No.
She wanted to scream it in his face, but the only way to make the agony end was to give him what he wanted.
Survival over pride.
Every time.
Hopefully, she could keep from puking all over his dick.
As he pushed down to bring her to her knees, a loud bang reverberated through the apartment, rattling the wall behind her.
The door. Someone had opened the door.
One second later, a man in dark jeans and a biker cut ripped Jason off her and flung him across the apartment with a roar.
The sudden freedom was another jolt to her traumatized system, which she could barely process. Her legs buckled. If it hadn’t been for the wall behind her, she’d have crumpled to the floor.
As soon as Jason hit the floor, the biker pounced, landing punch after punch on her boyfriend in a way she’d secretly hoped someone would do for ages.
A flash of a back patch she’d know anywhere caught her eye.
This was one of her father’s men.
Shit was about to get really bad, really fast.
Deadly bad.
“Stop,” she tried to scream, but her rough voice barely made it above a whisper. The last thing they needed was a nosy neighbor calling the cops.
Her legs shook, then her knees gave out, and she slid down the wall. When her ass hit the floor, a fresh round of tears exploded from her eyes, and a sob welled up from the deepest part of her.
“Stop,” she tried again, this time with slightly more strength. If one of her father’s men ended up in jail for killing Jason while saving her, she’d never forgive herself. “Please,” she choked out. “He’s not worth it.”
The fighting stopped.
From his spot, crouched over her boyfriend’s limp body, a dark head swiveled her way, and eyes she hadn’t seen in a long time met her gaze.
Lee.
She’d had the hugest crush on him during her teen years when he’d had no idea she existed, and rightfully so. She’d been way too young for anyone in her father’s club at that time. But that hadn’t stopped her from watching him whenever he was around. The way he moved with controlled, deliberate steps, like he was always aware of everything in the room. The rare rumble of his laugh that made her teenage heart flip. The time he’d caught her staring and winked, sending her scurrying to her room with flaming cheeks.
But she’d been an adult for years now, and the object of her teenage affection was in her apartment, seeing her at her lowest.
It was a humiliation she had no way to prepare for, yet at the same time, the second their gazes collided, she felt safe for the first time in more than a year.
CHAPTER THREE
NOTHING BEATS A long road trip on the back of his motorcycle. Extended days of sun on his skin, wind in his face, and gorgeous scenery as far as the eye could see. Sure, it meant a sore back, exhaustion, and the occasional wicked sunburn, but the time to clear his head and enjoy the rumble of his bike for endless stretches of road couldn’t be topped. Out on the highway, shit made sense. Throttle, clutch, brake. Move or die.
This trip, he got lucky, barely hitting any traffic and only encountering picture-perfect weather the entire ride, so when he rolled across the town lines into Terrell, Texas, near six in the evening of his second day traveling, he was in a damn good mood.
He was also hungry as hell.
Beth would be surprised to see him for sure, and maybe a little suspicious of his motives, but it wasn’t uncommon for his brothers to pop into town and pay her a visit. The club had a close personal and working relationship with an MC out in Arizona, and someone was always making the cross-country trip to visit or conduct business.
GPS guided him straight to Beth’s small apartment complex, which consisted of two three-level buildings and a packed parking lot. He pulled his bike into a spot markedProspective Tenants Only, right outside the leasing office. Since it was a Sunday evening, the office was closed. No one should fuck with his bike after hours, and if they did, well, he’d happily send them to the emergency room without a twinge of remorse. No onetouched his motorcycle without an engraved invitation, and he rarely issued those.
Before he dismounted, he did a quick recheck of the address Copper had texted him. Beth lived in apartment 2C. Simple enough.
