He dismounted and pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket and stabbed at it before putting it to his ear and barking, “Boot. Get to my room, grab Aislynn’s bag, and bring it to the parkin’ lot.” He paused a moment and then snarled, “I don’t give a fuck. Do it,” before ending the call.
I swallowed down the bile rising in my throat and croaked, “You’re kicking me out?”
He scraped a hand across his jaw. “What did I tell you about gettin’ involved in club business?”
My forehead furrowed with confusion. “What?”
“Spent thirty minutes on a freezing fuckin’ porch with Hank Young convincin’ him he didn’t need to make a complaint, and you’re inside tellin’ Gracie to do the goddamned opposite. You can’t goddamned help yourself, can you?”
“Gracie being abused has nothing to do with the club,” I protested. “That asshole put his hands on that girl and changed her life forever. What she chooses to do about it isn’t your business either.”
The clubhouse doors opened just as he leaned down toward me and bellowed, “Are you fuckin’ stupid?If those two cop pigs get replaced, our immunity goes south. We can’t guarantee the new cops will work with us, and we can’t operate if the pigs are up in our shit. The sole reason we opened here was that westruck a deal with local law enforcement, and now, because ofyou, that entire deal could be worthless.Jesus, bitch. We had it handled.”
My eyes sliced toward the clubhouse to see Boot and Castle taking in the scene.
My skin prickled with indignation. “Beating that pig up doesn’t cut it, Pagan. I don’t give a shit if your illegal activities depend on working with crooked cops. There needs to be consequences for what he did to Gracie. And if you call me a bitch one more time, you won’t have to throw me out. I’ll go because Iwant to, and Iwon’tcome back.”
“Jesus, woman,” he shouted. “Therewereconsequences.We enforced them.”
My chest burned from his weak-ass excuses and I yelled back, “Inyouropinion.”
“It’s not for you to decide!” he roared.
I pulled my shoulders back and tilted my chin up defiantly. “You’re right. It’s not for me to decide, Pagan, but you know what? It’s not foryouto, either. It’sGracie’sdecision. All I did was give her some options. That girl’s been through hell. She feels dirty, humiliated, and probably likeshedid something wrong. She needed support, and that’s what I gave her. If you want to cover up for that evil bastard, then that’s on you. But I, for one, won’t stand by and watch Gracie suffer because he’s walking the same street as her, in the same town, while he’s in a position of power.” I glanced at Boot and Castle, who were approaching us with caution. “Fuck you and fuck your boys’ club. If you want to protect a rapist, then you’ll fucking burn for it, but don’t think for one minute that I’ll shutmymouth, because I won’t.” I sneered at him disdainfully and looked him up and down. “You may not have the balls to make a stand for that girl, but I do.”
Pagan’s hand shot out and grabbed my throat, his fingers flexing against my skin.
My heart jolted painfully, and I let out a whimper as his face dropped to mine and he hissed, “Who the fuck do you think you’re talkin’ to, bitch?”
“Ade,” Boot yelled. “Step the fuck back.”
“Pagan,” Castle said, warning in his tone. “Don’t do somethin’ you’ll regret. Take a breath.”
My heart pounded, but even though his face was contorted with rage, and his grip was strong and had intent, I wasn’t in any pain.
My eyes raised to meet his, and I murmured, “I don’t know who you are. I thought I did, but I don’t.”
The fury seemed to bleed out of him, and he dropped his hand and took a step back from me.
I turned and stumbled toward Boot and Castle, holding my hand out for my bag.
“I’ll put it in the trunk for ya, love,” Boot murmured, his usual deep, booming voice softening.
I blinked back the tears welling in my eyes and nodded blindly, moving toward Pagan’s bike and opening the saddlebag to get my purse.
Heading for the car, I kept my eyes to the ground, slipping past the men while retrieving my keys and cell phone from my small crossbody bag. Footsteps sounded behind, and Bootneck muttered in his hybrid English-American accent, “Pop the trunk, and I’ll chuck your bag in, ya badass little bitch. If he tries to stop you from leaving, ignore him and go. Run his ass over if you need to. If he calls, don’t pick up. Make him work for it. Got it?”
“I’m done with him,” I replied quietly, clicking the key fob to unlock my Volvo XC40 and sliding into the driver’s seat before popping the trunk like Bootneck asked.
“Sure you are,” he chuckled, going to the back of the car.
It took him seconds to throw my bag in, slam the trunk closed, and smack the roof twice to signal I was good to go. I dragged my seat belt on and started the car, then, taking a breath to help keep my shit together, I reversed out of my parking space and drove toward the gates.
Holding my head high, I rounded my shoulders and set my jaw.
I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he’d hurt me.
The lights of my moving car slid across Pagan, who was walking toward me and waving me down, but I kept my eyes ahead and put my foot on the gas, driving straight past his sorry ass. Within seconds, I’d pulled out of there, finally heading home.
