6. Gunpowder and Lead

Chapter 6

Gunpowder and Lead

G race

"I am assuming we're going to do everything red, white, and blue. Do you think that's too much for decorations?"

I had met the three other members of the community events committee at an upscale restaurant, but the night was wrapping up. I was trying to contain my excitement that the meeting was almost over. All I wanted to do was go home and pull the covers over my head. Hiding from the world seemed like the best idea right now.

"Grace?" one lady called out to me.

I had zoned out. I pretended to shuffle my papers so that I would have a few seconds to collect myself. "No, that will be fine. It's the Fourth of July, so nothing else will work. We'll grab some silver and gold to offset it, if we need to."

"We have the auction items, right?" another one asked.

"Yes," I replied. "Most of the regular donors have already confirmed. I'll reach out to the ones who haven't, and we have a new list of businesses to solicit."

"You're so good at this, Grace. Just like your mother was."

It was the last thing I wanted to hear. It had always rubbed me the wrong way when people compared me to my mother. You look like her. You act like her. Like they knew her personally. She was my mother, and I didn't have a clue who she was underneath the perfection.

My mother, and even my Aunt Elizabeth, were admirable women. Confident, poised, and sophisticated. It was what had drawn my father's attention to my mother. It was also what held him back from my aunt. As I grew older, I could feel the spark between them, but neither one had ever made a move.

What had been the appeal for Matt? I was a hot mess dressed in a fancy package.

I'd barely seen Matt before Meredith's failed wedding attempt, but now we lived two separate lives. He would always claim that he had a work thing that he had to stay late for. A client needed something last minute, and he wouldn't be home for dinner. Matt did whatever he pleased with no consequences. It wasn't uncommon to go days on end without even speaking. It all screamed of bullshit, and I was suspicious that there were even more secrets that would come to light eventually.

As our group walked towards the front door, a loud, high-pitched laugh caught our attention. Turning toward the sound, I immediately stopped in my tracks.

There was a large party seated near the bar.

This was a nightmare.

My cousin Clara was sitting next to my husband, laughing at something that was said. I recognized a few more couples sitting at the table as Matt's co-workers and their spouses. They'd all been to my home for one dinner party or another over the years. A few more men rounded out the table. Were they closing another business deal?

I was angry, but I managed not to show it. I kept a cool demeanor, although I wanted to rage at all of them. How many times had I been told to prepare a dinner party on short notice because they needed to show the client they were family-orientated? How many times had I attended one of those meetings so that I could laugh at the right time and make the buyer feel important? Matt and I were so good at closing deals, it had become a running joke.

"Isn't that Matt and Clara?" I heard one woman mutter behind me.

I ignored her and made my way over to the table. I felt my hands clench and a frown forming, but I reminded myself not to show my anger. If they had cared how much this was going to affect me, they wouldn't have done it. No one at the table seemed to care because they all knew Matt wasn't married to Clara .

It was no easy feat at six months pregnant and in heels, but I made my way over to them. My features smoothed out into a calm facade and my hands dangled at my side.

Matt's boss looked up from his glass as I approached, his face falling when he saw me.

"Grace," he said, looking nervous. "What are you doing here?"

I smiled and placed my hand over my stomach. "Same thing you are, Glenn. I had a business meeting to attend to." The look on his face confirmed my suspicions. They were celebrating some deal that they'd closed.

I moved towards the closest man that I didn't know. Sticking my hand out for him to shake, I said, "I am sorry. We didn't get introduced. I am Grace, Matt's wife."

He shook my hand as he stuttered, "It's nice to meet you." He looked a little green. This was probably the last place he wanted to be.

"Oh, the pleasure's all mine," I responded, still smiling. It was anything but. Matt hadn't said a word, but his eyes followed me. I turned from the man and took a few steps over so that I was directly behind Matt and Clara.

"Cousin, I didn't know you had an interest in banking. The last time I saw you, you were in a church classroom being spit-roasted." I placed my hand over my belly, my meaning coming across clearly. A few more faces were a pale shade. "Would you like the video for your adult website?"

"Cousin," she addressed me through gritted teeth, "Matt said you have been under the weather lately, so I filled in for you. You need your rest."

"Oh, I am fine, but Matt wouldn't know. What does Brandon have to say about all of this? Since you're newly dating." Brandon was in acquisitions, while Matt was in sales. Same bank but distinct divisions that worked closely together.

Clara muttered something indistinguishable.

"Or is this some new thruple that I wasn't aware of?" I questioned openly.

I turned back to the man I had briefly spoken to. "I am sure your business deal is in excellent hands. Matt works so hard to provide that he's never home." I turned my attention to the rest of the table and smiled widely. "Well, I must go rest now. Have a good night!"

I held my head high and walked out of the restaurant to my car, not saying another word to anyone.

I never turned around.

Matt never came after me.

Our marriage was officially over.

***

I was on autopilot, not even bothering to process what had happened. I remembered driving home, stopping at every streetlight and obeying every traffic sign, but beyond that, it was all a blur.

I should have opened the garage and gone into the house, but I sat in my car, contemplating what to do for over twenty minutes. The first person I wanted to reach out to was Sabre. Pulling my phone from my purse, I opened my text messages and typed a few lines, but I didn't have the heart to send it. I'd only met him that one time, and even though he had said to call, I didn't want to be a burden. I wasn't his responsibility. It was Friday night, and he was probably banging some hot chick that had a thing for leather, anyway.

I closed out my text messages and opened my contacts, debating who to call. My aunt was my first choice, but it was late, and if I called her now, she'd want to know all the sordid details. I'd end up telling her, and then we both wouldn't get any sleep tonight. I couldn't do that to her.

My father was next on the list, but I wasn't overly enthusiastic about dialing his number. I had a feeling that he wouldn't believe me that Matt was cheating, and even if he did, it would all somehow be my fault. I wasn't in the mood to defend myself. This wasn't a trial, and I wasn't guilty until proven innocent.

Meredith was my last choice, and I hit dial before I could chicken out. She answered on the third ring. "Hello? "

"Hey, Mer. What's up?" I was trying to act normal.

"I can barely hear you. Grizz and some brothers are here for the weekend. We're just hanging out, but it's really loud."

No sooner had she said that than someone laughed loudly in the background. I could hear music blasting, and I assumed they were at some bar.

"Did you need something, Grace?" She pulled the phone away from her mouth and whispered to someone, but it wasn't distinguishable over the line.

"No, everything's fine. It sounds like a good time. I'll just talk to you later."

"Alright, see ya." She quickly hung up.

I was done. I wasn't staying here on the off chance that tonight was the night Matt was going to come home. Getting out of the car, I went in and quickly packed a suitcase with essentials for a few days. Making sure I had enough cash, I decided I'd go to a hotel and start making plans for my future. Alone.

I kept telling myself that this was for the best. I wasn't relying on anyone anymore. However, I held onto my anger, so I wouldn't break into a million pieces.

***

Sabre

It had been a quiet night in the clubhouse with Grizz and the boys gone. There weren't any runs scheduled for the weekend, so when Grizz had approached me about his plans, I didn't have a problem with it.

"A few of the brothers want to come with," Grizz said. He was sitting in one of the chairs in front of my desk with his feet propped up on the corner. "You know, you could come."

"No." I looked up from the paperwork I'd been working on.

"Why? It'd be the perfect chance to see her yourself," he pushed.

"When you first started making these trips, I asked you to check on Grace. How many times did Meredith almost catch you? I distinctly remember you trying to invite Grace to lunch at a fast-food joint, and Meredith had a shit fit. What do you think is going to happen if I come with you? I don't give a flying fuck what Meredith thinks, but she excludes the one woman I am going to want to see." I bridged my fingers together and placed my elbows on the desk.

"Yeah, good point. If you still want to come see her, don't worry about it. I'll make it work." Grizz shrugged.

"No. Meredith will have too many questions for you, and when Grace's finally mine, I'll have plenty of time with her." We'd smirked at each other.

Morning had rolled around, and I was in the kitchen, drinking my coffee, and shooting the shit with the older brothers who'd gathered around the table in the kitchen.

I couldn't help but reflect on the old days when my parents had been alive. I could remember being a kid, running through the kitchen and hiding behind my father's legs as he stood in front of the kitchen sink. He'd pat the top of my head with one hand and drink his coffee with the other. I was standing in the same spot as an adult, imagining my son doing the same thing I had.

I hadn't realized I was smiling until Slate said something.

"Did someone get laid last night?" he ribbed me over the rim of his coffee mug.

"Who you kidding? The last time he tried to get some, he dumped that blonde chickie on the floor and took off running," Thunder boomed, taking a sip of his coffee.

The table exploded with laughter, and I smiled at their antics. They weren't wrong. I'd taken off running and become a monk. There was only one woman I wanted, and until I had her, no one else would compare. It didn't matter that I hadn't seen her in two months.

I was smiling as I took another sip of my coffee and crossed my legs at the ankle. The brothers moved away from my love life, but that didn't stop the camaraderie.

My phone rang.

Grizz .

"Why the fuck are you calling me?" I asked him. He was supposed to be playing house with Meredith, so the fact he'd called me meant shit was going down.

"Fucker. I need to talk to you," he said. There was a slight twinge of fear in his tone, and my body immediately snapped to attention. I braced my hand against the counter as I waited for the news. "Grace is missing."

My heart stopped.

"What do you mean, she's missing?" My voice sounded like cold steel, even to my ears. The conversation in the kitchen had completely stopped.

"We went out last night, and it was loud, so when Grace called Meredith, they didn't talk long. I didn't know she'd called until this morning when Meredith mentioned it, so I had her call back immediately. Grace's phone is off."

"So, Meredith blew off her pregnant sister." My tone sliced through the fucking bullshit.

"You know it's not like that," Grizz tried to rationalize, but it was too late. I was too livid to see straight.

"Put me on speaker," I said. The phone clicked over.

"Cyph," I said.

"Yeah, Prez. I am on it." I could hear the clicks of his keyboard. "Her cell phone last pinged at her house about 9 PM. She must have turned off her phone before she left because there's no trail of her past her driveway. Too many true crime shows. I'll find her, Prez, but I am not sure how long it's going to take."

"You have four hours. You better have a lock on her before I get there." My nostrils were flaring through my anger, my chest pounding with each rapid breath I took. "If something has happened to her. If something has happened to my baby, I am pulling patches, and I don't give a fuck who it is."

None of them said a word, and I could hear Meredith sputter in the background. She'd heard me claim Grace and the baby, and right now, I didn't give a fuck what she thought. I was no longer interested in playing around. I was done.

"Meredith, listen closely," I said to her. "You need to get it through your thick fucking skull. The Iron Shield is a family. I would put my life on the line for any of my brothers or their families. You couldn't even take five minutes to talk to Grace." I heard her gasp. "Old Ladies have to be unanimously voted in. It won't matter what you do. Beg. Sex…"

Grizz growled down the line.

"I'll never vote you in for this. That's not a threat. That's a motherfucking promise."

"I got her," Cyph said. "She emailed David McNally about 10 PM last night. All it says is, ‘Check your calendar.'"

"Oh my god," Meredith whispered, but I still heard her. "Grace is getting a divorce."