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“Ain’t buyin’ that, brother.”
“Becs is wild,” he said, and I smiled because that was true, but when he continued, the smile on my face began to fade. “She’s also flaky and immature. Already been with women like that and don’t want another one. They bring nothing but drama.”
“Been watchin’, brother. That sure ain’t how you act around her.”
“She’s the president’s sister,” Race replied. “How the fuck do you expect me to act?”
It would’ve hurt less if he’d opened the door and punched me. I lay my head against the wall, and tears filled my eyes while the truth of his words slammed into me over and over again. He didn’t think much of me. All this time, I’d thought I was making progress, but he was just pacifying me because of who my brother was.
I didn’t mean anything to him.
Humiliation filled my gut, and I looked toward the door, planning my escape. I even pushed off the wall, ready to head in that direction, knowing I would go home to my shitty apartment and drink myself to sleep.
When I heard boots moving toward where I stood, I hurried behind the bar and stared at the grinning prospect. Suddenly, I was angry. His words and rejection cut deep, but I wasn’t going to go home and hide away like something was wrong with me. I was going to show him who I was, and if he didn’t like it, he could go to hell. Enough men in this place did like me, so the opinion of one wasn’t going to change who I was. Without giving it another thought, I grabbed a bottle of vodka from the shelf and the stool against the wall. Using the stool, I climbed onto the bar and faced the crowd. Some had already seen me and let out a few whistles, which got everyone else’s attention. I saw Bull and Race enter the room from the corner of my eye, but I didn’t look their way. Not yet.
Holding up the bottle, I called out, “We doing this or what!”
Whistles and cheers followed, so I lifted the vodka bottle to my lips, threw my head back, and drank. The catcalls and whistles only encouraged me, becoming the very thing I needed to forget about the man who had just broken my heart.
Pulling the bottle from my lips, I dropped it to my side and winked at Ritz, another member of the club sitting below me. “Your turn.”
He smirked and tilted his head back so I could fill his mouth while shouts rang out around us. I laughed when he jumped from his stool and climbed onto the bar beside me.
It was only when he’d grabbed a bottle and called out, “Who’s next?” that I dared to look to my left where I met the stare of the man who had just broken my heart with nothing more than a few shitty comments.
And I finally recognized the look in his eyes that I’d likely convinced myself was something else. Disregard. He tolerated me because of who I was, and that was humiliating.
For most, humiliation would cause someone to take a step back, maybe even hide, but watching him, I let that humiliation turn into anger.
Until anger was all we knew.
Chapter 1
Becs
Walking through the clubhouse, I lifted my hand in a wave when members called out my name, but I didn’t stop. I continued toward the steps that would lead to the bedrooms upstairs, only pausing for a moment when I stood outside her door.
Maggie. An unlikely friend for me because she was so quiet and shy, the complete opposite of who I was, but over the past year, she had become my closest friend. She came to the club with information about a rival club, the Widows, and Bear moved her in to protect her, but I always thought there was more to the story. And that had a lot to do with the club’s vice president, who was also Bear’s best friend, Gunner.
Lifting my hand, I knocked and only waited a moment for the door to swing open. When Maggie smiled, my shoulders relaxed a bit. She wasn’t one to come to the parties, but I was hoping she would agree this one time because I needed her support.
After all, this celebration was for me.
“Hey, Becs.”
I smiled softly. “Can I come in?”
She backed up, so I stepped through and closed the door behind me. Seeing her Kindle lying on the bed, I gestured to it. “What are you reading?”
“Entangled.”
Reading erotic novels was one of the things we had in common, which didn’t really fit either of our personalities, but it was something that brought us together when Maggie first came to live here. Bear had asked me to befriend her and try to make her feel more comfortable, but I knew that would be difficult. She’d been through a lot, more than I would’ve ever guessed, and she was dealing with that, but it was going to take time.
I nodded and smiled. “That’s one of my favorites.”
“Mine too,” she agreed but then took a step closer to me. “Are you okay?”
I shouldn’t put this on her. She had enough on her plate with her ex hunting her, all while trying to heal from his abuse and just starting to acknowledge her feelings for Gunner. But I needed someone. I needed a friend tonight because my life was changing, and for the first time in a long time, I felt completely alone.
