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“No, I can’t say with certainty you’re safe here. What I know is I’ve called and talked to Lash about this situation before I came back to talk to you.”
“I’m not leaving my mom here alone. Not after we just lost my dad, Talon,” Bronwan states, her voice raising slightly as panic fills her.
“I’m not askin’ you to leave your mom. What I need you both to do is pack bags and get ready to leave here. We need to go back to Braedon so I can keep you both safe,” I tell her with no hesitation in my voice.
“I can’t do that, Talon. There is no way I can go back there with everything happening here. We still have things to take care of and do. My mom has appointments she has to go to. I’m sorry, but we’re not leaving our home.”
Bronwan has a little bit of fire inside her and I find I like it. It’s not the right time for her to be throwing it around, but I admire her trying to keep the fear out of her voice and body language while she argues with me. It makes me believe once she truly gets to know me she’ll be full of sass and won’t bother to keep her opinions to herself. I can’t wait for the day I get that side of her.
“Bronwan, I don’t think you realize the severity of the situation you’re now in. We didn’t tell you any details when you were still at the clubhouse because I don’t want those images in your head. You’ve been through your own personal hell when it comes to these men and have had nightmares almost nightly since I found you on the side of the road. Do you want me to share what I know about this group of men? How dangerous and vile they truly are. I will, but your nightmares will only get worse if I do,” I tell her, anger filling me with the thought of anything happening to her because she refuses to go with me for her own reasons.
“Talon, you said these men are in town? Where did you see them?” Bronwan’s mom asks me, speaking up for the first time in the few minutes I’ve been here.
“Yes ma’am. They were at a bar on the main street as I was ridin’ by. They saw me which means they’re goin’ to be lookin’ into why I’m in town. If they don’t already know Bronwan is here, they will soon, and they’ll make sure they get their hands on her again. This time, they won’t be so damn nice. And trust me, Red, they were nice compared to what I’ve seen from them,” I answer her mom while keeping my eyes locked on Bronwan as her face pales and she begins shaking.
“My name is Coraline, Talon. Please call me that. Now, Bronwan, if these men are here and we don’t know the reason for it, I think we need to listen to Talon. He knows what he’s talking about and has protected you once already. There is nothing we need to settle here immediately, and I can change my counsellor and find a new grief group to attend where we stay. I think we need to go with him and figure out what needs to be done. Do you have a plan in place, Talon?” Coraline asks, as I try to hide my smile from her agreeing with me.
“Yes, we do. Once you guys have enough things for a few weeks at least, we need to hit the road. If you could take only one car, it would be for the best. Lash wants us to make minimal stops along the way back. If you get too tired to drive, we can pull over for the night, but he wants it to be closer to Braedon. That way guys can head out and meet us for an added layer of protection. I’m goin’ to be followin’ you guys so I can keep an eye on whether or not we have anyone followin’ us. For now, that’s all we’ve got. There’s more than enough room at the clubhouse for you to stay there. You’ll be behind the safety of the gate while we handle this situation and figure the rest out.”
“Are you sure I have to go there with you?” Bronwan questions me, her voice even smaller than it was before.
“There’s no other way. We need to get this situation handled and taken care. I can’t do that if you’re here and I’m back home. Ineedto know you’re safe and nothin’ is happenin’ to you. That your mom is safe and protected to Bronwan. I told you I can be controllin’ when it comes to keepin’ you safe. This is somethin’ I need you to give me,” I tell her, not sure what she’s thinking about right now as she doesn’t look at me but stares at the floor.
“Bronwan, let’s go pack our things and head out. Talon and his friends need to do their jobs and they can’t handle that if there’s too much space separating you from him. I might not know him, but I can see he only wants what’s best for you,” Coraline says, standing from her seat on the couch.
Coraline stares down at Red as she doesn’t move from her seat on the couch. I want to rush to her side and wrap my arms around her to give her the strength and comfort she needs right now. Instead, I stand in my spot and let her mom talk some sense into her. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Bronwan stands up from the couch and rigidly walks to what I’m assuming is her room. I’m left standing in the living room alone. However, I don’t stay there as I follow them and head for Bronwan. I need to see where her head is with everything.
Her bedroom is the first one I come to. She’s standing in the middle of the room, staring off into space. Walking up behind her, I wrap her in my arms as a tear hits my arm. Knowing she’s crying is breaking my heart, but this is something she’s not going to have a choice in.
“Red, I need you to pack some bags. Bring whatever you need to be comfortable at the clubhouse,” I tell her, stepping back as I take in her room.
Bronwan finally packs up three bags of things. Books, her toiletries, clothes, and other things she doesn’t let me see. I’m not sure what it is, but I’ll find out. We’re not going to hide when it comes to us and I need her to know she’s going to be safe with anything she tells me, shows me, or any secrets she shares with me. It’s going to take time to get her where I want her, but we’ll make it happen.
Pulling out my phone, I let Lash know we’ll be getting on the road soon before snapping a quick picture of the woman who has come to mean so much to me in such a short amount of time. When she goes to lift her bags up, I take them from her hands and make sure she grabs a coat, hoodie, and a pair of boots along with her sneakers. She’s still wearing her slippers with look like moccasins or some shit. As I’m leaving the room, her mom is coming down the hallway toward us. I grab her bags in my opposite hand from Bronwan’s. Together, we leave the house and I wait for them to lock up. The only other thing Coraline grabs is a picture of who I’m assuming is her husband before we leave. Now, we just need to get out of town, and I need to make sure Eric’s guys either follow us or we find them once I get back home. On top of making sure Bronwan knows I’m not lying to her about trying this thing between us.
WHEN WE GOT back to Braedon and the clubhouse, I was exhausted, angry, upset, and scared to death. So many emotions were flowing through me to the point I was ready to fall asleep at the wheel. My mom offered to drive for a while on more than one occasion, but I refused. She needs her rest and needs to get as much sleep as she can. There have been so many changes recently and I’m not sure what she’s truly thinking about everything. We didn’t talk about staying at the clubhouse, Talon, or anything of importance on the drive there. My eyes were glued to the rearview mirror, when I wasn’t looking out the windshield, on the man following behind us.
I’ve seen Talon on his bike when I’ve been with him, but the ride to his home was something else. For the first time, I saw and was able to admire exactly how powerful, graceful, and at easy he was on his bike. It’s literally as if man and machine are one and I’m in awe of him. Even looking around for any signs of danger, Talon is completely in control of his bike and the way it glides over the road. I wish I had an ounce of his control. That’s not ever something I’ll have. I’d rather spend my time alone, reading and dreaming of what I want out of life, than with friends I don’t have or anyone else. The few weeks with him is the most time I’ve ever spent with another person who weren’t my parents.
That’s another reason I didn’t want to leave our home. I feel as if we’re leaving my dad behind. Every place we have memories of his is back there and we have no clue when it will be before we can go back. He’s buried in Farnsworth, our home we spent all of our time in is there, every single memory he made sure we made is there. It’s home and I want to go back there. However, I know if he were here, he’d be right next to us on this ‘adventure’ as he’d call it. That’s how he viewed everything; as one big adventure where we had no clue what was going to happen around the corner. Unfortunately, this is not an adventure I want to take or have any part of.
As we finally pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse hours and hours later, I’m done. I’m sick to my stomach, ready to fall into a bed and get some sleep, and my head is pounding. We literally made one stop on the way here to fill the car with gas and so my mom could use the bathroom. I didn’t have to go. She tried to get me to drink coffee, a bottle of water, juice, and eat junk food from the gas station. I didn’t accept anything. With the way I feel, I have no idea if it will stay down, and I didn’t want to pull over a hundred times to get sick. So, I chose to not have anything on the entire trip here and I’m not sure if I regret it or not. Sleep is what I need first and foremost. Then I can worry about getting something to eat and drink. I can’t remember the last time I had anything to eat of any substance. I’ve barely been drinking too if I’m being honest. There’s just too much I had to take care of and worry about to think of food or anything like that.
Talon walks us inside the clubhouse to find every member of the club sitting around the common room. Lash doesn’t hesitate to walk over to us as he pulls in Talon for one of those man hug things. I’m not sure what he whispers to him, but it’s something that makes the man I can’t stop watching happy based on the smile lighting up his face.
“So, because of the situation, we’ve got all hands on deck here. There is one room left downstairs for Bronwan’s mom. Bronwan, you’re gonna have to share a room with Talon again. There’s just not enough room to put you and your mom in one room. The bed is too small for a single person, let alone two to try and sleep in it,” Lash informs us apologetically.
“I’m not sleeping in Talon’s room again. I was scared out of my mind when I first got here and that’s how that came about. Now, I know no one here is going to hurt me. I can sleep on the floor in the same room as my mom. We’ll make it work,” I tell the men closest to us.
“You’re not sleepin’ on a fuckin’ floor, Red. What’s the big deal of sleepin’ in my room? It’s not like we haven’t shared my bed before. I promise to keep my hands, and other body parts, to myself until you say otherwise,” Talon states, embarrassing me in front of my mom with the other body parts comment.
“It’s not happening, Talon. If I can’t sleep on the floor in her room, then I guess I’ll find a motel and we can stay there for a few days.”
“Red . . .,” Talon starts again which only pisses me off even more.
“No, Talon! I’m not sharing a room with you and that’s it. I will sleep on the floor in my mom’s room, or we will find a motel. Not sure how you guys would make that work as far as keeping us safe, but those are the only two options I’m comfortable with. If you remember correctly, Talon, I didn’t even want to come here in the first place,” I tell him, not caring what anyone thinks with how tired and pissed I am.
“Okay,” Lash says, sighing in frustration as he places his hands on his hips. “There are a few apartments out back. You guys can stay in one of them and we’ll have Austin move out there to be close by. For tonight and tomorrow mornin’, you’ll have to come in here for food. Nothin’ is stocked out there. It’s clean but will probably need to be aired out for a while. We don’t use them unless we absolutely have to. Does that work for you, Bronwan?”
