Page 57 of Wicked Ends (Hellions of Hade Harbor #4)
Arianna
I woke up as Sally placed a glass of water on the little table beside me. I reached out and touched her wrist.
“Crap! You gave me a heart attack,” she gasped and stepped back, shaking water off her hand. “You’re up? I thought you’d sleep all night at least.”
“I’m up,” I muttered and sat up. My body felt heavy, like I’d been sleeping for a long time. Not only that, but my ribs twinged, reminding me that I should really go and get everything checked out sometime soon. Having Dale firebomb my life had set that simple task off schedule.
He’d taken the money in the bag, and now the Hounds knew about it. Memories seeped in: Going into the bar with my biker escorts, the sight of Cole Bailey and that bandage on his head, the sound of Marcus’ voice somewhere in the distance.
“I know all about everything, in case you feel like you need to catch me up. And for the record, I’m going to put laxatives in the chili at The Clutch for a few weeks to get them back for drugging you. Unacceptable.” Sally folded her arms and shook her head, a pissed-off expression on her face.
I nodded. I had the impression that the MC guys didn’t worry too much about breaking the rules.
“I’m okay. Believe it or not, it’s not the first time it’s happened since I came to Hade Harbor.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “What the hell? Someone else drugged you? Who?”
“The kind of guy who doesn’t care about rules either.” I stretched this way and that, as carefully as I could.
“We need to go to the hospital and see about your injuries. You’re a patchwork quilt right now,” Sally worried.
“It can wait. Trust me, none of them need attention, they’ll heal okay. I speak from experience.”
Sally stared at me and slowly shook her head, then surprised me by pinching the bridge of her nose, as if she was trying to stop herself from tearing up.
“Sorry, it’s just—you remind me of my mom. She and my dad didn’t have a great relationship, and no one knew. No one suspected because she was so damn good at putting on a brave face. She was made from steel—like you.”
“No, it’s not true. I’ve bent and broken plenty of times. I only found the courage to change things when it affected someone I loved.”
Sally tilted her head. “But, even when it was just you, it was affecting someone you loved… or you should have loved… yourself.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s the problem. Anyway, where’s your brother?” I asked Sally.
She sat on the edge of the bed. “On his way north, I guess. Whoever they were following seemed to have stopped moving, so they got on the road.”
“Do you know where?” I asked quickly.
Sally nodded and then eyed me with a worried look as I got up. “Saguenay, Quebec. But why?”
My mouth turned dry. Not far from where I’d suspected Claire had run to. He was going after his family, regardless of the money he’d stolen in Hade Harbor.
“We need to go after them.”
“What? Why?”
“Because there’s more to the story than they know. He’s going after his wife and kid. They can’t get caught in the middle of all this. They can’t!”
Sally pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’ll call Gage.”
“We should call as we drive,” I argued back.
I could see Sally was about to disagree, and I took her hands.
“You don’t have to come with me—but I need to go. This is my story, my brother, my sister-in-law and niece. I need to be there. I have to see it all through.”
Sally hesitated for another moment but seemed to notice the resolve in my eyes.
She nodded. “Okay, we’ll call from the road.”
The drive seemed to take forever, our car barreling endlessly down the dark highway.
I called Marcus again and again, but he hadn’t answered even once. He’d gone with them, I knew it. I might have been pretty out of it, but the image of him in a Harbor Hounds cut was seared into my brain forever.
Why had he been wearing that? Why? He wasn’t a Hound, and he’d never wanted to become one. Everything felt wrong.
“Gage knows about the wife and kid, don’t worry.” Sally looked over at me. “Though I think they aren’t the only people you’re worried about.”
“I don’t want any of the MC to get hurt because of me.
I took the bag, it was stupid. I got caught up—I forgot that life always fucks you.
My brother always makes everything worse.
I actually let myself think he was dead.
And it made me so happy,” I confessed softly.
It was the first time I’d said those damning words out loud.
“There’s nothing wrong with that sentiment. Hey, I know men like Dale. He sounds like my father, and if there were ever a man who deserved an untimely accident, it was him.”
“Still, I don’t want to be the kind of person who wishes someone was dead. That’s just—it’s awful.”
“No, it’s human. He’s awful. And I guess karma is real, because he’s messed with the wrong people now. He thought he was just stealing from you—but he stole from the Hounds.” Sally shot me a grin. “It’s poetic. He sealed his fate.”
I swallowed the knot of tension in my throat and nodded. The fact that people stronger and far more capable than me were finally going to deal with Dale was too good to be true.
I’m not alone in this anymore.
“But again, I get the feeling it’s not the MC you’re worried about going to take care of Dale. It’s Marcus, isn’t it? A certain Hellion has gotten under your skin.”
My cheeks grew hot as I stared out the front window. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Sally laughed. “Yeah, right! If I hadn’t suspected already, then that guilty expression would have confirmed it. You and Marcus. Wow. I can’t believe it, though I can. He’s gorgeous, funny, fun… you deserve someone to make you laugh.”
“He’s a student!” I reminded her. “He’s five years younger than me.”
“If he doesn’t have a problem with it, I don’t see why you should… though I heard there was some kind of commotion in your class the other day.”
The memory of the presentation and the sudden appearance of those damning pictures flashed through my head. Fuck. That had been awful.
“Though funny and hot, Marcus can be a little nuts. All of the Ice Gods have that kind of reputation. Are you okay?”
I shrugged. “I can’t say I didn’t deserve it. I lied to him about Dale, and all of it. I started this stupid bag game.”
“Not without provocation, I’m sure, don’t forget.”
“Yeah, but he let me in… and I didn’t reciprocate. I didn’t know how, and now… I gave Dale the space to get between us.”
“Does he know everything about your past now, you think?”
“He can guess, I suppose, what my life was like before Hade Harbor.” I waved a hand over my chest. Just the thought of Marcus, and Cole, and his MC guys seeing the evidence of what my brother had done made me want to cry. So much for not wanting to be seen as a victim.
“Okay, he’s seen the bruises, but does he know everything? Have you told him all of it?”
I shook my head. No. Even now, showing the darkest parts of myself didn’t come easy. I didn’t even know if I was capable of it.
“Well, you might want to start there,” she suggested.
“What are people saying about those photos at school?” I asked, needing a subject change.
Sally snorted. “Not much, except it was hot. Marcus’ face wasn’t in the photo, and they’d never dare make claims about Marcus Bailey that they couldn’t back up. Actually, most sane people don’t mess with the Ice Gods, period.”
“Glad to have the confirmation that I’m officially insane,” I sighed.
“I don’t know … maybe you needed someone like him to burst through those high walls you’ve got going on. We met not that long ago, and I got immediately that you were sweet and smart, and kind… but guarded. It seems like Marcus’ tactics broke through where no one else succeeded.”
“He didn’t really give me a choice,” I said.
“He’s a determined guy, or obsessed, take your pick. So, what are we going to do when we get there?” Sally asked.
I glanced at the GPS. We were getting close. Nerves pushed my worries about Marcus out of my head. “I don’t know. I need to make sure Claire and Lulu are safe.”
“And Marcus, right?” Sally slid me a sideways glance.
“Please, he exploded my life, and he hasn’t given me a moment of peace since we met. He’s like a tornado in your living room. I got his brother hurt, and he probably got me fired. We should maybe call it quits now, before we accidentally burn the town down.”
Sally shook her head, a smile on her lips. “I think Marcus might have a different opinion on that, but we’ll see… He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy to give up something he wants, though. Or some one .”