Page 6

Chapter Six

Adelaide

I nodded my head to the beat of the song coming through my speakers, lightly tapping my fingers on the steering wheel of my car as I drove aimlessly down a random back road. I was trying to calm myself down. To catch my breath and recenter myself. After my fight earlier, I had scrubbed myself down in the shower and escaped through the window in my room to go for a drive. The window had been the only option if I wanted to flee because I knew Tristan nor Joey would let me go alone.

I had to get the fuck away from there. And I needed to be alone.

I knew how destructive I was. How much of a monster I could be. But I had almost killed Rachel in that ring.

And that? That wasn’t me, not if I wasn’t trying to survive. But I had heard Vin’s name, and I snapped. I lost control of myself.

I glanced up into my rearview mirror but did a double take when I saw someone was coming up fast on my ass. I cursed at the black Charger. Its windows were illegally tinted, and there was a slight mark on the front end that alerted me that the person following me was the one from my fucking nightmares. Only one man drove a car with a V scratched into the paint.

He’d fucking found me.

I instantly tightened my hand around the steering wheel and floored my black Camaro, looking for the next side road. I knew my way around this area, and I knew that I could easily find my way back to the clubhouse.

It would bring shit on the Sons of Hell, but I had no other choice. Vin would fucking slit my throat if he got his hands on me, and I knew Joey would protect me if I could just get to him.

I refused to let that asshole get his grimy fucking hands on me again. I would fucking kill myself before I allowed that shit to happen again.

I almost missed the next road since it was a bit hidden inside a curve, and I cursed, hitting the brake as I whipped my wheel, my back end sliding as I made the sharp turn onto the road at the very last second. I saw Vin fly past me, but as he was passing me, his brake lights lit up, and I knew he still wouldn’t be far behind me.

I floored it again, looking for the next side road that would lead me to the clubhouse. I knew this road. Joey liked to use it when he was bringing in guns and drugs to the clubhouse. The next road that led to the clubhouse was hidden well, only used by the club since it ended at the back of the Sons of Hell’s property.

A couple of minutes later, I swung my car onto the next road that led to the back gate of Joey’s crew. My heart pounded hard, adrenaline pumping through my veins when I saw the gates up ahead. They were locked tight, and thankfully, there wasn’t anyone standing guard.

“Here goes nothing,” I whispered.

My phone switched to a song with more base as I laid on my horn, warning whoever might be on the other side of the gate that I was about to crash through the fucking thing and to get the fuck out of my way.

I jutted forward in my seat as I slammed through the gate, the seatbelt locking around me, stealing the air from my lungs as I slammed my forehead onto the steering wheel. My airbags burst out, filling the air around me with white powder. I coughed as I pushed it out of my face. I had so much adrenaline running through my body that I didn’t even feel the pain that I knew should be thrumming through my skull.

My door was ripped open, and I blinked up at Tristan, slightly dazed as the white powder floated out of the car. “Are you out of your damn mind?” he barked at me as he reached over me to unsnap my seatbelt.

I slowly turned to get out of the car, and Tristan gripped my upper arms to help me out. I stumbled slightly, my vision blurring as I stood on my feet.

“You’re bleeding,” he muttered, reaching up to wipe a little bit of blood from my forehead.

“Vin,” I muttered. “He—” I was panting. “Vin was following me.”

“Here. Sit down, Addy,” Tristan gently said, easing me onto the ground so that I could lean back against my car. “You’re in shock.”

“Guard that fucking gate!” I heard Joey bark at someone as he stormed over to us. He leaned into my car and turned it off, shutting off my music. Then, he kneeled in front of me, his dark eyes running over my face, taking in the blood trickling from my forehead and down my cheek. “What happened, pretty girl?” he asked, forcing his tone to soften.

“Vin was following her,” Tristan informed him as I leaned my head back against my car, finally registering the pain in my head from where I had hit my steering wheel.

“What in the fuck were you doing off of the clubhouse grounds to begin with, Adelaide?” Joey demanded. I slowly rolled my head around to look at him. “You were supposed to be resting after that fight.”

“I had to get away,” I told him quietly, knowing he would understand. Joey sighed, a frown tugging at his lips.

“Getting away almost got you killed, Addy,” Tristan spoke up. I looked up at him. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, making the muscles in them bulge a bit. Joey rested a hand on my knee and gave it a gentle squeeze, a silent reminder that Tristan wouldn’t understand.

He didn’t know the woman I was now.

“You told me you were going to sleep after you got a shower,” Tristan accused. He wasn’t wrong though. I had said that.

It had also been a lie.

I shrugged carelessly. “You should learn that what comes out of my mouth usually can’t be trusted,” I snarked, unable to help but piss him off further.

“I should have fucking known you wouldn’t have rested after blacking out like that,” Joey grumbled. I slowly looked over at him. His eyes were tender and understanding as he met mine, but there was slight anger in their depths as well. “But Adelaide, you can’t just run off like that without at least letting someone know. What if Vin had been able to catch you? We might not have been able to save you in time.”

I sighed. “I got it,” I grumbled. “I fucking got it.”

Before Joey could respond, gun shots rang out around us. Tristan cursed as he dropped down to the ground beside me, he and Joey pulling guns out of their cuts at the same time. Tristan wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me close to him. “Can you use a gun?” he asked me.

I nodded at him. He thrust a pistol into my hand and pressed his lips to my forehead—the part that wasn’t bleeding. Despite the dangerous situation we were in, my heart fluttered in my chest. “If someone that’s not one of my men or Joey’s men comes near you, fucking shoot them,” he harshly ordered.

I watched as Tristan inched around the car, crouching at the hood. He started firing back, Joey right beside him. I kept my eyes trained on the area surrounding me. Soon, the gun shots died down, and I heard cars tear off of the lot, giving up for now. Tristan stood and came over to me. “You alright?”

I nodded, pushing myself up off of the ground. “Vin?” I guessed.

Tristan nodded in answer to my question. Joey strode over to me. “You need to get in that clubhouse,” he instructed, his eyes hard, still in protection mode. I clenched my jaw. “I’ll get one of the men to get your car over to the garage to get fixed.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know no one works on my car besides me, Joey.”

He stepped closer, our toes touching as he towered over me, his eyes narrowing. I tilted my chin up at him defiantly. “Get the fuck over it,” he snarled at me. I bristled. Joey was worried about me, and he was itching for a fight. I knew that. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to rise to the challenge. “Twice in the past ten fucking minutes, your life has been in jeopardy. Get your fucking ass in that goddamn clubhouse!” he barked down at me, pointing his finger in the direction of the clubhouse.

I spat in his face. He slowly closed his eyes and stepped back from me, using his shirt to wipe my spit off of his face. “You better watch who the fuck you’re talking to. In case you’ve fucking forgotten, I still hold a goddamn gun in my hand.”

He opened his eyes and arched an eyebrow at me, anger flaring in his beautiful eyes. “You threatening me, pretty girl?” he asked, his tone low and dangerous, the true, terrifying criminal within him coming to the surface.

I stepped up to him, glaring up into his handsome face. I wasn’t afraid of Joey. He knew that. Just as I knew he’d never truly hurt me. “I’m making a promise,” I seethed. “If you ever talk to me again like you just did, I will fucking shoot you, understand? I’m not one of your goddamn men.”

He took a step back from me. “Get the fuck out of my sight.”

Tristan gripped my arm and pulled me back from Joey when I reached up to jab my finger into his chest, ready to spew some more shit at him. “Come on,” Tristan told me, trying to deescalate the situation. “You both need to calm down.”

I ripped my arm from his grasp, almost stumbling when my skull pulsed from me moving too fast. “Don’t tell me what the fuck I need to do.”

He gripped my upper arms and snatched me against his hard, muscular frame, glaring down at me. I swallowed hard. I still wasn’t used to this side of Tristan. “I’m not Joey, Addy. Watch yourself.”

I let a careless smirk twist my lips. “You going to hit me, Tristan?” I asked, almost taunting him.

He leaned his head down, so his lips brushed against my ear. I shivered, my breath hitching in my throat as my eyes closed. Oh, God, what the fuck was he doing to me? “I’m not that kind of man, Addy, but I will throw you over my shoulder, drag you into your room, and fuck you stupid,” he breathed into my ear.

My eyes snapped open as white-hot desire rippled straight down to my core. He leaned back up and reached up with one of his hands to brush the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. My breath hitched in my throat. “Got it?”

Rendered speechless, I wordlessly nodded my head.

I silently watched as Tristan leaned his muscular body over the pool table with his cue stick in his hand, getting ready to break the triangle of balls on the table. I couldn’t help but let my eyes linger on his ass for a moment because for a man, he really was gifted with a great, toned ass. It was the kind you wanted to sink your nails into or hell, even your teeth.

“You stare at that man any harder, gorgeous, and you’ll burn holes into his ass,” Jessie commented as she leaned over the bar to hand me another beer.

Dragging my eyes away from Tristan, I turned my head to smirk at her. “At least this way I can check him out without him trying to fuck me every time I turn around.” She released a loud laugh. “It’s been three years since I’ve seen him, much less been with him like that.” I shook my head. “I don’t exactly know how to deal with him.” A soft frown pulled at her lips as her eyes filled with concern for me. “He’s ten times cockier than he was when we were eighteen.”

Jessie sighed. “Maybe that’s a good thing, gorgeous. You need some sexiness like him in your life again,” she told me, trying her best to lighten the mood again.

I pursed my lips. “I don’t know. I think I’ve got enough of that in my life with your brother.”

Jessie snorted. “Look, I know Joey is my brother and all, but you don’t react to him the way you react to Tristan. That man comes within five feet of you, and everyone around you can see just how much he affects you.”

I rolled my eyes. “He does not—” I started, but I cut myself off, anger roaring through my veins when I saw Lacie, one of the club women, saunter up to Tristan and press herself against him, a flirty smile on her lips.

“Oh, he doesn’t affect you, hm?” Jessie teased, a knowing smirk on her lips.

I ignored her as I guzzled half of my beer down and watched him smirk down at her and whisper something into her ear that had her blushing and giggling. I clenched my jaw. “Two can play at this fucking game,” I snarled, getting up from my stool.

Worry for me flashed in Jessie’s eyes. “Don’t do anything stupid, Adelaide.”

I only shot her a smirk before I turned around to go to the pool table, sliding up to Joey’s side. I could feel Tristan’s eyes on me, but I completely ignored him as I smiled up at Joey. “I’m sorry about earlier,” I murmured. I knew I was trying to make Tristan feel what I was feeling, but I did mean those words to Joey. I truly was sorry.

Joey gave me a soft smile as he wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed my jaw. “I know, pretty girl. We were both pissed at each other. I’m sorry, too,” he apologized.

That was one of the things I loved about Joey. He knew he had his faults, and he wasn’t afraid to admit that he had fucked up with me, just as I wasn’t afraid to apologize to him when I acted like a class-A bitch.

I splayed my hands over his muscular chest, looking up at him from under my lashes. “Makeup sex?” I asked him softly.

He smirked, his eyes flaring with his need for me. “I’ll never turn that down, pretty girl.” He thrust his pool stick at Charles, who hurried to grab it. “Charles is taking my place,” he announced to Tristan. “I’ve got something to tend to.”

Tristan’s glare settled on my back as I laced my fingers through Joey’s and tugged him toward his room, but I didn’t give a fuck. I might have originally started out wanting to piss Tristan off, but now, I wanted Joey.

I wanted that normalcy I’d always had with him, and I knew Joey would give that to me, would take care of me like I needed.

Joey would always be the one man that I knew I could rely on in my time of need.