“I know you’re hurting right now.”
“Hanson,” she said, pressing her lips together to try to contain her sobs. “We don’t know each other that well, but I’d really appreciate it if you were quiet. I was dragged from my bakery, hit, beaten, tied up, stabbed, and I just … no. Okay? Just no.”
Tears leaked down her face, and she swiped at her cheek. The one that was still good. The other had a giant bandage over it to help heal her other eye.
She took a deep breath, counting in her head. She wouldn’t break. Not in front of him.
It felt like a lifetime before he pulled up outside of her house, but not a whole lot of time had passed. It was dark now. Raven, Kinky, and Brick had gotten her during a lull. The moment Hanson parked, she climbed out of his car. She heard him park and leave the vehicle.
“You don’t have to do anything more,” she said. “I’m perfectly fine. Thank you.”
“Please, Smokey asked me to take care of you.”
“I don’t want you to take care of me. I don’t want any of you or your club near me again. Get out, or I will call the police.”
She reached into her jeans pocket and retrieved her key. Sliding it into the lock, she closed the door with a slam and flicked the lock right back into place.
Spinning around, she collapsed in a heap and allowed the tears to fall.
All it had taken was a single day. Not even that long. She’d woken up that morning so happy with the world and with her life. After ten years of misery, she’d found happiness. Now it had been stripped away.
She didn’t know what was worse, finding Derek cheating, or this.
Ava rubbed at her chest. No, this had to be the worst. She’d never felt so empty, so lost, so alone.
For the first time since her parents died, she wished they were here. She didn’t know what to do.
The life she thought she’d been building had been swept out from beneath her.
“Ava,” Smokey said.
She jerked up. “What are you doing here?”
“I have a key.”
“Leave the key and get out.” Her hand shook as she tried to open the door to make him leave.
He pressed his body against her back, and she screamed, throwing herself away from him.
She saw the pain in his eyes but didn’t care. “Get out.”
“We need to talk.”
“No. We’re done talking. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
Smokey kept on staring at her. She couldn’t handle it, so she looked at the floor. At anything but him.
He was a monster. He’d destroyed her.
“Get out.” She repeated it so he’d listen to her. This wasn’t a joke to her, or a game. He’d hurt her in the worst possible way.
“I brought your clothes back.”
She frowned. “My clothes?”
“I packed up some of your stuff.”
Her heart broke. “You were going to kill me.”
Smokey’s jaw clenched.
“I’m sorry to have disappointed you that you can’t get rid of me that easily.”
“It wasn’t an easy choice.”
“Sure it was.” She clicked her fingers. “One fire of a bullet. You could have stabbed me. There are any number of things you could have done to me.” She pressed her lips together even as more tears flooded her eyes. “Leave.”
“I thought—”
“I know what you thought. What you and your whole club thought. There’s no way you could have ever imagined a woman, someone like me, showing you loyalty.” She closed her eyes. “I can’t do this now. I don’t want to. You’ve got to leave.”
“Not until I know you’re okay.”
Ava started to laugh. “Okay? You want to know if I’m okay?” She bent over as if it was the most hysterical thing she’d ever heard. “Look at me, Smokey. I’m not okay. Nothing about this is okay.” She kept on repeating the same word. She took a deep breath. “We’re done. We’re through.”
“Ava?”
He went to touch her, and she backed away. “Don’t you dare touch me. After what you did and said, you have no right.”
Smokey stopped, hand clenched into a fist.
She stared at him, not sure what exactly he wanted.
“How are you?”
Ava shook her head. “Please, just leave.”
“I need to know that you’re all right.”
She opened her mouth, closed it, and then snorted. “I can’t do this with you. I don’t want to do this with you. Please, I need you to leave.”
“Ava.”
“Get the fuck out!” She screamed at him. Why wasn’t he listening to her? After everything he’d done, she wanted him gone as far away from her as humanly possible. The clubhouse even seemed too close.
Her heart was broken.
“I know you love me,” he said.
“Yeah, and the story of my life is that you will never love me. Club comes first. Even when an innocent woman is begging for you to stop.” She pressed her lips together and shook her head. “Get out.” She was growing tired of repeating herself around him.
He stayed perfectly still. She couldn’t even see out of one eye. Her hand hurt and the doctor had given her some pain medication to help her sleep. She’d been advised to take it easy and to rest.
All she wanted to do was make herself a hot cup of chocolate and go curl up beneath a warm blanket. Anything beat being near him.
“Ava, please.”
“You’re not even going to apologize to me. No I’m sorry.”
“I did say I was sorry.”
“It’s not good enough. If you really regret what happened, then leave. I don’t want to see you or any member of your club again. I’m begging you to go.”
He still didn’t move as it looked like he wanted to say something, and Ava hated herself as she collapsed to her knees. “Is this what it’s going to take? My body is broken. I told you that you could trust me, and still, you didn’t believe me. I’ve never done anything to warrant your treatment, Smokey. Now, get out. I don’t want you near me. I don’t want to even talk to you. Do me this respect and get the fuck out.” She pressed her hands together, almost begging him, and she saw his teeth were gritted.
She didn’t care.
He had to leave. There was no way she wanted him near her.
He stepped toward the door.
“Leave the key behind you.”
She’d loved it when he’d snuck into her house. The way he’d taken her, made love to her. It was all a lie. A stupid fucking lie.
“No.”
“Fine. Take it.” She’d have the locks changed tomorrow. She was done arguing with him.
“I’m going to leave Hanson outside your house. He’ll keep watch.”
“Scared I’ll run to the cops?” She refused to look at him.
“It’s for your own safety. In case Creed decides to do something else when he sees he hasn’t succeeded.”
She snorted. “He did, Smokey.” She turned toward him. “He completely tore apart what I love. It’s one thing to know of what you do. It’s quite another to be the victim of it, especially when I didn’t do anything wrong.” With her good hand, she rubbed at her temple.