Love Betrayal

Chapter Twenty-Three

Bella

I warned Damon not to mess with Corey, but he didn’t listen.

When River sees them, he pulls Damon off her by his T-shirt and then punches him in the face. It doesn’t stop there—Damon fights him back but River just keeps going for him. Corey tries to stop it, but I don’t want her to get accidentally hit, so I pull her away and call for the men. Jeremiah and Jag rush over and get between them and stop it, but Damon walks away with his face covered in blood.

It looks bad.

Damon is a good fighter, but River was in a rage, and he wasn’t holding back.

Corey starts crying, and I do feel bad for her, but she was playing with fire and she knew that. She should at least not do it right in front of everyone. But River was out of line to get so aggressive, and I know he must feel bad now. Not that he’d ever admit it. And if he doesn’t, he should.

He comes out of the shower, knuckles busted, and a cut lip from a hit that Damon got in. I have to give it to him, Damon didn’t go down without a fight. But there’s too much going on right now and we don’t need the men in our own MC at war, too. We need to be one, a unit, and not carrying on like this.

“Corey is an adult,” I say gently. “She’s a woman, not just your little sister.”

“I know,” he replies, sitting down on the bed in his towel. “But she’s young and inexperienced.”

“And why do you think she’s inexperienced?” I ask in a dry tone, blinking quickly. “She’s never had a chance to casually date, or do anything the rest of us did, because you scare the shit out of anyone interested in her!”

A muscle works in his jaw. “She’s not in the right place to date someone.”

“Even if that’s true, it’s her decision. It’s her life,” I say, moving closer to him and resting my head on his shoulder. “I love you, River. More than anything. But I’m telling you, she is going to pull away from you if you can’t treat her like an adult.”

“That’s my baby sister, and I don’t want her with a guy like that,” he says, gritting his teeth.

“A guy like what?” I ask, brow furrowing. “Damon is a nice person, and trust me, she could do a lot worse.”

A muscle works in his jaw. “Look, I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did, but I still don’t like it. I will apologize to her.”

“I think that’s a great idea.”

I’ve never been so happy to be an only child in my life.

Corey is sitting outside in the dark looking at the stars when I go looking for her. I turn the light on and join her.

“Damon went home?” I gather.

She nods. “Yeah, I cleaned him up and gave him an ice pack for his face. Then Romeo came back and was pissed, told Damon to go.”

I imagine he would be angry; he left the clubhouse for twenty minutes and came back to that. He’s already stressed enough with all that has been happening and with Julianna being pregnant.

“I’m sorry, Corey. That shouldn’t have turned into such a big...thing,” I mutter, reaching out and holding her hand.

“It was my fault. I’m the one who kissed him,” she says, looking over at me with tears in her eyes. “I should have been more private, I know. I was an idiot, but I just got lost in the moment.”

“It will be okay,” I promise her. “And don’t feel bad, it wasn’t your fault. I did warn Damon, so he knew what he was getting into.”

“Why am I stuck with the brother who has to be warned about?” she grumbles, scrubbing her hands down her face. “I love him, but oh my god, he can be so frustrating. It was just a kiss. My first kiss, actually, and not one I’ll be forgetting anytime soon.”

Her first kiss?

Fucking hell.

“Oh, Corey,” I sigh, really feeling for her.

The sliding door opens and a freshly dressed River steps outside, his hair damp. I stand up to leave, but Corey says, “No, don’t go.”

River sits on the other side of her. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have reacted like that. It just took me by surprise to see you...kissing someone. I’m your older brother and it’s my job to look after you. And I know how men think and I just...want you with someone good.”

“How do you know who is good if you aren’t going to give anyone a chance?” she asks, looking over at him. “I’m not a child anymore, and I need to be able to have a little freedom without worrying about you coming in with guns blazing.”

“I mean, could you not have your freedom in the clubhouse hallway?” he asks, clearing his throat.

She laughs a little. “Yeah, I guess that sounds fair.”

He holds his arms out and they hug, and it’s very sweet. And then she reaches over to me and gives me a hug, too. “Thank you,” she says, smiling.

I don’t think I did anything, but I smile in return, just happy that she’s no longer upset and the two of them are on good terms again.

We do not need any more drama for a long time.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” River says when we get back to our room.

“What is it?” I ask, sitting cross-legged on the bed.

He starts to pace, and that’s how I know that this is something important. “Remember the night we had the party here for Jeremiah’s birthday?”

“Yeah.”

“Romeo’s mom was drunk, and she told me something. She said that my father was really Andrew, Romeo’s dad, not Robert, who I always thought was my father,” he says, stopping and pinning me with sad, blue eyes. “I asked my mom and she admitted it was true. I don’t know if Andrew knows or not, but...”

I stand up and hug him tightly. “You’ve just been holding on to that?”

“Yeah, I think I just needed to process it before I told you,” he says, rubbing my back with his big hands. “It just took me off guard. Robert was an asshole. He was abusive. You saw my mother’s eye? That was because of him. He was an angry and violent man, and he didn’t make our childhood easy. And to find out now that the whole time he wasn’t even my biological father?”

Shit. It’s a lot to process. “Do I want to ask you what happened to Robert?”

He freezes and holds my gaze. “Do you want to ask what happened to him?”

“Do you remember what I said to you when I saw you in the garage?” I know this is a turning point in our relationship.

“I do. So I want you to know that I will tell you the truth if you ask me. But we can’t walk it back once I do. Is this really what you want?”

His words give me pause. He’s going to tell me the truth. He’s going to answer me. Shit. I really think about what this would do to him and what he is saying.

I take a breath. “Let’s say I don’t ask. But assume I know. Do you think what I am assuming is correct?” I’m assuming Robert will never see the light of day.

He clenches his jaw. “It frustrates me that I know what you’re assuming. But what you are assuming is most likely true.”

I nod and put a hand on his forearm. “Thank you for being as honest as you can be with me. I love you.”

He nods his head and looks down. I know I need to change the subject. “You haven’t told Romeo? About Andrew?”

He shakes his head. “No, I don’t think I’ve been ready to speak about it until now. I know I should have told you earlier, and I’m sorry I didn’t. I just needed a little time before I said it out loud. And as for Romeo, I will talk to him. I don’t know how he’s going to take it.”

“I wish you did tell me sooner, but I understand it must have been hard for you to process. You’ve been like brothers with Romeo this whole time—this will just make it official,” I say, kissing him gently. “And I’m here for you no matter what. You know this.”

He rests his forehead against mine and closes his eyes. “It’s us against the world.”

Us and the whole MC against the world.