Chapter 6

CHAPTER

SIX

SPENCER

The bakery is open, but the face that greets me isn’t the same one from yesterday. Instead, it’s an equally beautiful woman with an even smaller baby strapped to her chest. These women are gorgeous and making babies.

It’s a life that I could only dream of.

I open my mouth to say something, but she speaks before I can. And when she does, I recognize her, but I can’t quite place her. I’m taken a bit off guard. There’s something familiar about her that causes me to pause.

“Hello, can I help you with anything?”

She’s cheerful and simply stunning. I don’t know how these two women are working at the same place. It seems almost impossible that they even know one another yet are here together in the same building. How is this real life?

I open my mouth, not sure what I’m going to ask her, so nothing actually comes out. But then another voice calls out from the back. I tilt my head to the side and watch Shawn, baby and all, make her way toward the counter.

“You’re back,” she says with a smile.

“I am,” I say, feeling extremely out of place and awkward. I shouldn’t have come here.

Shawn’s eyes search mine. They’re sparkling as they do. Her entire face is so bright, and her eyes even dance. I don’t know how else to describe her other than blissful. That’s it. Shawn is blissful. I’ve never felt that way. I can only imagine what it’s like.

“Can I talk to you?” I ask on a whisper.

I should turn my ass around and walk away, but I’m already here, so I’m just going to go with it and worry about the fact that I’m making a fool out of myself later… most likely when I’m lying in bed tonight going over every little detail.

She frowns, but I can feel the other woman’s eyes on me. I don’t know who she is, even if she’s familiar in some way, but she clearly doesn’t trust anything I’m about to say to her friend. She’s smart to be cautious, considering who her friend is married to.

“It’s about King,” I say.

She blinks, and the blissful look on her face vanishes. It’s replaced with a mix of confusion and something else, maybe jealousy. I’m not quite sure. She cautiously moves around the counter toward me before she lifts her arm, motioning toward a small table in the corner.

“Is everything okay?” she chances asking, her words coming out slowly as we both take a seat at the small table across from one another.

“Oh, this isn’t really about him so much as it’s about your relationship with him.”

She frowns, her gaze sharpening on me when she does. I almost laugh, not just because anything to do with King and me is hilarious, but also because she has no clue just how fucked up I am over Brew. And always will be. I need to be clear with her, and soon.

“Atomic told me just how good the two of you were. How much King has changed since meeting you. I didn’t believe him, but he said you’re together.”

There is silence between us as her gaze searches my own. “We’re married, yes,” she says. “Elvis is very good to me, like any husband should be. I am a little confused by all of this…”

“I’m Spencer,” I introduce myself. My name doesn’t ring any bells with her, and I’m sure it shouldn’t. “I’m Clink’s sister.”

The other woman’s gasp can be heard all the way across the room. “Spencer, is that really you?” she asks in a whisper.

I shift my attention from Shawn to the other woman, my eyes widening as I watch her. “Yes, I’m Spencer,” I say, unsure of how she knows me. I knew she was familiar, and now she knows who I am, so I’m even more confused.

“It’s me, Ryan Turner.”

I jump to my feet without even looking. My computer bag slides to the floor, but I ignore it. I can’t believe I didn’t recognize her. We are only a year apart in age. We grew up together. It’s been over ten years since I’ve seen her, but I should have recognized her.

I rush toward Ryan and wrap my arms around her in a hug, careful not to smoosh her baby between us. “You look amazing,” I whisper against her ear before I straighten and take a step backward.

“I look tired,” she says with a laugh. “But I’m happy. I have two children and my husband. I really don’t think life could get sweeter.”

“Unless you have some of the items from the case. They always make everything sweeter,” Shawn chimes in.

“Your husband?” I ask.

“Atomic,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. He said they were together, and it didn’t make sense until right this moment. All of the pieces have clicked into place now.

I remember when they were together. I remember her sister, too. I remember a lot of the past, but I was only a fly on the wall for any of it. I was never privy to anything that actually went down.

“Wow,” I breathe.

“My oldest son, Adam, is his, and so is little Millie,” she murmurs as she bends her neck slightly and touches her lips to the top of her baby’s head.

I press my lips together and roll them a few times, unsure of how I should approach my next question. Ryan takes pity on me and laughs softly before she speaks again.

“Atomic has changed,” she murmurs. “He’s considerate, kind, loyal, and the best man I’ve ever known. But I’ve changed, too, Spencer. I’ve matured. I’m not the eighteen-year-old girl I was when I ran away from here, from him, all those years ago.”

Releasing my lips, I inhale a deep breath and hold it for a moment before I let it out slowly. “I don’t know how I feel,” I whisper.

“About?” Shawn asks.

“Brew,” Ryan answers for me.

“Brew,” Shawn says.

It’s not a question but rather a shocked repeat of the word. I don’t blame her. I can’t imagine Brew has necessarily given off husband-material vibes. And he probably won’t now, but Atomic wanted me to talk to them, wanted me to hear all about how the men have changed. He somehow seems to think that there could be something between us now.

And I want that.

Even though I’m saying I don’t.

Inside, I do.

I want him to fall madly in love with me. To become completely and totally devoted to just me. I want him to adore everything about me and be that prince I always imagined in my dreams.

But I don’t live in my dreams. I live in reality. And the reality is this group got my brother arrested and thrown in jail. They may have changed a little bit, but they aren’t completely different people. Tigers don’t change their stripes quite that much.

“Come and sit down,” Shawn says. “I have a feeling we need to get to know one another.”

“Should I call Kyle?” Ryan asks.

“Yeah, let’s have a Dark Horse Wife Club meeting,” Shawn announces.

I open my mouth to protest the wife part of that little title but snap my lips closed and decide against it. I want to find out exactly what is happening here.

Three old ladies?

I don’t think there were even three old ladies when I was young and all of the original members were running the club. I need to see the anomaly in person.

brEW

My phone buzzes, and I look down at the incoming text, grunting at the sight of the message. It’s Ryan. I know she’s attempting to help, but I’m not sure it’s going to do any good once Spencer finds out that her brother is going to be going to the pen for a while.

There is no way I’m getting inside of her now. That anger she felt when she arrived is going to multiply tenfold. Opening up the text, I sink my teeth into my bottom lip as I read the whole message.

RYAN: We’re holding your woman hostage. I missed her. This better be a thing. Make it happen.

There is a picture attached at the end.

It’s a group selfie. There are four of them, plus babies. They look good together as a group of old ladies, but my eye will always be drawn to Spencer. I send Ryan a thumbs-up emoji, knowing how much she hates it, then shove my phone in my pocket.

The clubhouse is quiet and somber. We’re back to our regular duties, but nobody feels overly excited about much of anything. One of our own being sent away makes no one happy or puts them in a partying mood.

“You got a plan for the routes?” King asks as he flops down beside me.

I’m still sitting in the conference room, not wanting to go out to the bar. I need to be alone for a little while. I’m not sure when I’ll feel like partying again, maybe never. This shit is hitting me pretty fucking hard.

My stomach twists. It churns as I think about Clink being there without me, without any of us. And all because of me, it’s my fault. Guilt consumes every ounce of my being. I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to come back from this, and I feel like a selfish dick because I’m thinking about myself at the same time he’s living the fucking nightmare while I’m here, being free.

“I don’t got shit,” I say, confessing the truth of it.

King lets out a long exhale. “You know this shit wasn’t your fault, don’t you?”

“No,” I snap. “I fucking don’t. Because it is my fault. I planned the routes. It’s fucking on me.”

He shakes his head a couple of times, then curls his lip before he speaks. “We don’t know for sure, but we think Albert has something to do with it. Atomic is fairly certain it was a warning.”

“I’m sure it is,” I say. “Doesn’t make me feel any better about the situation. It’s still my fault as the road captain that this shit went down the way it did. I should have had some kind of better plan in place. Some better payoffs or something.”

King snorts. “You did what you could, brother. You cannot look back and throw a bunch of what-ifs at the situation. We gotta go forward. Figure out what we can do so it doesn’t happen again, and that’s that. Although I have a feeling it wouldn’t have mattered what we did. That shit was targeted.”

It was. I know in my head that he’s right. But in my heart and soul, I can’t shake the guilt that I feel about it all. I’ll probably never get over it, and that’s just the way it’s going to be until some other shit happens, which I’m sure it will at some point.

“What happens with the treaty now?” I ask, thinking back to just a few days ago when I watched Albert sign a treaty saying they would stay in their own fucking territory. Just days ago. And it’s already broken.

King doesn’t answer me. Atomic enters the room, and I lean back in my seat, watching him. “What happens with the treaty,” he begins, “is that we pay them a visit.”

“I’m about fucking done with visits,” I snap.

Atomic chuckles, but I can tell it’s strained. He doesn’t think any of this shit is funny at all. He laughs because he agrees that this is as ridiculous as I do. Then he sinks down in his chair before he leans forward.

“I’m not going to talk to them anymore. That ship has fucking sailed. I should have put foot to ass a lot sooner, but I was trying to avoid casualties of war.”

“But?” I murmur.

“Spying on us, kidnapping several people, including an old lady, and then signing a treaty before going back on it a few days later and getting one of my best men thrown in jail. Although, I wouldn’t give a fuck if it were just a prospect. I’m ready for this shit. I want war,” Atomic barks.

“Going to take a vote?” King asks.

“Fuck votes,” he grinds out. “It’s fucking on.”

Yes.

I am here for it.