He pulled me to the sofa and we sat down. “Tell me everything.”
So I did.
*
Battle stared at me, his dark eyes offering me nothing. He dragged a hand down his beard and took the mug of coffee off of Charlie.
“Thanks, darlin’,” he grunted.
Rider leaned back in his chair, bouncing Macy on his knee absently. “We’re fucked.”
“Rider!” Charlie hissed.
“Babe, if Macy’s first word ain’t ‘fucked’ or some derivative of ‘cock,’ then I’d be surprised as shit. I am who I am and I talk how I talk.” He raised an eyebrow at Charlie and she narrowed her eyes at him, clearly not having any of his bullshit. “Fine, we’re screwed, right?”
Charlie snatched Macy from his lap and took her away to the kitchen to get a snack, tutting the whole time.
“Bitch is crazy if she thinks anything other than a cuss word is coming out of that kid’s mouth,” he mumbled, looking around at us all.
“So, Hardy thinks you killed this bitch?” Battle said.
“Penny,” I corrected, not enjoying the looks I got from my brothers. “Don’t even start with me.”
Battle smirked. “Fine, so Hardy thinks you killed Penny, and he’s gonna send you to ground when he finds out you didn’t because this bit—this girl knows it was the Highwaymen and could grass us up? But she hasn’t so far? Am I getting this right?”
“Yeah,” Rider and I said in unison.
“And if the Vipers find out that it was us who took her, then we’re all dead motherfuckers.”
“Right,” Rider agreed.
“And Penny came to you—herkidnapper—because she felt in danger from daddy dearest and his club. Am I still following? Because I can’t seem to get my head ’round that last part.”
“She said I owed her one because she hadn’t told anyone it was me that took her, but that wasn’t why she came to me.” I scratched a hand down my chest. I needed a joint, or some whiskey, or both.
“So why did she come to you?” Quinn asked. Bitch was leaning so far forward in her chair she was about to fall off it.
“How the fuck should I know?” I snapped.
“Really?” Rider drolled. “You can’t think of any reason why she would come to you for help and not just tattle to her daddy that it was you that took her? You can’t think of a single fuckin’ reason why she would ask you to help her. Why she would say yes to bein’ your old lady to save your ass as well as her own? Really, motherfucker?”
I dragged my hands across my head and stood up. I paced the floor, ignoring everyone in favor of the roaring in my own head. Of course I knew why she’d come to me. I knew it because it was the same reason I’d automatically agreed to help her. But it wasn’t right.Weweren’t right. I was trying to do the right thing by her and all I was doing was putting everyone into more and more danger.
“So where is she now?” Quinn asked.
I turned to look at her with a glare that she didn’t deserve and she cocked an eyebrow up at me.
“I’m not one of your little bitches, so back the fuck off,” she snapped. “Where is she now?” she asked again.
“I like her,” Rider said, pointing at Quinn.
Battle threw an arm over his girl and smiled like he was the happiest motherfucker in the universe. “Me too.” He leaned in, one hand going to the back of her head and pulling her mouth to his. He kissed her hard, his hand wrapped tightly in her hair until they finally broke free, gasping for air as they stared into each other’s eyes.
“You done?” I bit out. I was more than happy to have Battle back where he belonged, but it was obvious to me that things were different. He’d changed; she’d changed him. His priorities were different. Gone were the days of us tag-teaming bitches and fucking anything that moved. He was one hundred percent pussy-whipped.
“Not even nearly,” Battle said, his eyes still on Quinn.
Man looked alive—more alive than I’d ever seen him, that was for damn certain. My chest burned with envy at what he had. At what I could have had but had thrown away.
