Once the sun rises and the room fills with light, only then do I force myself to get out of bed and shower. I dress in my new uniform of jean shorts, a tank top, and sandals.
Throwing my hair up in a ponytail, I don’t bother even putting on makeup. Mountain made it very clear that I wasn’t supposed to be going anywhere, so why waste the makeup? Making my way to the bar area, I slip off to the back where Mountain showed me there was a kitchen.
Wrinkling my nose, I smell some coffee brewing, but the scent has always made my stomach turn. Moving toward the fridge, I let out a sigh as I open it. Glancing around, I see beer and bottled water. When we went shopping, I grabbed some fresh-squeezed juice and I’m pretty disappointed that it’s still at the house and that I was unable to grab it.
“Their food and drink selection is crap. I bought myself a mini-fridge and keep it in the other room, away from all these men,” Pinkie announces from behind me.
Reaching for a water, I grab it and stand before I turn around to face her. She’s smiling, holding a cup of coffee to her lips as she watches me.
“I just went to the store before we came here. The fridge at Mountain’s is completely stocked,” I announce.
Her eyes widen and her lips curve up into a grin. “I would say let’s go ransack it, because I’m assuming a girl like you picked some good fresh shit, but I’m not lookin’ to lose my home here or anything.”
“Lose your home?” I ask.
She shakes her head once before taking another sip of coffee. “Mountain was very clear that you’re to stay here. He’d pitch a fit if we went on a joy ride for fruit and veggies.”
I nod my head slowly, she’s probably right. Taking a sip of water, I watch her for a moment. She grabs a carton of eggs from the fridge, then goes about making an omelet. Turning from her, I walk over to the counter and hop up on it, taking another drink from the water.
“You’re a fuckin’ mess, girlie. You want to explain how you got so marked up?” a man’s voice booms.
Lifting my head, I blink at the sight of the man from the night before. Bones. The one from a different club, the one Mountain was talking to when he brought back dinner last night. Pinkie sucks in a breath, spinning around, her eyes flick down to my cheek and then they widen as her lips part.
“It’s not really your business, now is it?” I snap.
He chuckles, taking a step toward me. His slow approach, his almost animalistic movement, should frighten me, but it doesn’t. I don’t know if it’s because Pinkie is here, or if this man just doesn’t scare me.
Maybe it’s because Mountain said that I was safe here, that nothing would happen to me as long as his men were around. I’m not sure and as much as I know that I should be terrified, I’m just not.
“It’s not. But since I’ve known and been around girls with your background for years, I’m thinkin’ you should probably tell someone why you look like you went ten rounds with your man last night.”
Pinkie takes a step toward me, and I think that she’s going to come to my side, but she doesn’t. Instead, she stops right next to Bones. She’s holding a spatula in her hand, wearing a very concerned expression.
“You caught me,” I whisper. They both lean in slightly. “I made Mountain beat the shit out of me before he left,” I quip as I jump down from the counter.
Pinkie snorts as she just shakes her head, probably knowing that it’s a big freaking lie. Bones doesn’t laugh, his lips don’t even twitch. I try to walk past him, but he doesn’t let me.
Instead, he reaches out and gently wraps his fingers around my bicep. His hold is so light that it almost feels nonexistent. I’ve never felt a man’s touch so delicate before. Turning my head, I tilt it back and look up into his eyes.
“When you want to get the help that you need, when you want to talk about what happened to you. Not just to your man, but to people who have lived a life like that. Come to me, babe.”
Instead of throwing up some kind of insult, instead of acting like a bitch, I just nod my head. I don’t say anything. He releases me, his lips turning up into a smile and he dips his chin. Leaving the kitchen, I head back to Mountain’s room, closing the door, I lean against it with a heavy sigh.
What the actual fuck?
Chapter Nineteen
LEIGHTON
I check Mountain’s phone for the fifth time. He’s been gone for two days now and he hasn’t called me, not once. I thought about asking someone if he was okay, but I just can’t get myself to do that. Instead, I check the phone again and again.
I’m sitting in the blowup kiddie pool, soaking up the sun in my new bikini. Nobody has bothered me, they haven’t said a single word. A couple of guys laughed and shook their heads, but nothing else. It feels good, too good. And I know that it’s too good, because there is a human-sized shadow that blocks it from me.
Turning my head, I look up and smile at the woman standing in front of me with a baby. “Hello,” she says softly with a laugh.
Lifting my hand, I give her a wave. “I’m Leighton,” I offer.
The woman is stunning. Downright freaking beautiful. She’s the blonde bombshell with the heavily tattooed man I saw the day that I arrived. She sits down next to me, on a bench, her eyes roaming over me. I recognize her from the day that we arrived and just seeing her around here and there, but I’ve never talked to her.
“I’m Della, and this is Santiago,” she offers, introducing the baby to me.
He’s beautiful. He has a dark tuft of hair and dancing black eyes. Reaching toward the baby, I extend my finger, giving Della a questioning look before I touch him. She dips her chin and I touch the baby’s fingers. His little hand opens and wraps around me, effectively wrapping around my heart in that exact moment.
“He’s beautiful. He looks really familiar, have I met his father here?” I ask, lifting my head to look up at her. “I’ve met so many men, all of the names are a blur.”
Her eyes widen, then she clears her throat. “You know his father, and I’m sure you’ve met his dad, too.”
“What?”
Della lifts her gaze to mine, focusing on my eyes and doesn’t look anywhere else. She shakes her head slowly as her eyes well with tears.
“It’s not my place to tell you, not really, but he won’t. I think you two could have something and too many relationships start off with mistruths, with unsaid truths.”
“What are you trying to tell me?” I ask.
I know what it is, it’s pretty obvious, but I need to hear it from her. “I was like Pinkie. Just for a little while. I have a whole story, but it’s not important. What is, is that I fell in love with a man and I married him. He’s going to raise my son, but he’s not my son’s biological father.”
“Mountain is,” I whisper.
“Mountain is,” she confirms.
The words shouldn’t bother me at all. Plenty of people have children from several different partners. It shouldn’t mean a fucking thing, but it does. My heart squeezes and I’m not sure why. He lived an entire life before I was even born, let alone before I came here. I lived an entire life too.