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Chapter Four

Adelaide

M y eighteenth birthday was when I first met Joey. It was the same night that Tristan decided to destroy my heart. Decided to leave me in pieces. I was at my birthday party that Tristan and Helene had organized at their place, and I was a fucking mess after Tristan had dumped me. I was drinking away my sorrows in a corner, crying into my hands when Joey kneeled in front of me.

He’d seen a broken girl filled with pain, and he’d wanted to help her. He wasn’t even supposed to be there because he was Tristan’s enemy. I had no idea what he’d up his sleeve that night, but instead of doing whatever he’d originally been planning, he took me in.

“Hey, gorgeous, aren’t you the birthday girl?” he asked me.

I looked up at him through my tears, sniffling unladylike. Nodding slowly, I answered him. “Yeah,” I whispered, taking another swig from the bottle of whiskey that I had snatched from the kitchen. His lips twitched, his eyes lighting up in surprise as the liquid burned down my throat, but I never flinched.

“Why are you crying on one of the biggest days of your life?” he asked me, taking a seat beside me on the floor. I flinched, casting my eyes to the floor as I remembered my heart being ripped apart not even an hour ago. “You’re too beautiful to be sitting here crying on your birthday, pretty girl.”

I blushed at his words even though my heart was filled with so much pain, I wasn’t sure if I was capable of feeling anything else. “My boyfriend of three years just broke up with me,” I confessed, more tears sliding down my cheeks. He frowned. “I don’t know what I did wrong,” I pathetically sobbed, everything suddenly spilling from my lips. “We were so happy earlier, and then, all of a sudden, he’s telling me he doesn’t want to be with me anymore and that he’s been miserable for the last year.”

“Well, he’s a fucking asshole,” the guy next to me admitted. I snorted. “Is he still here?” At my nod, he sighed. “Is that why you’re hiding in this corner when you should be enjoying your birthday party?”

I nodded again. He pursed his lips, then stood up, a smirk twisting his lips. My breath hitched in my throat. God, he was hot as fuck. He had ink everywhere , and his dark eyes were filled with trouble that called to my soul. Dirty blonde hair flopped onto his forehead, and I just wanted to run my fingers through the soft-looking strands.

I was clearly a little drunk.

“How about this, pretty girl?” I arched an eyebrow at him, my tears drying up. “My name is Joey, and I think it’s time to let loose and forget about this asshole of an ex for a little while. What do you say? Want to get out of here?”

I nodded at him, desperate for some kind of relief from the pain in my chest. He held his hand out to me, and I placed my palm in his, letting him pull me up to my feet. He wrapped an arm around my waist, a mischievous twinkle lighting up his eyes that almost had me swooning. “It’s time to have some fun on the wild side, pretty girl. What’s your name?” he asked me.

“Adelaide,” I informed him.

“Gorgeous name for a gorgeous girl,” he commented, winking at me as he led me toward the door all while I still clutched the whiskey bottle in my hand.

That night led to many more nights filled with “fun” on the wild side.

But honestly, Joey might have saved my life because back then, I wasn’t sure if I could survive without Tristan to lean on.

I sat on the bathroom counter, trying to put off dealing with Tristan for as long as I could. I knew he was waiting on me to come out and come to bed before he went to sleep. But he was going to be waiting a hell of a long time. I’d sleep in the damn bathroom before I slept in the same bed with him again.

I stared down at Jessie’s name on my phone. She was calling me again, and I was sorely tempted to answer it. She and I had always been close, especially after Joey and I had started clashing heads a lot a few months after we first got together. She’d always had my back after one of our huge fights, and I knew at the end of the day, she was one of the people that I knew I could always rely on.

Then again, I’d thought that about Joey, too, and just that quickly, he’d turned his back on me just because I was with Tristan.

Sighing, I pressed the answer button on my phone, putting it up to my ear. “Hello, gorgeous,” I commented, a smirk twisting my lips, actually kind of happy that I would be hearing her familiar voice.

“I figured you’d answer her call and not mine,” Joey drawled on the other end of the line. I cursed softly, the smirk dropping from my lips. He sighed softly, sounding extremely tired and worn out. A frown tugged at my lips as worry wound around my heart for the man. “You actually think you can run from me, pretty girl?” he asked, using his old nickname for me.

“Not really running, Joey,” I grumbled, being honest. I mean, I was in a way, but I was running from whoever was after Tristan—or me. I was still trying to figure that one out. If I relied on that text message though, my money was on me.

He snorted. “Right,” he sarcastically retorted. I swallowed thickly. “I’ll pretend that you didn’t just try to fucking lie to me.” I grimaced. If Joey hated anything, he fucking hated a liar. “Tell you what, pretty girl,” he said, calling me by that old, familiar nickname again. I swallowed thickly. God, I missed him. “You come back to me by tomorrow night, and I’ll fix all of this bad shit between us. We’re good as hell together, pretty girl, and you’re too deep in this shit to try to run away now.”

I frowned down at the floor, all of those old feelings rising in me. Joey had drawn me out of the funk that I had fallen into after Tristan and I had broken up. He was my rebound in a way, and after a few months, he became a lot more than that to me. Although we were toxic as fuck together, I couldn’t deny that I still deeply cared about Joey. I always would. He was my rock.

“Joey, you know that I would never rat on you. I went through hell and back to protect you and your secrets.” And he knew what kind of hell I’d gone through. How many times had I finally come back home to him, beaten to within an inch of my life, just to protect him? It was certainly more times than I could count on one hand.

He sighed. “You leaving right now was a really bad choice, Adelaide. You need to come back home, pretty girl.”

“Why, Joey?” I angrily demanded. He knew how much I hated being given the run-around.

“Pretty girl, I’ve got a lot of explaining to do, alright? Just… fuck, I always seem to fuck up with you,” he confessed, making my heart twist in my chest. “Pretty girl, I know what Jessie said to you. I never put a hitman on you. I tried to set up a meeting to get one off of your back, but it didn’t fucking work.” Shit . “There’s a man that’s supposed to be bringing you back to me, but he’s not going to hurt you. He’s supposed to protect you until he can get you back here to me.”

“But Tristan’s house—” I started.

“Vin is after you,” Joey interrupted me.

My hand tightened around the phone, and I swallowed down vomit. Now wasn’t the time to be throwing up. “V-Vin?” I stuttered, my face paling. Even his name left a nasty, bitter taste on my tongue.

I could picture Joey running his hand down his face in my mind. “Yes, pretty girl. I had no idea what the fuck Vin was doing to you. I had no idea he fucking raped you.” I flinched and squeezed my eyes shut, resisting the urge to whimper as his malicious face popped into my mind. “I know it doesn’t make up for shit, Adelaide, but I’m so fucking sorry that I didn’t protect you better,” he apologized. I resisted the urge to cry. God, I hated it when Joey felt guilty about shit that happened to me, especially shit that wasn’t his fault. “He told me he was using you for some fights. That was it.”

I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “I was the only one to escape him, Joey,” I whispered.

“I know, pretty girl. I need you to come back home, alright? Fucking hell, at this point, I wouldn’t give a fucking shit if you brought Tristan with you. You need protection until this Vin situation can be dealt with. The more protection you have, the fucking better. I won’t lose you, Adelaide, especially not to fucking death.”

The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Tristan stood there, his expression murderous. I glared back at him, defiance gleaming in my gaze. “Why the fuck are you talking to Joey, Addy?” Tristan snarled at me.

“Let me talk to him, pretty girl,” Joey told me gently. “Don’t fight him, Adelaide. Just let me talk to him.”

With a sigh, I slowly held my hand out to Tristan, offering him the phone. He glared down at it, not reaching out to take it. He instead looked back up at me. “Tristan, please,” I whispered.

I just wanted to go back home where I knew I was okay, back to the man that I knew what to expect with. The man that I knew would never, truly let me down. Not when it truly counted.

Tristan’s expression softened when he actually paid attention to how terrible I looked. Wordlessly, he took the phone from my hand. Stepping between my legs, he wrapped his free arm around my waist, tugging me up close to his hard, muscular frame as he put my phone to his ear.

I hated myself for it, knew I shouldn’t want it, but I leaned into him anyway, allowing Tristan to silently comfort me. I closed my eyes, allowing myself this one small moment of peace between us.

“What?” Tristan grumbled into the phone.

I could hear Joey explaining everything to Tristan as best as he could. Tristan’s body tensed against mine, and his eyes flickered down to me more than once, fury burning in their depths as he held me tighter against him when Joey told him about Vin.

“We’ll be on our way back in the morning,” Tristan informed him. “I’ll have my crew meet us at your place. The more protection on her, the better.”

“I agree,” Joey told him.

“Just let me ask this,” Tristan started, his fingers absentmindedly running up and down my spine. I sighed softly, my eyes beginning to slide closed. He remembered one of the ways to calm me down, and my heart hurt. Tristan used to do this all the time when we were younger, and honestly, I missed his soft, soothing touch. “Why are you all of a sudden being protective over Addy?” he demanded to know.

“I’ve always been protective of her in my own way, Tristan,” Joey told him. And he had. “Adelaide and I have a silent agreement of sorts. She hates being doted over, and she wants to be free to make her own decisions. I protect her from the background, and I only step forward when something drastic is happening, like now. She’s not the same girl whose heart you broke three years ago, Tristan. She’s changed, and she’s grown into one hell of a woman.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that crossed my lips at Joey’s words.

“Whatever,” Tristan grumbled, obviously not pleased by that bit of information. “I’ll text you and let you know when we’re on the road,” Tristan informed him, hanging up the phone right after.

After a few silent moments, Tristan finally looked down at me. “What kind of history do you and Joey have?” Tristan asked me, his voice gruff.

I tilted my chin up as I leaned back from him, every one of my guards going back up against Tristan, and they went up hard . He was digging too deep into something that wasn’t his fucking business. “I don’t think that fucking concerns you.”

Tristan placed a hand on either side of me on the counter and leaned down so his face was only a couple of inches from mine. My breath hitched in my throat at his proximity. His eyes almost undid me as he let them meet mine. “It does concern me when I’m back to claim what’s mine,” Tristan softly told me. I swallowed thickly, my heart racing in my chest at his words, but whether from hope or fear, I wasn’t sure. “And believe me when I say this, Addy. I will have you back, no matter who or what I have to hurt or destroy to get my way.”

With that, he stood back up to his full height and walked out of the bathroom.

I dropped my face into my hands, my heart racing in my chest at his words.

When did my love life become so fucking complicated?

I stepped into the Sons of Hell’s clubhouse, the familiar smell of cigarettes and liquor instantly infiltrating my nostrils. Tristan was walking close behind me, his vice president, sergeant at arms, and treasurer following close behind him, while his other men stayed outside.

I found Jessie working the bar, so I walked over to her, leaning over the bar to grab my own bottle of vodka. “Hey, gorgeous,” I greeted. “Where’s Joey?”

She jerked her head in the direction of the back where the combat ring was set up. “There’s a fight going on out there right now. Joey’s out there handling bids.”

I shot her a smile, and she snatched the bottle of vodka back out of my hands, her eyes playfully narrowing at me. “You’ve got to stop drinking all of the vodka, gorgeous,” she lightly teased.

I rolled my eyes at her. She only laughed as I walked off toward the back of the clubhouse, feeling Tristan following close on my heels. I pushed open the back door, and sure enough, two men were beating each other bloody in the ring, and Joey was handling the money as he held a conversation with his vice president, Charles.

Joey looked up when I stepped out of the clubhouse onto the gravel, a smile tilting his lips the slightest bit, warming that spot in my heart that would always solely belong to him.

I quickly walked over to him, and he instantly wrapped me up in his arms, pressing a kiss to my temple. I sighed softly, my body relaxing as I sank into his familiar, safe embrace. “Good to have you back home where you belong, pretty girl,” he murmured in my ear. He brushed his finger over a bruise on my cheek from the house explosion. “You alright?” Anger burned in his eyes for a moment before he smothered it.

I nodded at him. “I’m fine,” I assured him.

Tristan gripped my arm and pulled me back from Joey, his hands gripping my shoulders. I scowled as I reached up to brush his hands off. “Let me just make this clear,” Tristan said, his voice coming off calm but extremely cold. It sent chills down my spine just at the sound of it. “Adelaide is mine,” he snapped at Joey. “Keep your goddamn hands off of her.”

“I’m no one’s,” I snarled, ripping myself away from Tristan, throwing him a harsh glare as I did so.

He narrowed his eyes at me. “Remember what I told you?” he asked me. My belly swooped.

No matter who or what I have to destroy to get my way.

“You’re a fucking sadistic asshole,” I barked, my upper lip curling at him.

He smirked, but it lacked any humor, instead coming off cold. It made my stomach turn as I stepped back slightly into Joey. Joey silently settled his hands over my hips. “Always have been, Addy,” Tristan retorted. He narrowed his eyes where Joey was lightly gripping my hips, but he kept his mouth shut.

The urge to punch him was still strong though.

I turned to Joey. “I want to fight,” I told him. Spending the past couple of days with Tristan had me ready to explode. I needed to get bloody.

He inclined his head to me. “You sure?” I nodded. “You’ve been through a lot of shit lately, pretty girl,” he gently reminded me, knowing how I could get in the ring when I was overwhelmed.

I clenched my jaw, glaring at him. “Joey…” I warned softly. He was overstepping my boundaries.

He nodded with a shrug of his shoulders. “Alright then, pretty girl. I’m giving you five minutes to get in that clubhouse, change, and come back out. Rachel just came back, and she’s itching to fight you.”

I nodded once in understanding. Tristan gripped my arm when I went to move past him, and his eyes narrowed on mine when I looked up at him. “You’re not fucking fighting,” he snarled down at me.

I ripped my arm from his grip, glaring up at him as I did so. “You don’t fucking own me, Tristan. You want me? Then you take all of me just the fucking way I am, got that?”

I stormed into the clubhouse before he could get another word in. I was so sick of him trying to control every little damn thing I did. I’d found myself, found my fucking independence. I didn’t need a damn man dictating every single thing for me anymore.

And Tristan better figure that shit out quick.

After changing into a black sports bra and a pair of sweatpants, I slid on my black high tops and threw my hair up into a messy bun, not caring if it was perfect or not. I planned to have blood coating my hands by the time this match was over. How I looked as I did it was the least of my fucking concerns.

I was a fucking monster, and Tristan was about to find that out really quick.

I walked back out of the clubhouse to see Tristan sitting on one of the tables beside Joey, his VP, Jesup, flanking his side.

Joey looked up at me as I walked over to him. “Ready?” he asked. I nodded. He ran his eyes over my face for a moment before he nodded as well. “Alright, remember to keep your face and your stomach covered. Rachel’s not going to go easy on you.”

I nodded in understanding. “Got it,” I told him.

Tristan gripped my wrist before I could spin away to go to the ring, his eyes intent on mine. Worry for my well-being shone in their depths, and I swallowed thickly, my heart skipping a beat at the unfamiliar, tender look. “Be careful up there, alright?”

I nodded, shooting him a small smile. I could take care of myself. Tristan didn’t know who I was today, but if he stuck around long enough, he would quickly find out.

And though Tristan got on my fucking nerves, I could deal with him being an asshole. It was familiar territory for me because it was easy as fuck for me to be bitchy back.

But when he got all caring? I didn’t know how to deal with him. It made my heart skip beats, and it made my stomach flutter.

Reluctantly, Tristan let me go. I walked up to the makeshift ring, waiting for Joey to announce me and Rachel into the ring.

I was going to fuck this bitch up.