AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Rubble eyed his brothers. Each one had a shit-eating grin on his face and a knowing gleam in his eyes. He deserved every bit of the grief they were giving him. “My shift starts in two hours.”
Drinks arrived at the table, momentarily pausing the conversation. Once the nymph left, with a pinched ass courtesy of Hawk, Kevlar lifted his glass.
“To Rubble. Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Welcome to the pussy-whipped crew, brother.”
The bikers clinked glasses while Rubble held up both middle fingers. They were right in teasing him and he could handle it. The only downside was that he truly did want to leave and find Jupiter. But he couldn’t. He had to find a way out for her sake as well as Macha’s. He failed miserably at focusing with her nearby, tempting him. No, he’d let the prospects earn their right to prove themselves while he figured out a better plan.One hour and fifty-five minutes until I see Jupiter.
Sitting back, he watched his brothers josh and curse with each other. The brotherhood was the biggest perk to MC life. He always had his family no matter what hell they suffered. Once Jupiter was free of her chains, she’d join the Macha family too. He’d make sure of it. Jupiter was his. The night before only cemented it for him. No other woman would warm his bed but her. She’d wiggled her way into his heart and now he never wanted to be rid of her.
An hour into their drinking, Doc came into the bar, Isa at his side. Rubble didn’t think anything of it until he noticed Yasmina and the two prospects assigned to her and Jupiter’s safety. Warning bells siphoned all humor from him.
He stood, teetering the table from his sudden move. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Rubble, give ’em a break. They didn’t know she’d do this,” Doc said, his words only sending Rubble’s pulse skyrocketing.
“Speak!” he boomed at the prospects cowering in front of him.
“Jupiter. She, uh, gave us the slip,” the shorter of the two prospects said quickly.
“How?”
The other one opened his mouth but then thought better of it and nudged his buddy. “She said she was going out for a bit of air. Eggy and I didn’t think anybody would be dumb enough to take her in broad daylight.”
“So, you let her go out by herself?” Rubble’s hands curled into tight fists.
“Pretty much, yeah. We checked on her after a couple minutes, but she was gone.”
“We searched for her, but came up empty,” Eggy stuttered, fear filling his face. “Sorry, Rubble.”
That was the last straw. Without thinking, Rubble decked the first prospect then the second. Both men teetered before dropping to the floor, out cold. Chest heaving, he whirled around and was grateful his brothers were already on their feet.
“When they wake, tell them if Jupiter is harmed at all, I’ll be back for them,” he snapped to the nymph kneeling beside the prospects.
Not bothering to check to see if his brothers followed, Rubble pushed through the bar and out into the elements. Darkness had fallen, and snow along with it. Beer and stale smoke greeted his first inhale, but he didn’t care. He stomped toward his truck, irate at himself more than anyone. He’d left Jupiter alone and he’d never forgive himself if something happened to her. He couldn’t live without her.
CHAPTER32
JUPITER
This was a stupid idea.Jupiter swallowed the bile rising in her throat. The hotel doors loomed ahead, the warm glow from inside almost leering at her. Her ex would know the moment she stepped over the threshold. His bodyguards were always on top of that shit.But I have to get him the hell out of Snowshoe.The only surefire way to do that was to face her fears. Face her demons.Face the devil himself.
She could hear the roar of a crowd in the distance. The announcer’s booming voice bounced off the mountains, a winner finally named in the half-pipe competition. She wiped her palms on the leather pants, sweat drenching them despite the frigid temperatures.
She told her feet to move, but her boots refused to take a step closer to the doom awaiting inside. Heart pounding against her ribcage, she clenched her jaw and forced herself through the glass doors. She tucked a loose strand behind her ears, the rest of her hair in braids Yasmina insisted on weaving while they waited for the cookies baking.
A short man stood behind the desk, eyeing her curiously. She didn’t need to check in. Lyle would find her. Steering toward the large sitting room to the left of the entrance, Jupiter followed the crackling sounds of the fireplace. It was a cozy spot with several comfortable chairs facing the wood fireplace and books lining the built-in bookshelves along the wall.
A blue chair furthest from the hearth caught her attention and she unceremoniously plopped into the plush upholstery. The clock on the wall ticked loudly, announcing the new hour with chimes. It was eerily still. Thanks to the winter games, the hotel was all but empty.
She worried her bottom lip and closed her eyes.I can do this.The severe abuse she’d survived suddenly surfaced from the depths of her soul, the pain begging her to flee before it all happened again.No more running.She promised Rubble those very words, but now it didn’t sound like such a good idea. Running was the only thing keeping her alive the last eleven months.
“There you are, pet.”
The Texan twang to the words sent a frigid shiver down Jupiter’s entire body. Opening her eyes, she braced herself for the inevitable backlash. Instead, she found Lyle’s haughty face filled with humor. Satisfaction filled his dark eyes. She was officially caught in the snare.
Standing, Jupiter stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket. Her fingers grazed the cool metal. It was her last resort. If Lyle couldn’t see reason, she’d serve the justice he long deserved. A stocky man stood behind him, and she narrowed her eyes trying to read the patch on his cut. He didn’t look like a Macha biker, but she could’ve sworn she recognized the familiar emblem.
She lifted her chin. “Don’t call me that. I’m not your pet.”
