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“You had it all, man, and I didn’t care. I had her, but you had to take that t
oo. And when you were done with her, you tossed her out like trash.”
Battle shakes his head frantically. “She told you we slept together?”
Tucker’s fists lands squarely on the side of Battle’s cheek. Battle charges Tucker, tackling him to the ground. No one makes a move. I’m the only one shouting for them to stop. A large crowd forms to watch them go at each other as though it’s for sport. They roll back and forth several times before Tucker gets the upper hand and chokes Battle with enough force, the veins in his temples bulge. When his face turns purple, I smack Austin’s chest. “Do somethin’. Stop them! Please.”
He pulls me close. “Tucker ain’t gonna kill 'em.” A second later, Battle rolls on top and lands punch after punch to Tucker’s face. Blood squirts from Tucker’s nose, coloring his face crimson, but Battle doesn’t relent. “Shit, but B might kill Tuck.” Austin lets go of me. It takes him, JT, and Scooter to pull Battle off of Tucker. I’m not convinced they can contain him. Blind rage shoots from the depths of his eyes, his breath ragged. “Get up!” Battle roars.
Cooper helps Tucker to his feet. “How could you?” Tucker yells. “You were my best fuckin’ friend.”
Battle’s shoulders fall. His features relax and the guys let go of him. They stare each other down, both winded and gasping for air.
“Tuck, I never fucked Stacy.”
“Liar!” Tuck shakes his head and stumbles away from the group, cussing and gesturing in the air with his hands.
The second we enter the motorhome, Battle heads straight to the shower. Thank God Marty’s with me. I’m a frazzled mess. I need her to lean on. We get dressed for a mixer that the riders are expected to attend. I fill her in on what’s been going on with Wyatt since I broke up with him, and on my growing relationship with Battle.
She’s furious with Wyatt. If I didn’t beg her not to, she would drive back to Burlingame and kick his ass. It’s nice to finally have someone understand Wyatt is a jerk I should stay away from. My own family can’t understand. Goes to show you, sometimes, your true family is the people you choose to have in your life, and not the people you share blood with.
Marty leaves me in the bedroom, making up a story about wanting to get some air, but I know her reason is to give me a moment to talk to Battle. Only I have no idea what to say to him. He opens the bathroom door wrapped at the waist in a towel, steam billowing around him. I stare at his lean torso, my gaze rising to his wet hair. I watch a bead of water roll off the front of his nose, and then meet his eyes.
His gaze falls to the floor as he moves to the closet for his clothes. He avoids my scrutiny as he tosses a maroon and black button up shirt and black jeans on the bed. Next, he pulls a black suede hat from the top of the closet and drops it on top of his clothes. I can’t take the silence any longer. He hasn’t said a single word to me since his fight with Tucker.
“Please, talk to me.”
He shoves the pile of clothes aside and plops down on the bed. Our eyes meet, and I see how much he’s suffering.
I love his eyes. I see brilliance in them, along with strength, kindness, and the truth. They tell me things he struggles with admitting, and now they’re telling me he didn’t sleep with Stacy, but he’s worried I think he did.
“I believe you,” I say and sit next to him.
“I wasn’t sure,” he says. “You gotta know, I ain’t that guy, Faye. I don’t mess around with my friends’ girls.”
“I know you don’t, but somethin’ happened. You’ve been tryin’ to hide it since we picked up Tucker.”
“They were havin’ problems. She thought he was sleepin’ around on her.”
“Was he?” He doesn’t have to answer. I guess the rest, “And you told her.”
“Tuck had a bad childhood, raised a bunch of hell up until he met Stacy. She was the best thing that ever happened to him. She and I became friends, and I told Tuck a hundred times not to put me in that position. That if she asked me if he was fuckin’ around, I wouldn’t lie. I shoulda kept my damn mouth shut.”
I drape my hand over his, trying to tame his anger. He gives me a hard smile. “I know it’s difficult, but you did the right thing.”
“I ain’t so sure about that. I let her stay in my room that night, because she didn’t want to face Tuck. She crawled into bed with me and told me she’d been in love with me for a while. She tried to seduce me, and I tossed her out. It was a damn ugly mess, and she was real fuckin’ angry with me. She must have confronted Tuck right before the ride, because he was fine when I saw him an hour before.”
I’m pissed for Battle. He did right by her, and she turned on him. “I can’t believe she would lie.”
He lets out an annoyed breath. “She wanted to hurt him.”
And hell hath no fury…
“She succeeded, and maybe he deserved it, but you didn’t. I’m sorry she hurt you, too.” He shrugs, but I know his pride is injured. “What ever happened to her?”
He laughs, hard enough it takes a minute for him to look at me. “She married the cheatin’ son of a bitch.”
“No way.”
