If she had been in real danger, I would’ve lost my shit. This was a well-known bar. She hadn’t been alone. This wasn’t about her safety. It was about me.
She’d slipped away, and I wanted to yank her back to my side, but I couldn’t. It would be the one thing that made her run faster, and I wouldn’t have a fucking chance in hell of keeping her. I knew exactly where she was heading. Tonight had given her a better reason to ice me out. It wouldn’t happen. I wouldn’t let it.
“Which bitch are you running to?” Scorpion asked me.
I rubbed at my eyes, running my hand over my face before I answered. I needed a minute so I wouldn’t jump off my bike and beat him to a bloody pulp. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“I protected what’s mine, while you stood there like a pussy.” He smirked, knowing he had me in a precarious position. “She’ll never walk away from me, no matter how much you want her to.”
If I had stepped in, there was no doubt in my mind, he would have made it worse for my sister, but Roxy saw it differently. She had wanted me to show strength. I didn’t, and the disgust in her eyes wouldn’t let me forget it.
“If you think I’m a bitch, challenge me.” I leaned against the seat of my bike, crossing my legs at the ankles. I wanted to appear relaxed, when I was anything but. “She’s not yours, and she’s not standing around waiting for you either. You’re just too stupid to realize you’ve lost her.”
He stood from his bike, cracking his knuckles. “You think they’ll follow you? I have never lost a fight. The rest of our territory fears the Saints because of me.” Charging, he threw a punch the second he got close. I caught it and gave him one back, harder. My knuckles reddened as they grazed his cheek.
“Guys,” Huck tried to step in, but Scorpion held his hand out, stopping him.
“You think you can take me? No fucking way.” He swung at my side, but I stepped away just in time. Scorpion’s fist caught the flaps of my club cut, but he left himself wide open. I slammed my fist into his gut, forcing a grunt from hislips. It didn’t stop him. He tried to land a left punch, followed by an uppercut that nearly clipped my chin.
We hit the ground hard, and my weight landed on top of him. I kept swinging until my knuckles split. The blood mixed with the sweat. Scorpion dug his elbows into the sharp gravel, using the leverage to twist, bucking me off. He forced his fist into my gut. I couldn’t catch my breath, but I wouldn’t stop. Not now. I’d bowed down to him for far too long.
“Break it up.” I thought that might have been Aces, but I didn’t stop defending myself until a few brothers pulled Scorpion off of me. A few more grabbed me under my armpits, hauling my ass up to stand.
“What the fuck was that?” Definitely Tumbleweed. “We’ve never taken potshots at each other. You should have challenged him.”
“You know, we’ve never had a wise man.” Scorpion shook off the brothers holding him, swiping his bottom lip with his thumb. It hadn’t split. “Maybe it’s about time to retire our first one.”
Is he really going for an age joke?
“Don’t call me. I’ll be busy at the cages.” He swung his foot back over his bike, giving a fake salute before he roared out of the parking lot. He didn’t need to look behind him, knowing most of the brothers would follow. Only the executives lingered near the bikes.
I eyed them, waiting for someone to take another swing. My fists clenched in anticipation. I came and went as I pleased, preferring not to bond over brotherhood. It didn’t make me well-liked, but I did the job, and no one had ever had any complaints.
“I fucking told you this was fucking going to be bad.” Tumbleweed spat his chew on the ground. He scanned me, looking for broken bones. I could have told him there were none. “I fucking called it, and no one listened to me.”
“What the fuck are we supposed to do, huh?” Flash barked. “Scorpion scared the whole damn territory.” He paced, shaking his head. “Now, I’m not the only one thinking his dick gets more action than his fucking brain.” Flash’s jawclenched, turning to pace in the opposite direction. “Fear fades, and when it does? I don’t want to go to war.”
All of their heads turned in my direction. “I do my part for the club, and that’s it. Don’t look at me to lead the rebellion. I don’t think any of us can fix him.”
I swung my leg over my bike, heading towards the shitty motel. I knew where the damage had hit, but I had thirty minutes before I’d get my chance to stop the bleeding. One shot to make it right, or lose her for good.
Chapter twenty
Come Hell Or High Water
Cactus
I parked my bike at the back of the saloon, preferring to walk to the motel. It bought me a few extra minutes before we squared off. I’d been waiting for this opportunity to fix things, but she’d ask questions I was afraid I didn’t have the answers to.
You were only supposed to get her story.
She’d told me exactly who she was, but I had been so used to wading through the lies, I hadn’t been paying attention.
It wasn’t rocket science. I’d bet money no one had ever put Roxy first her whole life. She’d silently screamed at me every chance she got. She didn’t know she was doing it. It wasn’t a ploy. It was just who she was. Roxy liked to observe the world around her, finding pleasure in the small things. I should have been soaking up every detail, but I had only listened when it suited me.
If I were her, I would have walked away from me, too. She’d asked where her place was in my life, and I’d shut her down—no hesitation. She wouldn’t fight to be heard. Her silence had said everything. She wasn’t cutting me out, but she wouldn’t beg for space. I wouldn’t disappoint her again. If she asked to be let go, I’d have to release her.
Crossing the parking lot, I heard the gravel crunch under my boots. The air smelled like rain, but it was too early for monsoon season. The glowing cherry of a cigarette flared, catching my attention. There were a few men leaning over the second-story balcony.
