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And who the fuck is Ivan? I’ve never heard of him, and judging by the look on Prez’s face, neither has he.
“Jessie’s right, Grimm. Go be with Rogue, we’ll handle this.” Prez looks at the man while he’s speaking to me. “This man came to my club, he drank my liquor and he used my girls. And he intended on running his mouth back. Believe me, he’s gonna pay.”
“But—”
“Grimm, Rogue needs you. I ain’t never seen that girl look the way she did when she ran out of here.” Prez is right, this goes way beyond personal now. This guy has a death sentence laying over his head. It ain’t my job to execute. That privilege belongs to Jessie or Brax. All I’ll get is his cold stiff body when they’re done with him.
I storm out of the club onto my bike because Rogue needs me, she needs to be protected now more than ever. That asshole just confirmed it.
The guys in the photo want her to pay, she’s in just as much trouble as we suspected. I can’t let her leave the club now, not even under supervision.
When I get home I check in on her, she’s sleeping soundly. Watching her look so peaceful soothes a small part of me, I need it. I hate that it’s Jessie who gets to make the man, who came here to taunt her, bleed.
She wakes up screaming a little while later, and I hold her until she goes back to sleep. I kiss her and tell her she’s okay, and it makes me thankful that I get to be the one who calms her. She needs me here with her now, but tomorrow while she’s working in the garage with the twins, I’m gonna find out what that man did to make her so afraid.
“Looking for something?” Grimm looks smug with himself as he rests his shoulder against the door frame, he’s only wearing black jeans and his hair is still ruffled from sleep. He looks disastrously delicious, but I can’t tell him what I’m looking for, not without having to give him an explanation.
I can’t find the visiting order Dad sent me, and I really need to find it so I can respond.
“Just squaring things up around here.” Looking around the room, it’s obvious to both of us that I’m lying, there’s nothing to ‘square up’.
“You know, if you tell me what it is you're looking for, I might help you find it.” He steps closer and wraps his arms around my waist. His devilish smile reaches all the way to the cross that’s tattooed beneath his eye, and I slide my hands over his biceps.
“It’s nothing,” I assure him, hating the way his smile instantly drops. He lets go of my waist and heads over to the door where his cut is hanging, then takes something from the inside pocket and slams it on the table beside me.
“Thanks for your honesty,” he snaps, looking fucking stung as he walks out and slams the door shut behind him. Looking down at the table, I see the thing I’ve been looking for. Grimm had it all along and I pick it up, ramming it in my pocket as I chase after him. When I open the door, he’s pulling on his white T-shirt, and he slicks back his hair as he silently steps past me, like he can’t bear to be in the same room as me.
“Don’t be like that, Grimm. I was just—”
“Keeping more shit from me?” he interrupts me mid-sentence. “Rogue. I’ve told ya, there ain’t nothing from your past gonna make me not want you. But I’m starting to wonder what the fuck it is you’re keeping from me. I’ve seen the damage you can do, hell, I’ve been the one to fuckin’ deal with it. But you ain’t invincible. And all this ‘keeping shit from me’ stuff… scares me.”
“Scares you, what? You're not making any sense.”
“It doesn’t matter ‘cause you ain’t going to that visit.” He looks at me with narrow eyes that dare me to answer him back. And I can’t decide if I want to kiss him or make him bleed.
“Last I checked, I was a grown woman,” I bite back.
“Yeah, a grown woman who has people out there who want her dead. And people here who need her alive. You ain’t leaving this compound until shit’s cleared up, and you certainly ain’t goin' to no damn high category prison.”
“He’s my father.” When the words blurt desperately out my mouth, I immediately wish I could take them back.
Grimm looks a little shocked but he still isn’t backing down.
“Then he’ll understand why I want to keep you where I know you’re safe.”
“Jesus, Grimm.” I roll my eyes at him.
“Can’t you see that I’m doing all I can to keep you safe?” He slams his fist into one of the wooden beams that are holding up the ceiling.
“You're trapping me, Grimm, forcing me into a corner, and I’ll strike if you keep pushing me,” I warn.
My words hurt him. I can tell from the way he stares back at me, and he holds me with that stare for a really long time before he speaks again.
“You ain’t leaving this club,” he snarls, pulling on his cut and leaving without looking back. I chase him to the door.
“I’ll do what I please, Richie Carter, and if you try stopping me I’ll make you regret it. Who’s gonna clean up then?”
I go back inside, slamming the door and screaming out in frustration. Then I burst into tears. Grimm’s only trying to protect me and he’s right, there’s so much he deserves to know. But I can’t bring myself to tell him. He’d see me differently if he knew. Nobody wants to play with broken toys, not even Grimm. And if he thinks McAlister and the guys in that photo are the only fucked up secret I want to keep hidden. He’s wrong.
