Page 31 of Secrets

"Seriously?"

Smirking, Lex nods. "Seriously. But I'm sincerely hoping you see that it's worth it to stay. Maybe you need a fresh start with the club like I have. Maybe you need to take a month-long vacation to a cabin in the woods by yourself. Whatever it is, I'm pretty sure you can push through. But if you can't, I'm here."

"Thank you, Lex," Hannah says, feeling a little less pressure than she has been feeling since she got released.

For the first time since she stepped out of that harsh prison, she feels like she has options. That she isn't stuck, and it turns out, it might just be what she needs to decide what she really wants to do. Having a choice makes everything else feel a little less daunting. But the real question is whether she can truly get past everything that's happened.

Chapter Twelve

Summerville

Chance

Home. It's the only place Chance wants to be right now. Kara hasn't come back home since the night she threw her kutte in his face. In front of everyone in the clubhouse. Not only did she break his heart, she humiliated him.

What keeps bothering him is the fact he brought some of that on himself. He knows he didn't have to confront her the way he did. He wanted to embarrass her the way he'd been embarrassed when he talked to Gary at the gas station. He was hurt that someone thought she was involved with someone else, especially a Kingsmen. The last thing he ever expected was to hear her all but confirm it to be true.

It took years to get his girl back. Losing a best friend is devastating, and he was patient. More patient than he wanted to be, but he loved her. He still does, but he'll do whatever it takes to stop feeling that love.

What sucks the most is the fact he had gotten his girl back. The woman who loved him and made him feel like the luckiest man in the world. The type of girl to get on her knees outside of the clubhouse because she knows he's against risking anyone else seeing her goods as he takes her. And she's been playing him. But for how long?

Chance knows this has something to do with the idea she thinks she saw Dani. It hurt him to tell her she was wrong because he'd love to have Dani back, too. To bring back the woman whose death affected everyone in such a profound way. He'd also get his friend and President back, but feeding into her fantasy would do nothing more than bring her back into the downward spiral she'd been on.

Maybe he should have gone with her to the house to prove it was nothing. Maybe she would have been satisfied and felt he supported her. They would have been on the same path they were on before all of this shit happened, and he'd have her home with him instead of God knows where.

"Chance, open up, man!" Rocky shouts from the other side of his front door.

"Come on, we’re going out," Mac adds.

Standing up, he swings open the door. "No."

"Come on, man. You only come around when we have Church or a run, and being holed up in here alone isn't good for you," Mac says.

He looks at Rocky. "Shouldn't you be home with your girl? She's not looking like she's super thrilled about life out of prison."

The words hit their intended mark, and Chance feels a little bad. It's no secret Rocky's having a difficult time reconnecting with Hannah, and he knows using it against him is a low blow, but he does not want to go out tonight.

"She wants some time to herself, so I'm out for the night," Rocky says, his face twitching.

"I don't want to go out. I was humiliated in front of everyone, so the last place I plan to be is in that fucking clubhouse unless I have to."

Mac wraps his arm around Chance's shoulders and pulls him outside. "That's why we're not going to the clubhouse. We're going to a bar."

"Why pay more to get drunk when I can drink myself stupid at home for less?"

"Because we're buying?" Rocky says.

Giving in, he climbs on his bike and follows them to one of the three bars in the area. Coincidently, it's a bar Snake's daughter, Marnie, bartends at. But the moment he walks in, he knows it was a mistake.

"Shit," Rocky says, grabbing one of his arms.

Mac sighs. "Of all the bars to walk into, why the fuck did it have to be this one?"

"Because Marnie's bartending tonight," Rocky says.

Chance glares at Kara as she sits on the lap of a Kingsmen member with her arm wrapped around his neck. "He's fucking dead," he growls.

Both of them grab his arms and keep him back, pulling him away from the couple as Marnie stares with wide eyes. The fact she's bartending in a bar where Kingsmen frequent also pisses him off, even though he knows he has no right to be. It's not her fault, and she can't pick the customers.

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