Chapter Sixteen #2
“I’m not going to sit here like a fucking pussy, Zac. If he’s looking for trouble, I’ll fucking deliver it.”
“Why the fuck do you always have to be so fucking stubborn, asshole? What do you think Reilly will do when she sees your ass being taken away in cuffs again?”
Well shit, I can’t let that happen. Not after how far we have come. How hard it’s been for her to let down her guard. But fuck if I’m going to sit here while my girl is in that building with a bunch of assholes.
“I won’t do anything that will see me in cuffs, Zac. Scout’s promise.”
“You were never a fucking Boy Scout, Bray. Look, I gotta go. Dean and the boys have this sorted out. Do not just barge in here guns blazing!”
I make it to the club in just under twenty minutes, and pull up to the back door.
I don’t waste any time making my way through the back rooms to the main floor.
The scene I’m greeted with has me wanting to choke the life out of someone, whoever the fuck thought they could come into our club and do this.
The club is trashed; it looks like a damn tornado has been through here.
Chairs thrown and broken everywhere, tables turned up, all the curtains that line the walls ripped to shreds.
Glass litters every inch of surface space.
I spot Zac, sitting at the bar, nursing a glass of whisky, and holding an ice pack to the right side of his face.
He’s in one piece at least. Looking around, I can’t see Reilly anywhere. “Where the fuck is she?” I yell, directing the question at Zac.
He lifts his arm and points behind me. “Over there, in one piece, so calm the fuck down.”
Spinning around, I see Reilly at the far end of the bar, broom in hand and sweeping up pieces of broken glass.
I stalk my way through the debris of furniture and glass until I reach her.
Taking the broom out of her hand, I throw it off to the side before pushing her against the bar and crowding her space.
I grab her face in both hands, holding her still as my lips connect with hers.
I pour everything into this kiss, all my pent-up rage, all my fear of something happening to her and my thankfulness that she’s unharmed.
Reilly gives just as much to this kiss—she’s completely open to me now.
I succeeded in annihilating her walls, there are no more barriers between her and me, and I fucking love it. I fucking love her.
Pulling back from the kiss, I lean my forehead against hers. “I fucking love you.”
“Mmm, I love you too,” she replies, breathless.
“Are you okay?” I ask as I do a visual inspection of her from head to toe. “I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you, babe. Actually, I do know. I’d burn this town to the ground until I found the fucker I needed to kill.”
Her body goes stiff under my touch. Fuck, I should have kept that thought to myself, even if it is the truth. “Babe, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that out loud.”
“Bray, I don’t ever want you to go after anyone because of me. Do not throw your life away because of me, ever.”
“I don’t have a life without you anymore, Reilly. I will always fight for us, even if I have to find new ways to fight.”
“I know.” She leans into me.
I look around—this is going to be one hell of a clean-up bill.
“If you two lovebirds are finished, I need Reilly,” Zac says as he approaches.
“What for?” I ask. The bastard ignores me, instead talking directly to Reilly.
“We’re all going to Hawaii. Book a jet for tomorrow morning. Alyssa and I are getting married.”
Reilly lets go of me and faces Zac. I don’t like it. With a slight growl, I pull her back against my chest, wrapping my arms around her middle. Zac smirks at me.
“Wait, does Alyssa know about this? You can’t just decide you’re getting married tomorrow without discussing it with her first. What if she doesn’t want to get married in Hawaii? Huh? Have you even thought of that?”
Zac holds up his finger, indicating for her to wait, while pulling his phone out and placing it on speaker.
“Zac, this baby is making me bloody horny as hell. Hurry up and get home already please,” Alyssa answers the phone.
Reilly bursts out laughing. Zac just looks pained, more pained than he did icing his bruised face.
“Great, I’m on speakerphone, aren’t I? Thanks for the warning, Zac.”
“Ignore them, sunshine. I’ll be there as soon as I can. I just need to handle a few things at the club, but I wanted to run something past you?”
“Sure, hit me.”
“Tomorrow morning we’re flying to Hawaii, you, me and unfortunately our family and friends. We’re getting married. Any objections?”
Alyssa’s squeal stings my ears. All the guys around us, who were going about their business, stop and look over at the commotion coming out of Zac’s phone.
“Oh my God! Zac, Oh, my gosh. Yes, yes, yes! Let’s do this. I can’t bloody wait to be Mrs. Zac Williamson,” Alyssa continues to squeal through the phone.
“Sunshine, I can’t wait either. I’ll be home soon.” Zac hangs up the phone, raising an eyebrow at Reilly with a huge smile on his face.
“Okay, no need to be so bloody smug about it. Where abouts in Hawaii? Do I need to book a hotel? And why don’t you have a PA to handle this sort of shit? This is not in my job description, you know.” Reilly is getting fired up. I can feel the energy coming off her.
“Settle down, just book the jet. Everything else will be handled,” he says as he starts typing into his phone. No doubt to delegate tasks off to others.
“Okay, I’ll be upstairs. Make sure you come and see me before you leave,” Reilly says, leaning up to offer a parting kiss.
“I’m not leaving this building without you, babe. I’ll come up in a little bit.”
I watch as she walks away, the sway of her hips in that tight skirt taunting me the whole way.
“I need you to organise a reschedule for Friday’s fight. One, you’re not going to be here. Two, I’m shutting the club down for renovations, obviously.”
“Sure, I’ll get on that, just as soon as you tell me what the fuck happened in here,” I demand.
“They came in, about thirty of them with baseball bats, and went ballistic smashing the place up. Dean called in the cavalry and we cleared them out.”
“So, how many bodies need to be disposed of?” “None.”
“None? You’re telling me, some motherfuckers came in here and did this.” I wave my arms around. “And you didn’t kill any of them?” I don’t believe it.
“What can I say? We’re turning over a new leaf, Bray. I can’t risk not being around for Alyssa and this baby. We need to start handling things in more legit ways.”
“I agree, things have been changing. What about Club M?” I ask. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without fighting. Could I go professional on the up and up? Probably. Do I want to? Absolutely not. I also don’t want to give up fighting.
“I’m not sure yet, but we do need to think about changing that up too. It was okay to take the risks when it was just me who would go down. I can’t do that to Alyssa, Bray. She’s never had a proper, safe family and I intend to give her that.”
“I get that, man, I do. I just don’t know what to do with myself when I’m not fighting.”
“I know, but even you can’t fight forever, Bray. Whatever you need to do, you know I’ll be there, no matter what.”
“Yeah, thanks, bro. Don’t worry about me. I’ll figure it out. Besides, have you met me? I’m like the fucking king of all trades, excel at everything I do.”
“Whatever helps you sleep at night.” Zac gets the hint that I’m not fully ready to discuss me not fighting anymore. Thankfully, he drops the topic.
“So, what are we gonna do about this mess?”
“It’s being handled. We are going to Hawaii, and I am getting married to a fucking goddess. By the time we come back, this place will have had a facelift.”
“Right, I’ll see you on the tarmac tomorrow morning then,” I say, walking away and leaving him to it.
“Don’t be fucking late, Bray. I will leave without you,” he yells out at me.
Turning, I smirk. “No, you won’t. Lyssa would never let you get married without her favourite brother-in-law there.”
I laugh at his cursing while I walk away.