“He was angry because we’re losing ground on his case. He was not angry at me. Jesus Mace just because he was yelling doesn’t mean I was in any danger.”
“I didn’t know that. When I got there, he threw a glass jug at you.”
“He didn’t throw it atme, he threw it at the wall.”
“It happened fast, and I reacted.”
“And look what happened. Now I don’t have a job.” She squeezes the steering wheel so hard her knuckles go white, and she clamps her mouth shut.
It’s not in my nature to say sorry but I feel bad for her getting fired. It sounds like her boss was waiting for something to go wrong where the club is concerned.
We drive the rest of the way in silence. I’m surprised she goes back to the house and not her apartment.
She storms inside and leaves me to get her things and my cut out of the trunk. I slip it on and look up at the house. My bike is parked around the side, Handlebar’s isn’t there.
Never thought I’d be wishinghewas here. It’s going to take a lot to get her to calm down. I don’t have the ability to do that. And even if I did, there is no way Cassie will let this go easily.
She is stomping around in the kitchen when I go inside and set her bags down. She eyes me, then the bags, then grabs the bottle of whisky and pours herself a shot, downing it in one go.
“This is a good thing,” I say. Her head swivels toward me.
Wrong thing to say. But what the hell, she’s already pissed at me, might as well double down.
“You don’t need to worry about defending the asshole, you already pulled strings in the background to make him lose, now you don’t need to worry about it. And you have the club to work for, it’s not like you’re unemployed.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“I’m not going to regret making sure you’re safe,” I snap back.
“This isn’t protecting me, Mace,” she pours another drink. “This is trying to control me, to isolate me.”
“Wait a minute that isn’t what happened. I never intended to beat anyone when I went there today.”
“But it happened, and now I’m here and you don’t have to worry about me going to work like you wanted. And, to top it off, if he is the asshole everyone thinks he is, you waved a red flag right in his damn face.”
“He can’t get to you.”
“He can press charges, Mace. And don’t scoff at that like you can get away with shit, because you can’t. Harry was right, he has a lot of money and a lot of powerful people behind him.”
“We have a good lawyer.”
“Oh… oh… You.”
She screws up her face, trying to think of something to say but she is really angry, to the point of being incoherent.
“Just get out,” she says, putting the lid back on the liquor and keeping her back to me. “I don’t want to look at you.”
“I’m not leaving.”
“Then go outside and stand guard,” she snaps. “Beat up the paper delivery boy when he shows up, or the neighbors when they get back from work. That seems to be what you’re good at.”
“Cassie.”
“Just don’t, Mace. Don’t.”
Heaving out a heavy sigh, I do as she asks and go and sit on the bench on the front porch. I’m still there when Handlebar gets back an hour later. He walks up the steps, his eyes on me the whole time. He leans his back against the post at the top of the stairs.
“What happened?”
