“Peach is markin’ her territory again,” someone yelled.
There was more laughter.
She pulled away, revealing the victim she’d just marked. Landon. I couldn’t see his expression, but he didn’t object when she grabbed his hand and tugged him to her, giggling as the two collided. She slid an arm around his waist and turned him toward the back of the room. Transfixed, I watched in horror as she slapped his ass—my sass—and steered him to the stairs. They headed up to the living quarters, earning another round of catcalls from the bikers.
Pain stabbed me in the chest again, and I lowered my soda to the bar.
“Mercy—” Julia started.
My eyes burned, and my vision blurred with tears. I needed to get out of there. “You know.” My voice cracked, so I swallowed and tried again, finally averting my gaze from the scene on the stairs. “I think I’m gonna head out. Thanks, Julia. For everything.”
Before she could reply, I fled.
Tears flooded my eyes and raced down my cheeks as I climbed into my car and headed home, feeling like the stupidest person on the planet. Why did I care who the asshole slept with? I didn’t even like him, and I knew better than to get attached.
I was still trying to convince myself I’d dodged a bullet when I trudged up to my apartment.
The door was cracked open.
Flooded with a heady mix of hope and fear, I grabbed the pepper spray from my purse and hesitantly pushed inside.
“Ben?”
The door swung the rest of the way open, and the muzzle of a pistol whipped around and pointed directly between my eyes.
“Welcome home,” Luke said. “Drop the pepper spray and come in.”
“What… what are you doing here?”
He grabbed my arm, yanking me in and closing the door behind me. My purse fell, and the contents scattered.
“Nobody blocks my fuckin’ number,” he hissed, then pulled back his arm and swung.
Pain erupted across my temple before everything went black.
18
Landon
I AWOKE WITH a start, hit with the realization that I had no idea where the fuck I was. Thanks to my years in the military, I was no stranger to bedding down in unfamiliar lodgings, but the constant dull pain in my knee reminded me I was no longer in the service.
As the room came into focus and the details of last night pieced themselves together, I recalled what had sent me back to the bar last night and kept me drinking well past the time I should have stopped.
Mercy.
“You know what, Landon? You can fuck all the way off.”
Her parting shot rang in my ears as I peeled myself off the bed, wincing at the dozens of needles that pierced my brain. Drinking had been the wrong move. I should have let the sexy brunette tow me upstairs and fuck Mercy out of my system. Instead, my goddamn body had gone on strike when I’d caught her watching us.
Because she was the only woman I wanted on my cock.
The major problem with that was that she was avoiding me.
Someone had pulled a knife on her, and rather than calling me, she called the cops. I’d been blocks away and could have gotten there so much faster. Long before Rabbit’s crazy ass had.
She’d made her choice that night… the wrong one.
I headed out into the hallway, determined to find her so we could figure this shit out.
