Hollow (Hollow Point #1) (16 page)

TWENTY-THREE

I slid into my seat just after class began. Mr. Donovan was going over our Algebra homework that I’d completely forgotten about. I could feel Tatum’s eyes burning holes into the back of my head the entire class.

Pulling out my cell phone, I typed her a quick text message to tell her I wanted to talk to her. She didn’t respond, and when I glanced over my shoulder, I watched her drop her phone into her bag, her eyes locked on the board ahead.

“Riley?” Mr. Donovan was staring at me, and it took me a moment to realize he’d said my name.

“What was the question?”

“Can you find X?”

“Um…” I stammered as my eyes danced over the equation on the board, unable to figure out the answer in my head.

“It’s thirty-two,” Tatum called out. I turned around to mouth
thank you
to her, but her eyes only narrowed.

***

As class ended, I hurried to gather my things and follow Tatum out into the hall. It was obvious she was trying to get as far away from me as possible.

“Tate,” I called after her, grabbing her arm. She yanked it from my grip as she spun around to face me.

“My name is Tatum.”

“I’m sorry.”

“For calling me Tate or for sleeping with Bryce?” She yelled out so others around us could hear her. I stiffened, my eyes cutting to the side where several people lingered, listening in to our conversation.

“I’m sorry.”

“Really?” She folded her arms across her chest as she glared at me. She didn’t look anything like the meek girl I’d met on my first day at Hollow Point. “I’m sure you weren’t hanging out with Knox behind my back either.”

My eyes widened fractionally, and it was all Tatum needed to see the truth.

“Who told you that?” I swallowed hard. “Did Knox tell you that?”

Tatum smirked before shaking her head. “Landon did.
You
just confirmed it. I should have known you were a liar.”

“Tatum, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Clearly.” She rolled her eyes, and I glanced around at the growing crowd that gathered.

“Please, can we just go somewhere and talk,” I lowered my voice to a whisper, hoping to diffuse some of the anger.

“There’s nothing left to say. I just hope it was worth it. And I hope he didn’t take your for too much money to pay off his debts.” Her eyes narrowed, and the story of how they’d become so close came to the forefront of my mind. She knew things about him that could destroy his life, and I’d handed her the ammunition.

“What are you talking about?”

Rolling her eyes, she leaned in closer to me. “He thinks I don’t know what is going on but I’m not a freaking idiot. Neither are the guys he runs with. In fact, you’re the only person who doesn’t seem to understand that Knox will do whatever it takes to save his own ass.”

I watched as Tatum turned and walked away before I pulled out my phone and called Knox. His phone had ringed several times before it went to voicemail. I looked around the hallway that was now emptying as people slipped into their next classes.

“Shit,” I shoved my phone back in my bag and slipped out of the exit at the end of the hall. I hurried around the building, my heart feeling like it was going to crack my breastbone from pounding so hard. I wanted to drive straight to an airport and leave this place.

***

I drove out to
Hard Knox,
my mind racing as I thought over the events of the last few weeks.

I was on the verge of breaking down, and my father was still in New York with his new fiancé. I pulled into the front of the shop and parked between his bike and another vehicle. When I got out of my car, my eyes fixed on the figures on the other side of the large glass window. Knox was hugging Bea before pulling back while holding a baby between them. I took a step backward just as he glanced in my direction.

I shook my head before rushing to my car. He handed the baby to Bea and ran to the door just as I was backing out of the lot. I raced down the road, desperate to get back to my house. My eyes flicked to my rearview mirror as his bike came into view. A car pulled out behind me, and he swerved into the oncoming lane to pass them, getting closer and closer to my car.

Knox

I followed behind Riley at breakneck speeds. I’ve seen other bikers die on less dangerous roads. But the look of horror on Riley’s face had ripped my heart out. I hadn’t even realized until that moment that I’d given it to her until she took off with it.

We pulled into her driveway, and she hurried to close the gate behind her. I got off my bike, gripping the iron bars as she slipped out of her car, turning back to look at me as I screamed her name.

“Riley, will you just talk to me?” I yelled, and I could see her face turning red as she began to cry.

“There’s nothing to say.”

“Bullshit.” I slammed my palm hard against the fence causing it to rattle. “Why did you come to the shop, Riley? Why? I told you to stay away.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“The fuck it doesn’t!” I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. “Why did you come after me?”

A sob wracked her chest as she shook her head. “I just wanted to warn you that Tatum knew something was going on between us. She thinks you’re in trouble. Is that true?”

I hung my head, pacing as I ran my fingers roughly through my hair. “Why would you even care?” I asked, and she took a step backward.

“How could you think that I
don’t
?”

My shoulders dropped. There was no doubt in my mind now that she needed to leave. I had no chance of staying out of the club. I’d been dancing along the edge of the fire for too long, and I was going to get burned. I couldn’t drag her down with me.

“If you need money, I can help you. Let me
help
you.”

“I told you from the beginning, Riley. Your money is no good with me.”

“Why? Why won’t you let me help you?”

“Because I don’t want you to ever think that’s what I wanted from you. Too many people have used you, Riley.”

“You lied to me.” Her voice was barely a whisper, and it felt like a knife had stabbed me in the chest. I’d made a promise a long time ago, and not even Tatum knew the truth.

“It’s complicated, Princess.” I was pleading with her to trust me when I’d done nothing to deserve it.

“But it’s not. Not really. I trusted you, and you were lying to me the entire time.”

“Riley,” I yelled before turning around, my anger starting to get the best of me.

“Is she yours? The baby, is she yours?”

My head snapped back to Riley, who was now only a few feet from the gate.

“No.” I shook my head. “She’s not.”

Riley wiped her hand across her cheek to wipe away her tears, looking at me expectantly.

“This is shit not even Tatum knows,” I warned. “Can you open this fucking gate?”

I could have typed the code in myself. Piper had given it to me when we met to plan her engagement party, which was nothing more than her trying to get laid.

She eyed me for a moment before walking over to the box and typing in the code. I shoved my hands in my pockets to keep from touching her as the gate slowly moved out of the way, and I was able to walk closer to her.

“Bea went to a party at the club a while back. She was drinking. We all were. She had been dating Bryce for a few weeks and had her convinced he was in love with her.” I shook my head, hating that I was confessing her secrets to save my own ass. “When she got pregnant he ran. She begged me not to tell her brother, Topher, who the father was. Even after he fucking deserted her, she didn’t want the wrath of the club coming down on him.”

“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

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.

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 black.