Amy had arranged her father’s jet to be ready as soon as I was discharged, having my essentials packed and ready to go when she picked me up from the hospital. We were meant to be leaving straight from there, and Cade all but exploded when he learned this.
He was pushing me in my chair to the curb when Amy pulled up. She jumped out of the car and directed a glare at him, someone obviously filled her in. She wiped the scorching look off her face and smiled down at me weakly.
“I’ve got everything we need for our trip Gwennie, Daddy’s jet is waiting for us at a small airstrip outside of town and it’ll take us to LAX where we’ve got the next plane to Auckland. Daddy also insisted we take his doctor with him on the flight. Just in case.” She looked at my stomach and leant down to help me up, pointedly ignoring Cade who stopped her with a hand on her wrist.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Amy? You can’t just take the mother of my child halfway across the world. Wherever she goes I go,” he growled, fury saturating his tone.
Amy raised an eyebrow and glared down at the tattooed arm covering hers, her look turned glacial. “You can take your hand off me right now,” she hissed and continued to help me up when Cade complied. I could feel him gripping my shoulder.
“I can and I will take Gwen back to her family and her home, to the people that love her. In case you’ve forgotten she’s going to attend the fucking funeral of her only brother,” she snarled and I felt a blade go through my soul.
“It just happens to be convenient that her home is as far away from you as humanly possible, and a silver lining in this fucking nightmare is the fact that you are a criminal with a record which means you aren’t going anywhere.”
Without waiting for a response she gently helped me stand from the chair directing me away from Cade and the men who had stopped behind him. The men I considered family.
“Jesus, Gwen, wait,” Cade pleaded. The grief and anger in his voice made me turn.
I put my hand on Amy’s arm. “It’s okay, Amy.” My voice was still cold, flat.
She glared at Cade then took her hands off me. As soon as that happened, Brock surged forward, pulling her away and hissing frantically in her ear. I didn’t move an inch, Cade was on me in one stride, framing my face with his hands. His eyes locked with mine, face hard and soft at the same time.
“Baby, Gwen. Just give me some time to sort this shit out. I’m coming with you. You are not facing this without me. I won’t let you go through this without me.” His words were firm, his tone a promise. “I love you to the depths of my soul. The baby too. I won’t let you go through a second of this without me by your side,” he finished softly, hand caressing my belly.
I stared back at him, the love, concern, anguish in his eyes failing to affect me. My emotions were locked up deep inside me I couldn’t let them out. I couldn’t have the loss coursing through my veins like a poison. I was afraid I wouldn’t survive.
“You need to let me go,” I responded flatly.
His arms tightened on my neck. “Baby, please.” His voice almost broke and his stare burned into mine.
“Let me go now, I have a plane to catch.” I watched him flinch at my tone. What he didn’t do was let me go.
“Gwen…”
“Let me go!” I screamed in his face, my voice cracking.
Someone grabbed his shoulder, pulling him away. I took my chance and hopped into the door that Amy was holding open for me, she had obviously managed to pull herself away from her own angry biker. I watched as Cade fought off Bull, yelling, throwing punches never taking his eyes off me. Lucky and Brock joined in, struggling to hold him back. Unable to watch anymore, I turned my head as Amy drove away.
That was about twenty-one hours ago. I had barely slept, my mind going over everything and nothing at all. Thoughts, memories tugging at the corners of my mind, refusing to let me welcome oblivion.
Amy and I disembarked, walking along the tarmac of the small airport. The mountains of home surrounded me like a warm blanket, even with the bitter winter wind biting at my skin. We emerged at arrivals and I zeroed my parents out immediately. My usually immaculate mother was wearing faded jeans and a hoodie, her face free of make-up, eyes rimmed red, she looked gaunt and grief had settled over every inch of her small frame. My father was staunch, strong, as usual, his arms around my mother. His eyes were the only things that betrayed him. They were full of sorrow and devastation. All of a sudden I was engulfed in my mother’s arms.
“Oh, Gwennie, my baby,” she sobbed clutching me to her.
I felt my father’s strong arms circle around us both. I looked up at him to see his eyes glistening as he kissed my head. I clung to what remained of my family.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Two Months Later
“You know what, Mum? I think this gardening thing is actually growing on me,” I informed her, my hands digging through the soil. I held them up, inspecting my nails, which were caked with dirt. “Even if it destroys my manicure.”
My mother smiled. “Well it’s only taken twenty-five years,” she replied dryly. “And you’re supposed to wear gloves,” she waved her bright pink flowered ones in my direction.
I turned my attention back down at the soil and sighed. “I like the feel of it between my fingertips, it’s…soothing.”
My mother’s smile turned sad, I could tell her thoughts were turning to worry. And grief.
“Gwennie. Sweetheart, you know you need to talk, you can’t keep this bottled up. You haven’t even cried since the funeral.” Her voice was wobbly.