Page 10 of Gunnar

There was a soft gasp, and I noticed a striking, petite woman with soft brown hair streaked with silver. She looked to be in her early- to mid-fifties. At first, I thought I must look worse than I thought, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was staring at Gunnar with a heartbreaking mixture of shock, pain, grief, and love.

“Mom, this isn’t a good idea.” Ice tried to grab his mother’s arm. Cyclone was right behind them. Both men glanced at Mama, who leveled her gaze on them like the strictest teacher known to man. “Gunnar and, uh, his, uh, friend there, will be out in a minute.”

The woman shoved herself away from her sons and moved toward Gunnar in a daze. “You’re home?”

“Yeah, Mom. I’m home.”

She lunged for Gunnar, throwing her arms around him and sobbing like her heart was breaking. I knew she’d heard what Mama had said, but she didn’t comment on it. I was pretty sure that would come later.

Mama moved to my side and put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed. She gave me an encouraging look but said nothing until Gunnar’s mother finally pulled back to look at her son. She framed his face in her hands and stroked his face like he was the most precious thing in her world.

“Angel?” When Gunnar’s mother looked back at Mama, she continued. “This is Pippa. Gunnar rescued her from a rival club at the request of his cellmate.”

Angel gasped before her gaze darted to me. “Oh, no. Are you hurt, Pippa? How can I help?”

“I…” I had no idea what to say. Was I hurt? Maybe not physically, but I wasn’t sure I’d ever be the same person I was before I was taken. The more people I didn’t know surrounded me, the more anxious I was. “I’m fine.”

“Mom, I promise I’ll sit down and talk to you later, but I’m taking Pippa to Nashville. Torpedo and Bohannon have agreed to take me in at Kiss of Death.”

“You’re not staying here?” Angel looked from Gunnar to me and back. “There’s no reason you both can’t stay.” She looked at me, taking a step toward me as if pleading for me to tell Gunnar to stay with his family. “I might be able to help you. You know. Talk. Me and Suzie both were taken by a member of Kiss of Death before Cain and Torpedo decided to take it over. That was years ago. But I know how terrified and helpless I felt before I escaped.”

I gasped before turning to look at Gunnar for some context because Kiss of Death sounded like the kind of place I wanted to avoid at all costs. He shrugged. “The men who were responsible for takin’ women and children are dead. The club was purged. Torpedo and Bohannon kept the name because it was established in the area already. Despite being run by murderers and pedophiles, Cain said their reputation for doing business was impeccable. Besides, apparently having it known that Bones cleaned the scourge that was Kiss of Death without a trace left helps keep rival MCs and local gangs in line.”

Then Gunnar gave Cyclone a hard look. “And there is a reason we can’t stay, Mom. I’ll be in touch, and you’ll know where I am. I already texted you my new number, but I’ll do it again in case you missed it or didn’t recognize the number and ignored it.”

It was obvious Gunnar was doing his best to remain calm around his mother. It was also obvious how much he was hurting with every second he was in her presence. Angel seemed like a good person and was super concerned about Gunnar, but if she’d made him feel like he was an embarrassment to her because he’d been in prison, I might have to hurt her. No matter how much Gunnar loved her, I wasn’t about to watch the man who’d risked his life to get me out of hell, then saw to my safety be degraded or belittled.

“I’ve not even had a chance to talk to you. Surely you can stay tonight.” Again, she smiled in my direction. “Besides, you haven’t had the chance to introduce me to Pippa.” Angel’s eyes glistened with unshed tears, and I softened toward the other woman. Yeah, there was no need to worry Angel thought her son less somehow for what he’d done and gone through. This was a woman who was just grateful to have her son back.

Gunnar pulled his mother into his arms and held her tight. “I’ve missed you, Mom. I’m sorry about what happened.”

“Is what Mama said true? Did you take the blame for that bastard’s death?” Angel didn’t let go of her son or insist on looking him in the eyes when she asked. It was almost like she didn’t really want to know. I could imagine it, because it sounded like Gunnar’s sister was carrying a boatload of guilt.

“Does it matter, Mom? I mean,reallymatter? I’m out. I’m OK. Now, I’m trying to be the kind of man Dad always expected me to be.”

“Honey, youarethe man your dad wanted you to be and have been for a long time. Since before you went to prison. What you did was something your dad would have done. If he tries to tell you how he’d have been smart and asked for help, he’s lying.” Angel finally pulled back and smiled at her son, laying her hand on his cheek again. “When I came to see you a few weeks ago, and they told me you weren’t there, I was scared out of my mind.” She took in a shuddering breath. “Especially since the last time I saw you, we fought.”

Gunnar sighed. “I wasn’t angry at you, Mom. I was worried about Hannah and took out my fear and frustration on you. Every week you came to visit, you asked me to tell you what happened. Without exception. Every week for fifteen years. I’d have been worried if you hadn’t asked.” He glanced away. “It would have felt like you’d given up on me.”

“I’ve missed you so much, honey. I know Hannah didn’t come often, but I see now she felt guilty. I could see it in her every day and thought it was because she looked at it as you going to jail because she ratted out that bastard. Now, I know why.”

“Is she with you?”

“Yes. She’s probably standing outside the door wringing her hands. It’s what she’s done since she found out you were out of prison. Each day that passed without us hearing from you, the more she withdrew from us.”

Gunnar gave me a helpless look, like he didn’t know what to do, when I’d bet my life this man was never indecisive.

“Go hug your sister,” I said softly. “Sounds like you both got shit on, and she’s hurting just as badly as you are.”

He hesitated but reached over to squeeze my hand. “I won’t be long.”

“No. Youneedto spend some time with your mother and sister. You need this. Sounds like they do too.”

“How about we compromise.” Gunnar stepped closer to me, holding my hand in both of his. “You take a bath and clean up. Take as much time as you want. Lay down and sleep the rest of that drug off. I’ll come get you in a couple of hours and we’ll head south.”

“They said your dad was out of the country or something, earlier? Did I hear that?”

“Yeah. He’s on his way back now, but it’s a long-ass flight.”

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