Healing Gabe (The Last Hangman MC #3)(40)

“We did when we were little, before I moved away, you and Ant were too young to remember me.” he says looking nervous, expecting a bad reaction from Ayd.

“That’s awesome!” she exclaims grinning wide. “I can’t wait to see the baby pictures.”

“That’s my mission tomorrow, come back here and hunt the pictures down. Talking about babies, where is your little man?” I ask Ayd.

“My Mom is watching him. Why tomorrow?” She looks at me confused.

“This one right here, offered to take me on a bar hunt.”

“Bar hunt?” Nicole is the one looking confused.

“I’ve always wanted to open up my own bar. He offered to take me around town to see available places.” I grin.

“Ohhhh, can we come?” Nicole grins excited.

“Oh, f*ck me!” Bennett groans.

“Sorry, Ben, you’re not my type,” Nic says dramatically.

“Thank God! Gabe’s already going to be busting my balls about Viv, I don’t want him to want to break my neck because of you!”

“I wouldn’t be worried about Gabe, you couldn’t handle me!” Nicole retorts.

“How about we find the pictures and then go on the bar hunt?”

“Good idea. That way he can’t come back later and hide or sneak them all out.” I glare at him.

“Busted.” He grins innocently. “I actually do want to see those pictures. It’s been so long.”

“It has.” I smile softly and we all head upstairs, looking in all the rooms for any photo album or boxes.

After finding the pictures and another round of coffee and finishing the donuts, we all get on the road, Ben and I in my car. Nic, Ayd and the puppies follow in Ayd’s car. I’m glad that we’ll be out of the house for a while. I could use the distraction instead of driving myself crazy worrying about Gabe and what he’s doing, I don’t need the added stress.

I should have thought about the MC lifestyle before getting involved in any kind of relationship with Gabe. Sure, there are a lot of positives, you have a huge ass family, everybody loves each other and helps each other out, like a big community. When we all hang out together, we always have a good time and when the whole club goes out for rides with the women, it’s even more fun. But the bad aspects can sometime overwhelm the good. Never knowing if your man is going to come back to you alive and in one piece, if he’s going to be arrested or framed and be locked up for years and then there’s the emotional stress. The taking lives and having to do things they might not agree with. I know the Last Hangman are not as bad as most clubs but after a while, it’s bound to have an effect on the members.

A part of me wishes I had thought hard about the problems with being with a biker, but the other part is embracing this life with arms wide open. I guess only time will tell, but I have a feeling that I’m not the only one who’s going to end up getting hurt.

“What are you thinking about?” Bennett thankfully brings me back to reality.

“Nothing, just lost in my thoughts.”

“That can never be good.” He chuckles.

“Dickhead,” I mutter, grinning.

“I know, but you secretly like it.” He grins and focuses on the road.

After an hour of looking around, we stop at the fifth bar and it looks perfect. It’s close to home and has a nice feel about it, the others were way too flashy and modern for me. This one looks very simple from the outside, it has big stone walls, a wooden roof, a long patio that runs along the entire front with a couple of long benches along the wall, and a couple of picnic tables at the front. I don’t see any sign showing that it’s for sale, but I’m sure there’s a reason why he brought me here.

“This one looks f*cking amazing, Bennett. Why didn’t you take us here in the first place?” Nicole yells at Bennett, just as I was about to say the same thing.

“I wanted to keep this one as a surprise.” He grins, all smug and proud of himself.

“I don’t see anything saying that it’s for sale, though.” I sigh. “It’s perfect.”

“It is for sale, but I was thinking of buying it, you know, expand my horizons.” That voice, it chills my blood every time I hear it.

“Jared.” I say through gritted teeth.

“Viv, always a pleasure.” He chuckles darkly. I turn around and look at him. “Even more beautiful than I remember. How have you been?” he asks casually.

“What the f*ck are you doing here?” I’m ready to jump on him and pound the shit out of his face.

“I told you baby, I wanna buy this place.” He smirks.

“Oh, no, you won’t! It’s mine and you have no f*cking business being here.” I spit at him.

“Aww, isn’t that cute. See, soon, the Kings will be stronger than the Hangman so you should side with the right club. I mean, you are still mine, I wa-”

“I never was yours!” I cut him off. “Every single time your hands were on me, I wanted to die. You disgust me. How could any woman want you? You’re a f*cking sleazy, chauvinistic pig who wants nothing but power to compensate for what you lack in your pants!” I yell at him. Probably not the best idea, but I couldn’t keep it in me anymore. “You’re a f*cking murderer, rapist and kidnapper. I should have done the same thing to you that I did to Trent.” I smirk at him as he pales.