Tess woke up shaking and trembling. The dream had been so real, and she tried to calm herself down with some deep breathing. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was four am, way too early to be awake. Looking over to see that Rachel was still sleeping, she got out of bed quietly and reached for some jeans and a t-shirt and her vest and put them on before heading out of the room.
The MC campus was quiet as she could see the sun rising in the east. She went into the clubhouse and headed for the kitchen, needing coffee or… something. She found the cereal and poured herself a bowl and then went into the dining area to sit down and eat.
The dreams had been getting worse lately and she was losing sleep quickly. The club was starting to notice and were hovering around her like protective wolves, making sure she was safe. The amount of protection didn’t get rid of her anxiety that William would be back and trying something again. She ate her lucky charms and tried to think of how to get out of the deep hole she’d dug herself into somehow.
After getting breakfast, she poured some coffee into her travel mug and then went out to the parking lot. She needed to get back on the bike. She didn’t want to go far, knowing that was probably pretty unsafe, but there was a track that had been built through the park in the south side of campus and she loved going there to sit and be alone. She rode through the campus and came up to the entrance of the park, a beautiful tree-framed tunnel that reminded her of a couple childhood stories she’d read long ago. There was something magical about this tunnel, she was almost convinced; it was like being transported to another world.
Tess drove through the tunnel and went to find a seat at the picnic table by the pond. There was a waterfall in the background and the sound was relaxing as she leaned back in the chair and tried to relax.
It wasn’t long before her cell phone was vibrating against her belt. She sighed as she was pulled out of her moment of peace and took the phone, looking at the Caller ID. Unknown caller. Well, that was weird… but as much as she knew she probably shouldn’t answer, she also knew that the enemy one knew was better than the enemy one didn’t, so she took the phone and put it to her ear after pressing ‘answer’. “Hello…?” She said into the receiver.
“Tess… well it’s about damn time…”
Cringing at the voice of Will, she leaned forward against the table and put the phone on speaker, sending a text out to Nitro to come join her at the park. Into the phone she said, “What do you want, Will?”
“Want? Oh, honey, there’s lots of things I want… First thing is to know what you were thinking running off to enemy territory?”
“Enemy territory? You know nothing about it. They’re not enemies…”
“Oh really? That’s not what I hear. I hear that they were always at odds with your father’s MC. I was hanging out with your dad and he said he was very disappointed in you.”
“That’s a lie,” Tess spat back at him. “Dad was happy to hear I’d joined Paradise MC. My brother even came to visit here and they’re all old friends. Stop trying to spin things around.”
“Oh is that so? Well… I’m sorry to disappoint you, honey, but you’re in the lion’s den now. It won’t be long before they devour you.”
“Will, once again, what do you want?” Her patience for the man was growing thin, and she knew that he was just trying to manipulate her.
“I’m just looking out for you, sweetheart. We may be in the past but I still care about you.”
Tess couldn’t believe her ears. She shook her head, trying to clear it, and replied, “Stay the hell away from me. Don’t call me, don’t come find me, just stay away. I meant it when I said we were done!”
She hung up the phone and was just about to throw it in the lake when Nitro arrived and ran over to grab her arm, stopping her. “Woah, hey… Slow down,” he soothed, looking into her eyes.
“He just… and I can’t… and it…” Tess said frantically, not even able to form the words she needed to.
“Gimme,” he said and reached for the phone, tucking it in his pocket. He sat down beside her then and wrapped his arm around her, letting her lean into him. She was trembling and close to tears, but he just held her tightly against his chest. “Shh… I’m right here. You’re okay.”
Tess let the tears fall as he held her, and she tried to remember that she was safe, and that no one could harm her there. She was surrounded by people that loved her and supported her, and it was the best feeling in the world.