Abel (Savage Kings MC - South Carolina Book Series 7)

by Lane Hart

  “Jesus,” Nolan murmurs.

  “That’s right. I was so afraid of being outed that I let you rot in prison,” I explain to him.

  “You were a kid. A stupid kid, but still just a kid.” Nolan puts his arm around Rita’s shoulders. “And I still don’t regret it. In fact, I think I feel better about it now that I know you weren’t breaking into houses.” Glancing at Abel, Nolan asks, “How long have you been…”

  “Fucking around with men?” Abel replies curtly. “Not long. Cory was the first, even if it was a long time coming. If not for his…persistence, I wouldn’t have let myself own up to it, even now.”

  Nolan holds up his palms in front of him. “I wasn’t judging you. I was just curious because I had no idea. I thought maybe I had been blind and missed it.”

  “You didn’t.” Abel grins, looking relieved.

  “Cory, what happened? With the guy at school?” Rita asks.

  “He doesn’t owe you that story,” Abel jumps in and says in my defense. “And he should’ve told me he was suspended and not ‘taking time off,’ especially since it was my fault he got hurt and kicked out of the school!”

  “No, it wasn’t,” I argue. “At school, I-I was sleeping with closeted guys to make the extra cash I needed.”

  “Cory!”

  “The pay was great, and it was easier than working a job while juggling classes. But, um, after I met Abel and Selina, I started turning them down. One of the guys refused to take no for an answer…”

  “Oh, Cory,” Rita whispers in understanding as she ducks away from Nolan to come and wrap her arms around me. Selina and Abel let go of me so that I can hug her back.

  “Watch his ribs – they’re still sore!” Abel warns her, making me smile at his concern when Rita relaxes her grip.

  “I’m so sorry,” Rita tells me, her face pressed to my chest. “That you got hurt and that you didn’t think you could tell me.”

  “I’m sorry the school booted me when I was close to graduating. Although, not as close as you thought I was.”

  “I don’t care,” she says through sniffles. “It’s just money. You’re my brother, the only family I have left!”

  “Nah, you’ve got Nolan now and the Savage Kings,” I remind her, and her husband nods his agreement.

  “Yeah, I know,” she replies, then pulls away to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “But you’re blood.”

  “I promise not to lie to you about anything else,” I assure her.

  Rita gives a choked laugh. “Good!”

  “Is this why Hugo left?” Nolan asks. “Did he find out?”

  “Maybe. I don’t fucking know. I never came out and told him, but he probably had an idea,” Abel responds. “He still won’t take my calls. Yours either?”

  “Nothing. Reece said his cell hasn’t pinged any other towers either…”

  “Are we going to have to go find him?” Abel asks.

  “Nah, we’ll give him time. As long as he’s not in jail or the hospital, he’s okay.”

  “Yeah, hopefully.”

  “I, um, I’m sorry to interrupt, but I just remembered we’re out of beer and, um, toilet paper,” Selina suddenly announces out of the blue. I had almost forgotten she was there since she had been so quiet. Her truck keys are already in her hand, and her purse is on her shoulder. Before Abel or I can stop her, she hurries out the door with a wave goodbye to Nolan and Rita.

  “What was that about?” Abel asks me.

  I shrug. “No idea.”

  Chapter Forty-Three

  Selina

  Cory can pretend like he’s cool with being kicked out of school all he wants, but I know it’s eating away at him since he was so close to graduating. He regrets wasting all of his sister’s hard-earned money.

  It’s also bullshit for him to give up so much when the prick that hurt him is still free to do whatever he wants.

  Not to mention, Abel is going to turn into a grumpy SOB because he’ll no doubt feel responsible for Cory’s misery. I wouldn’t put it past the biker to turn himself in to the police. Thanks to his association with the MC, he may even have to pull time.

  Both of the men I love are hurting.

  That’s why I decided to hop on my motorcycle and ride to the Savage Kings clubhouse. I still almost cry every time I crank the Heritage Classic’s engine, remembering how patient Abel was teaching me, then encouraging me to go out riding with him at least once a day.

  At the clubhouse, I ask Leo to call Cannon’s girlfriend, Madison, to see if she would come and meet with me. She may be the mayor, but she’s also an attorney. The prospects filled me in on all the club gossip while Abel was out of town.

  The bar is quiet. Leo is behind the bar, sitting on a stool with his hat on, reading a paperback. I think the president, Roman, must be in his office in the back since there were two bikes outside.

  I sip on my water at the bar while waiting for Madison.

  Only a few minutes pass before the door opens and in walks a beautiful woman, looking sleek and polished in her fitted jeans and white blouse, her dark hair pulled back in a low bun. A blond biker is right behind her, his hand clasped tightly in hers. He must be Cannon.

  When I hop down from my stool, the man’s blue eyes rake over me from head to toe, not in a sexual way but like he’s sizing me up to see if I’m any danger to his woman. I give them both a warm smile, hoping to show I’m harmless.

  “Hi, you must be Madison. I’m Selina.” I go over and hold out my palm, which she shakes. “Thanks for coming down here on such short notice.”

  “Sure, no problem.” She turns to Cannon. “Go have a beer with Leo while us girls talk?”

  “I’ll be right here if you need me,” he says, letting go of her hand and giving her lovey-dovey puppy eyes.

  “We’ll be fine,” she assures him with a roll of her eyes. “Sorry, he’s a little overprotective, even though no one has tried to kidnap or kill me in months.”

  “What?” I exclaim, wondering if she’s serious.

  She waves a manicured hand to brush it off. “Kidding. Mostly. So, what’s going on?” she asks as we both take a seat at one of the small tables.

  “The prospects told me you are an attorney and recently elected mayor. Congrats.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, I, ah, sort of need your advice.”

  “Okay. About what?”

  I tell her an abbreviated story from the beginning but with all the important bits since Nolan knows and Abel will be telling the rest of his brothers soon enough.

  When I’m done, Madison blinks at me and says, “Wow. That’s a crazy story. How can I help?”

  “I want to turn myself in, tell the school and the police that it was me who damaged the car so that Cory can go back to school and Abel won’t be held responsible. I also want the guy who hurt Cory to be held accountable.”

  “Are you sure you want to admit guilt when you didn’t do it? Based on the amount of property damage you stated for the sports car, it could be a felony. I’m not familiar with criminal cases in Georgia, but you could serve time.”

  “I don’t care. If I have to do that, I will. Cory’s too close to graduating to have it taken away by that asshole. And Abel will only blame himself now that he knows he got suspended. This is the only way to fix everything. Besides, I have a squeaky-clean record. The court will go easy on me, right?”

  “Probably. But there are no guarantees, Selina.”

  “That’s fine either way,” I tell her. “So, what I need is for you to maybe help me find an attorney who can pull this off and someone to go after the school.”

  “I know a few lawyers in Atlanta. Let me make some calls to get referrals for Smithfield. Give me your cell number, and I’ll let you know when I get it sorted out.”

  “Thank you so much. I know you’re busy, but the sooner, the better…”

  She smiles warmly. “I’m never too busy to help a fellow ole lady. And if I can line up an attorney, we can proba
bly get you into the police station to give a statement tomorrow.”

  “That would be great.” She pulls out her cell phone, and I rattle off my phone number.

  “Got it. Take the night to think about this carefully. Once you start talking to the police, there’ll be no turning back.”

  “Okay, I will, but I already know I won’t change my mind.”

  Chapter Forty-Four

  Abel

  The morning after I came out to one of my best friends, I wake up feeling lighter, like I’m ready to take on the world. It sucks that Hugo is still gone, but maybe that’s not even about me. In fact, it probably isn’t. If he had an issue, I think he would’ve confronted me, not run away.

  Selina and I are going shopping today to look for new bedding and décor, as she called it, for all the rooms at our soon-to-be bed-and-breakfast. Then, on the way home, I’m going to go by the clubhouse and finally fill the guys in on my secret.

  Just like with Nolan, I don’t think they’ll care about who I have sex with. Still, I want to smooth things over before bringing Cory around.

  But then I remember what I found out last night – that he didn’t drop out of school but was suspended for what I did to that motherfucker’s car. All the excitement for the day is replaced with guilt. It feels like a two-ton anvil is crushing me into the mattress.

  Not quite that heavy, but close, Cory’s uninjured left arm is thrown over my waist, the heat from the front of his big body soaking into my backside, his delicious-smelling cologne now embedded in the sheets after the first night sleeping in the new bed in the empty safe house.

  I love being the sandwich between him and Selina, except her hair isn’t tickling my neck from her head tucked under my chin. Usually, she’s curled up in the fetal position so tight her knees are pressed against my stomach.

  My palm rubs over the empty spot in the sheets that feel cold.

  Maybe she’s already up and fixing breakfast. It wouldn’t be unusual since it seems like she spends half the day cooking for me and Cory.

  But I don’t smell any bacon or sausage cooking…

  “She left around sunrise,” Cory mumbles, his voice deeper than normal from sleep.

  “What? Why?” I ask him.

  “Don’t know. I just heard the door shut and bike start. Thought it was you running…”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask as I slowly roll over to face him, trying not to jostle the bed too much with all his injuries still healing.

  “Because you were sleeping. Duh.” His eyes are still closed as he smirks.

  “You should’ve woken me up,” I say as I roll out of bed on the empty side and start looking for my phone.

  “She’s a big girl. I didn’t know she needed daddy’s permission to leave,” he teases.

  “Why would she leave so early?” I huff as I finally pull my phone from the jeans I had on the day before. The battery is low, but it’s still powered on. There’s a text message from Selina that she sent around six thirty.

  I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay there to help Cory and try not to worry!

  “What the fuck?” I curse aloud.

  “She sent you a message? See, I knew she was fine.”

  I read it to him and to myself again. “Where the hell did she go?”

  “No idea.” Cory finally sits up in bed and shoves his fingers through the front of his red hair to push it out of his eyes. “She said not to worry, though.”

  “Whenever someone says that it’s because they’re doing something you should be worried about!” I exclaim.

  “Well, what do you want to do?” he asks as I start pulling on my jeans.

  “I’m going to the clubhouse, see if anyone’s seen her around.”

  “Want me to come with you?”

  “Nah, stay here and rest. I won’t be gone long,” I tell him as I grab a clean T-shirt from a box and slip it on over my head. “If she’s not there, then I don’t know where she would be, so I’ll come back. Unless she went back home to Cape Cartwright…”

  “Nah, she wouldn’t have gone back without telling us.”

  I shove my foot in my boots, then slide my arms through my cut before going around to his side of the bed to kiss him goodbye. I didn’t even think about it; it just seems so natural. “When I get back, we’re going to talk about you getting suspended and how to fix it.”

  “There’s nothing to fix. It’s over and done, Abel.”

  “It’s not over until I say it is,” I tell him before I start to the door.

  Grinning, he calls out, “Be careful on your bike!”

  At the mention of my bike, I remember what Cory said – that he heard a bike this morning. The one Selina “inherited” from Dubois is not in the yard. So, wherever she went, she rode it.

  For some reason, despite her text, I can’t help but wonder if she’s gone for good.

  What if this whole time she was lying about being okay with Cory moving in with us and she was actually jealous to the point of saying to hell with me? I know how important being seen and appreciated is to Selina. Did I fuck up and not show her how much I cared about her?

  Then there’s Cory, who I know isn’t happy about being suspended from school, no matter how hard he tries to shrug it off.

  He’s hurting, and it’s my fault.

  How long will it be before he realizes he’s better off without me around ruining his life?

  I don’t want to lose him or Selina, but for some reason, the gnawing ache in my stomach makes me worry being in love with two people is all falling apart before it barely starts.

  Cory

  I’m still lying in bed, scrolling on my phone, when I hear a bike pull up outside. But I’m too sluggish to get up and find out if it’s Abel or Selina.

  It’s not the injuries that are slowing me down. No, I think I’m fucking depressed.

  Which is stupid as hell since I’ve never been happier than I am with Abel and Selina.

  It’s just…fuck, I was so close to graduating. Two more semesters. One more year at most and I could’ve had a business degree.

  Back when I was a teenager in high school and my sister was pushing me to apply to a bunch of colleges, I couldn’t have cared less about continuing my education after graduation.

  But I applied, and then I even picked a school and enrolled, not for myself but for Rita and our parents.

  She wanted me to have something she didn’t, and I knew our parents would be proud of me. So that’s why I went and worked my ass off.

  No matter what she says about it just being money, it was still the money she earned through blood, sweat, and tears.

  It feels wrong to let all the sacrifices she made go to waste.

  At the same time, I wouldn’t change a thing about taking the fall for Abel on the vandalism.

  In a few days, or weeks, I bet the guilt over losing out on my degree will fade. Right?

  The front door opens, and then the heavy, no-nonsense footsteps making their hurried way toward the bedroom tell me it’s Abel before his snarling face appears in the doorway.

  “Didn’t find her?” I guess.

  “Nope.” He stomps over to stare out the window, his hands on his hips, back to me.

  “How did it go otherwise?” I ask, wondering if he really told the rest of the Savage Kings that he’s bi.

  “Fine.”

  “Just fine?” I ask when he doesn’t elaborate.

  “The guys said they don’t care. Whether or not they treat me different, we’ll see. I just…I wish Hugo had been there too, but he wasn’t, and now Selina won’t answer her fucking phone either.”

  “If she’s on her bike, then that’s a good thing, right? Not answering the phone while driving?”

  “Yeah, I guess. But where would she be going that she has to leave at six thirty or seven and still isn’t there by noon?”

  “No clue, Abel. Just try not to freak out.”

  “Having Hugo blow me off hurts like hell,” he ad
mits when he finally turns around to face me. “Now Selina…”

  “She’s not blowing you off! All of her things are still here, right? Her truck?”

  “Yeah.”

  “She’ll be back. Hugo will too, eventually. Sometimes people just need a little space.”

  “I used to love space. Now I hate it,” he huffs.

  “I know.” Patting the spot on the bed next to me, I tell him, “Come back to bed? We’ll cuddle the rest of the day or do something else to make you feel better.”

  “Cuddles only,” he warns before wincing. “Not something I ever thought I would say, but until you’re healed up, nothing but blowjobs and handjobs for you. No reciprocating.”

  “Fine. I guess I can cave to these unfortunate one-sided rules,” I tell him with a grin that makes the corners of his lips lift.

  Abel and I spend the entire day and into the night in bed, watching comedy shows on my phone to try to cheer him up and distract him from Selina’s absence.

  I was certain she would come home or call sooner rather than later.

  And I was right, even if her motorcycle didn’t roar up until nearly midnight.

  Abel is out of bed with me following behind him as fast as I can go.

  “Where the hell have you been?” he yells at Selina before both of her feet even step foot in the house. “Do you have any idea how fucking worried we’ve been? It’s bad enough I have to worry about Hugo…”

  “Hi, I missed you too,” she interrupts him, throwing her arms around his neck and pressing her lips to his throat.

  It’s like a switch was suddenly flipped. All the anger rolls right out of him faster than a deflating balloon as he hugs her back, face buried in her hair, looking more like the gummy bear than the bad-boy biker.

  Damn, I’ll have to remember that trick of hers for future reference.

  When Selina finally pulls away from him, she says, “I was taking care of everything and knew if I had told you what I was doing, both of you would’ve stopped me.”