“Or she was telling the truth all along. She came here in need of our protection, but you sent her away. Then, she managed to hide for a while, but Zeke eventually found her and kidnapped her, almost killing her friend in the process. If we didn’t have our inside source, she and her daughter would be dead by now, and it would be all on you.” There’s a lump in my throat as I say this. The thought of Lena or Mia coming to harm is unbearable.
“Listen carefully, Mary Beth, I will only ask this once,” Cole says sternly. “Are you now, or have you ever been, involved with the Iron Vultures or any of its members? If I find out you’ve lied to me, and I will find out, there will be severe consequences.”
She considers this, looking terrified and downtrodden. “It was a long time ago.” Her voice comes out as barely a whisper. “Zeke and I… and a couple of others there… hooked up. But that was before I found the Soaring Eagles and met you, Rex. Before I knew how great you were.”
I laugh dryly. “And you accuse Lena of doing the very thing you did without remorse. I think you should return to the Iron Vultures. That’s where you belong.” I turn to Cole. “I think we’ve found out the truth. If you don’t kick Mary Beth out of the club for this, then consider this my resignation. Only one of us can stay.”
Cole nods somberly. I ignore Mary Beth’s pleas for mercy, for us to forgive her and give her another chance. I stand there as hard and cold as stone as Cole tells her she’s permanently banned from the clubhouse or from associating with any club members.Good riddance, I think.
All I want to do now is see Lena.
I hope she can forgive us, forgive me, for ever doubting her.
Chapter 12
Lena
“So, what lies has she told you?” I demand to know when I see Cole and Rex, who have arrived to replace my guards in the small back room. I jump up from the couch I’ve been anxiously waiting on.
“She told us the truth,” Rex replies softly.
Oh god, it’s worse than I thought. Have they really believed Mary Beth’s lies?
“You can’t be serious?” I say, hiding my fear behind indignation. “I can’t believe I have to say this, but I am not Zeke’s girlfriend! The man tried to rape me, and now he wants me dead!” My voice is edging toward hysteria.
I wonder if I should come clean now and tell them the truth. That he didn’t just try, and that maybe he wants Mia, not me. That he thinks Mia is his, but I know in my heart she’s Rex’s.
“We know, Lena,” Cole says pulling me from my thoughts. He places his hands on my shoulders and forces me to look him in the eye. “Mary Beth admitted everything to us. How she lied, how she convinced you to leave in the first place.” My gaze darts to Rex, who looks hopeful.
“She lied to you, Lena,” Rex says softly. “I was never married. I didn’t lie to you or betray you. There was no other woman, and certainly no child. She lied to make you leave.”
His words hit me like a freight train. It can’t be true, can it? Did I throw away everything because of the words of a womanI hate? “But…” I shake my head, unable to process this. I had been so sure.
“It’s true, Lena. Rex has never been married and doesn’t have any children. That we know of,” he adds.
The addition is pointed, and I realize he, too, suspects that Rex is Mia’s dad. I’m not ready to admit that right now, though, so I ignore it. I’m too shocked by the revelation that the last three years of my life could have been so different had I not trusted Mary Beth.
“Why didn’t you speak to me? Or ask literally anyone else?” Rex asks, voicing the questions I’m now asking myself.
“I don’t know,” I admit. “Mary Beth was so convincing. She told me that if I wasn’t quick about it, your wife would find out and it would destroy her, destroy your marriage, and leave your little girl childless. That she was heading back to town that night. I couldn’t do that. I never had a family, and I didn’t want to be the one to break up a proper, happy family. And…” I pause for a moment before deciding to speak the truth. “I don’t think I could have stayed and watched you with another woman.”
Rex nods, understanding, and I feel a rush of affection for him. “I understand, I would feel the same. But I promise you, Lena, I’ve never lied to you.”
Guilt floods me as I think of how I’ve lied to him about Mia, about Zeke, and I am still lying by omission. “God, I’ve been so stupid. You must hate me for leaving without explanation. How can you bear to have me back here? To help me again after I threw it in your face last time?”
He shakes his head, stepping closer, and Cole tactfully moves aside. “No. I could never hate you. I was hurt and confused, but I haven’t stopped thinking about you since you left. Seeing you again has only reignited my feelings for you.”
“But I’ve been so awful to you since I got back. Especially tonight.”
“Well, I was trying to make you jealous, too. So you’re not entirely to blame for that. For the record, Starla was the one who kissed me, and I pushed her away. You were too busy with Cole to notice. But I don’t want Starla, or any other woman. I want you, Lena. You and only you, if you’ll have me,” Rex says earnestly.
I hesitate.
What do I want?
“I want you too… but…”
I’ve spent so long feeling heartbroken and hating Rex, it’s hard just to switch that off. I never thought we’d get back together. Of course, I still want him. I want our daughter to have her father in her life. But I can’t lie that I also have feelings for Cole, too. Damn, I’m even attracted to Doc and Judge. Can I really be in a relationship with Rex when I’m crushing on his friends? And if I feel that way, doesn’t that mean my feelings can’t be as strong as I think they are for Rex? Shouldn’t I feel the same as him? That I want him and only him?
