“Calla?” a powerful masculine voice says in my ear, alarming me.

“Manny?” I place my hand over my heart, surprised to see Cain’s best friend from school.  “You frightened the hell out of me.”

His deep chuckle rumbles around the music.

“Sorry about that.”

I freeze when he comes into view.

“Girl. It’s been way too damn long since the last time I saw you. And fuck me straight to hell, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”

Even though it’s dark and he can’t see me, I roll my eyes.

“How have you been?” he asks.

“Great, until I came here expecting to get Cain to sign for a divorce and find myself being held hostage,” I scoff.

“About that..,” he begins, scratching the back of his head. “Look, Calla. I know you have no clue what the hell is going on, and I’m one of the very few people here who knows the truth as to why you took off.”

I go to interrupt him and he holds up a hand.

“Just listen,” he says.

“Shit’s been bad for years. I mean, real bad. Cain had it in his mind when he came back after you left him that he was going to set things straight within this club. Do right by you and find a way to get you back. You may not believe me when I tell you this, and frankly I don’t blame you, but I’m not bullshitting you when I tell you that what he did fucking destroyed him. He took off when he couldn’t find you. He disappeared for over a year, and to this day, whenever anyone asks him where he was, he tells them it’s none of their damn business. No one, not even his dad, knew where he went.”

Manny takes a long drink of his beer. Eyes trained straight ahead as he goes on.

“He hasn’t been the same since. He came back bitter and filled with hate for everyone around him. He dug right into learning everything about this place. Told his dad off more times than I can remember. And then a few years ago, those fucking Savages declared war on the club. Shit went to hell and Jeb ended up getting himself killed. Cain fucking lost it when that happened. He turned into a fucking crazy man. No one could reason with him.”

A dull ache forms in my chest. I feel for Cain and the fact he was blindsided by all of this, but my heart can’t get past the fact that he didn’t love me enough to stay true to his vows or the promises he made me. He disappeared for a very long time... we could have left together and tried to work things out. So many things could be different right now if he hadn’t given up on us so easily. I turn back to Manny.

“Do you know where Cain disappeared to?”

He chugs back some more of his beer.

“Yup.”

“Are you going to tell me?”

“Nope.”

I cross my arms over my chest.

“It doesn’t really matter. What’s done is done. I couldn’t care less.”

“Keep telling yourself that. Maybe when you’re ninety, you’ll believe it.”

He laughs at his own joke. I don’t find any of this funny at all. I want answers, and Manny most likely has them.

“Who are these Savages, and what does this all have to do with me?” I ask abruptly.

“They’re the fucking enemy,” he says without hesitation. “Why they’re the enemy is a story for Cain to tell you, not me. I will say this, though. The Savages have the worst reputation of all of the MCs. They think they can rule every other club out there. Those assholes will kill men, women, even members of their own club. Hell, they’ve gone as far as killing police officers.”

Manny takes another swig of beer as I let that information sink in.

“Jeb didn’t take their shit. He was out on a ride with his wife, who was one of the sweetest women I’ve ever met, constantly going to bat for Cain when he and his dad would get into it. Those evil bastards shot and killed the both of them. From what we all heard, there wasn’t much left of the bodies by the time they were discovered. And before you ask how we know it was them, those fuckers carve a big ‘S’ into their victims’ foreheads afterwards. Somehow they found out about you, Calla. They’ve been threatening Cain with you for several years now and that’s why he’s left you alone. Why he didn’t come after you before that shit went down, well, that’s on him.”

His words slice me and I feel sick. I wobble on my feet, anxiety curling around my stomach. Invisible hands scuttle up my throat, clawing dreadfully to asphyxiate me. Manny grabs me by the arm and leads me to a picnic table where he helps me sit down.

“You need a drink?”

I shake my head slowly.

“No. I think I need to be clear-headed for this. I just… I can’t breathe. Is this like a war? Gangs fighting gangs?”

My heart races. For God’s sake, I have had these ruthless criminals looking for me for all these years and Cain has been protecting me? I don’t know what the hell to think anymore.

“No. The Savages have a lot of enemies. For years they have thought they ruled the streets of Detroit, but they’ve been falling apart for a while, now. There’s a few of them left out there. The few that want to taunt Cain with you. The main one seems to have vanished. He’s out there somewhere.”

So a man who is not above killing to get what he wants is on the loose, and no one can find him. The back of my neck itches as if a target were painted on it. I need to know more.

“Who is this man? What’s his name?”

“His name is Kryder, and he’s a remorseless son of a bitch.” A grim look crosses his face. “I can’t imagine how you’re feeling right now. Cain will kick my fucking ass if he finds out I’ve told you any of this. He’s lost in his own head right now after seeing you today.”

I sneer at his comment.

“He’s lost? I doubt it. He’s been harsh, rude, and inconsiderate since I’ve gotten here.”

“I know, but trust me. Your safety has been his top priority for years.”

I crane my head to look up at him.

“It’s been you, hasn’t it? You’ve been watching me this whole time, haven’t you?”

He simply nods.

“You dirty liar. Not two minutes ago, you just said long time no see. It may have been a long time since I’ve seen you last, but you’ve been stalking me this whole time.”

“You didn’t even know I was watching you. Don’t get your panties all bunched up, woman. I didn’t stalk. I protected.”

Both of us laugh. Now I know why Cain knows so much about me. I’m grateful for whatever reason he felt he needed to have me protected.

“Exactly how long have you been watching me?” I ask.

“I’ve been living in Canada for the past few years. Cain didn’t trust anyone else with your safety, and neither did I. Although today you threw me for a loop when you hopped in your car and drove here.”

“Yeah, well. I had been thinking about it for a while now. Today seemed like the day, so I just took off. If I had known all of this was going on, I would have just given you the papers myself, or let them be delivered by a process server and left it up to him whether to respond or not,” I say righteously. “Either way, the Canadian courts would have granted me a divorce.”

Manny’s no fool. He knows damn well I could have had someone else deliver these papers instead of coming here in person. Why didn’t I?

He shrugs.

“It’s your life, Calla. Never really put much thought into watching you go into the courthouse. You’re in and out of there all the time, with law school and all. Do your parents know? About the divorce, I mean.”

I shake my head.

“No, they don’t know. And you’re right, Manny. It is my life. A life I need to start living.”

“I agree,” he says a little too quickly.

I don’t think he believes I want this divorce, but I’m not in the mood to argue with him over it. I want my life back, that’s all.

“You really did keep an eye on me, huh?” I reach up and kiss his cheek, lightening the heavy mood that has shrouded us. “Seriously, though. I can’t believe you have given up years of your life just to watch me walk around school, or go to parties and study groups. God, you must have been bored out of your mind. My life has been nothing but one big uninteresting bag of books.”