Chapter 21 #2
Aislynn’s expression was genuinely confused.
“I don’t get why. It wasn’t like he gave two shits about me.
If he did, he wouldn’t have dogged me. Pagan was right in what he said; we hadn’t had the conversation, but I was open and didn’t hide the fact that I was into him, and he didn’t hide that he was into me, either.
That was why it was so shocking to be confronted with Saskia getting him off.
But what sent me over the edge was the fact that it was her he did it with.
I told him the first time we went out what she’d done to my brothers and what a bitch she was to Maeve in the past. Then, as soon as my back was turned, he stuck his dick in her mouth. ”
“Savage,” Kennedy cut out.
“Totally,” Maeve agreed.
“My point is,” Ash went on, “I obviously didn’t mean that much to him, or else it wouldn’t have gone down like that—excuse the pun. So why’s he so pissed?”
I dug inside my bag for my lipstick. “Seems to me like he’s suffering from a classic case of ‘don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.’”
“I hear ya, sister,” Kennedy agreed. “He fucked around, and now he’s finding out. Girls like you don’t come along often, Ash, especially not in his world. You’re special, and he knows it.”
The restroom door suddenly opened, and Saskia of all people strutted her ass inside. She stopped dead when she saw us, and a catty smile spread across her face. “Jesus, it’s like I just walked into a really cheap and nasty episode of Sex and the City.”
My eyes swept down Saskia’s skanky outfit. Never did I judge women on what they wore, especially since I was known to push the boundaries of what was considered decent at times, but at the risk of sounding like I was five years old, she started it.
“I don’t know how you’ve got the nerve to criticize anyone when you look the way you look,” I threw back. “I get your new career consists of spreading your legs for bikers, Saskia, but it doesn’t mean you have to dress desperate too. Where’s your dignity, woman?”
Kennedy let out a snort at the same time as Cara laughed.
Saskia’s eyes narrowed on me. “Now there’s the pot calling the kettle black.”
“Maybe,” I retorted. “But you take skank to a whole new low,” my eyes flicked down to her crotch, “I mean, we can see your vagina. Glad there’s no kids here; they’d run away screaming that we were all about to get swallowed up by a big, black hole.”
Aislynn busted out laughing, and Saskia’s glare sliced toward her. “I don’t know why you’re laughing; it was good enough for Pagan.”
“I’m glad I never slept with him then,” Ash returned. “God knows what I’d catch after he’s been with you. You’re not exactly discerning about who you fuck.”
The catty smile appeared again, and Saskia looked around at us all. “Nope. And neither are any of your men.”
Kennedy waved a nonchalant hand. “Yeah, yeah. So you probably fucked Kit before I came on the scene, but then Kit fucked everybody, and in his defense, it took him having PTSD to get into bed with you—that’s if you even had him in a bed. You’re a dirty-fuck-in-an-alley girl if I ever saw one.”
Cara laughed and crowed, “Burn.”
Maeve laughed softly
“I hear you’re knocked up,” Saskia muttered, slowly turning toward her. “Jesus, you’ll be the size of a whale in six months. Bet your husband comes looking for me when he can’t stand to look at your fat ass.”
Maeve paled, but she still didn’t back down.
“I don’t care what you say. Callum married me and ended things with you, and that’s why you hate me, isn’t it?
I got the ring you wanted. All that time, you were just a booty call, and then I came along and locked him down in no time.
It may have been arranged at first, but our second wedding wasn’t, and it took my husband less than a month to propose for real.
You just can’t stand that it wasn’t you. ”
Saskia’s face reddened, and she took a threatening step toward my friend. “You don’t know anything, you fat bitch.” Her arm swung back, and without a thought, I pushed Maeve toward Cara as Saskia’s hand came flying toward us. I let out a grunt and reached up to grab it before it landed.
Taurus the bull saw red.
My fingers dug painfully into Saskia’s skin, and I took a step toward her, leaned into her face, and screeched, “She’s fucking pregnant.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” she spat.
My blood boiled. I pulled my free arm back, took a swing, and landed a punch across Saskia’s face.
She crumpled to the floor, but before she went down, I grabbed her by the hair and dragged her toward the exit.
“I fucking love taking out the trash,” Cara cried excitedly, opening the door so I could pull Saskia down the corridor and into the main bar while the bitch screamed at the top of her lungs.
By the time I hit the party, everyone’s attention was already on the corridor where I swept into view with Saskia doubled over as she stumbled alongside me.
“What the fuck?” I heard Donovan snap.
Atlas yelled, “Go on, Ro.”
“Saskia tried to hit Maeve,” Cara shouted.
Shouts and calls filled the room, but I didn’t even notice through my fury. I stomped toward the door, hardly registering the crowd diving out of my way like I was Moses parting the Red Sea; my focus was solely on throwing Saskia’s ass out of that clubhouse.
I dragged the bitch outside, but instead of being met with darkness, an array of bright lights shone against the door of the clubhouse, like spotlights picking out my every movement.
A deep voice called out, “Did you get it all, Cruise?”
“Yep.”
I craned my neck and squinted at the sight of a Kings of Anarchy brother sauntering up behind me, holding his phone up.
“What are you doing?” I breathed as I saw Donovan storm out of the clubhouse doors toward me.
He approached and caught me around the waist, murmuring, “Let her go, baby, they’re videoing.”
“Don’t mind us. We’re just collecting evidence,” Pagan called over. “Who’s gonna call the cops? Saskia wants to report an assault.”
My heart leaped into my throat.
“Shit,” Kennedy muttered from my back.
Saskia let out a loud whimper, and my fingers immediately released her hair, like the mere touch of her burned.
Saskia hauled ass toward Pagan, who casually sat astride his bike, alongside his club brothers.
He glared at her and jerked his chin at Castle, who was parked beside him, a silent order for Saskia to get on the back of the VP’s bike.
Atlas stalked toward us and stood beside me, folding his arms across his huge chest, and skewering Pagan with a glare.
“She tried to hit Maeve,” I called out, desperation in my voice. “Who hits a pregnant woman?”
“Did she really?” Pagan drawled, his tone almost bored. “So you’re telling me Saskia hit Maeve?”
“Well—n-no,” I stuttered. “But only because I stopped her.”
“Courts won’t care,” he called over, his eyes flicking over Maeve, who was cuddled up to Callum. “She hasn’t got a mark on her. Can’t say the same about Saskia. Cruise has got the video of you dragging her, so you’re gonna have a hard time proving that whole self-defense thing.”
Atlas’s stare bored into Pagan, and a sneer twisted his face as he shook his head at the other man and bit out, “You set my sister up.”
Cash, who stood beside him, shook his head disbelievingly and said, “And you used my club to do it. Bad move, brother. Hope it was worth it because this won’t be forgotten.”
Pagan’s mouth stretched into a wicked smile. “Nobody made your sister beat the snot outta one of my girls. She did that all by herself.”
Cash snorted. “Funny how your man was in the right place at the right time to catch it all on camera.”
“Asshole,” Donovan rasped, pulling me close.
Pagan’s smirk widened into a predator’s grin.
“Been called worse things by better people. You’re about to go through a custody battle, right?
” He sucked air through his teeth. “I don’t like your chances, babe, especially after that video gets out.
Social media’s a funny ol’ thing. It’s fuckin’ crazy how that shit gets shared over and over.
Goin’ viral’s a bitch, and imagine your ex seeing it, or even worse, the courts. ”
Pain burned through my chest.
A ripple of mutters went through the crowd.
“Asshole,” Cara called out, her tone as sharp as cut glass.
Pagan laughed. “Yep.”
“What do you want?” Aislynn’s voice was clear but filled with steel. “Is this because of me?”
Pagan smirked again, victory lighting in his eyes. “If you were to come with me and talk, I’m sure I could convince Saskia to zip it.”
“She’s not coming with you,” I snapped, the pain in my chest turning to fury. “Jesus, is that why you went to all this trouble? Because you can’t stand being told no? Are you that small?”
I caught his flinch, but he masked it with a shrug, feigning nonchalance. “You wanna keep a hold of your woman, O’Shea. She’s got a sharp tongue.”
“She’s only voicing what the rest of us are thinking,” Donovan shot back. “And you need to remember that Rosie’s not just my woman, but also the sister of the ally you just screwed over.”
Aislynn turned to me, her eyes soft but determined. “I’ll go with him.”
“No, Ash—” I started, but she came closer and cut me off.
“I’ll hear him out and leave. Months of dating the asshole taught me one thing: he always gets what he wants, and he’ll take anyone down along the way.
He’ll use that video, Rosie, and you can't afford to have your name dragged through the mud.” She took my hand and squeezed.
“Pagan’s never crossed the line with me once, and he’d never hurt me—not physically anyway. ”
“I don’t trust him,” Donovan argued.
“So trust me,” she pleaded. “Trust that I know what I’m doing. What do you think he’s going to do? Kidnap me in front of all these witnesses?”
“Wouldn’t put it past him,” Donovan muttered under his breath.
Aislynn laughed. “Relax. I’m not a kid. I know how to handle him. I’ll go, hear him out, and make him delete that video, then we’ll all be grand.”
Callum appeared at our little huddle with Maeve under his arm. “You don’t have to go, Ash. We’ll work something out for Rosie.”
Aislynn waved a hand dismissively. “He’s always been good to me except for the incident with Saskia. I’ll be fine.” She turned back to Pagan and called out with a confidence I couldn’t believe she was feeling. “They’re worried you’re gonna hurt me. Can you reassure them I’ll be safe?”
His spine stiffened, fury flickering in his glare. “And what do you think?”
“I told them you wouldn’t,” she admitted. “But I need you to tell my brothers that if I go with you, I’ll be safe?”
His jaw clenched tightly. “Offended you’d even doubt me, Ash. You know I’d never let anything happen to you. I just wanna go somewhere quiet and talk this out. What happens after that is up to you.”
She nodded once, resolute, then squeezed my fingers. Without another word, she walked toward Pagan, taking the hand he offered her, and climbed onto the back of his bike.
“I don’t like this,” I murmured, my heart racing as the KOA boys fired up their engines.
Callum pulled Maeve closer to him. “If there’s one thing about Ash you need to know, Rosie, it’s that once she’s made her mind up, you won’t change it. A part of her must have wanted to hear what he had to say, or else she wouldn’t have gone with him.”
We watched as he pulled away and circled around toward the gate. His brethren followed, and they turned onto the road and disappeared. The roar of their tailpipes faded in the distance as they left us standing in the charged air.
“She’ll be okay, won’t she?” I bit my lip.
Donovan’s arms slid around my waist, and he pulled me back into him. “Ash knows what she’s doing, baby. She’ll be fine.”
I twisted my neck to look up at him, and with a thudding heart, I whispered, “I hope so, honey, because if anything happens to her, it will all be my fault.”