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I cursed and slammed my hand on the wheel as I floored the accelerator and took off. My hands were shaking and my head was screaming for me to pull over and go back. Go and find her. Go to her. I wanted to yell, I wanted to scream, I wanted to tell her what I thought of her. But mostly I just wanted to fucking wrap her in my arms and feel her.
Rose made me crazy. She made me feel so many different emotions at once. I’d seen her with fire in her eyes once. Over the few weeks I’d known her, I’d slowly watched that fire shrink to a barely flickering flame. At the time all I’d wanted to do was bring it back, to see her face light up again. But now I knew what was going on behind closed doors, I know it would have been close to impossible.
She was hurting. Hurting in a way that a lot of us would find completely inconceivable. I could relate. Her dad spent his time making her feel worthless and unworthy of his love. He broke her down, made her feel like she had no other options but him.
I squeezed the steering wheel in my hands. The memory of what he did to her made me furious, it made me want to take a visit to the prison and ensure that he was never given the opportunity to hurt again.
Rose suffered—she was manipulated and confused.
He doused her fire and I wondered whether she would ever get it back. Even now, I ached to see the light that I’d once seen in her. But the anger of being hurt and deceived flooded me every time I even thought of her. I could only imagine what would come out of my mouth if I saw her face to face.
My brain was so confused, understanding that there was a reason that she lied and did the things she did. But angry because of how close I’d allowed myself to get to her, including all that I’d offered so I could keep her safe. Then she still turned around and ripped a knife through my back.
Pulling up at the clubhouse, the place seemed pretty empty. I knew there was a big rival football game going on in Huntsville, and with the club now working hard on our security firm, Op had taken the contract. We didn’t wear our club cuts while we were working for the company, but with the majority of us over six foot and covered in tattoos, we were already a force to be reckoned with.
Opening my door, I walked around to help Jayla out of the truck. I could feel my muscles were coiled tightly after seeing Rose.
“Harlyn?” Jayla asked curiously. I looked over my shoulder to see Sugar’s sporty red car parked just at the edge of the compound.
“Guess so, kiddo. Why don’t you go find her?” I lifted her from the seat and she wrapped her arms around my neck. She squeezed me in a hug and it surprised me for a second.
Jayla and I were close. Her shy nature kept her pretty quiet around the boys. But since she’d seen me interacting with Harlyn, she’d opened up a lot. My heart warmed and she let me go, wiggling for me to put her down. I placed her feet on the gravel and she took off running, shooting around the side of the clubhouse to the spot where we both knew Harlyn would be playing–the playground out back. She lived for it.
I stared at her for a minute. Completely in awe. I wondered if maybe she could feel my emotions and that was her response to them. The thought floored me as I walked into the clubhouse. The room was empty, but I could hear soft voices talking nearby. Frowning I headed for the meeting room in which we held church, the doors were open but the people inside didn’t notice my presence.
“There are children just outside you know,” I shouted, folding my arms across my chest.
Sugar and Wrench flew apart. Sugar attempted to straighten her shirt and do up the front button on her jeans frantically while Wrench just stood and scowled at me.
“Don’t glare at me brother,” I told him, shaking my finger and trying my hardest not to laugh. “You’re the one doing something wrong.”
He adjusted his black cap—something he was never seen without—turning it so the cap shaded his face again. “We aren’t doing anything wrong.”
I laughed and shook my head.
“Please don’t tell him, Blizz,” Sugar pleaded silently.
I didn’t look at her but stared at my brother, who in return glared straight back at me. “The longer you sneak around, the harder it’s going to be to tell him.”
Wrench snorted before storming past me and out the door.
“He wants to tell Op. But I just can’t do it.” She leaned against the wall, pulling her fingers through her tangled hair.
“Making him keep it quiet means he’s lying to his president,” I warned her, hoping that those words would sink in.
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly and rubbed at her face, “I don’t want to be responsible for them being at each other’s throats. We both know Op is going to freak out when we tell him, and he’ll try to beat the shit out of Wrench. I don’t want that.”
It was true. Even though they weren’t together anymore, Op still felt he was Sugar’s protector. Even if that meant protecting her from one of his own brothers.
“But you’re okay with forcing him to lie and sneak around? He could get kicked out of the club for this, Sugar.” I kept my voice deep and low, trying my best to be stern without letting whoever was in the clubhouse know about this little…development. “Lying is a seriously punishable offense, especially lying about something that concerns Op’s family.”
“Punishable?” she questioned, her eyes popping open.
“Yeah, he could be barred… sent away… kicked out. This isn’t just some stupid love affair, Sugar. This could affect Wrench’s place in the club.” I shook my head. “Love him or leave him. If you love him, stand up and fight for it. If you don’t, stop fucking around and let it go. You’re playing with fire, and he’s the one who’s going to end up burnt. Not you.”
She pushed her back against the wall, and for a second I thought she might collapse. I couldn’t get involved in this shit. Op was my best friend and my president. Everything inside me screamedtell himbut I knew this was a mess that they needed to sort out themselves.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen,” she whispered sadly. “I never thought I would find myself back here. I love the club, you know? But as soon as I had Harlyn I had someone else to protect. And the club life… it’s dangerous.”
