Kace (Shattered Souls MC 3)

I chew on my lip ring as I think of what he said. I nod and step around him. “You’re such a pussy sometimes.” I laugh, looking back to him. “Let’s go.”

He knows how I feel, he’s been there. He’s my best friend too and that’s why I know Harper will be calling him soon and he’ll go running to her. He won’t even think about leaving me. It’s better that way. I know he’ll hurt when I’m gone, but he’ll understand eventually.

Chapter 14

Kace

Zane and Alex are sitting in the living room laughing and tossing back beers. I’m at the kitchen table with my face in my hands trying to process how the fuck everything went bad so fast. I had plans. I wanted to start a life with Ivy and raise our child together. I wanted to fix up this piece of shit house and make it a home. I’ve never made plans, thought ahead. I lived for each day and took it as it came. Ivy changed all that. She made me want more out of life. She made me open my heart and begin to trust. It would’ve been amazing.

I just hope that I’m not too late. That when I find her, she is able to run the fuck out of there and never look back.

“Kace,” Zane says, squeezing my shoulder.

I drop my hands, thankful for the distraction of where my thoughts were going. “What’s up, brother?”

“Harper called,” he says, grinning.

I laugh and stand up. “Go, I sure as fuck would.” I grab him giving him a hug. “You deserve each other. I’m so fucking glad it all worked out for you guys.”

He adjusts his cut and narrows his eyes. “Alex is staying and so are you. Don’t fucking do anything stupid.”

I smile and nod. “I’m not the one who does stupid shit. I think things through logically.”

He grabs my shirt and pulls me toward him as best he can. “We all do stupid shit when it’s for love.”

I knock his hand off my shirt and fold my arms, causing my muscles to flex. “You know I gave you a lot of shit for going off alone and confronting Dom. I didn’t understand why the fuck you would put yourself in a situation that could have you killed.” I get right in his face and whisper, “I fucking get it now and you should fucking understand out of everyone.”

He closes his eyes for a second. When he opens them, he nods and steps back to lean against the counter. “What’s the plan?”

“What?”

“What the fuck is your plan?”

I pull out my chair, twisting it backwards and straddle it, resting my arms over the top. “I’m going to find her. I’m going to give Damon a choice. I kill him or he lets Ivy go and he takes me instead.”

“I’m coming. We’ll do it together. Let’s just kill Damon and get Ivy,” he says, folding his arms.

I grin as I play with my lip ring. “Nope. You go back to Souls and be with Harper. She needs you and Ivy is gonna need you both. I need you alive, brother. I need you to make sure this house sells and everything goes to Ivy. All my money, the money you get from this house, the money from the sale of my bike. It all goes to Ivy. I need you to handle it all. I trust no one else.” I bite my lip ring to hold by any emotions that might try to surface.

“Kace, you don’t need to fucking do this. Just a few more hours and we will all go and get her. Stop talking about fucking dying. I need you alive too,” he says, shaking his head.

“You and I both know she might not have a few hours. This is wasting time. Harper needs you, so go. Alex is passed the fuck out. I’m good, brother. You’ll all be good too.”

He pushes off the counter and yanks me off the chair. He hugs me tightly before letting go. “He’s not gonna kill you. I fucking promise you.”

I reach into my back pocket and pull out the ultrasound picture I found. I hand it to him to smiling. “That’s my kid. I can’t let anything happen to him. Tell the club, make them understand I thought this shit through. I’ll give up my life a hundred times over to protect my kid.”

He grins looking at the picture. “Fuck,” he whispers, handing me back the picture. “To Souls now. We all go and end this shit right now.”

Fucking hell. I run my hands through my hair and squeeze the back of my neck. I look him straight in the eye and nod. “Okay.”

He smiles and slaps me on the back. “Fuck yeah, brother. Let’s go.”

I follow him to the door and stop when he opens it. “I’m right behind you. I’ll get Alex up and I wanna change my shirt.” He narrows his eyes and I laugh. “Fucking relax. I’ll be five minutes behind you.”

He’s not totally convinced, but he lifts his chin and walks out the door. I close it behind him and go rush into the kitchen. I grab Ivy’s keys off the counter. We picked up her car on the way here. I wasn’t kidding when I told Zane I thought it all through. She can’t drive my Harley, so having her car is essential. I peek over to make sure Alex is still passed out. When I see that he is I take a minute to look around the house. Memories of my life flash through my mind like a flip book. Being young surrounded by love and laughter. Being a teenager coming home drunk and rushing to my room before my parents would notice. My parents dancing in the living room. Family dinners at the table. Christmas morning, Thanksgiving dinners, Easter egg hunts. It makes me smile, until the images of my dead parents flash through. The fighting, the tears, the gun fire, the blood.

I shake my head and open the door. I race to Ivy’s car and get it. I peel out of there and head toward the abandoned houses just outside of town. The entire drive my mind is focused on Ivy. I don’t give a shit about anything else. The club made a bad call not going immediately. The shit that Damon could be doing to her makes me shake with rage. I press harder on the gas pedal, trying to get there faster. It feels like the roads are endless and the darkness is sucking me in. I take the joint out of my cigarette pack and light it. I need something to relax me because I’m climbing out of my damn skin.