The Originals (Ghosttown Riders #10)

Chapter Nine

The ride home was long. The only good thing about being preoccupied with the Mick situation? She had little time to think about her ass being sore. It was the only highlight of the ride. They’d done the trip without any stops, but traffic prolonged it by an hour. By the time Mick pulled off the highway, Meg was eager to get off the bike.

This ride looked very different from her first. She’d held onto Mick but hadn’t been clutched against his back with her arms wrapped around his stomach. A few times, he’d rested his hand on her thigh, but she’d secured her feelings, not giving in to the warmth of his touch. She refused to.

Last night had been a defining moment in their relationship. It hadn’t ended the way she’d wanted it to or how it should’ve. Was that his idea of resolution? Leaving if she disagreed with him? And the violence without an ounce of remorse. How was she supposed to expect to live that life? I can’t.

Meg glanced over at the shops on Main Street in Turnersville. She was only a few minutes from home. Mick had told her they were heading to the clubhouse, but she’d insisted she wanted to go home. He didn’t seem happy with her decision but agreed.

He pulled up to the curb in front of her house and shut down his bike. It was unnecessary. Meg was going to make this as quick as possible. Then she’d go inside and lock herself in her room for as long as it took to get over Mick.

She got off the bike, and when he stood, she backed away and held up her hand.

“I can’t do this, Mick.”

“Can’t?”

She swallowed the knot in her throat, fighting against all her emotions. Her heart and mind were in an intense game of tug-o-war.

“I won’t do this.”

Mick straightened, veering his gaze across the yard. It was impossible to know what he was thinking, and Mick wasn’t sharing. But he wasn’t leaving. They were at an impasse. Meg wouldn’t ask him to choose her over the club. Maybe it was her way of protecting her heart. She wasn’t sure he’d pick her if a choice had to be made. But it went deeper than choosing one over the other, and Meg knew it.

Mick had been open and clear about what it meant to him to be a member of the club. They were his family. Even if she had placed an ultimatum on the table and he’d chosen her, he’d eventually resent his decision. And me.

And the hypocrisy? Meg had been fighting the social norm and what was expected of her for years. She didn’t want the life her parents had, the future her friends were preparing for. Meg wanted to live on her terms, choose how she wanted to live her life without anyone else dictating those decisions.

The irony? I want to live my life like Mick lives his. Just not his life.

“We’re just two very different people, Mick. I saw that last night.”

Mick scoffed, shaking his head.

“I’ll call you in a few days.” He refused to look at her, but Meg couldn’t keep her eyes off him.

She’d been through breakups with partners she’d been with a lot longer. None were this hard.

“I probably won’t answer,” she muttered.

His jaw squared, and he scowled, but he still didn’t look at her. He started his bike, revving his engine. She expected him to take off.

“Go inside.”

Meg remained planted on the sidewalk.

“Mick,” she whispered.

“Not leaving until I know you’re safe.” He paused, and his statement struck her hard. It was the same vow and pledge he’d been making to her since the first night they met.

“Go inside, Meg.”

Her eyes welled, and she gave a short nod, backing up. Meg walked up her porch steps, dug out her key, and unlocked the door. This was it. It was over. Where was the closure and contentment? If she felt so strongly, surely she should feel relief after ending it with him. Instead, she was left with a pit in her stomach as if she was going against her gut instincts.

Meg opened the door and walked in, peeking over her shoulder to the street. Mick was still there, but this time he was staring at her. Maybe this was a mistake. She stepped forward to the porch. Mick turned his head, and took off down the road.

Gone.

Isn’t this what I wanted?

****

It wasn’t often the club members did solo runs. Not many enjoyed them. Being part of the club meant riding with the brothers. Mick usually avoided those runs and never volunteered to take them. Except this time. He needed the open road and the silence.

He’d been gone almost three days, and it marked a week since he’d seen or spoken to Meg. As she’d warned, all his calls had gone unanswered. He’d initially assumed Meg just needed a cooling-off period. If she spent some time thinking about what had happened, she’d see his side. The irony wasn’t lost on him though. He was demanding she see it from his point of view, while he had refused to see it from hers. Like she’d said, they were two very different people. From their backgrounds, their past and present, they didn’t make sense. But…

Mick pulled into the driveway of the clubhouse, parking in the rear. A few people were hanging out by the fire in the yard, some smoking near the woods. It wasn’t the usual party atmosphere. It didn’t matter to Mick. He wouldn’t be partaking in any festivities. His plan was to debrief Jack, hand over the cash from the pick-up, and head to his room. He was still on the fence whether he was going to try calling Meg again. Maybe she needed more time. While he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, he wasn’t quite ready to give up just yet.

He walked into the clubhouse.

“How’d it go, brother?” Tully asked.

Mick looked over at the bar where a few brothers were drinking.

“Easy run,” Mick said, and pulled the envelope from his chest pocket. He placed it on the bar in front of Jack and sat next to him.

“Talked to Fitz. Told him about the increase.”

Jack arched his brow. “Give you any pushback?”

Changes were being made, not only for the club but those they serviced. Protection was a huge moneymaker, but it came at a hefty price tag.

Mick shook his head. “Wasn’t fucking happy but he gets it.” Mick tapped the bar and one of the girls immediately grabbed the bottle from the shelf, pouring him a drink. She sauntered over with a smile, but Mick glared. Since Meg’s absence at the club, a few of the girls had considered it open season, offering up everything. Mick had no interest, abruptly turning them all down. There was only one woman he wanted.

“Talk to Meg?” Jack asked. His president already knew the answer. All of them did. There was only one reason he’d be this pissed off. It was amazing the power of love had, especially when it was lost.

Mick grabbed his drink and shot it back. He slammed the glass on the bar and pointed to his empty glass, ordering a refill. He wiped his mouth and stared straight across the bar.

“Gonna give you some fucking advice, brother,” Grain said, and Mick was only half listening.

He respected Grain, honored him as a brother, and loved him. But Grain was the last person Mick would be taking advice from about women. He had the charm of a lion who hadn’t eaten in weeks. Grain went through women like he was in a race to get through the female population and break records for bedding the most.

“Best way to get over a woman is fucking another.” Grain waved his arm theatrically around the room. “Take your fucking pick, brother. Hell, pick two.” Grain furrowed his brows and squinted, staring at the short blonde grinding on Mack. “Except that one. Uses too much teeth when she sucks you off.”

As expected, Mick wouldn’t be entertaining Grain’s advice. Maybe if his connection to Meg had been strictly physical, banging another woman would be an easy fix. But it went deeper with Meg. He was starting to see a life with her down the road. A real future. Mick had never been much of a planner, preferring to live life by the seat of his pants. But in the last month he’d started thinking about the two of them getting their own place. There were a few small houses in Ghosttown. It would keep him close to the club and give them their own space.

“Gonna let her go?” Jack took a deep drag of his smoke.

Mick wasn’t prepared to give her up, but he had no idea how to resolve it with her. She won’t fucking talk to me . He wouldn’t go into detail with a room full of brothers. He settled on a short answer.

Mick drew in a breath, sighing. “Don’t know if I have much of a fucking choice.”

Jack stared across the bar, lifted his beer to his lips, and took a sip. “You always got a choice, brother.”

“She ended it, Jack. Not me.”

There was a lingering silence.

“You bring her into a world she doesn’t know, there’s gonna be a lot of teaching on your end. You look around at the brothers with old ladies, most of them been in the life forever. They either grew up in it or around it. That’s the draw for them. The others?” Jack gestured to the club whores at the end of the bar. “They’re just here to party until they get bored with our asses and move on. But someone like Meg and” —he glanced across the room at Tully and his wife— “Maureen? Those are lifers. Solid women. You gotta be prepared to have patience with them. Also, gotta make sure you’re not asking her to trade her life for yours, brother. You ain’t willing to give up the club, you can’t ask her to give up hers. Or expect our life to make sense to her unless you walk it with her.” Jack finished off his beer, placed the bottle on the bar, and stood. “You walk in front of her, you’re telling her to fall in line. You walk beside her, you’re telling her that her place is with you and the club.”

Mick cupped his mouth, watching Jack walk through the room and out the front door.

Walk beside her.