Chapter 25 #2
“Hey,” she says, pushing the box of cereal my way.
“Hey,” I mumble, grabbing the extra bowl.
While I prepare my food, she scrolls through her phone, and I eye her silently. Does she know about this war? What does that even mean?
“Draven?”
“Hm?”
“Are the Aces and the Saints enemies?” I ask and she looks up, her brow crinkling.
“Yep.”
Okay, so why does she hang out with Kidd?
Although a mystery it’s not relevant to my situation and instead I ask, “Do you know why?”
With a shrug, she sets her phone down and says, “Goes back to before I was born. Territory and shit.”
After taking a bite of the cereal, I ask, “If my dad is one of them, why would the Saints want to know?”
When her eyes meet mine, I suppress a shiver at the thousand-yard stare, as she says, “Because they killed people.”
Killed people…Joey mentioned this once before, but I think the notion was too insane to contemplate. Yet here we are.
Would the Saints punish me for the sins of my father?
“Look,” she says, shaking her head. “You can tell Maddox what you told me, but…”
“But?”
“If they know about your pops and they do, it’s only a matter of time before they start asking you questions.”
They already have although I don’t point that out. Is Maddox even now speaking to his dad about me? What happens when he comes back?
If what my mom and Joey said was true, then I would be a fool to stay. However, I’m afraid to leave because I don’t know what awaits me at home.
Maddox may be my enemy by the standards of the Aces, but I have to trust someone and so far, he’s the only one who hasn’t lied to me.
That’s got to count for something right?
So, when Draven announces that she has to go back to the clubhouse, I go along.
It’s quiet when we roll up and as she leads me up the stairs, I whisper, “Where is everyone?”
“Church,” she says, and I eye her sideways. I have a feeling that doesn’t mean what I think it does.
It’s a quick walk down the hall before we enter another room. Although outfitted with the same queen bed, dresser, and television as Maddox’s room, this one looks like a tornado blew through it.
Discarded clothes lay in heaps along the walls. Jewelry, cash, and condoms line the dresser, obscuring the bottom half of the television.
Draven’s perfume tickles my nose as I close the door behind me and ask, “Is this your room?”
“It’s Romeo’s,” she says, her head in her phone.
Romeo?
Visions of the heartbreaker’s caramel eyes rise as I silently sigh and sit beside her on the bed.
It’s quiet but for Draven’s tapping on that damn phone and while she does whatever, I glance at my own.
Mom hasn’t called back since our conversation earlier. I’m worried that she might come looking for me, but I can’t imagine she would show up here.
Maybe it would be the smarter move to go home but it's too late now. Instead, I drop to the pillow and try to concentrate on the television.
Later, when I rouse, I find myself in Maddox’s room and glance at my phone while he rifles through the stuff on his dresser.
He’s so beautiful, even in worn jeans and a long sleeve henley that my fingers burn to touch the silky strands of his hair. I want to trace the sexy dimple in his cheek before resting against his broad chest and telling him everything.
I’ve put this off long enough and bowing my head, I watch him out of the corner of my eye when I mumble, “Joey…my dad is gone. Now some scary dudes are looking for him.”
My stomach sinks when Maddox stiffens and I suppress a flinch as he swings toward me and growls, “What?”
The deadly soft tone sends a chill down my spine, and I touch the pulse pounding in my throat when I say, “He skipped out.”
When he crosses his arms, I eye his stone-cold expression with unease. He’s MC. He’s dangerous.
This was stupid and my belly swirls as I say, “Never mind.”
I’m used to the Maddox who teases me or even the one who’s annoyed but this version reminds me of who I’m dealing with and it’s not pretty.
“Who came looking for him?” he asks, stalking toward me.
Swallowing, I drop my gaze to his chest. “They wear vests like you but…they’re different.”
I’m afraid to say the Aces, afraid to seal my fate after Joey’s warning but I can’t do this alone and despite the circumstances, Maddox feels far safer than those assholes.
When he grabs his neck and bows his head, my chest clenches brutally.
Finally, he exhales and says, “It’s a cut. Who knows you’re here?”
“No one. You.” I shrug.
I can’t decipher his mood, but it feels distinctly more menacing since Joey came into the picture as an asshole named Snake who ran from the MC, he swore into…or whatever.
While Maddox seems to wage some internal battle, I inspect my cuticles. Anything to not reveal the panic pressing at my chest until he says, “I have to tell my pops.”
At that, I slump, pushing back tears.
I’m so fucking alone and expecting this guy to help was more than foolish. He doesn’t know me. He doesn’t care. Hell, he thinks I’m a danger to his family.
Now I have to face off with his dad?