6. Rogue
ROGUE
My head spins with what is sure to be a fucking disaster.
Why the hell I just told her she’s staying here, with the Royal Bastards, when I saw the look in my crew’s eyes.
This is going to go down like a lead balloon with my crew.
I saw those faces, they don’t believe her, or trust her at all, but there’s something about this woman that makes me think she’s telling the truth, but maybe not all of it. I rake a hand through my hair.
But fucking believing her cost my men injuries. At least they took out the first men through that door who got off more than one round before my men plowed the rest of those fuckers down.
Not once have I ever ducked into a safe room and not gone head-to-head with a motherfucking crew threatening my own until the bitter end, but safeguarding this angel, for whatever reason, it’s now become mine and my crew’s priority.
This woman knows something about the enemy, can give us intel about them that no one else can. That has to be the reason. At least it’s the one I’m telling myself.
Fucking Scorpions, they know their place, they can move around twenty miles out of Tucson, but nowhere near the heart of the city. They move in this direction, and they know the Royal Bastards are going to stomp their asses into oblivion, no matter that they have something to say.
Taking their skanks to the clubs for work, that’s permitted, but only that. And hitting our club, yeah, that’s crossing way over the fucking line.
This green-eyed beauty, she’s no skank, but my crew recognized her dancing for the Scorpions in the local clubs, so she is going to tell me what we need to know.
Yet, I know it’s not even close to the reason that I had my crew protect her from an onslaught of the enemy.
There’s something in that look, the way her bright eyes connected with mine, begging me to have mercy without saying a single fucking word.
I force her to look up at me while sitting on my sister’s bed. “You’re not a plant, but there has to be something you’re not telling me.” It’s not the first time I’ve tried to find out why she’s really here. This time I’m more direct, not giving her a way to avoid the question I want an answer to.
There’s something she’s not telling me, maybe not outwardly lying, but something’s not adding up.
There’s always a tell when someone’s not being completely truthful and hers is twisting a piece of that silky looking hair.
I’ve been face to face with too many men.
Nothing about her makes me think she’s a plant but for my men, especially the ones who were hurt protecting her tonight, I want the fucking truth.
Every single one of us deserve at least that after what happened.
She swallows hard and tears fill her eyes.
The tears seem to annoy her. She swipes at them, but they keep coming.
I use a finger beneath her chin to turn her to me, and tears fall rapidly down her face.
Angel sucks in a deep breath. “I’m truly sorry, there was nowhere else to go.
I couldn’t run anymore, and it was either be caught or knock on the enemy’s door. ”
“And your sister, Arianna? Were the Scorpions holding her too? She ran too?”
The intensity of that gaze is almost blinding. “Ari got away, and I thought if they came after me, they wouldn’t have enough men to go after us both. I’m worth more.”
Fucking worth more sounds like she was a commodity. “You were being held against your will then?” No more circling around the truth, I need to know exactly what the situation was to share it with my men. “Help me understand, so my men know what we’re fighting for, Angel.”
She swallows, and the pulse at the side of that creamy throat begins to race. “I told you the truth. I knew they would come for me if they couldn’t catch us both. At least she’s free.”
I do believe Angel. Maybe it was in that breathless first look she gave me or the plea in her eyes, but it’s not the way I usually roll.
I’d usually be giving her the third degree, and it wouldn’t be as fucking nice as this but damn the way she looks at me all to hell.
Big doll-like green eyes, red silky hair I’d like to have wrapped around my hand as I’m slamming her from behind.
I try to keep my focus on business, but it’s hard not to imagine what’s underneath those tight jeans and tank top because all I’m imagining is a body made for sin.
Still, I may want to believe her, but it’s my job to protect my men and if Angel isn’t who she says she is then I’m going to find out one way or another. “Tell me. I’m not asking again.”
She nods, but there’s something about that gesture that doesn’t sit right at all. “Words.”
Angel exhales a deep breath. “We were given to the Scorpions to repay a debt. I will repay it, but not with my sister. I needed her safe so I had her run, knowing they would chase me.”
I’m still not following everything but more and more I’m convinced that she’s on the level and running for her life.
“What debt?”
Her eyes get misty. She swipes at a tear before it gets to her cheek.
“My mom died, and our stepdad, he liked to gamble and owed a lot of money. Far too much to ever repay. I guess the Scorpions had a buyer who wanted us, and they knew they could sell us for a good profit. Ari, she’s free now though.
I don’t care what you want to do with me.
I’ve done what I need to do for my sister. ”
She says it so matter-of-factly, trying to put on a strong face with tears rolling down her cheeks.
The memory of my past with foster dad after foster dad causes my chest to tighten.
The doll gave herself up willingly to protect her sister.
I’ve seen a lot of macho shit, brave acts in my day from badass men, but never have I seen bravery like this from a woman scared as hell.
“I have things to do, get some sleep. You’re safe up here but don’t fucking try to leave until I get this sorted, got it?”
She nods. “All I want is to lay my head on this pillow and go to sleep. Do you think I could have something for the pain? The anesthesia is starting to wear off.”
“I’ll get you something for the pain. When was the last time you ate?”
Angel swallows. “The day before yesterday. I packed the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches they gave me into Ari’s bag, so she had something to eat. I didn’t have any money to give her and she was going a long way.”
Fuck…
“I’ll be back.”
I head downstairs amid all the chaos, not yet ready to talk to my guys, and head to the kitchen behind the bar.
I have no clue what this woman likes to eat but I have a feeling that anything I bring up will be just fine.
I pull out a leftover box of pizza from the refrigerator and put a couple large slices on a paper plate and stick it in the microwave.
Not one thing to drink in this place with any nutritional value other than water, so I grab a bottle of that and a banana from the cabinets that I’m pretty sure was meant for one of my guys’ protein smoothies in the morning.
When I return Angel looks at the plate in my hand and her mouth opens.
“Thank you so much. I didn’t know how hungry I was until you started asking me about food.
” I set it on the mattress in front of her and Angel is not shy.
She eats the pizza so fast I’m embarrassed I didn’t bring her more. “I’ll go get you some more.”
She shakes her head, peeling the banana. “No, this is fine. I honestly don’t know how to thank you for all that you’ve done.”
As long as the green-eyed doll isn’t giving me a line of bullshit, I’m going to protect her. But that’s exactly what I need to find out after letting her get us into a war with the Scorpions, almost getting my men killed and ripping my club to shreds.
And I fucking will because my men aren’t going to trust her until we know the truth, and they have every right to feel that way.