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“Hey.” A heavy hand landed on my shoulder.
I was met with slate eyes, eyes that had grown cold over the years but warmed whenever they landed on Meadow and I.
“You good?” Sunny asked, tilting his head.
I stepped closer to him, needing his strength. “I don’t know. Something’s wrong.” I couldn’t shake this feeling that the issue with Tanner was just a cover-up for something worse that was about to happen. It didn’t make sense. Sunny and I were finally talking. We were on the same page after years of skirting around the truth. We had Meadow who loved us and put up with our lack of communication with each other. She taught us to explore these feelings we had for one another and we gave her everything in return. I could never thank her enough for what she had done for us.
While we stood by the SUV and waited for Meadow to join us, we were silent. I let the events of the evening rush over me.
Tanner touching our girl. Him threatening her. Him being the fucking bastard that he was. Him wanting something.
I was thankful that we were able to get it, if in fact it was what he wanted. The numbers on Meadow’s mom’s ring could have also meant nothing.
Pulling a pack of smokes from the inside of my leather jacket, I lit one up. I didn’t smoke often. Only when I was stressed. But this called for a smoke. And a drink. A hard fucking drink.
The door of Meadow’s parents’ place opened, revealing Meadow and her mom. She gave her another hug and started walking toward us.
My body stirred. Everything inside of me came alive the closer she got to us.
“I think we should meet up with Tanner and give him this ring,” she suggested once she stood in front of us. “I just want this over with.”
I nodded, butting the smoke out on the bottom of my Shit-Kicker and moved around to the back door of the SUV.
“As much as I don’t want to, you’re probably right,” Sunny said, heading to the driver’s side door. “He just better keep his hands to himself this time.”
Meadow shivered. “I hope so.”
“Let’s go.” I slid into the back seat. My nerves were shot. Something was coming. Something big. And I knew that none of us were prepared for it. “Maybe we should call Greyson.”
“He has enough shit to deal with.” Sunny started up the engine.
I huffed, crossing my arms under my chest and looking out the window.
“What if Tanner does something stupid though?” Meadow asked, doing up her seat belt. “Maybe calling Greyson or one of the other guys, isn’t such a bad idea. We may need backup.” She shook her head. “Is that even a thing? Do you guys ever call each other for backup? I’m so new.”
She was nervous. I learned rather quickly that random things would leave her lips whenever she was rattled.
Sitting forward, I grabbed her hand and brought it up to my lips. “It is a thing,” I told her, brushing my mouth along her knuckles. “We’ll definitely call the guys and tell them to meet us at Tanner’s clubhouse. But Greyson needs to worry about his wife and son.”
Sunny nodded, gripping the steering wheel tight.
“Do you think I can give Tanner the ring and that will be it?” Meadow shook her head. “There’s no way he would just let me go after that. If what happened earlier tonight is any indication.”
I agreed with her but never said it.
I was vaguely aware of Meadow calling Tanner and choosing another place to meet up. It was somewhere public which would be safer than meeting him at his club.
As we drove to the meeting point, the three of us remained silent. Something was eating at me and I couldn’t figure out what it was.
“What’s wrong?”
My gaze snapped to Sunny’s. “What do you mean?”
Meadow looked between us both.
“I mean that you’re on edge. I understand why, with this Tanner shit and all, but there’s something else,” he said, his eyes searching my face. “Isn’t there?”
“I don’t know.” I looked out the window, watching the world pass us by. The closer we got to the café we were meeting him at, the more on edge I felt. My nerves were shot. Maybe it wouldn’t have been so bad if we had just gone into this with Meadow as something fun. But now that we had fallen in love with her, it made it almost…worse. Like we would do anything to protect her and not care in the least who we had to go through to make sure she was safe.
“Something isn’t sitting right with me,” Meadow murmured, voicing my thoughts.
Sunny grunted.
I didn’t respond.
Why would I? There was no point. I wasn’t one to get nervous often, but I was man enough to admit it. Tanner Horsch set me on edge. He was the epitome of evil. There had been many times I wanted to ask him why and what happened to make him that way. But I knew that it was a conversation that not very many had with him. If anyone ever at all.
I had a feeling that we would find out just how deep his depravity went before the night was over.
I just prayed that we would survive it.
