Page 71 of Arthur


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“They’d have killed me.”

“You’re not stupid, Jolene. You took me on, so I have no doubt you could have given us all a run for our money. At least we would have respected you.”

She drops her fork on the table. “Bullshit. I’d never get the same respect as a man in this world, we both know it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Let’s talk about our wedding and how many children we plan on having.”

“Zero with you,” I scoff.

She scowls. “Maybe you need inspiration. Maybe I should show a video of your ex being fucked by my goons?” I stand abruptly, and she smirks. “Touched a nerve?”

“If they lay a finger on her, I’ll kill you all, no matter what the consequences.”

She sighs dreamily. “See, that’s the sort of man I want. Someone who’d do anything, even risk his own brother. Now, I’ll go and shower and get ready for bed. Join me.”

She marches off, and I pull out my phone, calling Meli. She doesn’t pick up, and I growl angrily. Her voicemail message cuts in. “Meli, whatever you do, don’t arrange to go on a date with the Palmer brothers. It’s not safe. I’ll explain tomorrow.”

Jolene lays against me, gently stroking her fingers up and down my chest. I grit my teeth in agitation and sit up, causing her to remove herself from me. “I’m fertile right now,” she says, sounding pleased as she lies back down to get comfortable.

“You make my skin crawl.”

“You couldn’t tell with the way you just fucked me.” She sounds smug, and I shake my head in disgust. “Don’t be too hard on yourself. I’m your fiancée, you don’t have to feel guilty for enjoying it. Besides, it’ll get easier with time.”

I scrub my hands over my tired face. “Why me?” I mutter.

“Why did I choose to marry you?”

“No, why me at all? Why have you dragged me into all this? Why was I your target? I was getting my life on track and you just—”

“That’s your problem, Arthur. You let your guard down because you were too busy trying to get your office girl to fuck you.”

“Christ, you sound like Albert.” I get up from the bed and head for the shower. She goes to follow, and I shake my head. “No. Don’t bother.” I feel sick to the deepest depths of my stomach. It’s all so out of hand, and I feel so fucking powerless. I decide that if there’s no plan in place by end of the day tomorrow, I’m going to kill them all, every last one of them. Meli will have to go into lockdown at the clubhouse, along with Albert and the rest of my family. I think of Ma and get the urge to throw up. I rest my forehead against the cool bathroom tiles. I have to face the fact I might not be able to save her too. I slam my fist into the wall, growling in frustration. I can’t wait to make Jolene fucking bleed.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

MELI

“So, Mav thinks the date is tomorrow night,” I tell Rosey, slipping my heels off my feet and holding them in my hands as we creep through the clubhouse. A few of the brothers are around, but they don’t pay any attention to us, and Grim and Mav went out an hour ago, so when Danny texted me, suggesting a date, I snapped up the chance.

“Great, hopefully, it’ll give us time to get what we need before he finds out we’ve left the club.”

“You don’t think this looks too keen, a date right away?”

“God, yes, but who cares? This isn’t for real.”

“I know, I just don’t want them to get suspicious. The last thing we need is them turning on us.”

Rosey scoffs. “Please, I live for those moments.” I relax a little. At least Rosey can protect us, which will be how I’ll explain it to Mav tomorrow when he loses his mind over this. “Before we get there, there’re some rules.”

“Rules?”

“And you have to take this seriously. We order bottles, stick to beer or something with a small opening so we can see if they slip anything in. Also, don’t touch anything. If there’s a door, use your sleeve to cover your hand. Don’t leave a trace of you in there. Tie your hair up.” She hands me a band, and I stare at her like she’s lost her mind. “Trust me on this, Meli. Always be prepared.”

“I hate tying my hair up.”

“But it hurts less if they get aggressive and grab a handful. Tie it low, it’s harder for them to get a hold of.”

“This is a first date, Rosey, what the hell are you expecting to happen?”

“Jolene’s been one step ahead this time, Meli. We just need to be cautious. We beat up the younger brother of these idiots. What if they know that and this is all a ploy to get us there?”

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