Chapter 9 Blake #2
Pinch shrugs. “Maybe he wanted to see if you’d tell him.”
“Shit.” If that’s the case, then I failed him. I’m not as close to Linc as I am with Maddox. In fact, I’ve kept a lot of shit that the two of us have gotten into from Linc. Now it’s just guilt eating at me. I’ve got to talk to Linc, ASAP.
“What about the chick?” Pinch’s question makes my fists clench and my blood run cold.
“What about her?” I can’t help the growl that escapes.
“Well, you making her your old lady?” His question lifts a fucking ton of weight off my shoulders. I almost smile. Almost.
“If I’d known her more than a few hours, I’d be able to answer that. For now, just keep your hands off.”
Pinch lets out his signature, high-pitched laugh looking crazy as fuck and Maddox shakes his head, making the ghost of a smile on my face vanish. His lips are pressed in a hard line. He hasn’t looked at me like that since I first came to the club. I feel like I failed him.
“We good?” I ask him in all seriousness. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him. The thought makes my chest feel hollow.
“Yeah.” His hard eyes soften and he grabs me in a bear hug. I pat him hard on the back. Thank fuck.
“I’m fucking sorry.”
“Me too, brother.” He grabs the piece of paper in my hands. “You sure you don’t want help fucking this guy up?” A grin spreads across my face.
“I guess I could use some help.”
“Go take your hellcat home and let me know where to meet you.”
I shake out my shoulders and nod at the guys, leaving the back room feeling like I can breathe easy. The weight that’s been holding me down for years has finally been lifted. I still need to talk to Linc though. Guilt starts to creep up again, but I push it aside. I’ll take care of Marie first.
I search the bar for her, but she’s not there. I grab my barstool and wait for her to come back from the bathroom, figuring that must be where she went. After a few minutes pass, I start to get up thinking she must be upstairs still, but Tammy sidles up next to me, halting my movement.
“Whatcha doing tonight, Blake?” Her flirtatious tone is unwelcome.
She knows damn well I’m here with Marie.
I noticeably lean away from her; if my hellcat comes back down and sees me with Tammy, I don’t know what she’ll think.
Hopefully the way I’m sitting will make it obvious that I’m not interested. To both of them.
“I came here with my girl.”
Tammy’s a pretty little thing, but she just wants to be on the arm of any of the members. I don’t have any problems letting her down easy.
“I know, but she just left.”
I stare at her and my brow furrows in confusion and disbelief. “What?” I look around the main room, searching for her gorgeous ass.
“Yeah, she asked to use my phone and took off.” She says the words easily and leans closer to me, putting her hand on my thigh. I push her off the second her hand hits me. She protests, looking wounded by my rejection, but I don’t give a fuck.
She fucking left me? I try to swallow down the lump forming in my throat.
I really thought we had something. My fist slams on the bar.
I fucking know we had something special between us.
It’s my own damn fault. I pushed her too hard, too fast. It’s the way I’ve always been.
Fuck! I finally got everything straightened out with the MC and the same fucking night, she leaves me.
I’ve got to get her back. I’m not going to let her go without fighting for her.
I ignore Tammy and whatever words are falling out of her mouth, and walk with long, powerful strides to the back room.
Pinch and Maddox are still there, relaxed around the computer and looking at some video online.
When they see my face, both of them look back with concern and Maddox shoots up from his spot ready to take out whoever I need him to.
“She took off.”
The confidence leaves Maddox’s face. He’s never kept a girl, so he wouldn’t know what the hell to do. Neither have I.
“What’d you do to scare her off?”
I shake my head. I know I was pushing her limits, but I thought she could take it. I thought she fucking loved it. I feel like a piece of shit.
I’m pissed that she left. I’m pissed she didn’t tell me she wasn’t happy. I’m pissed that I pushed her too hard. To be honest, I’m just pissed the fuck off. “I just need her address.” I stare pointedly at Pinch. “Where’s that ID?”
“What’d you do to our kitten, Blake?” Maddox interjects.
“She’s not our kitten. She’s mine.” Maddox huffs at my words; his nostrils flare and his fists clench. I can see the wheels turning in his head as the silence settles in between us.
“Maybe if she was ours, she wouldn’t have left you,” he points out easily and I fucking lose it. The last thread holding me together snaps. I’ve been on edge all night and this just breaks something in me.
Adrenaline pumps through my body, burning up my skin.
I hear the loud, pulsing thud of my blood in my ears.
A snarl rips through me as I slam both of my fists into Maddox’s shoulders, landing hard and knocking into him with all my weight.
He stumbles, smashing his shoulder and head against the brick wall.
Before he gains his balance, I land a blow into his gut that nearly has him doubling over.
But Maddox’s a huge fucker who’s taken enough punches to know how to handle them.
He mutters under his breath, “Stupid fuck!” while ramming his shoulder into my gut.
My legs lose their balance as my boot backs into the fucking rug, tripping me.
I fall hard on my ass and elbows with Maddox’s large frame crushing down on mine.
I quickly wrap a leg around his calf and push my weight to the opposite shoulder, forcing him down on his back with me landing hard on his chest. My fist slams into the floor as I try to gain my balance and focus.
It hurts like a bitch as I get up clenching my fists and the movement splits my knuckles.
My left hand grabs the collar of his shirt as I raise my bloodied right fist. But before I’m able to gain my balance and take a swing at him, he plants a punch on my left cheek.
Fuck! I stagger back, both fists immediately going to my face to block any more punches.
I land on my ass, but move to my feet the second I see Maddox breathing heavy and struggling to get up.
“What the fuck are you two going at it for?” Linc’s words barely register as my fist connects with Maddox’s hard jaw.
My knuckles scream at the contact and pain shoots up my arm before running back down to my aching fist. Fuck, that hurt.
Maddox’s got a hand cradling that side of his face and he’s rubbing his jaw. At least it fucking hurt him too.
“Maddox wants to fuck my girl. He doesn’t fucking understand that she’s mine.”
“Fuck you. You may have seen her first, but that doesn’t make her yours.”
“Shut the fuck up. Both of you. You two want to tear each other apart, fine by me. Fight it out in the ring tomorrow.” A moment passes of silence. All I can hear is the blood still roaring in my ears and our heavy breathing. I glare at Maddox before facing Linc.
The second I see him, all I can think about is how he brought me on, even knowing I was undercover.
How he patched me, knowing I was a cop. He has no idea I know.
It feels like everything is crumbling around me.
Fuck. My girl left me, the only girl I ever fucking wanted.
My best friend wants to sleep with her. And the only people I ever considered family have known for years that I’ve been lying to them.
Something hard drops in the pit of my stomach as my heart lurches in my chest.
I open my mouth, but the words don’t come out.
I slam my mouth shut and clench my fists, wanting to beat the shit out of Maddox all over again.
Anything to get rid of this pain pushing down on me.
I don’t know how to tell Linc. How the hell do I tell him?
My blood runs cold and all I can hear is a pounding in my ears.
I hear Maddox spit in the trashcan before he says, “Blake’s got some prick’s info for Roger, Pres.” I glance over at him and he gives me a tight smile. I give the same tense smile back and relax my fists. Even after knocking him around, he’s still helping me out.
It takes a minute for Linc to register what Maddox just told him.
I see the moment it finally clicks, because his face lights up and a smile takes over his face; a rough chuckle barrels through his chest. “Well, it’s about damn time.
” His left hand comes down on my shoulder and squeezes before he grabs me in a bear hug. What the fuck? “Who told you?”
Pinch pipes up before I can respond and says, “Maddox was fucking around with him, Pres. So I told him.”
Linc’s smile slips. “What do you mean?” Before anyone can answer he adds, “Who told you we knew you were a cop?” I feel my forehead pinch in confusion. Why the fuck does it matter? I’m not going to question Linc though. You don’t question Pres.
“I did.” Pinch looks curious too. His normal smile has faded and his eyes are darting between the three of us. I’ve rarely seen him anything other than happy as a pig in shit, so seeing him eyeing the fuck out of everyone is making my own nerves race through me.
“Damn it, Pinch!” Pinch cringes at Linc’s outburst. “You cost me twenty grand.” Linc starts shaking his head before smacking Maddox on the back of his.
We all flinch at the sound, because it sure as hell wasn’t a love tap, and Maddox takes a step closer to me.
As if I can protect him from Pres if it comes to that.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, Maddox?” Linc’s hard eyes bore into Maddox’s as he asks, “He’s the closest thing you’ve got to family, and you didn’t tell him?”
It’s easy to see Maddox’s confusion on his face. He parts his lips to respond, but nothing comes out. His eyes shift hesitantly to me and then back to Linc’s before he points out, “Pres, you told me not to.”
“I told you not to do a lot of shit, but that didn’t stop you two, did it?” I press my lips into a hard, tight line waiting for Maddox to respond. How does he know about that? And what exactly does he know? I’m not admitting shit.
He clenches his fists and opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. His eyes find mine and I shake my head slowly, silently telling him that I didn’t tell Linc anything.
Linc rubs his hands down his face and mutters, “Dammit Maddox, you owe me twenty grand.” He shakes his head one last time and looks at the two of us like we’ve disappointed him.
“You two get your shit settled. But if you wanna fight it out, you do it in the ring. I have to call Roger.” Link slams the door shut on his way out, cursing us under his breath.
The three of us stare at the closed door.
“That’s why he didn’t tell me?” I look between the two of them slowly. “Because of a bet?”
“Who the fuck would bet twenty grand on that?” Pinch’s brows are knitted and he runs his hand through his hair in confusion while sitting back in his seat. Silence settles over the room.
“You know I meant what I said earlier.” Maddox’s voice breaks the quiet.
“Which part of what you said?” For the life of me, I don’t know what he’s getting at. But if it’s about Marie, we’re gonna have problems.
“Maybe between the two of us, we can keep her.” Motherfucker just won’t let it go.
“Don’t make me kill you, Maddox.”
He holds up both hands in surrender, but refuses to shut the fuck up. “Just listen to me.” I shake my head and curl my lip as rage pumps through me. “I know she’s not just a piece of ass.” His words make me pause, but only for a second.
“You think she’s going to listen to you when you show up at her place?” My eyes dart to the floor for a split second in doubt before meeting his.
“You think she’d listen to you? But not me?” I sneer and resist the urge to spit.
“Calm the fuck down, Blake.”
“Fuck you! You’re trying to take her from me!”
“I’m not taking anything from you. I want to share her.” My hands tighten into fists, making my split knuckles scream in agony. I tilt my head and crack my neck. My body’s on edge and I want nothing more than to take out all this pent-up energy on Maddox’s face.
“I wouldn’t know what the fuck to do with a girl like Marie. But I want her. I can’t help it.”
“Maddox, I’m warning you.” My low voice is steady, the threat dripping with menace. Marie’s not some fling. I want more from her. More with her.
“I can help you. We can be everything she wants.” My nostrils flare in anger, but deep down that fucking hurt.
“You think she won’t want me? Is that it? I’m not good enough for her?” His words gut me, taking advantage of my insecurities.
“I didn’t fucking say that.” Maddox’s face flashes with remorse before taking on a hard edge. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“What the fuck did you mean?”
“I want her. I want her.” He pauses, his eyes searching mine, pleading with me to understand him.
“Not just as a piece of ass, but to keep. I know you want her too. Between the two of us, she’ll stay.
” I turn my back to him to face the door, letting his words settle.
Maddox continues talking to my back. “I know she will. You’ll fuck up and I’ll fuck up, but one of us will always be there to keep her. ”
“I want her, Maddox.” I finally turn back to him. “I don’t know if I can keep her, but I want to.”
“I know you do; I do too.”
I nod my head at him. “I fucked up. I know I did.” I breathe out deep and say, “I don’t know if I wanna share her.” I shake my head and admit, “I don’t want to scare her off.”
“Let me go with you.” He takes a step forward. “I think she wants it.”
I quirk a brow at him. “Why do you think that?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “It won’t hurt to see, right? If I’m wrong, I’ll back off.”
I consider what he’s saying. Obviously I’m doing a shit job of keeping her if I can’t even hold onto her for one night. We’ve shared women before and they fucking loved it. This will be different obviously, since we don’t want to let her go. “You really think we can keep her?”
He grins back at me as he says, “Hell yeah! I know we can make our kitten happy.” He rubs his jaw and says, “You got me pretty good.”
An asymmetric smile pulls on my lips as I point out, “You fucking had it coming.”
He belts out a deep laugh.
“I swear to God if this scares her off, I’m taking you in the ring tomorrow.”
“It’s not gonna fucking happen. Marie’s gonna be rubbing our shoulders while we fuck up the Rogue MC.”
“Bunch of pussies.” I shake out my shoulders and suck the blood off one of my knuckles. “I probably shouldn’t have hit you.”
He shrugs again and then gives me a devilish grin. “Probably not. Your face looks like shit.”