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He says it like he’s done me a huge favor rather than the ugly truth. He’s been rummaging through my sister’s room, a place he had no business being.
“Come sit down,” Gunner says while patting the space next to him on the bed. “You must have a lot of questions for me.”
I gulp. “Just a few,” I say timidly, wringing my hands in front of me.
Despite the open invitation to voice my questions, I know I have to be careful. I can’t risk angering him by asking about Gray or any of the Kings—probably not even the Cunts. But…
“Why did Rhiannon serve me up to the Reapers?” I ask, unable to hold my anger back as I say her name.
Gunner gives me a sly smile. “Because I asked her to, of course.” He boops my nose like I’m a fucking kid.
“O-okay.” Anger makes my voice shake, making it sound like I’m stammering.
With a sigh, Gunner shuffles closer so our legs touch. “If it helps, she didn’t want to. She was promised the attacks on the Kings would stop if she delivered you.”
“Oh…” With no idea of what to say to that, I trail off.
It shouldn’t matter, but if that’s really the reason, then she didn’t betray the club. Only me. It doesn’t make me feel better, not by a longshot. But at least it makes a twisted kind of sense. And right now, I need all the sense I can get.
“Any more questions before I go to church?” Gunner asks, kindly.
The way he’s acting messes with my head big time. He’s easygoing, like the Gunner I thought I knew. He isn’t threatening me, or… well, treating me badly—unless you count the fact he’s the reason I’m here against my will, obviously.
“Where does my dad fit into all of this?” I ask, hesitantly. “Why is he here? Why’s he wearing a fucking MC cut? And just fucking why didn’t you tell me he was cheating on my mom?”
The more I talk, the more worked up I become. I don’t know how to temper my feelings when it comes to the man who was supposed to protect me, but instead served me up to the Kings. All while hiding here with his fucking whore.
“Your dad is… well, I didn’t want to tell you, Sugar,” Gunner says, putting his hand on my denim-clad thigh and squeezing. “Look, the deal was for Brian to pretend to work for the Kings. He was always meant to funnel the money to the Reapers.”
“But if that was the deal, why threaten my life?” Gunner looks at me like I’m being stupid, and I guess I am. Because now that I say it out loud, it’s all too easy to spot the lie. “That never really happened, did it?” I ask, crestfallen at the revelation.
“No, Sugar. It didn’t,” Gunner says. There’s laughter in his tone. “Brian played his part perfectly. As for his mistress, I didn’t really want to be the one to tell you.”
Unable to sit still, I jump off the bed and start pacing the room. I begin biting the nail on my thumb, a nervous habit I haven’t indulged in since I was a kid.
“Why not?” I ask when I can’t suppress the need for more answers.
“Because,” Gunner says, solemnly. “Your dad’s demand for stealing from the Kings was that we killed your mom.”
There’s something wrong with my ears because Gunner clearly didn’t say what I just thought I heard. There’s just no fucking way. Dad isn’t that kind of person… what a fucking joke I am. He’s exactly that type, isn’t he? He shot Rhiannon in cold blood.
It wasn’t self defense or even because of something she did. He did it to tie up loose ends. So clearly my dad is capable of more than I would ever have thought possible.
“B-but why?” I croak. The hoarseness of my voice isn’t caused by overuse. It’s the emotions clogging up my throat that’s making it hard to talk.
“He wanted to be with Irina,” Gunner says with a shrug. “So this was the arrangement we came up with.”
We… Gunner keeps saying we. Was he the one to shoot my mom? Or Leslie? Shit…
“And Leslie?” I force the words out, needing to know where my sister fits into all of this.
“That was an accident,” Gunner replies. “Your dad didn’t want you or Leslie to be harmed. But shit went south when Gray showed up. I told you he ruins every-fucking-thing.”
Although it isn’t funny at all, I burst out laughing. Tears form in my eyes, and I clutch my stomach as I laugh so hard it’s hard to keep standing. Unable to keep my balance, I fall to my knees, barely registering the jarring pain that follows.
“Y-you…” Laughter steals my words. “I-I…” Then I’m no longer laughing, I’m sobbing my heart out.
I’m barely aware that Gunner pulls something from his backpack until he throws something soft toward me. When I look to the side, I immediately reach for the stuffed unicorn. I hug it tightly to my chest as I roll to my back.
