Page 17 of Operation Annulment (Silent Phoenix MC)

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Nate

F uck. She doesn’t remember.

The woman who just hours ago appeared as sober as a judge was, in fact, so intoxicated that she’d forgotten our nuptials.

Which also means she was too intoxicated to give consent to any of it. The marriage. The spontaneous sex in the elevator. The mindblowing blowjob on the balcony. The— well, you get the idea .

Get to know her better… I said.

Take things slow… I said.

I glare at the marriage license sitting on the nightstand. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but eloping feels like the fucking opposite of all of that.

There has to be a way to fix this, but my mind is blank at the moment.

Well, not completely blank. It’s helpfully reminding me that I know next to nothing about this woman or her family. I flee to the bathroom to splash cold water on my face.

As I take in the love bites on my neck and the condoms littering the counter, I can’t help but think it’s Jess 2.0.

“This is your fault,” I mutter to my dick, still painfully hard despite having every reason not to be. “You get that, right?”

“Nate?” Kate taps a finger against the door. “Are you talking to someone?”

Just my dick.

We’re finally having a long-overdue heart-to-heart. The bastard’s been doing whatever he pleases without considering the repercussions.

“No,” I lie before asking, “Are you okay?”

“Um, not really,” she says, her voice rising. “I think I’m freaking out. No, I know I’m freaking out. Can you come out, please?”

Reluctantly, I open the door. I’d much rather stay in here until I have a plan.

“I can’t remember anything?—”

“Nothing?” I ask, trying and failing to keep the rising panic from my voice.

“No—well, I remember asking you to come with me and the flight here. I vaguely remember dinner… and then nothing.” She buries her face in her hands. “I have to go home. Dakota’s in the hospital, and Zane—he got shot. I never should have left.”

I freeze. “Zane got shot? By whom?”

“Maybe in the line of duty?” she guesses with a shrug. “I don’t know the details.”

“Babe,” I say gently. “Zane’s a trainer at the gym, not fighting on the front lines. I know you had a lot to drink?—”

“He’s an undercover cop and the entire reason my sister was arrested for drug possession a month ago,” she blurts out before slapping a hand over her mouth.

I thought Jess had drama. I also thought being married to someone who ran on chaos was the worst mistake of my life.

This though?

This is like Jess on steroids .

I need a drink—or, better yet, several drinks.

New plan.

Mainline whiskey to deal with this situation.

I scan the room for the minibar. At first glance, the room appears to be without one, but my persistence pays off.

It was disguised to look like a cabinet.

Inside, there’s a mini bottle of Johnnie Walker Black, and I don’t even blink before knocking it back.

“Isn’t that stuff really expensive?” Kate asks, watching me through wide eyes.

“Do I look like I give a fuck how much things cost right now?” I soften my tone before adding, “I’ve got the money to cover it and the room. We’re good.”

And that rock on your finger…

As if reading my mind, she glances down at the ring. “This has to be five grand, at least. Do you have the money for that, too?”

“It was twenty, and yes,” I explain before she cuts me off with a shrill shriek.

“You spent twenty thousand dollars on this ring? Why? Why would you do this?”

I’ve been asking myself the same thing for the past several minutes. See, I’d always imagined my first big purchase being a condo in Vail or a matte black G-wagon, but the second I saw the ring, I knew I wanted it on her finger.

Her voice jumps from octave to octave, moving dangerously close to shattering the empty bottle in my hands. “Calm down,” I groan. “It’s going to be fine.”

“Fine? Fine? Look around you, Nate! None of this is fine!”

Well, maybe not fine…

“We’re married, and I know nothing about you other than the fact that you have a couch full of lacy underwear and perfume in the bathroom.

You’re emotionally unavailable, yet I somehow took that as a challenge.

I’ve never met a tattoo artist who could drop twenty thousand dollars as if it were nothing.

I mean, I’ve never met a tattoo artist, but I can’t imagine they have gobs of money lying around. ”

While she continues her disjointed rant, I drop onto the edge of the mattress and rub at my throbbing temples. Jesus, it’s like an ice pick to the brain every time she opens her mouth.

I chuckle. “Katy girl, I don’t think I ever told you I was a tattoo artist.”

She stops pacing and turns to face me, flexing her toes against the carpet. “Yes, you did. Our first date. We were having dinner, and you said?—”

“No, you said I was a tattoo artist, struggling to break free from the shadow of my family and their vineyard. Remember?”

“But… but,” she splutters, her jugular vein pulsing wildly against her neck.

“You didn’t correct me! You let me believe you were a tattoo artist!

Why would you do that—oh god! It’s drugs, isn’t it?

You’re a drug dealer. I can’t be around anything else illegal.

I can’t do it.” She collapses into one of the oversized chairs, gasping for air.

A drug dealer?

Anything else illegal?

What the fuck is this woman into?

“Look at me,” I command, trying to pull her away from the panic attack she seems committed to having. “I’m not a drug dealer, okay? I’m a surgeon.”

She blinks rapidly at the news before shaking her head. “Stop. I know you’re trying to lighten the mood, but a doctor, really?”

I stare blankly at her until her smile fades.

“Oh my god, you’re serious. I—so you cut people open and stuff?” Kate’s nose wrinkles as she says it. It makes her look adorable, something that’s not helping my current situation.

“Yeah, I ‘cut people open and stuff.’ You seem disappointed. Would you rather I was a drug dealer or tattoo artist?”

Her reaction is not quite what I expected. It’s the exact opposite of the response I’ve gotten from other women when giving my occupation.

She studies the pattern on the arm of the chair, refusing to look at me. “No. I—I’m just surprised, I guess. You just don’t?— ”

“Don’t look like a doctor,” I finish, unable to keep the bite out of my voice. “Got it. In your perfect little world, Kate, it’d be unheard of for someone with tattoos to go out and make something of themselves.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” she pleads, coming over to where I sit. “I’m just incredibly hungover and extremely confused.

I dodge her attempts to hug me and start throwing on clothes. “Let’s just get our shit together and get back to Lubbock. We’ll sort this whole mess out there.”

She sucks in a sharp breath. “When you say sort it out...”

“An annulment. It’ll be like it never happened.”

I see the devastation on her face before she can hide it. Maybe I’d consider staying married in another world where I never met Jess.

Kate and I barely get along now, though. This doesn’t bode well for a long and happy marriage.

“An annulment,” she repeats the words quietly to herself.

“What? You’ve got a better idea?”

She swallows hard. “No. I think it’s probably for the best.”

“Folks, we seem to be experiencing a bit of turbulence, so we’re going to leave the seatbelt sign illuminated for the time being. Please remain seated until we turn those off again.” The plane rocks forcefully as if to punctuate the captain’s warning.

I left Kate in the hotel room and went downstairs to the bar, where I drank as much whiskey as I could stomach. The best part? The bartenders didn’t chastise me about the cost or scream at the top of their lungs.

The cab ride to the airport was also uneventful.

Kate sat silently with her body angled toward the window, which suited me just fine.

The less we said to each other, the better.

After spending a small fortune on tickets home, I left her at the gate and fled to another bar until it was time to board.

The plane could be freefalling from the fucking sky, and it wouldn’t bother me at all. That stomach in your throat feeling? I live for that shit.

It dips again sharply, and Kate squeezes her eyes shut with a soft whimper. She’s gripping the armrests so hard her knuckles have gone white.

“Kate, it’s going to be fine. You know that, right?” I keep my voice low and calm. I’m not sure if I’m referring to the extreme turbulence or our sham marriage. Maybe both.

“Mmm-hmm...” She nods, and a tear slips from the corner of one eye. It catches on her lashes before dropping onto her cheek, reminding me of that night in the shower and weakening my resolve.

She shakily reaches toward me, only to drop her hand back to the armrest when the plane rocks.

I pry her fingers away from the seat and lace them through mine. “It’s okay. Deep breaths.”

“I’m scared,” she whispers, keeping her eyes shut as more tears slide down her face.

“I’ve got you,” I murmur, stroking the back of her knuckles with my thumb.

Even terrified, the woman is stunning. There’s just something about her that brings out my nurturing side.

Kate continues taking deep, controlled breaths until her shoulders relax. Instead of releasing my hand, she squeezes tighter before nodding to herself. “Thank you.”

Those two words change everything. Words bubble up in my chest

“What if we didn’t get the annulment?” I ask, peering into her watery eyes. “What if we stayed married?”

She mashes her lips together. “Do you want that?”

“Give me sixty days. Sixty days where we give it a shot. We don’t make any decisions until then.”

The sudden smile that lights up her face surprises me almost as much as her next words. “Let’s do it.”