“Simon,” she said. She pressed her face against her knees.
“Don’t,” he said. “Don’t be sad.”
“I’m so sorry.”
He went to her. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you and I’m not going to let you go. I’m here.” He wrapped his arms around her. She tensed up but slowly sank against him. “I’ve got you.”
She sobbed.
His heart broke and he didn’t let her go. His woman had been hurt.
“I … it’s all my fault.”
He cupped her face and shook his head. “No. This is not your fault. None of this is on you. It’s on whoever did this.”
Her face crumbled. “It was Ryan.”
“The Dog?”
“Yes. I was out in the field and I was only enjoying the sunshine. I felt at peace. We were going to tell my parents and yours, and now. Oh, God, do you even want to be married to me anymore?” She pulled away and covered her face.
Tears filled his eyes, and he didn’t wipe them away. “I want you, Tabby. Always. Nothing is ever going to change that.”
It was Ryan.
That piece of shit.
He slid off the bed.
Tabby looked up at him. “Simon?”
He cupped her face, staring into her eyes. “I love you more than anything.”
“What are you going to do?” she asked.
Simon pressed a kiss to her lips. “What I have to.”
“Simon!”
She’d flinched away from his kisses and he didn’t doubt what he needed to do. He turned on his heel and left the room. He took the back entrance, leaving the hospital undetected. There was only one person who would know where Ryan was, and he was going to make sure he found him.
Chapter Twenty
Tabitha climbed out of the car as Devil came to a stop. Simon had escaped them all. Now she was with Devil, trying to find him before he did anything stupid.
She felt sick to her stomach.
Each time there was a silent lull, memories flooded her mind, and she had to keep moving. She couldn’t stop. Once she stopped, that was it, she was at their mercy. She didn’t have time to sit and think.
At that very moment, it was like she was two different people. What Ryan had done had happened to someone else, who in the corner of her mind was breaking apart. Tabitha’s hands shook as she looked toward the Quad.
Luke and Simon were there.
Anthony and Daisy had arrived but she caught sight of Ryan as well.
“Tabitha,” Devil said. “This isn’t going to end well.”
“I won’t let Simon do something stupid.” She got out of the car. Ever since The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds had aligned themselves with the Billionaire Bikers MC, and their agreement with law enforcement, they had been the good boys, not doing anything against the law, at least as far as she could tell.
“What the fuck is this?” Ryan asked. “You’re working with the enemy?”
“He told me what you did. How could you do that?” Luke said.
“Oh, please, like it hasn’t been playing on your mind the entire time you’ve known her. Even before then.” Ryan scoffed. “Does she even know when we were like nine years old, we drove through fucking Fort Wills, and there she was, coming out of some goddamn store, and you were salivating, practically drooling? You’ve been that way ever since. Don’t think we don’t all see it, because we fucking do. You’re all over her. It’s all you do.”
Devil put a hand on her arm, stopping her from moving.
She needed to get to Simon.
“That doesn’t give you the right to do what you did,” Luke said, yelling.
“Why? Are you jealous?” Ryan asked. “That I got a taste of her first? Don’t worry, she’s nothing to write home about.”
Simon drew a gun. She didn’t know how he’d gotten it, but it was suddenly pointed at Ryan. This had escalated way too fast and now she didn’t know what to do to make it all stop.
“Simon!” She screamed his name, drawing the attention of everyone at the Quad.
The only person she cared about was Simon. The love of her life. The man she wanted to be with for the rest of her life, and if he pulled that trigger, she couldn’t just leave.
“I promised you I’d take care of you,” he said.
“And you will. Please, come with me. Let’s go. You and me? We’ve got our whole summer ahead of us, remember? We made plans. It wasn’t this. Please, don’t let it be this. I’m begging you. Don’t walk away. Please.”
Simon turned back to Ryan.
She called his name again.
“I can’t. I’m sorry.”
In the distance, she heard a bike, but that didn’t matter to her, not as the loud bang of a gunshot that went off. The smirk on Ryan’s face disappeared. Simon had hit him once, then twice. The moment he got to his face, he kept on shooting.
Tabitha’s hands came up to her face.
He’d chosen revenge over her. He’d given in to hate. This wasn’t what The Skulls and Chaos Bleeds crew signed up for. Simon had gone against them. The bike she’d heard came riding through the Quad.
She recognized Dean instantly.
“Dude, get on, now.”
Simon climbed on the bike and they rode out. Dean came to a stop as he passed her and Simon reached out, cupping her face.
“There’s no way I could have let that bastard live. I love you, Tabby, and I will be back for you.” He kissed her hard and before she could beg him to stay, he was gone.
Glancing up at the stadium, she saw Luke, then she looked back to the retreating lights of the bike.
The love of her life was gone.
He’d left.
Putting a hand to her chest, she couldn’t contain the sobs. This was all her fault. If she’d left with Daisy, she wouldn’t have been alone. She collapsed to her knees, and arms wrapped around her as she lost control.
This wasn’t fair.
She and Simon, it was always supposed to be the two of them.
Now, there was nothing.
She was all alone.
Her heart shattered.
To Be Concluded…
Note from the Author
I think I can hear the almighty groans right now. What the hell is she doing? Why is she doing this? Why did this have to happen? The truth is, I don’t entirely know why. I’ve always allowed my characters to tell me their story. If I try to force it, it only ends in disaster. This is Simon and Tabitha’s story. From the start of me writing these two children all those years ago, I knew their story would be a labor of love. They’re my babies, and getting their story right is so important to me. I hope you enjoyed this first part. For me, I always needed to delve into them as kids to show their love and loyalty, not just to each other, but to their clubs.
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