Heat crawled up the back of my neck. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
Riot tilted his head. “It means everything. Back then, when you left, he rode all night. Thought he was hiding it, but I saw. You hurt him deeper than he ever let on.”
I couldn’t breathe. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because if you’re here to stay, you need to understand what you’re walking back into. He never stopped carrying it. And ifyou’re not here to stay”—he pushed off the wall and straightened to his full height—“don’t drag him through hell again.”
I swallowed hard, throat tight, but the words slipped out before I could stop them.
“Yeah? Yet he’s still fucking Gabby.”
Riot didn’t flinch, just studied me with a flat expression.
“We all do things we don’t like to keep breathing in this life,” he said. “He’s the President. He can’t show weakness. Not in front of the brothers, and not in front of her. Don’t mistake survival for choice.”
Riot didn’t wait for an answer, he slid his shades back on and walked past, leaving me alone in the hall with the truth thrumming in my chest louder than the music thumping from the main room.
I strode back into the bar, chin high and shoulders squared, but my steps faltered when I saw him.
Jay was already out there, clean shirt pulled on, Gabby perched on his lap like a trophy. She laughed too loud, tossing her hair, nails dragging over his chest like she owned him. His hands rested on her waist, but the touch looked staged, his jaw too tight, his eyes colder than the man I’d just seen bleeding in that room.
I bristled and told myself it didn’t matter, that it wasn’t my business, but my chest ached all the same. The sooner I found my answers, the sooner I could get out of here and away from him and the confusing thoughts and feelings warring inside me.
A shadow fell across me, and I glanced up to find a tall brother standing over me, patch stitched with the name‘Link.’
“C’mon, sweetheart,” he said with an easy grin, holding out his hand. “Let me buy you a real drink. You look like you could use one.”
For some stupid reason, relief bloomed in my chest. Finally, someone who wasn’t sizing me up like a problem or a threat. Someone who saw me.
“Thanks,” I murmured, sliding my hand into his.
We didn’t make it three steps before Jay’s hand shot out, clamping around Link’s wrist like a vice. His voice was a growl. “She’s not yours to touch.”
I spun on him, fury sparking hot. “She’s sure as hell not yours either.”
Link only laughed, shaking his wrist free. “Relax, Pres. I’m only being friendly.”
Before Jay could say more, Link guided me towards the bar, settling on the stool beside me. He waved the prospect over, ordering two whiskeys.
“It’s nothing fancy,” he said, sliding one towards me, “but it’ll take the edge off. Trust me.”
I picked up the glass, but my eyes weren’t on the drink. They weren’t even on Link. They kept pulling back, again and again, to where Jay sat like a king on his throne, Gabby draped across his lap. She leaned close, pressing her mouth to his, but even then, his eyes slid past her, found mine, and held.
My throat burned hotter than the whiskey I threw back in one swallow.
“Easy there, princess.” Link chuckled, nudging my glass with his. “You’ll be on the floor before long.”
“Better on the floor than in someone’s lap,” I muttered.
When I glanced back, Jay’s jaw was tight, his knuckles white against Gabby’s hip, like he’d forgotten she was even there. His gaze was locked on me, unrelenting.
I forced a smile for Link, turning to him like he was my lifeline. “Another?”
He grinned, clearly thinking he was winning. Maybe he was, for a moment. Because I wanted to want the man beside me. Hehad floppy dark hair that was a little on the long side and warm chocolate eyes. He appeared reckless, rough around the edges, dangerous in all the ways a biker should be. The kind of man who’d be easy to fall into if I let myself.
But my pulse betrayed me, beating wildly for the man across the room. The man I swore I loathed, and God help me, I hated that part of me didn’t want to look away.
Link disappeared towards the bathroom, and I exhaled, rolling the empty glass between my palms. The room blurred for a moment, with music, laughter, smoke, and the sound of pool balls smacking together all pressing in too close. I held up my hand and requested a glass of water. The prospect chuckled and shook his head as he provided me with a tall glass.
