“Is that why-”
I nodded. “Topher was my best friend. But I couldn’t let Bea think she was all alone. I didn’t care if he hated me for it. I felt like I was doing the right thing. But then one day I found Bryce with Tatum. It was already too late. I couldn’t confess that I’d been lying to protect her. All I could do was make him pay what little he has to help with diapers and that sort of shit.”
Her hand went over her mouth, and fresh tears sprang from her eyes. I didn’t know if she was relieved by my confession or if I had made things worse, but it felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest after all of this time.
“So what happens now?” Her words hung heavy in the air between us. I’d fucked up. I no longer had even close enough to pay back the club and my time had come up.
“You go back to your mom. You don’t belong here, Princess.”
She took a step backward, and I struggled to keep from reaching out to her and pulling her into my arms. “Here.” I pulled my necklace over my head and held it out to her. She hesitated for a moment before taking it with shaking fingers.
“What’s this?”
“My end of the deal. No more secrets, Riley.”
I turned to walk away as she called after me. “Come with me.” I stopped, turning back to face her.
“What?”
“Come with me to California. Whatever it is you are running from, we can run together.”
“Riley, you don’t want to take on my problems.”
“I do. We can take them on together. Look, maybe I can’t fix whatever you have gotten yourself into, but we can at least go through it together.” The desperation in her voice was killing me. “We can leave now. We can just take my car. Stay in shitty hotels along the way. Whatever you want.”
“I can’t run like my father.” I rushed toward her, placing my hands on either side of her face and pulling her in for a deep kiss. Her body melted against mine as her fingers gripped the sides of my shirt. When I pulled back, I watched her eyes slowly flutter open.
“Goodbye, Princess.”
TWENTY-FOUR
Riley
When I’d come to Hollow Point, I thought I had the world figured out. Knox was right, the big iron gate couldn’t protect me from the world. Somehow he’d managed to slip through the cracks and lodged himself inside of my heart.
I hated him for it because I wasn’t prepared for him to break it.
I hurried inside of my house and up to my room, clinging to his necklace as I dropped to my knees, the bullet pendant pressed to my lips. I wiped my tears from my eyes as I drug my finger over his name that was imprinted across the bottom. As I turned it over in my hand, the top twisted.
“What the hell?” I gripped the top and turned again, pulling it free from the base and revealing a thumb drive. “No more secrets,” I whispered before a small laugh escaped me.
I began to pace across the floor as my laptop powered on. My mind was racing as I thought of what I would see on the drive. If he had done anything with Piper, it would devastate me, but there was no way I couldn’t watch.
When the screen finally lit, I sank down in the chair and shoved the drive into the USB slot. A window popped up on the screen with various folders. I hovered over the folder titled Piper.
I took a deep breath and hit play. I couldn’t help the audible gasp that escaped me when I saw Ezra’s head pop above the water in my pool. The way Knox had treated him after that finally made sense.
I moved my mouse over the next folder that was labeled Bea. It was a text file that explained what he had told me in person as well as a list of payments he’d gotten from Bryce. Tears began to wet my face as I continued to read more, clicking from folder to folder, filling in all of the holes of the mystery of who Knox really was. But his secrets weren’t the only ones he was keeping. He had enough information over the years to take down everyone in this town., including the Hollow Hellions.
Knox
I slipped inside of Greta’s house and grabbed a few sets of clothing, shoving them into an old book bag. I would need somewhere to lay low for a few days. I couldn’t have the club looking for me here. I just needed enough time to figure out how I would get the cash. I could find a new buyer for the bike.
Greta had left a note on the kitchen table saying she had gone out for groceries with the neighbor. I jotted down a quick reply telling her and Tatum that I loved them both before leaving the house.
I rode over to my shop, enjoying my final ride over the hills as the sun broke through the clouds. As I slowed to turn into the gravel lot of my shop, I cursed under my breath as I saw Topher and Ivory leaning against the large glass window of my shop. I parked my bike, rubbing my hand over my pocket and wishing I could text Riley and tell her not to show.
Taking off my helmet, I hung it on the handlebars before leaning my motorcycle on its kickstand.
“What brings you guys out here?” I asked, walking toward them.
“It’s payday,” Ivory spoke up.
“I said I’d come by the bar,” I replied as casually as I could.
Topher looked over his shoulder at the bike that was laying on its side. “I think it may have a few scratches.”
Ivory walked toward me, yanking at my book bag strap. “Going somewhere?” I let the bag slide from my arms. He yanked open the zipper, dumping my clothing on the ground. “You were gonna run just like your father?”
Topher pulled a gun from the back of his pants as his eyes narrowed on me.
“I wasn’t going anywhere. I was going to stay at my girlfriend’s house for a few days. I was coming to pay you.”
Topher cocked the gun and pointed at me. “Which girlfriend is that? Cadence? My sister? That rich bitch?”
I shook my head, unsure of which answer would piss him off the least.
“That Riley chick is kind of hot. Maybe I’ll pay her a visit after we leave here.”
I took a step forward, and Ivory pulled out his own weapon, pressing the cool metal against my temple.
“Where’s the fucking money?” Ivory asked.
“I don’t have it yet.”
“I’m a very reasonable man, Knox. I offered you a way out of your debt and this is how you thank me?”
I could hear the engine of a car as it slowly made its way through the hills. I closed my eyes knowing it had to be Riley. She was every bit as stubborn as I was and it was going to get us both killed.
I held my breath as I listened to the tires slowly crunch against the gravel behind me. As my eyes opened, I watched Topher’s eyes widen as he pulled back the hammer on his weapon.
“You fucking rat,” he yelled, and I dropped to my knees as bullets began to fly overhead. I pressed my face against the gravel, covering my head as the glass window behind me shattered. My chest became wet, and when I turned my head to the side, I saw Topher, eyes fixed on nothing as he lay next to me, blood seeping from his body and soaking the dirt between us.
When the shooting finally stopped, a cop grabbed at my arm, flipping me over. All I could think about was Riley. When she arrived, I was certain she would ruin Tatum. I never had imagined she’d be the person to try to save me.
The world slowed as my body was pulled from the ground. Police barked orders to each other around me, but the loudness of the gunfight had caused my hearing to become muffled.
“Don’t try to talk,” Someone yelled in my face as my eyes fluttered closed and an oxygen mask was slid over my face as a needle pricked my arm.
“He’s losing a lot of blood,” someone else yelled. I tried to lift my hand, but someone grabbed it and pressed it down against the gurney.
“His BP is dropping!”
I struggled to say something, anything, but I no longer had the energy. I was tired. Tired of running, of fighting. I gave in and let the sleep take over. The last memory that flashed through my mind was of Riley, lying next to me, tangled in her sheets as I pressed my lips to her shoulder. Then my entire world went b
lack.
TWENTY-FIVE
Riley
I sat in the cold, metal chair, my eyes dancing around the police station. Bikers in handcuffs were carted by me before a man in a suit stopped in front of me, pulling a card from the breast pocket of his suit jacket.
“Riley Vaughn?” He asked. I nodded, still in shock and unable to speak. “Your father is on his way, but he sent me to help you in the meantime.”
“Okay,” I whispered, trying to glance around him in hopes of seeing Tatum.
“Come on,” He gripped under my arm and helped pull me from the chair. My fingers went to the bullet flash drive that hung from my neck. I gripped it so tightly I thought it might crumble under the pressure. I’d given the police the files they would need on an old SD card. I still kept all of Knox’s secrets. He would have taken my secrets to his grave, and I would do the same for him.
“Wait, we can’t leave yet.” My eyes searched the building for Tatum, but they still hadn’t arrived.
“I was told to take you home and wait for your father and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“When will he be here?”
He pulled back the sleeve of his jacket and sighed as he looked at his watch. “They should be at your house within the hour. You will be on a plane an hour after that. We have to go.”
“Okay.” I let him pull me from the building in a daze. As we stepped out into the sun, I was face to face with Greta and Tatum.
Tatum’s face was red, her eyes swollen with the countless tears she’d shed. We stood frozen, no words left to say. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled me against her. I sobbed, clinging to her as if she held me to the earth.
“I tried to save him,” I whispered against her shoulder. Tatum nodded as Greta rubbed her hand over my hair.
“Ma’am,” an officer spoke up from behind me. I reluctantly pulled back from our embrace.
“Go,” I whispered to Tatum before stumbling a few steps across the parking lot.
***
I sat in the back of the sleek, black sedan as I stared off at the mountainside, not saying a word as we traveled back to my house.
I entered the code to my gate, no longer feeling safe on either side of it. “Will my father be coming back home with me?” I asked as the man’s eyes met me in the rearview mirror.
“Production on his show is being halted as they scout for a new location. Your mother will be waiting for you.” He offered me a small smile as he got out of the car and pulled open my door for me.
“Can you do me a favor?” I dug my car keys from my purse and handed them to him. “Make sure this car goes to Tatum Flynn. Tell my father it’s really important.”
He nodded before taking the keys from my hand.
I slipped up to my room to gather some of my belongings, avoiding looking at the tangled mess of covers on my bed that I’d shared with Knox.
There was nothing here that I wanted to keep but my memories of him. I curled up in the center of my bed and sobbed until I was too exhausted to hold open my eyes.
When I awoke, my father was standing over me with Piper at his side. Everything they said was a blur. None of the last few weeks felt real, and all I wanted to do was slip back into my old life as if this had all been a nightmare.
EPILOGUE
Riley
I’d spent the last year and a half keeping my head down. I worked harder than I ever had in my life. My old friends had tried to get me to come around, but I had no interest in hollow connections when I knew what it felt like to really care about someone.
“I can’t stand that you’re so grown up,” my mother whispered, her hand over her mouth as if she was about to cry. I rolled my eyes before pulling her in for a hug.
“If you cry, I’m going to cry.” I laughed before pulling back and wiping away a stray tear that had fallen.
“I just worry about you.” She placed a hand on either side of my face and smiled sadly before stroking my hair that was now cut to just above my shoulders in a simple bob.
“There is nothing to worry about. I’m just not ready to go off and start college somewhere right now. I need a break.”
“From me?” She asked, and I pulled her back against me.
“Of course not, Mom. I just need to get away, find myself. I’ll be back in time to see you get your two-year sobriety chip. I promise.”
Her arms fell from my sides, and she took a small step back. “Okay, go. Get out of here before I change my mind.”
I gave her a small smile before picking up my duffle bag and heading out of the door into the car my father had waiting for me.
Slipping into the back, I stared out of the window as we made our way down the highway, crawling along in traffic. My eyes fixed on a group of motorcyclists as they passed by, revving their engines as they weaved their way between cars and disappeared into the distance.
***
I’d slept through most of my flight and was now finally on my own as I struggled to check into my hotel room.
“I was worried you wouldn’t show up,” A voice called from behind me. I turned around dropping my bag as I wrapped my arms around my father’s neck.
“And miss a chance to get out of California?”
“We wrap up filming tomorrow, and they’ll be a big dinner. But after that, I’m all yours. We can go wherever you want, and I have cleared my schedule for the next three days.”
“Sounds perfect,” I smiled up at him. “I’ve already made a list of places I’d like to see.”
He cleared his throat as he looked over my shoulder. “I have someone I’d like you to meet.”
Turning around I locked eyes with a woman in a green maxi dress with sunglasses on top of her head, holding her hair back from her eyes. She smiled as she walked up to my father’s side and he wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Riley, this is Julianne, my girlfriend.”
I looked between them before letting out a gasp. “You didn’t tell me you were seeing anyone! I’m really happy for you, dad.”
“Well, I wanted to take my time and make sure this one was right.”
Julianne laughed, smacking him playfully on the chest. “How about you, Riley? Anyone special in your life?” She asked.
I cringed, shaking my head. “No, no one.” My hand went to my chest, feeling for the necklace that laid below the fabric of my t-shirt. I always kept his memory against my heart.
“Well, you are young. You have all the time in the world to fall in love, and there is no better place for romance than France,” she smiled, and my father shook his head, apologizing silently from above her.
“Let’s go get you settled in your room and then you can go relax on the beach for a bit.”
“You aren’t sticking around?”
“We have an early call time tomorrow, but I’ll be over as soon as we wrap.”
***
I stared out of the window of my hotel room, taking in the old architecture and watching the people move around below. My dad and Julianne had headed back to their hotel to rest up before an early shoot tomorrow. My body was exhausted from traveling but I could see the ocean waves lapping against the beach on the distance.
I had spent months keeping to myself and for the first time in as long as I could remember, I wanted to escape.
I quickly changed into a pair of shorts and sandals and made my way out of the building and onto the street. I crisscrossed my way through the streets until I was finally staring at the water, breathing in the salt air. Kids ran and played around me, tourists snapped photographs, and others laid out in the sun, soaking up the rays.
I smiled to myself as I kicked off my sandals and picked them up before letting my toes sink into the sand.
Off in the distance, several men were throwing a Frisbee. I sat down on the warm beach, my eyes focused on the horizon.
A man yelled something in French and another called back to him in English. I closed my eyes, letting the warmth wash over my face,
remembering what it felt like on the back of Knox’s bike. A stray tear rolled down my cheek as a shadow was cast over my face.
“Excuse me,” I cracked open my eyes and he bent down, grabbing his Frisbee a few feet from me. “My friend can’t throw.” He smiled before heading back to his friends.
“It’s fine,” I mumbled before laying back on the sand.
I fell asleep to the laughter of children and the gently rolling waves just as the sun was setting.
“You lost?” A voice called from above me. I rubbed my sand covered hand over my eyes as I slowly blinked them open.
“Ouch,” I groaned, as I tried to blink, my eyes tearing up. “Why would you ask that?”
“Because you don’t look like you’re from around here, Princess.”
I sucked in a ragged breath as my eyes landed on a bare chest, traveling upward to familiar blue eyes.
His hair was longer now, almost to his chin and he had a short beard and tanned skin, but I’d know Knox’s eyes anywhere.
I lurched forward, wrapping my arms around his neck as his arms banded tightly around my back, lifting me from my feet as he stood. I buried my face in his neck and closed my eyes. If this was a dream, I didn’t want to ever wake up.
“How are you here?” I asked as he pressed his lips against my cheek.
Knox
I held Riley so tightly against my chest, I was afraid I was going to crush her.
“They told us you...” she pulled back from me as if I was somehow a figment of her imagination.
“On the way to the hospital, I made a deal. The cops had been looking into the club for a long time. The information you gave them was the first break they’d had in a long time. They gave me my chance to get out.”