Page 35 of The Secrets We Keep

“I should have seen what was happening. I knew how John was. I knew how he acted out. I knew how he acted toward you. I should have seen what was happening.”

“It’s not your fault, Kurt. He was excellent at hiding things.”

He shakes his head. “I know, but I was his right-hand man. I should have seen it. I could have prevented all of this.”

I get up from the couch and walk over to him, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “All it would have done is put you at risk too. He didn’t care what he had to do, he was going to do it to keep the club.”

He reaches up and wraps his hand around mine. “You’re probably right. I’m just glad you’re both here now.”

“Me too,” I murmur. “Me too.”

26

GRAYSON

I walk into the garage and look around the large space for Cane, finding him in the bay that Sophie’s old car is sitting in. The car wasn’t road worthy, so no matter what Cane did to it, it wasn’t going anywhere.Unless it was the scrap yard.Cane is the best mechanic I know, so when he tells me something is shit. It’s shit.

“Finally ready to scrap that piece of shit?”

He chuckles from under the hood. “I’m just picking over the few good parts. They’re coming to haul it out of here in a few minutes.”

“Good,” I mutter.

I won’t lie. I’m eager to get everything out of Sophie’s life that was there as a part of her struggle. I couldn’t be there for them for the first six years of Ash’s life, but that doesn’t mean I can’t go overboard now.

“I don’t know how it was functioning to begin with,” Cane mutters as he pulls a part from the car and puts it on the counter before wiping his handsoff. “She had some DIY fixes in here. So, she obviously remembered a few tricks from her time here. She’s a tough chick.”

That was high praise coming from Cane. “Yeah, she is. I just came out here to let you know we’ve got church in an hour.”

“No problem, pres. I’ll be there.”

I nod and head back inside, finding my brother and Axel at the bar. Rowan has a shit eating grin on his face and Axel looks unimpressed. I walk up behind them and slap them both on the back. “What’s the problem, Ax?”

That just makes him scowl harder and Rowan laugh harder. “Wren is giving him hell again,” Ro gets out between laughs.

I smirk. Axel and Wren have been foes for as long as I can remember. They both love to give each other shit, but Wren is better at dishing it out than Axel is. “What did you do now?”

“What did I do?” He asks affronted. “Why do you always think it’s me?”

“Because it always is,” Rowan and I say at the same time.

He sighs and swipes his hand through his dark blonde beard. “She’s going on a date with one of the members of the Devil’s Knights, so I was giving her shit for it.”

“Ahh,” I reply.

“What do you mean, ‘ahh’?” He grumbles.

“Nothing,” I chuckle.

Anyone with eyes could see the sexual tension between the two of them.Well, anyone but them. Sometimes it’s hard being in the same room with them. If they fucked and got it over with, things would probably be a lot easier for everyone. But I doubt that will ever happen.

“That club is full of wannabe punks,” Axel mutters. “They’re going to be a problem; I can feel it.”

A scream pierces the air, and we all run in its direction. When we get to the front gate we find the tow truck inside the gate, a van with open doors outside the gate and Cane and two prospects holding three men on the ground. My eyes scan the scene, and I see Sophie clutching Asher to her chest. I rush over to them and wrap my arms around them.

“What the hell happened?” I bark out.

“We were walking into the gate and a van pulled up,” Sophie rushes out. “Two men jumped out and grabbed us. Cane and the prospects stopped them.”

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