AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. I am still a little numb from everything that happened over the last twenty-four hours. I know this sounds crazy but almost feels like it that happened to someone else.”
Smoke stops cutting the fruit and shoves the bowls over to me. “I’ve heard that before. Some of our club brothers described their war trauma that way. Your therapist specializes in trauma, so this is something else to add to the pile. In addition to talking to her, you know I’m always ready to listen if you need to talk.”
“I guess I do need to talk. What I need to talk about, the therapist can’t help me with.” Maybe now is the time to tell him he’s going to be a father?
Smokes puts down the knife he was clearly intending to cut more fruit with and wipes his hands. “Ask me anything.”
Putting down my fork I take another sip of coffee to soothe my still dry throat. I chicken out, and instead ask, “How did you find me?”
Smoke responds to the question without hesitation. “It was Evan, he and Gordon were keeping an eye on you. We didn’t tell you, as I didn’t want you being reminded all the time that someone was out to get you. I wanted you to have those alone walks to the coffee shop like any regular person.”
“So Evan being chatty, that was all just to watch over me?” I ask.
“No, that was all Evan. It was lucky he’d stopped for a chat, he and Gordon were about to head to the courthouse to meet you there, when he saw what was happening. They were too far away to do anything, and a couple of unarmed kids would be no match for a professional team. Instead, he livestreamed the video of it on his cell phone and alerted us straight away. That kid is gonna be an awesome brother once he’s old enough to get patched in.”
I swallow thickly remembering how it all happened. “It was weird how the van stopped on a crosswalk even though there was no red light. I felt uncomfortable with the van being so close and tried to step back. That’s when the door slid open and the guy with tattoos pulled me inside. I was so shocked that it took me a second to respond. I tried to fight him off, but he threw me down like I was rag doll and zip tied me so I couldn’t escape.”
“I’m so angry that happened to you, princess. I should have put everything else on hold and stayed right by your side until we caught the bastard.”
“It’s not your fault that I allowed myself to be manipulated into a relationship with a sociopath. He was such a nice, considerate person when we first met. I knew he had some weird obsession with proving he had a superior intellect, but that was more something he did in court. Once I moved in, things turned ugly fast.”
“He was a degenerate asshole who got what he deserved. It’s over now. We can sleep well knowing he can never hurt anyone again.”
“About Evan,” I start.
Smoke cuts me off. “That boy worked his ass off to help find you. We need to do something nice to thank him.”
I just shake my head, truly bewildered by why they let him be involved. “Evan’s too young to be involved in things like this.”
Smoke sighs. “We tried to keep him away, but he’s a determined kid. We thought that giving him the job to keep an eye on you would be a way to let him be involved in club business, but keep him safe. We were wrong. Unfortunately, he’s had to grow up fast and it’s hard to get him to think and act like a kid now.”
My eyes flash up to him. “Those men were cold blooded killers, Smoke. I know Evan is a kid who grew up too fast, but can’t we at least try to give him some of his childhood back?”
My hot biker shifts in his seat. I know I’m making him uncomfortable after he just risked his life to rescue me, but this was important. “Please, just try, for me.”
Finally, he reluctantly agrees to my request. “I’ll talk to him about the joys of being a teen for a while before he runs headlong into adulthood. Once he gets his learner’s permit it’s gonna be hard to stop him, though.”
“I don’t want to see him end up hurt, and I want to live his best life.”
“At least the danger is over for now. We just need to make sure he doesn’t end up in a similar situation.”
We both knew this particular situation was far from over. Three men were dead, we had a whole private duty security team that knew we were responsible for their employer’s death, and we still didn’t know the full extent of what Stan was into.
As for myself, I killed in self-defense yesterday and I watched Smoke shoot one man in the face and then gun Stan down. “So much has happened, it’s a lot to deal with.”
“Want to talk about what happened in the attic or is it too soon?” Smoke asks.
Relief surges through my body. Shoving my plate aside, I nod. “Talking might help.”
Smoke immediately reassures me, “You did a good job staying tough and protecting yourself, Serena.”
I feel my chest tighten as I remember how it all went down. “When he first came into the attic, I was worried because I knew he wasn’t supposed to be there. The tattooed guy told him specifically to stay away from me.”
“That was probably because he knew his partner couldn’t be trusted.”
“When he untied me, I thought they had fought off an attack by the Legion and were going to take me back down to the basement. But instead of taking me downstairs he tried to touch me.”
“I’m assuming you objected.”
