TatumAs the couple, who I now know as Remy's parents, get into a late model truck and drive off, muffler roaring so loudly I'm damn sure the thing is going to come off, I lock the door. For some reason, I commit their license plate to memory, repeating it over and over softly to myself until I can close my eyes and see it. Only then do I turn back to the person who's become such an important part of my life. He doesn't look at all like the person I left yesterday evening. Gone is the soft way he'd gazed at me, the light tilt of his lips when he looked at me, and the absolute adoration written across his face.Looking at him right now, it doesn't even appear that he knows who I am. I'm frightened by what happened, but in the end, I'm not even sure what went down here. I have no idea what I stepped into and stumbled upon."Remy?" I whisper, afraid to speak too loudly.I don't want to scare him; his eyes are wild, chest is pumping, body is shaking. If I had to describe him, he'd
RemyIt takes everything I have to put Tatum in her SUV and walk to my truck. Letting us separate for the small amount of time it'll take us to get to her apartment is almost too much for me. My anxiety is at an all-time high, letting her out of my sight is about to make me crawl out of my skin.I'm on her bumper as we turn out of the shop parking lot and travel down the road. She does as I ask, keeping us together on the road for the roughly fifteen minutes it takes us to get to where she lives.The time went by in the blink of an eye. That itself indicates how out of it I am. Any other night I would have been checking our surroundings, making sure no one was following. Truth is, I just want to get inside and hold her in my arms, let her hold me in hers. I need that tonight; I need her softness and the absolute light that radiates around her.I park next to her and jump out before she can open her door and slide out. "Let's get inside." I grab her hand and all but drag her wit
TatumIt's cold when I wake up, and immediately I can tell that Remy is no longer in bed with me. I'm definitely not cuddled up to him in the way I fell asleep against him last night. I fight against the instinct to open my eyes. As soon as I do, I know I'll have to face the fact that he's gone. Even after we shared what we did last night, he left. As much as I wish I were surprised, I can't bring myself to be. This is what he told me he'd do. He'd be a dick and push me away. This time it's up to me to be the mature one, to keep his stubbornness from messing up our lives. I'll do it, but damn he's going to feel my wrath. No matter how mature I may have become, I still have a fucking temper, and he's totally going to feel it."Damnit, Remy." I sigh, as I fully awaken. "Why are you doing this? Why are you going to make me get angry?" I ask the empty spot next to me on the bed.It's no longer warm, which means he left like a thief in the night, taking my heart with him. I knew as so
RemyFor the first time in a long time I'm not excited about the alarm waking me up. No matter how disheartening life was before, I knew I always had a chance to make it right with Tatum. There was always that hope in the back of my mind. This morning, I know that hope is gone. I know without a doubt it's gone. I broke both our hearts yesterday, and I did it in front of everyone. I'm expecting Liam to come for my patch today. I won't stop him when he does, because I'm the most deserving recipient of bastard of the year, ever.There's a knock at my door, and I think about acting like I'm asleep and didn't hear it. Whoever is there, though, won't allow me to; they bang on the door harder. Why delay the inevitable? I get up and put some sweatpants and a shirt on."Yeah?"Jagger comes in through the doorway, worry apparent on his face. He's been a good friend, and I've appreciated every moment we've spent together. Realizing this may be one of the last times I'm allowed to talk to
RemyMy heart is in my throat as my gaze travels up and down Porter Pike. Steele warned us that Tatum had wrecked, but she couldn't say where she was, and she couldn't get loose from the confines of her seat belt. It jammed, and if I know my girl she's mad as hell.Drew's driving as carefully as possible, but I know he's dying, wanting to speed up and down the roads, to get to her as quickly as possible.Coming out of a straight-stretch, I look to the right, noticing an SUV rolled over on it's top. "That's Tatum." I point, knowing with everything I am, that it is her.We get as close as we can, bailing out our doors, sliding and slipping as the sleet continues to come down. Making our way over to her, we yell for her. "Tatum!""I'm okay!" Her voice is a balm to my soul, the best sound I've ever heard in my life. "The blood is rushing to my head, and my seatbelt is jammed.""We'll get you out in a second," Drew promises her as we race to the driver's side.He reaches down
TatumThe clubhouse is noisy, but as I sit in Remy's room, waiting on him, I relish the quiet. I don't know what he's doing, but I know whatever it is, it's in my honor and possibly for his sanity.I asked my dad hours ago when Remy would be back, but he wouldn't tell me. That makes me nervous. Remy isn't a hard man, not until he's backed into a corner, and then he fights like a wounded dog.The doorknob turns, and I stand up from where I've been sitting, my gaze taking in the man I've been thinking about."Are you okay?" I ask as I take in Remy's appearance. I've never seen him look so disheveled. Never seen him with blood on his knuckles or the red stains on his clothing."Better than I've been in a while. They won't be back. Ever again." He sighs, but his shoulders aren't slumped. They aren't hunched over at all; he's standing straight and tall, looking like he's ready to take on the world.I don't ask him what that means. I don't want him to lie to me, but I also don't
TatumI hold tightly to Remy's hand as he helps me off the back of his bike. Warmer temps today have helped the ice from yesterday melt, but my ankle is still a little tender as we slowly walk to Harper's bakery. It's early, and there aren't many people in the downtown district."You sure you feel up to being out today?" His voice is still deep with early morning timbre and scratchy from how we slept last night. I got to hear it in my ear this morning as I woke up – a little secret I'll keep all to myself."I feel fine." I lean in, kissing him on the cheek. "After this I need you to drop me off at CRISIS, I'm helping Addie today.""What you need to do is stay off your feet," he complains. "Which is why you aren't working with Cash.""Yeah, but if Caelin helps him, someone needs to help Addie, and all we're doing it cleaning out some old filing cabinets. I checked, and it's all good, Rem. Calm down." I giggle, feeling absolutely free with him as we go through the back door of
RemyWhat a difference a few months makes. I can remember coming out into the main room of the club and seeing everyone coupled up, wondering what the fuck was wrong with me. Now I'm sitting at the table, Tatum at my side."Do you know why he's called us all here today?" she whispers from where she sits, looking up at her dad who commands the table from the end."No idea," I answer, but I do. I have a feeling it's time for him to hand the club over to Drew, and with it will come a whole new way of doing things, a whole new world, and the ushering in of a new first family."Thank you everybody for coming." Liam sends out a grin to the table.I lean back, throwing my arm over the back of Tatum's chair, letting her get a clear view of her dad."Some of you know what this is about, some of you don't. I can assure you I didn't keep it a secret to hurt anyone, but I did it for myself. Up until this morning, I wasn't positive I could go through with it, but when I woke up next to