“Reese!” I heard Carbon’s frantic voice, but I refused to open my eyes. I needed to find the place in my head where I didn’t feel, where nothing could hurt me, where I was safe. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
“Nothing, man. We were outside talking and she just shut down. I was taking her into the common room to find you and she freaked out, so I brought her in here.”
They continued talking. I heard more voices join in. Ember, Dash, and maybe Phoenix. I tuned them out. If I kept my eyes closed and blocked them out, I would be okay. I wanted everyone except Carbon to leave. Why wasn’t he making them leave? He knew what I needed when I got like this. Then, I heard him.
HIM.
Duke.
I sat straight up, opened my eyes, and said one word, “Wife.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Duke
She said one word. Just that one word destroyed any hope I had of talking to her and working things out between us.
“Wife.”
I felt like a knife had been plunged directly into my heart. I took a staggering step back, still staring at her beautiful face. A face filled with so much pain. Pain that I put there. “Please, Reese, let me explain.”
“You need to go. Right the fuck now,” Carbon ordered, stepping in front of me.
Fuck this shit. He wasn’t going to stand in between me and Reese anymore. Brother or not, this was between me and her. “No, you’re the one who needs to leave.” His chest puffed out, but I kept going, “This has nothing to do with you. We have shit we need to talk about and you aren’t going to stand between us anymore. Don’t you get it, Carbon? She’s not fragile and delicate. She’s fucking hiding behind you! That shit needs to stop. Now!”
He was trying to control his temper, I’ll give him that, but he barely had it under control. “I’m her brother,” he gritted out. “She can hide behind me anytime she wants to, for whatever reason, from anyone, including you. Now, get the fuck out.”
“I’m not leaving. Not until I talk to her.”
Surprisingly, Shaker pushed Carbon out of the way and stepped in front of me, his face filled with rage. “Didn’t you say everything you needed to say to her last year,brother?” He said brother like it left a nasty taste in his mouth, like he was disgusted by me, and, from the look on his face, I guessed he was.
I looked to the ground and shook my head. “Fuck,” I muttered, more to myself than anyone.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Carbon demanded.
Shaker looked directly at Carbon. “Promised her I would keep it to myself, man. If she wants to tell you, she can, but I’m not going to betray her trust. Sorry, brother.”
Carbon looked at Shaker with respect in his eyes. “Got it.” He turned his angry eyes to me. “You want to fill in the gaps, assface, or should I start breaking bones?”
“ENOUGH!” Phoenix roared. “Everybody out of this room. Right the fuck now!”
We all stood there unmoving, stunned by Phoenix’s outburst. “If this room isn’t cleared in 10 damn seconds, I’m shooting whoever’s still in here!” He reached around behind him, I assumed to pull his gun from his pants, which meant he was serious. I didn’t wait around to find out. Everyone poured into the hallway and Phoenix slammed the door shut, leaving only him and Reese inside.
Movement to my right caught my eye. I turned my head to see my sister cowered in the corner, shaking like a leaf. Fuck. I was screwing things up left and right. I started to go to her, to try to comfort her, but to my utter disbelief, Carbon strolled over to her and pulled her into his arms. What in the everloving fuck? Before I could question it further, Phoenix opened the door.
“Duke, you can come in.” I looked back and forth between him and my sister being held by Carbon. Reluctantly, I stepped into the room with Reese and Phoenix.
I dropped into a chair and Phoenix began, “Now before either one of you says a word, I want you both to keep your mouths shut and listen. This is a fucking motorcycle club, not a damn daytime soap opera. I can’t have brothers beatin’ the hell out of brothers, girls crying and passing out, friends and family members swinging on club whores. We’ve got way more important things to deal with than that type of bullshit. But most importantly, you two have a child together. You’re going to have to deal with each other in some form or fashion until one of the three of you dies. That may sound harsh, but it’s the truth, so in the best interest of James, I’m going to help you two talk some shit out or I’m kicking both of your asses out of my clubhouse, got me?”
Holy shit. In all the years I’d known Phoenix, I’d never heard him say anything like that to a brother. I sat up straighter in my chair. “Got it, Prez.”
If looks could kill, Phoenix would have died 10 times over from the glare emanating from Reese. She crossed her arms and huffed, “Whatever.”
“Wrong answer. You want to try again or you want to get the fuck out?” Phoenix barked.
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Got it.”
“Good. Now, everyone knows you both have feelings for one another. That was made perfectly clear by how you both reacted when the other’s life was on the line. Either one of you want to attempt to deny that right now? A simple yes or no will do.”
