“I know,” Shooter said sharply.
“This changes everything,” he continued.
“I know,” Shooter said again.
“And believe me or don’t, it doesn’t really matter anymore, but when I told them about that drop, I knew none of you were going to be there.” She looked between us all. “I heard you say that it was a drop and go, or something to that extent. I would never put any of you in danger—not because I’m scared of you, but because I care about you all.”
Silence descended like a lead balloon and we all stood there with our tails between our legs. We’d fucked up, bad. We’d been in such a hurry to finish this shit and find someone to blame that we hadn’t looked into it properly, and it had nearly gotten her killed. Belle was far from innocent, and what she’d done was still wrong, but we should have helped her. We should have spoken to her. Let her know in no uncertain terms that we would protect her from anything and anyone.
Belle scrubbed at the tears on her cheeks and finally turned to glare at me, her eyes connecting with mine and burning with pain and anger and resentment. “This is all your fault, Beast. You dragged me into your world, and these monsters came for me because of it.”
And she was right.
Every last word of what she was saying was right.
This was all my fault.
Chapter Seventeen
~ Belle ~
“You should have told Beast. He would have protected you,” Joey was talking, but I wasn’t really listening. How could I? Thirty minutes ago I’d been a dead woman walking, my final breaths ready to be breathed before Beast put a bullet in my head. My future was still hazy and uncertain, and death was still in the cards, but for the time being I was alive.
“The club would have protected you, girl,” Joey continued. “Hell, I would have protected you.” He shook his head, sounding less like the Joey I’d come to know and more like a stranger. He even sounded sad.
“I shouldn’t have ever been put in this situation,” I finally said, still refusing to look at him. “This wasn’t my fight, yet I’ve been dragged into it, terrorized and then told I was going to be killed…by Beast, no less.” My voice cracked on his name, the disbelief that he had wanted to be the one to kill me still squeezing my heart in a vise. “He wanted to kill me.”
Despite him having all the charm and sophistication of an alley cat, Joey suddenly dropped to one knee in front of me and took my hand in his.
“You’re an innocent, Belle, and a friend of the club. We would have protected you until our last breaths. You have to fuckin’ know that. And Beast…shit, bitch, he was punishing himself by killing you. In his eyes, this was his cross to bear.”
I looked up then, my gaze meeting his, and I felt even worse because it was unwavering. I should have told one of them. I could see it in his eyes that he meant every last word of what he was saying. Joey would have died protecting me. He would have given his life to save mine if need be. I wasn’t sure about the others—I hadn’t looked into their eyes—but despite everything that had happened, I trusted Joey enough to know that he wouldn’t lie to me.
“I don’t know this world,” I whimpered, wanting to be strong but feeling so weak. “All I know is that I was asked to nurse a man back to health, and in doing so I’ve been beaten, had my family threatened, terrorized, and then almost killed.”
I stated it as simply as I could in the hopes that he could understand; black and white, good versus evil. Beseeching him to appreciate where I was coming from.
Joey leaned over and pulled me into his arms, and I didn’t fight him. All my fight was gone. The only thing left was a puddle of despair and worry. I’d been agonizing over this stuff for weeks, and to have it all out in the open was like breathing fresh air. Joey held me and I sobbed quietly, hating how pathetic I was, but glad to be able to let it all out. Glad to be able to confide in someone.
The door to the Church, or whatever it was called, suddenly opened and Beast stepped out first, his eyes flaring in annoyance when he saw Joey holding me.
“What the fuck is this?” he yelled, storming forward.
Joey let me go and jumped back up to his feet. “Sorry, just comforting her.”
Beast stormed forward and grabbed Joey by the front of his scruffy black tee so quickly I barely saw him move. He slammed him against the wall hard, so much so that I felt the vibrations through my feet.
“Oh yeah, comfortin’ her? You keeping her real happy, prospect? You making sure she’s well looked after?”
The murderous intentions on Beast’s face were obvious to anyone who looked. Anyone but Joey.
“Yeah, for sure, Beast. I’ve been looking after her for weeks!” he said innocently, and it seemed I wasn’t the only one that wasn’t cut out for this life.
Beast slammed Joey against the wall harder and I jumped to my feet. I grabbed Beast’s arm and pulled, but his muscles had solidified and turned to stone.
“Get off of him!” I practically screamed. Beast slowly turned his gaze on me and my eyes narrowed. God, I hated him so much. “What is wrong with you? You’re unhinged!” I tugged on his arm again, but he still wouldn’t budge.
“You letting the prospect keep you cozy now, Belle? First the Italian, then me, and now him? You working your way through a lot of men.”
I glared at him before reaching back and slapping the side of his face so hard my hand stung and I yelped in pain. But I wasn’t done. I wasn’t even nearly done. I hit him again, and again, slapping and kicking and growing more infuriated by his lack of response.
“How dare you!” I screamed.
“Beast!” Shooter yelled as the rest of the men came out of the little room. “Let the fucking prospect go! Gauge, grab the bitch before she hurts herself.”
I could feel the anger emanating from Beast. It was like the beams of the sun—heat and radiation vibrating from him and burning everything it touched—but he made no move to stop me from hitting him, or to hit me back. He just glared and took my anger.
Gauge stormed toward me. He grabbed me around the waist and dragged me away from Beast even as I continued to yell and scream, all self-preservation out the window.
“I was crying, okay!” I shouted. “I was crying because you wanted to kill me, Beast, and Joey was hugging me and telling me I was an idiot for not coming to the club about this. He was telling me that he would have protected me—that you would have protected me!”
Beast’s nostrils flared like a bull ready for a fight. His gaze never left mine and I let out a shaky breath. I was so done with all of this. It was too much. How did they live with this every day of their lives? How did they survive this drama? This heartache? This fear?
Beast suddenly let go of the prospect. He looked Joey up and down, his jaw twitching so violently I wasn’t sure why something hadn’t broken in it. The room had fallen into silence; a tense standoff between me and Beast. Gauge was still holding onto me, his arms locked around my waist. I was breathing hard, practically panting in equal parts fear as anger, and Beast looked like he was having the same problem too. His chest was heaving, his nostrils flared. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to kill me, beat me, or fuck me. But the look on his face said that it was maybe all three.