by A. M. Myers
I grab the phone off the counter and back away from him before tossing it in his direction. “I’m sure this will clear it up.”
He catches it effortlessly and glances down at the screen, his eyes going wide and the color draining from his face.
“Baby, no,” he whispers in horror. “You don’t understand. You have to let me explain.”
He takes another step toward me and I cock the gun.
“I don’t have to do anything. Everything I just saw makes things perfectly clear for me.”
“It’s not what you think,” he pleads and it all just sounds like excuses to me. I roll my eyes.
“Don’t give me that tired line. You’ve been caught red-handed, Lincoln. The game’s up and I’m not your pawn anymore.”
He takes a few steps and I arch a brow in warning.
“Please, Tate,” he pleads, his voice cracking as he folds his hands behind his head and his gaze wanders around the room.
“Get your shit and get out.”
He shakes his head. “You have to hear me out. Please, I can explain everything.”
“I’ve made myself perfectly clear,” I say, my chest tightening as my hands tremble and a sob builds in the back of my throat. “If you don’t leave, I will shoot you.”
“Tate, baby, I love you so much. Please just let me explain.”
Hearing him say he loves me is the final nail in his coffin and rage barrels through me as I drop my aim to his thigh and fire. He roars in pain, clutching his leg as he falls to the kitchen floor. Turning away, I grab the phone and dial nine-one-one before pressing the phone to my ear.
“911, what is your emergency?” the operator asks and I turn to face Lincoln.
“Yes, I need the police, please. There’s a man in my home and he’s been stalking me.”
Typing fills the other end of the line. “And where is this man now? Are you safe, ma’am?”
“Yes,” I whisper, tears building in my eyes. “I’m safe. He can’t get to me anymore.”
Chapter Nineteen
Tatum
My eyes burn from a lack of sleep as I drop my coffee mug onto the counter and grab the pot, pouring the rest of its contents into my cup. I scowl. Did I really drink this whole thing already? Sighing, I lean back against the counter and scrub my hands over my face. After the police carted Lincoln off last night and I’d given my statement, I locked myself in the safe room but even that wasn’t enough to calm me down. Not when every time I close my eyes, I see Lincoln, lying in bed next to me with a sleepy smile on his face.
“No,” I hiss, dashing away a tear that managed to escape before I was able to lock down my emotions. I will not cry for this bastard.
He used me.
He played me.
He lied to me.
None of it was real.
That’s what I just need to keep reminding myself until this crushing ache in my chest goes away. Yawning, I push off the counter and grab my coffee before trudging back to the safe room where Mom’s box of letters is spilled out across the desk. Sitting down, I pick up the one in front of me and start reading.
Days like today, I get so mad at you, S. Mad that you felt you had to run away from me to hide your pain and mad that you felt you couldn’t lean on me when it was too much for you to handle. I know that’s not fair but I was right there with you. I lost something, too, and then, I lost you as well.
Sighing, I toss the letter down and shake my head. How many people did my mother hurt and for what reason? It had to be a damn good one, right? All I’ve been able to find in these letters is cryptic and mysterious – like they were edited to exclude anything that could give me some answers. And I’m eager for answers. Especially after I solved one mystery in my life last night.
“Tate?” Theo’s panicked voice echoes through the house and my mouth pops open as I jump out of the chair and run to the door.
“Theo?”
He pokes his head into the bedroom and I barrel out of the closet, crashing into him and wrapping him up in a hug as relief surges through me.
“What are you doing here?”
He releases me and takes a step back as he inspects me. “Lincoln called me last night and told me to get my ass to Baton Rouge as fast as I could. What’s going on, T? Are you okay?”
“Lincoln,” I snarl, spinning away from him and marching back into the safe room before I throw myself in the office chair. He scowls as he follows behind me.
“Why are you in the safe room?”
I shrug. “Because it feels safe.”
“And why wouldn’t you feel safe, Tate?” he asks, his voice taking on a hard edge as he perches on the edge of the couch. I meet his gaze and a sob rips through my lips before I can stop it. His eyes widen and he jumps up, pulling me out of the chair and into his arms.
“I fucking knew something was going on with you. Why did you lie to me?”
I shake my head. “I didn’t think it was a big deal and I didn’t want to worry you.”
“You need to tell me everything,” he insists, wiping a few tears from my cheeks and I nod as I pull out of his grip and sit back down.
“You should sit.”
He moves back to the couch and I suck in a breath before spilling my guts to him, starting with the phone calls and the note that was taped to the door.
“And you think that was Lincoln all along?” he asks and I nod. He sighs. “I don’t know, T. Why did he call me yesterday?”
My chest aches as I tell my brother everything that happened in the last forty-eight hours and when I finish, he jumps up and slams his fist into the wall.
“Motherfucker,” he seethes, pacing back and forth across the floor. “And you shot him?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Good. Serves the bastard right.”
As I watch my brother pace in front of me, I scowl. “Why did he call you though?”
“He wants me to bring you over to the clubhouse.”
I scoff, spinning away from him. “Well, how fucking nice for him but if I see him again, I’m putting a bullet in his chest.”
“He said it has to do with Mom.”
I freeze and spin to face Theo. “What the fuck does he know about Mom?”
“Only one way to find out,” he answers with a shrug and I only have to think it over for a second before I nod. Lincoln knows exactly how to get me there because he knows how desperately I want answers.
“Fine, let’s do it.”
Standing up, I open up the gun safe and grab my ankle holster, propping my foot up on the couch so I can put it on.
“What are you doing, T?” Theo asks, his voice full of humor and I shoot him a glare.
“If you think I’m showing up there without weapons, you’ve lost your fucking mind.”
He laughs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Are we going to have a shoot-out with a biker gang?”
“Club,” I snap, unsure why I’m defending them. “They are a club and no. I might shoot Lincoln again for good measure, though.”
He nods, watching me as I slip the pistol into the holster at my ankle before grabbing another one and threading it through my belt.
“And what if there’s a good explanation for all of this?”
I sigh, nodding my head. “I’m not willing to rule out the possibility that there’s a reason he was watching me but inserting himself into my life, making me fall in love with him, and sleeping with me? He has no fucking excuse there.”
And let’s not even get into the note and phone calls.
“I’m sorry that the first time you decided to try again, it turned out like this, T.”
My lip wobbles as I redo my belt and grab a gun. “You have nothing to apologize for, Theo.”
“I wish I would have been here. I would have seen him for who he really is.”
I shake my head, patting his shoulder. “I love you, but I don’t know that you would have. He fooled me. I was imagining a future with him and the whole time he wa
s playing me.”
“I warned him about breaking your heart,” he whispers, balling his fist up and I pat his shoulder again as I stick a knife in my boot.
“Let’s get this over with and then we can focus on spending some time together. How long are you here for?”
He shrugs. “That depends on what happens at our meeting, I suppose.”
I nod and wait as he puts a holster on before we head out to his car. As soon as we start driving toward the clubhouse, my nerves start to take over and my hands shake. Sucking in a breath, I steel my shoulders and focus on my anger, using it to shield me through this meeting. So what if I’m going to see him again? He doesn’t get to affect me anymore, not after all the mistakes he’s made.
“We’re here,” Theo says as he slows the car and pulls into the clubhouse parking lot. My knee bounces and he glances over at me. “You going to be okay?”
“Yep.”
He points to my knee. “You sure about that? You’re usually more steady than this.”
“Well, this is real not just a simulation so yeah, I’m a little jittery.”
It also might have something to do with the pot of coffee I drank.
We pull into a spot and my stomach flips as I open the door and step out, sucking in a breath. Just like in the kitchen yesterday, I shut down everything but the anger I need to face Lincoln again and slam the door closed. Blaze walks out of the clubhouse with Smith and Storm on his heels and Theo and I meet him halfway.
“Thank you for coming,” he says and I nod.
“Why are we here?”
He sighs. “We’ll go over all that inside. I just need Smith to check you for weapons.”
“I have weapons and I’m keeping them,” I assert, meeting his blue eyes.
“I’m afraid I can’t take that risk, Tate. I understand you’re angry and I can’t put my guys in danger.”
I bark out a laugh, turning to Theo, whose gaze is scanning the area. “You know I’m mad? Understatement of the fucking year and do you really think I need my weapons to defend myself?”
“No one here wants to hurt you, Tate,” Blaze assures me and I sneer at him.
“It’s a little late for that, I think.”
“Let her keep them,” a voice calls out from the door to the clubhouse and I stiffen as Lincoln hobbles out, pain etched into his face.
“Oh, how fucking gracious of you.”
“Baby, please,” he pleads, anguish in his whiskey eyes and my heart stutters as white-hot pain pierces my chest.
“You call her that again and I’ll shoot your other leg, motherfucker,” Theo snarls, taking a step forward with his hand on his gun.
“Enough!” Blaze shouts and everyone turns to look at him as silence descends on the parking lot. “Tate, you can bring one weapon in.”
Fuming, I turn back to the car and open the door before propping my leg up on the seat and pulling the pistol out of my ankle holster. I toss it down on the seat before grabbing the Taser out of my back pocket and setting it down next to the gun. As I slam the door and walk back over to Theo, I catch sight of Smith smiling at me but I look away. No matter how much I like these guys, I don’t know who I can trust here.
“Follow me,” Blaze says, turning and walking back toward the clubhouse door like he’s leading a death march and my hands shake with nerves as my mind runs wild with questions. I don’t even know where to begin with why we’re here because Theo and I know nothing of our mother’s past. We could be walking into anything right now.
Inside the clubhouse, the rest of the guys mill around, talking quietly to each other and sipping beer, and when we walk in a few of them offer me a smile. I spot Ali and Carly in the back corner, talking, and when Ali waves, I ignore her, turning back to stare straight ahead of me. Blaze leads us into a room with a long rectangular table and everyone else, except Ali and Carly, file in behind us. A vaguely familiar man sits on one side with his arm around a little brunette with a kind smile and Blaze points to the two chairs across from them.
“Please have a seat.”
Theo and I sit down as the guys line up along the back wall and the wall across from me. Lincoln posts up right in front of me so that when I look up, I have no choice to lock eyes with him. Not that his pleading expression is going to do him any good. I do not easily forget or forgive.
“What are we doing here, Dad?” the man across from me asks and I recall when Lincoln took me to get my tattoo. He said the owner was Blaze’s son, Nix, but I was sure I didn’t meet him that day. Why does he look so familiar then?
“I was just about to get to that, kid.”
Theo squeezes my hand and I glance over in his direction as he mouths, “Okay?”
I nod and he gives my hand another squeeze as Blaze sits at the head of the table and sighs.
“Nix, I’d like you to meet Theo and Tate Carter, your brother and sister.”
Gasps fill the room and my eyes widen as I feel Theo’s hand clamp down on mine. My head feels fuzzy as I stare at the man across the table, trying to put the pieces together.
“What?” Nix asks, turning to look at Blaze. “What the hell do you mean they are my brother and sister?”
“Their mother, Sarah, is… was your mother, too.”
With wide eyes, he stares down at the table, his jaw ticking.
“You need to keep explaining, Dad.”
Blaze sighs. “I first met Sarah, your mother, in 1986 when she moved to Baton Rouge to go to school and we hit it off right away. God, she was mesmerizing and I fell in love with her the very moment I met her. From that day on, we were inseparable.” The love and devotion still shining in his eyes for our mother is so real, so potent that I have no choice but to believe him. I can see the pain of losing her splayed out across his face and it’s another one of those moments when it hits me how little we really knew about her.
“A year later, we found out we were pregnant with twins.”
Theo and I look at each other with wide eyes. The math doesn’t work out for us but there’s only one man sitting across the table from us so I have no idea what to think.
“Wait,” Nix says, sitting up straight. “What the fuck are you saying?”
Blaze’s eyes shine with unshed tears and my stomach sinks as I hold Theo’s hand a little tighter. “I’m saying that you are a twin but your brother died during delivery.”
Theo squeezes back and our eyes meet, both of us trying to imagine how empty we would feel without the other and tears well up in my eyes. I turn back to Nix, watching as he drops his head into his hands.
“I had a brother?” he asks, his voice faint and I want to go over to him and give him a hug but I stay rooted to my seat.
“Yes, you did.”
“And my mother, was she really a club whore like you always said?” He looks up, meeting Blaze’s eyes with an anger that I recognize.
“What? You called our mother a whore?” Theo snarls, standing up but I pull him back down, shaking my head. Now is not the time.
“She wasn’t. She was the love of my life.”
Nix blows out a breath, still shaking his head like he can’t process any of this. I don’t blame him since I’m struggling myself.
“Why did she leave us?” he asks.
“When we lost your brother, she broke down and she just couldn’t get over it. She said she needed to go away for a while and I would have done anything she needed me to do.”
“So you just let her leave? Why didn’t she come back?”
Blaze turns to Theo and me. “This is where you come into the story. While your mother was traveling around, she met a man named Dominic King. King was and still is a notorious crime boss in Chicago and not the kind of man you mess with. Before she even realized what was happening, she was swept up in that world.”
I scoff. “Seemed to be a common problem for her.”
“She was in pain, Tate, and she didn’t care about anything because her baby was dead.”
“
One of her babies,” Nix cuts in and I nod in agreement.
“Look, I’m not defending all her choices and you all have every right to be fucking pissed about all this but you need to know everything.”
“Fine,” I snap. “How did we end up back here in Baton Rouge?”
“When she found out she was pregnant with the two of you, she knew that she couldn’t let you be raised in that world so she ran but before she did, she managed to get her hands on evidence that would put Dominic King away for a very long time and a boatload of money.”
Theo and I share a look.
Seems we took blood money after all.
“And that’s why we stayed in hotels and moved so much?” I ask and Blaze nods.
“Y’all were on the run from him.”
“So, what changed?” Theo asks, the hard set of his eyes giving away nothing.
“When the two of you were five, Sarah knew that she couldn’t keep doing this for the rest of her life so she arranged a sit down with Dominic and made a deal with him. As long as he stayed away from the three of you, she would never turn the evidence over to the authorities.”
“He just let us go?”
Blaze nods. “You’ve had people from his organization watching over you through the years but you never knew they were there and as far as I can tell, he kept his word.”
“Then why are we here?”
“Because your mother’s death opened a door and Dominic has decided to walk through it. He wants the evidence back and he wants the two of you.”
“Stop,” I say, standing up and pulling Theo to his feet with me. “I need somewhere to talk to my brother alone.”
“Kodiak, take them to my office.”
I point to him and shake my head. “Anyone but him.”
“Smith,” Blaze says as Lincoln’s face falls. I turn away from him and Smith leads us to the next room over.
“Can I just say, none of us knew anything, Tate,” he whispers and I nod.
“I can see that. It’s okay. I don’t blame you.”
He nods and shuts the door behind us as I lock eyes with Theo.
