Page 29 of Slayin Villain (Royal Bastards MC: Nashville, TN #11)

Rachel

I didn’t know what pissed me off more, finding out Villain moved without telling me, or hearing from Cali, of all people, that he was now rooming with Rome. Cali was also fucking Rome on the side.

Rome. The same asshole who used to bring Ember flowers before band practice and who’d been running his damn mouth around the clubhouse ever since she started wearing tighter jeans.

Villain and Rome.

The two shitheads deserved each other.

The anger bubbled up so hot I didn’t feel the late afternoon sun as I pulled into Royal Road.

I didn’t bother knocking. I stalked through the front doors, past a couple of hang-arounds smoking weed on the porch, through the casino, into the arena, and into the hallway that led toward the houses out back.

I followed the sound of boxes thudding and curses muttering under breath.

Villain’s back was to me, shirtless, tattooed patch flexing with every movement as he shoved a duffel bag into a corner. His hair was slicked back, neck sweaty, cut draped over a chair like it meant less than nothing.

“Nice of you to tell me you were moving,” I snapped.

He turned, startled, then guilty.

“Red…”

“Don’t ‘Red’ me.” I crossed my arms. “You didn’t even have the balls to tell me you were fucking Rome now.”

He exhaled like I was already exhausting him.

“It’s not like that,” he stated the obvious.

“Then explain it.”

He raked a hand down his face and motioned toward the folding chair beside the window. “Sit down.”

“I’d rather stand.”

“Of course you would.” He leaned back against the dresser. “Club voted. Kingpin made the call. Said if I couldn’t keep my shit together, he’d force it.”

“Heard you got in a fight,” I said, trying not to cry about it.

“Yeah, we fought. So now me and Rome are under one roof.”

“You fought over Ember? Why not toss Ember in here too?” I snapped. “Make it a damn party.”

He flinched.

Good.

“You both sleeping with her here?” I asked, quieter. “Now that I’m outta sight?”

His face dropped. “I haven’t…” He stopped himself.

That wasn’t a no.

I turned for the door.

“Wait,” he said, coming after me. “Rachel, just stop a second.”

I stopped but didn’t face him.

“I was gonna patch you,” he said, voice softer now. “Before everything. I had Blitz drawing up the design. I even talked to Kingpin. I wanted to give you the damn world. But then…”

“But then what?” I hissed. “You met the girl who plays the violin like a stripper pole.”

“That’s not fair.”

“No? What is fair, Villain? You bouncing between us like we’re beds in a whorehouse?”

His voice dropped. “She asked me to pretend, so she could get back at Rome. But when I thought Ember was pregnant, I panicked. Then I felt something. Something I didn’t expect. I let myself… think there might be something real there.”

I spun around, stabbing him with my stare. “You let yourself catch feelings for someone who might’ve been carrying your kid. Well guess what? I am carrying your kid. There’s no might about it.”

Silence.

“You’ve never once questioned it,” I continued. “You know for a fact it’s yours. You didn’t doubt me. But you didn’t show up either. Not like I needed you to.”

“I’ve been showing up,” he growled. “Fighting for the club. Holding this whole fucking mess together. Without the club, I can’t take care of you or our baby.”

“And when you’re not doing that, you’re tangled up in her sheets,” I snapped. “Admit it.”

He opened his mouth. Closed it.

I stepped closer, fury trembling through me. “You can’t patch me and fuck her. You don’t get to have both. This baby deserves better.”

He stared at me, eyes bloodshot, mouth a tight line. “You think I don’t know that?”

“I think you don’t care.”

He looked like I’d slapped him. Then his shoulders dropped.

“I care more than you know. But I’m fucked up, Rach. I didn’t come from good. I don’t know how to do this the way you deserve.”

“You think I want perfect?” My voice cracked.

“I think I care too much about you.”

I huffed. The audacity. “I only want honesty. Loyalty. Love. Not games and guilt and pretending I’m not dying inside every time I see you with her.”

His breath came slow, shallow.

I could see it. He didn’t know what to say. Villain, the man who always had a line, always had control…was speechless.

I pressed a hand to my belly. “I’m not the kind of woman who begs. But I loved you. And I let you claim parts of me no one else ever had. So, if you’re gonna keep choosing her, do it loud. Do it now. I won’t raise this baby in limbo.”

He moved like he wanted to reach for me, but I stepped back.

“No,” I whispered. “You don’t get to touch me when you don’t even know where your heart lies.”

He looked hollow then. Empty.

Good.

I turned for the door again.

This time, he didn’t stop me.

And that hurt worse than all the rest.