Brenna

“Christine, I can’t hear you.” I’d only heard about every third word she said. She was in some kind of outdoor pavilion waiting for a concert to start. She called me at least twice a day to clue me in on some fabulous site she’d seen or adventure she was having. It was all her attempt to keep the hook baited. If she got her way, I’d be on a plane in about ten days joining her.

“I’ve gotta go,” I said. “My shift’s about to start.”

Ben gave me a sideways glance from the other end of the breakroom. He’d helped me get a job on campus when one of his buddies left him hanging. It wasn’t glamorous. We worked in the Kinsey Hall cafeteria. But I got free room and board for the last half of the summer and the job was there if I wanted it next semester. I’d hoped to find my own apartment for senior year, but if I joined Christine in Prague, that would only leave me one semester of dorm life before I graduated.

“Oh ... you sexy,” Ben teased. We were both wearing hair nets.

“Shut it,” I said. “Or get it out of your system. In another week, you won’t have me to abuse anymore.”

“You’re really gonna leave all of this? For Prague? I hear it smells there.”

We both did a double take. Wednesday was seafood surprise. I didn’t think there was a worse smell on the planet.

“I believe my point is made,” I said, spreading my arms wide. Ben stopped mid-laugh. His eyes went to the door.

“What?” I said. “Does this hair net make me look fat?”

“Uh ... no ... uh ... I think he’s here for you.”

My heart flipped. The smile froze on my face as a shadow fell behind me. I turned and found myself face to face with the wall of leather and muscle that was Gunn Thompson.

The bottom dropped out again, just like it did that first day all those months ago back at the Den. It had been almost three weeks. He hadn’t called. I hadn’t seen him. He’d just dropped back out of my life like he swore he would. Now he was here again. I wanted to go to him. I wanted to throttle him. He had me turned upside down.

“Can we talk somewhere?” he said; his voice faltered. Whatever was going on, he seemed upended too.

I lifted my hand to my head. There I was, wearing my ridiculous hair net and the white hazmat-esque jumpsuit they made all kitchen workers wear. I slid the net off and shook out my hair. There was nothing I could do about the jumpsuit.

Gunn touched my elbow. He jerked his chin toward Ben. “Can you cover for her for a few minutes?”

“Sure,” Ben answered.

Heart racing, I followed Gunn outside. The sun shone bright as he led me to a stone bench beneath an oak tree in the middle of the quad outside Kinsey Hall. He drew stares, like he always did. Gunn gestured to the bench. I slowly sank to it, while he stood before me.

“A lot’s happened,” he said. “I wanted you to hear it from me. I don’t even know how to start. Brenna ... baby. It wasn’t the Hawks. They’re not the ones responsible for the hit on the club last month. It was ... shit.”

He went to his knees in front of me. My blood roared in my ears. This was bad news. I was right back to seven years ago when he told me about my brother.

“Your dad,” he said. “It was Tim. They arrested him last night. He confessed to everything. The hit at the club. The break-in at my shop. The hit and run with Josh. All of it. He was trying to get back at me. For you. For Scotty.”

I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. He said other things. My father had been arrested. He was in jail. He confessed.

“It’s over, baby,” he said. “He’s never going to hurt you again. He’s never going to touch your mom. She was there when he got picked up by the cops. There’s a counselor with her right now. But I don’t know. I think she was relieved. She’s got her way out now. So do you.”

Tears fell from my eyes. I heard what he was saying, but it was so much to take in. My father. My father. I didn’t know how to feel. I didn’t feel anything. I wanted to be shocked or surprised. But it all made sense. He’d said for years that he’d get back at the club somehow.

“Oh God,” I said. “Emily. It was because of me?”

“No!” Gunn said. “It was because of your father. He would have hurt you if he’d gotten the chance. You were there. It could have been you. But, baby, it’s never going to be again. I’m so sorry. I don’t regret sending you away. I’ll do anything to keep you safe. But it’s over. It’s all over.”

I shook my head. Gunn had his hands on my hips. He was so rugged, so strong, so handsome. Tears streamed down my face. Over. It was over. Gunn was safe. The club was safe. My mother was safe.

“I have to call her,” I said, rising. “I have to go to her.”

“I’ll take you,” he said. “I already talked to her. She knows I can bring you.”

I walked in a daze. With each step I took, it felt as if shackles I’d been wearing my whole life suddenly fell away. My father. My mother’s monster. He was gone. Locked away where he could never hurt her again.

As we got to Gunn’s bike, I froze. “I wish …” Gunn turned to me. He saw something in my eyes. He wiped my tears away. “I wish I could tell Scotty. Do you think he knows?”

Gunn took a deep breath and looked skyward. “I don’t know. I think so. It’s so hard to explain, but I’ve felt him with me now more than I ever had. I think he knows. Somehow, maybe he helped make it happen.”

“Maybe,” I said.

Gunn climbed on the back of his bike and handed me a helmet. We drew some confused looks all over the quad. I supposed it wasn’t every day they saw a chick in a hazmat suit wrapping her arms around the biggest, baddest biker they’d ever laid eyes on.

I wanted to be happy. I wanted to rejoice. But Emily was still dead. Gunn’s words thundered through me. My father could never hurt me again. He could never hurt my mother again. Gunn peeled out and drove me toward town.

I met my mother at the house. When she saw me pull up on Gunn’s motorcycle, she flew down the stairs, her arms wide. It was as if an evil spell had been lifted from her. She was my mother again. She slammed into me, nearly crushing me with her embrace. It felt so good. I hugged her back and caught Gunn’s eyes over her shoulder. I mouthed “thank you” to him. He gave me a nod.

Arm in arm, I led my mother back up the stairs while Gunn waited. I knew he wouldn’t leave. He’d watch over us all night if that’s what we needed. And I did feel Scotty’s presence that day. Not haunted anymore. I think he was finally at peace.

My mother cried. She was happy and sad all at once. Gunn arranged for our family doctor to pay her a house call. We finally got her settled and she agreed to take a sedative to help her sleep. She could start over in the morning. She could be free again. We both could.

It was fully dark by the time she settled into a deep, peaceful slumber. I was exhausted myself. I changed into a fresh pair of jeans and a t-shirt and headed out on the front porch. Gunn was still there. Of course he would be. He sat on the porch swing, smiling as he met my eyes.

“Thanks,” I said as I sat beside him. “She’s doing better. It’s going to be a process. For both of us, I guess. But she’s starting to believe it.”

“Believe what?”

“That my dad can’t get to her ever again. She feels so guilty, like she should have known what he was planning. She had no idea.”

“It’s not her fault. No one blames her.”

“She blames herself,” I said. “But we’ve got the name of a good counselor. Thanks so much for that. I’m going to take care of her and get her the help she needs. She’s going to come out the other side of it. I’ll make sure of it.”

Gunn smiled. “You’re amazing. Sly said something to me before I left. I knew what he meant but I didn’t really know what he meant until this very second. He said you’re made of steel. You are. Scotty was wrong about you. Or at least, he didn’t get the chance to see how strong you really are.”

I turned to him. I wanted so badly to just fold myself against him. I was unsure. So much had happened. Gunn seemed to sense a shift in me. His face grew serious.

“Baby,” he said. “I know I have no right to ask this. After what I did. What I said. Who I am. But ... I love you. I’ve never stopped loving you. It’s like I woke up when you walked back into that bar all those months ago. I never want to go back to sleep. I know you need time, just like your mom …”

“Gunn,” I said, interrupting him. His eyes widened. “Shut up,” I said. “I mean, really, shut up.”

I slid closer to him and threw my arms around his shoulders. Then Gunn did exactly what I told him to. He silenced us both with a kiss.

He was here. He was back. And he was holding me in his arms. All my doubts and fears fell away. This was right. This was what was always supposed to happen. It was Gunn and me against the rest of the world. Whatever came next, I knew we could handle it together.

We finally broke apart. Gunn’s lips looked a little swollen and that made me smile. I wanted so much more. I felt starved for him.

“So,” he said. “Do you need to stay here tonight? Do you ... uh ... like living in the dorms again? Or do you think maybe I should send one of the guys to move your stuff back to my place?” He had the most irresistible sheepish grin on his face.

“I love you too,” I said. “And I want to be with you. Forever. But no, I’m not moving back in. Not yet.”

His face fell.

“All of this,” I said. “You’re right. It’s a lot to process. And for a long time I’ve been so pissed at you for sending me away to protect me. Promise me you’ll never do that again.”

“I can’t,” he said. “Brenna, I will always do what I have to to protect you. And there might yet come a day when the club really does go back to war. That part hasn’t changed.”

“I know,” I said. “Mo and everyone else told me I had to be sure. If I want you, I have to want the club life too. I do. I’ve never been more certain of anything. But I need to have my own life too. That’s the lesson I’ve learned from my mother. I’ve learned a few from Mo and Scarlett and Ava too. So I’m taking that semester in Prague as planned. It’s going to kill me to be away from you, but it’s like you and everyone else said. It’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Gunn shocked the hell out of me by smiling. He pulled me to him and kissed me again. “You’re going to be the death of me, woman.”

“I’m going to miss you,” I said. “But it’s only six months. You think you can handle waiting for me?”

“Baby,” he said, smoothing a hair from my eyes. “I can do anything you ever ask of me. As long as you’re mine.”

“I am,” I said, breathless. “Oh Gunn. I am.”

He kissed me again, hard and deep. He was everything. He was mine. When the stars came out that night, it felt like they were shining just for us.