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She opens her mouth to say something else, but I place my hand on her arm. “Please, Trinity. As bad as today was, I can’t think about him being locked-up long term. I have to keep believing something will go in our favor and he’ll be home soon. I’ll go crazy otherwise.”
Her throat works for a second before she nods. “I know. I just thought, well Wra—”
“Ew, ew, ew. Do not finish that sentence.” Ew.
Her cheeks turn pink and I realize she wasn’t just teasing me. Forced laughter spills from her. “No, my man’s not available.” She stops for a second then eyes me thoughtfully. “Although, given how much time you guys have been spending together lately—”
“Ew! I think that would be horrifying for all parties involved. That would be like banging my brother.” My face twists into an exaggerated yuck expression. She finally smiles and shakes her head.
“Well, at least I made you laugh,” she says.
“Yes, you did. Thank you.”
As soon as the door closes behind Trinity, I have to lie down. Not to sleep, but to stare at the ceiling and figure out how to fix this. I’m so out of my mind scared and worried about Rock. I know I’ve been leaning on Wrath more than I should. And I know he’s been working hard to look after me, because it’s what Rock asked him to do. But I wish it had occurred to me how much this is affecting everyone. Especially Trinity. It’s been clear since the day I met her, she adores Rock and looks up to him. She’s probably having a hard time with everything and it’s not fair that I’m taking up so much of Wrath’s time.
Rolling over, I grab my phone off the nightstand and send Wrath a text.
He’s at my door a few seconds later. “You okay?” he asks, pushing the door open. “Sway and his crew just showed up. Unless you really need something, I want you to stay up here.”
Christ, just what we need. “Is Tawny with him?”
“No.”
Thank God.
Scooting off the bed, I meet him at the open door and shut it behind him. He raises an eyebrow. “What’s going on, Hope?”
“I need to talk to you about Trinity.”
His eyebrows draw down. “Why? What’s wrong?”
Crap. I don’t know what to say. I feel like I’m tattling on her, but that comment about Wrath and I spending so much time together came from somewhere. I focus my gaze on my bookshelf. “Nothing. I think…she’s probably having a hard time with everything.” I take a chance and look him in the eye. “I know she and Rock have a special…bond and I don’t know. You’ve been spending so much time worrying over me. Just make sure you’re taking some time for her.”
“What happened, Hope?” he asks softly. At least he’s not mad.
“Nothing.”
He waits quietly. God damn, he’s a pain in the ass.
“Nothing. She mentioned that some clubs have like, a prison clause or something, so when a guy’s inside, the ol’ lady can—”
“Jesus Christ.”
“I thought she was joking at first.”
He pins me with a hard look. “What else are you not telling me?”
“Nothing.”
“Hope. If you say ‘nothing’ one more time, I’m going to pick you up and shake it out of you.”
Okay, the image that conjures up makes me laugh. Wrath does not laugh.
“Nothing, but she made a joke about how much time we’ve been spending together—”
“Ew.”
My mouth twists into a sour smile. “Yeah, that’s what I said.”
He looks so upset, I’m at a loss. “Wrath, I appreciate everything you’ve been doing for me. I’m sorry I’ve been leaning on you so much—”
“It’s my job, Hope.” He glances away. “Besides, you know I’d do anything for him.”
“I know. And I was there. I heard what Rock asked you to do. But I’m fine. I promise not to go anywhere unprotected. Or leave without letting you know. I understand how serious this is and I won’t do anything to make it harder on you.”
“Hope—”
“I’m doing okay. Today sucked, but I have faith he’s going to be home soon. Please, take care of Trinity. Rock would want that too.”
“Shit. She’s been so quiet. I know she’s upset, but, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. There’s nothing to be sorry for.”
“The way she looks up to Rock. I shoulda realized.”
“Wrath. You’ve got so much—”
“Her father died in prison.”
That stops me. “I remember her telling me that once.”
He nods. “You need me, call me.”
“I will.”
He closes the door behind him and I lie back down, feeling more alone than ever.
I don’t know what to think as I take my time going back downstairs. Take my time because I’m furious and I don’t want to end up yelling at Trinity. It’s not her I’m mad at. I’m pissed at myself for not paying better attention to her and making sure she’s okay. When I find Z, I pull him aside.
“Keep yourself sober and keep an eye on Sway.”
His gaze darts to the middle of the room, where Sway’s busy dry-humping a couple of club girls. A few of them I don’t recognize and assume they came in with Sway’s crew. “Don’t worry, I plan on it.”
“I told Hope that unless she needs something to stay upstairs.”
“Good call. I’ll check in on her later.”
“I’d appreciate it.”
He seems to sense my agitation. “Trinity went straight to your room when she saw Sway and his guys here. Go hang with her. I got this.”
“Thanks, brother.”
I poke my head in the champagne room, but the only lawlessness going on in there is Sparky, Stash and some of Sway’s guys getting high. “Need anything, Sparky?” I call out.
He flashes me a thumb’s up, so I assume that means no and back out of the room. At least he’s out of the basement for once.
It takes a second to push my door open. I’m still trying to figure out how to fix this. What the hell do I say to Trinity?
“Hey, Angel Face,” I say as I enter our room. She’s busy working at the computer, but turns as soon as she hears my voice.
“Hi.”
“You working on something?”
“Yeah. Editing some of those pictures from the park.”
My chest tightens at the memory of that day. First time she told me she loved me.
I drop down on the edge of the bed. “Come here, baby. I need to talk to you.”
She turns and I hate the tremble of her bottom lip. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Wanna talk. That’s all.”
“Okay.” She takes her time crossing the short distance to the bed. When she’s within reach, I grab her and pull her into my lap.
“Miss you, angel. Feels like we haven’t talked in days.”
“We talk.” Her mouth turns up and her fingers brush my cheek. “We talked this morning.”
She’s teasing me, but it somehow makes me feel worse. “What we did this morning didn’t involve a lot of talking.”
“Yeah.” She leans in and whispers in my ear. “Want a repeat?”
“Don’t distract me.” Her hand drops back into her lap. “Did you offer Hope the guys’ stud services?”
Even though I asked the question in a teasing way, her eyes widen and she blinks a few times. “Did she say that? All I said was, some clubs, you know—”
“Not this one. You think Rock wouldn’t slit the throat of anyone who touched his woman?”
Her face crumples and she buries her face against my shoulder. My arms wrap around her, holding her tight while she breaks down. “I owe Rock my life. I just want to do whatever needs to be done to get him through this and Hope’s so important to him.”
“Okay. Okay. I understand, angel. I’m not mad at you.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I should’ve known this would be hard on you. I’m sorry I’ve been
neglecting you.”
“What? You haven’t—”
“Yeah, I have.”
“It’s hard on the whole club.”
I’m not gonna upset her more by reminding her of her dad. “Yeah. We’ve had an easy run of things the last few years. Rock’s kept the club outta trouble. We’re all spun.”
“Hope—”
“She’s fine. She’s worried about you.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—I don’t know what I was thinking. She told me about court this morning and—”
God dammit. Why the fuck did Hope have to spew all that at Trinity. “What did she tell you?”
“How nasty the judge was. That Rock didn’t look good, and she’s worried one of the guards is bothering him.”
Fuck. I’m glad Hope and Trinity have gotten to be close friends. They both need each other. But I wish Hope would keep some things to herself. “Yeah, it sucked. But I don’t want you upset. We’re all going to get through this.”
“I know.”
I wish I believed my own words.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
With so much on my mind, I forgot Wrath’s warning about Sway and some of the guys from his club stopping by last night. Since I moved in, I’ve grown comfortable at the clubhouse. Even in my misery of missing Rock, I feel at home here with the brothers, Trinity and even the club girls who are up here more often than ever.
I should have remembered that Sway runs his clubhouse a bit differently than Rock runs his.
Trinity and I are having breakfast with the guys—as we normally do—when Sway joins us.
Next to me, Trinity’s vibrating with tension. Whether it’s from sitting at the same table with Sway or because club girls are in her kitchen unsupervised, I’m not sure. Wrath has his arm slung around her shoulders, in what to anyone else probably looks casual, but I’m pretty sure it’s the only thing keeping her butt in the chair.
Z groans at the plate of pancakes Swan sets in front of him. “Tryin’ to make me fat, girl?”
She laughs and returns to the kitchen.
I poke Z in the side. “I’m sure Wrath has some chores you can do to work it off,” I tease.
Z and Wrath both chuckle at my harmless joke.
Sway narrows his eyes at me. “Shouldn’t you gals be in the kitchen so the men can talk business?” He flicks his hand toward the kitchen in a dismissive gesture. I’m sure he expects us to follow.
As far as morning greetings go, that’s probably the rudest one I’ve ever received. Trinity’s body goes rigid. Under the table, Z taps my leg. I guess he’s afraid the “screw you” that’s sitting on my tongue might come flying out of my mouth.
“We like it this way in our clubhouse,” Wrath says in a low fuck-off voice that works so much better than any retort I could have come up with.
The tension at the table rises to almost uncomfortable levels. Trinity jumps up and hustles into the kitchen before Wrath can stop her. Even though I’m squirming and staring at my plate, I stay put. No way am I letting him intimidate me into leaving the table.
Sway eyes me—and even though I’ve barely said a word—I seem to have offended him. I don’t get it since he’s been nice to me the other times we’ve met. Then again, I was always with Rock.
Well, I won Wrath over. Maybe I can win Sway over too.
Eventually the guys turn their conversation to bike upgrades and modifications. Since I have nothing to add to that conversation, I keep my mouth shut.
Murphy joins us as we’re finishing up. “Morning, First Lady,” he greets me, receiving a scowl from Sway.
“When’d you guys all get so whipped?” he jokes.
Unaware of the fun we’ve already had at the table, Murphy raises an eyebrow. He settles into his chair slowly and glances around, taking in the situation. Wrath’s right, Murphy’s a keen observer.
“You need one of us to drive you downtown today, Hope?” Murphy asks.
“Yes.”
Trinity finally returns from the kitchen, but she doesn’t join us. Instead she stops behind Wrath, slipping her arms around his shoulders and kissing his cheek. She whispers something in his ear, and he stretches his arms back to pull her closer. It’s sweet and makes me miss Rock even more.
When they’re finished, she taps my shoulder. “If you’re done, do you want to work on that project with me?”
I jump out of my chair so fast, it almost falls over, thrilled to have an excuse to get the hell out of here that has nothing to do with Sway. “Sure.”
Z’s hand brushes mine as I walk past him. “I’ll take you downtown. Let me know when you’re ready.”
“Thank you.”
We haven’t even cleared the dining room when Sway’s voice reaches me. “Her man ain’t even here, why’re you all kissing her ass?”
“We’re showing our president’s woman the respect she deserves,” Murphy snaps. His sharp tone almost makes me stop and go back, but Trinity drags me down to her room.
“Ugh, what a pig,” she groans after we’re safe inside her room.
“What the hell was that? He wasn’t that rude to me when I visited his clubhouse.”
“Maybe he ran out of little blue pills last night.” Her shoulders shake with disgust. “He’s the type of guy who would make you earn your keep on your back while your man’s inside.”
It takes a second to process that information. “Eww.”
Before I ask any more questions, she pins me with a stare. “I’m mad at you, by the way.”
“Me? Why?” What did I do now? I can’t seem to help sticking my foot in my mouth no matter what I do.
She smiles to soften up her tone. “Why’d you tell Wrath about that prison clause thing I told you about?”
Oh. That. “I wasn’t tattling.” Well, yeah I kind of was. “I just wanted him to stop worrying about me. I can bug the other guys for stuff.”
“I’m not jealous of your friendship,” she says, surprising me. Not about the jealousy thing, because that’s just silly, but that she thinks Wrath and I are friends.
“I don’t think we’re friends. He tolerates me because he has to.”
She shakes her head. Opens her mouth, hesitates, then says, “He had a sister who died when they were little. I think you’re about the age she would have been.”
Oh. Oh wow. I had no idea. Cue the schmaltzy music. I’m about to cry.
“Shit, Hope. I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just want you to understand you’re safe with him, and he’s not looking out for you only out of obligation to Rock.”
I can’t speak, but I do let her wrap her arms around me and I do squeeze her back.
“Okay. Enough sad talk,” she says, pulling away. “Go do your legal stuff to help get Rock home. Hopefully the cavemen haven’t clubbed each other to death out there.” She waves her hand in the direction of the dining room, in case I don’t know which specific group of cavemen she’s referring to.
Naturally my shitty luck means I run into Sway coming out of the Champagne Room. His mouth curves up in a nasty smile when he sees me. Five seconds later, one of the other girls scurries out of there and down the hall away from us.
“You okay, darlin’?” he asks with false sincerity.
“I’m fine, thanks,” I answer as I try to move past him.
He invades my space, backing me up against the wall without laying a finger on me. “Wanted to apologize for earlier. Just trying to help you out. You marrying one of our presidents means you need to learn to submit to the men around you,” he explains in the creepiest-non-helpful voice I’ve ever heard.
Submit to—whoa, what did he say?
My cheeks burn with anger while I try to organize my indignation into a cohesive thought. Sway notices and places the back of his hand against my forehead. My heart skips in fear. Where the hell is Wrath’s bossy ass when I need it? How is this happening in my own home? Do I have some sort of sign on my back that says “please molest me” that I don’t know about?
“You sure you’re feelin’ okay, darlin’? You’re looking flushed.”
Before I open my mouth to answer. Wrath’s big voice booms through the hallway. “Sway, what the fuck you doing?”
Sway drops his offensive hand and backs away. All my breath comes rushing out.
“Just makin’ sure there’re no hard feelings from the gal.” As if he gives a crap what I think of anything.
I glance up at Wrath and find Z and Murphy on either side of him—all three wearing matching pissed-off expressions. Z shifts his gaze to my face, as if he’s trying to tell me something. I just don’t know what.
“Go get ready. We’ll leave in a few minutes,” he says with a chin lift. If he expected me to argue with him, he’s mistaken. I can’t run away from the four of them fast enough.
I’m not even ashamed about the part of me that hopes the three of them kick Sway’s ass.
I knew this motherfucker would cause problems. That shit I told Hope about our old president? Yeah, Sway came up in the club under Ruger and didn’t have as many problems with that bullshit as Rock, Z and I had. If he’s here with Tawny, he usually behaves, but when he’s here with the guys, he’s a grabby-handed asshole. Although, touching Rock’s woman is uncharted asshole territory—even for Sway.
Murphy—already agitated from the shit that came out of Sway’s mouth when Hope left the table—is clearly dying to choke the life out of Sway. I’m inclined to let him.
“Tell me you didn’t just have your hands on Rock’s ol’ lady?” I drop each word slowly, so he understands the gravity of the situation.
“Just being friendly.” He pulls a shocked face. “Come on, none of you are tappin’ her hot lil’ ass while Rock’s inside?”
Z turns to me, and I think we’re wearing matching “what the fuck” expressions. It’s Murphy who answers the stupid fuck’s question though.
“You really think we’d disrespect our president that way?”
“Ain’t disrespect if he’s inside,” Sway mutters.
Z shifts to face Sway. “It is in this clubhouse.”
“Fine, whatever. At least she’s a loyal piece of ass. Shit, I get locked up overnight, Tawny’s jumping on anything with a dick.”
