Page 37

Chapter thirty-seven

As soon as I open the chapel door, dread shoots down my spine.

Rachel steps up in front of Bailee and her posture is combative.

I hurry over, the chain of my wallet smacking against my thigh.

“He was fucking two of us the night you called, you know,” Rachel says smugly, crossing her arms over her chest in delight.

Bailee lifts a brow, her fingers wrapped around the neck of a beer bottle. “I mean, are you wanting congratulations? A pat on the back? A damn cookie or something? I’m sure there’s very few here he hasn’t fucked.”

“That’s enough,” I bark, stepping up beside Bailee and grabbing the bottle from her before chugging half of it down.

Bailee turns her back on Rachel and smiles at me. “Don’t worry about it, bossman. I didn’t have any claim on you then.”

Rachel doesn’t take Bailee turning her back on her well, and before I can step in front of her, she shoves Bailee hard enough that her stomach rams into a table.

If I hadn’t been paying so close attention to my woman, I’d have missed the way the darkness flows over her face. My sweet girl disappears, and a new savage side of her makes an appearance.

As I’m processing, Bailee twirls around and yanks the bottle from my hand, smashing it against the edge of the table until sharp, jagged edges remain.

She grabs Rachel’s hair at the same time and slams her face into the table.

Blood pours down Rachel’s face and drips to the wood when Bailee lifts her head back up. She holds the sharp edge of the bottle to Rachel’s neck, right at her jugular.

Rachel whimpers when she pushes in enough that a trickle of blood slides out from under the glass. One wrong move and Rachel will be choking on her life force.

“Bailee,” I caution, holding my hands out to the side.

“You just had to go and touch me, didn’t you?” Bailee growls, her voice drenched in darkness. “Why? Over a man neither of us have claim to? Just because I’m friendly and sweet and I don’t like to cause violence doesn’t mean I didn’t grow up around it. I grew up suffering at the hands of a man who used it on me more than just occasionally.” She leans close to Rachel’s face. “I grew up with a monster bigger than you.”

Bailee tosses Rachel to the floor and calmly sets the broken bottle on the table.

I reach for Bailee, but she steps out of my way.

“You need to leave me alone right now,” she snaps. “I need to fucking breath.”

Bailee notices the small crowd that’s gathered around us. Discomfort flits along her face, but she straightens her clothes and wipes her hands on a napkin from the table. Then she smiles at the group of stunned people.

Her eyes search through them, touching on each of the club whores before resting on Rachel. “Do better, ladies. Be better. You can do what you’re doing and be who you are while still having morals and respect for yourselves and others.” She turns to me, her eyes carefully blank. “I’m stepping outside. Give me a few.”

She turns from the room and walks calmly out the door.

I keep my eyes on her until the door shuts behind her, cutting off my view.

My fists clench at my sides as the one person who was holding my anger at bay is no longer around.

Slowly, I twist around, the madness already creeping under my skin as I stare at Rachel’s whimpering form.

“Steel,” Wraith warns warily, but I ignore him.

“You,” I growl, stepping toward her. “You are on thin fuckin’ ice after this stunt. If it was up to me, you’d already be gone.” I squat down, relishing in the fear that sparks in her eyes. “Get it through your fuckin’ head. I am not yours. ”

Need pounds through my veins, urging me to go check on my woman.

I stand up and turn away, dismissing Rachel. “Keep her the fuck away from me.”

Wraith nods, stepping to the side so I can get by him.

Bailee is sitting on one of the picnic tables, the sun highlighting her beautiful delicate features in a beam of light.

I spend a few minutes just staring at her, wondering what the hell I did to deserve such beauty in my life.

Not just once, but twice.

My soul is filthy and completely undeserving of someone like her.

My boots land heavily against the cement as I close the distance between us.

At the sound of my steps, her head turns my way, and she watches me with shuttered eyes.

I climb onto the table behind her and place one leg on either side of her before curling an arm around her to pull her back against me.

She holds herself stiff, her reluctance easy to read, but she’s not trying to get away, so I take it as a positive sign.

“I’m sorry,” I apologize quietly.

“You’re not responsible for someone else’s actions, Steel.”

Her empty tone has me grinding my teeth.

“Know that. Gave her the ammunition to use against you though.” I blow out a breath, my thumb caressing the small patch of skin on her stomach. “You called me that night, I was fuckin’ her. Told you that the night I picked you up. Wasn’t a monk and hadn’t seen you in three fuckin’ years, but the moment your name flashed on my phone, my attention was focused on you.”

She stands and paces back and forth in front of me, running agitated fingers through her short hair.

I rest my elbows on my thighs and dangle my hands between my knees as I wait for her to burn off the excess energy pumping through her.

Another five minutes passes before her shoulders slump and she stands in front of me. “You don’t owe me anything. You never did. I don’t have the energy to fight every girl in there. More than that, I don’t want to and shouldn’t have to.” Her eyes are still blank when she lifts them to mine. “I’m ready to go home now.”

She turns and heads across the lot toward my Bronco.

With a sigh, I drop my head and rub a palm along the back of my neck.

Fucking Rachel.

The club whores know goddamn better than to start shit like that in the clubhouse. You’d think they’d learn after Candy pulled her shit and she was dealt with.

The slamming of the vehicle door pulls me from my thoughts, and I climb to my feet.

I really wanted to take a fucking shower before I went home to my kid. Looks like that ain’t happening now.

The trip back to the house is made in silence. The few times I glance over at her, she’s staring out the window, her fingers picking at the material against her thigh.

She’s shutting down, and I understand it. She’s protecting herself.

Don’t fucking like it, but I do understand it.

Reaching over, I still her hand and guide my fingers between hers before bringing them to rest on my thigh.

We still don’t say anything, but when her fingers tighten around mine, I know she’s still with me for now.

I pull up next to my parents’ vehicle in my driveway and shut off the engine.

The warmth of Bailee’s fingers against my face startles me, and I jerk out from under the touch.

“Just want to look you over for blood before we go inside to Lyric and your parents,” she says softly, her fingers connecting with my face again.

She turns my head to one side before bringing it back and twisting it to the other side. Not spotting anything that way, she pushes me back a bit, her eyes roaming over the rest of me before nodding in satisfaction.

“You’re good,” Bailee states before climbing from the cab.

We’re only in my parents’ presence for a short time, but it’s enough for them to pick up that something has happened to put tension between us. The only one who doesn’t pick up on anything is Lyric, which is the way we always want it.

Bailee and Lyric are off in their own world after my parents say goodbye.

I walk them out when Mom stops on the porch and turns to me.

She places a hand on my arm. “Is everything okay between you and Bailee?”

Blowing out a breath, I lean back against the porch railing and fold my arms across my chest. Crossing my ankles, I stare out into the woods surrounding the property, not wanting to see the disappointment in Mom’s eyes when I tell her what’s going on.

“One of the girls at the club tried startin’ shit with Lee.”

“And this was one you’ve been with?” Mom asks.

I just give her a look which she reads perfectly because she shakes her head.

“Oh, Eric,” she says, calling me by the name that only her and Dad refer to me as. “Did you really think something like this couldn’t happen?”

“Have no claim on me.”

Mom shoots me a look that tells me just how dumb she finds my flimsy defense. I’m surprised she hasn’t yanked me by my ear and demand I apologize.

I think it hurts more that she doesn’t.

“How do you feel about her, son?” she asks softly.

“Like nothing I ever felt before. Want to wake up seein’ her face every morning.”

Mom smiles gently at my gruff tone. “You’ll do. Give me a hug then go check on your ladies.”

After telling my parents goodbye, I head back inside to my girls. Bailee continues to focus on Lyric for the rest of the day, not giving me a chance to speak to her as much as I want to.

When bedtime comes around, I let her put Lyric to bed while I clean up the mess around the house. She doesn’t return by the time I’m finished locking up, and a frustrated growl rumbles up my throat.

After flipping off the hallway light, I stomp up the steps, the carpet muffling my heavy treads.

Not pulling a fucking runner on me tonight, Hummingbird.