A/N: Thanks so much to those who took the time to read and review - I wasn't sure if there'd be much interest, so I appreciate it! :)
Two
Listening to the voicemail over and over in the darkness, Tasha Callahan fought back tears at the sound of that familiar voice. For the first time she could remember, he hadn't told her not to worry about him. Her heart ached at the idea that maybe he thought she wouldn't care, knowing that she had probably given him good reason.
How could she have pushed him away when he was hurting just as much as she was?
She sat up, wrapped in the sheets of a bed that felt much too big and empty without him, and pushed the long blonde tangles of her hair back from her face. He'd been gone on runs before, but suddenly she was acutely aware of every mile between them. It made her feel sick to her stomach. If anything happened ... If anything happened and he didn't know how she truly felt ...
Back when they'd first met, she hadn't been expecting ... well, anything from him really. She'd simply decided, after a run of disappointments, that it was time she allowed herself a little fun. It wasn't like she'd dated assholes in the past. The guys she'd been with, and there hadn't been many, had all been perfectly nice. Maybe that was the problem.
Sometimes nice just wasn't enough.
And for all their lives were worlds apart, as the teacher and the outlaw, she couldn't deny she felt a hell of a spark between herself and the handsome, charismatic biker. Big bad sergeant he might have been – and, over the years, she'd come to learn exactly what that meant - but with her, he was just a relentless flirt with piercing blue eyes and a gorgeous smile.
Maybe they never should have worked, but somehow they just did.
"Oh, Koz," she managed softly, replaying the message one more time. She could hear his uncertainty and hated herself for doing that to him. She loved him too, of course she did. She was just hurting. But so was he. She knew that. And unlike her, he needed to keep a clear head.
Anything less was likely to get him killed.
Waking to the early morning light streaming through the crack in the drapes, her phone still clutched in her hand, Tasha realised she must have finally drifted off and hurried to slip out of bed, wrapping herself in her silky robe.
But trying to call Kozik back only made it her turn to face a recorded message and a sudden chill ran down her spine, however irrational it may have been. Distant though they had been lately, she knew enough to realise times were hard for the club. She dreaded to think what that extra business keeping him away might mean.
"Come on, Koz, pick up," she urged, trying again. "Shit."
She knew it could be nothing. It was early and the clubhouse wasn't known for keeping respectable hours. He'd probably just turned his phone off to catch up on some sleep. An insidious little suggestion that he might not be alone wormed its way into her brain and she closed her eyes as she tried to block it out. It would never usually have crossed her mind that he might be unfaithful, but given how cold she'd been towards him ...
The thought that he might seek actual warmth and affection elsewhere was somehow even more chilling than the prospect of him indulging in some drunken, meaningless fuck.
She trailed her fingertips over the ink on the underside of her wrist that marked her as his, and steeled herself for another call before she had time to change her mind. "Gemma?" she said at the pick-up. "It's Tasha. In Tacoma?"
"Of course, sweetheart. How are you?" The MC queen kept her tone light, underlain with unspoken sympathy that wasn't lost on her caller - but also with a discernable coolness, however slight. "What can I do for you?"
"I'm really sorry to disturb you so early, but I just wondered if you knew if Kozik was around? I tried to call him, but his phone's been off."
"Clay's orders, I'd imagine," Gemma said. "No distractions."
Tasha frowned. That didn't exactly bode well, all things considered. "I ... Koz didn't tell me what's going on. He just said it was club business. Should I be worried?" Even for the other end of the line, she could tell that the matriarch was weighing up how much to tell her. "Gem? Come on, please."
And, after a pause, she got her answer.
Tasha's voice caught in her throat. "When?"
"Listen, darlin', I know you're upset, but-"
"When, Gemma?"
The queen probably wasn't used to being spoken to in that tone by anyone who wasn't her husband, and even he would have thought twice, but Tasha was in no state of mind to care.
"Not 'til after dark," Gemma said finally. "But- Hello? Dammit ..."
Her phone lay ringing on the bed, but after a cursory glance to make sure it wasn't Kozik, Tasha let it ring in favour of grabbing the first clothes that came to hand. As soon as she was ready, in ripped jeans, a simple white t-shirt and well-worn ankle boots, she started to stuff a few extra things into an overnight bag. She wouldn't need much. Hell, she'd buy a whole new wardrobe in California if she had to – just as long as she got the chance to put things right. That was the only thing that mattered.
Twisting her hair into a messy bun, she reached for her leather jacket and pulled it on as she ran through her mental checklist. Phone, wallet, keys. That was all she really needed. But, after a moment's hesitation, she headed back to the bedroom and opened the wardrobe to lift down a shoe-box from the top shelf. Her fingers brushed the cool steel of the tiny concealed carry Berretta and she picked it up reluctantly. She had no intention of using it, but you could never be sure. She knew that.
With her bag in one hand, she headed for the door, only pausing to graze her fingers over the framed photo on the hall table. Her and Kozik in front of his Harley, his arm slung over her shoulder and both hers wrapped around his waist under his cut, both of them laughing as he whispered something undoubtedly dirty in her ear. God, they'd been so happy back then ... She missed that.
Fresh tears shone in her eyes, but with new determination, she locked up and then climbed into the driver's seat of the big black Escalade parked in the drive. It took a deep breath to steady her nerves and start the engine, before she peeled away without a backwards glance.
Charming was a good twelve hours away and every second was going to count.
