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“Y-yes,” she squeaked around constriction in her throat. “I-I just think we’re getting in over our heads. It’s too much right now. Too much with all my other responsibilities.”
“So, being with me is just another responsibility on your long, long list, huh?” His voice was so dark and ugly, full of disgust, it made her cry harder.
She wanted to scream that he could never be a responsibility. He was the one thing in her life just for her. The one thing she’d chosen for herself. The one thing that made her happier than everything else. But she choked back the words. “I just can’t divide myself like this anymore. I’m neglecting my family.”
Liar. Liar.
“You know what? That’s fucking fine.” He threw his hands in the air. “I don’t need this horseshit anyway. Only fucking fools fall in love.” As he stormed toward her, he slapped a box of cereal on the counter, sending Lucky Charms flying to every corner of the room.
Mak flinched but didn’t budge as he stomped past her. The forceful clomp of his boots on the linoleum floor echoed in time with her battered heart. Her chest grew tighter with each passing second, and when the door slammed so hard it rattled the walls, she doubled over on a painful exhale.
Air whooshed from her body as she wrapped her hands around her middle. A sob tore from her throat. Then another. And another. After a few seconds, her legs gave out, and she sank to the floor, a weeping, hyperventilating mess.
The agony of watching Thunder walk away from her made all the beatings she’d taken in the past feel like hugs.
She’d done the right thing.
As horrible as it was and as long as it would take her heart to recover—maybe it never would—she’d done the right thing for her family.
“Mak?”
Amy’s tentative voice cut through her intense sorrow.
“I heard shouting. Are you okay?”
“Uh, yes.” She kept her back to her sister and quickly swiped at the tears. Over the years, she’d become a pro at keeping her true emotions from her siblings. First, when living in their father’s house, she’d never let them discover the bruises from her punishments for rebellious behavior. Then, once married, she kept a smile plastered on her face so they’d never know her misery. Even in the years since they’d escaped, she shouldered the financial burdens and fear of being discovered without a peep.
The kids would have a better childhood than she did. One without constant fear, worry, and unhappiness.
“I just, uh, tripped. Landed hard on my knee,” she said as she began to rise from the floor. Before she had a chance to stand, thin arms circled her from behind.
“I love you, Makenna,” Amy whispered in Mak’s ear. “It’s okay if you need to cry sometimes. I’ll still think you’re the strongest and most amazing person I know.”
Her eyes fell closed as she curled her arms over the ones hugging her. Tears continued to leak out and stream down her face, but she didn’t wipe them this time. This was all she needed. The love and connection of her incredible family. For a moment, she’d forgotten that and had gotten greedy.
But a romantic life wasn’t in the cards for her.
That knowledge had never hurt before Thunder came along, but now it nearly crippled her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
BY THE TIME he stepped outside, Thunder was convinced he was having a heart attack. An elephant sat on his chest, cutting off the blood flow to the rest of his body. His hands tingled. His feet weighed a ton. And he was seconds away from—
Thunder ran to the grass, dropped to his knees, and hurled up everything he’d drank the night before.
“Shit, man.” Tex’s voice did nothing to improve his mood. “Want me to get your girl?”
Thunder sat with his ass on his heels, shaking his head while he wiped his mouth. “No,” he rasped through a throat burning with acid. “Fuck no. I’m good.”
With a frown, Tex glanced over his shoulder at Mak’s house then back at Thunder. “Uh, okay. Something happen with you two?”
As he pushed to his feet, Thunder cleared his throat. “Yeah. It’s fucking done.” He started for his bike only to be called again by Tex.
“The fuck do you want now, prospect?”
Tex’s eyes flared wide. It was probably the first time he’d seen Thunder in anything but a fun and playful mood. “Uh, just, I think something’s wrong with Kristy. She was walkin’ funny when she got home, then she chatted with Mak for a while. They were trying to be all stealth, but I could see fucking bruises on Kristy’s face.”
Thunder frowned. Dealing with Kristy’s drama was the last thing he had tolerance for today. But she was a friend of the club. And a good friend to Mak—not that he cared.
