| |
I was being followed.
I had picked up the tail when I turned out of the school parking lot, and I was trying to figure out what the hell to do. I had left Olive alone and needed to get back to her, but I didn’t want to lead whoever was behind me straight to her.
The clubhouse. It was only a couple of minutes away, and I could lead whoever this was there.
I pulled out my phone and connected to Yarder.
“Yeah?” he called. “Are you fucking driving?”
“I’m being followed,” I called over the roar of my engine. “I’ll be at the clubhouse in three minutes.”
“We’ll be ready.” Thank fuck for Yarder being a serious asshole sometimes. That was exactly what I needed right now.
I called Olive, and she picked up on the first ring. “Where are you?” she laughed.
“Lock all of the doors, and don’t open them to anyone but me or the club,” I ordered. I didn’t know what was going on. For all I knew, whoever had bombed the gym was getting ready to attack again.
“What’s going on?” she stammered.
“I don’t know.”
“Where is Rocky?” she asked.
“At school and safe. I already dropped him off. Now lock the doors, and I will call you when I’m on the way to you.”
“Cue,” she cried.
“Lock the doors, hide. I’ll see you soon.” I ended the call and made the turn onto the road for the clubhouse. I didn’t have time to tell Olive what was going on.
My phone buzzed, and a message from Olive flashed on the screen. I love you.
I tucked my phone in my cut and pulled into the parking lot. The car was still behind me and pulled in with me.
What in the hell was going on?
Were we about to be attacked in broad daylight?
I kicked down my kickstand but didn’t get off my bike. I watched in my rearview mirror the car door open, and a man stepped out.
A man I had met once before.
Tag.
What in the fuck was going on?
Yarder, Compass, and Throttle stepped out of the clubhouse and watched Tag.
“Lost?” Yarder called out.
Tag nervously raised his hand in a wave. “Uh, no.”
“Then what are you doing here?” Yarder demanded.
Tag nodded toward me. “I just needed to talk to him for a second.”
“You know his name?” Compass asked. “Or do you just follow random bikers to their clubhouse?”
“Not very fucking smart,” Throttle drawled.
I didn’t know why the hell Tag had been following, but I didn’t think it was to hurt me or the club. “He’s Olive’s...” Tag didn’t deserve any credit when it came to Rocky other than the squirt he gave, “sperm donor.”
Compass tipped his head to the side and cracked his knuckles. “I’ve heard about you.”
Tag held up his hands. “I just want to talk for a minute and then you’ll never see me again.”
I swung my leg off my bike and stood. I turned to face Tag, and it took all my willpower to not knock him out flat. “Talk,” I growled.
Tag shoved his hands in his pockets. “I, uh, happened to see you driving this morning.”
I nodded.
“You have a boy with you.”
“You’re telling me something I already know.”
Tag ran his fingers through his hair. “I didn’t mean to follow you, but it was like I couldn’t stop. I had to see him.” His eyes connected with mine. “I had to see you with him.”
“You a fucking pedo or something?” Throttle called. “Watching a kid you don’t know?”
Tag shook his head. “Rocky. I watched you with Rocky and I realized something.”
“Realized what?” I asked.
Tag sighed heavily. “I realized that what I did to Rocky and Olive was wrong, but I’m glad I did it.”
“Did he just say he’s glad he abandoned his kid?” Throttle asked.
I held up my hand to silence Throttle. “You got ten seconds to get in your car and get the fuck out of here.” I should have gone with my gut instinct and knocked his teeth out when he got out of his car.
“I wasn’t ready,” he blurted. “I’m still not ready. I knew there was no way I would have been able to do what you’re doing. I’m too selfish, and I only think about myself. It’s been ten years since I left Olive, and I’m still that same guy. I would leave her and Rocky all over again because I would make their life miserable. Even if I would have stayed and tried, I would have left eventually. She was too good for me when we were dating, and I know her son is, too.”
At least the guy had the decency to not call Rocky his son.
“Why are you telling me this?” I demanded. “I’m still going to fucking hate you.”
Tag held up his hands. “I’m not looking for pity or anything. I just wanted you to know I’m living in Mt. Pleasant, but I’m not here to make things hard for Olive and Rocky.”
“How noble of you,” I drawled. “It would be better if you got the hell out of Mt. Pleasant and never came back.”
“That was always my plan, but father is sick, and I’m here taking care of him,” he explained. “Just, if we happen to bump into each other, or be in the same place, I won’t know you, Olive, and Rocky. I don’t want Rocky to know who I am. I can see he has a good life, and the least I can do is not mess that up for him.” He dropped his hands to his sides. “I don’t want to be a problem.”
“You’re nothing,” I called. “Haven’t been for ten years.”
He nodded. “Good. I’m glad Olive was able to get the life she deserves. I could see the way she loves you in the hospital.”
I nodded.
He hitched his thumb toward his car. “And now I’m going to leave. Thank you for listening to me and not beating the shit out of me.” He got into his car and drove away without looking back.
“You believe him?” Yarder called. “Because if you don’t, I can find out where he lives and make him disappear.”
Yarder pissed me off most of the time, but I knew he always would be there for me and the guys. “He’s never going to come around again.” The guy was a complete douchebag for doing what he did to Olive, but I believed him. He knew he wasn’t going to be a good dad, and instead of showing Rocky what a piece of shit he was, he just left.
“Was I the only one who was kind of hoping it would be the asshole who blew up the gym so we could just move on from that shit?” Compass called.
“Yes!”
I spun to the left and watched Pirate and Smoke walk out of the body shop.
Pirate threw his hand up in the air. “I had the dude in my crosshairs ready to take him out.”
“We can still take him down if you wanted,” Smoke offered.
“I should probably call off Dice and Fade,” Yarder muttered. “I’m pretty sure they’re following him.” Yarder pulled out his phone and walked into the clubhouse.
“Seriously?” I asked Compass. “How the hell did you guys manage to spread out so fast? I gave you maybe a three-minute warning.”
Compass shrugged. “We’ve got your back, brother. Don’t forget that.”
I ran my fingers through my hair and looked up at the sky.
Jesus Christ.
I did not need that bullshit so early in the morning.
All I had wanted to do today was take Rocky to school and spend all day in bed with Olive. Dealing with Olive’s sperm donor was not something I ever wanted to do again.
The guy knew what he was capable of and left when he knew he would fuck everything up. Slightly noble but still douchey.
“I gotta get back to Olive,” I called.
“Later,” Compass called. “Don’t forget about coming over after Rocky gets out of school.”
I hopped back on my bike and roared out of the parking lot.
Tag had promised he was never going to be in Rocky’s life, and even though I knew he meant it, I would make sure he didn’t fuck up Olive and Rocky’s life any more than he already had.
Now I needed to decide if I was going to tell Olive about Tag’s visit.
I pulled into her driveway and parked at the foot of the porch. “Olive,” I called. I jogged up the steps and pulled out my phone. I tried the front door, but she had it locked up. Good girl.
I connected the call to her and pressed the phone to my ear.
“Cue Ball?” she called. “Are you okay?” she demanded.
“Open the front door, and you can find out for yourself, doll.”
Ten seconds later, I listened to her struggle with the deadbolt, and then the door flung open. She pushed through the screen door and threw herself into my arms.
“Cue,” she cried. She threw her arms around my neck and climbed me like a tree.
“Doll,” I laughed. “You’re going to strangle me.”
She buried her face in my shirt, and it was quickly soaked with her tears. I wrapped my arms around her and carried her into the house. I headed straight to the bedroom and laid down with her in my arms.
“I didn’t think you were going to come back,” she finally whispered.
“I’m here, Olive. I told you I’m not going anywhere.”
“You’ve only been here a short time, but it feels so much longer.”
“Because this is where I belong, doll. I should have been here ten years ago, but I’m here now.” I rolled to the side and laid her on the bed. “I need to tell you something.”
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Actually, nothing, but I did have a conversation today that I never thought I would have.”
“Just tell me, Cue. I’m already a mess.”
I brushed her hair behind her ear. “Tag saw me headed to school with Rocky today and then followed me to the clubhouse.”
Olive’s eyes bugged out, and she gasped. “Did Rocky...”
I shook my head. “He waited until I had dropped off Rocky and at the clubhouse before talking to me.”
“Not like Rocky would have known him, but I know he would have asked who he was,” she muttered.
“I know you want all the details, doll, and I will give them to you, but right now, I don’t want to talk about that guy anymore.” I pressed a kiss to her lips, and she looked at me expectantly. “Long story short, he doesn’t want to make problems for us. He doesn’t ever want Rocky to know who he is, and if we bump into each other in town, we don’t know him.”
“Really?” Olive furrowed her brow. “He followed you just to tell you that?”
I nodded. “He said he knew he would have messed up Rocky’s life even more than he did if he had stuck around.”
“I mean, he’s not wrong,” she sighed.
“The guy is a douchebag, but he at least knows he is one.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead and laid my head on the pillow. “And he won’t be a problem in the future.”
“I guess that’s good, right? I was worried about him since he showed up at the hospital; now I guess I don’t need to.” She took a deep breath and blew it out. “Why am I a little sad?” she whispered.
“Because you’re human, and there was probably a small part of you that hoped Rocky would have his dad one day.”
“Instead, Tag rolls back into town and verifies he wants nothing at all to do with Rocky.” She closed her eyes, and a tear streaked down her cheek. “How messed up am I to be crying about that idiot all over again?” she whispered.
I wiped away her tears and pulled her into my arms. “You’re not crying for Tag, doll, you’re crying for Rocky.”
“I just want him to have a dad,” she sobbed.
“Someone to take him fishing?” I asked. “Drive him to school on the back of his motorcycle?”
“There is going to be so much more that he needs, Cue,” she sighed.
“And I am going to be here for it, Olive. I’m not going anywhere. Not voluntarily.”
We fell into a comfortable silence, and she nestled herself into me.
It wasn’t going to happen overnight for Olive to realize I wasn’t going anywhere. It was going to take time.
Time I had to give to her and Rocky.
“I know we were supposed to spend all day naked in bed, but I think I need a nap before the day’s festivities can commence,” she muttered around a yawn.
“Whatever you need, doll.”
It didn’t matter what Olive wanted; I would always be there.
Forever.
*
