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“I’ve never seen that kid without a fucking smile on her face. And now? Now we’d be lucky to see her without tears.”
Gripping my stomach, I had to force myself to hold down the bile that was rising.
This was my daughter.
She was my world. My everything. And I was hurting her.
I gasped, tears attacking my eyes.
It had been hard the last few days, fighting the urge not to walk right into her school and put my fist through her teacher’s face. My girl was getting bullied and teased, and I was on the edge of a mental breakdown as I allowed her father to deal with the problem. Instead of stepping up and being the parent that I should be.
The only thing stopping me—she was safer with the club than she was with me. I never wanted to cause her any pain, but until I figured out my next move, at least, I knew they would look after her and care for her and she’d have so much love surrounding her.
My heart hurt to think about how much I missed her.
Feeling Wrench’s hands on my shoulders, I looked up at him through the mist that clouded my vision.
“It’s not too late. Come, talk to Op and we can sort out whatever it is that’s going on.” His voice was soft now, comforting.
I wanted to take him up on that, to trust that I could go to them and keep everyone safe. But the truth was, they didn’t know who they would be dealing with. My past was catching up to me. I knew coming back to Athens had huge risks attached, but like a fool I thought that maybe after five years that people would forget, that they would move on.
They hadn’t, and I could feel the dark clouds that had begun to roll in. The only difference between now and then, was that I wasn’t young and scared anymore. I’d found a place here, and Harlyn had the father and the family that she’d missed out on for the first five years of her life. I was following my dreams and starting a new business.
Then there was Wrench. The man who’d made me feel more alive than I’d ever felt in my life.
I wouldn’t let any of that be taken from me now.
Now I had something to fight for and I wasn’t running this time.
Squaring my shoulders, I took a deep breath. “I will sort it out. It’ll be okay.” The words were more for my benefit than his.
His eyes flashed with frustration. “You’re being fucking selfish.”
I fell out of his reach, stepping away and putting distance between us. “Think what you want. I don’t care.”
Pushing Wrench away was painful, but I stood my ground. He could see inside me, I could feel it. He knew something was wrong and the closer we got, the more dangerous it was for him.
“I think you should leave.”
I saw his jaw tick. “Maybe you’re right. I put my patch on the line, risked my brother’s trust. And for what? Some stuck up bitch who can’t even stand up and do right by her kid.”
The knife sliced through me, his words hitting every mark they were meant for with precision.
“Don’t worry. We’ll look after Harlyn. I’ll keep her safe and happy and loved because that kid deserves it.” His angry footsteps resonated through my body as he stomped back down the hall. My body jerked when the door slammed behind him, and the sound of a motorcycle starting up and revving as it took off down the street, chilled me to the bone.
I collapsed onto the sofa, my body cold and shaking.
I don’t know how long I sat there, unable to move without risking my stomach contents spilling onto the floor. My heart told me to chase after him, that he was right, I needed to go to the club and ask for help. I was a lone soldier standing on a battlefield, not knowing which direction the enemy would attack from. I just knew they were there, they weren’t just hiding in the shadows—they were the shadows.
A ringing filled the lonely, empty space of my living room. I scrambled for the side table, not even bothering to check the ID as I held it to my ear.
“Hello?” I answered breathlessly.
“Oh, Annabelle. Oh… how I’ve missed you.” I would never forget that deep voice and sarcastic tormenting tone that he saved just for me.
My fingers dug into the sofa cushion, anger spiking inside me. “What do you want, Peter?”
He clicked his tongue with a chuckle. “Now, now. That’s no way to speak to your husband.”
