I hadn’t expected him to have moved on.
“Cali, it’s not what it looks like.” Gents hand came down gently on my arm, and I shook it off angrily.
“This was a bad idea.” I let my eyes meet Gemma’s. “I’ll see you at home.” Straightening my shoulders, I headed towards the door. Nodding my head at Wicked as I passed, I managed to keep my composure. I wasn’t sure how. But I did.
The trick was not looking Truth in the face. Not evening glancing at him. “Cali?” His voice sounded tortured, but I barely heard it as I pushed my way out into the rain.
“That’s Cali?” I heard the girl say behind me, but I didn’t turn around. Instead, I ducked my head into my chest and started to jog down the wet street.
I was a damn fool. I shouldn’t have come back here. Of course, Truth would have moved on. He probably had a girl in his bed the day I left.
He wasn’t in love with me.
It was time I realised that.
Chapter Twenty ONE
Truth
Chelsea was a pain in the ass. But we had a job to do. Fender wanted her at Cooks, where everyone was waiting to celebrate her birthday with her.
He wanted to buy her, her first legal drink, which was funny all by itself. Everyone knew Chelsea had started drinking way before she was eighteen. Most of us had got her out of more scrapes than I could remember. Fender would call her a wild child with a proud look on his face. I would call her a pain in the ass.
And she was still a pain in the ass when we pulled up in front of Cooks. Wicked got off his bike first, his face grim. Not that I could blame him. I would have a face like that as well if I had just had her at my back for hours.
“I want to go home.” She whined as she climbed off the bike.
“Fender wants you here.”
“I don’t care, do you always do what my dad wants?” She pursed her lips. A stubborn look on her face.
“Yep.” I didn’t even think about it. I upended her over my shoulder. Ignoring her pathetic whines to let her down. I wasn’t about to do that. Wicked had been right. I needed to find Cali and get her to listen to me. And I couldn’t do that until I deposited the spoilt princess in front of her father.
I had barely stepped foot out of the rain and into the warm confines of Cooks when her foot connected with my balls. The pain was instant, but it wasn’t her kick that caused the air to leave my lungs in a whoosh.
Cali stood by the bar. Between Gent and Youngblood. Fender was in front of her. Everyone had smiles on their faces, but they were smiles that slipped when she turned her face towards me.
“Cali.”
I knew what it looked like. But I couldn’t seem to say anything but her name. I couldn’t move. All I could do was stare at her and the pain that made her face into a mask.
Gent said something I didn’t catch, all I could see was his hand on her arm. And then she was moving toward me.
For a second I thought she was coming to me and I loosened my grip on Chelsea’s waist. Letting her slide to the floor. Cali didn’t stop, though. She gave a chin lift in greeting to my brother. But she didn’t even look at me.
“Cali,” I said it after her back, as the door swung closed behind her.
“That’s Cali?” Chelsea’s girly voice sounded bemused, and I shot a look at her. Didn’t she get what had just happened? Was she that immature that she didn’t fucking know?
“Go after her.” Someone said from further into the room. I didn’t know who. It didn’t matter. I was already pushing my way out. My eyes searched the street, the rain making everything blurry.
She was hurrying, almost running with her head down.
“Cali.” I caught up with her quickly. Spinning her around, so she had no choice but to stop. “Wait.”
Reluctantly she lifted her chin. “What do you want Truth?” There were no tears on her face that I could see, but it was hard to tell with the rain coming down as hard as it was.
“You.” I reached to pull her towards me. My head dipping. She scooted away.
