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“Raine’s still not back from her errands yet?” Liam sounded concerned.
“No, but probably soon. She’s buying something sexy to wear for us tonight.” He grinned, then sobered as they walked past the bar. “So, what’s this story you have to tell me? Quickly, before she gets back.”
“Oh, it’s hysterical,” Liam assured. “But first, I need to eat something before I pass out.”
He turned to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water, and made a quick sandwich. As the two men headed toward Hammer’s office, Liam began relaying all the gory details in between bites, savoring every word.
Hammer listened in shock and horror. “You found a picture of a guy jacking off in her texts?”
“It gets better.” As Liam took the last bite of food, he headed toward the bathroom. “I’m going to use your shower, mate, so I can keep talking. Wait until you hear what Gwyneth did after I talked to Seth.”
“I’m not sure I want to.” He winced. “Do I?”
Liam laughed. “I almost had the bitch barking for me.”
Hammer blinked, then let out a deep belly laugh. “I’ve got to hear this.”
Following Liam into the bathroom, Macen leaned on the edge of the vanity, keeping an eye out the window for Raine as his friend showered and described Gwyneth’s “submission.”
Hammer made Liam back up several times and repeat the humiliation he’d unleashed on the pretentious whore, laughing until his stomach hurt.
Liam stepped out and grabbed a towel as Hammer shook his head. “I would have paid money—good money—to have seen that. You didn’t happen to record it on your phone, did you?”
“Damn, I should have, right?” Liam laughed.
“Hell, yeah. That thing would have gone viral in a matter of minutes.” Hammer snorted. “So you got Kyle’s sample dropped off and your cheek swabbed, too. Now we wait.”
“Tom at the lab was expecting me and promised to rush it through as quickly as he could,” Liam explained. “Thank god for Beck’s contacts. I might have the results back early in the morning.”
“Great. But after all the shit you found on Gwyneth’s phone, do you think there’s still any chance that baby is yours?”
“I can’t say positively until we get the results, but I have serious doubts that he’s even her kid.”
“And even after all the humiliation you put her through, she still didn’t tell you what the fuck she’s up to, huh?”
“Nope.” Liam shook his head. “Gwyneth stopped talking, so I left.”
“Well, hopefully by this time tomorrow, all we’ll have to worry about is getting her out of Beck’s condo.”
“I’ve got rope.” Liam smirked. “When we find out the baby’s not mine, I’ll thank Beck for use of his place and toy bag, then tie Gwyneth up and haul her to the airport. Then we can get on with our lives…with Raine.”
“Speaking of…”
“When did she say she’d be back?” Liam shot Hammer a worried glance.
“She didn’t, exactly.” It was after five o’clock, and she knew they planned to leave for dinner at five thirty. Hammer frowned. “Let me see where she’s at. Maybe she got hung up in rush hour.”
With furrowed brows, he pulled out his cell phone and launched an app. Liam stepped up next to Macen, looking at the screen. They watched a blinking green dot inch along a map of streets, coming from an all-too-familiar part of town. In tandem, both men raised their heads, sharing a look of abject dread before Macen swallowed tightly.
“Bloody hell,” Liam groaned. “Why is Raine near Beck’s condo? None of her favorite stores are near his place.”
Hammer felt his blood run cold. There was no logical reason for Raine to be in that neighborhood, unless…
“Son of a bitch. I wonder if she stopped by Beck’s.”
“I hope not. After the mood I left Gwyneth in, she’d eat Raine alive.” Liam scrubbed a nervous hand through his wet hair.
Hammer tried hard to connect the dots, dreading the implications. “It doesn’t make sense. She knew Beck was in surgery. Unless she’d decided to ask him why we left the lodge so suddenly.”
“Do you think she actually went to check out our story?”
“I wouldn’t put it past her. Shit. Hang on a sec.” Hammer punched another button on his phone. A snaking green line appeared showing the route Raine had taken since leaving the club. She’d stopped at the condo, all right. Hammer closed his eyes. His bowels turned to liquid.
“Oh, fuck no,” Liam moaned.
“We’d better get ready.”
“For Hurricane Raine,” Liam replied before he flattened his lips into a tight line. “This is going to get ugly.”
“Ugly isn’t the half of it,” Hammer agreed. “Looks like we’re at DEFCON one, brother.”
* * *
Liam hoped Raine would merely be pissed off. He could deal with anger, but if Gwyneth had crushed her tender feelings, that heinous witch would rue the day she’d ever met him.
Together, they watched as the green dot on Hammer’s phone moved steadily closer to Shadows and decided to intercept her at the entrance. No one needed to overhear what she was likely to shout.
Liam had no illusions. He’d seen Raine rail at Hammer when she’d sneaked into his room a month ago and he’d rebuffed her for trying to seduce him. Today, he and Hammer would be lucky if all they had to do was dodge dildos.
At least the truth was finally out, the deception and misdirection over. Now he had to deal with the nagging stress wrought by Gwyneth, his not-quite-son, and Bill Kendall. But the bright spot? When Raine had discovered their cover-up, she hadn’t simply run away, as she would’ve in the past. Even if she only came to Shadows to confront them, at least she was returning. They’d have the chance to persuade her they’d never meant to deceive or hurt her. If he and Hammer managed to end this evening with her heart still in their hands, he’d be eternally grateful.
But he worried that was too much to hope for.
Finally, Raine whipped her car into the lot and came to a screeching halt, straddling two parking spaces. Liam cocked a brow at Hammer. That’s our girl. As his friend nodded grimly, Raine tore out of the car and slammed the door, storming toward the entrance of the club. Even in her fury, she looked breathtaking…but she might not take the compliment well just now.
She shoved the door open, her cheeks red but stained with silvery paths. A knife stabbed into Liam’s heart and twisted.
From day one, she’d slipped under his defenses and into his very soul. Never had a woman created such chaos in his life. Or made him feel so much joy, immeasurable passion, and love—more than he’d realized he was capable of feeling.
What would his life be like if Raine were no longer in it?
When she caught sight of them, her bow mouth pursed. Fire shot out of her eyes, and she looked ready to erupt like a volcano. “How fucking dare you—”
Hammer clapped a hand over her mouth. “Not one more word.”
She screeched, struggling against his firm hold, tearing at his wrist to tug it away. She screamed behind his palm, still making enough noise to alert the whole club.
“We know where you’ve been. We know who you saw. We’re going someplace private to talk about it,” Hammer growled. “Settle down unless you want everyone to know our business.”
If anything, her eyes flashed with more fury. She bit at him and glared, looking as if she’d like to boil the flesh off his scrotum.
Liam resisted the urge to cover his own balls and leaned into Raine’s face. “Give us a chance to explain, love. Thirty seconds, and we’ll be in Hammer’s office. Then you can vent all you want.”
Raine zipped that lethal glare at him, then tried to stomp on his toes. He managed to dodge her at the last second. Bloody hell… His wee lass had turned violent.
Damn it, he should have followed his instincts and told her about Gwyneth’s phone call from the start. Hindsight was a bitch. If he could somehow make her listen, m
aybe he could reach her. At present, she was disinclined to do anything but tear his head off.
“You have a choice,” Hammer snarled in her face with low, controlled tones. “Come with us quietly or…” He pulled a ball gag from his pocket and dangled it in front of her. “I know how much you love these.”
Instantly, her eyes widened, all shock and blue lightning. Then they narrowed again. Behind his palm, she panted hard, her breath hot. At barely five feet tall, she didn’t pose them any threat, but her temper was fearsome.
“What’s it going to be, Raine?” Liam asked quietly. “You can walk with us…”
“Or we’ll hog-tie you,” Hammer finished.
“Either way, you’re coming along. There’ll be no more biting, stomping, or screaming. And no more swearing. Do you understand?” Liam asked.
Her little hands balled into fists, and she shot them both death glares. No doubt, if she’d been a man, she would have thrown a punch or two.
“You locked the gun away, didn’t you, mate?” he asked Hammer.
“Yeah. She’ll have to rely on verbal combat. Raine?” Tentatively, Hammer withdrew his hand, keeping it right above her mouth.
She stewed. And fumed. As she glanced at the ball gag again, she somehow managed to turn even redder. “Fine.”
Liam felt as if they’d defused a bomb—at least temporarily. She was still liable to go off, but at least it would be in private. He was grateful that he and Hammer had talked this out a bit, and turned to his friend with a questioning stare.
Macen pocketed the ball gag and answered with a nod. Together, they each grabbed one of her arms and lifted her, carting her away from the common area and down the hall.
“Don’t touch me,” she hissed.
Liam’s inner Dominant roared to life. Like hell.
They both secured their grip.
“I can walk,” she insisted.
“We’re going to help you,” Liam crooned.
“You can shove your help—”
“Do we need that ball gag after all?” Hammer sent her a silky warning as they hit the hall, wending past the door of Seth’s room, steps away from their destination.
“No,” she spat.
Liam gripped Raine’s arm tighter as they crossed the threshold of Hammer’s office, Macen sliding in first and all but dragging her inside. Gripping the knob, Liam shut it, knowing her explosion was imminent in three, two, one…
As soon as the latch clicked shut, she yanked her arms from their holds and balled her fists again. “You both fucking lied to me. And I don’t give a fuck about my language. You can both go fuck yourselves. But oh, that’s right. Liam has already fucked me—and his perfect Barbie doll ex-wife. Were you taking notes? Making comparisons? I can’t believe you didn’t say a fucking word about that fucking bitch.”
“That wasn’t what happened at all,” Hammer insisted. “Calm down and we’ll explain.”
She whirled on him. “Don’t fucking talk to me like I’m a child. Though I guess you two have decided I’m as naïve as one. How long did you think you were going to keep me in the fucking dark? And that lie about Liam’s business problems?” She rolled her eyes. “Lame!”
“So you don’t want to hear the truth?” Hammer raised a brow at her.
“You can take your fucking truth and shove it up your fucking—”
“Love, listen to us. We—”
Raine spun around to Liam again. “Not only did you not tell me about your fucking ex-wife—nice lingerie, by the way; I’m sure you enjoyed that—but you have a son you never fucking bothered to tell me about. So are you packing your bags and leaving with them to live happily ever after? She’s only going to screw you again, but maybe you enjoy that.”
Betrayal fueled her angry speech. But their disillusioned girl believed the damning situation after a mere glance—without asking him a single question. In some ways, that cut Liam to the quick…but he reminded himself that only a week ago, his relationship with Raine had seemed hopeless and he’d ended things with her abruptly. Of course she would worry he meant to do the same now. She was giving up on him before he could hurt her again.
“I divorced Gwyneth with good reason. I would never want her back, and I certainly wouldn’t leave you for the likes of her. That’s the sincere truth.”
“Oh, so now you’re telling me the truth? But not earlier today in the car?” She wagged a finger in his face. “You two spent the last few days lecturing me until you were blue in the faces about honesty and communication and how great our relationship would be if we could all just trust one another. Blah, blah, fucking blah.”
“Raine,” Liam reassured softly because telling her to calm down would not go well. “Love, I don’t want Gwyneth. I didn’t touch her.”
“Bullshit! I saw the nipple clamps, an imprint paddle, and the fresh welt that said slut on her ass—not that I doubt that for a minute. Oh, I forgot the restraints and the elephant dildo. So if you weren’t playing with her, you were…what? Recreating your good times and reminding her of all she’d been missing?”
Liam didn’t falter. “No. If you’ll stop losing the bloody plot, I’ll explain.”
“Explain what? She told me the two of you have worked out her ‘lapse of judgment’ that ended your marriage. Wow. So I guess paddling her was better than couple’s therapy, and now all is forgiven. How long before you leave me to join her and be a family?” Raine challenged, as if waiting for the other shoe to drop. Of course she zoomed right to the worst-case scenario. In her case, it had happened every damn time.
“Oh, that calculating cunt,” Hammer muttered.
Indeed. Gwyneth had played Raine perfectly. Like dominoes in a row, each felled the next in an inevitable chain reaction. But Liam had handed his ex-wife the means. His maneuvers—however well intended—had backfired.
“Why would you think she told you anything resembling the truth?” Liam asked.
“Because I already know you two lied to me.”
“To protect you, yes. We’re sorry if that upset you. But her lies were meant to confuse you and cause you pain,” Hammer spat. “Don’t let the doubt she planted in your head grow, precious. And don’t give her any of your power. That belongs to us.”
“Nothing she said is true.” Liam sighed. “All she wants to do is separate me from you. You can’t let her.”
“Give me one reason I should believe you,” she challenged.
“Do you think we would have planned to take you to dinner tonight to explain everything if we weren’t going to tell you the truth?” Macen asked.
She shot him a skeptical glare. “Maybe it was taking you two that long to get your stories straight.”
Liam leaned into her face, fusing their gazes together. “Because I love you, Raine. That’s why you should believe me.”
Liam had this one chance to convince her that he loved her with every cell in his body. If not, she’d let doubt overtake her and leave. But as long as he was breathing, he’d keep fighting for them.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t read Raine now. Since she’d always worn her emotions on her face, that was dangerous. She hadn’t dropped the f-bomb for several minutes, so he took that as a good sign. But he still sensed a palpable storm raging beneath Raine’s surface.
She teared up. “You didn’t even tell me about your son.”
“I don’t think he’s mine,” Liam countered. “Tell me what else Gwyneth said to you so I can explain everything.”
“She pitied me. No, first she thought I was the maid. Then she said I was cute, but I couldn’t keep you amused for long because you like the hunt, and I’d never provide you enough sport.” She covered her face, and her body shook. Pain drenched every sob as she swiped at her cheeks and backed away. “I’m sorry I wasn’t entertaining enough for you.”
His worst fears had come to pass; Gwyneth had cut her to the bone. The knife in Liam’s chest twisted harder as he watched Raine cry, longing to enfold her in his arms and kiss away every tear.
