Chapter 22.
Courtney POV.
I wake up sweaty and my eyes feel gritty from crying myself to sleep. That is not all I notice. I’m crushed against a strong and warm chest. I peel my eyes open and blink a few times to clear the grit and look up at the sleeping face of Kaden.
“Go back to sleep Court, you had a disturbed sleep.” He says his voice rough with sleep and I consider his words and I know I had a fit full sleep. All I kept dreaming about was my momma, then what happened since she died. To say I’m exhausted is an understatement.
A few more minutes won’t harm me. I snuggle closer as Kaden tightens his arms around me
and I fall back to sleep.
Waking a while later, I’m alone. I reach for the other side of the bed and it’s cold. I must have
dreamt of him being in my bed. I groan as I sit up and look at the bedside table and my chin
quivers, looking at the photo of my momma when she was little with her parents and brother.
I take a few breaths to calm the emotions that are swirling inside of me. I need to process all of this. It has been a lot to take in, a huge upheaval of my life.
The one person who had my back and my biggest cheerleader is gone and I’m here in what would have been her childhood home. Jesus, my momma was a club princess, but not just a
club princess. She was a mafia princess too. This is a lot to take in. Even though I know all of
this. My head is still getting round all these facts.
I climb out of bed and head towards the bathroom. I need the toilet, shower, food in that order.
Then I am going to wander around the clubhouse and get a real feel for it all. Even spend time
with my grandpa. We are the last living members of our family.
I want to learn more about my roots as momma kept that well hidden. If she had only told me
sooner instead of all the cloak and dagger stuff. I get it, I really do. She was scared and was doing her best to keep us hidden. The thing is, she kept us hidden too well.
She should have told me about grandpa. I do think if we had found our way back here. She
would still be alive, cancer be damned. We would have caught it sooner then she would be
here to meet her first grandchild.
I know the reason we moved was because of me and so I am responsible for her not noticing her own health sooner. In essence, I am the reason she died. God, I killed my momma by
falling for a biker who hurt me.
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Chapter 22.
I strip out of my clothes as the tears blur my vision and I step into the shower enclosure.
Turning the water to hot. I clamp a hand over my mouth as I sob. I killed her my momma. I find myself sliding down the wall until I’m sitting on the shower floor, just crying.
The pain of what happened is overwhelming. I can’t hold the guttural pained scream that leaves my soul. I scream under the spray of water. I clutch the gold chain around my neck with her diamond wedding band until the edges of the ring burn against my palm.
The sobs turn to hiccups as I shake with the rush of overwhelming emotions. I don’t know
how long I have been in here but the water is now cold. I quickly wash and leave the shower.
Wrapping a soft grey fluffy towel around my chest as I shove my feet into my slippers and
walk to the mirror and wipe my hand across the fogged glass.
I look at myself and feel sick; I killed her because I didn’t heed her warning about bikers. If
only I had stayed away from them, she would still be alive and we both would still be eating
the leftover Christmas chocolates and watching films together.
My eyes move to the necklace and I know I don’t deserve to wear it. I have no right. I remove
the chain from my neck and leave it on the counter.
“I’m sorry, momma.” I say as I grab my toothbrush and brush my teeth. Once done, I give a
look at the chain and walk back into the bedroom and towards the walk–in closet, grabbing my
sweats, an oversized t–shirt and hoodie. I pull them on. I brush my long red hair and throw it up
in a messy bun on top of my head as I leave the room and go in search of food.
The good s**t, the s**t that makes you feel better, if only for a moment. I waddle my ass down
the stairs and head towards the kitchen. No–one is around. Which right now is a godsend. I
don’t really want to see anyone.
I grab some food and head out of the kitchen with my arms full of candy, chips, soda, ice
cream. I even put a spoon in my pocket next to some of the candy. With my haul secured, I
waddle back up to my room.
Once back in the safety of my room, I lock the door behind me and set everything down on the
unmade bed. I walk to my bags and root around for my iPad and laptop. I plan on catching up with my work and eating my weight in pringles. Shouldn’t be that difficult with the amount of
food I have here.
I get to work checking emails and replying before I start work. But my brain isn’t playing ball. Hours go by and I’m sat looking at a blank screen. I decide I will deal with it all another day.
Placing my iPad and laptop on the bedside table. I pull the quilt up to my bump and grab the
remote control and turn on the streaming services.
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Chapter 22.
I find a film and put it on as I eat my goodies. I ate the ice cream hours ago. There is a knock
on the door, but I ignore it and turn the volume up on the TV. A bang comes from the door and
more frantic knocks. Jesus wept.
I pause the film and rip the quilt off of me and shuffle to the end of the bed. My pringles go
flying on to the floor and I feel myself getting emotional again. Damn pregnancy hormones. I
waddle to the door as the knocking and banging continues. I unlock the door and rip it open to
come face to fist with Kaden and Storm.
“WHAT!” I snap at them and they both look stunned at my outburst. I’m fuming, more pissed
about my pringles and the fact I … The tears form in my eyes, but I blink, holding them back.
“Well? What is with the banging and knocking? I want to be alone, so do me a favour, yeah,
and f**k off. Both of you. So unless this isn’t a damn emergency, kindly f**k all the way off
and leave me be.” I say through gritted teeth when they look at each other.
“Courtney, baby. You need to come with us. Your grandpa needs to see you urgently.” Kaden says to me and I look at him and he looks worried, then I look at Storm and he is the same.
“What happened?” I ask, getting a sinking feeling in my gut.
“The Brothers Of Mayhem attacked the Devil’s Army clubhouse early hours this morning.” My
breath leaves me in a whoosh and I stagger
“My dad, is he …?”
“He was shot.” The room spins, and the
Slightly, clutching my chest. No!
hes closer to my face before I black out.
