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Five thousand dollars. What a lying sack of shit. I’d taken what he owed me and not a penny more. What bothered me about the whole thing wasn’t even that he’d lied or followed us up here. It had been the look in his eyes when he’d seen my nervousness. Parker didn’t need the money I’d taken. It was mine, and we both knew it. He was pissed that he hadn’twon. That he’d made a pass, and I’d turned him down and then when he’d tried to force the situation, I’d taken off and there was nothing he could do about it. We’d gotten away, and I’d gotten paid, and that killed him. It made him furious, and I was beginning to see that it made him unpredictable, too.
“Hey, Emilia?” Nova said, coming up behind me. “Micky asked me to give you these.” She set Michael’s keys on the table.
“What?” I asked blankly. “Where is he?”
Nova shrugged. “He left with Rumi.”
“He left the property?” I asked in disbelief as I got to my feet. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure,” she answered uncomfortably.
“Where the hell would he go?” I looked at Callie, but she was talking to someone at the table behind her.
Nova shrugged.
I stuffed the keys in my pocket and headed toward the center of the room where Rhett was playing with Lincoln Logs on the floor. He was surrounded by other kids, and if I’d taken a minute to look at them, I’d probably be able to tell who they belonged to, but I didn’t have the time. I scooped Rhett up and tickled him to keep him from screaming as I walked toward the front door. As soon as we were outside, I marched toward the parking lot, coming to a stop at the edge when I realized I had no idea what Rumi drove.
“Hey, you leavin’ already?” Otto called, jogging up behind me.
I glared at the rows of cars and motorcycles. “What does Rumi drive?”
“An old black Dodge,” Otto replied flatly. He reached for Rhett and pulled him out of my arms, lifting him high before pretending like he was going to drop him. “They already left.”
“Where did they go?” I asked, looking down the long driveway.
“Not sure,” Otto said, setting Rhett on his feet to explore.
“Well, when are they going to be back?” I asked in frustration, turning to him. I was so tired of his attitude. Yeah, we all knew he was pissed at me. He hated me, whatever. But I still remembered rubbing his temples because his head hurt while we watched movies. I remembered riding around in Michael’s truck, bringing him to his friend’s house. I remembered when he started getting zits and he was too embarrassed to ask his brothers how the hell to get rid of them and I’d smuggled him some of my face wash in a travel bottle so they wouldn’t give him shit about it. I knew him. He was as close to a little brother as I’d ever have, and like it or not, I was as close to a big sister as he’d ever had, and I was done with his shit.
“I’m guessin’ they won’t be back anytime soon since Mick asked me to babysit you.”
“He said what?” I asked darkly.
“Told me to go to his place and keep an eye on things until he got home,” Otto replied, catching Rhett as he tripped.
“Fucking fantastic,” I muttered.
“So if you’re leavin’, let me know, and I’ll follow you back.”
“I’m not leaving,” I ground out, picking Rhett back up. I strode back toward the clubhouse, my hands shaking with anger.
Michael had actually taken off and left me with a crowd full of people I barely knew. His people. The people he’d assured me that he’d run interference with. The people who were going to be watching me and speculating why Michael had just disappeared from the barbecue they were throwing for us.
The fear that had been a quiet thrum while I knew I was safe on club property dissipated almost entirely as fury replaced it. What an absolute asshole. Fine, he wanted to just leave me at the party, assuming that I’d go home without him? Well, I’d stay the whole goddamn night. They were going to have to throw me out.
As soon as we were back inside, I threw myself into talking to everyone. While Rhett played with the kids and snuggled with his gran, I made the rounds. I told people where we’d been living, where we were living now, how Charlie had hired me at one of her coffee carts, that my parents had died, that I’d worked at a strip club to make ends meet but it hadn’t been enough and that why we’d come back. I joked about how Michael’s grandpa had caught us out at the back of the property and shrugged when they asked if we were back together. Let them wonder. I mentioned that I’d taken the money that was owed to me and my old manager had followed me all the way to Oregon. I answered any questions people had, no matter how embarrassed or ashamed I was.
I discussed childbirth and motherhood with Brenna and Trix and going back to school with Lily. I talked about clothes with Olive and her mom Cecilia. I debated shoe brands with Michael’s aunt Molly and promised her daughter Rebel that she could come hang with Rhett and me soon. Michael’s cousin was completely enamored with our son—I couldn’t really blame her. I was too, and he was at his cutest as he got more and more tired and punchy.
I talked to a guy I didn’t know about finding some tires for my car. Agreed to let Michael’s dad set up a time to have the Subaru detailed. I talked about everything and anything, no topic was off limits. I was a fucking joy. I was outgoing and bubbly and the life of the party.
I felt drunk, even though I hadn’t had a drop. I convinced myself that if Michael had wanted to keep things between us, he wouldn’t have abandoned me to the sharks. My open book policy felt like retaliation. It was the only thing that kept me from clamming up. Instead, I babbled and droned on and on. Eventually, Tommy and Heather started to look concerned. Gram Callie watched me closely. Gramps threw his arm over my shoulder and tried to lead me to a quiet corner.
“Honey, why don’t you take the boy home?” he said, kissing the side of my head. “He’s fallin’ asleep where he sits.”
“I was hoping Michael would come back,” I replied easily, smiling at Rhett. “No reason to head back to his house if he isn’t there.”
“Except for the fact that your baby is exhausted, and so are you,” he mused.
