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PIPER
The girls thankfully stop hovering over me when they see I can walk and talk. I feel pretty good, though I do have a headache, which I think is to be expected when someone slams your head down on the concrete floor.
I beg them to leave me alone so I can rest, and they do, but reluctantly. “You shouldn’t sleep. We should keep an eye on you,” Reese murmurs.
“I don’t plan on sleeping. I just want to breathe for a minute.” I give her a smile.
I can tell that out of all the women in the group, Reese is the one who picks up on bullshit a lot easier than anyone else. “I think I should hang out with you right here,” she states.
She really should, because as soon as she leaves this room, I’m going to try and figure out a way out of here. I can’t stay here. I can’t stay with Itch. I want to, I want to be with him, but not like this. I don’t know why I thought I could take this, that I could be okay with him having a whole other life with Tempt, but I was kidding myself.
“You know he’s totally head over heels about you, don’t you?” she asks, lingering at the foot of the bed.
The other women have left me at my request, but Reese is leery. She watches me, waiting for me to give her something—anything. I try as hard as I can to give her absolutely nothing. I’m not sure it works, especially when her eyes narrow on me.
“I don’t know that. He’s with her right now,” I state.
It’s the truth. I don’t know anything. He hasn’t really been around me enough to make me feel secure in any way whatsoever about us. I keep telling myself that it’s all going to work out, but as the days pass and I realize that he’s with her, while I’m here alone, I know that it isn’t, and I’ll die before I let Dutch take me.
So, it’s better that I go on the run.
I’d rather run and hide my entire life than sit around and wait for Dutch to do whatever he’s going to try and do to me.
“I don’t think it’s what you think, Piper. You need to be patient. Don’t just do something because you’re scared and immature.”
I should not say what I’m about to. But she’s pushed a button. Her remarks sting—no, they hurt. It’s beyond a sting. They actually cut me. Sitting up slightly, I clear my throat, and she knows she’s said something wrong, because her eyes are wide, and her lips are parted. But it’s too late.
“Why don’t you worry about yourself, Reese? You can’t make a commitment to this man who adores you for whatever fucking reason. Everyone can see that he’s the one for you, and you for him, and yet you keep him at arm’s length. Just because I’m eighteen, it doesn’t automatically make me immature. You’re acting like an asshole to him and everyone else. So, who is the immature one here?”
Her spine straightens, and I expect her to spar back, to say something to me, but she doesn’t. She dips her chin in a simple nod, turns around, and walks out of the bedroom, leaving me alone. I know I shouldn’t be happy that she’s gone, since I was a bitch to her to make her leave, but it gives me the opportunity I need to get out of this place.
ChapterThirty-One
PIPER
Standing,I am a bit dizzy, but I ignore it as much as I can. I glance at my high heels on the floor but decide not to chance fate and try to walk in them with my instability and pounding head. Instead, I go barefoot. Hugging the wall, I move down the hallway, then toward the bar. That’s the only way out, and if I could avoid it, I would.
Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, I’m not sure, the party is in full swing, and the incident with Tempt has not hindered it at all. It’s as if it never happened. Continuing to slink around the room, hugging the walls, I try to keep from being seen.
I’m pretty good at that considering I did it for months before I married Itch, before my brothers gave me to these people. A hand touches my arm as I try to slip down the hallway that leads to the back door. It’s the best way to get out of here.
Jumping, I look over my shoulder to see Thunder standing in front of me. I narrow my eyes on her, knowing who and what she is. It’s not her fault. She’s just doing her thing, but I’m jealous as hell, and I can’t help it.
Maybe Reese was right, maybe I am immature, because I want to pull her hair just knowing that she’s been with Itch.
“What are you doing?” she hisses. “You’re in danger, girl, plus you could have died tonight.”
Pressing my lips together, I jerk my arm from her grasp. “I’m doing what I need to do. And that’s to get out of here and far away.”
Her eyes widen, and she shakes her head. “Honey, I’m telling you that is the last thing you need to do. Go back up to that room. You’re safe here.”
“Is Itch with her?”
Those wide eyes shift to the side, then come back to meet mine. I know the answer. He is with her. Thunder presses her lips together, rolling them as if she’s evening out her lipstick. She’s thinking, trying to buy time. I don’t blame her. She’s loyal to this club and these men, but my loyalty right now is to myself.
“Please, don’t do this.”
“Worry about yourself, Thunder,” I snap, jerking my arm out of her hand.
