Page 17 of A Twist of Fate

I shook my head. “I don’t know how I never noticed that.”

Zeke’s shoulders moved up and down once. “Beats the fuck out of me, man. It was pretty fucking obvious. Then again, your head was lodged firmly up Ever’s ass, so it’s possible you went blind in there.”

“Shut the fuck up!” I told him before sipping my beer to keep from laughing at myself right along with him.

“At least you might still have a shot with Gretchen since those two are still running around playing secret lovers.”

I shook my head. “They’re not. She told me earlier they’re planning on telling his whole family this weekend.”

“Well, shit.” He tipped his beer back, but then changed his mind before the liquid could hit his lips and set it down on the table. “Sorry, I would have never brought that shit up if I thought the kid was that serious about our Gretchen.”

“It’s fine. Like you said, I was blinded by other shit, and when I noticed it was already too late. Never claimed to be lucky in love.”

Zeke scoffed at that. “Okay, then. Let’s have a pity party for the man who didn’t nut up and go after either one of the girls he wanted. Be honest with yourself man. You let both of them slip through your fingertips. I’ll be honest with you too. Only one of them was right for you, and it wasn’t the one you were stuck focusing on for too damn long.”

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.”

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