Wrench

10 - This woman is my aunt?

Elie

I shouldn’t have come here. I should have told Wrench no, that it was too soon. I thought getting to know Wrench before meeting anyone from his club would be the best idea. If I tipped my hand too soon, it could have spelled trouble.

But I wanted to see the people my mother spent her time with. I wanted to meet the man she had loved, the man who let her down and got her killed. The second Wrench introduced us, I was floored. I had no idea Hammer would be so handsome and just the kind of man I imagined my birth mother falling for. A giant bear of a man who looked like he could protect a girl, and he looked at me like he just knew who I was.

Did he see her in me?

Did they all?

It’s not like half of those men and women didn’t look at me like I was an apparition or something. I was scared to come here because I’d never been to a place like this, nor had I ever associated with bikers before this. They’re all so intimidating, the women included. However, I hid that fear as much as possible because I didn’t want anyone to suspect anything was off.

I should have known I couldn’t handle this. I’m a fool to have ever thought I was strong enough to play with the big boys. I won’t give up, though. I will avenge my mother, no matter what I have to do.

I look at myself in the mirror of this super clean restroom I found myself in.

Who would have thought bikers could be so clean?

Who do I see when I look at myself?

My mother?

My father?

I have no idea because I have no clue whom I look like. You have no idea what it’s like to wonder what your birth parents look like and which one you resemble more, or maybe you do if you’ve been in my situation.

“Do your parents know that you’re here?”

I’m not surprised to see the woman standing behind me. Coral. She’s beautiful in the most classic of ways. She has hair and eyes just like mine. Okay, her eyes are a darker shade of blue, but looking at her makes me wonder things I shouldn’t be wondering.

“My parents died years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

I shrug. “It’s no big deal anymore.”

“Why are you here, Elie?”

I turn to face her, my belly turning over so fast I feel lightheaded and a little sick. “I came because Wrench asked me to.”

“I don’t mean here at the clubhouse. I mean here in town. Why are you here?” She takes a step towards me, and I swallow hard.

There’s no point hiding this from her. I know each one of those people in that room recognized me. They saw my birth mother in my face; that’s why they all looked at me the way they did.

How am I supposed to carry out my plan when they’ve easily figured out who I am?

Use it to your advantage, Elie. Never give up fighting for what you believe in. These people knew your mother; you can learn so much about her from them.

“I came to find my birth mother,” Coral licks her bottom lip while nodding. I see the tears in her eyes, but they don’t fall. “I didn’t realize I would be too late.”

“Why would you think you’re too late?”

“Because she’s dead!” I snap sarcastically. “I saw her grave.” I wipe the stupid tear from my cheek.

“Cindy.” She says while closing her eyes.

“Were you friends?” I ask hopefully. I know they knew each other; Wrench told me that Coral has been part of this club for years.

“She was my baby sister.”

Fuc.k! That floored me.

This woman is my aunt?

I am so gobsmacked that it takes a minute to close my mouth and remember what I want to say. “My parents always told me that I was adopted when I was young. They told me about the little girl who gave away her baby because it was best for them both. All my life, all I wanted was to meet her. I dreamed about her every night and imagined what it would be like the day I finally found her. Once I read her letter, I thought I could come here, and she’d be waiting for me, just as she promised. How wrong was I?”

“Elisha,”

“How do you know my name?” I didn’t tell anyone here my name, and Wrench introduced me as Elie.

Coral walks up to me and cups my face with her hand, her eyes looking deep into mine. The feeling of her hand on my face warms something inside of me. “I named you. I didn’t know they would still call you that.”

I don’t get any of this.

What is she talking about?

“You grew up so beautifully.” She smiles at me with tears falling from her eyes. “There’s something I have to tell you. About your birth mother...”

The door bangs, cutting her off. We both turn our heads to the door when Wrench calls my name. All I want is to run to him. I need him to hold me and tell me this is all a bad dream.

“I have to go.” I pull away from her and rush to the door.

“Elie, wait!”

I shake my head and keep running. I rip open the door and fly straight into Wrench’s arms. I didn’t expect any of this to be easy, but I didn’t think it would hurt this much, either.

I cannot let this eat me up. I need to be strong if I’m to get revenge for my mother. I also need to be damn smart about it. I can’t let anything slip — not one damn thing.

* * *

“I’m sorry they upset you.”

I turn my head and smile at Wrench. He doesn’t need to say sorry for anything. He did nothing wrong, and he’s been nothing but amazing. I don’t want to feel like this about him. I want to be able to do what I came here to do and run.

But how can I when I can feel myself falling for him?

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I wasn’t supposed to feel anything for anyone, least of all Wrench. I can’t back out of what I’ve decided to do, so I must be strong and lock my heart away.

Yeah, good luck with that, Elie.

“Don’t be sorry, Wrench, you haven’t done anything wrong. They didn’t upset me; I just felt a little overwhelmed, that’s all. I really like your parents.”

He smiles at me from his seat on the grass embankment beside me. He brought me to this little park after we left the clubhouse. I just needed somewhere to gather my thoughts. I knew I couldn’t do that back at the hotel. I always feel so boxed in there.

“They really liked you, too.”

“Do you think so?”

He leans in and kisses me softly. “I know so.”

“I guess I should get back to the hotel. I promised to call my friend and let her know how things are going.”

“I’ll give you a ride.” Wrench takes my hands and hauls me to my feet. His hand comes to my face, and it’s so gentle that my eyes close on me for a second. God, he’s making me second-guess myself. I can’t afford to do that. “You’ll call me later?”

“You know I will.” I shouldn’t give him false hope, but I can’t seem to stop myself from letting this thing between us grow.

After Wrench drops me off at the hotel, I take a long hot bath. I need to relax my aching muscles. I feel like I’ve done ten rounds with a boxer. I had no idea all the se.x would knot me up like this. Not to mention the fear that’s ever-growing in my stomach. Then there’s the fact I met my aunt today, and I have a feeling my plan will backfire on me.

Once I’m dressed, I climb onto the bed and grab my phone. I need to call Sally, my niece and best friend. I just need to hear her voice. I need to talk to someone familiar.

She answers on the second ring. “Hey! Oh my God, I’ve been waiting ages for you to get back to me.”

“I’m sorry,” I chuckle. “I’ve been a little busy.”

“Oh my God, you met someone!” Never could get anything past Sally.

“Yes, I did, and he’s amazing. But that’s not why I’m calling.”

“Have you had se.x with him?”

“Sally, this isn’t the time.”

“But I want details!”

“Later. How are things there?”

“Your brother is throwing a shi.t fit.”

“Your dad was always over the top.” I roll my eyes at myself.

“He’s just worried about you, babe. We all are. You took off on some little trip and didn’t bother calling anyone to let us know you arrived safely.”

She’s right, and I feel awful about it, but I texted her to let her know I was still alive. Granted, it wasn’t much, but it should have appeased my family for now.

“Anyway,” She continues, “What did you call for if not to tell me about this amazing man you’ve met?”

“Just to let you know that I found what I was looking for.”

“You found your birth mother? Oh my God! I’m so excited for you! What’s she like? Do you look like her? Did she explain everything to you?”

She sounds so very excited for me. I wish I could give her good news, but I can’t.

“I did find her, but it didn’t go the way I expected it to.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry, Elie,”

“She died years ago.” I catch a sob in my throat. I don’t want to cry, but it’s so very hard when this is all still so raw.

Sally tells me that everything will be okay. The same thing everyone says when they don’t know what else to say. She tells me to come home, but I refuse. I tell her that I’ll go home soon, that I just need a little time to myself. She then tells me she’ll come to me for a few days if I need her.

I can’t have her here. I can’t let her know what I’m about to do. I won’t have her trying to talk me out of it, which she will; that’s her nature. She doesn’t have a mean bone in her body; she’s a very forgiving person. I don’t want to forgive the man who got my mother killed. I never will.

We end the call after an hour, and I flop down on the bed and fall into a dreamless sleep.