Flashbacks from that morning were finally hitting me in rapid succession. The feeling of being out of control and unaware plagued me. Even though I knew nothing had happened with Dolly, I couldn’t help the revulsion that ran through me at the idea of even sharing a bed with her. It didn’t matter that it was only for a few minutes. I was furious. That thought had me clutching Fee closer, burying my head in her hair, and inhalingher scent to calm myself. As if sensing my unease, Fiona shifted in my arms until she was rolling over so we were face to face.
“Hi,” she said in a soft voice, her eyes scanning my face.
“Hey, beautiful,” I whispered back, before pressing a kiss to her upturned face. She melted into me, and for a moment, we were in our own cocoon. I could forget about everything that happened. If it were possible, I could survive purely on Fiona’s presence. I would give up food, water, air, just for a moment like this with her.
“You ready to get out of this bed?” I tried to hide the tension building in me from being confined to bed rest the past few hours. Fee nodded softly before slipping out from under my body. She looked adorably rumpled but I didn’t miss the dark circles under her eyes. The last day and a half had done a number on both of us.
“What’s going to happen with Dolly?” Fee asked after lacing up her sneakers. She stood next to the bed, looking both angry and unsure.
“I’ll get some answers. From there, it depends, but you won’t ever see her again. I promise you that,” I replied.
If it were up to me, I’d rid ourselves of Dolly’s presence as fast as possible, preferably in a permanent way. It wasn’t just about me, though. It was about Fiona, too. We needed answers before I could get my retribution. Standing up, I switched on the lights and was finally able to check my watch. Seeing it was almost 6 p.m., I realized we had slept the entire day away.
The ride to the house was peaceful, even if it was an odd feeling riding in the passenger seat, but I didn’t want to risk Fee on the back of my bike after getting drugged. As we got closer to home, though, that unease from earlier returned. I needed to go back to the clubhouse to question Dolly, and I didn’t want Fiona left alone and helpless. Turned out, I didn’t have much to worry about, since both Match and Charlie were sitting on the porchwhen I pulled in. We got out of Fee’s car and headed toward the house hand in hand. Before I reached the top step, Charlie was hugging me.
“I love you, you stupid idiot. I’m so glad you’re okay. Make that bitch pay,” she whispered in my ear before quickly dismissing me for Fiona.
“What do you want to eat? You must be starving. Figured we could get some takeout and watch movies until Bash gets back.”
“That sounds good,” Fee agreed with a small smile.
Once inside the house, Charlie and Match made themselves comfortable as Fiona and I headed to the bedroom. Changing into clean clothes, I was still feeling anxious about leaving Fee. I stepped out of the closet to find her slipping on one of my T-shirts over her leggings. I walked over to where she was standing and pulled her into my arms.
“Please be careful when you’re driving. If you start to feel tired, call one of the guys for a ride. I’m worried about you, Bash.”
“X gave me the all clear, but I promise I’ll be careful. I love you,” I told her as I was held captive by her copper gaze. She stood on her tiptoes and yanked my head toward her, kissing me with fervor, pouring all of her emotions into the moment. A loud knock on the door had us pulling apart.
“Fee! We’re ordering pizza. If you don’t get out here now, I’m only getting Hawaiian style!” Match’s voice boomed through the door. Fiona rolled her eyes good-naturedly and stepped out of my arms. Unwilling to lose contact with her, I grabbed her hand and tucked her back under my arm as we made our way into the living room.
“Make sure to get pepperoni and leave some slices for me. I’ll be back in a couple hours, so don’t get into too much trouble while I’m gone,” I warned the group as a whole, before looking at Match.
“Keep an eye on everything. If anyone so much as takes a step on the property, you call me.” Match assured me he’d look out for the girls, and with one last kiss, I reluctantly left Fiona.
When I got back to the clubhouse, it was business as usual. In the main room, Reaper, Crow, Bull, and Scythe were all there, looking more than ready to find out what the fuck Dolly had been up to.
“Let’s do this,” I said, and quickly pivoted toward the staircase.
Once my feet hit the basement landing, I gave a cursory glance toward the infirmary and the other spaces set up downstairs, but my focus was purely on the last door on the left. I imagined Dolly screaming, knowing even that close, we wouldn’t hear it, since we had soundproofed that space thoroughly. Scythe slipped around me so he was leading the pack, quickly punching in the access code and stepping aside, holding the door for the rest of us to file in.
In the center of the room, Dolly was sitting in a chair, her good arm tied to the armrest, the other in a sling, looking all sorts of fucked up. There was dried blood around her nose, and black makeup smeared around her eyes and down her cheeks. Her hair was knotted and chunky, looking shorter in some areas than others. At our entrance, she slunk down in her chair as far as it would allow, hunching protectively over her bad arm, and she jumped at the sound of the door closing.
Reaper and Crow stuck to the back, leaning against the far wall. Scythe swept past Dolly, heading for his toolbox. Meanwhile, I was full of restless energy, so I was pacing the room from end to end, itching to get some answers. Dolly twitched and squirmed, trying to track all the movements. Her head turned sharply at the sound of Scythe’s keys jingling, and a flash of fear crossed her face.
“Please, I didn’t do anything wrong!” Dolly pleaded, her eyes jumping between each Brother, seemingly to gauge who she could get the most sympathy from. Landing on Crow, she began pleading.
“Crow, baby. You have to help me. It’s not what it seems!” I turned to watch Crow, who only gave her a dismissive smirk.
“I ain’t your baby, and I ain’t here to save you. I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking when you decided to try this shit. Stop looking at me for help. I’m here to watch the spectacle. You fucked with the wrong club, Dolly,” he taunted, and I watched as a light dimmed in her eyes. She fell back in the chair, seeming like the wind was knocked out of her.
“This was all just a misunderstanding!” Dolly wailed, wild-eyed, trying to get any of us to listen to her.
“A misunderstanding… Care to elaborate on that?” Bull asked, stepping in front of me so his huge form was looming over Dolly.
“It was a practical joke. I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody,” she replied petulantly.
“A joke for who? Having a hard time seeing what’s funny here,” I asked, annoyed.
She was stymied by that question. It looked like she was struggling to come up with a reply, but couldn’t string anything together.
