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CHAPTER8
Lucas
Iwake expecting to find her draped over me, but Alice has gone. The side of the bed where she was lying is cold to the touch, and there’s no sign of her clothes on the floor where we had discarded them last night. I get out of the bed and go to the bathroom. I switch on the light, but the bathroom is empty too.
I grab the white towel robe off the back of the door and slip into it before pulling the door of the room open. Winters is leaning against the wall next to it, and he peers at me as I step out into the corridor. “Alice?” I ask him.
“She left about an hour ago.”
Fuck.
I wanted to get her number, so I can talk to her between our meetups—if she even comes to another one. This thing may have run its course, but I’m not ready for it to end. I still want to explore more with her. She interests me. I need to find out every intimate detail about her and who she is. I don’t like mysteries, and she sure as fuck is one. My thoughts are consumed by her more than I would like. I’m not a man who is given to emotions—usually.
“And you just let her go?” I snap. Fucking useless bastard.
“I wasn’t aware I was meant to keep her here.”
He makes a good point. I never told him that he had to. I didn’t expect Alice would run. She’s like a skittish fawn, and I want to know why. What has made her this way? And how can I fix it?
I go back into the room and shut the door behind me. I notice something sparkling in the light from the bedside table. As I get closer, I see a gold bracelet on the bedside table. It’s pretty, inlaid with diamonds, and it looks expensive, not to mention old. She must have left it when she ran out. I pocket it.
A trophy of our tryst.
I hate not being in control, but all I can do is hope she shows at the club again and that she’s as interested in me as I am in her.
Two nightslater I’m at one of our underground fights. I haven’t seen Alice since that night, and she hasn’t been to Tease in that time—or so the bar staff have reported to me. Her sudden departure from the hotel room before I was finished with her irritated me. That anger has been gnawing at my gut since. Women don’t walk out on me.
Ever.
That she did has me feeling mixed things—rage but also a modicum of respect that she isn’t someone who just does as I command.
I’m hoping the fight will scratch some of that frustration I’m feeling. I need the violence, crave it even, but tonight is different. I need an outlet for what I’m feeling.
The fight helps me to release some of the tension rolling through me.
I oversee more of these now that my brother is happily married. I don’t mind. In fact, I quite like the scene. The mindless violence makes my blood roar. There’s something gratifying about watching a grown man beat the shit out of a weaker opponent. Plus, we make a lot of money doing this.
Tonight is an unusual night. The Untamed Sons Motorcycle Club is here in full force. One of the brothers, a guy known as Cage, is fighting in about an hour. I’m not on edge, but shit has a habit of getting rowdy around these fuckers.
I spot their president, Ravage, talking with Nox, his vice president. The guy is fucking huge, though I don’t fear him.
He raises eyes and catches mine. I can tell he is debating not coming over, but he does eventually extract himself from his brothers and make his way over. Nox follows on his heels, and he gives me a frosty look as he gets closer. He endures Zeke because he has no choice. Since Zeke is married to his sister, Bailey, he is family, whether Nox wants it that way or not. Considering what my brother did, he is lucky he is still breathing. He might be married to Bailey now, and things may be settled, but that wasn’t always the case. He stole her after he was meant to rescue her. I’m not sure the Sons have ever forgiven us for that.
Winters moves closer to my back as Ravage and Nox approach. I don’t need his protection. I can take care of myself. I’d shoot him a scowl, but I don’t want to look weak in front of these men.
“I’d say it’s good to see you,” I say mildly, “but I don’t think you’d agree.”
“What makes you think that? The Frasers are friends to the Sons,” Ravage says, giving me a tight-lipped smile.
Yeah, he doesn’t really see it that way either.
My brother humiliated his club, but it was better to make an alliance than it was to go to war. There would have been unnecessary deaths and wars cost money. Neither side wanted that, especially us.
Ravage glances behind him towards the ring. There are two competitors going at it inside the cage. The cheers are loud as one of the men gets the other on the ground with his legs wrapped around his neck. Both have blood streaming from their heads, which is not an unusual sight during these fights.
“Heard there could be a wedding on the horizon. Declan Easton is marrying his daughter to Jeremiah Wood.”
This catches me a little off guard. I keep my expression unreadable. I’m surprised Ravage is aware of what is going on in the syndicates, though I shouldn’t be. I’m sure the Sons keep their finger on the pulse of everything happening in London, just as we do.
