“Why the hell did I leave, Alec? Huh? Don’t tell me how fucking hard it was on you. You have no idea how it was for me! Is for me. To be so completely in love with someone, devoted to them, and learn they can betray you in such a brutal way.”
One arm wraps around her waist, the other outstretched to stop me advancing.
“You never let me explain anything,” I plead, desperation and anger colliding.
“You didn’t have to tell me the details,” she spits out. “You already lit the match, you think I’d stick around so you could watch me burn?”
“You didn’t let me explain!” I roar, my fists clenching. Spinning, I punch a hole through the wall. This is fucking devastating. It’s been years, and I still have this hunger—this need for her. It’s so intense, I can’t think or fucking breathe. And now, she’s so close, yet still so far away.
“I’ve got to go.” She jolts her head, sending her curls dancing. Fuck her. I grab for her wrist, dragging her to me, spinning and pushing her back into the wall, letting my full weight trap her there.
“You’re not going anywhere without me,” I tell her, crushing my lips down on hers. The world disappears around us as we fall down the rabbit hole—two kids, besotted—best friends who would do anything for the other—lovers separated for too long.
Our tongues duel, teeth bite, hands roam. She claws at me, savagely consuming, hungry. My mind splinters. Am I dreaming?
“Wait!” She gasps. “No. No. God no,” she cries out, pounding her tiny fists against my chest. I can practically hear the war drums booming in her head. Old memories are haunting her, but she doesn’t know the facts.
“I’m leaving,” she hiccups on a sob.
“I’ll follow you.”
“Don’t make me kill you,” she growls, the emotion turning to rage. It’s adorable.
“You already fucking did,” I spit.
“Why can’t you just let me mourn my aunt and leave?”
“Because you fucking hated that cunt. You came here for this,” I tell her, waving my finger between us.
“No, I dreaded this happening.”
“Keep telling yourself that, Drew.”
“Don’t call me that. I go by Wren now.”
“Nope.” I jolt my head.
Her eyes narrow. “What the hell do you mean ‘nope’?”
“You heard me, Drewwww.” I drag her name across my tongue.
“I’m not here alone.” She folds her arms in defiance.
Like I don’t already know. She had the fucking audacity to ride into my home on the back of another man’s bike. I’m going to turn the metal into liquid and him into fertilizer. “He has a death wish. That’s on him.”
“Fuck off, Alec. You’re not going to do anything to him.” She says the words with conviction, but there’s fear in her eyes. I hate seeing it there. “Prez, you good?” Kai comes back to check on us.
“Yeah. We’re good.”
“No, we’re not,” Drew bites out.
“You want us to deal with this Demon?”
“No!” Drew calls out, her voice hitching.
“Mmmm, you’ve grown into that skin of yours, Drew.” Kai grins.
“Killer,” I growl in warning. Holding his hands up, he backs away. “I’ll keep people out your way, Prez. Take your time.”
She swivels her full body to face me once again. “Prez?” she breathes. “So, it’s true.”
“Lot's happened since you ran away.”
“You can’t run away if you have nowhere you belong,” she snaps.
“Fuck that. You belong by my side, on the back of my bike, in my bed. We are it for each other—always have been, always will be.”
“No.” She rubs her palms over her face. I let my gaze travel down her body. Tight shorts. More meat on her hips. Long, tan legs disappearing into a bright red pair of Doc Martens. Her tits hiding beneath a black T-shirt. If that’s that Demon’s shirt, I’m going to rip it off her.
“You ruined that for us both. I can’t ever be with you after what you did. Why don’t you get that?”
“Because it’s bullshit,” I state.
“You probably have a ton of different women warming your bed now. You’re the president of the Royal Bastards. Who did you have to fucking kill for that title?” she sneers, poison spilling from her hyped-up mouth. She flinches at her own outburst, knowing my old man must have died for me to be in this position. I decide to ignore it and answer her first statement.
“Women aren’t you.” I watch closely as she winces. She hates the thought of me fucking another woman, still, after all this time, just like I hate that she’s here with someone else. I want to cut the mouth-breather into dog chow for even getting a second with her.
I close in on her once more. Her breath hitches at our proximity. Her face drops so she doesn’t have to look at me. I’m not letting her get away with that. I lift her chin, trapping it between my forefinger and thumb. “I could have a million women, but none of them are you, Drew.” I nip her lips. “You’re irreplaceable. Been missing you, baby. You’re inescapable, and being with you again is inevitable. I refuse for it to be any other fucking way, so you better get used to it.” I lean my forehead against hers and breathe her in before I kiss the tip of her nose “I won’t let you run again. I can’t. I won’t survive it. You can’t see it, but it’s there, our souls—they thrive when we’re together. We need each other.” And then I leave her to soak in the fact that she’s back for good.
Marching through the bar, I gesture with a head tilt for my brothers to follow me. We slip out into the parking lot, our bikes lined up, getting shifty eyes from passersby.
“We dealing with the Demon or what?” Kai asks.
“You’re like a fucking bloodhound,” Jameson scoffs.
“Bloodhounds sniff out blood. I want to bleed them. There’s a difference.”
“I thought a bloodhound was a dog who sniffed out prey,” Jameson grunts.
“You calling me a dog?”
“What’s wrong with dogs?”
“Shut up,” I groan, eyeballing the bike the Demon rode in on. “I want you to find out what you can about this guy. See if he’ll be missed.”
“Does it matter?” Kai grins.
“Yeah, it fucking matters. He doesn’t want to bring a war on his club over killing someone to appease his fucking ego. It’s why he’s the Prez and you’re not,” Halo growls.
“Fuck you, asshole.”
“You’re not my type. I prefer more meat on my bones.”
“I’ll give you meat.” Kai holds up his arm, clenching his hand into a fist.
“Is it my birthday?” Halo taunts.
“Shut the fuck up, both of you. Be ready to move out when Drew does.”
Eighteen
Drew
An hour later…
It was reckless bringing Remy here. I shove his bag toward him and pick up my own. “It’s okay, Drew.” Remy stretches, kicking his legs out and leaning back on the rickety chair in the corner of our motel room.