Clay’s eyes snap to me.
“I need a clear head,” I reassure him. “I’m not about to win her back with a head full of whiskey. That’s how I got into this mess.”
He nods as Hazel passes me a bottle of water. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to prove to her I’ve changed and that she can trust and rely on me again.
Twenty-minutes later, Hell strolls past me. She throws a sideways glance my way before heading straight for Bella and Red, who are sitting at one of the tables doing crafts with Noah and Meli.
Like nothing’s happened. Like I’m invisible.
I don’t stick around. I don’t need to hear about her fucking amazing date.
I step back out into the courtyard, and that’s when I see him.
He’s leaving.Perfect.If she’s too busy inside, this is my chance. He needs to understand that she belongs to me.
I lengthen my stride, closing the distance between us. Once we’re out of sight of the clubhouse windows, I break into a jog.
He can hear my boots catching up with him, and he turns to face me. His colour pales, and the smile he was wearing when he was sitting with my woman soon fades.
He puts his hands up in a surrender.
“I don’t want any trouble,” he rushes to say. Jesus, he really is a fucking wet wipe. Even Bella’s kids have more balls than this fucker.
I push him against the wall, gripping him by the scruff of his neck. “You’ll stay away from her,” I grind out. “She’s mine, and no fucker touches what’s mine.” I slam him slightly harder than necessary. “Next time she messages you, ghost her. Or make your fucking excuses not to ever see her again. Because if I catch you sniffing around her, I’ll fucking kneecap you.” His eyes dart around, looking for an escape. “Did you fucking hear me?”
“Ye-yeah,” he stutters.
I shove him away, and he almost stumbles in his eagerness to escape. “Now, get the fuck outta here before I change my fucking mind and end you now.”
He starts running, looking behind him, panicked. I laugh as I make my way into the compound.Too fucking easy.
Clay’s leaning against the wall, his eyes on me. He pushes off and steps closer. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?” He laughs, shaking his head.
I grin. “Not sure what you’re talking about. I was just having a friendly chat with the nice fella.”
ROCHELLE
I pull down my cap as I walk into the sexual health clinic because this shit is embarrassing. Here I am, a middle-aged woman, in the early stages of pregnancy, walking into a clinic to make sure my scumbag husband hasn’t fucking contaminated me.
My cheeks flush as I walk into the reception area, noting most people in the waiting room are a lot younger than me. They chat amongst themselves, not taking any notice of me or my embarrassment.
“Name?” the receptionist asks, her tone bored, as if she’s already debating her life choices.
“Rochelle Mitchell.” I give my maiden name as one last ‘fuck you’ to him. I never did like Rochelle Wood anyway.
The receptionist scans her computer screen and nods. “Take a seat.”
I look around the room, and my eyes land on a familiar face. It’s the young girl I saw at Reaper’s place.
She looks scared of her own shadow, so I take a seat next to her. She startles, her head snapping in my direction, so I offer her a kind smile and place my hand gently on her knee.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. Are you okay?”
Her eyes are hollow, glazed, like the lights are on but nobody is home.
She swallows hard and stares past me. I glance back too, wondering what’s caught her attention, but the space behind me is empty.
“Hey,” I say softly, and her eyes find mine. “You okay?” She nods, but her eyes are filled with unshed tears. “Do you remember me?” She nods again.
