Chapter 19
Rowan
Trey was standing in the living area, a bag over his shoulder, and a cheeky grin on his face.
“Hey Ro-Ro,” he said, dumping his bag beside his feet. I ran over to him and into his arms. Wrapping my legs around his waist, and hugging the shit out of him. It felt like forever ago that I’d seen him. “Didn’t think you’d be this happy to see me.”
He let me down gently, and I tried not to wince at the pain between my legs from where Reaper had fucked me senseless. I’d wanted to go back to the clubhouse with him, more than anything, but I knew what would happen if I did. He’d lock me away in his bedroom, and I just…couldn’t do that.
“What’s up?” he asked, always knowing when something was wrong with me.
“I just pulled a muscle in my leg last night,” I lied. “So they let you out, huh?”
He nodded, still suspicious, but seemingly letting it go for now. “Yeah, wanted me at the clubhouse, but I heard you weren’t there anymore…want to talk about it?”
Shaking my head. “Nothing to talk about.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Trey. I fucked your dad. There’s nothing more to it than that.”
The lie tasted sour on my tongue, and I could tell he didn’t believe me but the good thing about Trey, he didn’t push.
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked me.
“I was thinking about going down to The Forge.”
Trey frowned. “That’s Ironborne territory.”
“And?”
“Ro…”
“What? You’re the only one who can hang around with the Ironborne?” I asked, a little annoyed. Since when was Trey so hesitant?
“Ro, I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Like I did when you took off and left me to take your beating?” I spat, my mouth working faster than my brain. The level of hurt on his face immediately had my guilt flooding into my system.
He hung his head, and I had to stop myself from wrapping my arms around him again.
I didn’t mean it to come out so viciously.
I was glad he wasn’t here to take the beating, but I was still mad about it.
If it hadn’t of happened, I wouldn’t have gone to the clubhouse, and things with Reaper never would have happened, and I wouldn’t be missing him like I was.
That’s what I was mad about.
“You’re right,” he said, sadly. “I fucked up. I never should have left.”
“No, Trey, you should have, but you should have taken me with you.”
His eyes met mine, and I could see the watery eyes looking at me with genuine remorse.
My chest ached. I knew he was angry at himself, I knew he tried, but I hated that because of that one act, I fell for his dad, and now I could never say no to him when he kissed me.
I hated that I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
“If you’re going, then I’m coming with you,” he said. “I’m not letting anything happen to you again. I promise you, Ro.”
Trey closed the distance between us, pulling me into his arms. I fought him, pushing at his chest, but he manhandled me into a tight hug.
I fell into it, tears rolling down my cheeks, sobs tearing through me, making it hard to breathe.
Trey continued to hold me in a bear hug, the tightness making me feel safe, supported. Even if I were crying over his dad.
And I hated that I was.
I hated that Reaper got to me like this. I’d always sworn I would never let a man break me. It was why Trey was so safe. Aside from the no sex, he was my partner in every way. Too bad sex was a requirement for me.
“Stay with me,” I sobbed into his chest.
He kissed the top of my head. “I’ve got you, Ro-Ro.”
Reaper
The clubhouse was busy today with all the girls getting ready for a big night for Pope’s birthday tomorrow. Maverick and Chaos stuck by my side, talking about the things Trojan had been finding about Raf and his connection to Rowan.
There was almost nothing about him. Nothing since high school, only a couple of properties and that was it. I didn’t like it.
“Prez,” I heard Brandon, one of our prospects, call out. I looked over from my bike to where he stood with my son at the gate. I headed over to them, already feeling defensive. Trey looked pissed.
“What’s up?” I asked him. I didn’t see the fist coming my way, nor did I think it would hurt so fucking much. My jaw was on fire. I turned back to see him fuming. A level of anger in his eyes I’d never seen before. “What the fuck?”
“Stay the fuck away from Rowan.”
Shit.
“Son…”
“Don’t fucking call me son again. I’m not your son. I’m just a product of you jerking off into my mother. You have no fucking heart. You never did, and you never will. Stay the fuck away from her.”
He made a move to turn away. I was thankful everyone had turned away, giving me a minute with him, but I knew I’d be at the top of everyone’s conversation all night.
“Wait.”
“Not for you,” he shot back over his shoulder as he turned to leave. I crossed the distance and ran in front, stopping him.
“I don’t want you to be angry with me, Trey, but I can’t stay away from her.”
“I told you not to break her heart, and you went and did it anyway.”
“I had to protect her,” I said, weakly.
“Just…stay away from her. I’m not going to hold back next time I have to hear her crying herself to sleep over you.”
Fuck. That hurt.
“Trey…I’m telling you now, I won’t stop…I just don’t know how to talk to her. She won’t listen.”
“Good,” he sneered at me.
“What can I do?” I asked him, feeling just how useless I was in this situation.
I was begging my son to help me get my woman back.
That same woman I stole off him. Well, not exactly, but the thoughts I’d had about her from the day I met her were not PG-13, that was for sure. “How can I make her hear me out?”
“No one can make Rowan do anything. She’s independent, and always has been.”
“Please.”
Something softened in his expression, and he sighed, closing his eyes for a moment before he looked at me with defeat. I respected the hell out of him for coming here, and punching me in the jaw. Even if it still pounded with pain.
“Get down on your knees and grovel,” he said. “But if…and I do mean if she takes you back, and you break her again. I will do more than give you a right hook, Dad.”
He shoved my chest and I let him walk away, back to his car just outside the gates. He sped off, kicking a wave of dirt in his wake.
How the fuck does someone grovel?
The Pit was pumping tonight. I stretched my jaw for probably the fifth time since we left the clubhouse, even though I’d been clocked at least five hours ago, it still fucking hurt like a motherfucker.
Looking around, I tried to take stock of who I could see here. Shadow and Chaos were with me, looking for Raf. We had unfinished business to attend to.
The ring announcer was working himself into a frenzy to announce the next fighters to the Pit. Chaos handed me a beer and we made our way over to it.
“...and making her in ring return, the brutal Right-Hook R—”
“Oh fuck,” I heard Chaos say, dragging my attention to him.
He looked down at the woman warming up on the other side of the ring.
My heart sank when I recognised Rowan, in a crop top and tight shorts, showing off that skin I loved to squeeze and kiss.
She had her fists, wrapped in black tape and in the defensive stance, protecting her face as she and her opponent faced off.
Her hair was tied back in twin french braids, keeping it off her face, and she looked… mean.
Fuck..
I was hard just looking at her down there, but my heart was racing while my brain was trying to figure out just what the fuck was happening.
“Didn’t know about this, huh?” I heard Trey say from beside me. “I tried to talk her out of it, but she’s mad. She wants to hit shit.”
“Explain,” I said, my teeth grinding hard against each other. My hands were gripping onto the rail so I didn’t do something stupid. “Now.”
“Right-Hook Rowie,” Trey said. “She needed a way to get all her anger out, at her mum, at her life, at the bullies who tortured her. She also tried to lose weight the conventional way, and it never worked. This was the only thing that helped all of those things. She’s good. I wouldn’t worry about her.”
“She can’t fight that bitch down there.”
“Trust me, Reaper, she knows what she’s doing.”
I could only watch as the only woman I had ever loved took punch after punch from a woman almost twice her size.
Then, the woman said something. Rowan stopped what she was doing, her head snapping up, and a look passed over her eyes that had my balls seizing up, in memory of what she’d done to them in that alley.
“Oh shit,” Chaos choked back a laugh. “Look at her go.”
Rowan’s punches landed in the other woman’s side, then the other side, then an uppercut.
Blood sprayed from her mouth, but it didn’t stop Rowan.
She continued laying into the other woman until she had fallen, and then she jumped on her, straddling her, punching into her. Blood was spraying everywhere.
Trey made a motion to someone down in the Pit and they ended the fight. Turning to him, confused, I wondered just what the fuck was going on. I’d never felt so out of sorts before, but Trey could wait. Rowan couldn’t.
“She’ll be in her change room, you can go talk to her but if you upset her, we’ll be having a problem.”
“Trey…what the hell? You stopped the fight. How?”
He sighed. “Go talk to Rowan, Reaper.”
He walked off, leaving me with Chaos and Shadow, both looking at me with wide eyes. Both were as confused as I was, but Chaos’ signature grin was enough to make me want to get in the ring with him.
“Go talk to your woman,” Shadow said. “We’ll find out about Raf.”
I nodded, heading in the direction of the change rooms, my mind on Rowan. When I opened the door, she looked up, a bruise forming on her jaw already and blood all over her arms and chest.
“What are you doing here, Reaper?”
I hated hearing her call me by my road name, but I understood why she was doing it. She was distancing herself.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, pulling at the tape off her hands. “Why are you here?”