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Grandpa’s jaw clenched, his staring making me uneasy.
“What is it?”
“It’s not my place because you’re a big girl and you need to figure shit out on your own but I’m going to warn you.” He paused. “You need to be careful. Tanner is running from something and I have a feeling that it has to do with his club and maybe something else. Eventually, whoever is looking for him, will catch him. I would hate for you to be there when that happens. Also, Tanner is the kind of person who looks out for himself first. I’m sure you’ve heard some of the rumors.”
“Nothing overly detailed.” I had lived a sheltered life thanks to the men I grew up with, but Ididknow that Tanner was known to not be a good guy. But that was all I knew.
“If you bring him to your Uncle Greyson’s, don’t expect a happy reunion.”
“I just wanted to help,” I confessed. I had seen the men in my life come home damn near destroyed all because they were protecting what was rightfully theirs. I got it but it didn’t mean that I liked seeing it at all. While Uncle Greyson tried not to get involved, there were still times where I saw him take my dad and Uncle Catch, leave for a few hours and then when they returned, it was like they had lost a piece of themselves and the only way to find it was by spending some time alone with their wives.
While the biker life wasn’t always safe, I knew my uncle was trying to clean up their past transgressions. He had been doing it since before I was born. Since before all of us kids were born. But I was sure he didn’t think it would take so long.
“I don’t know everything about Tanner. I don’t know what he did or why he’s hated but he’s a human being,” I told my grandpa. “I wasn’t going to let him die in the backyard. I’m not a monster.”
Grandpa grunted, staring at me with those dark calculating eyes of his. “You aren’t. But he is.”
“How do you know that?” I hated questioning him, but this was starting to piss me off. “Have you seen Tanner in action? Have you seen him do half the shit everyone is saying he’s done?”
“Careful how you speak to me, Beatrix,” he bit out.
I hung my head, my cheeks burning. “I’m sorry.”
“You don’t know what he’s done. Doesn’t matter if I haven’t seen it for myself.”
I huffed. “I know he’s done some bad stuff. But so have all of you. Does that mean you don’t have a right to live either?”
“Listen to me, my dearest granddaughter.” Grandpa pushed away from the wall and came toward me. “You have too big of a heart.” He smiled down at me, cupping my face. “Not everyone has a right to live. Not when they’ve done things you couldn’t even dream about in your worst nightmares. There are monsters out there, darling. Monsters that would make Ted Bundy look like a fucking saint.”
My stomach twisted at the thought.
Grandpa sighed, his face softening. “All I’m saying is, please be careful. I’d hate for something to happen and for Tanner to end up losing his life in front of you. I don’t want you to see that shit.”
“Maybe that’s the problem,” I mumbled. Not that I ever wanted to see the bad things that went on in the world but maybe if I would have seen at least a little bit of it, I wouldn’t be so damn naïve when it came to certain things. I was too trusting. I knew that. Hell, everyone knew that. I just hoped that I wouldn’t regret ever saving Tanner’s life.
“I know your parents, especially your father, likes to protect you. It’s for the better, sweetheart. Trust me.” Before he could add any more to that, the door behind him opened.
Ricky peeked his head out into the hall. “We’re done in here.”
When Grandpa went to follow Ricky into the room, I stopped him. “Why did you want me to come back here with you? You’re much bigger than Tanner and he’s wounded. It’s not like you couldn’t handle him yourself if something happened.”
“Because I saw the way Tanner was looking at you and the way he was keeping you close. I also know you don’t know each other but, Bee, I’ve been around a long fucking time. He wouldn’t have come back here willingly if you weren’t with him.”
My breath caught at the revelation. Could all of that be true? Why didn’t I see it? And how was that even possible?
Before I could ask any more questions, Grandpa stepped into the makeshift hospital room and glanced at me over his shoulder. “Come.”
I joined him, my eyes instantly moving to Tanner sitting up on a small single bed at the other side of the room.
Without even waiting, I went to him and pulled up a metal chair. “How are you feeling?” I asked, sitting and crossing my knee over the other.
Tanner’s dark eyes slid my way, but he never responded.
“He’s still feeling the effects of the pain killers and will probably feel them for a while,” Ricky explained.
I pulled the chair closer to Tanner’s bed. “You good?”
His gaze took on a glassy look, but he slowly nodded.
