Chapter Eight
My head feels as if it’s about to explode, making me whimper. I bury my face into my pillow, attempting to block out as much light as I can.
What the hell happened last night?
As I lay in misery, the day comes back to me.
I woke up, and Bullet was gone.
I went to a pool party where I drank more than I probably should have. On top of that, I smoked weed, but it tasted weird. It was probably laced with something.
Outside of that, things are a little hazy, but I do remember Bullet dragging me home.
Bullet.
Always there to ruin my fun.
I fucking hate him.
Why does he do this to me? Why do I fall for his shit time after time? It’s like when he’s around, all rational thought leaves my brain and I agree to do whatever it is he wants.
He’s an asshole.
Not really. Jacob’s so far from an asshole it’s not even funny. He’s one of the most caring people I’ve ever met. I swear to God his parents cracked the code on raising a good kid.
I wonder if his siblings are like him…
“Oh, good, you’re awake,” a voice rasps.
Groaning, I throw my arm over my face. I don’t want him to see me like this.
“Can’t you leave me to die in misery?”
Despite the fact I whispered it, my head pounds like I yelled it.
“You know I can’t do that.”
Uncovering my face, I sit up and glare at him. “Just fucking leave me alone already, okay? I don’t need you or a fucking babysitter. I want to be left alone,” I snap, my temper getting the better of me.
Bullet’s arms cross over his chest, and he glares at me. “You know, maybe I would believe that you don’t need a babysitter if you acted like a fucking adult. You keep putting yourself in dangerous fucking situations despite me begging you not to. It’s like you have a goddamn death wish.”
“Yeah, well, maybe I do.”
Hurt flashes across his face for a second before he masks it.
“You say that now, but don’t forget, I know you, Harlee. I know you,” he says, pointing a finger at me. “In case you forgot, you are in trouble right now. Shit with William is heating up, and the club is bracing for war.”
“That has nothing to do with me. I’m not a part of your stupid club,” I tell him as I chuck a pillow at him. Bullet catches it mid-flight and tosses it back onto my bed.
“Again, proving my point that you are acting like a fucking child.”
Hurt courses through me.
“Say whatever you want to say and get out,” I rasp.
He looks to the side as if he’s contemplating what to say. “You know what, fuck it.” He mutters before looking back at me. “Your mom’s accident might have been just that, an accident, but for a minute we didn’t think it was.”
I scoff. “Bullshit. It was raining. Are you seriously going to listen to the conspiracies of a drunk man?”
Claiming my mother’s death wasn’t an accident is one of my father’s favorite pastimes. He refuses to believe it was a case of bad luck during a storm.
“We know now it was a fluke of wrong place, wrong time, but that doesn’t mean the next time it won’t be an accident. Knowing your luck, you’ll be next,” he snaps.
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me. You take drinks and drugs from people you don’t know. You give absolutely zero fucks about your life and have no survival skills. As of right now, you will be the idiot who willingly gets into the car and is killed by a serial killer, all in the name of trying to find a good time.”
“Fuck you, Jacob. You’ve gone too far,” I hiss at him.
“Clearly, I haven’t gone far enough if it hasn’t sunk into your thick skull yet,” he snaps.
“I hate you.”
“Yeah, well, I hate you too right now. I’m sick of you always playing victim.
I’m sick of having to constantly keep you from putting yourself into danger.
I’m sick of fucking saving you time and time again.
I can’t keep doing this, Harlee. Between you and the club, I’m running on fucking fumes, and as my best friend, I think you would notice, but you don’t because your head is so far up your own ass that all you see is yourself.
You don’t care about anyone else around you.
You don’t care how badly you hurt those of us who are still here and that love you.
I’m done. I’m so fucking done. If you want to keep being a selfish brat with a death wish, do it.
I won’t stop you. You know where to find me when you’re ready to actually get help. ”
Before I can say anything, he turns and stomps away.
As I listen to the front door slam, tears begin to fall.
I’ve well and truly done it now.
I’ve successfully pushed away the one person who might have actually given a damn about me.
Was he telling the truth, though? Am I really in danger? Not just because of my own actions but because of the club?
I can’t help but laugh. Talk about fucking karma.
My dad did everything he could to try and keep me away from the clubhouse.
Don’t get me wrong, I always knew about the MC and would go for family days, but I was never allowed to hang out there.
None of the other members had kids my age, so when I would go, I would have to hang out by myself. For a while, I stopped going at all.
Then, when I turned fifteen, I started coming around again.
Teenage girls love looking at the bad boys after all.
Then, once I saw Bullet when he was a prospect, I wanted to go every chance I got.
My mom used to tease me about having a crush on him.
Despite my crush, though, I knew nothing would ever happen between us.
Bullet has too many morals to ever break his promise to my dad to stay away. Or at least stay away romantically.
Still, if Bullet says I’m in trouble, then I must be?
The question is, is the trouble based on my own actions or the actions of the club?
Goddamn Harlee.
Why does she have to be such a pain in the ass? Why can’t she do as she was told? Why can’t she keep her promises?
I’m fucking over it.
I wish that were the truth. Even as angry as I am, I know I won’t leave her alone. I’ll only have to be a little more sneaky about it.
A small part of me feels bad for the things I said, but at the same time, I’m not sorry. She needed to hear the truth.
Knowing her, though, it won’t sink in.
She just makes me so fucking mad. She has me tied up in knots and doesn’t even know it. I would do anything for her. Anything but watch her flush her life away.
Even after a fifteen-minute bike ride, I’m still pissed off when I arrive at the clubhouse. I meant it when I told her I don’t know how much more I can take.
Maybe I should hand her care over to one of the other guys. Maybe they will be able to get through to her where I can’t.
The thought of not seeing her every day makes my heart ache. I know space would be good for us, healthy even.
I don’t know if I can do it, though. Hand over that kind of control. Not where she’s concerned, at least.
Sighing, I get off my bike.
“Bullet,” Wrath says, making me look up.
Shit, was I really so far in my head that I didn’t notice my surroundings?
“What’s up?”
“You good?” he asks as I approach.
“I’m fine,” I lie.
Like a good friend, he doesn’t call me out even though he knows I’m lying.
“I’m glad you’re back. We actually want to talk to you,” he says.
“What’s up?”
“Let’s head to Reaper’s office.”
I follow him inside, and we head toward his office. He knocks once before entering.
“Look who’s back,” Wrath says as I step inside.
Colt and Reaper look over at me.
“Perfect timing,” Colt says.
“How did this morning go with Harlee?” Reaper asks.
“I’ll talk about anything else. Just not that. Not right now,” I tell him.
Colt opens his mouth like he’s going to say something but stops when Reaper shakes his head.
“Okay, well, we were about to call you home anyway. Have a seat,” Reaper says.
I take a seat next to Colt and across from Reaper. Wrath moves to stand in the corner and leans against the filing cabinet.
“What’s up?” I ask.
“William’s daughter. We have an idea on how to get her to talk, but before we bring it up in front of everyone, we want to talk to you about it,” Reaper tells me.
“Okay…”
“It would require a sacrifice on your end,” Colt adds.
“I don’t understand.” I shake my head.
“We want you to seduce her,” Wrath tells me.
I jerk back. “What?”
Reaper sighs. “We don’t want you to fuck her or anything.”
“Not unless you want to,” Colt adds.
“But you are the closest in age to her. You understand women her age and how their minds work. We want you to befriend her. Become her confidant. Based on your relationships with our women and Harlee, we think you could pull this off,” Reaper says.
“Objectively, you’re attractive, so it would work in your favor,” Wrath tacks on at the end.
“Just to make sure I’m getting this right, you want me to stage a run-in with her somewhere and befriend her?” I ask slowly.
“Yes,” the three of them say in unison.
I shake my head as I think it over. Could I? Should I? I’m already spread thin as things are now. I don’t know how much more I can handle.
“While you’re working on this, you won’t have to worry about Harlee. We will look after her,” Colt says as if he’s reading my mind.
I know I was just thinking about how I needed space from her, but the idea of actually getting it is…uncomfortable?
Every time I walk away from her, I feel as if I leave a small part of myself behind with her.
“I don’t know…whose idea was this even?”
“That doesn’t matter. The only thing we need to know is if you are willing to make it happen,” Wrath says.
“This is a job only you could do. We need you to step up,” Reaper adds.
Guilt sets in.
I fucking love the club, and I love my brothers. I’d do anything for them, but is this really the right move?
The idea of playing mind games with a girl who’s already possibly being manipulated doesn’t sit right with me. I would fucking kill someone if they did it to my sister.
Not only that, but I hate the idea of leading someone on when I’m not available. My heart belongs to one woman, even if she doesn’t know it yet.
When she finds out about this, though, she’s going to lose her fucking shit.
Still, it’s for the club. We need to know what’s coming. It could be the only way to keep us all safe.
“Okay, I’ll do it,” I say quietly.
All three men relax.
“Good,” Reaper says.
“What do you have in mind?” I ask.
Wrath steps forward and lays it all out for me. It soon becomes clear this isn’t an idea that just came to them. After he’s done explaining everything, I shake my head.
“You guys have been thinking about this for a minute, haven’t you?” I ask.
Reaper nods. “We have. It only makes sense.”
“And it won’t be for long. Just a few dates, and you’re done. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do,” Colt says.
Easier said than done.
“This is your last chance to back out,” Wrath murmurs.
“Honestly, the idea of backing out didn’t even cross my mind,” I tell him.
“Good. Now let’s go grab a drink. Hopefully, by this time next week, we will have an idea of what’s going to happen next,” Reaper says as he stands.
Getting up, I follow them out of the room.
This still doesn’t feel right to me, but at the end of the day, I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure William’s plans fall through and he dies for good.
After everything he’s done to us, all the lives he’s taken, it’s the least I can do.