Page 55 of Where We Ended

“Tell me you snuck a picture.” I quickly looked over my shoulder to make sure Silas wasn’t on his way over.

Laura was watching too as she pulled her phone out. “Of course I did. I planned to show you the second you showed up.”

The fact that she had faith that I would show up moved me.

“You guys thought I’d be okay?”

Laura paused, giving me a confused look. “Girl, we had maps and security footage. We found you because of Pen. I guess her mom dated someone from Sons of Speed or something but she remembered one of the locations.”

Her phone came up, and on the screen was an image of Laura’s living room, Silas standing there in his cut, his dark jeans and black boots, staring down at Connor all bundled up in a deep green muslin blanket.

Seeing Silas holding a baby was like a live wire hitting me in the ovaries.

Holy shit.

I mentally pinned that image to dream board material because suddenly the idea of having kids with my husband wasn’t something that felt too far out of reach. The image came and went within a single second but still hit me harder than a brick.

A small cottage, the bedroom window open with the curtains shifting from the summer breeze. Silas standing there without any leather, or cut… our son held to his shoulder, while he patted his back and reciting poems and stories that he’d learned as a child in that soothing tone of his.

Laura whispered, “One of these days you’re going to have to explain your relationship to me, because if I didn’t know better I’d say he acted like you were his?—”

“You both ready?” Killian interrupted us with a gentle hand on Laura’s shoulder.

We both looked up from the phone, as if we were guilty of something. He looked down at the phone and smirked.

“She tell you about our little search party for you?”

I moved with them toward the main hall. “I heard.”

What I didn’t say was how it made me feel that they cared enough to arrange it. Or that Pen was the one who located me, or that Laura had known I’d want a photo of Silas with Connor. She had no reason to entertain me or my relationship with the man who had held her at gunpoint and threatened her life. She had done it for me.

Silas was the president of a motorcycle club.

He had people loyal to him, and I’d never begrudge him that, but these were my people.

The Stone Riders was my home, and after two years of hiding here, I had finally accepted that this was where I was meant to be.

For as long as I could remember that had always been Silas…wherever he was. I was happy to just tag along, run in his footprints, land where he’d lead. Now, I wanted my own path…even if it meant soldering that hole in my heart that he’d left me with.

I’d been bleeding out for two long years…maybe it was time to bind it, and let it scar.

We were seated in a room I’d never been in before.

The Stone Riders called it Church, their place to meet and discuss…I’d seen them disappear a thousand times into this room, but I’d never been inside it. Silas held me in his lap, his hand protectively over my stomach, almost like he was afraid I’d disappear any second.

Killian glanced at Laura briefly, who gave him a small nod.

I assumed that was their way of discussing my mental preparedness for this conversation.

“Walk us through what you heard, what was told to you.”

Killian’s voice was calm, but there was a cold edge to it. Wes had arrived with Callie, so had Penelope and Jameson. Harris was next to Pen, holding Connor. Brooks and Rune were on the end. I missed Giles. I was happy that he’d taken over his cousin’s club, now the president of the Chaos Kings, but I still missed his smiles and happy demeanor.

I watched everyone’s gaze drift over to where I sat, most of their focus fell on the man holding me, which helped me find my voice.

I rubbed my hand over the one holding my stomach and cleared my throat.

“Fable and Alec are working together…but Fable is the one with the plan, pulling the strings. Alec is his lap dog, does whatever Fable says.”

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