by Blair Grey
Those aren’t just going to go away. And, did you really think you could go through with any of them and not end up falling in love? Why did you think you would be able to sleep with this guy and not have it come back to haunt you in the end?
You know yourself, and sure, you might tell yourself you hate this guy more than anything – but you know the fact of the matter is far deeper. You thought you were doing the right thing sleeping with him to get close to him, but you didn’t factor in what was going to happen if you were to fall in love with him in the process.
Stop it! What are you thinking? Did you really fall in love with this guy? Is that what this is? How would you know? You’ve never been in love with anyone before.
But this…this certainly is more than just a small attachment to someone. There’s way more going on here than just having a few feelings for the man. Have you really fallen in love with him?
I shook my head, trying to clear the thoughts. I didn’t want to think about how I felt about Jett. Not now. Now wasn’t the time to address all the questions and thoughts that had been plaguing my mind for the past few weeks. This wasn’t part of the plan.
The plan had been to infiltrate the gang, get what I wanted, then turn them into the cops. The plan had been to stand in the courthouse when they were sent off to jail. The plan had been to gloat and tell each and every person I could that the whole reason they were going to jail was because of what they had done to my father.
That was the plan.
The plan wasn’t to fall in love. That was the last thing I thought would happen in any of this.
I didn’t think I was going to have feelings for this man. And, had anyone suggested that it might happen, I would have laughed at their face. There was no way I was going to entertain the idea I could fall in love with someone who had killed my father.
I didn’t care if it was a direct offense or if they were just part of the MC that was responsible. I hated them all. I had researched who Jett Corbin was long before I ever applied at Echo Mori, and I had watched him from a distance for weeks before I had gone through with actually making a move.
I hadn’t thought it possible to have these feelings for him, and now that I did, I wasn’t sure what to do with those, either.
God damn him! How could he do this to me? He knew I was falling in love with him. He knew I was developing these feelings. And he was right there, encouraging me to fall – and to fall hard.
He was so perfect in every way. He was just what I had always wanted in a man and never even realized before.
But can I really hold that against him? It’s not like he knew who I was or what I was doing. Doesn’t that make it worse? I was the one who was falling in love with someone who wanted me to fall in love with them, but they had no idea who I really was or what I really wanted.
They had no idea about any of this, and I let that happen, too.
I worked it. I went along with it. I was sure to be the girl he wanted, too, and now it all fell apart for both of us. Then again, he sure did walk out of here like it wasn’t any big deal. He didn’t even argue e when I told him to leave.
After flipping through my phone mindlessly for a second, I shook my head with greater resolution. One thing was for sure: I wasn’t about to go to work after what just went down.
The entire Steel Wings MC hung out at Echo Mori more than anywhere else in town, and I wasn’t going to face the rest of the men after having a fight with Jett. Not to mention, I didn’t know if Jett was going to tell them what he had learned about me, or how they were going to react if he did.
He promised I would be safe here, but that was as long as I was in their good graces. What did that mean when I wasn’t? What would they do to me if they were all angry with me? I knew the rest of the men would follow what Jett said without a second thought.
And now that my cover was all but blown, I didn’t know what that would mean for me. Of course, I would have to be careful, even more careful than I was right now. I’d thought I had a good thing going, but I didn’t realize how much I was letting my guard down.
Now, I really had to be careful what I said and did. I didn’t want Jett to know about my plan to go to the cops. Not right now, anyway. I couldn’t face him after our argument as it was, I didn’t want to know what he would do if he found out I was going to turn in him and the rest of his MC.
Hell, feeling as I was, I wasn’t sure I could face him, at all. I hated to think that I had these feelings for him. I hated to think how real it all was – even though I had promised myself I wasn’t going to fall for him. I had sworn it wasn’t going to happen, I thought I really could go through with this.
Frustrated, I texted my boss and told him I wasn’t going to be in for work that night, before I threw my phone on the couch and headed back to my bedroom. I wasn’t going to try to even deal with the rest of the day.
I peeled off my clothes, annoyed they had stuck to my wet body getting out of the shower, and I lay on my bed with a sigh. I already knew sleep would be impossible, but I was going to try anyway. I had to. I had to do something to get my mind off Jett and everything that had just gone down.
I had to remember why I chose to go through with this in the first place. It had seemed like the best thing to do – the best way to finally bring vengeance for my father – but now, it seemed to me like the entire plan had gone down the drain and wasn’t anything more than a huge mistake.
Nothing stopped the tears from running down my cheeks. I rarely let myself break down, but I couldn’t help it. With all the different emotions that were running through me, I just wanted to sit down and forget about the rest of the day.
I knew it was getting late in the afternoon, and I still had a lot of night ahead of me, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to wrap myself up and fall asleep. I wanted to forget all that had happened. I wanted to forget that I thought this stupid plan would ever work.
Then I heard the door open – and someone came into my apartment.
Chapter 20
Jett
The rest of the afternoon dragged by, and as much as I tried to forget about what happened with Callie and our argument, there wasn’t any way I could bring myself to do that. She was on my mind. Of course she was. She had been on my mind since the day I first saw her standing behind that bar.
I’d wanted to get to know her, but I’d never thought I would actually fall for her. I’d slept with more than one girl I picked up from behind a bar, but there was never a woman in the world who had touched me the way Callie had.
We’d been seeing each other for less than a month, and I had to admit, this was the first real disagreement she and I had ever really had. Sure, we’d had little disagreements about little things before, but this was the first time she really got upset with something I had done, and this was the first time I was really pissed off at her.
It wasn’t just that she assumed I was responsible for the death of her dad – whether directly or guilty by association. What mattered to me was the fact she didn’t even give me the chance to explain what had really happened.
She didn’t care about my side of things. She didn’t care about anything but the fact she was so certain we were responsible, and she couldn’t forgive me for it.
But, that didn’t make any sense. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why she would want to date anyone who she believed to be responsible for murdering her father. I didn’t understand why she would even start hanging around with the rest of the MC, either.
She’d never let on any indication she felt anything against any one of us. In fact, she had seemed relieved when I told her we would protect her. I made it clear to her that no one else in the MC would touch her, and we would make sure she was safe.
Why would she trust us if she was so convinced we were behind her father’s death? I wanted to know the answer, but I also didn’t want to bother her. I knew she had to be ignoring me after the fight we’d had. She hadn’t reached out to me, and I wasn
’t going to be the first to reach out, either.
That is, unless a day or so went by and I didn’t hear anything from her. I wasn’t going to let her just slip through my fingers like that. I cared for her too much.
Was it love? I wasn’t sure. I knew it had to be more than lust. There was no way I could feel this way about someone and have it be mere lust. I knew there was more to our relationship than just me wanting to sleep with her.
I never put this sort of effort into a relationship that had a foundation in lust alone. But, why would I let her act that way? Why would I let her throw me out of the apartment and not tell her how things had really gone down? She had to know the truth.
Perhaps I’m just giving her respect and space. She’s certainly not giving you any respect – after all, she accused you of killing her father – and she refused to listen when you tried to tell her the truth.
And it’s very disrespectful to be the one to come into your territory to tell you that you did the most terrible thing anyone could imagine, and then throw you out of her house. That wasn’t respectful, and if she were a man, she would have you pounding on your door and demanding that respect.
But that’s just it, isn’t it? She’s not a man. She’s a woman, and you’ve fallen for her. Sure, you might not want to admit it to her or anyone else, but that doesn’t change the truth. You’ve fallen for this woman, and you want her to stay with you.
So how are you going to tell her what really happened? You can’t just let her go on thinking you are the one responsible for this – that’s as much an insult to Doc as it is to you and the rest of the MC. But, you don’t want to push her away, either.
And, why can’t you shake the feeling something bad has happened? You know you should listen to your gut, and it’s telling you right now something’s not right. She might be pissed at you, but there’s more to it than that.
The last time you listened to your gut feeling, you saved a life. Maybe it’s time you listen to it again so you don’t lose someone else – like you lost her father.
I paced back and forth in my house. I hadn’t been there the night Doc was murdered. If I had been, I would have fought for him with everything I had in me. But, there were times in my life I had listened to the gut feeling I had, and it ended up keeping my men safe.
The feeling that something was off was once again plaguing me, and I wanted more than anything to know what was going on with Callie. But, she ignored my calls. My text messages had both gone unanswered, and the two times I’d tried to call her, she just let it go to voicemail.
With a sigh, I knew she wasn’t going to talk to me, but she couldn’t ignore me if I were to go see her at work. At the very least, she was going to have to talk to me long enough to get me the drink I wanted, and that would be enough time to get her to listen to me.
After all, my MC ran the bar, and I knew I had Tom on my side, too. There was no way in Hell Callie would be able to refuse to speak to me if I were to see her at work.
So, though I knew she didn’t want to see me, and it may be better to wait until morning when things had cooled between us, I still decided I was going to go in and see if I could get her to talk to me.
After all, there was something more to the relationship I had with Callie – something more than anything I’d ever dealt with in my life before. I wanted her, and I wasn’t going to let her just vanish out of my life because of something like this.
It was terrible, yes, but it wasn’t true. I wasn’t going to let her go on thinking it was true, or living the rest of her life certain I was the one responsible for her father’s death. No, I was going to set the record straight, and hope to God she heard me. She had to give me a chance to explain.
She might not want to be with me after. But at least I would explain the truth. At least, she would hear from my own lips what happened. I couldn’t make her believe me, and I couldn’t make her trust me, but I could tell her the truth.
And if there was one thing I always did, it was stand up for what I believed to be right. I wasn’t going to live the rest of my life letting her think that I was responsible for the death of Doc without standing up for what was right.
I knew I was in the right with this, and I was going to make sure she at least heard me.
She had to just listen.
“What do you mean, she didn’t come in?” I asked.
The bartender threw up her hands and shrugged. She clearly didn’t appreciate the fact I snapped at her, but I didn’t care. She wasn’t anyone I recognized. I wasn’t expecting Callie to call in to work that day. I wanted to talk to her, and the fact she hadn’t shown up for her shift made me even more worried than I had been before.
She might be ignoring me, but now, I thought something worse might have happened.
“I said she called off, what more do you want from me?” the girl asked. She was clearly irritated with me for not taking to the flirting she’d tried, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t interested in flirting with her, and I wasn’t going to feel bad about that.
“Why?” I demanded.
“I don’t know! Like I said before, she told Tom she wasn’t going to come in today, and someone had to cover her shift. I don’t know if she said anything else, I didn’t ask. All I know is that I stepped in because I need more shifts because I need the money!” she said. “Now if you’re going to order, order; otherwise, I’ve got to get back to work.”
I shook my head, stopping myself from rolling my eyes. I hated when new bartenders started and had no idea who I was, like this girl. When she learned who she was talking to, she would learn to treat me and anyone else in the MC like royalty.
But, I didn’t have time tonight. Now, I was more worried than ever about Callie, and I wasn’t going to waste time talking to a girl who clearly didn’t know what she was doing.
Instead of entertaining her with another answer, I turned on my heel and walked out the door. I didn’t care if Callie didn’t want to talk to me. I had to see her with my own eyes.
I had to know she was okay.
I hopped on my bike and sped right to her house. It was only a few blocks, but it felt like an eternity to get there. I all but ran up the sidewalk to the door, throwing myself into the hall when I got there.
It was then I stopped dead in my tracks. I’d hoped to find Callie’s door locked but with her safe inside. Instead, I found the door wide open. I headed inside, my heart racing as I looked around the room. Clearly, a struggle had taken place. It appeared to have started in the bedroom.
Callie’s clothes were on the floor, and there were a few spots of blood. The bed was also a mess, with the blankets ripped off and on the floor, as well. Her phone had fallen among the clothing, so I scooped it up. It was on, but the screen wasn’t cracked.
There was no sign of Callie, but I knew better than to start screaming her name. This wasn’t good. And, if I were to start panicking, we weren’t going to get anywhere.
If there was one thing my father taught me, it was to remain calm no matter what situation I’d found myself in, and right now, I knew that was the best bet to getting Callie back. I only stood in the room assessing the situation for a moment before I turned and headed back outside.
Someone had kidnapped Callie. I didn’t know who had done it, and I wasn’t sure why they would, either, but I knew one thing for sure – they weren’t going to get away with it.
On the way to my bike, I called Blade. I’d need the MC behind me if we were going to find Callie, and the sooner I had them, the better.
Time was of essence, and I hoped to God these people weren’t the same people responsible for the death of her dad. I just knew I had to get to her, and as fast as humanly possible.
Blade answered on the second ring.
“Gather the boys,” I said. “It’s an emergency.”
Chapter 21
Callie
As I regained consciousness, the events leading up to my kidnapping came rushing back to me. At first,
I wasn’t sure about anything. All I knew was that I was cold, it was dark…and I was still naked.
The air washed over my skin lightly, leaving little goosebumps all along my flesh. I was bound hand and foot, and I could hardly move. My arms were sore from being in one position for so long, and my head throbbed.
At first, I couldn’t quite remember why my head hurt so much, but then it all came back to me. I remembered the fight I had with Jett and how I had told him to get out of my apartment. I remembered him leaving and how upset I had been with the entire situation.
I’d gone to bed to try to sleep it off. I didn’t want to go to work and see him, and I didn’t want to be awake to see the phone calls I had to ignore. No, I just wanted to go to bed and forget about the entire situation. Maybe I’d even give up on the mission I had planned and just head home.
I wasn’t sure, I just knew I couldn’t think straight with the way I was feeling, so I wanted to just sleep it all off.
But then, I’d heard someone walk into my apartment. At first, I was afraid it was Jett coming back. I didn’t want to keep fighting with him, but I had a feeling he hadn’t said his share yet, and he wanted me to hear his side. Of course, I was going to tell him to get out of my apartment all over again, and if I had to, I would lock the door behind him.
But, in an instant, I realized I was wrong. It wasn’t Jett coming back to talk to me. It was one of the men who had attacked me at the bar a couple weeks before. I only recognized him the instant before he attacked me.
After that, everything was a blur. I struggled against him and another man who entered the room, before I was hit on the head, hard. Everything went black so fast, I wasn’t even able to react.
Now, I felt other bodies alongside me. There was one on either side, making it nearly impossible for me to move, at all. It didn’t help that I couldn’t tell if they were even breathing. I didn’t want to think about what that might mean – or what it could mean for me, either.
