Page 43 of Ethan's Sky

“How the fuck do we know? If she’s been with them this whole time…she was right under my fucking nose. What’s worse is George, Ghost, even Gabefucking knew! They had to know!” I shout, running both hands through my hair. “I could’ve gone to her, made her talk to me, tell me what the hell happened that night. Talked her into testifying.”

“Yeah, but maybe it’s better you didn’t.” His words catch me a little off guard, especially since he knows how hard I looked for her. Hell, he helped me.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you weren’t ready to hear it.” His hands come up in a placating manner. “Hear me out. You were angry. Your head was so far up your own ass you couldn’t see straight. Getting in fights. Drinking until you passed out almost every night. You were a fucking wreck. You wouldn’t have heard what she had to say, and honestly, you probably would’ve scared the shit out of her, in the state you were in.”

“Ok, you’re right, but why not tell meafterI got my shit together? Why hide her from me? From the club? With all the computer guru shit you do, evenyoucouldn’t find her. Yet, there she was, hiding in plain sight.” I grip my hair with both hands and pull. “Ghost got his name for his ability to make people and evidence disappear without a trace. I don’t know why I didn’t think he could do something like this until now.”

Maybe because he’s a convincing asshole.

“He’s her uncle, man. You must know he would go to any lengths to keep her safe. Even hide her from those he trusts the most. He’d have to.” He grabs a pencil off my desk and starts rolling it on the desk. “There are a lot of things I’m sure you don’t know about. There are three sides to every story. Take Emily’s death. There’s what we know, what we think, and what really happened. No one saw everything, not even Skyler. Whatever she did see, must’ve been pretty fucked up for everyone to want to hide her away. And at the time, I don’t think it would’ve mattered. You wouldn’t have accepted any of it.”

“What the hell does that mean? I don’t understand.” I throw my hand up exasperated. “What the hell was she running from? Me? That’s bullshit!” I stand up and pace the room. “She knew she could’ve come to me. She fucking should’ve.”

“I don’t know. That’s something you’ll have to ask her. But if you consider all the shit going on around George’s death. All the unknowns still hanging in the balance. Just the fact he felt the need to involve Vincenzo Parisi as a way of protecting her… come on, man. Obviously, there’s a reason they kept her whereabouts hidden. Maybe it wasn’t Emily’s death, or you she was running from. She could’ve felt responsible for not stopping it from happening. We don’t know. Hell, maybe George got himself into some trouble, with him constantly on the road, they might’ve thought sending her to Eli was the best option. Hell, it could’ve been a club rival he got mixed up with. You know there’s bad blood with the Devils since Maggie’s death and only the original patched members know how deep that rivalry runs.” He gives me a look and I know he’s right. The old timers don’t talk about any of the shit that went down when Maggie died withanyone,not even us. “Maybe they didn’t tell you because they knew you would go to her. Everyone knew how sprung you two were on each other. If you’d chased after her, trouble could have followed you right to her. I don’t have those answers for you. But we both know there’s more to this shit than just a girl who ran away from home. The question is are you willing to accept whatever it may be?”

“The fuck is that supposed to mean?”

“It means, asshole, if Skyler was to tell you the truth, would you really listen? Let her explain? Or are you going to hold out until she gives you the explanationyouwant to hear?” He gives me a pointed look. “Skyler may have had absolutely nothing to do with Emily’s death. What if Emily’s death just happened to be on the same night George or Ghost got in some shit, and it was all coincidence? There are a million possibilities. Can you accept the truth even if it’s not the truth you’ve been believing?”

“She was the one who called it in Hawk. She called in Emily’s death. It can’t have been coincidence.”

“How do you know? What if Skyler was already on her way out of town when she ran into Emily? They were always together. Everyone knew it. Except on that night. Don’t you want to know why?”

“But then…”

“But what? You know there’s a possibility I’m right. But will you accept it if I am? Can you?”

“But if she did see something, knew something about Emily’s murder and she fucking left town… Sky and Emily’s piece of shit boyfriend disappeared the same night. It can’t be coincidence Hawk. You heard the same rumors I did about Skyler and that piece of shit screwing around on me and Emily. Maybe he’s hiding in Mountain Heights too.”

“Do you hear the bullshit you’re spewing? Do you honestly believe anything you’re saying right now? Or are you just so pissed you can’t see past your own ass to hear the truth?”

“What the hell else am I supposed to believe?” I shout, throwing my chair against the wall. “She’s been gone for six years, Hawk. She left the night my sister was murdered. The same night the piece of shit Emily was dating disappears, without a fucking trace mind you, and neither of them ever comes back…until Skyler needsthe club’s help.Myclub.Mybrothers.” I begin pacing again, shoving my hands through my hair. My heart is racing. My breathing ragged. I’m trying desperately to keep myself from storming out the door and dragging her ass out of her house to make her fucking tell me the truth.

“She comes into the clubhouse, surrounded by Eli’s men who are all hugging on her and laughing with her. Cash acts like she’s fuckinghis. She had a life there.”A life without me.I don’t say those words out loud though or Hawk will know what a pathetic asshole I really am. It’s gutting me to think she has a life without me. One where she’s happy and I don’t know what else, but she did it withoutme.

Why?

“What if she is?” Hawk’s words stop me in my tracks. A sudden pang hits my chest and I find myself struggling to keep myself from punching him in his face.

“What if she iswhat?”

“What if she’s Cash’s?”

“She’s not.” It comes out on a growl.

“But what if she is?” He leans back, arching a brow, smiling.Asshole.“He’s staying with her at the house. He plans to hang around after the funeral is done. He says they’regood friends.What if he’s just waiting til after the funeral to lay his claim? If Skyler belongs to Cash,thenwhat are you going to do? You can’t go caveman apeshit on another brother’s woman, and you know it.”

“She’snothis.”

“What makes you so sure?”

I’m not. But I won’t say those words out loud. There was something about the way she looked at him when he wrapped his arms around her the last time we spoke. Almost as if reprimanding him for his display of ownership. She didn’t seem into whatever game he was playing. But I can’t be sure. Because they all seem to have some type of relationship with her that goes deeper than friendship.

Instead of explaining any of this to Hawk, I rattle off a bunch of miscellaneous facts. All of which I know are absolute bullshit.

“She drove her own truck. She didn’t ride in on the back of his bike.”

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