I gasp at his words. I’ve spent years trying to overcome the disgust my body brings me. It takes all of my control not to hide my breasts. Sadly, I can’t stop the tears that sting my eyes, and I hate that he can see them.
“Get out of this house,” I whisper hoarsely.
For a second, I think I see regret in his eyes, but I don’t care. “Izzy?—”
I yank my body away from him, hating that I’m losing control. “Get the fuck out!” I scream, using the back of my hand to wipe at the tears that are escaping.
“Aunt Iz?” My head jerks to the side, and I spot Pez and Ty standing across from me. Ty looks shocked. Pez looks livid.
“Hey, Ty,” I whisper, walking over to him on shaky legs. He somehow hugs me and maneuvers himself in front of me, all at the same time.
“What the hell is going on in here?” Pez asks.
“I’ve asked Griff’s VP to leave the house.”
“Then, I think you better fucking leave,” Pez said, anger vibrating around him.
“Trust me, I’m going. There’s nothing here worth this shit.”
He stomps out of the room. Pez looks over at me. “I’m just going to make sure he leaves, Izzy.”
I nod, not sure I could talk right now if my life depended on it.
“Ty, buddy, why don’t you take your aunt out to the garage and show her the car you’re helping Beau paint?”
If I weren’t so upset, I’d smile at how just the mention of Beau makes Ty’s eyes light up. Beau may not have given birth to him, but she has bonded with Ty so deeply that nothing could break it. It happened very quickly, but I’m grateful.
“Okay, Pez. You want to, Aunt Iz?”
“Sure,” I whisper.
“We can go out the back door,” he says, instinctively knowing I didn’t want to see Caleb again. My nephew is as smart as they come.
I put my hand in his and let Ty lead me on. I was going to do some laundry for Beau, but right now, I just want out of here …
2
HOW TO BRUISE AN EGO IN TEN INSULTS OR LES
CANDYMAN
I’m fuming by the time I get outside. I hop onto my bike, grip the handlebars, and stare at the house I just stormed out of. I didn’t expect anything that just happened. I thought Izzy had grown up in the club and wouldn’t spout the type of bullshit I just heard out of her mouth. I know I need to watch myself. Griff will kick my ass if I get him blackballed from Beau’s shop. Still, it takes everything I am not to go back in there and continue giving Izzy a piece of my mind. I’m just about to start my bike and get away from the temptation of doing just that, when Pez walks out.
He stomps over to me. It’s clear he’s mad. I don’t really give a damn. I’m not feeling that happy my damn self.
“What the fuck did you do to Izzy?” he growls.
“That’s between the two of us. So, back off,” I growl, not liking being questioned.
“Izzy is family and you’re on our territory, asshole. I’ve seen a lot of shit since coming here, but Izzy is not emotional. That means you did something, and I want to know what.”
He has a point. Honestly, after she said she’d have to have antibiotics just to touch me, the rest is a blur. I don’t like women insulting me—especially women who grew up in this life and know how things are. Right now, though, I do my best to keep Griff and our club’s contracts in mind. That’s the only reason I answer this asshole at all. “I called her on her bullshit. Izzy started spouting shit about bikers—bullshit that I didn’t expect from a woman who grew up in a club. You need to teach her better before she spouts her holier than thou beliefs to the wrong man.”
Pez looks shocked at first, and then he just shakes his head, laughing like I’m the idiot here. “Run back home, C. You’re clearly in over your head here.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“It means you’ve been surrounded by so much easy pussy that you haven’t taken time at all to see what a real woman is.”
