by Vera Quinn
“Are you done with your little tantrum now?” I can see the anger in her eyes. She starts to say something but stops. “I’m not going anywhere. The last time I left you after I told you we couldn’t be together you ran and that is not happening this time. I know I am hurting you and Gracie and that was never my intention but I can’t change it now.”
“Did you marry Gracie to help her, like you said, or was it to keep her away from Rebel? You could never let him win a woman from you.” I know this is just Jilly’s pain talking but something about what she said has hit a nerve in me. Has my dislike for Rebel shaded my thinking? Could I have married Gracie for exactly that reason? No, that can’t be it.
“No, that is not what happened. I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought I loved Gracie until I saw you on the street and thought I had lost you. I do love Gracie and Shelby. I am just not in love with Gracie and life is short and I can’t ask Gracie to stay in a loveless marriage. Especially since I have these feelings for you.” I know what I have done is wrong and I need to fix it.
“The part where you were going to help Gracie keep Shelby away from Lorraine Giles is just gone? You won’t help her?” Jilly has calmed down some now.
“Gracie’s attorney says it isn’t necessary. After what is happening today, I am sure there is nothing for Gracie to ever worry about. It had to be the Giles woman responsible. They just need to bring Shelby home. I haven’t heard anything since Kaden left. I guess I need to call down to the emergency room and check on Gracie.” Jilly throws the sheet back and starts to get out of the bed. “What in the hell do you think you are doing, Jilly? Get back in the damn bed.”
“I’m not hiding out in this damn room while my friend needs me. If you want to keep avoiding the issues be my guest but I am getting a wheelchair and going to check on my friend. Have you ever thought that Gracie may lose the baby? She may need her husband since you are her next of kin or she may need me, her friend.” Jilly moves her IV pole along with her. “I’ve never let a friend down before and I am not going to start now because I am afraid it will be a sticky situation. It’s time to be adults and quit thinking about ourselves.”
“I’ll check with the nurse and get a wheelchair. Just give me a minute.” As I reach for the door it opens and Kaden walks in.
“Is Gracie alright? How’s the baby? Have you found Shelby yet?” Jilly is firing questions off to Kaden and not giving him a chance to answer them. Kaden looks at Jilly and then me. I can see the disappointment in his eyes when he looks at me.
“Why aren’t you downstairs with your wife? The one you left unprotected this morning?” I don’t respond. I can’t. I have no defense for the truth.
“We were just going. Brody was going to get me a wheelchair and tell the nurses at the desk we were going down.” Kaden closes the door and walks further into the room.
“They are doing an ultra sound on Gracie as a precaution. She has a knot on her head but they think she will be alright. Probably going home in a little bit by what Joan says.” Kaden says, watching Jilly sit back down on the side of the bed. “Is it okay for you to be up and around?”
“I’m not an invalid, Kaden. I’ll probably be going today or tomorrow. The baby is alright then? Do you think she’ll be up for a visit from me? I just want to see her with my own eyes to make sure she is alright.” I knew there was no way to keep Jilly away from Gracie.
“She may see you but I don’t think she wants to see Brody right now. She told me to tell him to stay with you. She’s just wants Shelby back. Rebel is trying to keep her calm. It’s not working but he is standing by her. That’s more than I can say about you, Brody.” Kaden is not holding his hostility in at all. I can take it but I don’t want Jilly to have to put up with it.
“Kaden, I get that you are pissed at me. I made a mistake but Jilly doesn’t need to be subjected to your hostility toward me so just save it until later.” I know I am being an ass but this is about Jilly.
“If you were as worried about your wife and stepdaughter as you were about my sister we wouldn’t have as big a mess to clean up right now. You of all people should feel the anger of everyone. There’s an innocent child out there without her mom because of you.” Kaden is not holding anything back.
“Stop it, Kaden. Don’t you think Brody already feels bad about leaving this morning? No one is to blame for this but the person that took Shelby.” Jilly defending me, as always.
“Then Brody should be downstairs with his wife letting her lean on him while she needs him. But no, he’s here with you and Rebel is the one doing what is right. What’s next, Brody? Another fight when Rebel gets more attached to Gracie? Rebel is in love with your wife, don’t you think you should be running interference between the two of them or are you tired of playing husband already?” Kaden has gone from being disappointed to be being pissed.
“Enough, Kaden!” Jilly yells at her brother.
“It’s alright, Jilly. I know I screwed up. I am sorry I disappointed everyone.” I disappointed myself.
“If you know what you did was a mistake, then are you going to fix it?” If it was only that simple.
“That’s none of your business. I’ll take care of what I need to in my own time, in my own way.” I know this is not what Kaden wants to hear. It’s not what my parents are going to want to hear but everyone will just have to accept it. Kaden is shaking his head, looking at the floor and then his eyes meet mine.
“Then stay the hell away. Gracie said for you to stay with Jilly so do it. Just try not leaving her when she might need you.” Kaden turns and walks out.
“Well, that went over about as bad as it could.” Jilly is smiling. What in the hell?
Chapter 9
Rebel
Hearing our child’s heartbeat and seeing that he or she is fighting to stay alive is all I needed to clear my head and know what I need to get done. Ma, Ax, Dawg Man, and Salty are with Gracie at the hospital waiting for paperwork so Gracie can be released and taken back to the clubhouse. We’re all on lockdown until Shelby is home safe. Now I can concentrate on bringing Shelby home to her mom.
Getting out of that hospital and back on my bike finished clearing my head. Tip is riding beside me and Crowder, one of our prospects, is in a cage so we will have a way to get Shelby home. We still have the nomads on the house in Dallas. I am not taking any chances of them getting by us in Sulphur Springs. Cap and part of his brothers are already on their way to meet us. Better more muscle than we need, than not enough.
Cap is the president of the mother chapter located in Tyler. He’s a hard ass but he is fair man. I say he is president over the mother chapter of the Demented Revengers but in all reality, he is everyone’s president. Cap runs a tight club. Each chapter has a president and we pay our dues to the mother chapter. Each chapter has a vote when we go to the table to vote on the overall territory covered by full Demented Revengers. When it comes to our own chapter, Cap lets us set our own rules. We don’t sell drugs. We’ve lost too many good brothers to addiction over the years, so it is not tolerated anymore. Cap cleaned it up. We don’t deal in selling women. Sure, we have some strip clubs, but prostitution is not included. Not by us anyway. What the women do when they leave the property is on them. Most of our money was made running guns at one time. Now we just do protective runs. Some of those are guns but we are only muscle.
Are we completely legal? No. If we don’t bring the heat on the Demented Revengers then Cap doesn’t raise hell. If we abide by the rules that have been voted on then he doesn’t have a problem with any of us. We keep our territories safe. We keep outsiders from coming in and selling their drugs or trying to push us out. But we always know we have backup from all our chapters. We all work together when need be. I like Cap and his boys, Shine and Con. They are the first ones in a fight and the last to leave.
I am brought out my thoughts when I see the city limit sign. We are meeting Cap at a safe house he has set up in Sulphur Springs and riding over in cag
es so they don’t hear our bikes. No need to give them a heads up. I know Spinner and the brothers have eyes on the place but I am anxious to get there and get Shelby out of there. I haven’t heard of a sighting of the Giles woman but someone must be watching Shelby, surely that woman wouldn’t leave Shelby in the hands of strangers this long. I know Shelby barely knows her grandma but at least she has met her once or twice.
We make it to the house within ten minutes. I see Cap’s bike is already here. We park our bikes and I direct Crowder on where to put the cage. We approach the house and the door opens. Con is walking out but he stops. “About time you got here. Cap has Cue Ball inside filling him in on everything.” Con keeps walking and I go inside with Tip behind me. I left Crowder to keep an eye on things outside. Cap’s eyes are on me as soon as I enter the room.
“I thought you said this woman was yours. Cue Ball say she’s married to another man.” I look at Cue Ball and I know he was telling the truth. I still don’t like the idea of Cue Ball being questioned.
“Gracie is mine. I claimed her before she was married. She’s carrying my kid and she’s under my protection.” Cap is thinking it over. I am not waiting for his approval. “I’m going in to get Shelby with or without you.”
“Calm your shit, Rebel. I didn’t say anything about us not helping. I just don’t like going in blind. Where’s her husband? That’s all I was asking Cue Ball. I don’t want anyone interfering with what we have going down. Is this husband of hers anywhere around? I have some of the law here in our pockets but this is not home so it is limited. I want to make sure our asses are covered for whatever happens.”
“Brody will not be a problem.” Shine looks at me. He has met Brody before and he knows our history.
“This is Brody’s wife? What’s up with that?” Shine asks.
“Long story. Too long. We need to get to Shelby.” I need this done. The more time we talk the longer Shelby is with strangers and anything could happen.
“Is this woman on board with being claimed by you, Rebel?” Cap asks me.
“Doesn’t matter what she is on board with, she is mine and as soon as I have Shelby safe she will deal with it. Gracie is on the way to the clubhouse and we are on lockdown.” I am determined.
“That tells me everything I need to know. I just needed to know that you were committed to this woman.” Cap smiles. “Are you going to be making her your ol’ lady soon?”
“Hell, yes! As soon as I can get my leather and ink on her and when she gets her divorce I will be putting my name on her.” It’s the first time I have said that out loud. Cap is laughing along with Shine.
“Have you let her in on that piece of information yet?” Shine asks.
“No, but she’ll get with the idea or I will chain her to my bed.” Cue Ball laughs at that and so does Con who just walked in the door.
“Damn, another damn brother that is pussy whipped. That’s okay, that just leaves more free pussy for me.” Con is looking at Shine. Must be something new. “Oh yeah, my brother done got him an ol’ lady, too. I can’t say I blame him for wanting Katie. She is one hot piece of ass but to commit to it?” Shine is stepping over to Con with a look that tells me he is not happy about any of what Con has said. Con moves away from Shine. “I’m only hacking on you brother. Damn, you lost your sense of humor along with your balls. You know I like Katie. She’s cool.”
“You two knock it the hell off. We have a little girl that needs to be brought back to her mom.” Cap tells the two. “Rebel, we are going to be outside surveillance. We’ve paid the hotel manager to keep his employees away from the area and to stop the security cameras for the area. The rest you will have to take care of. It’s in the middle of the week so there is not that many guests at the hotel in such a small town but if anyone sees one of the brothers be sure they can’t identify them positively. Get in and get out with the girl and then we call the cops. We’ll deal with the ones that took the girl when they are in lockup or when they get sprung. It’s too risky trying to deal with them now without being in our own territory. There’s no need for someone getting locked up for murder if we can deal with it later. If you must shoot someone, then shoot to kill. Dead men don’t talk.” Cap looks at everyone making sure they understand the orders. I text the details to Spinner.
“If the Giles woman is there she needs to be dealt with. She’ll try to buy her way out of it.” Cap looks at me.
“Then you better make it look good. Are you ready for that?” I know Cap doesn’t like the idea of harming women but I won’t give this woman the chance to grab Shelby again.
“I am.” I will do what I need to.
“Let’s do this then,” Cap tells us. The sooner Shelby is in my arms, the better I will feel.
Chapter 10
Gracie
I have been walking the floor since I have been at the clubhouse. I am back in Rebel’s room and I keep remembering what happened the last time I was here. Rebel and I made love and then he left me and Jade woke me the next morning. How different our lives would be if Rebel hadn’t been called away that night. Would I be married to a man that regrets it now? Would I be with Rebel? Could I have fit in his world? Would Shelby still be home instead of kidnapped by someone that doesn’t even know her and only wants her because of the blood in her veins not because she is loved?
I feel the tears running down my cheeks. I miss my baby. Except for Kendall, I have never wanted to do violence to anyone but I could kill the person that took my baby. I need to be stronger. I need to find a way to help bring my baby home. Shelby has only ever had me to keep her safe and I have failed terribly. I need to make smarter choices. I believed Brody would keep us safe.
What am I thinking? This isn’t really his fault. I should know by now not to depend on a man. The only man I have ever been able to depend on is my dad but all my hopes are depending on Rebel now. Can I trust him to keep his promise of bringing Shelby home? I am looking out of the window and I am lost in my thoughts. Hating myself for not being strong enough. It’s almost dark outside. Shelby has been gone all day. I hear a tap at the door and I almost run to the door, just hoping someone has some news. I fling the door open and there stands Jilly and Brody. Jilly looks tired and Brody won’t even look me in the eyes.
“Can we come in?” Jilly asks. I step back, not saying anything. What can I say? They both enter but I stand by the door leaving it open. I don’t want to talk to anyone right now. I don’t know if I can. “Have you heard anything yet?” Jilly asks.
“No.” I don’t have the energy to say anything else.
“I’m sorry, Gracie. I never would have left you alone this morning if I knew something like this would happen. I was wrong. Shane and Tyler are both out making contacts with people trying to find some leads to find Shelby. I swear, I never thought anything like this could happen in our neighborhood.” I look at Brody and I know he did not mean for this to happen.
“Okay.” I feel detached from myself. It’s like I feel numb but I can’t feel numb, my baby is missing. I need to feel anger or hurt or something.
“Gracie, have you heard anything from Rebel? Is there any news at all? Kaden said an alert has been sent out statewide.” Jilly is trying to be helpful but I have had all I can take. I need to make someone hurt the way I hurt. I know it makes no sense at all.
“Why don’t you take Jilly home, Brody? I’m sure she is supposed to be on bed rest since she was just released from the hospital. Jilly should still be in the hospital and you told me last night that I needed to stay away from her. Why did you bring her here? You said that you and your family would take care of her. Insinuating I was not family. I didn’t miss that part. You didn’t even want me visiting her in the hospital, so what changed? Why are you two here?” The more I think about it the angrier I get. Brody is supposed to be my husband. “Does Jilly know that you were sending me to Rebel? That you wanted Rebel protecting me since I am pregnant with his child? What the hell has changed?” Jilly has a shocke
d look on her face. I don’t know if it’s what I have told her or the way I just blew up.
“Brody didn’t mean it that way, did you Brody?” Jilly looks at Brody. He won’t even look at me.
“I was sending you to stay here at Rebel’s clubhouse. I thought you would be safer and then I could help with Jilly.” Brody is looking at the floor and I can barely hear what he is saying.
“What’s that, Brody? You think if you don’t say it loud enough that we won’t be able to hear the lie as you say it!” I can’t control what is coming out of my mouth. “You were sending your wife, the woman you told you loved, to the very place you warned me away from. Remember Brody, this place was no place for me and Shelby, you warned me? Still, you were sending me here but Shelby never made it. You have not even tried to help find your stepdaughter. The little girl that you swore you would protect with your life. The little girl you said you wanted to adopt. Remember the papers we filled out?”
I am so mad that I have tears rolling down my face. I can’t even see in front of me. I just want my baby back. I hate these tears. I have faced the fact that Brody and I are over, it’s not that. It’s that I’m so damn mad at everything right now and I am so worried. Jilly steps up to try to take me in her arms to comfort me but right now I don’t want comfort. I yank away.
“That’s enough, Gracie. Calm your ass down. Jilly was just trying to help.” Brody isn’t apologizing for what he did. He’s chastising me for hurting Jilly’s feelings.
“It’s okay, Brody. She’s beside herself with worry.”
I look at Jilly and then to Brody and it clicks in place. Brody and I may not have been together very long but he used to look at me the way he is looking at Jilly. Brody is in love with Jilly. After all these years, he is still in love with her. I look at Jilly and can see she still has feelings for Brody. How did I let myself get in this situation? Trusting a man…trusting Brody…trusting Jilly…she said she was my friend but she wants my husband and she wants Rebel, too. I need to get off this merry-go-round. I wipe away the tears from my face and take a deep breath and I look at them both.