Page 13 of The Paths We Cross
The room is dark from the blackout curtains I have closed, so I pull them open, and light illuminates the room. Lightly stained hard wood floors cover the space, a cream and black rug sits under the tan leather couch that Everly is sitting on, and a black recliner sits next to it, both pointed at the mounted television on my wall. There is a coffee table that’s mixed with black metal and lightly stained wood where my remotes sit, along with my coffee cup from this morning.
I have a small kitchen with wood cabinets and black counter tops, two bedrooms and one bathroom. It’s plenty of room for Everly to stay here with me.Not that she knows that yet.
“Can I get you some water or orange juice?” I ask. She looks a little pale, like all of this is too much for her.
“A little water please,” she replies softly.
I walk into the kitchen and grab a water bottle from the fridge before walking back over to her, twisting off the cap and handing it to her. She drinks it greedily and I watch the way her throat works, feeling my dick twitch to life.Down boy. Now is not the time.
I sit beside her on the couch and wait for her to finish.
“Are you okay?”
She turns to face me. “I really don’t know,” she admits. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”
I sigh. “You don’t need to do anything; you just let us handle it. In the meantime, you can stay here. I have an extra bedroom, and no one can get into the clubhouse unless they go through ourgate or into my suite without the code. You’ll both be safe here,” I assure her.
She furrows her brow. “Why are you doing this for me?”
I reach out and rub the crease between her brows. “Because I want to. I think that I was put there that night for a reason, and I’m not going to stop protecting you now.” She visibly swallows, her eyes wide. “You can stay here with me for as long as we need to keep you safe. However long that takes.”
9
EVERLY
My thoughts are spinning like crazy in my head. I’m not even sure if I should really trust these people, after all, bikers ran us off the road. Bikers are the ones leaving me threatening notes and teddy bears.
Then again, a biker saved me.Rowan saved me.Shouldn’t I trust that he wants to keep me safe? I mean, if he really wanted me dead, he would have left me on the side of the road with Travis.
Travis. I still don’t know what to think about Travis. I trusted him. I thought I knew him, but apparently, I didn’t know him at all. He and his father were stealing from criminals and thought they wouldn’t do anything about it? It pisses me off that he isn’t here for me to bitch him out.
Is this why his parents have ignored my calls and my existence since his death? I thought it was because I was too painful of a reminder for them, but is it really because they know that they were the cause of their son’s death? That they were almost the cause of mine?
He knew that something was going to happen to us that night. He knew that they were coming for him. Was that the firstincident that happened? Or did something else happen that he didn’t bother telling me about? I guess I’ll never know.
I know deep down that I’ll be safe here. I kind of know Grayson, Sophie, Asher, Cane, and his daughter Paisley. I was their kids’ teacher, and they were all kind to me after the accident.
“If I’m going to stay here, I’m going to need to go to my place to get some things,” I finally tell Rowan.
“That’s no problem,” he murmurs. “I’ll take you.”
I muster a smile and nod my head in agreement. We get up from the couch and I follow him through the apartment.
It’s actually really nice. Everything is new and clean, and it doesn’t smell like a typical man’s apartment. We all know that most of them have that weird smell. Like dirty socks and spoiled food. No, Rowan’s apartment smells clean and woodsy, like him.
I get a better look at the clubhouse as he leads me down the long hallway and explains that his door has a code to get in, so no one other than he and I can get inside. The hallway has multiple doors, all of which are shut, and opens up at a stairwell. We follow the stairs down and he takes me through the main room again.
He calls out to Grayson to let him know that we’re running by my house for some belongings and then he opens the door to the parking lot for me. The heat assaults us immediately, making me suck in a breath. Rowan insists on opening my door for me and then hops in the driver’s seat of my car.
“I still don’t understand why I can’t drive,” I grumble as I buckle myself in.
He shoots me a wicked smile. “I’m better with my hands, darlin’.”
My cheeks heat at his insinuation. Does he not see that I’m eight months pregnant over here?I freaking waddle for fucks sake!
He asks for my address, and I give it to him, although I think it’s just for show. He says that they’ve had prospects watching over me for the past two days, they have to know where I live.
The clubhouse isn’t too far from my house, so it only takes us a few minutes to get there. The silence in the car is palpable on the way there, though. When I finally see the cute little white house with black shutters, I sigh in relief. I reach up and press the garage door opener and Rowan drives inside, parking and turning off the vehicle before closing the garage door.
