CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Sean
Paisley and I walked into Yates’ Motorcycles early Tuesday morning. I wasn’t supposed to meet with Tara until nine, but Paisley was so excited that we left the house early. When we walked through the showroom, everyone stopped us to chat. Three different people asked how I was doing and if I needed anything. I was shocked, but pleased. Tara had told me the numbers were good, but I didn’t expect everyone to start treating me so differently.
I stepped in the elevator with Paisley right behind me. I felt better than I had in days because I knew I was going to see Tara. As much fun as I’d been having with Paisley, I couldn’t wait to be around Tara again, and I knew Paisley felt the same way. She was practically vibrating with excitement by the time the elevator doors opened.
Paisley hurried down the hallway toward Tara’s office. I smiled and watched her go. When we reached Tara’s office the door was closed so I told Paisley to knock. She did, and we stood back to wait for an answer.
It was a few seconds before the door swung open and Tara was standing in front of us. She smiled and let us inside. As we moved, I searched Tara’s face for some understanding as to why she’d been so distant for the past few days.
I hadn’t heard from her since Sunday night, when she blew off my dinner invitation. I knew something was wrong. The way she smiled at me when I walked into her office was strained, but genuine. I could tell she was happy to see me, but there was more going on behind her eyes. She was conflicted about something, and I needed to find out what it was.
“I missed you!” Paisley said as she hugged Tara’s waist. Tara smiled and hugged her back tightly.
“Oh, I missed you too,” she said softly. I could tell she meant it. She smoothed down Paisley’s hair and smiled at her. Her eyes were bright, and when she looked at me, I melted.
All my worries from before were still there, but I pushed them to the back of my mind as I stared into her eyes. I so desperately wanted to kiss her, and I wasn’t sure I would be able to resist for much longer.
“Where are we working today?” I asked. “Here or in the conference room?”
“Conference room,” she said.
I nodded. “Okay. Should we go?”
“Yup.” Tara smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
Tara, Paisley, and I made our way down the hallway toward the conference room. People greeted me warmly as we passed. I was beginning to feel like a celebrity.
When we reached the conference room, I set Paisley up in a chair by the door and pulled Tara to the opposite side of the room. She frowned but didn’t resist. I held onto her hand until we were a safe distance away from Paisley. I didn’t want her to overhear our conversation.
“What’s wrong?” Tara whispered. She glanced at Paisley.
“That’s what I wanted to ask you,” I said softly. “You’ve been distant. What’s going on?”
I expected Tara to make up some excuse, but she didn’t. She didn’t bother to tell me a well-crafted lie or even pretend like she didn’t know what I was talking about. She just sighed and stared down at her shoes. When she looked back up at me, her eyes were full of emotion.
“What is it?” I asked. “You’re scaring me.”
“It’s nothing,” she said. “Not really. I’ve just been really confused about us lately.”
“Confused?” I repeated. “Why?”
“There are so many things I don’t know,” she said. “So many things that are uncertain.”
“Like what?” I asked.
“Like your relationship with your brother,” Tara said bluntly. “I know how much you hate him and, to be honest, so do I. I can’t stand him, but you never told me what happened between the two of you. Why are things so bad?”
Her question took me by surprise. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to answer her. I was just shocked she was worried about something like that. It never even occurred to me that she might want to know about my family drama. I kept those things private for a reason, but now that Tara was asking, I knew I had to tell her.
“It’s a long story,” I began slowly. “And one that I’m not proud of.”
“That’s okay,” Tara said. She stepped forward and touched my arm gently. “Just tell me.”
“When I was married to Claire, I wasn’t the best person in the world,” I said quickly. I was afraid I might lose my nerve. “I wasn’t a criminal or anything, but I was in a motorcycle club. We weren’t exactly above board, but we also didn’t outright break any laws. For the most part, we were all good guys who just had a hard time making the right decisions sometimes.”
I paused and took a breath. This wasn’t a piece of my history that I wanted to share with anyone, least of all someone like Tara.
“Claire hated the club,” I continued. “And she had every right to. I had no business being a part of that lifestyle, but I couldn’t see it at the time. She begged me to get out, but I refused. I never listened to her concerns, or anything that she wanted for that matter. I made a lot of mistakes back then, and I know now that I was partly responsible for driving Claire away. I know that, but—”
Just as I was getting to the hardest part of the story, the conference room door burst open. It bounced off the wall, making Tara and I both jump. Zach stormed inside and moved straight toward Paisley. He grabbed her by the arm and jerked her to her feet.
“I told you!” he yelled across the room. “This is not a damn daycare!”
I didn’t think. I didn’t breathe. I moved before I even knew what happened. I grabbed Zach by the collar of his shirt and pulled him away from Paisley. She stumbled to the ground behind me, and I shoved Zach against the wall as hard as I could.
While I held him there, I turned my head to the side to make sure Paisley was all right.
“Are you okay, sweetheart?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm.
“I think so,” Paisley said weakly. Tara knelt beside her with fear in her eyes. When she looked up at me, I immediately looked back at Zach.
“Tara, can you take Paisley to your office please?” I asked calmly. My voice was level, but inside I burned with fury. I didn’t know I was capable of so much rage until that moment.
Behind me, I heard Tara usher Paisley from the room. Their footsteps echoed down the hallway. When I was sure they were gone, I reared back and punched Zach in the face as hard as I could. My knuckles connected with his nose, and I felt it break beneath my fingers. Satisfaction swelled inside me, and I grinned at his bloody face.
“This has been a long time coming, you piece of shit,” I growled and threw Zach to the ground.
Zach groaned and tried to stand up, but I kicked him in the stomach. He fell onto his back and I reached down to pull him up by his shirt. With my face inches from his, Zach sucker punched me in the ear, and I jerked away from him. My ear was ringing, but Zach was still on the ground. I kicked him again and climbed on top of him.
I raised my fist, ready to punch him again. A hand closed over my arm and yanked me to the side. I fell over and quickly jumped to my feet. When I looked around, I saw my father standing beside me.
He looked from me to Zach and then back again. His face was etched with anger and concern. I shook from head to toe as he took in the sight of my bleeding brother. The fight had only just begun when he broke it up. I wasn’t ready to be done. Zach had been asking to get his ass kicked for years.
“Take a walk, Sean,” my dad said firmly. He looked at me with anger in his eyes, and I felt like he’d punched me in the stomach.
“Of course,” I spat. “Take Zach’s side. What else is new?”
“I’m not taking sides,” he yelled. “But you’re beating the shit out of your brother in the middle of the conference room! I can’t allow that.”
“You don’t even know what he did!” I fired back. “You have no idea how much he deserved exactly what he got!”
“Shut up,” Zach said from the ground. “Just get out of here. You’re fired!”
“Zach!” Ray snapped. He glared down at Zach before he looked at me quickly. I couldn’t read his expression. He was worried, angry, and confused, but none of that mattered to me. All that mattered was the fact that, once again, my father was taking Zach’s side over mine. Just like he did all those years ago. Just like he always would.
I turned away from my father and walked over to Zach. He flinched when I approached him, but I wasn’t going to hit him. Not again.
Instead, I leaned over him and took his face between my fingers. I forced his chin toward me so he had no choice but to look me in the eyes. I held him there for a few seconds, enjoying the look of fear in his eyes.
“Sean,” my dad said from me behind. It was a warning, but I didn’t care. I only had eyes for Zach.
“Listen to me,” I hissed. “If you ever touch my daughter again, I will kill you.”
Zach jerked his head away from my hand, but I held him tightly. I leaned even closer to his face and glared into his eyes.
“Am I clear?” I asked. “I will kill you.”
With that, I threw Zach’s head against the ground and turned to leave. Now that my moment with Zach had passed, I wanted to check on my daughter. My dad stepped in my way as I tried to leave, but I stepped around him easily.
“Sean,” he called after me.
“Don’t,” I yelled. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say. I need to go check on my daughter. I need to make sure she’s okay.”
“Are you sure she’s really your daughter?” Zach asked from the floor.
When he spoke, I was sure I heard him wrong, but as I turned around, I saw a sickening grin spread across his face.
“What?” I asked.
I stared at Zach blankly. My anger slowly gave way to a new, more intense emotion. I flashed back to my life nine years ago. When Paisley was conceived, I wasn’t living the best way. I spent all my time with the motorcycle club, and Claire hated me for it. She begged me to quit, but I never did. I ignored her wishes.
Zach’s words burned a hole in my stomach.
Zach’s bloody grin widened. “I said, are you sure she’s really your daughter?”
“Fuck you,” I snapped. I glared at him before I spun back around to leave.
I marched toward the door, but someone was blocking my way to the hallway. I looked up to see Tara, staring at me with wide eyes. She looked from me to Zach and then back again, understanding dawning on her face. I didn’t know if she really understood the true meaning behind Zach’s words, but I was certain she had heard them.