A Twist of Fate

by Christine Michelle

  I raised my brows at that. “You playing cupid now?”

  “Nah, if I was into that shit I would have made sure you didn’t fuck up with the girl you were meant for.”

  “Thanks a fuckin’ lot.”

  He shrugged those bulky shoulders of his again. “Listen, if you weren’t able to see what was right under your nose, then you didn’t deserve her. She found someone who noticed her. I wasn’t going to take that from her on the hopes that you would pull your head out of your ass.” He sipped his beer then before adding, “It wasn’t your time yet.”

  Those damn words played on repeat in my mind as I started following Gretchen around for the next couple of days. Feeling like a complete fucking creeper troll was something I never thought I’d experience in my life, but watching Gretchen and Toby living their best – albeit still secret – life bothered me. The worst thing was why it bothered me. She looked so happy. She was glowing, and I had a feeling I knew the reason why too, judging by the way Toby would reach down and touch her belly reverently. An ache settled deep in my chest the first time I connected the gesture to what it could mean. Suddenly, Zeke giving me a little hope by telling me it wasn’t my time ‘yet’ felt like the false hope it had been.

  I couldn’t even be angry because after watching them together, the love and respect there was obvious. G came to life with him. I had overlooked her before because I always thought she was too sweet for me, too innocent in a way. Seeing her with Toby just ramped up all that sweetness tenfold and made her even more appealing. Gretchen in love was a beautiful sight to behold. That was after I put my own damn jealousy aside enough to admit it.

  The first night, I followed them to a restaurant on the water where they shared a meal. I didn’t think the trip out there was going to be worth a damn thing until I caught sight of a dark-colored Jetta at the back of the parking lot, hidden in the darkness where one of the lights on the parking lot had been blown. There was a woman pacing next to it. I couldn’t make out much other than her seeming agitated while talking on her phone. Seeing her out of context, I would simply wonder if she had been stood up, or maybe was having car trouble and trying to get someone to come out and help. Knowing the reality of the situation and watching the way she kept glancing back over toward the vehicle the couple had arrived in, I knew she was definitely the person who had been following Toby and Gretchen.

  I dialed Zeke to get his opinion. “Yeah?” His gruff voice was commanding, even with one simple word.

  “Followed T-Bone and G to a restaurant,” I admitted.

  “Fucking hell, Kane. They already have one stalker!”

  “Okay, asshole! I followed them to see if I could catch their stalker.”

  “And?”

  “She’s here, watching the parking lot from the shadows.”

  “Fuck!” The hissed word came out before he started speaking quietly to someone else in the background. “Keep eyes on her, I’ll call back in just a minute.” With that he hung up.

  Five minutes later, a crotch rocket rolled up. It idled on the side of the road near the darkened back corner of the lot and the woman walked around her Jetta and went to meet the man. He was a bigger dude, but I couldn’t tell much about him because he had a full face helmet on with the shield drawn down. He handed something to the woman, they appeared to have some words, and then he took off, kicking some rocks up at her as he went. I didn’t miss the fact that the asshole had on what looked like a kutte the MC members wore, only his was turned inside-out so you couldn’t see the insignia.

  My cell rang and I grabbed it up, answering. “Kane.”

  “She still there?” Zeke asked without pretense.

  “Sure is, and just had a visit from a biker with an inside-out kutte.”

  “What type of Harley?”

  “Nah, he was a crotch rocket with full face helmet. Couldn’t figure out who it was.”

  “Let’s assume for a minute, considering the lack of support he has getting the bitch tossed from the club, that this is an inside issue. Who do you think it could have been? Anything about the man seem familiar?”

  “Bigger guy. Heavy in the shoulders, didn’t appear to slim down too much toward the waist. That’s about all I could tell you. Doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of respect for the bitch, and he handed her something before he took off.”

  “Ever’s dad is still VP over at the MC, right?”

  “Far as I know.”

  “Okay, I couldn’t get a hold of my guy on the CPD earlier, but he’s running plates for me now. Hopefully, he can pick something up that we can use to see who this is.”

  “I’m pretty sure we could just ask Gretchen. The chick is a club whore.”

  “Club whores aren’t exactly the best fucking people in the world, especially if they’re stalking MC members. She might not have given them a real name. We don’t know how they operate with shit like that.”

  “Fuck!” I hissed. “I know, that’s why I need to go in,” I grumbled out.

  Zeke chuckled. “At least you already ride.”

  “Riding ain’t the problem. You know how they treat people who prospect for them? I’m a grown ass man. Think about how much it’s going to take for me to suck up being told to wash out the crapper or swab a fucking deck.”

  “They’re not pirates, asshole.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Just remember why you’re doing it. Our family.”

  “Yeah, I know. Oh, hey, she’s getting into her car.” I turned around to see that Gretchen and Toby and were leaving the restaurant arm in arm. “They’re leaving.”

  “Hey Kane?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Does she look happy?” Zeke’s question threw me.

  I took in a deep breath and let it out before I admitted the truth to him. “She fucking lights up and glows around him.” Zeke grunted through the phone.

  “Be happy for her then, and we’ll get this shit taken care of so she can be safe too.”

  “Yeah, man.” I hung up on him then and prepared to follow them out of the lot until I saw the Jetta still sitting idle as they left. Instead of following, I waited. It took about five minutes that felt more like an hour before the woman also pulled out. This time, she went in the opposite direction of the couple. Knowing that G and T-Bone would be fine, I chose to follow the Jetta out of the lot instead. She pulled up at an apartment building about ten miles down the road from the restaurant and went inside. I waited out there for about an hour before giving in and heading home myself. I did write down the address to give to Zeke though. If he had a friend on the Charleston Police Department, then maybe he could tell us if that was where the woman lived, and if not, who she was going to see.

  Over the next few days the same shit played out on repeat. I’d follow them discreetly, using a combination of my vehicles and Zeke’s so I didn’t get spotted easily, and every time I found the woman in the green Jetta doing the same thing. I would stick with her until she parted ways with the couple. Gretchen hadn’t been imagining things. The woman seemed to be everywhere the couple was. There were a few times when she just seemed to know where they were going even after initially losing them for a bit. It made me consider whether she had a tracking device on them or something. I didn’t think it was likely, but if not, then Toby was in contact with someone who was feeding his whereabouts to the woman.

  My phone rang on the third night as I followed the woman back to the apartment building she retreated to every evening when she got tired of following them. “Kane.”

  “Seneca,” Zeke stated, as if that should mean something to me.

  “What the fuck does that mean?”

  “Well, that’s the name of your Jetta owner. Seems she was named after the town on the west coast of the state. Her car is registered to that county anyway.” He paused a minute. “You still following her?”

  “She just went inside that apartment again.”

  “I think it’s her place,” Zeke told me.<
br />
  “Think?”

  “Couldn’t find a record just yet. Her car and license still have her as a resident in Seneca, South Carolina.”

  “Damn, okay.” I glanced back at the little notebook I had started carrying with me. “I have everything written down. The places I’ve seen her following them, times, where she goes after.”

  “Good. We’ll need it. I’m thinking we grab Drake and have a little friendly chat with her at her place tomorrow night,” Zeke told me.

  “Is Drake going to be in uniform for this chat?”

  “Nah, but he’ll probably flash a badge at her just the same. This will be an off the books visit. Might also be time to get Gretchen to file a restraining order against this bitch. I don’t like where this might be headed.”

  “I don’t either. The damn woman seems to be getting more and more angry every time I see her following them. She spends a bit of time each night yelling at someone on her phone. I’m beginning to wonder if she isn’t under contract, especially after her heated argument that first night I saw her and then someone came by to drop something off to her.”

  “Could be unrelated.”

  “That’s true, but I have this feeling in my gut, man.”

  “I know. That’s why we’re paying her a visit tomorrow. We’ll see if we can’t get her on the way out of town and back to where she came from. Drake put in some calls to people in the department out that way, but since it’s not an open case, he’s having a bit of trouble getting any information, if there’s any to get.”

  “All right, well it looks as though she’s in for the night, so I’m headed home to catch some shut eye. I’m fucking exhausted.”

  “Hey, Kane?” Zeke questioned. I just grunted in return, too tired to form words at this point. “You’ve been following her several nights in a row, including Friday and tonight is Saturday.”

  “Yeah, and?”

  “If the men are blocking T-Bone from ousting the bitch because she’s so good at servicing them, why isn’t she there servicing them on their busiest nights?”

  It took me a minute to absorb that information, but Zeke was right. If they were so worried about this bitch being available to suck them off whenever they wanted, why wasn’t she there doing it? “We need to find out who the hell in that club is trying so hard to allow her continued access.”

  “We need you to get in with them sooner rather than later, Kane.”

  “I’ll go Monday and put my hat in the ring. What time are we doing this intervention tomorrow?”

  “Drake gets off work at 7 tomorrow night. We’ll go as soon as he’s free and clear.”

  I thought about that plan all night, tossing and turning, unable to get any rest despite how tired I was. There was something in the air, a feeling, a nagging, urgent, persistent thought that I needed to do more. What more could I really do though? I’d played stalker, or private detective if you wanted it to sound less creepy. There were notes about this woman’s pattern of behaviors. We had a plan that we were putting into play the following night, and I was going to attempt to join the Aces High Motorcycle Club, and dive into the belly of the beast in order to protect the girls of our studio. What the fuck more could I possibly do? Still, sleep wouldn’t find me and the further into the morning I found myself, the worse that feeling in my gut became.

  Chapter 6

  Our Last Day

  Gretchen

  My man woke up beside me, smiling at the fact that I was staring at his beautiful face once again. I ran a finger gently down his nose until I got to just the tip, where I bopped it playfully with my finger, eliciting a laugh from him.

  “What has you in such a good mood this morning?”

  “Besides waking up in my man’s strong arms?” I teased. He squeezed me tighter in response. “I just feel so free this morning. We won’t have to hide out anymore. I didn’t realize how much stress I’ve been under because of us keeping everything a secret.”

  Toby’s face drew in, seriousness clouding the playful look. “I’m so sorry, baby. I thought we were doing the right thing by keeping things to ourselves while we got to really know one another. It was too much to ask.”

  “No, it wasn’t. Honestly, aside from feeling guilty every time I interact with your sister at work, it was perfect. It’s so nice to move forward in a relationship without hearing everyone’s chattering opinions going on in the background.”

  “But you see my sister almost every day,” he argued.

  “Yeah, that’s the bad part of it. I’ll feel so much better about being able to go to work with her knowing.”

  “What if she doesn’t take it well?”

  “I don’t think it will be a problem, Toby. Your sister is one of the sweetest people I know. I think she’ll understand.” He nodded, because he knew she was too. The fact that they still weren’t speaking as much as he’d like bothered me too. I think our secrecy was part of the reason he hadn’t reached out more to repair the rift they had. Now, with everything out in the open, it would be easier for them to do that. “Now, if we could just get rid of that Seneca bitch,” I huffed. I hated bringing her up in our bed, because the little brat was literally everywhere else we turned.

  “I talked to my dad. She showed up at my parent’s house when I was there the other day. He’s helping me get her taken care of. We’re working on getting all of the whores out of the club house for good.”

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, after all the trouble they’ve caused the members, especially my family over the years, my dad said it’s about fuckin’ time he did what mom has been on him about for years. She won’t even go there that often because of the whores and the drama they cause.”

  “That’s so sad. I don’t know how your mom puts up with it,” I told him.

  “Yeah, but you’re my old lady, so if the club votes it down, you’ll have to do it too. Are you sure you’ll be able to handle it?”

  “I’ve managed so far, right?”

  “Yeah, you have, and why’s that?” He asked as he ran his fingers up and down my sides, tickling me along the way.

  I giggled out my answer in response. “Because I know you love me, and I have nothing to worry about.”

  “You’re damn right!” His growl was hot and heavy just before he pounced on me and showed me exactly how much he loved me by worshipping my body.

  Later, as we dressed, worry started settling in. “Are you sure it’s not too much to drop in their laps all at once? You know, us being together and the pregnancy?”

  “No way, baby. They’re going to love you. Ever already loves you. She’s going to be so excited about becoming an aunt that she won’t be able to be angry about the fact that we were dating so long without telling her.”

  I gave him a rather dubious glare then. “I hope you know what you’re doing, because I’m not so sure about that. I might need to find new employment after this announcement.”

  “I thought you had faith in how my sister was going to react to the news? How did amazing sex with me change your mind?” I glared at him before laughter bubbled up from me instead. He was right. Being relaxed by an orgasm or three shouldn’t have led to my sudden panic. I couldn’t explain it. Maybe it was just because we were so close to the actual moment. “Besides, you don’t need to find new employment at all, baby. You can stay home and raise our son.”

  “Our son, huh?”

  “Yeah, has to be a boy, babe.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’m not sure this daddy can handle a little girl just yet. How the hell would I ever be able to trust anyone with her? Look at my family’s track record.”

  “Aw, Toby, what happened to Ever wouldn’t happen to our baby girl.”

  “I know, it’s just that I keep getting this weird feeling that I won’t be there to protect my daughter.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve had nightmares where things happen, and I can’t be there to protect her. It’s horri
ble. I wake up feeling so fucking bereft and incapable.”

  “If it helps, I think that’s normal for parents during pregnancy. We can’t help worrying and wondering if we’re going to be enough.”

  “Yeah? You having nightmares too?”

  “No, but only because I worry about everything during the light of day. I worry that if we have a boy, I won’t be able to teach him well enough how to be a good man. I never worry about our daughter though, because she’ll have the best example of what to expect from a man when she grows up.”

  Toby reached over and took me in his arms. “I love you, Gretchen. So fuckin’ much. Thank you for trusting me to love you.”

  “Aww, babe, I love you just as much. More. We’ve got this. Girl. Boy. It doesn’t matter. As long as we’re together, they’ll be loved beyond measure. I know that the same way I know how to breathe. It’s just natural with you.”

  “How the hell did I get so lucky?” He breathed the words into the base of my neck, lips and stubble tickling the spot as he spoke. “I need to thank Ever. If I’d never gone into the shop to talk to her, I never would have found you, and you’re my everything, Gretch.”

  “We would have found one another, Toby. I believe that, because you’re the piece of my soul I never knew I was missing.”

  No more words were spoken for a while after that. He just held on to me so tightly, it seemed like he was afraid I was a mirage that would just slip away on a trick of light. I couldn’t blame him because I felt it too. This fragile existence took as often as it gave and Toby and I both wanted forever instead. If I could just learn how to bargain with Fate, he would be with me always.

  “We better get going, sweetheart. My family dinners are sacred to my mother since all the shit that happened with Ever.”

  “I’m ready,” I told him as we both moved to head out the door and make our way to finally – finally – unleash our secret and share our baby news.

  I’d like to be able to tell my story, what happened between the moment we left the house, to take that final ride on his motorcycle before I was too pregnant to safely ride any longer. I’d like to have those minutes worth of memories back, but they’re gone. It’s like the moment I felt the bike slip out from underneath us, the very second I knew he’d lost control, my minutes with him started slipping away. Thinking back on it now, I can see everything that happened so clearly. I can feel him lift my leg as we were going down. He saved me from more harm by making sure I wasn’t trapped under the bike the way he had been. I rolled with the fall, trying to lessen the impact on my body. When I stopped, I was greeted with the view of Toby’s head bouncing off the concrete. I knew it rattled him, maybe knocked him out momentarily, because his eyes rolled back and he just lie there with his motorcycle pinning his leg under him. I knew he had to feel the burn from the pipes, or maybe the piece of metal I could see stuck in his leg. I couldn’t hear anything. It was as if someone had turned the sound off and everything just moved through fog so thick, half-speed was all that could be managed.