Chapter 21
ROSIE
Pagan’s intense stare broke with Ash’s, and he sauntered towards the corridor that housed the men’s bathrooms.
“That big, scary biker beast is not happy,” Tristan declared. “You watch your back tonight, Aislynn, ‘cause that’s a man with a plan if I ever saw one.”
Aislynn shrugged a delicate shoulder. “Well, I’m a woman with a plan, too, and my plan is to avoid him at all costs and get through the night without slapping his face.”
My hand went to hers. “I’m sorry, honey.
If I could kick his ass for you, I would, but he’d end up kicking mine, and I’m too pretty to carry off a split lip and a black eye.
Now, Saskia, well, that bitch is a different story.
I know I can take her, so if you want me to kick her ass, just say the word.
Or better still, I’m here for you if you need a wingman to help bury the body. I’m sure Atlas knows places.”
Tristan clasped his hands to his chest. “Oh, I just love girl bonding time. It fills my heart with joy and rainbow sprinkles when we stand in each other’s corners.
It’s like we’ve got our own Scooby gang, like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
” His eyes dropped to my considerable cleavage, and he exclaimed, “Except you bitches are more like the Booby gang!”
Cara, who had turned to listen in mid-conversation, began to laugh. I joined her, giggling at Aislynn, who looked between us, clearly confused. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Buffy!” Tristan yelled.
Aislynn’s face twisted. “Who?”
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer!” he fired back. “And her Scooby gang.”
“She’s too young, Tris,” Sophie interjected from beside Cara. “That show was way before Ash’s time.”
“I think I’ve seen reruns,” Ash stated, her eyebrows quirking. “But obviously not as many as Tristan.”
“It’s a classic,” he announced. “Angel was hot, then Spike came along with that whole bad-boy morally grey hero vibe, and I was done.” He pointed to his perfectly styled but messy bleached blond hair. “Who else do y’all think inspired my do?” He fanned his face and breathed, “Oohwee.”
Aislynn laughed, shaking her head. “If somebody had told me an hour ago that I’d be sitting here laughing about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I’d have told them they needed to check into a psych ward.”
I squeezed her fingers. “Heartbreak’s awful. There’s not one of us here who doesn’t understand what you’re going through, Ash. You’ve got us; we’ll see you right.”
Her head hit my shoulder, and she whispered, “Thanks.”
“It’s gonna be okay, Ash,” I assured her. “Men like Pagan don’t forget girls like you. He may be full of bravado now, but losing you will haunt him. He’ll look back one day and see he threw away something incredible.”
Her head left my shoulder, and she turned to face me. “I feel so stupid. Everyone warned me he was bad news.” She let out a self-deprecating snort. “I thought I could fix him.”
I smoothed her hair back. “We’ve all flown too close to the sun, honey.
You may have gotten burned, but it doesn’t mean you should clip your wings.
When somebody you believe in betrays you, it feels like it’s the end of the world, but your story will go on without him.
Just get back out there, work hard, spend time with your girls, and heal.
It may hurt now, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a blip. ”
Her eyes welled up. “My brother lucked out with you.”
Tears stung the back of my throat, and I fanned my face. “Don’t say nice shit to me. It always makes me cry.”
She laughed. “It’s no wonder Donovan adores you, Rosie. You’re perfect for him—”
“Ash,” a deep raspy voice cut in. “A word.”
Silence fell over the table.
I looked up to see Pagan standing beside us. His eyes were fixated on Ash, and he looked highly uncomfortable.
“There’s nothing I’ve got to say to you,” she clipped out.
My head cocked to one side, and I studied Pagan.
Maybe I didn’t see it earlier because it was getting dark and he was standing too far away, but close up, I could see the dark shadows under his eyes and the stress lines settling around his mouth. His stubble was overlong and he looked like he hadn’t slept for a week.
Pagan may have been an asshole, but he was an asshole with a sliver of integrity at least. In my experience, the only reason a man lost sleep was because his conscience came knocking.
He had some balls for even daring to approach, especially since I’d witnessed a barrage of sketchy looks and attitude thrown his way since I’d sat down, and not just from Aislynn and the girls, but also from the bar where Donovan, Callum, and Atlas stood.
“You can’t ghost me forever,” he told her, his voice husky.
Ash’s reply was icy. “I’m not ghosting you. I’ve told you it’s over and that I don’t want anything to do with you. What part of leave me alone don’t you understand?”
Tristan whispered, “Our girl’s got some moxie.”
I nudged him to shut him up, not wanting to miss any of the Ash and Pagan show.
“You owe me a conversation at least,” Pagan insisted.
“I don’t owe you shit,” Ash retorted. “Especially after I walked into your clubhouse and caught Saskia the slut’s mouth wrapped around your overused, whore dick.”
The music lowered, and necks began to crane. Murmurs swept through the room, and I saw Cash materialize from the shadows.
Pagan leaned toward Ash and rumbled, “We weren’t exclusive. We’d been on a few dates. What’s the big deal?”
“If it meant so little to you, why can’t you leave me alone?” Ash demanded.
I sat straighter as I caught Donovan and Callum approaching, with Atlas and Breaker following closely. Cash joined them, and they stopped a few feet behind Pagan, ready to intervene.
“I never said that,” Pagan argued. His voice was measured, but there was no mistaking his underlying rage.
Ash’s voice softened as if she was resigning herself to what she was about to say.
“We’d been out, and we had a great time.
You said you needed to get back to the clubhouse because you had an early run.
You didn’t even wait for me to drive out of the goddamned parking lot before she got on her knees for you. ”
I squeezed Aislynn’s fingers gently.
A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I just want you to hear me out, baby—”
“My sister’s asked you to leave her alone,” Callum called over. “Back off.”
Pagan craned his neck, his fists balling when he saw the small army of men standing sentry.
“Bet you’re enjoying this,” he snarled.
“I don’t enjoy seeing my sister upset,” Callum bit out. “But it seems to me you don’t give a fuck about hurting her because if you did, you’d show her some respect. Now, she’s asked you to back off. Do as she asks, or we’ll slap a restraining order on your ass.”
“You think that’ll stop me?” Pagan jeered. “I own the law.”
“That’s not quite true, brother,” Atlas argued. “Maybe you’ve got connections in Rock Springs, but here in Hambleton, the law’s owned by our mayor, who also happens to be a former Speed Demon. You’ve got no reach, at least not around these parts.”
Donovan pushed past Pagan and stood at the back of our chairs, resting one hand on Ash’s shoulder and the other on mine.
He didn’t say a word, but he didn’t need to; his actions spoke volumes.
Pagan’s eyes narrowed on Aislynn, and his hand reached toward her. “Last chance, baby. Come with me and talk it out, or I'll take this shit into my own hands.”
Ash let out a brittle laugh. “I don’t think so.”
Pagan dropped his hand and turned his back on us, then he jerked his head to summon his men as he stalked toward the doors leading to the parking lot with his boys taking his back.
A weird feeling slid through my belly, and I knew it wasn’t over. Pagan wasn’t the type of guy who took no for an answer, and he really wouldn’t have liked being publicly told to fuck off—especially by a woman.
Donovan leaned down and asked, “You okay, Sis?”
Aislynn nodded, but I could see she was rattled. Her eyes were fixated on the door Pagan had just stormed out of, and her face was devoid of color.
“Yo! Ash,” Callum called over. “You good?”
She flashed him a fake smile.
It was obvious Ash was wound up and close to tears. Pagan was a scary bastard; to take him on in front of a crowd of people took a lot of bravery. She needed to collect herself and get her head straight, which meant one thing.
We needed an impromptu girls’ chat in the ladies' room.
“Wanna go to the restroom to freshen up?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she replied. “I need to regroup.”
I stood, gently pulling her to her feet.
“I’m coming,” Kennedy said, draining her glass.
“And me,” Maeve added, standing from her chair.
“I’ll get the Pornstars ready,” Tristan called out, already heading toward the bar.
Donovan’s fingers curled around my nape, and he angled my face toward his. “Look after her, baby,” he murmured before kissing me softly on the lips.
I gave him a reassuring smile and bent down to grab my purse before heading toward the bathroom. Our procession of women hit the corridor that housed the ladies' room, surrounding Aislynn like a protective cocoon.
“I had a confrontation with Pagan when we got here,” Maeve said quietly. “I almost peed my pants. I can only imagine how you feel after that just happened. He looked mad as hell.”
I pushed the ladies’ room door open and ushered the girls through it.
Kennedy went straight to the basins to check her hair, glancing at us all through the mirror that spanned the wall. “I thought he’d go after Callum at one point, and props to your guy, Rosie, he waltzed straight past Pagan to stand at yours and Ash’s backs.”
“I thought Pagan’s head was about to explode,” Maeve said, her eyes rounding.