Gunner tells me everything—how she met him when she was young and the abuse happened early on, before Tanner was born, even. With every sentence, the dread in me builds.
It’s so much worse than I thought.
This needs to end. Evan Anderson needs to die, because if he doesn’t, my family will run for the hills when I’m not looking, and to be honest, I don’t think I’d survive if they did.
When Mac walks toward me, I can see it on his face. This isn’t good.
Thankfully, Tanner and Emily are playing chase with Bear. If it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t be able to keep my anxiety from them.
“It’s him, isn’t it?” I ask him point-blank.
He sits down next to me, taking my hand in his. “It is. It seems he found you in the back of someone’s photo on social media. I’m thinking the guy from the fair was sent to confirm if it was you or not.”
I look down at our joined hands as my body starts to tremble.
He found us.
I always knew he would. This day was always going to come, but why does it hurt so much more than I thought?
I look back up at Mac.
It’s because of him. This club. These people have quickly become more than friends to us. They have become our family, and the village I rely on for the children.
We can’t stay, though. Evan is a powerful man. He will take the kids from me and most likely kill me. He doesn’t like to let his possessions go.
“We have to run. I know the car is the club’s, but do you think Smoke will let me take it? I can pay for it. I’ll send money back until it is fully paid for.” I start talking really fast. “I need to get to the house. That’s where all the documents are that you had made. I’m so stupid. I should have kept them on me. This is my fault. I became complacent. I forgot that we were on the run. Now he has found us, and if I don’t get out of here, he will kill me. They can’t go back to him. Promise me, Mac.”
“Shhh. Calm down. No one is running. You are staying right here where I can protect you. Until we get a location on his exact whereabouts, you will stay here at the clubhouse with me and the kids. We will make up an excuse why they can’t be in school. Some sickness, so that they can make it up from here. We are going to figure this out. Together.”
Tears start to fill my eyes. “I don’t get it. Why me? Why do all of this for some woman you barely know?”
He cups my cheek. “You think I don’t know you? I know you better than you think. When you get nervous, you bite your lower lip. You like fresh onions on your burger, but hate onions otherwise. You hate ketchup except on hot dogs. If given the choice between a book and television, you will choose a book every time, but not a romance book. You prefer thrillers. I think you like the adrenaline rush it gives you. Your entire life is thosetwo children. You treat Emily like a princess because she likes the attention, but you treat Tanner more like an adult because he prefers it that way, even if you wish he still acted more like a kid more times than not. You are an amazing cook, but you hate doing it. You will do laundry all day long, but wish dishes didn’t exist. You like almost any kind of music, but you tend to listen to sad country music the most. Should I go on?”
As he lists every single thing he has picked up about me, I realize that he does know me. These past few months, he has been going out of his way to get to know me, even when I wasn’t paying attention.
It’s not only that, but I have been learning about him. Like how he likes his coffee when he comes over for breakfast, or the way his face lights up when he talks about his bike. I could go on and on about him like he just did to me, but it’s pointless.
I am in love with Mac, and I think he loves me too.
“I didn’t realize you paid such close attention to me,” I admit softly.
“You and the kids. I know lots about you, but I want to know everything. I want you here, by my side, all the time as my old lady. I want to adopt those kids as my own, so they don’t ever have to wonder if their father loves them, because I will be their father, and I will show them each and every day. Tanner will never again have to feel embarrassed at school because he doesn’t have a dad to come because I will be there, even if I have to cancel a million things to show up for him. Emily too. I want to be the man you deserve, Jane. If only you would let me. So don’t run. Stay here with me. Let me fight for you. It is what a real man would do.” He pulls my hand to his lips to kiss it while the hand cupping my face wipes away my tears.
“Okay. I will stay and fight. What do you need from me?” I ask.
He nods. “It won’t be easy, but I need to know the whole story from the very beginning. I need to know everything about this man that we can possibly know. It’s the best way to defeat an opponent.”
I look over at the kids. “They don’t need to hear all of this. I can’t do this with them here.”
He nods. “I figured you would say that. Smoke and Kelly are on their way to watch them. Bear will stay with them until then. How about you and I go for a little ride? It will clear your mind and give us somewhere private to talk.”
I bite my bottom lip before he pulls it free.
“Smoke and Kelly are the best people to care for them. They will be safe. Smoke will take a bullet before he lets anyone touch them.”
That helps ease some of my concerns. I know it’s true too. Smoke and Kelly love my kids. The whole club does.
“Okay. Let’s go,” I tell him.
