Ruined: An MC Romance Novel (Ruined Series Book 1)

by T. O. Smith

  Adelaide snorted. “Going to take me about another eight months to get over this.” She informed him, her dark eyes clashing with his, dropping the bomb of her pregnancy like it was nothing.

  Joey sucked in a harsh breath at her words, and then he narrowed his eyes at me, anger flashing in his dark depths. “That goddamn fast you got her knocked up?!” He roared at me.

  I clenched my jaw, reining in my temper. I wouldn’t fight with him – not over this, and not with Adelaide sitting here to witness it. She had just gotten him back. I wouldn’t put her through this stress. But it didn’t mean that I wouldn’t put him in his goddamn place – give him a reality check. “Not me.” I snarled at him as I stood up to my full height. “You fucking did.”

  Joey looked like I had punched him in the gut. His wide, shocked eyes snapped to Addy. Adelaide clenched her jaw and stood up from the couch, running her hands down her face in exhaustion.

  “How far along are you, Adelaide?” He asked her quietly.

  “Six weeks.” She informed him.

  He swallowed hard as he stared at her. “Fuck.” He finally whispered.

  Addy suddenly gagged, her hand flying up to her mouth as she rushed past me and down the hall to the bathroom. I rushed after her, getting there right as she dropped to her knees in front of the toilet, throwing up stomach acid since she hadn’t been able to keep anything down all day.

  Once she was finished, I reached forward and flushed the toilet, lifting her into my arms. “I think it’s time for you to get some rest.” I gently told her.

  She nodded in agreement, resting her head against my shoulder. “Don’t let him leave.” She mumbled, already beginning to drift off. “I don’t want to lose him again.”

  I swallowed hard at her words, but I quickly reminded myself that I was the one she was currently with – not him. But I couldn’t deny that she loved him – that she would always love him.

  And it was going to take me some time to come to terms with that.

  “I won’t, Addy baby.” I gently assured her as I laid her on my bed.

  But she was already passed out, not hearing my words.

  When I walked back into the bar, Joey was swallowing a mouth full of beer, and Jessie was helping Zyla clean up, though they seemed to be holding a pretty good conversation. I understood Jessie’s need to do something although she looked like death rolled over. She was trying to have normalcy. It was a normal reaction to a traumatic situation.

  “Bit early to be drinking, isn’t it?” I asked Joey as I took a seat next to him.

  He just shot me a dark look. “I just found out I’m going to be a dad, not to mention the fact that the woman I’m madly in love with is carrying that kid and that she’s in love with another man.” He chuckled, shaking his head as he took another swallow of the beer in his hand. “I always knew I would lose her to you someday.” He admitted, sounding like he had just lost one of the greatest fucking things in his life.

  Fuck, I was going to need a beer for this conversation as well.

  I got up and walked around the bar to the fridge, grabbing two beers – one for me and another one for Joey since he had just finished his off, and it looked like he was definitely going to be needing a second.

  “What’s your plan for her?” I asked him.

  Joey popped the top off of his fresh beer with the bottom of a lighter. “I’m doing what’s right by Adelaide and that baby.” He informed me. “She may be with you, Grim, but I will be there for her as well.” He let his dark eyes meet mine. “You’re going to have a miserable relationship with her if you make her give me up.” He warned.

  I clenched my jaw, jealousy sparking in my veins. I tampered it down, though. There a baby in the picture now. I had to learn to get along with Joey for the baby’s sake – and Adelaide’s.

  Because Joey was right. I couldn’t ever force her to give him up. She would choose him over me.

  “I’d be pissed if you weren’t,” I told him. “Takes two to tango and all that shit. This baby is your responsibility, too.”

  “Which means you and I are working together from now on, Grim.” He informed me. I grunted in agreement, though I didn’t like it. “The past? Out the fucking window. Clean slate.”

  He was fucking serious about this shit because Joey didn’t let go of grudges for anything, not unless he gave a fuck about something.

  And he gave a fuck about Adelaide.

  “And your club?” I asked him.

  Joey smirked – a cold- calculating smirk that chilled my bones. Sometimes, it was hard to forget just how ruthless and destructive Joey could be. “I’ll put a bullet in the head of every mother fucker that dared to follow Charles – that dared to fucking cross me wrong,” Joey informed me. “And I’m taking my fucking club back.” He swallowed another mouth full of beer. “No one watches over Adelaide unless it’s me, you, or Jesup.” He informed me. “I won’t take any chances with her safety. She’s our priority. Not a goddamn thing comes before her.”

  I nodded in agreement, glad that we could at least agree on something. Jesup came out of the back, but he halted in his steps when his eyes landed on Zyla. He swallowed hard, and I cursed, setting my beer down.

  He had no idea that his ex-wife was back, nor that she was here seeking refuge from her crazy ass husband. Right when both he and Zyla turned eighteen, they went to the courthouse and got married. We hadn’t even graduated high school yet.

  And only a few months after their marriage, she left him.

  “What in the hell are you doing here?” Jesup snarled at her.

  “Ooh, drama,” Joey said as he grinned at the scene in front of him. I glowered at him. He only shrugged. “What? I’ve been getting the shit beat out of me for the past few days – cut me some slack.” He grunted.

  “J -” Zyla started, but I cut her off.

  “Jesup, let’s go talk,” I told him as I slid off of the barstool.

  Joey got off his stool. “I’m going to go check on Adelaide. Where is she?” He asked me.

  “My room,” I told him. “Can’t miss it. It has President on the door.” I pointed a finger at him. “Don’t disturb her,” I ordered.

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m not a fucking idiot.” He smarted off. I glowered at his back. Joey always ran by his own book, and he never gave a fuck whose toes he stepped on in the process.

  These next few years were going to be fucking exhausting and a real damn test of my patience.

  “How the fuck are you even alive right now?” Jesup demanded as Joey walked past him.

  Joey shook his head at Jesup. “I did die, but they were able to revive me. I told them not to tell anyone I was alive because I’ve known for a while that Charles has been plotting against me.” He clenched his jaw, looking over at his sister. “And he’s been working with Vin this whole fucking time.” He quietly snarled, letting his voice trail beyond us three.

  “Fucking hell,” I swore. If Vin had been working with Charles, then that only meant that the entire time Joey had been trying to protect her, Vin had been one step ahead, and he might still be depending on where Charles was.

  Joey nodded. “It’s why my sister looks like she does.” He informed us. “Charles and Vin have been selling her out.”

  With that, he walked down the hallway to go check on Adelaide.

  I stared after Joey for a moment, trying to make sense of what might be going through his head, but I knew it was useless. Joey was unpredictable and dangerous.

  I looked over at Jesup. “Come on,” I told him, pushing open the chapel doors. I knew this was going to be a tense conversation. Jesup had loved – hell, still did – Zyla with every fiber of his being. She had cut him deep when she took off with Rodney.

  “Why is she back here?” Jesup demanded to know as soon as the doors were closed back behind us.

  “She came to me last night – showed up during the party. She’s lost everything, Jesup. She just needs a place to stay until she can get back on
her feet.” I told him.

  Jesup shook his head. “Not here, Grim.” Jesup snarled. “She fucking left. She demanded the divorce. She can figure her shit out on her own.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “Jesup, it’s just for a little while, alright?” I told him. Zyla hadn’t told me what happened, but the look in her eyes as she begged me for help? She was looking for safety, too. Something had happened, and I wouldn’t turn her away if she needed help. “You don’t even have to converse with her.”

  Jesup clenched his jaw. “I don’t even want to see her fucking face, Grim. She’s got a month. That’s it. If she isn’t on her feet in a month, I want her gone.” He snapped.

  With that, he strode out of the room, not giving me a chance to respond.

  ■ ■ ■

  ADELAIDE

  I slowly opened my eyes, locking them on Joey’s darker ones. He was knelt beside the bed in front of me, his eyes running over my face. “Hey, pretty girl.” He quietly greeted me as he reached up to run the tips of his fingers over my face.

  “Hi,” I whispered. I swallowed thickly, tears burning in my eyes. “I missed you.” I croaked. “It hurt so fucking much to think that you were gone -.”

  “Easy.” He soothed as he cupped my cheek, brushing his thumb over my cheekbone. “You know I’ll never leave you.” He reminded me. “That has always been my one promise to you. Always remember that promise, pretty girl.”

  I sniffled as a tear ran down my cheek. “You’re my rock, Joey. I can’t ever lose you.”

  He gave me a tender smile, one that warmed my heart and melted my soul. “I’ll be your rock for as long as you need me to be.” He told me. I smiled at him – a broken smile. “Always so fucking pretty.” He breathed. He leaned forward and soothed his lips over mine. I softly sighed into the kiss, reaching up to clutch his shirt in my fist, holding him with me.

  “We may fight; we may clash heads, but you fucking hold me with you for as long as you need me, pretty girl.” He told me. Another tear ran down my cheek. “Tristan tries, baby, but he doesn’t see you. So, you hold me with you for as long as you need.”

  “Lay with me?” I quietly asked him.

  I slid over, allowing him to slide into bed with me. He instantly wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him. I snuggled further against him, desperately needing every part of him wrapped around me at that moment. “I know things are different, Adelaide.” My throat closed up with tears. I wasn’t ready to hear this. “It’s not just me anymore. I know that. But something in my gut tells me that it’s not going to be just Tristan, either. It doesn’t end with him, pretty girl.”

  “It may,” I whispered, my voice breaking. All I knew at that moment was that I wanted Joey, though. To hell with everyone else.

  Joey shook his head. “The vibe between you two – it doesn’t sit right with me. You’ve changed – changed too much for you two to ever fit together again.” He drew in a deep breath. “Adelaide, when that man comes along that warms your soul – that sets you on fucking fire – you need to let this go between us.”

  I clutched his shirt in my fist, shaking my head. “Never.” I croaked.

  Joey sighed as he brushed his lips to the top of my head. “You will; I know you will.” He said quietly. “Just go to sleep, pretty girl.”

  I shut my eyes, not wanting Joey to know how much he was ripping my heart apart. I knew things were coming to an end between us.

  But I would hold him with me for as long as I could.

  NINE

  ADELAIDE

  Zyla blew out a harsh breath as she stepped up behind the bar where I was currently mixing a drink for one of the new girls. “I knew he was going to be upset about me being back, but I didn’t know it was going to be like this.” She told me as she grabbed a glass and filled it with Jack before she tossed it back, her face screwing up at the burn.

  Zyla had never been much of a drinker, and it looked like that had never changed.

  “You were the love of his life.” I reminded her. She sighed, closing her eyes at the reminder, pain momentarily flashing across her face. “And you ripped his heart out when you divorced him for Rodney.”

  She swallowed hard. “I did it for a good reason, Adelaide.” She told me quietly as she stared down at the counter. I glanced over at her, intrigued. “I’m still madly in love with him, but I wouldn’t change my decision to destroy him. I did what I had to do.”

  I handed the new girl her drink and watched as she sauntered off towards one of the club men. I turned back to Zyla, turning my body in her direction. “Then why did you leave him, Zyla?”

  She grabbed a beer out of the fridge for one of the men. “Promise you won’t say anything – not even to Tristan?” She asked me.

  I nodded. “You’ve got my word, Zyla.”

  She blew out a soft breath as she handed the beer to the guy who had asked for it. “Rodney got out of jail.” She told me. I nodded, at least knowing that much. Rodney had been her ex when she and Jesup got together. They broke up when she was sixteen when he went to jail for a felony drug charge, and she met Jesup a few months after that. “And he wanted me back. He threatened to kill Jesup if I didn’t go back to him, Adelaide.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I couldn’t take it if something happened to Jesup because of me.”

  I handed another guy a beer. “Then, why are you back now?” I demanded to know. If she did all of that to protect Jesup, why would she come running back here? Wouldn’t that just put him in the same danger she had originally tried to protect him from?

  She shook her head, a humorless laugh spilling from her lips, sounding almost hysteric. “Our place got searched by the FBI – Rodney got locked back up. I know he’s going to get out on bond, and he’ll probably get off with a slap on the wrist since he has so many damn connections these days, but I’m running before he has the chance to get out.” She swallowed hard. “So, I came back here for a few days, just until I can figure out where to go.” She informed me. “I can’t let him trap me again.”

  “You got money?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “I took all of Rodney’s cash. He kept a few million in his safe. The FBI didn’t find it.”

  I studied her for a moment. “Where do you plan on going, Zyla?”

  She shrugged, pouring a drink for one of the girls. “I don’t know right now. I’m still working that out.” She blew out a breath. “Somewhere far, though. I don’t want him to ever find me again.” She shrugged. “Might have to learn to live off the grid, to be honest.” I frowned. I hated this for her.

  “Zyla, why don’t you just explain everything to Jesup?” I asked her. I knew he would protect her if he knew what had happened – knew why she did what she did.

  She instantly shook her head. “No.” She snapped. “It’s out of the fucking question.”

  I clenched my jaw at her stupidity. “Jesup is still in love with you, Zyla. I can tell you right now that man has never stopped loving you. He can take care of himself, Zyla. And he can take care of you, too, if you would just give him the chance. This could be your chance to not have to spend the rest of your life running from Rodney.”

  She shook her head. “I killed his kid.” She told me quietly. My eyes widened in shock. “I couldn’t let Rodney know I was pregnant, and I’d never gotten the chance to tell Jesup. So, I had an abortion.” She shook her head. “I can’t ever go back to him, Adelaide – not with that weighing down on my shoulders.” She blinked back tears. “How could Jesup ever forgive me for something like that?”

  “Give me something that’s going to fuck me up.” Jesup snapped as he stepped up to the bar. “And I want Adelaide to make it.” He snarled when Zyla got ready to pour him a drink. She flinched. I scowled. “I don’t fucking trust you to make me a damn drink, you traitorous fucking bitch.”

  Zyla swallowed hard and stepped back from the bar, pushing through the door that led to the kitchen. I glared at Jesup. “I think you owe her a fucking apology.”
I snarled at him.

  Jesup barked out a laugh. “Me, owe her a fucking apology?” He demanded. “Girly, you’re out of your fucking mind. I don’t owe her a goddamn thing. She left. She betrayed our marriage. I didn’t do shit. She doesn’t deserve a goddamn apology. She deserves every bit of shit that I’m throwing her way.”

  I wanted to snap his neck at that moment. I could take one look at Zyla and know that she was running from something. Tristan could, too, otherwise he wouldn’t have allowed her to stay here.

  Jesup was either blind as fuck, or he was choosing to ignore her silent pleas for help and protection.

  “Then, you’re out of your goddamn mind if you think I’m making you a fucking drink.” I snapped, grabbing Zyla’s drink and throwing it in his face.