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She flinches and nods. “That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about.”
“Get on with it, then,” he snaps, raising a brow as he waits for whatever she feels she needs to say to him. She sucks in a breath as she takes another step into the room.
“I… uh, when you ended things between us, I was really pissed and I went out drinking for a couple of nights…”
His head jerks back. “I don’t give a shit what you did.”
“Just… listen,” she mutters, shaking her head as she draws a breath into her lungs. “I met this guy there and we got to talking. I told him all about us and how you had ended things with me. He was sympathetic and the more we drank, the more he started suggesting that I find a way to get back at you.”
“And you thought pretending that he had abused you was the way to go?” I ask, disgust rolling through me. “How the hell did you even get that black eye? Did you punch yourself?”
She shakes her head. “No, actually… that was his idea. He knew who you guys were and the work you do and said it would be hilarious if one of you got arrested for hitting a woman…”
Chance stands and kicks his chair back as he shakes his head in disgust. “Yeah? Did you two get a good laugh out of it?”
“No,” she whispers, shaking her head. “After I sobered up and I woke up with a giant black eye, it didn’t seem like such a good idea anymore.”
Moose glances at me before turning back to Tawny. “You never answered Fuzz’s question. How did you get the black eye?”
“He did it… After we were completely wasted, he talked me into going out behind the bar and he…” Tears sting her eyes again as she looks up at the ceiling. “He punched me in the face a couple times.”
“So, this guy hit you, ” Moose starts, tilting his head to the side, studying her as he tries to understand her flawed logic. “And you decided to take advantage of a bad situation by going to the police?”
“I wasn’t going to go through with it but then my roommate saw me and asked what happened… I didn’t know what else to say so I just told her the story we came up with and she made me go to the police.”
“Great,” Moose snarls, turning away from her. “Thanks for the fucking explanation.”
“Wait!”
He turns back around, arching a brow and she straightens her shoulder as she meets his eyes.
“I wanted to tell you how sorry I am, Moose. It was a lot of stupid decisions fueled by your rejection and my anger, not to mention alcohol but I wish I could take them all back.”
He stares at her for a second before nodding. “Is that all?”
“Yes,” she whispers, dropping her gaze to the floor. Blaze walks out of the office and as soon as he sees Tawny, his eyes narrow into a glare.
“What the fuck did I tell you would happen if I ever saw you in my clubhouse again?”
Tawny takes a step back, holding her hands up in surrender. “I’m leaving.”
“Get, then. And don’t let me catch you around here again. You are not welcome.”
She turns and practically runs from the building and when the door shuts behind her, everyone lets out a breath. Blaze sighs as he turns to Moose and slaps his shoulder.
“You all right?”
“Yeah,” Moose says with a nod before nodding his head to the closed door Tawny just disappeared behind. “Ready to finally put that mistake behind me though.”
“You have, brother,” Chance tells him as he slides back into his chair and crosses his legs. “You got your old lady now.”
Moose nods, fighting back a smile. “Yeah, I do.”
“You fuckers disgust me,” I growl, rolling my eyes as I turn toward the bar and down half of my beer, jealousy ripping through my gut.
“Speaking of which,” Moose continues, ignoring me. “I have some news. Juliette is pregnant.”
A huge grin splits his face as Chance and Storm jump up to run over and congratulate him as bitterness twists through me and I finish off the rest of my beer. Shit, I’ve got to be the worst fucking brother to these guys because all their good news only reminds me of everything I don’t have and no matter how hard I try, I can’t force the jealousy down. As everyone disperses after giving Moose a slap on the back, I slip into a bar stool and grit my teeth. Moose sits down next to me and looks up at the TV as a rerun of a football game plays on the screen.
