Shelby

One thing this game proves, without a doubt, is that Hayden didn’t get this particular interest from me. Holy crap, this is boring.

At first, I try watching the way Wyatt builds a world, digging things and developing others, but honestly, it looks like nothing more than a bunch of pixelated blocks to me, making my brain hurt.

Wyatt and I never were very similar, but when we were younger, that’s what always made us special. He was into computers and classic rock, while I was into art and heavy metal. He loved quiet days spent online, and I loved nights out on the town.

His fingers fly at lightning speed. This man is the father of my child. The same man who stole my heart all those years ago. And when I ran, I’d left it with him. There’ve been guys since him, but none of them lasted. There’s never been anyone who could fill those giant motorcycle boots.

“I’m gonna go for a drive,” I tell him, unable to sit here in this room for another moment. It still smells like sex, and I desperately need some time to wrap my head around the revelations made earlier tonight.

The clicking at the keyboard stops abruptly as he turns to me. “Everything okay?”

No, everything is not “okay.” In fact, it’s far from okay, but I can’t get into that right now. I need to figure it out for myself. “Yeah. I just need some fresh air, and a chance to clear my head.”

He narrows his eyes, studying me, before finally nodding. “You’re coming back, right?”

“Of course. I won’t be long.” My words are casual, but inside, my gut is churning. I need to get out of here to think. I need to fucking breathe.

Reaching out, he snatches my hand as I pass, lifting it to his lips. When he presses a gentle kiss to the back of it, I melt a little right there on the floor. “Be careful.”

I swallow past my swirling emotions and force a smile. “I will.”

I hadn’t realized how late it was, but outside, the birds are singing their morning song, and the sun’s just barely peeking up on the horizon. It’s not until I climb into my car and turn on the engine that I see it’s nearly five o’clock in the morning. No wonder I feel tired.

I pull out of the parking lot and onto the deserted road. There’s no traffic at this time of morning, and with all the distractions swirling around inside my head, that’s definitely a good thing.

It wasn’t him.

That’s the thought I can’t put out of my head. All these years, I’ve cut him out of our lives because I thought he’d betrayed me, and it wasn’t even him!

What kind of person does that make me? I reacted first, never bothering to ask questions. I just packed up and ran. I’ve struggled all these years as a single mom and kept Hayden to myself, never offering her a chance to even get to know her father. How will they forgive me? How will I forgive myself?

And Hayden. How is it possible to be both angry with someone and need them so damn much? I can’t believe she got caught up in this. I can’t believe she arranged to meet someone online, whether she thought he was a kid or not. She knows better than that. I may not know much about computers, but I began cautioning her at a young age about internet safety.

She always paid attention, followed the rules, and used her head. Until now.

A burnt-out house comes into view and I stop in front of it, staring at the remains. I hadn’t meant to drive this far. I hadn’t even consciously come here, but I think part of me needed to see it.

Was Hayden kept here? Does the kid who used to live here know where she is? Why did it burn down?

That last part worries me more than the rest. It shows aggression and recklessness by the people who have her. It shows they weren’t attached to their own home, let alone Hayden. They wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her if they had to.

A knuckle taps against the glass of my driver’s side window, snapping me to attention. I don’t know the man outside my car, but I recognize him. He’s a member of the Black Hoods, and he’s huge. I look down and read the name on his cut: Priest.

“You need to leave,” he orders through the glass.

“Are you following me?” I ask incredulously, not lowering the window.

He only responds with, “It’s not safe here. You need to leave, now.”

I glare at him, but it doesn’t seem to faze him. Instead, he turns and walks away, disappearing around the corner.

I take one last, long look at the house before pulling away from the curb, leaving my unanswered questions buried in the soot. I’m less than a block away when the motorcycles pull up behind me. Priest and another guy from the club aren’t even trying to hide.

I turn down a side street to test my theory, and sure enough, they turn too. Motherfucker.

Using the hands-free feature on the car’s dash, I call Wyatt.

“Yeah?”

“Do you care to explain why two very large men on motorcycles are following me all over hell’s half acre?”

He sighs. “You shouldn’t be there, Shelby. The whole town isn’t safe, and these fuckers know we’re onto them.”

In theory, I understand what he’s saying, but that doesn’t answer my direct question. “Why do you have them following me?”

“Are you listening to me?”

I slam my fist down on the dash. “Damnit, Wyatt! Why are they following me?”

“Because you’re mine!” he shouts. “And because you’re putting yourself in danger. It was a stupid fucking move, so I want to make sure you’re safe.”

You’re mine. Those two words extinguish my anger the minute he speaks them. Does he mean that? Does he still want me? After everything I’ve done to him and Hayden by keeping them apart, does he truly still want me?

“Shelby?” he urges, his voice softer.

“Yeah?”

“Come home, baby. Just… come home.”

Warmth washes over me. Mine. Baby. Home. “Okay.”

I’m still pissed, but now I’m pissed remembering just what it was about Wyatt that made me fall in love with him in the first place.