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“Nah, sweetheart. Brothers share all the time. Those patches look all new and shiny. He won’t mind.” He winks at me.
“My man does not share.” I jerk my arm again and this time he releases me.
Then, he’s gone.
Just, poof. Gone.
“You motherfucker,” Gray roars.
I drop my gaze to the floor, where he’s straddling the guy, throwing punch after vicious punch.
“Fuck, I was just messing around!”
Punch.
Punch.
Punch.
The sickening thuds tumble through my stomach like spoiled meat. I stagger away. Someone’s hands land on my shoulders, pulling me back even farther and I scream, jerking away.
“Shh, Serena. It’s okay. It’s me,” Trinity says gently.
“Are you okay?” Charlotte asks, touching my arm.
The two of them form a protective bubble around me, walking us to the back corner, away from the scuffle.
“What happened?” Hope’s voice breaks into our circle. “Serena, are you okay?”
Something about the soft, motherly concern in her voice breaks me. My tiny balloon of courage bursts. Tears run down my cheeks.
“Come here.” She wraps me up in a hug while Trinity and Charlotte guard my back.
“I can’t believe Pants did that,” Trinity whispers. “We spent a lot of time out on the road with him and he was always respectful.”
Something about that makes me cry even harder. I must be the problem.
“I hope Grinder kicks the shit out of him,” Charlotte seethes. “That was ridiculous.”
“Wrath’s taking his sweet time breaking it up,” Trinity adds with a short laugh. “Steer’s nowhere in sight.”
“Serena, are you okay?” Lilly asks.
I’m too embarrassed to lift my head from Hope’s shoulder and face Lilly. Hope squeezes me tighter but whispers something that I can’t quite catch.
“Let’s go somewhere quieter,” Lilly says.
The girls start moving and I have no choice but to let go of Hope and force my feet to move. I keep my head down and eyes averted from the fight. The four women keep close, blocking me from the crowd.
Lilly pulls us into the first room off of the main area, an old bedroom they seem to have converted into a television lounge. “Grab me some ice from the freezer, Trinity,” she says.
Keeping her arm around my shoulders, Hope pulls me onto one of the couches with her. “Let me see your wrist.”
I hold up my right hand. The one Pants had grabbed with such a punishing grip. A red circle rings it.
“Damn him,” Lilly seethes. “I hope Z kicks his ass next.”
Charlotte kneels next to me and curls a bag of ice wrapped in a dishcloth around my wrist. I wince and pull back.
“Sorry,” Charlotte whispers.
“It’s okay. Thank you.”
I’d say something sarcastic like they’re only protecting me because I’m patched now. But it would be a lie. The last time Shadow had attacked me inside the clubhouse, Z broke it up. Lilly and Charlotte had been there and taken care of me then too.
The last time I’d been attacked in the clubhouse. You’d think I’d learn my lesson and stay the fuck away from motorcycle clubhouses. But noooo. Not me. Every old scar I thought had healed, rips open and throbs.
I must be stupider than I look.
Every damn time, I fall for the lies.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Grinder
The savage beast inside me woke with a roar the second I saw Pants with his hand on my woman. It took me a few seconds to make my way across the room. And that’s all I needed for the red mist to cloud my vision.
In prison, violence had been a tool I used to survive. Now, it settles over me like a comforting cloak. But it isn’t my survival at stake. It’s Serena’s honor and my promise to keep her safe.
I gave her that patch, explaining it meant no one would ever harm her in my club. And a few days later, a brother I share a patch with breaks my vow. That can’t go unpunished. The club’s own laws don’t allow this violation.
Which is why no one stops me from beating Pants bloody.
When he stops trying to block the blows, Wrath finally intervenes.
“All right, Grinder,” he says as if he’s trying to calm a lion rampaging through the clubhouse. “He’s had enough for now.”
For now is just a way to get me to ease up. The promise that I’ll be able to deliver more punishment later, when we both know I won’t be able to go at Pants again without cause. I stand and kick him in the stomach and ribs to finalize my point.
Pants groans and rolls to his side. Still breathing. Pity.
“What the fuck were you thinking, brother?” Ice asks as he leans over Pants. As his president, it’ll be up to Ice to discipline his SAA some more.
Pants groans as Ice and two other guys lift his heavy carcass off the floor. One of the club girls scurries over with a roll of paper towels and a bottle of cleaning spray and wipes away spatters of blood.
