by T. O. Smith
I never really gave much of a fuck about anything until Adelaide popped back up a little over a year ago. And the way he’d been treating her since he’d found her again? I’d lost count of the number of times I’d almost stepped over my boundaries and punched him in the fucking face, especially recently.
“I don’t fucking threaten her, River,” Tristan growled as he turned his dark eyes to me. “Learn your fucking place.” He snarled.
I shook my head at him, keeping my mouth shut, not wanting Adelaide to catch heat if Tristan decided to think that I had feelings for her.
I mean, I did, but he didn’t need to know that. Everything between me and Adelaide was only mine and Adelaide’s business. She didn’t want anyone knowing right now, and as long as she wanted it that way, I would keep it that way, no matter how much I wanted to openly claim her as my woman.
Jesup met my gaze from across the table, a knowing look in his eyes. I clenched my jaw, worried he may say something, but Jesup surprisingly kept his mouth shut, watching as Adelaide strode back into the warehouse.
“You’ve got company, boys.” She stated, sounding careless, but I could see the fear in her eyes. I moved away from the table, my hand going for the gun in my cut.
Tristan moved from the table. “Who?” He demanded.
“Oh, brother, remember me?” Red asked, stepping in behind Adelaide, his gun pointed at the back of her head. I clenched my jaw in fury, stepping forward before Jesup clamped a hand on my shoulder. He gave a slight shake of his head at me to warn me to keep my cool. Reacting like this would set Tristan off.
And Adelaide didn’t fucking want that.
But right then, she was in danger. I could give less of a fuck about how Adelaide felt about Tristan knowing about us. I would not let her get hurt just to save Tristan’s feelings.
“Let Addy the fuck go.” Tristan snarled. He knew Red was my brother – knew about the bad blood between us.
Red’s eyes met mine, the same blue color as mine. “Grim doesn’t know, does he, River?”
Fuck. How the fuck did he know? “Shut the fuck up, Red, and let Adelaide go.” I snapped.
He shoved Adelaide onto her knees, the gun held at the back of her head. Her knees hit the concrete floor with a sickening thud. Her pulse was jumping wildly at the base of her neck, her eyes begging me to save her. I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to keep a clear head. Thinking with my rage would only get Adelaide hurt. “You going to suck my dick as good as you sucked River’s, baby girl?” Red asked her, a taunt in his voice.
“How the fuck do you know?” I glared, ignoring the rage on my president’s face. I would deal with him later. Adelaide was my main priority. I just needed to give one of these dimwits enough time to incapacitate my brother.
I watched Joey move out of the corner of my eye, but I didn’t turn to look at him, not wanting to alert Red.
“Fucking with the garage doors open probably wasn’t your brightest move, brother,” Red smirked. “Especially with how loud she was screaming your name, begging for your cock.”
I quickly raised my gun, pointing it at him. “Two seconds to let her the fuck go,” I warned. And he knew I would pull the trigger.
Red smirked and kicked her to the ground with his boot to her back. I rushed forward, shoving my gun back in my cut, ignoring Grim’s angry gaze on my back. Joey punched Red in the side of the head, knocking him out cold as I moved towards Adelaide and grabbed her off of the ground, drawing her shaking form into my arms.
“What the fuck, River?!” Tristan finally roared.
I pressed my lips to Adelaide temple. She shook her head, her hands grasping my face, tears building in her eyes. There was so much fear in her eyes – fear for me. “Go to Joey,” I told her softly.
She swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, River.” She whispered, hot tears sliding down her beautiful face.
I smirked down at her, trying to soothe her. I wasn’t afraid of death, and honestly, if I was going out all because I loved her, then it wasn’t a bad way to go. “I’m not,” I admitted. “Now, go.” I gently coaxed.
She moved over to Joey where he slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her against his side, supporting her. “You fucked my woman?!” Tristan roared at me.
“She’s not your fucking woman, Grim. You’ve been treating her like shit ever since she got back.” I snapped at him. “How you could expect her to even want to be yours with the fucking way you’ve been treating her is fucking beyond me.”
“I’m a hairsbreadth away from putting a bullet in your skull.” Tristan threatened.
I continued. If I was getting a bullet in my skull, he was going to get a fucking wake-up call, and I hoped that Adelaide would choose to go back to Joey. The man had changed, and I knew he would finally love her how she deserved to be loved if he got the chance.
“If you would treat her right, Grim, you wouldn’t ever have to worry about another man like me,” I told him honestly.
He reached for his gun, and I clenched my jaw, my eyes flickering to Adelaide’s panicked ones. “No!” She screamed, shoving Joey off of her before he could get a better hold on her. She roughly crashed against me. I stumbled with the force she knocked into me with, wrapping my arms around her as I steadied us to keep us both from falling to the concrete floor.
“You’ll kill me first.” Adelaide seethed at Tristan as she clung to me, using every bit of her strength to stay with me.
He clenched his jaw, hurt flickering in his eyes. “Why him, Addy?” He asked her, sounding broken. I almost rolled my eyes. How in the fuck could he be hurt about this shit when he had been doing nothing but treating her like shit? “The first second that I’m gone, and you hook up with the one man that I trusted with you mere hours after I just fucking had you in my damn bed.”
“I’m not the same woman I was a year ago, Tristan.” She told him. She sounded apologetic. I knew she still loved him – still cared about him. She didn’t want to hurt him – didn’t want him finding out this way.
I smoothed my hands over her back, holding her with me, giving her the strength that she needed.
“I don’t give a fuck, Addy!” He roared, thrusting his hands through his hair. Adelaide flinched. I tightened my hold on her. “Fucking hell, woman, you know that I fucking love you! Why would you do this?!”
She swallowed hard, pain flashing across her face. I gritted my teeth. “You never saw me, Tristan.” She told him quietly. “You saw the girl you wanted me to be – who I was before you ruined me on my eighteenth birthday.” His face shattered, revealing the broken man beneath his mask – the man all of us knew he would be without her. Her bottom lip trembled. “Please, Tristan, if you love me, you won’t kill him.” She whispered.
With that, she reached up and trailed the tips of her fingers over my jaw before she strode out of the warehouse.
Tristan’s eyes met mine. I was blown away by how shattered he looked. But this shit? It was his own fault. I didn’t feel bad for him at all.
“You're banished from my fucking club, River.” He informed me. I had figured as much. “You’ve got twelve hours to pack your shit, turn in your cut, and get the fuck out of my town. The only reason I’m not putting a bullet through your traitorous heart is because Addy cares about you, and I won’t hurt her more than she already is.” He looked towards the doors she had disappeared out of. “I’ve fucked her up enough as it is.”
With that, he turned on his heel, disappearing into the office inside of the warehouse.
Joey looked at me. “I fucked up with her numerous times, River. That woman – she has a fucking heart of gold. Love her like she’s always deserved.” He drew in a deep breath. “She’s going to fight you at first. The woman loves me more than she probably should, and she’s going to do her damnest to try not to completely betray the love she feels for me, but I talked to her – tried to talk her into letting me go.”
“She’ll always hold you with her, Joey,” I told him. He sighed
as if he knew that, too. “That, I can bear.” I shrugged my cut off my shoulders, holding it out to Jesup. He nodded once at me, and there was a proud glint in his eyes as he took my cut, almost as if he were proud of me for finally standing up for what I believed in. I looked back at Joey. “But as long as you make her happy, I don’t give a fuck how long she holds you with her, even if that’s the rest of her life.”
With that, I strode out of the warehouse so I could go pack my shit and get the fuck out of Sons of Death’s territory.
■ ■ ■
I threw my duffel bag onto the back of my bike and strapped it down, ignoring the sound of the pounding music from the clubhouse behind me. Tristan hadn’t come back to the clubhouse yet, probably staying away until he got the word that I was gone.
Adelaide had disappeared from the warehouse before I had left, and I had only received a single text from her telling me she was safe and that she would see me before I left.
I straddled my bike, getting ready to strap my helmet to my head when I noticed a slim figure walking through the gates to the clubhouse, her arms wrapped around herself.
Those beautiful, brown eyes that I loved so much locked on me. “Leaving?” She softly asked me as she drew closer.
“Got to,” I informed her as she continued walking towards me. “Grim’s orders.”
“I’m sorry.” She told me quietly.
I grabbed her hips, pulling her towards me. Her hands settled over my shoulders. I slid my arms around her waist, drawing her between my knees. “Don’t be,” I told her. “I’ve been dying to have a taste of you since you came back from Joey’s club,” I admitted. “I’ll never regret anything that happens between us, Darlin’.”
“Where are you going to go?” She asked me, reaching up to run her thumb over the stubble on my jaw.
I shrugged. “Wherever the road takes me, I guess,” I told her. But I had a feeling I would be going back home – home to Texas – home to the club I was born and raised in before family shit drove me away.
“You’ll take care, right?” She asked me.
I reached up to cup her cheek. “Always, Darlin’.”
She leaned down and pressed her lips to mine. I deepened the kiss for a moment, wanting this with her one last time. I knew she and I were destined to be together, but I had to be patient. She would come to me when it was time. And I knew when that time came, she would find me without even meaning to.
After a moment, I released her, strapping my helmet to my head as she stepped back from me, wrapping her arms back around herself.
“Live for me,” I told her as I started up my bike.
She swallowed thickly, tears sparkling in her beautiful, brown eyes. “Always.” She promised.
I peeled out of the lot, leaving the last bit of my happiness behind with her.
But I knew she would find her way to me.
FOURTEEN
ADELAIDE
I tapped my foot lightly on the floorboard of the taxicab in time with the beat of the song playing through my headphones as I stared out the window, watching the rain slide across the glass. It had been raining for a few days, but it was finally predicted to stop for which I was thankful. I normally walked to work but walking in the rain wasn’t ideal. And this taxi fare was beginning to get expensive.
But I was honestly also kind of sad to see it go. It always made me feel a little bit better to see the world as gloomy as I was.
It had been three months since I had watched River ride off the lot, and two months and three weeks since I had left Sons of Death’s charter with a small book bag on my back, ignoring Tristan as he begged me to stay, promised me to be better.
But I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stay. I desperately needed to get away.
Joey had gotten me the money I needed to go somewhere – anywhere I wanted – to start off fresh.
I looked over my shoulder as the sound of a bike slowly reached my ears. I scowled, thinking it was Tristan, but my scowl lifted when my eyes locked on Joey and the familiar President patch on his cut.
“Walking somewhere, pretty girl?”
“Leaving,” I told him. “I was going to call you once I got to wherever I end up.”
He offered me a hand as he slowed to a stop. “Hop on, pretty girl. I’ll take you wherever you need to get to.” He told me. “No strings attached.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. He was letting me walk away. He wasn’t going to try to make me stay.
And I needed to go. I had to get away from here – away from all of this shit and all of the bad, painful memories.
I slid on the bike behind him and wrapped my arms tight around his waist, resting my head on his back. He took off, being careful with me on the back of his bike, though I remembered how to ride. I knew he was being careful because I didn’t have a helmet, and his never fit me. Joey may have always been an asshole, but he was always serious when it came to my safety.
Once we got to the Greyhound station, he parked his bike and let me slide off before he stood off the bike as well, setting his helmet on the seat. I watched as he reached into his cut and pulled out a thick envelope, handing it over to me. “You’re in luck, pretty girl. I just came back from an exchange. Take this.”
I stared at him, my mouth hanging partly open in surprise. “Joey, I can’t -.”
He pulled me to him and slid the envelope into my back pocket. I swallowed thickly, tears burning at the back of my throat. Even after all of this time, he was still trying to take care of me.
“Trust me, my club will understand. They still worship the ground you walk on.” He reached up and brushed the pad of this thumb over my bottom lip. I trembled as I tried to keep my tears at bay. “Do whatever you need to for yourself, pretty girl.” My tears threatened to spill over. “But don’t ever forget that you have a home with the Sons of Hell.”
“I’m going to miss you,” I whispered, my voice breaking.
He pressed a tender kiss to my forehead. I bit back a sob. “Hold me with you, pretty girl. I know you’ll find River, but until you do, hold me with you. I am always just a phone call away if you need me.” He promised. He squatted down some so that his eyes were level with mine. “Let him love you, pretty girl.” A tear slid down my cheek. “When you’re with him, you look so fucking happy, and that’s all I want for you, Adelaide.”
I reached up to trail my fingers over his jaw. “It’s really over between us, isn’t it?” I whispered brokenly.
He nodded, his dark eyes full of sadness. “The relationship part of us – yes. But I am always yours to command, Adelaide. Whenever you call, I’ll be with you. Just hold me while you need me.”
I nodded, more tears sliding down my cheeks. “I love you, pretty girl. I’ll find you again when the time is right.” He promised.
The taxi driver pulled up to the bar where I worked, pulling me from my last memory with Joey. It had been bittersweet, but it had been the good-bye that I needed to officially move on with my life.
I strode over to Lucky’s, the bar that I was currently working at. It wasn’t the best job in the world. My boss was a dick. The men were handsy and disgusting, but it paid my rent and other bills, so I couldn’t complain too much. I was fairly compensated for the shit that I went through here, and I was close to purchasing a car due to being able to save a good bit every paycheck.
When I stepped into the bar, I walked straight behind the counter, going through to the kitchen where Brett was flipping burgers. “Evening, girly.” He greeted with a warm smile on his face. I waved as I moved over to my locker. “Might want to be on your best behavior tonight.” He told me, knowing I could get mouthy with some of the patrons. “The owners are here tonight.” He warned me.
I had been informed when I had gotten hired that a biker club nearby owned the bar, and they occasionally came in to make sure things were being run properly.
What they didn’t know was that I’d grown up in a trap house, seen so many drug deals go wrong grow
ing up that not much shit fazed me anymore.
And then, when I turned eighteen, I got eyeballs deep in it with Joey – sometimes over my head.
I snorted. “Bikers don’t scare me, Brett.” I reminded him.
He shrugged. “Suit yourself, girly.”
I put my bag and my hoodie in the locker, leaving me in my extremely short, jean shorts and my tank top that clung to my curves like a second skin and was cut low to reveal a lot of cleavage. I’d gained quite a bit of weight over the past few months, but it was my doctor’s orders.
I was a little over three months pregnant, and my doctor had me on a strict diet to help me gain weight so I would be healthy enough to nurture my baby because when I’d gotten pregnant, I sure as fuck had not been. I was malnourished and extremely underweight.
