Page 37 of Deceit

“I’m okay. This is normal for me. I can’t go a single day without something happening like this. I don’t know how Otter puts up with me with all the chaos I bring to his life,” she says, laughter filling her voice as I continue to look at her.

“He loves you. A man who loves you will deal with anything you bring to his life because it’s part of who you are. That’s what Kingston gives me. He’s stayed by my side through this entire situation with my stalker and even went to talk to my family about it because I was too scared to tell them,” I tell her, pulling her down on the couch next to me.

“I can tell Kingston loves you. He didn’t look at anyone else from the second you were in his arms. You’re his person, Brynn. Though, I have to say, your family is kind of scary looking. Your grandpa makes me want to pee my pants if he just looks in my direction,” Willow confesses to me as I start to laugh.

“He’s a big ol’ teddy bear,” I tell her, my voice full of laughter as she opens her eyes wide like a cartoon character who’s been surprised.

“That man might be a grizzly bear, but I don’t see him as a teddy bear,” she says, her voice a whisper as if my grandpa will pop out of nowhere. “I’m sorry. That was rude of me.”

“It’s honestly not the first time I’ve heard that about him, Willow. He’d laugh if he heard you call him that instead of getting mad or upset. What you saw today is a man who’s been scared and filled with rage because the man who’s been stalking me for most of my life finally got his hands on me. If you’d met him under different circumstances,” I say until she cuts me off.

“I’d run as fast as possible in the opposite direction and probably knock myself out on a telephone pole or something,” she says laughing at herself as I join in with her.

“Thank you, Willow. It seems as if it’s been forever since I’ve laughed and you’ve made it happen. For the briefest moment you’ve made me forget about being kidnapped and held hostage and that the man I love is now on his way to take care of business,” I say, my voice light as the thoughts come back to me about what’s going on in my life. They’re sobering thoughts as Willow scoots closer and once again wraps me in her arms.

“You’re welcome, Brynn. I’m happy that you’ll be going back to Pine View with Kingston when they’re done. But, I also want to be selfish and keep you here with me. I have the girls here as friends, but I can see you and I becoming close friends as well. Most of my life, I didn’t have any friends because of my brother,” Willow says, her face losing her smile as she gets lost in her own thoughts of the life she’s led to this point in time.

“I’m sorry, Willow. Even though I’ll be leaving with Kingston, it doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. I’m still new to Pine View and really only know Savannah and Hope from the clubhouse. I’ve talked to and hung out with the rest of the ol’ ladies at the clubhouse, but those are the two I’m the closest to. They’ve been at my side every step of the way and I know they’re going crazy with worry,” I tell her, meaning every word. I’d love to be friends with Willow after this is all over with.

For the next few hours, Willow and I hang out in the common room. When we get hungry we prepare a simple dinner together knowing everyone else will have their own dinner at home or order pizza after being gone to help my family take care of Jerome. I guess that’s what they usually do after doing something like this if the ol’ ladies haven’t already started preparing a meal for the entire club. When we make our sandwiches and grab the bag of chips to share, I don’t let Willow handle the knife to chop anything. The last thing I want to happen is for her to get hurt while preparing food. Willow realizes this and tells me about a time she set the stove on fire when she was cooking with her husband’s mom. Apparently both of them are complete klutz and create a path of chaos and destruction wherever they go. Willow keeps me laughing and my mind occupied every second the guys are gone and I’ll never forget what she’s done for me.

Chapter Twenty-One

King

LEAVING BRYNN BEHINDis one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do in my life. The last thing I wanted to do was walk away from her after just getting her back in my arms. However, until Jerome is dealt with and I know he will never come for my girl again, I can’t sit by and do nothing. With a high chance of him still being in the rundown shack where he held my woman hostage, I know this is our window to get our hands on him and make him pay for the years of pain and fear he’s filled Brynn with for most of her life. I wasn’t lying when I said I needed to do this for her. Knowing my Kitten the way I do, she’s going to need that reassurance when she’s having bad days. If I weren’t to come with the rest of the guys today to take care of the stupid fuck, she’d never be completely sure he was taken out and will never stalk her again. That’s something I can give my girl knowing I can’t take the pain and fear away from her. The only thing I can do is fill our lives with a million new memories for her to erase the space Jerome has occupied for so long. For each horrible memory he’s given her, I plan to replace each with a good one she’ll remember for the rest of our lives.

My dad is driving my truck as I sit in the back seat with Scathe and Jinx while Blood rides in the passenger seat. I tossed my dad the keys as soon as I left the clubhouse because I know there’s no way I can drive again right now. My thoughts are consumed with getting my hands on Jerome and making him suffer. When I’m not thinking about him, Brynn fills my mind as I remember the look in her eyes the second she saw me. The relief and love shining bright as she ran to my arms. We’re followed closely by my uncle Killer and the rest of the trucks, SUVs, and bikes following us. Venom is in the lead of our convoy with Hawkeye and Shield riding with him.

Venom slows down and pulls off to the side of the road. I know deep in my gut this is where they found my girl. This is the spot where she took her life in her hands and stepped in the middle of the road to get a bunch of guys she knew nothing about stop to help her. Brynn risked her life to get away from Jerome because she had no way of knowing if the guys would help her or hurt her more than what had already happened to her. Brynn is so fucking strong and hearing her tell us what happened while she was gone only makes me realize exactly how strong she is. Not that I really had a doubt in my mind about it.

Yes, she’s had her breakdowns during this whole situation, but no one in her shoes wouldn’t be expected to remain calm and collected dealing with the information she’s been given over the last several weeks. Most of the women in my life would have been the same as Brynn. She grew up never knowing each day if she was going to have to go into lockdown or anything else. However, anyone else would have been a pile of mush hiding in the corner as they rocked themselves back and forth. Brynn took every single hit like a champion and got through each day the best she could.

We all climb out of the trucks and gather around and wait for Venom, Vault, Blood, and Slim to talk before addressing the rest of us. I look around the area for any signs of the way Brynn was moving. Knowing she was only in a bra and pair of panties, she’s not going to leave many tracks behind. Unless she fell repeatedly or purposely left tracks behind, there’s no way to tell which way she came from until the four Presidents turn to face us.

“When we came up on Brynn, she was walkin’ this way,” Venom informs us all as he points in the opposite direction of the way we were just driving. “I’m thinkin’ the shack she was held in is gonna be along this road, deep in the woods with nothin’ more than a driveway to alert us to where it’s located.”

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