Page 45 of Ensnared By Silence
I stepped away, my back brushing against my car, and he stopped, holding up his hands.
“What are you doing here and why are you following me? Did Hayden send you?” I asked, panicked that one of the scariest MCs was looking for me for Hayden.
“Hayden? No. No one sent me, Aubrey. I saw you driving out of town like a bat out of hell and I was worried. I tried to call, but your phone is turned off,” he replied, and I relaxed somewhat. “What’s going on, Aubrey? Did something happen? Where’s Hayden?”
I shrugged, and he tilted his head in confusion. “I’m fine. I just needed a break for a few days. Thanks for checking up on me, but I’m okay. Promise.”
I needed him to leave me alone so I could disappear without Hayden knowing where I was. Skid was Hayden’s friend first and his loyalty lies with him, not me. I at least had to try to get him to keep his mouth shut.
“Can you not tell anyone you saw me?”
“Only if you tell me what’s going on. You can trust me, Aubrey. I’m your friend and I only want to help.” He crossed his tattooed arms over his broad chest and watched me as I opened the car door. He glanced inside and saw the bag on the backseat before turning back to me. “Are you planning on coming back?”
“I appreciate your help, Skid. Really, I do, but there isn’t any need for help. I promise, I’ll be fine.” He looked confused as I reached into the car and handed him the files for James. “Can you make sure James gets these? And I locked the computers and all the stuff they gave me inside their rental house.” I took the house key off my ring and placed it in his hand. “Can you give this to them too, please?”
Speechless, he nodded, and I smiled at him, not feeling any joy or sadness as I climbed into the car and pulled away. He stood there watching me, and as he disappeared from my rearview mirror, I exhaled. Some random song played on the radio and as I wound my car through the roads leading into the heart of Missouri, I kept looking behind me to see if I was being followed.
For hours, I watched, and finally, when my eyes were too heavy to continue, I pulled into a hotel off the highway and checked into a room that wasn’t as terrible as the building would lead you to believe. Sleep didn’t come quickly as memories of every touch, every whispered caress from Hayden flashed in front of my eyes. I tossed and turned and finally drifted into a restless sleep. A knock on the door woke me with a fright. I looked through the curtain, expecting the front desk clerk, and was shocked to see James standing outside my door.
I checked to make sure I was presentable and opened the door, unsure of how he found me and why he was even there.
Chapter 16
Hayden
To go from having Aubreynaked under me to trying to get Tucker and Jared outside so she could leave was the hardest and most heartbreaking thing I’ve ever had to do. I know she heard me say those vile things, and I prayed she would forgive me once everything was settled. I stood on the back deck and heard her car pull away from the house.
Part of me was relieved she was away from them, but part of me was dying inside.
“Let me grab you a fresh beer,” I remarked a minute or two after I knew she was gone.
They passed the joint around as the firepit blazed on them, warming the air on the chilly November day, and I walked back inside to quickly call James.
“Hayden, what’s going on?”
“Aubrey was here, and Tucker and Jared showed up out of the blue. She snuck away while I was corralling them outside and I’m afraid she’s not in a good way.”
