Page 21 of The Secrets We Keep

“Get the three of them out of here!” I bark.

Axel and Cane escort them out of church and the rest of us sit in shocked silence. “Why are you all looking at me like that?” I ask after a moment.

“Sorry pres,” Nash grimaces. “We thought you saw it. He looks just like you but with Sophie’s eyes.”

I see a few of them nod their heads in agreement, but my brother looks just as confused as me.

“There’s no way that Sophie would do that,” Rowan mutters.

“Maybe she had a good reason,” Luke offers softly.

“What possible reason could she have for keeping Grayson from his son?” Cole asks.

My mind whirls. I have a son that I didn’t know about. A son whose existence has been kept from me for seven years. I have a son with Sophie. She left town while she was pregnant.

“I have a son,” I rasp.

“We don’t know that,” Rowan replies. “You need to talk to Sophie.”

I nod and jump from my seat, barreling through the doors of church and rushing through the clubhouse. Everything around me is a blur as I run to my suite and punch in the code. When I enter the bedroom, Sophie jolts awake, her eyes wide in fear.

“What’s wrong?” She asks breathlessly.

I stare at her silently for a moment, unable to form the words with my tongue. I clear my throat. “Is Asher my son?”

16

SOPHIE

“Is Asher my son?” Grayson rasps.

My blood turns to ice.He knows.I don’t know how he found out, but he did. I had every intention of telling him last night, but he lulled me to sleep before I could. I was going to tell him this morning, but apparently, he took off and found out for himself before I could.

“What did you just say?” I whisper.

“Is. Asher. My. Son?” He grits out.

“Yes,” I whimper. His hands thrust into his hair and his shoulders droop. All the color leaves his face. “I wanted to tell you,” I continue in a rush. “I wanted to tell you last night. I wanted you to know from the start, but it wasn’t that simple,” I tell him as I scramble off the bed and stop in front of him.

He backs away from my touch like I repulse him. I don’t even try to hide my wince. “You wanted to tell me? What the hell stopped you?” He whisper hisses, careful to not wake up Asher even in his anger.

Tears fill my eyes. I walk backwards until my knees hit the mattress,then I sink onto it, my eyes never leaving his.

“I tried to talk to you last night, but you told me it could wait until the morning,” I begin. “I found out that I was pregnant the week before I left Silver Springs. I was terrified at first. I knew that we had planned this incredible life together and that we would eventually want kids, but I wasn’t sure how you would react to it happening so soon. You were on a run with your dad and Rowan and there was no way in hell that I was going to tell you over the phone, so I had to wait for you to come back,” I take a deep breath and continue with a sad smile on my face. “I had this cute plan on how to tell you. I found a baby sized leather cut and had it embroidered. It said, “daddy’s little biker.” The day before you got home, my dad confronted me. I don’t know how he found out, but he did. I took so many pregnancy tests that he probably found one,” I shake my head in disbelief. “He threatened me.”

“What?” Grayson rasps.

“He told me that if I didn’t leave Silver Springs he would ruin me. He told me that he wanted you to take over as the club president and that a baby would change your mind. He said that if I didn’t leave, he would tell you that the baby wasn’t yours and that I had cheated on you. He told me that if I didn’t leave, he would kill the baby himself,” I choke on a sob. “I didn’t even know if the baby was a boy or a girl and he was threatening them. I had only just found out I was pregnant, but I loved ourbaby more than myself. So, I packed my bag and left. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. My dad was always horrible to me. He blamed me for my mother not being alive. He hated how much I took him away from the club. But I never thought that my dad was so far gone that he’d threaten my child. I knew that if he threatened them, he’d have no problem threatening you,” I tell him with tears tracking down my cheeks. “I couldn’t risk it. I left and drove until I got to Atlanta. I got a job in a restaurant and worked through my pregnancy. I gave birth to Asher by myself.”

Tears are spilling from Grayson’s eyes now.

“When I saw him for the first time, all I could think of was you. He was your spitting image, except for his eyes. He’s the only reason I survived being away from you. I see you in him every single day. When he was one, I thought about coming back to Silver Springs, I thought that my dad would have gotten over everything and that I could risk it to come back to you. The day I was set to leave, a note was left on my car. It was from my dad. It was then I realized that he had someone watching me. Every few months from then on, I would get reminders of that. The longer that time went on, the less safe I felt,” I admit as I wipe the tears from my face.

“Two years ago, I decided to monitor the news for any word of my father, and low and behold two years later, his name popped up in an obituary. Seeing his name wasn’t enough, though. I had to see for myself that he was gone. That he couldn’t hurt us anymore.That he couldn’t hurt Asher or you,” I sniffle. “I swear that I wanted to tell you last night, Grayson. I saw the two of you asleep on the couch and I knew that I couldn’t wait any longer. I’ll understand if you hate me, but please don’t take it out on Asher. He adores you and he deserves to have you in his life.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Grayson says numbly.

“I’m so sorry, Grayson,” I choke out.

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