I hung up on him, and Ravage and I ushered Maureen outside, and into one of the SUVs. We drove through town, and as we passed by the station, Dec pulled out and threw his lights on, passing to get in front of us and give us an escort.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Grace
I walked into the main room and sat at the table where Karlyn was talking to Jingles. Eros and Indigo weren’t far away. They hadn’t been far from her side since the day she’d walked in flanked by them both.
Kyllian and her man were talking with Banshee and Aspen. Diesel lay on the floor at Aspen’s feet. I could hear shouting coming from church, but the words were indistinguishable.
“What’s going on?” I asked, sitting beside Karlyn, my eyes on the door to church.
“I’m not sure,” Karlyn said. “King came downstairs and walked up and hit Jackson without a word. Then they went in for a bit before everyone came out, except King and Jackson. I think they might be trying to kill each other in there.”
I knew she was trying to lighten her words, but I could hear the fear in her voice. She believed what she said. She didn’t know King. It was only natural that seeing his temper in action would have this effect on her.
The man didn’t know how to use his words when he was angry. He shouted and banged his fists when he was emotional. It didn’t matter what emotion it was; he hid it behind his anger.
Except with me.
I was the only person he let see him vulnerable. The only person he let himself feel with. It should make me feel special, loved. Instead, I felt like a crutch. Something he leaned on whenhe felt weak, but then returned to the corner when his strength returned.
“They won’t kill each other. Just beat the shit out of each other,” Jingles assured her.
“Well, knowing King, they’ll be at that for a while.” I turned back to Karlyn. “How about a coffee? We can go to Trudy’s; she has the best coffee and pastries.” I lowered my voice. “Just don’t tell Maureen I said that.” Jingles chuckled, and I smacked his arm.
“I don’t think Jackson wants me to leave.” Karlyn bit her lip as she looked at the church doors again.
I looked around the room. Johnny had come back from the hospital, which meant someone else was watching over Keys.
“It will be okay, I promise. You can bring your guard dogs, and I even have one of my own.” I gestured to Johnny, who hurried over.
“What do you need, Grace?”
“Karlyn and I are going to Trudy’s,” I announced, standing up and taking Karlyn’s hand in mine. She was hesitant, but when she looked at Nav, he nodded. “Gather up whoever you need to,” I told Johnny.
I led Karlyn outside, and we climbed into one of the SUVs. Eros and Indigo followed, along with Johnny, Romeo, Zero, and Ace. We must have been quite a spectacle driving through town.
I parked outside of Trudy’s, and Karlyn and I went in with Indigo and Johnny. The others spread out around the building, watching and waiting for something to happen.
King would be pissed when he knew I’d left the clubhouse. He would use the Death Dogs as an excuse, but I couldn’t live my life behind walls and gates. I needed to get away. Take some time to breathe. Time to think. King wasn’t the only one who had trouble with words. I didn’t know how to make him understand how I felt.
Maureen seemed to think he needed to be told what to do. But he wasn’t a child. He was almost forty fucking years old. He wasn’t some teenager with his first girlfriend. He was the president of a motorcycle club who knew how to make decisions, and he knew how to own the choices he made.
He needed to own this choice. It was his decision to keep me at arm’s length. His decision to put his relationship with Steele ahead of his relationship with me.
“Grace! What a surprise.” Trudy rushed over and pulled me into a tight hug. “Who do you have with you?”
“This is Karlyn. She’s with King’s brother.”
Trudy’s eyebrows scrunched. “Does Maureen know?”
“She does, actually.” I laughed at Trudy’s reaction, realizing this little tidbit hadn’t made its way through town yet. “King recently found out he has another brother. His name is Jackson. He’s a year younger than King.”
“Well, I swear. That clubhouse has more long-lost relatives showing up than the soaps I used to watch on TV. Although I hear the Powell family is trying to catch up.”
At Karlyn’s confused look, I told her about Grayson Powell and Jessie. They’d both recently had some family show up on the ranch unannounced. Jessie’s family was a surprise, but welcome because she loved them. Despite her uncle now being the head of the Mexican Cartel.
And Grayson’s uncle—well, that one wasn’t as welcome. The way I understood it, the Powell children didn’t know they had an uncle because Old Man Johnson had disowned his son years ago when he’d tried to kill Grayson’s mother and brother, not to mention Old Man Johnson himself—by burning down a barn full of horses.
