Page 12 of Karma (Deranged Drifters MC #23)

Chapter Twelve

Griffin’s Beach Hailey

“ T hat’s quite the entourage, huh?” Hailey says to Lex as they park in front of the third bridal shop for the day.

Lex just sighs. “I feel like a child with all of these babysitters.”

They step inside the store, and it’s Hailey’s turn to sigh. So far, they’ve struck out when it comes to the dress of her dreams. Probably because she never thought she’d get married, so she doesn’t know what she’d like.

Ballgowns. Mermaid. Evening gown. A-line. Nothing jumps out and screams I’m the dress!

“Have you thought about bridesmaids?” Lex asks, running her hand over a beige satin dress.

“I’m not sure,” she says. “I don’t exactly have a lot of friends, but I feel like Gracie should be in the wedding. And Luke, Noah, and Calla.”

Lex turns and tilts her head. “You don’t have to have a traditional wedding. Well, as traditional as it gets marrying a biker. If you don’t want bridesmaids, don’t have them.”

Once again, nothing stands out to Hailey, and she feels frustration brewing deep in her gut. She expected to find the dress right away. There’s nothing she’s wanted more than this, and it feels like fate should step in and just drop it in her lap.

“What kind of dress did you have when you married Colt?”

“Um, Colt and I technically got married in the hospital, so he was the one wearing the gown. But when we had the party afterwards, I had an evening gown style satin dress with spaghetti straps. I think I have a picture of it if you want to see it.”

Wrinkling her nose, she shakes her head. “I have no doubt you looked gorgeous in it, but we’re not built the same. When I tried that style on at the last shop, I felt like a cow.”

“You did not look like a cow! We’ll find you a dress, I promise.”

Her hands shake as she takes a deep breath to calm herself. “Lex, I need to ask you something.”

“Uh oh,” Lex says and turns, leaning on a discount rack. “What’s up?”

It seems silly, but it means so much to Hailey. Gavin and she talked about it the other night, and he’s of little help. Whatever you want. That’s all she gets out of him.

“I know that weddings are expensive…”

“I’m buying your dress. Don’t worry about the cost.”

Of course, you are. Because you’re amazing and generous, and I’m a brat who likes to push the envelope.

“Thanks. I kind of… assumed, but I’m happy you said it. That’s not it, though.”

“You don’t want to get married at the clubhouse, do you?”

How the fuck do you do that?

“It’s a gift,” she says with a smirk. “Where do you want to get married?”

Swallowing, Hailey can’t meet her eyes. “I don’t know, but I just… I know it’s our family, and I fully accept it. I’m not trying to say anything by this, but when I think about getting married, it isn’t in a clubhouse.”

“We can book the banquet hall at the hotel. Venom’s pretty tight with the general manager, so we can make sure the waitress has nothing to do with it.”

“Wait, you’re not mad?”

“Why would I be mad? This is your wedding, Hailey. Lily got married in her backyard, which is beautiful. I got married in a hospital room. Brock and Summer got married on the bluffs. It’s not one size fits all.”

Relief fills her, and she almost bursts into tears. “Will Colt be angry?”

“Doubt it,” she says. “What you want, you will get. We’ll figure it out.”

She smiles and lunges into Lex’s arms. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

And that was it. Gasping, Hailey pulls away and walks over to a pale pink ballgown. It looks like it just jumped off the screen of a Disney movie.

“Pink?”

“It’s my size,” she whispers.

“Try it on.”

The attendant walks over, and Hailey all but runs into the dressing room. The strapless, corset ballgown with lace covering the bodice is more than she could even dream up. It’s beautiful.

“I love it,” she says and walks out of the room. “Please don’t tell me you hate it.”

“Pink is so not my color, but as long as you aren’t going to make me wear it, I’m good. It’s actually pretty. Not a typical wedding dress color. Kind of edgy, which very much fits your personality.”

Turning on the small stage in front of the mirrors, Hailey begins to cry. “This is my dress.”

“What shoes do you want to wear?” the woman asks.

“I don’t know.”

Lex looks around and grabs a pink, glittery wedge. “How about this?”

“It’s sparkly. I like it.”

They help her step into the shoes, and the skirt lands at the perfect length. “No alterations needed,” Lex says with a smile. “I think it’s fate, girl.”

“Headpiece?” the attendant asks.

“No veil,” Hailey says.

Smiling, Lex nods her head. “A tiara.”

“Seriously?”

“You’re already dressed like a princess. Let’s complete the look.”

As soon as it’s on her head, her hair pulled back to mirror how it would pair with an updo, she knows Lex is right. It’s perfect. “Wow.”

“We’ll take it all,” she says and hands the sales woman her card. “Want to keep it at the house?”

“Please,” Hailey says.

Her eyes never leave her reflection as she twirls from side to side. She’s never felt prettier in her life.

“ W hat’s going on?” Hailey asks, running up the front porch to find Lucas waiting for her.

She’d just gotten back to Gavin’s apartment when Lucas sent her an SOS text message, demanding she come to the house. There was no hesitation, and she expected something with Lex’s new half-brother.

“They’re fighting. Like, actually fighting,” Lucas says as they walk inside.

Lex tosses her hands in the air. “You can’t punish her for this!”

“This is about your safety, Lex!” Colt shouts back.

“What the hell?” Hailey asks, her eyes wide. “Why are you fighting?”

Holding a shaky hand up, Lex shakes her head. “You’re getting married where you want to get married, Hailey. I made you a promise, and we are keeping it.”

“It’s not safe!” Colt shouts. “Hailey, I’m sorry, but having the wedding anywhere other than the clubhouse is out of the question. Until we find Phillip, it won’t be safe for Lex.”

Her stomach drops. She wants a wedding with a color scheme that clashes with the color brown. One that doesn’t quite fit in the clubhouse that is brown on brown on brown. Something a little less depressing for such a happy occasion.

“Lex, I didn’t even think about this situation with your crazy brother trying to kill you.”

“No!” she shouts and points at Colt. “She doesn’t get penalized for my father’s mistakes, okay? She wants a wedding outside of the clubhouse, and we’re going to make that happen for her.”

Turning, Colt punches a hole in the wall. “Damn it, Lex!”

Lucas grabs Hailey’s arm. They’ve seen this before. Many times before. “Lex, seriously, it’s okay—”

“No, Hailey, it’s not. I’m not going to let my fucked-up family tree mess with what you want. If you pick your partner right, you only do this once. You deserve to have what you want,” Lex says. “And we’re going to give that to her, Colt.”

“Why do you have to fight me on this?” he shouts. “You’re not safe, Lex. We have protection detail following you everywhere you go besides the fucking bathroom! And you want to have a big event somewhere we can’t secure? You just want to ignore the serial killer hoping to get you?”

“This isn’t about me. And it’s not about you. It’s about Hailey and Gavin.”

His knuckles bleed, but he doesn’t seem to notice as he rubs a hand down his face. “And what if he decides to snatch you from the banquet room of the hotel? Or push you off a fucking cliff if they want an outdoor wedding? How does that make their day not about you?”

“Hailey means it when she says it’s fine,” Lucas says. “We’d rather you be safe, Mom.”

A frustrated sob escapes Lex, and she pushes past Colt down the hallway. He reaches out for her, but she avoids his grasp.

“I’m sorry, Hailey. I would love to give you the wedding you want, but I just can’t risk Lex. We haven’t shared this with everyone yet, but her brother, the guy who showed up here, is the real De-Identifier. And he’s killing women who look like Lex. She’s his target.”

She gasps. Gavin never said anything. Hell, Lex never said anything. She knew Lex had a crazy brother who showed up out of the blue, but Lex just listened to her cry about the waitress when she has a serial killer after her.

“What? The reason we have at least two members with her at all times isn’t just because her half-brother’s crazy and just popped up? He’s the serial killer? And he… wants to kill his sister?”

“Yeah, and he told Lex they have to do this together. She’s pretty sure he means death,” Lucas says.

“I don’t want to put her in danger. I’ll talk to Gavin. Waiting isn’t ideal, but if we have to wait, we can do that, too. If we think having a wedding is too dangerous for her, I can wait.”

“But you won’t,” Lex says and walks out holding Hailey’s wedding dress. “Look at this, Colt. This is not a clubhouse wedding dress.”

Colt sighs. “Baby—”

“She deserves this, Colt. I’ll be fine,” she whispers. “Please don’t punish her because of my father. That’s not fair. To any of us.”

The self-sacrifice is nice and all, but Hailey shakes her head. “Lex, seriously, I didn’t know how bad it was. If it’s not safe—"

“You are getting this,” she snaps. “I’ll plan it myself if I have to, but you will get what you want.”

Lucas takes her hand. “Mom, we need you.”

“And I’m here,” she says. “Colt, you can’t deny her this. Not because of me. She’s had to settle for too damn much as it is.”

“I love you,” he whispers. “I can’t lose you.”

“You won’t. Not at her wedding. If I have to handcuff myself to you for the entire evening to make sure I’m never alone, I will.”

Taking the dress from her, he smiles. “It’s a pretty dress, Hailey. Lex would never have picked it out.”

“She’s really supportive,” she whispers. “Seriously—”

“Pick the venue,” he says, laying it on the back of the recliner. “We’ll figure out how to make it work outside of the clubhouse.”

Lucas looks terrified, but Lex jumps into Colt’s arms. “Thank you!”

“But you better keep your promise, baby. Nothing happens to you at this wedding.”

“It won’t. I won’t even go to the bathroom alone. Promise.”

Walking the dress to her old room where she knows Lex took it from, she hangs it up and stares at it for a long moment. Lucas steps into the room and shuts the door. “Hailey, you have to have the wedding at the clubhouse.”

“I don’t think I could change it now if I wanted to.”

“He didn’t hit her.”

Hailey turns in confusion. “What?”

“Colt. He was pissed, and he punched a hole in the wall, but he never hit Lex.”

“They’re not your mom and Harold. They’re not even your mom and our dad. This fight wasn’t out of anger. It was fear and desperation.”

“It’s weird,” he admits and sits on the bed. “We’re pretty screwed up, aren’t we? I was certain Colt was going to hit her. And I didn’t know what I would do if he did. It’s not like I could take him.”

Chuckling, she takes his hand. “Yeah, we kind of are. When you get a little bit older, you’ll realize what a healthy relationship is. Hopefully, you don’t make it as difficult as I fucking did.”

He stares at their hands, but he doesn’t laugh at her joke. “I’m scared she’s going to die.”

“Luke—”

“She’s what I used to pray for. Even when Mom was with Dad, she wasn’t the mom I wanted. The mom other kids had. I sound like a terrible person for saying that, but…”

“She’s like my mom was,” Hailey admits. “You deserve that, too, Luke. We both do.”

“What if she dies?” he whispers.

Hugging him, she fights back her own tears as the fear creeps up into her chest. “I don’t know, buddy. We still have each other, and we will always have Colt. And the club.”

“It’s not the same,” he says. “I’m terrified, Hails. At night, I lay awake because I swear I hear Phillip outside. I get up a lot, and I check to make sure Venom’s still alert out front. That I can see the other two guys in the back.”

“Have you told them this?”

He shakes his head. “They have enough to worry about. They don’t need my stuff on top of it.”

“Living in fear isn’t living. Lex wouldn’t want that, and we should make sure we honor her. She and Colt gave us a life we never thought we’d have.”

“Why can’t they catch him, Hailey?”

“I don’t know, Luke. I wish I did, but I don’t.”

It never occurred to Hailey to ask more questions about the protection detail. Being on the radar of a serial killer, let alone being his target, can’t be easy for Lex to deal with. She’s been stripped of her independence because of it, which must drive her insane.

The last thing Lex should worry about is a wedding, but of course she’s choosing to focus on it.

Can I really get married knowing how much danger she’s in?