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“Yeah.”
“Oh. I’ll let you get some rest.” He started his one hundred pushups.
There was something about this kid I respected. Eventually, I’d find out his story. Maybe after Dutra was six feet under.
I grunted, shutting my eyes, and returned to my Roja.
3
Tara
THE LAST OF my rugrats made his way to the classroom door. He turned with a sweet smile on his face. “Bye, Miss Walsh, see you Monday.” The precious toe head waved, his smile growing wider. God, I loved kids. So innocent and accepting. Untarnished by the evil world—or more like wicked people.
From my desk, I wiggled my fingers in the air. “Bye, Brad. Have a terrific weekend.”
As the door latched closed, I heardhisdamn voice in my head. All his whispers of how much he loved the way I smelled. Tasted. Felt in his arms. Then when close to coming deep inside me, he’d throw God into the middle of it in some fashion:Merciful God, I don’t deserve this gift. I will protect her with my life. I will never let her go.
Hero had rendered me speechless each and every time. The emotion in his voice, his heartfelt words, they reached into my soul. Foolishly, I’d believed everything he said.
Those vows played in my head like a broken record. Sometimes I heard only crackling, other times slurring. It didn’t matter if I couldn’t make out the words. They’d been etched on my being. Permanently tattooed in my memory so I could never forget. They tormented me now, because they’d been nothing but lies and empty promises.
“You bastard,’ I muttered, grabbing my head between my hands and squeezing it. “Stop talking to me. Just stop…please.”
Hero hadn’t returned from the “run” with Storm and the others. Whatever “run” meant. Not even Maddy knew the specifics of the trip. Sugar and Tina told us it was part of the guys’ job in the club. And that it could sometimes be dangerous.
I’d stayed glued to Maddy’s side the whole week, learning the ins and outs of the club and getting to know the other women on a deeper level. I’d discovered I liked being there with them. During the day, the clubhouse had felt very much like a large inn. Constant activity abounded, and not once had I felt alone.
When Storm returned, Hero wasn’t with him. He’d gone off on his own. Storm told me Hero needed to deal with some shit. But I knew better. He’d regretted being with me. Wanted to put distance between us so he could get on with his MC life without any complications from little old me.
Rather than face me, the chickenshit took off like a coward. If he’d only wanted to fuck me, why had he spoken so sweetly to me? Why had he acted like it was more than a one-night stand? I would’ve been okay with meaningless sex with a hot biker. I’d wanted a sample of what Maddy had found with Storm since the first time they screwed like rabbits at my place. I would’ve been okay with my own sexfest. No expectations. Just a one-night stand.
But that wasn’t what happened. Instead, Hero had branded himself on my fucking soul in less than twenty-four hours.
I was lying to myself. Hero ruined me before we’d connected intimately. It had been building since the day I met him in Sugar Bliss Bakery. I’d fought the undeniable pull I felt for him. Denied my desires. Battled them until I was exhausted.
Why? Because he was a biker who fucked club whores. I didn’t know if I could trust him with my heart. Trust him to not let me down. Trust him to not hurt me.
I’d been right to keep him at arm’s length.
My resolve changed when we were taken hostage. Everything changed. Going through hell with Hero by my side lowered my guard. I needed him. Relied on him. Trusted him with my life.
I’d been a stupid, stupid girl.
I thought he cared about me. Wanted to be with me.Lies.All lies.Hero wasn’t any different from any other cocky, alpha bad boy I’d encountered. On top of everything else, he was an outlaw… a biker. They were the worst at being territorial cavemen.
Well, except for Maddy’s guy. Storm was the exception to the rest. Still a caveman at times and hella possessive, but you’d have to be blind as a bat to not see how much that biker worshiped and loved his woman.
I thought Hero felt that way about me.
I collected the stack of math and spelling tests on my desk to grade over the weekend. Like every other day, I didn’t want to go home. Nobody would be there. The silence would eat at me the moment my foot crossed the threshold.
What choice did I have? There was nowhere else to go. Like it or not, I had to spend the next forty-eight hours at war with my demons. They were wearing me down. Making me weak. The pain in my heart was too much to bear. I wanted it to stop.
I would doanythingto be numb to all things, Hero.
When I was at school, with a classroom full of second graders making a boatload of noise, I was at peace. Twenty-three little distractions held me together. The urges I never escaped were quiet. Nonthreatening. I was even-keeled. I’d been in a good place until that asshole tore down my walls.
So when the last kid left, those wicked sons of bitches returned. It was hell. Hell like I’d never experienced before. Further proof Hero was bad news and brought out the worst in me.
