CHAPTER 30
SOPHIA
Sneaking in the back gate, I held my shoes in my hand so I wouldn’t make any noise as I gingerly ran across the courtyard towards the clubhouse. The sun was beginning to rise in the distance, throwing a pale pink hue across the sky. Once again, my body was buzzing from Eli’s passionate touch. I could still feel his hands on my skin, smell his hair and taste his lips.
I was falling for him hard.
I knew this, but I didn’t want to admit it to myself just yet. I was petrified of something going wrong, of somehow being forced to endure more years of abuse by Snake. He was smart, manipulative and dangerous. I knew better than to underestimate him and I knew I was taking a huge risk sneaking out these past few nights, but I was counting on the fifth of Jack he consumed before bed each night keeping him passed out.
What I wasn’t counting on was running smack dab into Tiny when I opened the door of the clubhouse.
He was alone, sitting at the bar with a shot glass and a bottle of tequila in front of him. When he turned to face me, I saw he was beyond wasted. A huge man, just a glance from him was intimidating. When he stood up and walked over to me with a sick sneer stretched across his hideous face, my stomach dropped.
“Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” he said, slurring his words.
“Hey, Tiny,” I nodded, curtly. I moved to walk past him, but he shifted and blocked my way.
“Where’ve you been?”
“Out,” I replied, raising my chin defiantly.
He reached out, fingering my split bottom lip. “Snake do that?”
“Yeah,” I said, flinching away from his touch.
“So what did you do?”
“That’s not really any of your business, is it?” I asked.
He scoffed and shook his head.
“Maybe not,” he said. “I don’t really care, to be honest.”
“Right. See ya later,” I said, moving to walk around him again. Once more, he blocked my path.
“Snake know you’re sneaking off in the middle of the night?”
“Who cares? I can do what I want.”
“Oh, yeah?” He asked, lifting a brow. He swayed a little, reminding me how drunk he was, just in case the stench of tequila didn’t clue me in. “Snake doesn’t operate like that. I’m sure he’d be real interested to know that his old lady is running off every night. I saw you leave last night and the night before that.”
Shit. I’d thought I was being careful, but he must have been hiding in the dark watching me.
“My Mom’s sick, she fell,” I said.
“That was days ago. Figure she’s probably sleeping at night. So, try another lie, why don’t you?”
“Look, Tiny —.”
“On your knees, bitch.”
“What?!” I cried, my eyes wide with shock as he reached down and unzipped his jeans.
“You heard me,” he said. “You want me to keep your secret, you gotta do me a favor.”
“Fuck you, Tiny!” I spat the words in anger, appalled at what he was suggesting.
“Now, now,” he said, laughing. “Snake already beat your ass. What’s he going to do when I tell him the truth?”
“Tiny, this is fucked up.”
“The whole world is fucked up, princess,” he replied. “Now, get on your fucking knees!”
He put a hand on my shoulder and forced me to the ground, my knees hitting the cold concrete painfully. I looked up at him, unable to face the flaccid, dirty vision in front of me. My stomach churned at the smell. My head spun.
I had to think fast. There was no fucking way I was going to let Tiny get away with this and I certainly wasn’t going anywhere near him. Yes, there were a lot of lives on the line and I knew my actions would effect the entire operation, but sucking off Tiny was never going to be a part of my plan.
I shook my head slowly and lifted myself back up to a standing position. I leaned in close to the drunk asshole in front of me, my eyes hardening as I spoke very slowly and clearly, so he didn’t miss a word.
“You’re fucking crazy if you think I’m touching you and that disgusting noodle between your pimply fucking thighs. You disgust me. If you ever come near me again, or try to tell Snake anything you think you might know about me, I will find you and cut your fucking balls off in your sleep with a rusty blade and feed them to the goddamned dogs, do you understand me?”
He swayed again, his eyes widening at my words. I pushed him, as hard as I could, sending him falling back on his ass. I stepped between his outstretched legs and leaned down, pressing the pointy stiletto of my heel into his naked balls, just to drive my point home.
“I said, do you fucking understand?” I was seething with anger, but the power I felt as a result of standing up for myself was intoxicating.
“Yes, fuck, alright, alright!” He cried, reaching down and attempting to push the heel from his crotch. I dug in harder.
“Don’t ever fucking come near me again, asshole!” I said, twisting my wrist.
“You crazy fucking bitch!”
“You have no idea how crazy I am,” I whispered, before standing up and stepping over him. I walked down the hallway to my room, my heart threatening to pound right out of my chest.
When I saw Snake was still sleeping, I breathed a sigh of relief. Looking down on him, I felt the hatred for him seeping through my skin. We’d fought earlier and the memory of it flashed in my mind.
I’d seen him leave the back room zipping up his pants and he saw the look I gave him from across the room. When I followed him into our bedroom, he turned to me with a defiant smile.
I shook my head slowly, my disgust evident on my face.
“You got something to say, bitch?” he’d asked.
“Do you have any respect for me at all, Snake?” I’d asked.
“Why should I respect you?” he’d sneered.
“Because I’m your fucking old lady, maybe?” I snapped. “Couldn’t you be a little more discrete, for fuck’s sake? It’s like a slap in the face every time you go in there.”
I don’t know why I was mad. I didn’t care what he did, I didn’t care what he thought of me anymore anyway.
His slap whipped my head around violently, busting open my lip as white-hot pain flashed over my cheek.
“There, bitch, now you know what getting slapped in the face really feels like,” he said, growling over me like an angry dog. The urge to kill him right then and there overwhelmed me. He had a knife strapped to his hip and it would be so easy to just rush him and grab it and plunge it right into his cold, dark heart.
Instead, I restrained myself, letting him walk out of the room without doing what every cell in my body screamed for me to do. I just wanted this over and done with.
I spent the rest of the night waiting for him to get drunk and return to the bedroom and then I’d rushed out to fall into Eli’s arms again.
I never thought for a second that Tiny had seen me.
I’d been stupid to think I could get away with that. I couldn’t risk it again. I had to lay low until this was all over or we were all going to get killed.