TWENTY-FIVE
THIS party wasn’t like any I’d ever been to before. The place is filled with rough-looking men—some good-looking, some not—and lots of women.
None of them were shy.
I glance down at my tight black high-waisted jeans and black crop top. The expanse of my stomach is showing but I am still probably the most covered-up woman in the room. My hair is down and big, I’d teased it for extra volume, and I’d given my eyes a smoky look. Still, I am dressed for clubbing and the other women are dressed for . . .
Well, sex.
When I saw Allie in what appeared to be her lingerie, I never imagined everyone else would be dressed like that too.
I cup my drink, lifting it to my mouth and forcing myself to take a sip.
“You okay?” Arrow asks, drawing me down to sit on his lap.
“Yeah, just taking everything in,” I tell him.
He kisses my nape. “You look beautiful, Anna, but if these men don’t stop staring at you like that, I think we’re gonna have a problem.”
I turn and smile at him. “You’re the one who has me. Let them look.”
“Do I?” he suddenly asks.
“Do you what?”
“Have you.”
I frown. “You know you do, Arrow, what’s this about?”
He licks his bottom lip. “Nothing. I need a drink. You want a refill?”
He’s already drunk, and I don’t think he needs another, but I don’t say anything. I haven’t seen him drink this much since we first met. I didn’t miss the worried look Rake sent me when he saw Arrow earlier either. Everyone knows something’s up with him, but we don’t know what. He won’t talk, and no one wants to push him, but something has to give.
He stands up with his hands on my waist. “Don’t move from here, okay? I’ll be right back.”
I nod and take his seat as he goes to the kitchen.
“Hey,” Faye says, dropping into the next seat. “Arrow said you needed some company. I feel so old; I’m seriously ready to go to sleep.”
“Who’s looking after Clover?” I ask, smiling.
“Dex’s mother,” she replies, wrinkling her nose.
“You don’t like her?”
She shrugs. “More like she doesn’t like me. I used to date Dex’s younger brother.”
My eyes flare. “That sounds like quite a story. The longer version, please.”
She laughs. “How long do you have?”
I look around. “Apparently all night.”
She smiles and tells me everything that happened—it was quite a story. We talk for another half an hour and then Faye leaves in search of Dex.
When Arrow still hasn’t returned, I’m about to go and find him when a man walks up to me. I look around for a familiar face but see no one. The man takes the seat next to me, eyes roaming my body, his mouth curved in a wicked grin.
“What’s a classy woman like you doing here?” he asks.
I don’t know what to say to that. The man is wearing a cut, so he’s obviously a member.
I sip my drink. “Just enjoying the party, waiting for my man to get back.”
He smirks. “If I was your man I wouldn’t leave you sitting alone at a party like this.”
I force a smile. “I was just going to find him actually, but nice to meet you.”
Lie, Anna.
He puts his hand on my back. “If you don’t find him, I’m sure I can show you a good time.”
I practically run to the kitchen.
When I’m passing the game room I bump into someone.
Janet.
I can’t seem to catch a break.
“Still here?” she sneers.
“Apparently so,” I muse. “Now get the fuck out of my way.”
She smirks. “It’s cute that you trust Arrow so much. If it were me, I wouldn’t even let him out of my sight.”
“Well, good thing I’m not you then.”
I don’t like the smug look on her face.
“You know, even with how much Arrow loved Mary, he wasn’t faithful to her. At all. He fucked other women all the time. So what chance do you have?”
Janet walks off, leaving me wide-eyed in shock.
Arrow wasn’t faithful to Mary, the woman he claims to have loved so much?
I don’t know how to process that right now.
I continue to the kitchen, where I find Arrow sitting there alone. He’s staring down into his drink like it holds all life’s answers. Then suddenly he lifts the glass and throws it across the room.
I jump.
“Arrow?” I say, stepping into the room. “What’s wrong?”
He expels a deep sigh, leaning forward and rubbing the back of his head in frustration. I stand in front of him and tilt his head back, framing his face with my hands. My thumbs gently caress his jaw as I speak. “You can talk to me, you know. About anything. I won’t judge you.”
“As soon as something good happens in my life, I somehow fuck it up, even if it was just a cruel twist of fuckin’ fate.”
I freeze. “What does that even mean?”
He pushes my hands away from his face and stands, looking hollow. “Go back into the room and lock the door, Anna.”
“What?” I ask, my face scrunching in confusion. “What are you going to do?”
“Just have a talk with the brothers, then come to bed. I just need a minute.”
“Okay,” I say, hesitantly leaving the kitchen, and retreating to our bedroom.
However, when he’s not back in the room after an hour, I start to worry. I didn’t like that look on his face, especially when I didn’t know why it was there. So I go in search of him. When I step back into the game room, I see him there, talking to Tracker and Rake.
The conversation looks intense.
A second later, a woman walks over to him and sits down on his lap. Like a spell is broken by her presence, the men all stop talking, looking lost in their own thoughts.
Arrow doesn’t push the woman off him. He just sits there drinking, looking extremely unhappy, and maybe even a little guilty.
Why would he feel guilt?
I know he felt guilt over Mary, but he’d been dealing with it. In my imagination I thought that maybe I’d been helping him deal with it somehow.
She kisses his neck.
He still doesn’t push her away.
My chest burns.
I guess a lot has changed in the last hour while I was sitting in the room like a good little girl waiting for Arrow to return.
Rake notices the woman kissing Arrow’s neck, his expression turning deadly.
“You gonna let some bitch touch you when you have my sister waiting for you?” he asks loudly, his fists clenching.
Tracker looks confused and a little pissed off. “Arrow? What the fuck, man?”
“What the fuck are you doing, Arrow?” Rake asks. “After everything? I will fuckin’ beat the shit out of you!”
“Don’t fuck up and lose her,” Tracker says. “You will regret it.”
Arrow laughs without humor. “I’ve already lost her, so what’s the point?”
Rake and Tracker exchange glances. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“What do you mean you’ve already lost her? You need to explain now, before I lose my shit,” Rake growls.
I step forward, revealing myself. “Yes, Arrow, what do you mean?”
Arrow glances up at me, guilt etched all over his face.
I look at the woman on his lap. “Get out of here.”
She looks to Arrow, who looks at her as if he’s only just realizing she’s there. Without a word, he pushes her off him.
Bit fucking late for that, isn’t it?
“What the fuck, Arrow?” I ask, my hands shaking with anger.
And pain.
And fucking confusion.
He doesn’t say anything, so I leave. I don’t want anyone to see how much this is affecting me.
I hear the men yelling at him. He calls my name, but too fucking bad. I don’t get him! He was fine before, even though I know something has been bothering him, then I find him with some woman sitting on his lap? Why didn’t he push her off? What the hell is going through his mind?
He’s hiding something.
I don’t need this shit.
I don’t need a man who isn’t sure of his feelings. He knows I love him. He knows.
Apparently it’s not enough.
I’m not enough.
Fine, then. I can’t stay here tonight—I pack a bag and head to Lana’s house.
I step out into the cool air and take in the scene, a shitload of motorcycles and a few men standing around and talking. I frown when I see no other than Slice, Talon’s friend. What is he doing here? I walk straight up to him, smirking at the almost nervous look that passes in his expression. He’s dressed in all black, no cut. Sneaking in maybe? What is he up to?
“You’re a little close to enemy headquarters, don’t you think?” I ask quietly so only he can hear.
His eyes narrow. “What do you want?”
“What are you doing here?” I ask him. “You better not plan to hurt anyone.”
His lips tighten. “What do you want?”
“I want a ride. I need to get out of here. You owe me, and don’t even think of taking me anywhere else other than where I want to go.”
I left my car keys in my room and I sure as hell wasn’t going back into the clubhouse.
He calls Talon.
Talon tells him to do it.
“Let me speak to Talon first, so I know you’re not going to murder me or something,” I say.
He hands me the phone. “Hey, Talon.”
“You okay, Anna?” he asks, sounding concerned.
“I need a quick escape. What is Slice doing here, anyway?” I ask him.
“Never mind about that. You can trust him. I trust Slice with my life.”
“And what does that mean to me?”
I hear him sigh. “You and I both know we need to talk. Why don’t you let Slice bring you here?”
We do need to talk. I need answers.
“All right,” I tell him, then hang up the phone and give it back to Slice.
“Take me to Talon, please.”
He grits his teeth. “Get the fuck on my bike, princess.”
He says princess in such a mocking way I want to punch him. But I don’t, because I need him right now.
I get on his bike.
I could feel my heart breaking the whole way home.
* * *
I don’t like Slice.
He takes me straight back to their clubhouse. On the ride over I had time to think, to go over what happened and to try to figure out the puzzle that is Arrow’s recent behavior.
I realize that recently two things happened.
One was when Arrow spoke to Talon, and two was my telling him that I loved him.
I thought it had to do with the former, and hoped it wasn’t the latter.
Talon was somehow the key in all of this, and I was glad to be at his clubhouse, so I could demand some answers.
I needed them badly.
I slide off the back of Slice’s bike, eager to get away from him. Handing him his helmet, I mumble a thank-you. He nods his head to the door. “Talon is through there.”
He walks to the door and I follow behind him.
“Where is everyone?” I ask him, looking around the empty place.
“Out,” he replies, stopping at a door and knocking twice.
“Come in,” I hear Talon call. Slice opens the door, but only I walk in. Talon looks up, his white-blond hair falling across his forehead. He pushes it out of his face and flashes me a small smile.
“Nice to see you, Anna,” he says quietly. “Take a seat.”
I lower myself into the seat and stare at him expectantly.
He smirks. “Nothing to say? No kidnapping accusations?”
“Not this time. I have a feeling that you know things, and right now I want some answers,” I tell him in a strong, even voice.
He laughs without humor. “I knew Arrow wouldn’t tell you.”
“Tell me what?” I demand. “I’m sick of all this. Just tell me what’s going on!”
He sobers. “I never wanted to hurt you, Anna, I hope you believe that.”
I don’t like the sound of this.
“What did you say to Arrow that day?” I ask.
Talon expels a heavy sigh. “It’s more what I showed him.”
He reaches into a drawer and pulls out a piece of paper. He stares at it once before sliding it across the table. I pick it up with trembling hands and read it from top to bottom.
“Who is Samuel Pierce?” I ask him, my bottom lip trembling.
Talon suddenly looks unsure. “My stepfather.”
I swallow hard. “What? I don’t—”
I was looking at a birth certificate.
My birth certificate.
I didn’t even know I had one. I just assumed my mother had lost it.
It said that my father’s name was Samuel Pierce.
All I felt was confusion.
“My mother married your father. I was a baby at the time, and your dad raised me like I was his own,” he says gently. “This is what I showed Arrow. I knew it would break him—and he fuckin’ deserved it after what he did.”
I swallow hard after hearing the name of my father for the very first time in my life.
“I can’t believe this,” I murmur.
“Why did you tell Arrow and not me or Rake?” I blurt out.
He cringes. “I wanted to kill Arrow. But I didn’t, because of you. So I guess it was my fucked-up way of revenge.”
“How is this revenge?” I ask him, brows scrunching in confusion.
Talon takes a deep breath then. “Anna, you know how my dad died, right?”
“You call him your dad?” I ask, not knowing how to feel about that.
He nods. “I do.”
I was Samuel’s daughter, but I didn’t know him; neither did Rake. Yet Talon, who wasn’t of his blood, got to be raised by him and call him Dad.
Talon’s dad was the president of the Wild Men MC, I remember being told that.
My mind races trying to figure everything out, but then it hits me.
The Wild Men MC killed Mary. Faye told me they broke in one night when all the men had gone on a run, leaving only women and prospects in the clubhouse.
Arrow got his revenge . . .
By killing their president.
My father.
I cover my face with my hands, struggling to breathe. My chest burned, the pain so strong I’m surprised I wasn’t in flames.
I’d never met my father, and now I’d never get the chance. A feeling of loss overwhelms me. Losing something I never actually had in the first place.
I don’t know how to process this. I am confused; I am hurt. I still want Arrow. Why didn’t he tell me? This should have come from him. He knew everything this whole time and kept it to himself. Instead, he slowly pushed me away, knowing the second the truth surfaced he may lose me. I shake off my thoughts of Arrow and decide to ask the other questions that I need answers for.
“How long have you known?” I almost whisper.
“That you and Rake were his children? Dad told me a few months before he died, actually,” he says, his hand rubbing his chest.
I bite my lip, gathering courage to ask the next question. “Why didn’t he want us?”
Talon grimaces, then looks down at the table. “As far as I know, Dad was married to my mom when he was with your mother. My mom was his old lady, and yours was . . .”
“His whore,” I supply in a hollow tone.
He sighs. “Anna, it wasn’t—”
“Why didn’t he ever come and see us?” I demand. “What, did he just fuck Mother and run when Rake was born? Then come back to get her pregnant with me and leave again?”
He’s silent for a moment.
“I don’t know exactly what happened. I know that Dad saw Rake when he was a baby. Then my mother found out and she told him if he ever saw your mother she would leave him and never come back.”
My jaw clenches. “So your ‘father’ decided to stay and look after you, his wife’s kid, and ignored Rake and me, his own blood.”
Talon looks ashamed, his face falling. “I didn’t say it was right, Anna, I’m just telling you what happened.”
“And how was I born then?” I ask.
“Dad kept seeing your mother, now and again,” he says with a shrug. “His weak moments, he would say.”
I was born because of a “weak moment”?
Just great.
“So he knew we were out there, with a druggie for a mother, but never bothered to do anything about it. Wow, he sounds like a real winner.”
Talon stays silent.
“Is your mother still alive?” I ask him.
He nods. “Is yours?”
I shake my head. “Drug overdose.”
Lost in my own thoughts, I have no idea how long I’ve been silent for.
Talon clears his throat. “Say something.”
“So you knew I was your stepsister and you still kidnapped me?”
“You weren’t hurt, and Ranger got the shit beaten out of him for hurting you,” he says. “And to be honest, I wanted to see what you were like.”
I run a hand down my face. “You’re fuckin’ insane.”
“And you, Anna, blew me away. You were brave, smart, and beautiful. Trust me, it was Dad who missed out on you, not the other way around.”
A small smile plays on my lips. “I think you’re right about that one.”
“You have his eyes, you know,” he says quietly.
“Yeah, my mother had brown eyes,” I say, staring down at my plate. “I always knew I got them from my father, whoever he was.”
“Your mother never told you?” he asks.
“Nope, she always said she didn’t know who he was.”
He scowls. “I’m sorry, Anna.”
“Don’t be,” I tell him. “It wasn’t your fault.”
I feel tired.
Exhausted and empty.
Hollow.
“Talon, could you please take me to Lana’s house?” I ask him.
He swallows, standing and walking over to me. “I’m sorry, Anna. Come on, of course I’ll take you there.”
I try to smile, but I think it comes out as more of a grimace.
How did everything get so messed up?