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“You tried to kill me,” I croaked. My mouth was so dry and my voice was so hoarse that I could barely hear myself talk.
“No, I tried to kill that lanky Southern bastard you opened your legs for.”
I twisted my fingers into the sheets and stared up at the ceiling. Darkness pulsed at the edges of my vision and I prayed I would lose consciousness again. I couldn’t escape Jed, not like this, too weak to sit up, too heavily drugged with pain killers. I was entirely at his mercy and it scared the hell out of me.
Jed rose from his chair and stepped closer. My heartbeat monitor went wild as he approached. Even if I called for help, no one could hear me.
He braced one hand on the pillow next to my head and leaned closer. The stench of cigarette smoke and stale beer emanated from him. I pressed myself deeper into the mattress, turning my head away.
“You made a fool out of me, Louisa,” Jed said. “It was bad enough when my wife asked for a divorce. Then you ran away. And to top it all off, you decided to fuck the man who abandoned you in the first place. Now my men are losing respect for me. They’re questioning my ability to lead my club.”
He clamped his hand around the lower half of my face, yanking my head to the side until I was forced to look at him.
“You will obey me, Louisa. You are my wife and that is your duty to me as your husband.”
Tears welled in my eyes. I was never going to escape this marriage.
“Then divorce me. Marry someone else.”
Jed snorted. A slow, predatory smile spread across his face. His eyes remained flat and angry.
“You don’t get it, do you? Signing divorce papers means admitting defeat. I don’t intend to lose, Louisa. I refuse to look my men in the eye and see the disgust in their faces when they realize I couldn’t even keep my wife in line.”
“So this never had anything to do with me in the first place,” I countered. “You’re not hunting me down because you love me. This is about your…your ego. If you’re such a fragile leader that your men won’t follow your orders anymore when your wife leaves you, I’d say you’re on thin fucking ice already.”
Every word hurt to scrape it out of my raw, parched throat, but my god, it felt so good to watch him tremble with rage. It seemed I struck a raw, bloody nerve with one fatal blow.
Jed slammed his fist against the pillow. I flinched and I clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw ached in order to stay quiet.
“This is about you humiliating your husband. I will put a bullet in that son of a bitch’s skull for fucking what’s mine. Is that clear?”
I glared up at Jed. His fingers dug into my cheeks. He leaned in closer, his breath hot and damp against my temple. Repulsion washed over me. To think that I had allowed this man to touch me, fuck me,marryme seemed ludicrous now.
“I’ll leave Rooster alone on one condition,” he said.
The smugness in his tone suggested he knew he was dangling this offer like a worm on a hook. He was baiting me. And we both knew I would take it, hook, line, and sinker, if it meant keeping Rooster safe and alive.
Jed pressed a kiss to the corner of my mouth. His lips were dry, scratchy. My throat grew thick with disgust.
“Come home with me,” he said. “No fuss. No arguments. Just be a good, silent wife, like you were always supposed to be. Stop thisbullshit.As long as I don’t hear another peep out of you, I won’t kill Rooster.”
“I don’t believe you,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “No matter what I do, you’ll kill him anyway.”
Jed bared his teeth with a wolfish grin.
“Is that a gamble you’re willing to make?”
No. It wasn’t. But what choice did I have? If I stayed with Rooster, there was no chance Jed would leave him alone. He wouldn’t rest until Rooster was dead and buried.
After an unbearable second or two, Jed released me.
“Think about it. The cops have been sniffing around so I’ll lay low until you’re discharged.”
When Jed was gone, a sob tore from my throat.
***
I must have fallen asleep, exhausted from crying, hazy from the painkillers. My eyes fluttered open again and this time, Rooster sat at my bedside. His elbows were braced on the edge of my hospital bed, his hands wrapped around mine, pressing his lips gently to my knuckles.
