Chapter Nineteen
Trig called her four times. Four. Fucking. Times. She hadn’t picked up a single one of his calls. Not one.
He didn’t know how late she usually slept, so he’d called her at noon. She hadn’t answered. Around that time, he’d taken Della to the park. He’d glanced at his phone every half hour. Like a fucking wuss waiting for her call.
Two hours later, she hadn’t responded. He called her again. And again, she didn’t answer. He left her a message, simple and to the point, telling her to call him back. Like a pussy-whipped idiot, he checked his phone every fifteen minutes.
Three hours later, she still hadn’t called. He called again, and again, she didn’t answer. He then caved and called Blaze, who told him he had a guard and Cuss volunteered to watch her.
Cuss. Damn fucking Cuss. What was it she’d said? Cuss had a way with women, and she knew because she was a woman.
Jealousy knotting his gut, he swallowed his pride and called Cuss, who informed him Allie and Tiffany were at the mall, shopping.
Shopping and she couldn’t bother to pick up his fucking calls? Giving him the brush-off, the fucking brush-off! He deserved it, too. She had class, and he was trash, but shit, it hurt. Allie wasn’t just any woman. She was beautiful and sweet Allie with her pretty color-changing eyes and fantastic legs. She’d kissed him, and they’d had sex, and now, she’d brushed him off.
He’d been afraid she’d regret what they’d done. After that morning, he thought she wouldn’t, but, damn, he’d been wrong. As clear as day, and still, he didn’t want to believe it.
Three hours later, after eating dinner with Della and dropping her off at home, he’d called Allie again. It rang once, twice, then he lost count, and her voice message came on. He’d already memorized it, and hearing her voice killed him, so he threw his phone across his dashboard and headed to the compound to change and pick up his bike.
At the compound, he changed into a faded black shirt, his cut, and strode to his bike, ignoring his brothers along the way.
Ten minutes later, he arrived at her place. Spotting her car parked, he headed up the stairs and knocked on her door. No answer. No surprise there. He knocked harder. Still, no answer. Pulling out his phone, he dialed Cuss.
Over blaring music, Cuss answered. “Brother.”
“Where the fuck are you?” he barked.
“Was about to call you. Mia, Lynn, Tiff, and Allie are at the bar.”
The bar? He’d kill Cuss. He’d rip his arms from his body. Fucking idiot Cuss allowed Allie to go there. “What the fuck is Allie doin’ there?”
“What’s the big fuckin’ deal, Trig? They’re havin’ some drinks and dancing.”
The big deal—he had Allie last night, and the taste of her was still in his mouth. The big deal—he couldn’t stand the thought of her in a bar with bikers and drunks hitting on her. Even thinking of some ass clown dancing with Allie made him want to rip someone’s head off.
“I’m on my fuckin’ way. Don’t tell her I’m coming.”
****
“Allie? Hello, earth to Allie?”
She blinked, then looked at Mia and smiled her best fake smile.
“Something happened, and something big.”
“I—”
“You can’t deny it,” Lynn cut her off. “You’ve been a zombie for the last hour, and barely touched your beer.”
Tiff took a sip of wine. “Actually, she’s been a zombie all day.”
True, and as if last night hadn’t been enough, she had another reason too. Jace called. He’d called four times. Four times she’d hit ignore and felt her heart breaking a little more. She wanted to hear his voice. Hell, she wanted more than that, and it’s why she had no choice but to ignore his calls. What could he possibly say when he’d said enough by leaving? But more than that too, she couldn’t let on how much he hurt her, and she didn’t think she could hold it together.
“I need something stronger tonight, ladies.”
Their eyes widened, but before they asked any questions, she motioned for the waitress and ordered four shots of tequila.
Hoping to take the heat off her, she asked Lynn, “How did you manage to get away from Wild?”
Lynn laughed cheekily, flipping her blonde hair behind her. “He knows Cuss is here, so…” She shrugged.
The waitress returned with their shots and set them in the middle of the high top.
Tiffany raised her shot glass. “Cheers. To more girls’ nights.”
Allie lifted her glass, tipped it against the others, and shot it back, feeling the burn at the back of her throat. It felt good, so she ordered another round. The round came, and together, they shot them back.
Spotting Cuss drawing near, she smiled. “Cuss, you’ve come to join us?”
He finished closing the distance between them and lifted a brow. “Come to tell you guys to slow down on the shots, Miracle.”
Mia glared. “Why should we?”
He sighed. “There’s one of me and four of you. Can’t fuckin’ look out for four of you if you’re all drunk and start disappearing.”
Tiffany chuckled, softly. “Why do you assume we’d disappear?”
“’Cause you women all do. Head to the fuckin’ bathroom for fuckin’ hours doing I don’t know what the fuck.”
Allie threw her head back and laughed, laughed loud. Cuss was all badass biker, and yet he could be so dense it was adorable. “I’ll let you in on a secret,” she told Cuss. “We spent so much time in the bathroom because we’re talking about you.”
His eyes widened. “No shit?”
The shots had their desired effect, she smiled a genuine smile. “Yep.”
“Oh, look to your left.” Lynn tapped her arm. “Not right now, in a little. There’s a man with blond hair who’s been looking at you for like ten minutes.”
She didn’t want to look, knowing she wouldn’t be interested in him even if he was Brad Pitt.
“Yeah, I noticed him looking at you like five minutes ago,” Mia added.
She ignored them, searching for a way to distract them.
“Oh, he’s coming this way.” Lynn’s eyes widened.
Great.
“Allie?”
Shit. She recognized that voice. She turned and smiled. “Hi, Keith.”
He smiled. “Thought it was you.” He shifted his gaze to Tiff and greeted her.
She made introductions. He politely greeted them, then asked her to dance. She spared a glance at Mia and Lynn who were smiling like idiots. Then she turned her gaze to Keith.
“She’d love to dance,” Lynn answered for her.
She would scream at Lynn later. Lynn had good intentions, but she didn’t want to dance with Keith. It’d only serve to remind her he wasn’t Jace. Still, she couldn’t be rude to the guy. He did nothing to deserve it. Having no choice, she stood and headed for the dance floor.
****
Trig strode in, his eyes scanning the bar. The place was big, considering the small town of Wadden. Decked out in beer bottles, domestic, imports, some he’d never even heard of. Booths lined each wall. In the back end, several pool tables were assembled. The bar lay in the center of the room and wrapped around, circled by high-top tables, dozens of them, except for a section on the right side where there was a dance floor.
Immediately, he spotted Cuss who sat with Tiffany, Mia, and Lynn at a high top near the bar. Cuss’s back facing the door, a beer in hand. No sign of Allie. His anger grew to new heights.
He fisted his hands and took ten long strides to reach him. “Where the fuck is Allie?” he barked to his back.
Cuss stood and turned, hardened his gaze, then snapped back, “Brother, get you’re in a pissy mood ’cause you’re usually in a pissy mood, but I ain’t in the fuckin’ mood to put up with your shit.”
“Where the fuck is she?”
Cuss nodded toward the dance floor. His gaze shot to the right.
There she was.
Allie. Allie with her beautiful face and fantastic legs. He had a great view of those fantastic legs that went on for miles because she wore a short jean skirt and “fuck me” heels, one of the pairs with the red bottoms he’d seen in her enormous closet in New York, one of the pairs he’d told her to bring.
She was dancing with the college boy with class he’d seen her with at Anthony’s, the one she claimed she wasn’t interested in. The lucky bastard spun her. Her dark, thick, silky hair swirled around her, hitting him in the chest. She stumbled and fell on him. The man’s arm snaked around her waist holding her against him. She laughed, loud.
“Fuck.”
She fucking ditched him for the college boy with class. She knew he was trash, and a woman like her didn’t fuck a man like him. If a woman like her managed to fuck up and fuck a man like him, she never went back for seconds. She gave him the brush-off and hooked up with a college boy worth her.
He knew this, and still, it didn’t lessen the envy tightening his gut, didn’t lessen the searing pang throbbing in his chest and burning its way up his throat. He did nothing but stand there enduring the awful aches, watching her dance with the college boy when not a day before she’d given herself to him. He watched and watched, and then something inside him snapped. Before he realized what he was doing, he was standing behind her, close enough he smelled that fantastic perfume she always wore.
“Outside. Now.”