JAY’S LAUGHTER VIBRATED into my soul. It was melodious, sliding over my skin like melted chocolate. But it was an act. Every single smile, every giggle, none of it was real. Because of me. Anyone who knew her would see that the smiles never reached her eyes. Or that the laughter was forced and drawn out.
She would look my way every so often, her eyes pleading with me to stay. But it wasn’t me she had to worry about.
Jay would run. I knew it. She knew it. I was just waiting for the time to come when I would wake up in the morning to an empty spot in bed beside me.
“I need a fucking drink.”
Jay’s loud demand sent my nerves on edge.
I didn’t know these men, these bikers. Her father’s club hadn’t even made an appearance. At least with them, I knew what to expect. Dickface Tyler, on the other hand, was another thing.
“Grab a bottle and bring it back to your room,” I called out over the music, leaning against the wall.
“Not gonna happen, baby,” she yelled back. “I’m getting drunk with my sisters tonight. You can join me if you wish.” Her gaze challenged me. With her chin jutted out, her lips pursed into a straight line. She wanted to fight.
But unfortunately for her, I was not in the mood. Playing along, I heaved out a heavy sigh. “Fine. If I must.”
She laughed. Standing on tiptoes, she gave me a soft kiss on the mouth. “Come.” She grabbed my hand, leading me to one of the larger booths at the front of the room.
“Jay.” I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her close. “We need to talk.”
“Not right now,” she insisted. “Please. I love you. And I know you love me. Let’s just have that for right now.”
I wasn’t the type of guy who could just close off my feelings and mask it with a shell of happy. It didn’t work that way.
But happy wife. Happy life.
She wasn’t my wife yet, but she damn well would be. And soon.
“We’re talking later.” I kissed her hard on the mouth. “And you are not getting shit faced tonight.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because I need my girlfriend tonight.” I pinched her chin, forcing her to look me in the eye. “I need my fiancée.”
Jay didn’t say anything, but she didn’t argue with me, either.
Sliding into the booth, she reached out for my hand.
I sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.
She joked and laughed, chatting with people around her. But I knew her inside and out. She was rigid, rubbing her temples every so often as if warding off an impending headache.
Despite our love being hard and fast, I could see it. It had been the same thing over and over for the past couple of weeks. Even when we first started dating. The twinge of anxiety in my gut hinted at the fact she wasn’t revealing all to me. She was scared, terrified that I would leave her or worse. Tyler had fucked up her sense of worth. Her trust in men. That a man wouldn’t hurt her. That is what he did to her. And that is what I was trying to change.
Jay talked.
I listened.
The party had taken off, people milling in and out of the clubhouse. Max had set up the gathering but she was nowhere in sight. While she and Dale had their problems, he refused to talk about it. Flirting and drinking with women who took his mind off the fact he got Max pregnant. The fucker wasn’t happy. Not with the situation or even how he was dealing with things, but he masked it by ignoring it.
And I thought I had issues coming to terms with how I felt.
As if her ears had been burning, Max appeared from the hallway leading into the back of the club. She caught my gaze, gave a small wave, and started walking toward us.
My back stiffened, knowing she would see Dale with the two women who were all over him.
“Jay.” I tugged my girlfriend's hand gently. “Max.”
Jay followed the direction of my gaze. “Shit.”
Before she could say anything, I slid out of the booth, giving her the room to make her way toward her best friend. Max wasn’t stupid, but she didn’t need to see Dale’s shit, either.
“How about we go take a walk?” Jay stepped in front of Max, shielding her view, but she wasn’t quick enough.
Max peered around her, saw Dale, and paused. Shaking her head, she turned around and walked away.
I was surprised. Expecting her to lose her shit, I never took her for calm and collected. Maybe she had enough. Maybe Dale took it too far.
“Dale,” I called out, interrupting his moment with the whores in his lap.
“What?” He frowned, pushing one of the women off of him. He adjusted himself before standing to his full height.
Fucker. “Don’t be a dick.”
Raising an eyebrow, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Since when do you care what I do?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I closed the distance between us, getting in his face. “You hurt my fiancée’s best friend? You hurt my fiancée. You don’t want to do that.”
“What are you going to do about it, Angel? You going to hit me? You going to force Max to talk to me and sort this shit out? No? Didn’t think so.” He sidestepped around me, stomping his way to the door. “Until she decides to talk to me, I’ll do whatever the fuck I want.”
“Have you tried talking to her?” I yelled back, following him. “She told you she loved you and look at how you reacted.”
“You’re hanging out with these women too much,” he mumbled, slumping onto the picnic table. “You’re getting soft.”
“Well, excuse me for caring.”
“You care?” Dale scoffed. “You’re fucking funny.”
“What the hell is this about? I told you I was sorry. I told you I never knew how to tell you, my brothers, that you have helped me through so much and that I love you. But I’ve finally said it, haven’t I? Shouldn’t that be enough?”
Dale raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? You’re asking me that? Why don’t you try showing us how you feel instead of saying it? Maybe then you can get through to your fiancée as well and she won’t look at you like she wants to gut you.”
“I …” My mouth opened and closed. He was right. God, I was so stupid.
“Funny, isn’t it? You’re engaged and the guy who fucked everything up with his woman sets you straight.”
I sat beside him, dropping my head in my hands. “I … fuck.”
“Yup. Exactly.” Dale shook his head.
“What about you and Max?”
“There is no me and Max.”
“Have you tried?” As soon as the question left my lips, a dark shadow appeared out of the corner of my eye. It moved fast but not fast enough before I caught who it was.
“Fucking Tyler.” Dale took the word right out of my mouth.
“What the hell do you want?” I barked, jumping off the table.
“I came to talk to Jenny,” Tyler stated, making his way to the front of the club. The fact that he called her by that name irritated the fuck out of me. It was a name only he had given her. Call it jealousy, but every time he used it, I wanted to drive my fist into his face.
“I don’t fucking think so.” I stepped in his way, blocking him.
“You going to stop me? If I want to talk to her, I will, whether either of you like it or not.” Tyler stepped around me.
Reaching a hand out, I grabbed hold of his leather cut and pushed him back. “Not happening. Jay is busy.”
“No, I’m not.” Jay came up beside me, crossing her arms over her chest. I really wished she wouldn’t have done that. The small move pushed up her tits, making them look fuller.
Tyler’s gaze followed the movement, his tongue peeking out to lick along his bottom lip.
An inhuman growl left my mouth, and before I could comprehend what I was doing, I jumped him.
Yelling and screaming sounded around me, but all I could focus on was the piece of shit beneath me. My fist flew into his face.
He laughed, attempting to push me back.
Heavy arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me, but I wouldn’t budge. This asshole needed to be taught a lesson. He needed to know that Jay was no longer his. She was mine. She would marry me. She would spend the rest of her life with me. And any children Jay would have will be mine and hers. Tyler could go fuck himself. And stay the fuck away from my woman.
***
(Jay)
“I’m leaving you,” I told Tyler, packing the little clothing I had, in my bag.
Tyler didn’t say anything as he lit a smoke and inhaled. Blowing out the cloud of toxins, he only watched me.
I had always thought he was beautiful in a hard domineering kind of way. He was the bad boy. And I was the good girl. He wanted to break me, and when he did, he got bored. But after all of the shit we had been through, I would always be grateful to him. He taught me to be strong, but he also taught me that there is no such thing as true love.
“Are you going to say anything?” I asked, sitting on the edge of his bed. The sheets were crumpled, memories of what we had done only a half an hour before sliding into my mind.
“Why should I?” he finally said, taking another long drag of his cigarette.
“You’re not surprised.”
“Nope.” Tyler leaned forward, stretching his thick arms up over his head. The muscles moved and rippled over his hard body, the tattoos that adorned his skin moving as if they were alive.
I loved him. In a sick and very twisted way, I would always love him.
“Do you love me? Honestly. After everything we have been through, do you love me?” I needed to know. He had been there for me when my sister disappeared. He was the only one who believed me that she didn’t just run off with some random person.
“I love you,” he repeated the words but the emotion never reached his eyes. “But I also got what I wanted and now that I have it—” he shrugged “—I don’t need you anymore.”
My heart jumped. Expecting tears to fall, I was shocked with myself when I didn’t feel any remorse. I was done. Finished. Everything I’d had with Tyler Bone was over.
“As much as I hate you, thank you for being there for me with my … my sister.”
Tyler rose to his feet and came toward me. The scent of sex wafted into my nose. “Jenny,” he growled, pinching my chin. “Say it again.”
“What?”
“Say it,” he demanded, forcing my head back.
“I hate you.”
He smirked. “Good.”
Watching my boyfriend kick my ex’s ass was not something I expected to see anytime soon. Tyler egged Angel on. Pushing and poking until he snapped. I should have done something about it. I should have stopped them. But Tyler deserved it. He had it coming. Year after year of fighting with him surfaced to the forefront of my mind. Memories of pain. That moment of disgust for hitting him back. I always knew that Tyler deserved it, but two wrongs never made a right. My conscience told me that it was not okay. Violence didn’t solve anything. I knew that even though I never listened.
While Angel punched Tyler, I only stood there. Everything in me told me to stop him. But I couldn’t. My feet were stuck, my body immobile. It was like I was having an out-of-body experience as I looked down at the huddle on the ground. Words flew around me.
Tyler pushed Angel off of him, finally breaking free of him. “You fucking pussy. You think fighting me solves anything? I live for this shit. Just ask your girlfriend.”
“You bastard,” Angel growled, clenching his bloody hands at his sides. “You think I don’t know what you did to her? You think I don’t know the scars you left on her fucking soul?”
My chest constricted at Angel’s badgering of questions. We never talked about what I went through with Tyler. Maybe we should have. I told Angel that he was a monster and our relationship had been toxic but nothing more came of that. The rumors flew around, people talked. Tyler had been abusive, but I was just as bad.
“Angel,” I finally said.
“Everything I did was because she asked for it,” Tyler shot back, shoving Angel. “I’m an asshole, but I’m not abusive.”
I scoffed. “No?” I took a step forward. “You think the bruises I had were because I fell?”
“Jay.” Angel cupped my shoulder, squeezing gently.
“You think I asked for you to hit me?” I shrugged Angel off, not needing his pity at the moment. “You think because we got in arguments, that I didn’t listen, whatever the reason was, that it gave you the right to smack me around?”
“You hit me back.” Tyler narrowed his eyes. “Does Angel hit you?”
“The fact that you’re even asking that is fucking hilarious.” I pasted a smile on my face. “Angel would never hit me. That makes him more of a man than you will ever be.” I turned to walk away when Tyler’s next words stopped me.
“Did you tell him that you met me for lunch?”
A bone-chilling dread washed over me as I watched the emotions change in Angel’s eyes before me. It went from sympathy to anger in a split second. Never in my life would I think that anger would be directed at me. But making the stupid mistake of meeting up with Tyler came back to bite me in the ass.
“I only met with you to tell you to leave me alone,” I told him, keeping my eyes on Angel. “I also remember telling you that I’m happy.” I needed Angel to know that I didn’t meet with Tyler because I wanted to. Angel was everything to me. He was the best thing for me. I knew that it was time for us to talk. For everything to come out. I would give him the dark, violent details of what I went through with Tyler. I would give Angel … everything.
“Is that so? How come you stayed with me for an hour then?”
My back stiffened.
Angel looked over my head, and when his gaze landed back on mine, I swore my life had officially ended. I would rather deal with the shit with Vega again then see Angel look at me like I had just ripped out his soul.
“Angel, he’s trying to piss you off.” I closed the distance between us, placing my hands on his strong chest. “It was innocent. I wasn’t keeping track of the time. Please believe me.”
Angel’s hands clenched into fists at his sides. “Why should I?”
“Because I love you. Only you. I was meeting him to put an end to this shit. Please believe me.” We had been together for months, but I never thought it would come to this.
Tyler laughed. “See, Jenny? You should just drop this bastard and come back to where you belong.”
“Shut up,” I screamed, turning on him. “You!” I charged for him, shoving him back. “You’ve put this wrench in my relationship. You can’t be happy for me. You’re a sick controlling fuck who gets his rocks off on destroying people’s lives. My dad should have fucking killed you by now.”
“Fuck you, you little whore,” Tyler spat, shoving me back. “I’m not done with you. I’ve never been done with you.”
“Watch who you’re talking to.” Angel pulled me behind him. “I don’t know what the hell you think is going on between you two, but she belongs to me. Me! She’s my fucking woman. I am going to marry her and give her the life that you couldn’t.”
“It’s funny …” Tyler peered around Angel. “You’ve never needed a man to fight your battles before. Why now?”
I looked away, my cheeks heating. I didn’t need Angel to fight for me. He knew that. But sometimes a girl needed the strength of a man to protect her. Safe. I was comfortable with him and could act like myself. I didn’t have to worry about him blowing up and hitting me for no reason at all. But why was I so damn scared that it would happen? Angel wasn’t Tyler. He wasn’t. I realized that now. It felt like a ton of bricks had finally been lifted. Meeting with Tyler would cause a fight, I knew that when I agreed to see him, but the fight would be worth it in the end if I got the closure I finally needed.
“Well, this has been fun as always—” Tyler chuckled “—but I’m going to join the party that I wasn’t invited to.”
“Like hell you are.” Angel pushed him back. “I beat your ass once, I’ll do it again.”
“Why didn’t you invite me to the party, Jenny?” Tyler asked, ignoring his threat.
A mumbled voice came from behind me.
“Did you have something to say?” Tyler glared past me.
Asher took a step forward.
I realized then that Angel and I were no longer alone. The Harlots and Vice-One were standing around us, ready to take on our battle.
“Not yet.” Meeka moved in front of Asher, placing a hand on his chest. “Don’t.”
Tyler chuckled. “You men call yourselves Navy SEALs? I wouldn’t want you protecting my country. You’re worthless as shit and you let women tell you what to do.”
“We don’t let anyone tell us what to do, but we’re also not stupid enough to go against them.” Angel stepped up beside me, placing his hand on the small of my back.
I stood taller, jutting out my chin. “You’re not welcome here, Tyler.” Even though I had told him that over and over again, with Angel’s touch on my back, I was able to pull the strength from him. We had shit to deal with but we were still one.
“You see, the funny thing is that I’m always welcome. You don’t have a choice because your dad still owns this property.” Tyler smirked. “I’m right, aren’t I?”
“What’s he talking about, Jay?” Max asked, placing her hands on her hips. The movement caused her tiny bump to become more pronounced.
“He’s not talking about anything,” I bit out. “You’re full of shit, Tyler. My dad has nothing to do with this place. I am the one who bought it. I am the one who pays to keep this fucking place maintained. You can tell my father that.”
“Oh, he already knows.” Tyler leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Do you think of me when he fucks you?”
A deep growl came from Angel. “You motherfucker.” He charged for Tyler, pushing him back a foot. “I’ll kill you. This time I will fucking beat you.”
“Try it, asshole.” But Tyler only laughed. He actually laughed at Angel.
In a quick move, Asher had his arms around Angel’s shoulders, pulling him back.
“You need to leave,” I said, my voice unexpectedly calm. “Right now. Before I tell Asher to let Angel go.”
Tyler threw his head back and laughed again. “God, you haven’t changed.”
“I’ve had enough,” Meeka interrupted. “You come in here, expecting a grand entrance, and when you don’t get the reaction you want, you get pissy. Or maybe you did get the reaction you wanted. Were you trying to get a rise out of Jay? Does it turn you on knowing her boyfriend is ready to kick your ass? I should just tell Asher to let him go.”
“Who do you think you are, little girl?” Tyler snapped at her.
“She’s my fucking sister, so you leave her the hell alone.” I got in his face. Even though he was a head taller than me, there was no way I was backing down.
“Oh, yeah, Jenny.” Tyler licked his lips. “I remember how our fights went. Maybe we should give your boyfriend a little show.”
And that was when he kissed me. All thoughts shut off as my mind took me back to years before. Tyler’s kisses had been demanding, forcing me to into a submission I didn’t want. He scared me, utterly terrified me that I had now been permanently broken because of him.
“You liked that,” Tyler whispered, his eyes darkening.
I did. Only because I knew finally, that it was officially over between us.
A small smile tugged at my lips.
Tyler frowned, knowing full well there would never be another chance with me. He became possessive in the end, and luckily, I was able to get out.
Suddenly, I was pulled away from him.
Angel’s fists flew into Tyler’s jaw. Before it was rough but now, it turned violent. He pummeled him to the ground, hitting and beating Tyler like he was the punching bag in our gym.
My feet remained glued to the ground. I stood there. Doing nothing. Not attempting in the least to pull these two men apart. Men who had come into my life at different times and took what they needed from me. Tyler grasped my soul, squeezing it until I was a shattered mess. But Angel took that mess and cleaned it up, putting all of my broken pieces back together again.
I had heard of a darkness living inside of us. Coby, who I hardly spoke to, had it. I could see it in his eyes.
“Should we stop him?” someone asked.
“Not yet.” That was Coby.
For whatever reason, I trusted him the most besides Angel.
I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and nodded once.
“Now,” Coby demanded, his voice gruff.
Asher and Stone pulled Angel off of Tyler.
He didn’t fight them, but when he walked past me, I kept my gaze on Tyler.
Angel leaned down to my ear. “You will explain why you liked it when he kissed you.”
My breath caught.
Dale and Stone picked Tyler up off the ground. He only smirked, rubbing his jaw. A dark bruise had already started to set in. Blood was dripping from his nose. Fucker was grinning like a Cheshire cat.
I didn’t say anything as Dale and Stone pushed him forward.
“You need to leave,” Dale barked. “Now.”
“What’s going on with you two, Jay?” Max asked, grabbing my hand.
“He’s an asshole,” I mumbled.
“No, I mean with you and Angel.”
“Yeah.” My eyes welled. “I know.” And with that, I walked away.
Voices followed me into the clubhouse, but I couldn’t make out who was saying what. I didn’t care. I could only focus on the fact that Angel almost killed Tyler. A thought crossed my mind, forcing bile to rise in my throat.
It would make things a hell of a lot easier if Tyler was dead.
Had it officially come to this? Was I desperate to hold onto the love Angel and I shared, that I was considering murdering my ex?
My feet moved of their own accord, taking me to Angel who stood at the bar with Asher and Stone still holding him.
I pushed him.
He only glared down at me, shrugging off his brothers who hadn’t let him go.
“What the hell was that?” I demanded, pushing him again. “You can’t do that, Angel. I don’t need men after you because you’re fucking jealous.”
“I am not jealous.” He frowned. “You are mine, and no man, I don’t care who the fuck he is, gets to lay his mouth on you.”
“That doesn’t mean you should beat him within an inch of his life,” I shouted, smacking him in the chest. “You have no idea who he is or what he’s capable of.”
“Please.” Angel rolled his eyes. “He’s still alive, isn’t he? I’ve been to fucking war. You think I’m scared of some bastard who can’t let my girlfriend go?”
“I don’t care about that shit.” I grabbed his shirt, pulling him close. “I care about you. That’s it. It would kill me if something happened to you.”
“Nothing will happen to me as long as he stays the hell away from you.”
We stood there in silence, staring at each other.
My blood pounded in my ears. The scent of sweat wafted into my nose, making it tingle. “What if he doesn’t?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest. “I can’t control what they do, and you can’t jump him every time he comes by.”
“Then he needs to stay away.”
I agreed with him, but there was no way I could make that happen. “He’s the vice-president of my dad’s club. That’s not going to happen.”
“Make it happen.”
“Angel,” I bit out. “You know I can’t do that.”
“Are you sure?” Angel raised an eyebrow. “Or is it because you don’t want to?”
My mouth opened and closed. “Are you seriously asking me this?”
“I am. Tell me, princess. Why did you like it when he kissed you?”
I moved past him. “I’m not talking about this with you in front of everyone. You have an issue with me, be a man and talk to me, but don’t accuse me of shit.”
“Fuck.”
Exactly.