Chapter Fourteen
Trig rode by her work, parked out of sight, and waited. He didn’t put much thought into it. By now, he did it subconsciously because before today he’d done it so many times, he’d lost count.
The first time, he convinced himself he’d done it for Army, his brother. The next day, he did it again fooling himself with the same excuse. Two weeks later, he tried to go straight home and couldn’t. He couldn’t lie to himself after that. It wasn’t for Army. It was for him. He wanted to know about her life. If she was still dating the man he’d seen her with, if she was happy, so he continued to do it.
By this point, he couldn’t drive by and not stop. He couldn’t drive straight home without driving by, waiting for her to get into her Camaro, and drive off either.
An obsession of the worst kind because the object of his obsession would never be his, but he couldn’t help himself.
He stopped.
He parked.
He waited.
He watched.
He was addicted. He kept feeding his obsession, and he didn’t care.
No one knew. Though several of his brothers noticed him taking off at the same time every day, none asked. They were men, and especially, they were brothers and trusted each other.
At this point, he didn’t care who knew. In fact, he prayed someone would find out, so they’d bust his balls, and maybe then, he’d find the strength to quit her, and silence the addiction.
The doors leading inside the daycare swung open, and she strode out looking like a million bucks in a pair of dark-wash jeans and blue blouse with her hair spilling around her shoulders. She smiled, yet her eyes were soft, looking sad to leave. She clutched her bag against her chest, then headed toward her car. Thanks to the SUV parked beside her, he lost sight of her. He waited for her engine to rev. The seconds turned to minutes, and still, her car hadn’t started.
A troubling feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. Following his instincts, he hopped off his bike and headed in her direction. He caught sight of her, leaning against the driver’s side door of her car. Eyes wide, brows drawn, her bottom lip trembled. A man stood too close holding her arms at her sides, his fingers digging into her skin.
He would intervene. She’d see him, but he didn’t care. Nothing could stop him. Before he moved, the unimaginable happened. The man released one of her arms, raised his hand, and slapped her hard across the face, the sound resonating in Trig’s chest.
He saw red. Adrenaline pumping, he launched himself at him. His body slammed into the man, knocking him to the floor. Landing on the man’s back, he stood. Hovering over him, he grabbed his head and slammed it hard against the ground. A thud echoed. The man groaned, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. He grabbed the man’s arm and twisted it backward until it snapped. A wail pierced the air.
“Jace!”
In the haze of rage, he heard her voice. Breathing heavily, he straightened and faced her. She trembled. Her face a mask of fear. Her eyes filled with unshed tears, her cheek swelling with the imprint of the man’s hand.
Her beautiful face marred.
Fuck.
He wanted to break the bastard’s arm again, then break every other limb.
He fisted his hands tightly, letting out a deep growl attempting to control the anger coursing through him. Losing the battle, he turned to the man and kicked him on his side, turning him over.
Fuck. Her ex! The bastard lucky enough to have had her! He cheated on Allie, who hadn’t deserved it.
The guy had enough, but realizing who he was, Trig couldn’t help but kick him again, hard.
“Jace!”
Shit. He promised he would never beat a man in front of a woman. He swore he would never lose control again, but he had, and at that moment, he didn’t fucking care. She hated him anyway. Now, she’d fear him, but it couldn’t be helped. Bastard crossed a line, and now Trig knew with certainty what he feared was true.
She’d been running, running from a man who fucking beat her.
“Jace, please…”
He turned. Tears streamed down her pale cheeks, her trembling fingers pressed against her stomach.
He wanted to hold her, console her, do whatever he could to make her better. He couldn’t. He was too angry, and she was too terrified, terrified of him, of what he’d done, of what he was capable of.
“I d-don’t…want y-you…” Her voice cracked.
He took a menacing step in her direction. “You don’t want me to fuck him up?” His voice a low rumble.
Her eyes widened. She swallowed. “I…d-don’t want you to…g-get in trouble…”
Fuck. Allie trying to look out for him? He heaved a sigh. Without further thought, he closed the distance between them. Wrapping one arm around her waist, he cupped the back of her head with the other and hauled her against him. She went willingly, clutching his cut tightly. Just like that, the anger faded. Allie. Safe. In his arms.
“Won’t get in trouble,” he whispered against her hair.
She pulled away from him then tilted her head up to look into his eyes. “You don’t know how powerful he is. We can call the cops. I promise I’ll—”
He shook his head. “You should’ve called the cops the first time, Allie. Now, it’s in my hands.”
A small gasp escaped her lips. Her fingers clutched his chest moments before she jerked away.
He let her go.
Several moments of silence drifted. Her mind, he knew, working, trying to figure out how he knew.
He yanked his phone out of his pocket, dialed, and brought it to his ear.
Her eyes widened. “Who are you calling? You can’t tell Ty.” She shook her head. “He’ll kill him. Please…Jace. This is my problem. I’ll—”
Ignoring her pleas, Army answered the phone. “Problem. Allie’s ex. Daycare. Bring SUV, a couple of the brothers, and Mia or Lynn.” Without waiting for a response, he hung up.
His gaze went to her. “Get in your car.”
“Jace…you can’t… I can handle this—”
His eyes narrowed. He leaned into her then said in a quiet, deadpan voice, “You had your chance to handle this. You didn’t, so now I’m handling it. Now. Get. In. The. Car.”
“But—”
He got in her face, so close with each tremble her body grazed his. “Don’t fuckin’ care if you wanna involve cops. Don’t fuckin’ care if you don’t want your brother to know. Don’t fuckin’ care how powerful the bastard is. He fuckin’ hit you, and it wasn’t the first time. The only thing I fuckin’ care about is keeping you safe. I’m gonna keep you safe. Don’t fuckin’ care if you hate me for doing it. Now. Get in the fuckin’ car.”
“Please, Jace, I know you’re only doing this for my brother, but you’ll end up hurting him because he’s going to lose it when he finds out, and he’ll go to jail.”
If only she knew he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her since the day he met her. If only she knew, even standing there, her face marred with tears, the imprint of that bastard’s hand on her cheek, and swollen eyes, he still thought she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever laid eyes on.
She didn’t know all of these things, and he couldn’t tell her, so although he shouldn’t have, he snapped. “You don’t know shit, so don’t pretend to know anything about why I’m fuckin’ doing this. You want to believe it’s for Army, then fuckin’ believe it.”
The roar of a bike sounded. He looked away from her, spotting Army’s SUV, and Stone and Mia following behind on a bike.
Army parked behind Allie’s car blocking her in, then jumped off. His eyes glued to his sister. One look at her cheek, and his whole body strung tight. He took powerful steps, closing the distance between he and Allie.
Army, so pissed, looked so out of control. Trig feared for her. Instinctually, he put his hand over Army’s chest. “Cool it, brother.”
Army’s gaze sliced to his. “Cool it? Don’t tell me to fuckin’ cool it.”
He got in his face. “Know you’re pissed. You have every fuckin’ right to be. I’m pissed, and she isn’t my sister, but she just got hit by a man. She’s fuckin’ terrified and trembling, so yeah, cool it. Hold it together for a minute till we get her outta here.”
Army sighed, clenching his jaw. His gaze, still hard, went back to Allie’s. “You lied to me. I knew you fuckin’ lied. I just didn’t want to believe it. ’Cause you lied, I couldn’t protect you.”
She further paled. Her knees buckled beneath her.
Wrapping one arm around her waist, the other behind her knees, Trig caught her before she hit the ground. She leaned against his chest easily, covering her face with her hands. He shot Army a nasty glare then carried her to the passenger side of her car, opened the door, and set her inside.
Because Army had been a dick, because he had been and the guilt choked him, because he had to do something to comfort her, as he hovered over her, he whispered, “Everything’s gonna be okay, Allie. Don’t worry.” He buckled her seatbelt and closed the door.
He nodded to Mia. “Purse’s on the floor. Take her home. Stay there.”
Stone and Army had already carried Wyatt to the back seat of the SUV. Army sat in the driver’s seat. Stone hopped on his bike and revved the engine. Mia started Allie’s Camaro too, so he headed to his bike, hopped on, and drove to the compound.
Once there, he, Stone, and Army carried a groaning Wyatt into the garage. Their brothers followed behind.
“What the fuck?” Cuss asked from behind them.
Rake chuckled. “Looks like we’re pickin’ up randoms and beating them to a pulp.”
They walked down the hall, into one of the unoccupied rooms, and unceremoniously dropped Wyatt on the floor.
He turned and spotted Prez, looking feral. His eyes hard, his posture stiff. “Conference room. Now.”
Army locked the door from the outside on their way out. Trig waited for him, and together, they strode the short distance to the meeting room, where they held church, their club meetings. Large enough to fit sixty brothers, a long rectangular table sat in the middle of the room with chairs, not that they ever used them. Usually, the brothers stood around, some leaning against the walls, others standing behind the chairs. Like then, two-thirds of the club stood surrounding the large table.
Prez crossed his arms over his chest. “Any one of you gonna fill us in?”
Army wasn’t too happy about having to answer to anyone, probably for the same reason he wasn’t too happy about it either. They had a situation that needed taking care of, and then, they needed to make sure Allie was okay.
He wanted to get this conversation over with, and Army was in no condition to do it. Livid, Army had taken it out on Allie, his sister, a woman he loved to death. Trig couldn’t imagine how much worse he’d be with his brothers, who were men. Trig spoke up. “Asshole’s name is Wyatt. He’s Allie’s ex-fiancé, and he put his hands on her. Caught him in the act, beat his ass, and called Army for backup.”
“A little overkill, don’t you think. Guy’s arm’s broke. He has a nasty gash on his—”
Rake’s voice died off when Army grabbed him by the neck and slammed him against the wall. It happened so fast none of them had been able to stop it. Not that Trig could blame Army, he wanted to do the same thing.
Wild and Pound hauled Army away, allowing Trig to get face to face with Rake. “Not overkill, brother, not even close. He slapped her so fuckin’ hard the sound echoed in my chest, so no, it ain’t overkill.”
Rake cursed, running his fingers through his hair. “My bad, brother. You said he put his hands on her. You didn’t say he hit her.”
Cuss, leaning against the wall, pushed himself off, his jaw hard. “I wanna fuckin’ piece of him.”
Damn Cuss. It made him wonder if he liked her as more than Army’s sister.
“Got third,” Bud.
“Fourth,” Dash.
“Fifth,” Blaze and Ripper said simultaneously.
Army pushed Wild and Pound off of him. “He’s fuckin’ mine. All mine.”
Damn Allie. Beautiful, classy Allie found a way to wedge herself into the hearts of his brothers. No doubt about it. His brothers wanted a piece of the man who hurt her without so much as thinking of the repercussions, the fact he beat a man in public, that the ex had connections and money, and came from a prominent family. He could cause them plenty of trouble. Not to mention, Prez still looked pissed.
“Guy’s already fucked. Don’t think any one’s gonna get much of anything,” Trick pointed out.
Army turned his glare to Trick, then met Trig’s gaze. “Yeah, thanks for that, Trig.” His voice laced in sarcasm.
Anger coursed through him so powerfully he thought he’d lose it again. True, he should’ve stopped after he knocked Wyatt unconscious and let Army handle the rest. But he couldn’t have stopped himself, even if he tried. He needed to avenge her. More than that, he wanted to be the one who avenged her.
Jaw clenched, he took two steps in his direction and shot back, “Go fuck yourself.”
Army lunged forward, only to be dragged back by Pound and Wild beside him.
He lifted his chin. “What’re you gonna do? Beat my ass for savin’ your sister? You gonna take it out on me like you took it out on her? Fine. Take your best shot.”
Army attempted to yank himself out of Pound and Wild’s grasp. “I didn’t—”
“The prick just hit her. I warned you, but you didn’t fuckin’ listen. You were a dick, and she was trying to protect your ass. I were you, I’d be thankful one of my brothers was there, stepped in, and beat the shit outta that prick in broad daylight. So yeah, brother, fuck you.”
Looking remorseful, Army defended. “I was pissed. She lied to me.”
“You’re ten shots past pissed, and again, she was trying to protect you. She doesn’t know what we do.”
Army dropped his head and cursed. After several minutes, Army met his stare, remorse filling it. Army finally understood. “Let’s get this shit over with.”
“Need to vote,” Prez announced.
Vote? What the hell was there to vote about?
“You should know the facts. Wyatt Morris isn’t your typical asshole. He’s a very prominent defense attorney asshole whose family’s got more money than Bill Gates. This blows back on us, it means trouble.”
Then again, Prez made a valid point. Maybe it would change the vote of some of his brothers, but not him and not Army, and he was certain not Cuss, Bud, Dash, or Ripper.
Army’s gaze sliced to Prez, who shrugged. “I look out for my club. It means anyone who comes in, I look into.”
“If it blows back, it won’t blow back on the club. It’ll blow back on me. I was the one who beat the lights outta him. I’ll take the heat,” he said, instantly.
Army shook his head. “Fuck, no. She’s my sister. Anyone’s taking the heat, it’s me.”
He let out a frustrated sigh. “She doesn’t want you going down, Army. I was the one—”
Cuss shook his head. “This argument’s fuckin’ pointless. One goes down, we all go down. It’s why we vote. ’Sides, in this town, no one’s gonna rat any of us out.”
Blaze, secretary of the club, scanned the room. “Right. Not everyone’s here.”
“We got majority, so let’s vote. Now.” Army glanced around. “Doesn’t make much of a difference to me.”
Everyone understood the unspoken words. Army didn’t have to say it. Vote or not, he planned on taking revenge, and if it cost him his cut, then so be it. Trig couldn’t agree more.
“In favor of beat down,” Prez asked.
Everyone nodded, everyone was in favor.
Because everyone cared about Allie.
There was no way, knowing Allie, you wouldn’t.
Army didn’t wait for Prez to speak. He strode out the room and down the hall. Unlocking the door, he walked inside, leaving the door parted. Trig walked in behind. The ex lay on the floor, in the same spot where they’d dropped him.
Cuss grabbed a chair, and then he and Bud grabbed the asshole and set him on it. Wyatt groaned in pain.
Army closed the distance between him and Wyatt. “Head up.”
Wyatt lifted his head slightly, blood from his head wound dripped down his face and neck, soaking his shirt.
“You know who I am?” When Wyatt didn’t answer, Army punched him in the gut.
Wyatt bent over, groaning. “Fuck.”
“Gonna ask you one more time. You know who I am?”
Army didn’t wait for a response. He grabbed his broken arm and popped his wrist out of place. Wyatt’s eyes widened. His face was a mask of pain. His scream pierced the air.
“You look at me when I’m talkin’ to you.”
Wyatt lifted his head, looking Army in the eye, and shook his head. “I…don’t…know.”
“I’m Allie’s brother, fuckwad, so you understand why I’m pissed. No one fucks with my sister. No one cheats on my sister. No one touches my sister. No one hits my sister, and no one beats my sister. You’ve done it all. For that shit, you will pay.”
“Please…don’t…I’m—”
Army punched him in the face. Wyatt’s head flew back, his eye swelling immediately.
“You don’t seem to understand warnings very well, do you? I think Trig warned you in New York. You stay away from my sister. You don’t touch my sister, but you didn’t listen. Wasted some of your cash on a flight, then hit my sister.” Army punched him again right in the nose.
The impact caused a loud crack and sent Wyatt flying off the chair, blood spurting from his face, staining the floor.
“You wanna hit someone, you hit a man, you son of a bitch, not a woman, not my sister!” Army lost it, kicking and punching him, repeatedly. He didn’t stop until Bud and Cuss carted him away.
Trig took several steps forward, standing face to face with Army. “He’s had enough. Allie needs you.”
Army shoved Bud and Cuss aside, and then hovering over Wyatt, his voice steeped in venom. “You get the fuck outta here and stay the fuck away from her. Next time, I promise you, I’ll get you alone. I’ll cut off your fuckin’ arms, so you never hit another woman. Then I’ll cut off your fuckin’ dick, so you never fuck over another woman. Then who knows what’ll happen ’cause no one’s gonna be there to stop me from doing anything else I think of.” With that threat, Army strode away.
Trig followed hot on his heels.
Because he had to.
Because he needed to check on Allie.