Page 45 of The Secrets We Keep

“Ahh, those two,” Wren murmurs reverently. “Sit back, girlfriend, do I have the gossip for you.”

I giggle and sit back in my seat, holding my drink close to my chest.

“Apparently, they like to share,” Wren whispers dramatically.

“What?!” I screech, sitting up in my chair.

Wren widens her eyes at me, telling me to shut the fuck up, because everyone is looking at us. I wince at her and sit back in my chair, at least partially. Wheneveryone turns back to their conversations, she starts again.

“They share. I’ve heard a few of the club girls talking about it and fuck, does it sound hot.”

“Wait, do they do stuff together? Or just to the girl?” I ask.

Wren shrugs. “That, I don’t know. But can you imagine how hot that would be?” She sits back and fans herself with her hand.

I definitely could imagine that. Nash has beautiful brown skin that’s peppered in black ink. He’s muscular, with black cropped hair, and deep chocolate brown eyes. And don’t even get me started with his smile. Cole has tan skin that’s bare, which is rare for bikers. He has dark brown hair that’s a little shaggy and beautiful green eyes. I don’t know many women that could handle being between those gorgeous men. But I know a few who would like to try.

I make eye contact with Wren, and we dissolve into laughter, knowing what each other is thinking.

“What are you two laughing about?” Grayson says as he picks me up and sits in my seat, placing me in his lap.

“Nothing!” I chirp.

“Mhm,” he chides, just making us burst into laughter again.

It’s a peaceful evening until Rowan shows up. He was noticeably absent for the evening, and he didn’tanswer his phone after multiple members tried to call him. We sent two of the prospects out looking for him about an hour ago. He walks past us all with a dark expression. My brow furrows and I turn to Grayson. He nods his head, and we follow him inside with Axel, leaving Asher with his aunt and grandparents.

When we walk inside, he’s not in the main room. We look in the kitchen and don’t find him, so Grayson leads us to Rowan’s suite. When we walk up to his door, it’s ajar. We let ourselves in and hear the water running in his kitchen. We stop dead in our tracks when we find him at the kitchen sink. He furiously scrubs at his arms that are covered in blood.

A gasp tears from my throat and I’m instantly sober at the sight. Grayson and Axel move to stand on either side of him with concern coating their features. Grayson reaches out to squeeze Rowan’s shoulder, but he pulls it out of his grasp while he continues to scrub.

“Ro, what happened?” Grayson rasps.

Rowan’s shoulders slump and Axel takes the opportunity to pull the sponge from Rowan’s hand while Grayson turns off the water. They lead him over to the kitchen island and force him to sit. When he looks up, his eyes are haunted.

“I was running late to the party, and I saw three members of the Devil’s Knights run a car off the road,” he says softly, his voice pained. “The car was flipped upside down. I parked my bike and called 911 while I ran to the car. The driver’s side was closer, so I tried topull him out first. His seatbelt was locked, so I pulled out my knife and cut the strap. He was covered with blood,” he rasps. “I checked for a pulse, and it was faint, so I moved to the passenger’s side. The woman had a small cut on her head, but she looked okay, otherwise. I cut her down and pulled her to safety. I went to check on the driver again and his pulse was fading. I did CPR until the paramedics showed up, but he didn’t start breathing again.”

“Oh my gosh,” I say as I cover my mouth in horror.

“Are you okay?” Grayson asks thickly.

Rowan nods numbly. “The driver died.”

“I’m sorry, Ro,” Axel murmurs.

“How can one person in the car die and the other person be almost untouched?” He asks no one in particular. “And why the fuck did the Devil’s Knights run them off the road?”

We stay silent. There’s not an answer, unfortunately. I wish he didn’t have to go through this, but I can’t help thinking that he was in the right place at the right time. I don’t know what this means for the club and the Devil’s Knights, now. They moved into this area and now they hurt people who live here. Killed someone who lives here. That’s not going to go over well with the club.

“Let’s get you in the shower,” Grayson offers. “We’ll worry about everything else later.”

“I don’t want to ruin your night,” Rowan says witha shake of his head.

“You’re not ruining our night, Ro. Let us help you,” I plead.

He nods his head minutely. “I’m glad you’re going to be my sister, Soph.”

I swallow down the lump in my throat. “Me too, Ro.”

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