eat given the current conversion. I grab the beers from the table and hand him one.
“Thanks,” he says before taking a long pull. “Because I’m responsible for Annie’s death. If I’d been able to stay away from her she’d still be here today. She’d probably be happy and married with kids.” He sighs.
“I highly doubt it. Trent was one sick fucker, he wanted me to be with Jared and Annie to be with his Prez. He wouldn’t have stopped until we were paired off. You being there or not wouldn’t have changed a thing, we still wouldn’t have given Trent what he wanted but instead of just Annie dying I would have as well. Neither of us wanted that kind of life.”
“What kind of life did you want?”
“That’s not the point of your question, is it?”
He glares at me and then smiles softly. “Amuse me.”
I roll my eyes. “Honestly, I just want to be with someone who reciprocates my love. I want someone kind and laid back who I can laugh with, go on adventures with, be happy with and mourn with. I just want to be happy.” I shrug holding back tears. I know I’ll never have that, the chances of it happening with the one man I wish it could are even less.
“Ah shit, I didn’t mean to make you cry, Viv,” he says wrapping his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. This cannot be happening.
“I’m alright.” I sniff.
“Sure looks like it.” He raises his eyebrow at me.
“I just don’t trust anyone and I’m terrified that anyone I get close to will be taken away or leave me.” I shrug.
“I’m the exact same way.” He sighs. “That’s why I said earlier you shouldn’t have come back. Ayden and Line have been through some crazy shit both at the hands of the Bastards and the Kings. If they hear about you coming back, they’ll come after you and inevitably go after them. I don’t know how they will cope with it now that there are kids involved.”
“I know, I’m well aware that me coming back is selfish but there’s one thing you don’t understand. I haven’t been living these past twelve years, I’ve merely been surviving. All I want is for them to forget that I fucking exist and let me live my life. I’ve been followed everywhere I went since I left and I can’t stand it anymore. I haven’t had a home or a real family since this place. This is the only home I have, and I honestly don’t care if they come after me anymore. I’m done running. I just want to be here and be happy.”
“Fuck. Why did you have to go live with Trent in the first place?”
“Because my parents died and he was our only living relative,” I say softly.
“What happened?”
“What do you think happened? Trent had them killed, he murdered his own brother. Just so we’d have to live with him. He wanted to use us as bait and leverage with the Bastards in order to merge the clubs. He wanted one huge club that would be the most powerful in the area and he would’ve been able to take the Last Hangman down. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t go as he had planned.
“I know you and Annie talked about the clubs and so I started spying on Trent whenever I could to gather info so she could tell you. I was hoping it would give us a chance to escape if you guys knew what the Kings were up to and decided to take them down. The day she was going to tell you about their attack was the day that she was stolen from us.
“I tried to warn you as well but Jared was at the compound that day and caught me spying on them. They knocked me out and threw me in their van and then drove to the warehouse. When I woke up, you were tied up to a chair and Annie was attached to one of the beams and you know the rest. I wish I could have warned you and they could have been stopped. Maybe I’d be dead and she would be alive, and then you two would still be together.” I can’t hold the tears back any longer and I break down in his arms. He pulls me closer to him and just sits there for a moment.
“Shhh, it’s going to
Learning to Kill: Stories