what needed to be said before he stepped inside.
“It’s done.”
Trevor straightened immediately. “What’s done?”
Marvin’s eyes settled on me. “For all intents and purposes,” he said evenly, “Rebecca Pierce is no more.”
The words didn’t make sense right away, I was still trying to process what had been said about the club… about… I stared at him.
“The hospital’s records have been handled,” he continued. “Your employment file is closed. Digital traces removed. Licensing board notifications redirected to someone else.”
Trevor looked between us.
“What the hell does that mean?”
Marvin didn’t take his eyes off me.
“It means,” he said quietly, “Ms. Pierce is dead.”
Something inside my chest folded in on itself. Rebecca…. the girl who walked away from the only safety she ever knew years ago believing she could become someone new. The woman who thought she built something real. The nurse. The wife… The life I chose.
Gone. Just like that.
I stood without realizing I had moved and stepped through the ropes. I didn’t stop to take off my gloves. Didn’t answer Trevor when he called my name. I needed space to think.
Rebecca was gone. I was just…. Nothing.
My chest tightened again, a different ache this time.
Because if Rebecca was gone… Then what did that make us?
Was Clutch still alive?
Or was he gone too?