Chapter 49

Chase's Point of View

She stood in front of me, her hands on my chest as I struggled to control my breathing. My fists were clenched at my side and I wanted nothing more than to ride to Victoria and make sure this bastard was dead. My heart was pumping wildly and I knew my blood pressure was going up.

The anger that was ripping through me was tearing through my sense and reason.

Just seeing the bruises, cuts and stitches on her skin made my stomach clench as if I was close to vomiting, but, at the same time, it lit a fire within me. I needed to hurt something. Someone. I had to let my anger out. A pub fight. That would help get my frustration out.

Chloe's hand stopped over my heart and she went up on her toes, her lips dangerously close to mine. Didn't she know I had no self-control right now? "Make me yours again," she whispered up at me.

How long had I been waiting for this moment? To have her within reach? And now she was asking me to claim her. I groaned and unclenched my fists. My hand went to cup her face, my fingers spreading into her hair. She pushed her head into my hand and my thumb ran over the dried blood on her cheek.

Right. The reason I brought her in here.

"Where are you going?" she huffed.

I couldn't help but grin. She was acting like she needed me more than I needed her. I reached into the shower and turned it on. I walked back to her, but she was looking at the art on the wall.

As soon as she was close, I reached out for her and pulled her back, not feeling settled until she was pinned against me. She twisted in my arms.

"You have good taste in art." She looked up at me. "Or did your sisters pick it?"

Such little faith in me! "I can pick a piece of art."

"Jess picked it, didn't she?"

How the hell did she know? I saw the playful smile on her face and she linked her arms around my neck.

Jess had shipped all the art that was in the house here. Picking paintings was never my strong point. I didn't care what it looked like. All that mattered was that Chloe would like it, so Jess said she would handle everything, saying she knew Chloe's taste and picked up on what she liked at mom’s house.

"Do you like it?" I asked her while pulling her towards the shower.

She nodded her head, and her hands went to my t-shirt and she started to lift it up. Her hands were welcome on my skin. God, I wanted her. I pulled her closer, my need for her taking over. I didn't just kiss her, I claimed her.

I picked her up, throwing her legs around me, and walked her into the shower. I bit her bottom lip and she gasped, giving my tongue the opportunity. I wanted her, I needed her, all of her. I had been craving her since she left.

Every time I heard her voice on the phone, that need got stronger.

The water ran down us and I had her up against the tiled wall. My hands greedily ran over her body, trying to touch every inch of her while holding her up. My hand gripped the right side on her ribs and she gasped, breaking our kiss.

I could see the pain in her eyes.

"Sorry." Fuck it. I knew she was sore and here I was grabbing her, causing her more pain.

She closed her eyes and leaned back into the hot water, her arms around my neck. I wanted to see her eyes. I needed to know she was okay.

"It's not fair," she said, pulling her head back from under the water and smirking at me. "I'm naked. You're not." All traces of pain were gone in her eyes. Instead, they shone with need.

The front of my clothes was soaked as I held her under the water. "You're not naked." I reached behind her and unclasped her bra, not being able to control myself from kissing down her neck until I reached the mark I had left on her. "Yet."

She shook her head and threaded her arms out of the bra, dropping it on the shower floor.

"Like I said, it's not fair."

God, she was beautiful. That smile on her face. It had me. She had me right by the heart. I'd never felt this before, this desperate need. It was raw and uncontrollable.

"Chase?"

"Mm?" I was too busy trying to process my emotions and come to grips with just how strong this girl had me. Darn. She was going to be the death of me and, as long as I was breathing, she was never leaving me again.

"How many girls have you been with since we separated?"

My eyes darted to her eyes. Why was she looking so nervous? "Zero."

"I'm serious." She straightened her face, pursing her lips. I knew that. It was her determined one. "I know one for sure."

"I haven't been with any." I wasn't about to let her imagination run wild. I'd been too busy worrying about her and watching her every move. I didn't have time for women. Well, that wasn't true. I had time for one woman.

She groaned. "I don't care if you have been. Just tell me the truth."

Frustrating. She was frustrating. "I'm not lying, Chloe. Do you really think I had time between watching your every move and renovating this house? Believe it or not, I don't just go after every woman I see."

"Yes, you do," she scoffed. "I remember you went on a fuck fest when we were apart before. How many women did you go through that time? How was this any different?"

How was this time different? For one, I didn't think she had had sex with my brother! "I told you in that hotel room. You were mine. I told you again at that fundraiser. I was serious and I'm faithful. You can't talk; you were all over that Jenkins guy. Would have went further too, if I hadn't stopped you."

Just mentioning that man brought my blood pressure back up. Chloe had been about to have sex with him. I stopped that from happening that one night, but she had more than one opportunity to go through with it. I didn't know what happened in that gym every morning and night. I sure as hell couldn't understand why she wanted to exercise that much. Unless…

"Did you fuck him?"

She scrunched her face up and pursed her lips. "Like you said, you stopped me and you know that."

"You had more than one opportunity." I would like to say I’d had full control over the situation, but I hadn't. "You were always in his gym and when you weren't there with him, you were at that café eating with him."

She was silent, her eyes narrowing at me. I was pissing her off but it was a simple question. I was stating facts. It wasn’t like I was making shit up. She had spent all her time with him. She had lived and breathed his gym.

She stayed silent. Well, that just confirmed what I thought. It made me furious and sick at the same time. As much as I wanted her, I was too furious to be near her. I had a thin control over my temper right now and I didn't want to lash out at her.

"You should shower." I slowly put her down, her body sliding down mine.

My hands were off her and I turned to leave. Maybe I needed a round with Dan's boxing bag, but what I'd really like was a round with Jenkins. Maybe to prove something to myself, that I'm the better man. Hell, what was I thinking? It only made sense she would move on. She never thought she was seeing me again. I went to leave, but her hand grabbed mine.

I didn't turn back around to see her. Instead, I clenched my eyes shut.

"Chase, I've only ever had sex once, and that was with you." Her words were low, making me open my eyes and turning around to look at her.

She was beautiful, did she know that? Wait. She said she had sex once. With me. I frowned, confused.

She looked at me shyly, like she wasn't already standing naked in front of me. "You said I was yours. I guess what I never told you was..," her eyes dropped to the hand she was holding me with. "I considered myself yours." She sighed and looked up. "As stupid as that is. Even though we don't have a future, or much of a past."

We don't have a future? If there was one thing I was certain on, it was I wasn't letting her out of my sight again. I saw my future with her but she clearly didn't think the same. I hadn't gone to all this effort to keep her alive and safe just to let her go. I had to remind myself she was coping with taking a life for the first time.

Maybe that's why she wasn't making sense, why she was talking like we didn't have a future, because my heart was involved now, and I didn't just let someone I love walk away from me.

"You should shower and clear your head." I let go of her hand. "Clean clothes are in the wardrobe. I'll be downstairs."

Walk away, Chase, while I still had the willpower. I was so close to taking her against the tiled wall, but she had been through hell. She nearly died. I swallowed hard, turned, and left before my body failed me and I was on my knees begging her not to leave again and to promise me a future.

Chloe's Point of View

I swear I had scrubbed my skin raw trying to get the feel of Joe off of me. My arms were bright red from it. I knew my body deserved better, still, I couldn't stop myself from scrubbing, trying my very hardest to get his touch off me.

I wrapped one of Chase's big white towels around me and headed out to the bedroom. I couldn't put those bloody and dirty clothes back on. I assumed Chase meant I could borrow one of his shirts by saying there were clothes in the wardrobe.

I saw the door to my right, slid it open, and flicked on the lights.

Okay.

I had been incredibly wrong.

My fingers ran over the dresses hanging there, the jeans folded, t-shirt and skirts pressed. All with tags. Why had he gone to so much effort? Why was this wardrobe so big? It was double the size of my one back at home. It had a seating area in the middle and the clothes, shoes, bags, everything you could think of, lined the walls from the side of the door, right around the large room until you reached the door again.

The workmanship was impressive and, if I knew Chase, it would have been expensive and that was without considering how much money had been spent on clothes, shoes, bags and, as I looked more closely, jewelry.

His sisters had had a field day with his bank card.

There was only one thing missing.

I pulled open a drawer and found out it wasn't.

There was also underwear.

Very expensive and not much of it, Victoria Secret underwear.

I wanted to laugh, imagining Chase having to put this stuff away unless his sisters came up with the shopping and did it for him.

Knowing them, they would have.

I pulled out pink lace, closed the drawer, and dropped the towel.

***

"Well, if you are going to do it, now is the time to put it forward, Chase." Marc’s voice floated up the stairs. I stood on the balcony, looking down over them in the kitchen.

"Don't know what sort of trouble we could get into here," Oliver scoffed. "Really Chase, you couldn't have picked a city?"

"The city is twenty minutes up the road, Oliver." Chase's voice sounded unfriendly, like they were in the middle of a serious conversation and he didn't have time for Oliver's stupid questions.

Though to me, it didn't sound like a stupid question. I had no idea where we were and from what I saw, it was all bush.

If they were in the middle of a serious conversation, maybe I shouldn't head down?

"Going back on the grid again might cause you some heat." Archie spoke this time, and I saw him light up a cigarette. They were all standing around the dining table, not one of them sitting.

What was with McKenzies always having serious conversations standing up?

"It's only with the brothers, not like they’re going to go fill the police in. Anyway, it's time," Chase said like he was ending the conversation. "Not expecting you lot to stay."

Then it was as if Chase just lit a fire because all hell broke loose. The boys were shouting and cursing at him about how stupid he was and where else would they want to go.

"You're our President. You really expect us to follow a new one?" Marc shouted at him with clenched fists. Marc never really did have control of his temper. He wore his heart on his sleeve. When someone pissed him off, he just exploded at them.

"A new charter wouldn't kill you boys. Follow someone who isn't blood-related." Chase looked closed off, like he had really thought this through. Clearly, he hadn't expected his brothers to be so passionate about the subject.

What I didn't understand was what they were talking about. Going back on the grid. He was talking about the bikers, but what did he mean by staying? Here? Why? He didn't put down roots, and he wouldn't walk away from his charter.

Guilt washed through me. Please don't tell me this had something to do with me. I had made him turn his back on the club these last couple of months.

"We aren't leaving," Marc spat across at him. "If you are starting a new charter, we are members. We get to pick which charter we stay at and we all pick yours. Agree, boys?"

The word ‘agreed’ echoed through the house.

I couldn't see Chase's facial expression clearly, but I could tell from his body language he wasn't happy.

"You lot like the road. I'm not letting you turn that down. Marc, you have enough experience being a VP. You could step up, take over the moving charter. I can't do it anymore, but that doesn't mean you lot can't."

So he was starting a new charter here. Guilt swallowed me, making me want to rush down the stairs and tell him how much of an idiot he was being. I wouldn't let him do this. Not for me. He hated roots. Setting up a charter was a permanent root.

"We are staying, Chase." Oliver slapped him on the back. "You can't get rid of us that easy." I saw Oliver's eyes light up. "Geez, can you imagine the clubhouse we can build up here? Not to mention it is the perfect place to keep the guns and run the drugs."

Chase nodded his head, like he had already thought of the points Oliver was making.

"Well, we should get things moving. Get more members up here. Form the charter properly," Dan said, leaning on the back of a chair. "And get some girls up here."

The boys cheered at that one.

It didn't matter what they were saying or the plans they were putting in place. As soon as Chase was asleep tonight, I was leaving.

I picked up what was left of my courage, took a deep breath, and walked down the stairs. I was halfway down when I saw them turn to look at me but I felt one pair of eyes more than the others.

"Hey guys." I smiled, but it was a fake smile. My eyes bounced off each of them until I glanced at Chase. My fake smile failed and I just looked away. "You eaten?" I wanted to get busy. I wanted a distraction.

"Nah, the pub food was shit." Oliver reached out for me and pulled me into a head lock. "Glad to see you are more like yourself, Ace."

I pushed him off and poked him in the ribs. "Shut up, McKenzie." He had messed up my hair and I attempted to smooth it down.

"So, do you have food here?" I looked at Dan this time.

"We have beer." Then Dan grinned. "And food, but we aren't much of a cook. Well, Chase isn't."

"You can't cook either," Chase said behind me.

Just don't turn around.

"Well, lucky for you lot, I can." I moved around Declan and into the kitchen.

"You don't have to cook, Chloe." Marc followed me into the kitchen. "You haven't slept. You’ve been sliced up. You’ve killed someone. The last thing you should be doing is cooking."

Marc was speaking AT me, like I had forgotten about the last twenty-four hours.

I opened the fridge. "You are forgetting about the twenty-something hours you lot knocked me out for." I started pulling things out of the fridge. They had everything here for lasagne.

"That wasn't sleep." Marc was standing in my way.

"Really, what do you call it then?" I arched my eyebrows at him and put my hands on my hips. "Get out of the kitchen, Marc, or I'll make you help."

His expression hardened and he looked like he was going to argue with me, but then the threat of making him help clicked in. "Fine, not my problem anyway." He gave a pointed look over his shoulder at Chase.

I didn't follow Marc's glare because I didn't want to look at Chase. It was going to be hard enough leaving him later. I felt like a coward. I was going to sneak out. There was no feeling like a coward, I was a coward.

But he wasn't going to let me go to the police.

And I had to.

I had to be held accountable.

***

"This," Oliver stuffed his mouth.

"Is amazing." Archie finished Oliver's sentence and then continued to stuff his mouth as well.

They were all eating like they hadn't seen food before. Mom’s lasagne was a hit. It was a meal she would cook when I was younger. I once helped her cook. The church meals, dinners, all of it, and to think that was only a year ago. I sipped from my beer and kept my eyes on the plate in front of me on purpose. I was brought up being her right hand in the kitchen.

I guess the lessons had paid off.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Declan asked. He was sitting next to me, and his arm brushed mine as he reached for his beer.

Simple question, so why did it bring up every memory I had of mom in the kitchen, laughing and helping her, preparing church meals. She always said it would make me a good wife one day. I smiled dimly at that. She was wrong.

"Mom taught me." I gulped down my beer. "How is your mom by the way?" I changed the subject.

Declan grinned and faced me. "Good. Jess and Sammie are still whining about not being allowed to see you though."

"I'm not that special." I put my beer down and poked at the lasagne. I should really eat something. Who knew when I would be getting a meal again?

"What do you know, she eats!" Oliver exclaimed across from me.

I gave him the finger and swallowed my food.

I would need my strength for later. Marc was right when he said I hadn't slept properly. Still, I knew once I got to prison I could do as much sleeping as I wanted.

"You know when you ran from us, Ace?" Oliver hadn't finished annoying me.

"Yep."

"When did you get so fast?"

I looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You have always been fast, but you were quicker than me."

"I've always been quicker than you." I gave him a playful smile.

"Oliver, you watched her spend hours on that treadmill. What did you expect?" Marc snapped at him.

Oliver and him then got into an argument about who watched me more.

I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"I think these two are fighting over you," Declan whispered in my ear.

I turned to smile at him, but my eyes glanced up the end of the table. Why hadn't I felt his eyes on me? His eyes were intense, dark, yet inviting, making me chew my bottom lip and then look away.

Just don't let him in. The closer he got, the more he was going to get hurt. He was going to wake up alone tomorrow, and he had to know I wasn't coming back. There was nothing he could do to get me back. Not this time.