My heart aches for her, and I wish I could wipe away her memories of that awful night.
“You’re not afraid?” I ask. My heart rate hasn’t returned to normal since Nico started talking.
“Of course, I am. I’m terrified all of the time, Kenna, worried that they will come back to finish what they started, especially in the wake of the guys’ retaliation. But I trust Coop and the club. They’ll keep me safe.”
“But, why? They didn’t keep you safe before.” I just can’t understand her faith in this motorcycle club, even though I do trust Mark. Mostly.
“Because Kenna, despite what you think of them, they aren’t bad men. They did everything in their power to rescue me, and now I’m getting better day by day, and I’m safe.” She sighs. “They have ways of doing things that might not be agreeable to you, but it works for them.”
“Ways like just telling them to take care of someone politely? Like it’s nothing. Just an everyday occurrence?” I shake my head. “That’s not how things should be done, Kels.”
“It’s not. They don’t kill people every day. And they have to vote anyway. Like when they rescued me.”
She closes her eyes, and her voice goes soft. “When they raided the warehouse to free me, a few people were killed, and that happened because of me. I know why they did it, why it was necessary, but it doesn’t change the fact that those men died to rescue me.”
I drop down on the sofa and pat the spot beside me until Kelsey joins me. “My only regret about that is that they didn’t kill them all.”
“They will,” she says with confidence. “Eventually. Probably after they vote on it.”
“They vote on killing people?” My eyes go wide with shock. “I’m not sure what’s worse, voting on killing someone or simply doing it.”
Kelsey laughs. “Neither one is pleasant, but there has to be a way, and this is their way.”
I shake my head as panic settles in my gut. “I don’t like it, Kelsey, not at all. As much as I care about Mark, and I do, more than I want to admit, I don’t want to be a part of anything like that. You shouldn’t want that either.”
Kelsey sighs, and her expression softens. “I love Coop with my whole heart, Kenna. I love him, and I’m going to be his wife. And…” she whispers as her lips curl into a sweet smile, “I’m going to be the mother of his child. He doesn’t know it yet, but I’m pregnant. We’re building a life together, so this is all a part of my life, and I trust my man to keep us both safe.”
Her words stop me cold. “Pregnant? You’re pregnant?”
Kelsey nods, her smile growing wider by the second. “I am.”
“I don’t know if I should jump up for joy or ask you what the fuck you’re thinking! I mean, babies are cool and all that, but it’s also terrifying.”
“Right?” She lets out a shaky laugh. “You think his club thinks he should be with a rich girl in med school? Probably not, but he loves me, and they have to accept that. They all put their lives at risk to save me, Kenna, because of the strength of Coop’s feelings for me.”
I nod and accept her words. “Well, that’s not what’s happening between Mark and me.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Kenna. Ace is a good man, but he isn’t the kind of man who forms attachments easily, and he seems quite attached to you.”
“That’s just the afterglow of really incredible sex.” That’s all it is, and I plan to keep telling myself that until my head and my heart are perfectly in sync.
T0 do anything else is dangerous and stupid.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ace
“All right, we all know why the fuck we’re here tonight. Don’t we?” After all the shit Nico told me, the only thing left to do was call a Church meeting for the whole club.”
I looked around the room at all the nodding heads, glad I didn’t have any opposition.
“Now that I know what Hector is planning, we can act instead of reacting to their bullshit.
Shades beats his fist against the table. “Yeah, so we can obliterate the fuck outta the Iron Kings.” He flashes a smile returned by all the guys around the table.
“I’m down for that,” Coop growls. “After what they did to Kelsey, I’m happy to burn each and every one of those fuckers alive.”
The shadow in his eyes matches those I’ve seen in Kelsey’s. I know they won’t go away until he’s had his proper revenge, probably not even then. “So what’s the plan?” he asks, leaning forward, ready for action.
“First,” I say, choosing my words carefully so nobody goes off half-cocked. The club may be called the Reckless Souls, but this mission is all about planning.