Shine uncrossed his arms as he said, “Well nobody can fuckin’ tell, you twit. You treat her like shit! If you love someone like you say you love Dory, then you don’t treat them the way you treat her! How do you expect me to treat her when you treat her the exact same way I was just treating her?”
He had a very valid point.
As in, I had no clue what to say to that.
In the last three years, I’d felt more and more guilt about what I’d done to Dory.
I’d trapped her in a marriage that she would never be able to get out of. The guilt had gotten so bad at times, that I’d tried my level best not to even be around her.
Which, obviously, my family had picked up on.
Goddammit, I was such an asshole.
But the thought of her not loving me like I loved her… that was just something that my puny little brain couldn’t deal with.
So I’d done what I did best—stay away from her.
And now, looking back on my actions that had led to this point…
“You know she loved you, right?”
I blinked hard and looked at Jeremiah as if I couldn’t quite understand…
“What?” I asked.
“She loved you,” he repeated. “With her whole heart. It was plain for anyone to see that took the time to look for it.”
Now that made me feel like absolute trash.
If I could’ve gotten lower, that would’ve sealed the deal for me.
“What are you trying to say?” Haggard asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
“I’m trying to say that you all are a bunch of loyal assholes,” Jeremiah pointed out. “Yes, you loved Mimi. But there was a reason that Mimi is gone. Dory is Bram’s wife now. Y’all could’ve taken the time to get to know her. It’s been ten years. How much longer are you gonna wait for Mimi to come back before you realize that Dory is here to stay?”
Jeremiah had a point.
I had zero intention of ever leaving Dory.
I cared for her greatly. Not to mention, after today, I was more than aware that I felt a whole lot more than that. Love, to be completely honest, was the feeling that I was feeling right then. Love, and heartbreak, and goddamn stupid that I let her get away.
“What do I do now?” I asked.
“Find her and bring her home,” Jeremiah suggested. “Preferably before she realizes she’s better off without you.”
Part II
CHAPTER 10
I want someone to stand up at my funeral and say ‘she didn’t like any of y’all.’
-Dory to Bram
BRAM
It took me four and a half months to find her.
Four and a half months of looking everywhere for her.
Eventually, I’d had to enlist the help of not only Easton and his crew of private investigators, but also Hunt, a computer genius from a fellow motorcycle club—Souls Chapel MC—to find her.
But, according to Hunt and Easton, she’d done really well hiding her trail.
She’d only used cash for the longest time.
Until last week when she’d shown up on a local ATM as she pulled out some money.
I’d already been on my way there—Accident, Florida—when I’d gotten a call that’d sent me flying.
“Hello?” I answered, pulling over to the side of the road to answer.
The helmet that I usually wore that connected to my Bluetooth headphones was broken, meaning any calls that I had to take were done the old-fashioned way—via placing the phone to my ear.
“Mr. Crow?” a rough male voice said carefully.
“Yes.” I stiffened, unsure that I liked hearing that caution in someone’s voice.
Usually that caution preceded bad news.
“This is Gary Stegan from Accident Memorial ER. Your wife, Dorcas Crow, is here. She sustained a fall. You’re listed as her emergency contact,” Gary Stegan said.
I felt my stomach sink to my toes.
“I’m already on my way,” I answered. “I’m still at least three hours from Accident. But I’ll be there as soon as I can.” The next words stuck in my throat slightly as I said, “Is she okay?”
She had to be.
The last four and a half months had been the worst of my life.
I’d had no fucking clue—none—about how much she meant to me until she was gone.
All my noble intentions of not bringing her further into my web of lies, deceit, and mayhem died a slow death the longer I had to live without her.
No longer did I care that I was going to force her—and eventually our children—to live in a world that might not always be completely on the up and up.
Now, I knew that she was going to be mine, forever, and I’d just have to find a way to make her want me.
But now, with her hurt…
“She’s okay,” the man replied.
Gary. Was he a nurse? Or her doctor?
“She’s suffered a few bumps and contusions. At first, we were worried about a head injury, but now that we’ve ruled out a concussion, we’re only worried about the baby now.”
Baby.
My heart stopped and my stomach completely dropped to my feet.
I stared at nothing for a few long seconds before I said, “Baby?”
“Shit. You didn’t know that?” he asked. “She was so far along that I figured she’d shared. But some women get scared to share that kind of stuff with their partners at the beginning. Miscarriages are scary, I’ve heard. But yeah, baby. Act surprised when she tells you.”
I had a feeling she hadn’t been planning on telling me until it’d happened. Or at all.
I sure the fuck hoped she’d planned on telling me, even if it was at the very end.
Though, it broke my goddamn heart to know she’d been thinking she was about to do this by herself because of how I’d treated her.
Goddammit.
For ten years, I’d done nothing but stay away from her as much as I could.
But it didn’t matter.
Ten years was enough for me to get comfortable. For me to think that she would always be there.
I was so fucking stupid.
“I’ll be there as soon as I can,” I said. “Don’t let her leave.”
“Oh, she won’t be,” he promised. “She still has an appointment with the OB, and since there’s only one in the entire town of Accident, and he’s currently swamped with three other delivering women, I highly doubt that’ll be anytime soon. But she’s stable for now.”
The ride that was supposed to take me three hours, ended up being two and a half with how fast I rode.
By the time I arrived at the hospital, I’d somewhat calmed myself down.
That was until I walked into her hospital room and saw her lying in the bed on her side sleeping.
The bruises on her face, and all the way down her exposed arm, were alarming. But it was the boot that was on her foot that was making me the most nervous.
What had happened to cause that much damage?
That wasn’t just a ‘fall.’
That looked like she’d been in a car accident or had been beaten.
Walking farther into the room, I said, “Dory?”
Dory’s eyes flashed open so fast that she was staring at me in confusion.
Her eyes were bloodshot, and I could see now that her beautiful blue eyes that I loved so much were open, that there were deep purple bruises under both eyes.