“Really? The club is f**king seething. Killer is one of them, Kels. You’ve f**ked up bad. You look like a f**king whore to them, using one of their own. Murphy didn’t want me to come to you, but I know you.”
“I swear I didn’t mean to lead him on. I know this is all my fault. You have to understand I never expected to meet someone like Killer. Where is he?” Kelsey felt sick to her stomach over what happened. She wished there was some way for her to take back what was happening.
“He’s gone to drown his sorrows with Steven. I think Zero followed them as well, but don’t worry about them. You’ve got to tell me about this man you married and didn’t tell a f**king soul. What was all that about?” Tate asked. “God, I’m so f**king angry at you.”
“You have no right to be angry at me. Killer has a right to be angry, not you,” Kelsey said.
“So I mean nothing to you now.” Tate glared at her.
Closing her eyes, Kelsey saw Killer’s pain once again. “No, you mean something to me. You’re my best friend. Killer is the love of my life. I’ve hurt him, and that was the last thing I want to do. He means so much to me. Why you shouldn’t be getting angry is you’re my friend, and as my friend you should accept the fact I f**k up. You’re a complete bitch at times, but I accept you.”
“You think I’m a bitch?” Tate asked.
“You know you are.”
“Wow, I can’t believe you called me a bitch.”
Kelsey stared at Tate for several minutes.
“I’m still mad at you,” Tate said.
“I’m sure the whole club is mad at me for what I did to Killer.” She hugged her friend, but there was a noticeable difference in their hold.
Licking her lips, she walked into the kitchen, leaving Tate to get comfortable. Tate’s anger was more than deserved. She should have said something much sooner. They’d been friends for some time, and she knew Tate spoke her mind about everything.
Making two cups of tea she walked back to find Tate with her feet up on Kelsey’s sofa.
“So it’s true then about your husband?” Tate asked.
“Yes, it’s true.”
“You’re not wearing a ring. I’ve never seen you wearing a ring.” Tate grabbed Kelsey’s left hand, stroking over the na**d finger.
“I don’t wear a ring. Hold on, I’ll grab it for you.” She left the sitting room and went straight for the bedroom. Her jewelry box lay on the vanity table. Opening up the bottom draw she saw the one ring she never wanted to wear. She took it out of the box and carried it back with her. Kelsey placed it in Tate’s open palm.
“There,” she said, taking a seat beside her.
“Fuck.” Tate whistled, looking at the ring. “Your man has got money.”
“He’s not my man.” The only man she ever wanted was long gone now, and it was all her fault for not coming clean about being married. She was a f**king idiot.
“You’ve got to tell me the story from the beginning and leave nothing out. I’m nosy, and you owe me some kind of explanation about all of this.”
Kelsey cuddled a pillow hoping it would protect her against the feelings spiraling inside her. She felt sick to her stomach but knew she had little choice. All of the emotions running through her were her own fault.
“There’s nothing romantic in my past.”
“I don’t care. Look at what happened between Murphy and me. Romance doesn’t play into everything. I want to scream and shout at you, but I’m simply going to hold your hand and wait for you to explain.” Tate held her hand, offering her some comfort. Kelsey held onto the only friend she had in the world. It was time to finally admit the truth to Tate.
“Over the years my parents had gotten into a lot of debt. I mean a lot. I was so shocked when I heard the amount. I was eighteen and getting ready to apply for college, but we couldn’t afford it.” She licked her lips recalling the anger she felt when her parents admitted the truth about their ways. Her mother had gambling problems, and when her father found out, he tried to stop it and then became addicted like her mother. Now, they were both able to live without gambling away a single cent, but they had also become ill. She’d not really known her parents at all, and what she did know about them, she didn’t like. “I didn’t have a clue. They went away when I was seventeen for a week. I didn’t think much of it, and it seems they mortgaged the house or something. About a year later, Michael came telling them he wanted payment or we were out.” Kelsey laughed. “I didn’t have anything to give him, and neither did my parents. They didn’t tell me the truth of what was going on. I mean, why should they? I was their only daughter, but it was none of my business.”
“I thought your family life was all happy and rosy?”
“I didn’t want to burden you with the heavy truth that my family was not all that great. I wasn’t raised by bikers, but I wasn’t raised by saints either.” Kelsey wiped the tears from her eyes. “We couldn’t come up with the money, and so he gave us a set time to get out of his home. It was hard, packing everything up and not knowing where you’re going to go. I hated every second of it, and I knew I’d make sure it would never happen again. I wouldn’t allow myself to be like them.”
Tate squeezed her hand.
“Anyway, he came back and said if I married him, signing the prenuptial agreement then he’d give my parents back their house, deal with all of their debts, and then pay me a healthy sum along with a monthly allowance.” The tears fell thick and fast. Admitting the truth aloud hurt her deeply. “I sound like a whore.” She voiced her own horrid thoughts.
“Did you sleep with him?” Tate asked.
“No, I agreed, and we were married within the month. We didn’t kiss or anything. We’ve not done anything but hold hands. God, I was so stupid. You know there have been days I’ve not even given him a thought.” Kelsey laughed. “He didn’t mean anything to me at all. He offered me a lifeline, and like a stupid eighteen year old girl I took it.”
“Do you have any idea why he married you?” Tate asked.
“No, I’ve not got a clue. I’m so stupid. We were not even attracted to each other.”
“No, you’re not stupid for what you did. You’re stupid for not saying anything now. Why didn’t you say anything?”