Wayward Soul (18 page)

Chapter Thirty-Two

It
’
s been three hours since they went into church and I am going crazy. A rat? I don
’
t know much about the club rules, but I know something like that is serious. How could someone turn their back on Gunner? He
’
s one of the most caring men I know. He would die for his club, and I can
’
t believe one of his own would do that. Thoughts are racing through my head and the only thing I can think of is getting to Seattle.

As if reading my thoughts, Anslie looks at me and says,
“
Don
’
t even think about it.
”

“
Ans, you don
’
t understand! I
have
to go. He might need me!
”

“
Casey, no! You need to stay here. It
’
s the only way for you to stay safe. Gunner would flip if he knew what you
’
re planning on doing.
”

“
You don
’
t even know my plan!
”
I sneer back at her. I know she
’
s just trying to help, but I don
’
t care. I want Gunner and I want him now!

“
You
’
re thinking about flying back to Seattle and trying to find him. Casey, sometimes I know you better than you know yourself!
”
She yells back at me, throwing her arms into the air and sighing.

“
Anslie, you know I love you, right?
”
She nods, but before I can say anything else, a beautiful woman comes walking into the room.
“
Who is that?
”
I whisper.

We both watch her walk closer and look around. Just as her eyes settle on us, the guys come walking back into the room. She whips around and sees Brantley, then rushes towards him. Is that his old lady? Does he have a thing for older women? I mean, she's hot, but a little too old for him. Anslie looks like she wants to murder somebody, so I grab her arm to keep her from moving.

“
Brantley
…
,
”
she sobs and wraps her arms around him. We both watch in shock. Who the hell is this bitch?

He wraps his arms around her and his eyes shoot to us. He gives us a small smile and mouths,
I
’
ll explain
.

“
Aunt Christina, Jase and Bentley are on their way to help, and Johnny is already working on finding him. He
’
ll be fine.
”

Nick walks into the room and she releases Brant and walks over to him, tears in her eyes.
“
Nick, you promised me he wouldn
’
t come after him. You promised you would take care of him.
”
She pokes him angrily in the chest with her finger, then slaps him.
“
You promised
…
,
”
she sobs as Nick pulls her to him.

Brantley walks over to us and whispers,
“
That
’
s Gunner
’
s mom. Put your claws away, doll.
”
He winks at her and she punches him in the stomach.

I pull my attention from Anslie and Brant to watch Gunner
’
s mom and uncle. She looks as heartbroken as I feel. I walk over to them and Nick nods. He doesn
’
t look much like her. He must look like his father. I watch Brant and Anslie walk out of the room and I am left with Nick and Gunner's mom.

Nick motions to me.
“
Christina, this is Gunner
’
s old lady, Casey.
”

She looks at me with tears in her eyes before wrapping me up in a hug. We both cry on each other's shoulders, then she leads me to a couch.
“
So, how did you meet my son?
”
she asks quietly.

Smiling, I say,
“
We kinda met randomly a few times, but we never talked until he showed up with Brant at the club Anslie and I were at. We hung out for a couple weeks, then we went our own ways for a while. We dated for a year before I ended things again. When I had something to tell Brant, I went to see Gunner and we kinda started talking again. But it was only a couple of days ago when we, um
…”
I trail off, turning bright red

Smiling, she says,
“
You can say you guys are having sex. I know my son and I know the life he lives. I just didn
’
t expect someone to be introduced as his old lady. He
’
s never had one before, so you must be special to him.
”
She squeezes my hand.

“
I don
’
t know about that, but I know he
’
s special to me.
”

She smiles at me and sniffles a bit.
“
I hope my son knows what a great girl he
’
s got.
”

I blush and look away.
“
It
’
s great to meet you, but I wish it was under different circumstances.
”

Patting my leg, she replies,
“
Me, too, sweetheart.
”

We sit in silence for a while, then she asks,
“
Are you from here?
”

I smile.
“
Yes. Born and raised, but I
’
ve been living in Seattle for the last few years.
”

We spend the next few hours just talking and getting to know each other. It
’
s crazy to see how alike Gunner and his mom are. I wish I was somewhat similar to someone in my own family. Some of the stories she
’
s told me make me want to just hug Gunner and make sure no one hurts him again.

“
You
’
re in love with my son, yes?
”
I am completely shocked. How could she possibly know? I never once hinted to that fact.
“
You don
’
t have to hide it, sweetheart. It
’
s written all over your face. It lights up when you say his name. You're a special girl, Casey, and I hope he keeps you around. He wouldn
’
t have sent you here if he didn
’
t care about you. His uncle has pretty much raised him since he was a boy. He knows you
’
d be safe here. That means something.
”

I
’
m speechless. I don
’
t even know what to say. She is the nicest woman I have ever met, and I know why Gun is protecting her. She didn't tell me the whole story, but she told me enough to know why he made me promise to stay here. Anslie comes in, after putting the boys to bed, and we grab some wine and continue talking until the early morning hours.

For the first time since I got here, I don
’
t feel so alone. I am grateful to Gunner
’
s mom for helping understand the man with whom I
’
m in love.

Chapter Thirty-Three

Once my old man walks out of the room, someone else walks in. I look up and come face-to-face with the person I never would have guessed would rat me out. "So, I assume you didn't guess I would be the person to give you up to your old man?" I don't even bother to answer him. I'm going to take them both down and have fun doing it. "You
’
re just going to ignore me, huh?" he asks, feigning sadness. "You know, it was really easy to put you on the trail of Abe. He is always acting sketchy and just played right into my hand. Plus, your father offered me a lot of money, so I just couldn't say no. Hell, I'm pretty sure even
you
would give up your pretty little girlfriend for this kind of cash."

He's fucking delusional.
“
I sure as hell would never bring my old lady anywhere near that motherfucker,
”
I spit back at him.

"That's where you
’
re wrong, boy. Your brother's would be lining up to get a piece of this pie. Hell, I'm sure he could even pay off Johnny." How can this motherfucker stand in front of me and tell me Johnny would do that to me.

"How much did he give you? What is the going rate for a rat nowadays?"

I can tell I'm getting to him because he walks over to me and puts both hands on the back of the chair, getting in my face. "Fuck you, Gunner! You act all high and mighty, but you are nothing. I helped make you the man you are in this club and you can't even do what you
’
re told."

I slam my forehead into his nose and he stumbles back. "Fuck! I think you broke my nose, asshole!"

Rocking the chair, I get enough slack that I can pull one of my arms through the rope. I grab the knife out of my pocket and cut through the ropes as fast as I can, hearing him stomping towards me.

Cutting away the last of the rope, it falls just as he charges me. I jab him in the thigh with my knife. Screaming out, he clutches the wound and falls to the ground. Preparing myself for my dad to come into the room, the door opens and Jase and Johnny come running in, guns raised.

"Thank fuck. Where the fuck have you guys been?"

Johnny laughs. "I've been following Abe, but I found him tied up yesterday. Then Nick called saying there was something wrong and he was sending Jase and Bentley out to us.

"How is she, Jase?" It's the only thing I can think of to say.

"She's okay. She and Anslie are with your mom. Trust me, man. They are all getting too fucking close, if you ask me."

I just smile. "Where is he?" I ask. I want to be the one to put a bullet in his head.

Johnny smirks. "Tied up in the front room. I knew you'd want to do this yourself."

Jase walks over to our prez, and ties his hands and feet together. He
’
s still moaning out in pain, but I don
’
t care.
”
How long have I been here?"

"Three days, give or take. Did he tell you why he did it?" he asks, kicking our prez in the side.

"Money. They set up Abe."

Johnny grabs his phone and calls the prospects to come pick them up and bring them to the shop. "J, I need your phone.
”
He tosses it to me and I call Brant.

"Yo, brother. What
’
s the news?
”
he says.

"Hey, B, let me talk to my girl."

"Thank fuck, cousin! You okay?"

I smile. "Yeah. I'll be fine after you let me talk to my girl."

I hear him mumble something that sounds like
“
asshole
”
. I just laugh. "Stop your bitching, motherfucker. I'll talk to you once I hear her voice."

He chuckles and says something to Anslie. I hear her squeal in the background, then I hear her voice. "Gunner?!" she cries.

I never thought I would be happy to hear someone say my name before. "Hey, beauty. You okay?"

I can hear her sniffles over the line. "Yeah, are you? When can I see you?"

I smile. "I'm okay. Just a little sore. I need to take care of some things, then I'll get you a plane ticket home. Just give me the rest of the day, yeah?
”

"Yeah, Gun."

I tell her that I have to go, but I'll call her with the flight information later.

After I hang up with Brant, I clap my hands and watch the prospects take my old man and our prez out to the van for transport back to the clubhouse
“
All right, boys. Let
’
s roll. We have some trash to take care of. Jase, fill in your old man and let him know it will be taken care of tonight." Jase nods and pulls out his phone. Once he hangs up, we get on our bikes, crank them up, and take off into the night.