Unlawfully Yours (Lawless MC #1)

33

It’s only a matter of minutes after I arrive home from work when Kate’s name flashes up on my screen and my heart drops into my stomach.

All afternoon since I left the clubhouse I’ve been in a state of shock, confusion and anger to name just a few of the emotions that I’ve experienced. But above all, disappointment. Disappointed in the two people in my life I thought I could trust.

I stare down at the name flashing on my screen, my stomach clenching because what the fuck am I meant to say to her?

I press answer and hold my phone up to my ear with a shaky hand.

“Hey, sweetheart. How are you? We haven’t heard from you for a while.” Kate’s voice cuts through me like a knife.

I’ve been imagining this very conversation all afternoon, wondering what I’ll say to her. Wondering how I ask the woman who has been a mother to me for twenty years why she and her husband have lied to me almost my entire life.

I open my mouth to speak but my mind is a total blank.

“Allie? Honey? Are you there?”

I tighten my grip on my phone. “Were you ever going to tell me about my real parents?” I rush out.

“W—What are you talking about, sweetie?”

“Oh, I don’t know… Maybe how you failed to mention that my father was a member of a motorcycle club and how my mother’s brother is the one who killed him? Or how you never thought to mention that you went to school with my mother. Not once.”

There’s a pause. “We had no choice, Allie,” she says sadly.

“You were her best friend!” I shout, forcing back the tears that prickle at the back of my eyes. “Of course you had a choice. You could have chosen to tell me the truth, but instead you’ve lied to me for twenty years. Do I really know you and Jer at all?”

“Of course you know us. All we’ve ever wanted is to give you the best childhood, one you deserved. One where you were loved and where you were safe. It’s what your mom and dad wanted for you.”

“This is why you were so against me coming here, wasn’t it? Why you tried to dissuade me from moving?”

“Yes, but you’ve always been so headstrong and stubborn, there was no way we could stop you and even if we had told you the truth, you still would have gone.”

“Of course I would. I deserve to know the truth of what happened to them. I was there when my dad died, I held him in my arms as the life drained from him, how could I just let that go?”

A sob slips free on the other end and my chest squeezes from hearing her cry. My own tear slides down my cheek.

“Your parents loved you so much, sweetie. They entrusted you to us in the event that something bad ever happened to them. They made us promise to never tell you anything that could put you in danger. The club had connections that helped us move away and hide you from your uncle. We did what was necessary to keep you safe, please don’t condemn us for that. Your mother meant so much to me, I would have done anything for her, for you . All we’ve ever tried to do is protect you.”

“You still could’ve told me the truth.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Please know that Jer and I did it out of our love for you, for our daughter.”

I crack.

My heart rips wide open and a sob bubbles up on my chest and all of the anger inside me recedes. I can’t be angry at her and Jeremy. All they’ve ever done is give me the best life they possibly could have. They dedicated two decades of their lives to raising a little girl who wasn’t theirs. They loved me like a daughter and protected me the best way they knew, and when it all boils down to it, had I been in her position, I probably would have done the same thing.

“I’m sorry,” I cry.

“You don’t have to apologise, sweetie. I’ve been waiting for this phone call, dreading it, actually. It was only a matter of time before you learned the truth.”

“What was my mother like?” I ask, settling myself down onto the couch.

“She was kind and funny, she’d do anything for anyone. You’re a lot like her, you know? I saw it more and more the older you got. You have her sharp tongue and wicked sarcasm and you also have her undying kindness towards others. You love hard and fast, putting your whole heart into everything. Some days I would look at you and only see her.”

“Seems we’re more alike in other ways, too.” My voice comes out croaky as emotion clogs my throat.

“How so?”

“Apparently we share the same weakness for tattooed leather-clad bikers. I’m kind of seeing someone, Myles. He’s the President of Lawless.”

“Oh, wow… That is unexpected .”

“Not as unexpected as it was for me, believe me. It was never supposed to go this far between us, it just kinda happened.”

“Is he good to you?” she asks.

“He’s incredible. He has a son who is the sweetest kid.”

“Well, maybe Jer and I will have to take a trip to come and see you, meet the new man in your life.”

“I’d really like that.”

We talk for the next couple of hours and she tells me a little more about my parents but the conversation soon turns back onto the subject of Myles, my heart blossoming as I tell her more about the man I’m slowly but surely falling in love with. There’s no denying that it’s happening no matter how much I fought it. The things I feel when I’m around him are unlike anything I’ve ever experienced and it’s addictive. I like who I am when I’m with him. The only other relationship I have in comparison is a man who wanted me to be a kept woman, to cater to his every need and who’s life centred solely around him. He hated that I had ambition and wanted a career, that I had a voice and ideas of my own. He wanted to clip my wings, but Myles sets me free. He admires my strength and goals. He allows me to be me and not have to pretend to be someone I’m not.

All afternoon I’ve weighed up my options after learning Vaughn was the one who killed Brad Levins. Turning him in means incriminating Myles along with a group of men who I’ve since found out are practically family to me. Because at the heart of it, that’s what they are. They are a family, bound by loyalty rather than blood, a group of men who would do anything to protect each other and the ones they love, and that same bond that included my dad once, now includes me.

Because I’m Lawless too.

I’m torn between my heart and my duty as a police officer and I hate it but deep down I know what I have to do.

I have to protect my family.