“No, you know what, maybe he fucking deserves it for this,” Zeke points at me, “dumbass decision he thought was a good idea.”
“Really?” I shout back at him. “I’ve been in your brother’s life for the last 7 years. Where have you been? You show up here what a week ago, and I am more than fucking willing to help you and your girlfriend and you want to talk about me, like I’m not right the fuck here. Why don’t you check your ego, take a step back, and fucking ask me?”
“Ask you what?” He shouts again, stepping into me.
“Zeke.” Axe warns him again.
“What is there to ask? My brother is a 1%er fucking a cop’s wife.” I watch as Liza puts her hand on his arm, trying to console him.
“You mean the cop’s wife who, when your brother found out was getting married, came to ask her why because it was so unlike her, to find out that her soon-to-be husband trapped her into marrying him, and threatened to kill her if she got rid of the baby? The cop’s wife who your brother offered to raise the baby with?” I watch as his face falls. “But she wouldn’t let him do that. Because even though she knew it was the wrong choice for her, she knew it would cause nothing but problems for him because her husband used your brother as means to keep her there.”
“Tate—” Zeke starts, but I cut him off.
“No.” I shout. “You want to know why I’m here? Why did I finally take him up on his offer to help me? Because your brother changed my life 7 years ago, and this may be the first time we’ve ever technically had a relationship, but we both knew that we were it for one another. He didn’t have to send the doctor in to talk to me 2 months ago when I was in the hospital, I already knew I was coming here, that I was taking him up on his offer after my husband beat me so badly that I miscarried.”
I can hear the small group of girls all gasp from behind Zeke.
“So you want to blame me for this go ahead, but just know that you can hate me for this, but I guarantee you I hate me more.” Turning around, I leave the group standing around, I’m sure, most of them staring after me.
Opening the door to the house, I rush up the stairs and into the room, over to the nightstand and unlocking my phone, calling my sister.
“Tate?” She’s groggy as she whispers into the phone. I haven’t told her yet about what happened because I don’t know what my sister would do.
“Hey, I need you to come get me.”
“Okay, I’m on my way.” She immediately sounds wide awake and I imagine her grabbing her clothes and about to rush out the door.
“Blair, I’m not at my house. I left, a while ago. I’ll send you my location and I’ll explain everything after.”
“Oh, I already know where the club is at?”
“How?” I’m surprised as I ask her, not sure if I’m more surprised that she assumed where I was or that she knew where the club was.
“When you first told me about him, I looked into it. I remembered picking you up near there. Found out where their clubhouse was. Found property records. Looked at aerial images. If my sister is going to be having an affair with a biker, I’m going to know everything I can about him.”
Her words make me laugh as the tears fall faster.
“But why are you leaving there?” She asks, concerned.
“I’ll explain when you get here.”
I hang up the phone before moving into the closet that Zane had all of my things hung up and ready for me in. Still only a fraction of the closet filled with clothing. Grabbing my bags, I pull the clothes from the hangers and shoving them into the bags, wiping the tears from my cheeks every so often.
“I should have never come here.” I whisper before I sink down in the middle of the closet, surrounded by all of my clothing.
“What are you doing?” Zeke mumbles from the door.
I ignore him as I straighten up and keep shoving clothing into the bags.
“Tate, I’m sorry.” Zeke says as he walks into the closet. “I’m trying to work on my temper.” He hesitates. “You love him, don’t you?”
I look up at him, not being able to answer.
“I get it. It’s complicated right now?” He sighs, as if he’s not just speaking about my relationship with Zane. “I realized when I was coming back over here, in my shame, Zane told me about you years ago. It must have been after you guys first met. It was before we had our falling out. I just didn’t put it all together. Told me he found you out here, lost, and that he held a gun on you.”
“Yeah.” I smirk.
“Can I ask you a question that I’ve wondered since he told me about that?”
