Chapter 3
CHAPTER
THREE
Rain
I shove the door open and stomp outside. I’m so fucking mad I don’t even notice how cool the temperature has gotten.
What. The. Absolute. Fuck.
My dad wasn’t perfect. Not even close. Over the years, he had done some questionable things, but this one takes the cake.
What the hell was he thinking?
Married? He wants me—me—to get married? He knew that I don’t believe in marriage.
That it was something I never really wanted for myself.
Yeah, I thought about it more after he got sick, then once he died, but that was more like what if I changed my mind.
Not that I actually wanted it. Hell, every time I thought about it, I never had a person in mind standing across from me.
It was just a giant black blob that never took shape.
He knew. He agreed with my reasoning.
Hell, for fuck’s sake, I’m not even sure I believe in monogamy.
Yeah, it looks great for Aspen and Maggie.
It’s clear as day that their men love them and would burn the world down for them, but I’m sure eventually the shoe will drop.
One of them or their men will fold when they least expect it and fuck everything up.
That’s just how it works. Never in my entire life have I seen a healthy marriage, so why would I want that?
Married. He wants me to marry Ridge.
My mortal enemy.
The one man that I wouldn’t cross the street to help if he were on fire.
This is insane. It’s laughable.
The doctors warned me that his mind would go, but I didn’t think it would be like this. This definitely wasn’t one of their warnings. They talked about memory loss, weight loss, thinning hair, extreme tiredness, and more, but never once did they mention that he would truly lose the fucking plot.
I should walk back into Panther’s office and see if I can sue the doctors, the hospital, anybody.
This is bullshit. Complete and utter bullshit.
I weave my fingers through my hair and pull.
This has to be some sort of sick and twisted joke.
A joke.
That’s it.
I look down at my watch to check the date.
Dammit. It’s not April 1st. If it were April Fools’ Day, it would explain everything.
No, the only fool in sight is me.
I look around for a camera crew, waiting for someone to jump out and tell me I’m being punked, but no one appears.
I want answers, but the only person who can give them to me is dead. No longer with us. I just need five minutes with him so he can explain this to me himself.
I am pacing outside the clubhouse, trying to come to terms with what I just heard, when I hear the door open. It could be anyone. The whole club is celebrating the life of a man who just shit on mine.
It’s not, though. I know who it is without having to turn around.
Ridge.
Out of all the fucking brothers he could have picked, why did it have to be him? Couldn’t my dad have done me a solid and hooked me up with someone like Yak? Someone that I would be able to control. Someone I actually get along with.
No. Never. That would have been too easy.
“What’s going on?” Panther asks as he and Eagle step outside.
“That sadistic bastard I called a father wants me to marry Ridge. Ridge of all fucking people!” I scream.
“That’s fucking insane. I didn’t see that coming,” Eagle mutters.
“Not the time,” Panther hisses as he elbows his second in command in the side.
“Rain…” Ridge says like he’s approaching a feral animal.
Then again, maybe I am. Maybe I’ve finally fallen over the edge.
“Keys. I need my keys,” I demand, holding out my hand.
“Why?”
“Because I need answers, and there’s only one man who can do that right now.”
I watch as all the guys frown.
“Who?” Eagle asks.
“My dad. Who else?” I snap.
The guys share a look before they turn back to me.
“Rain, your dad is gone. Remember, we have his ashes inside,” Panther says gently.
“Stop talking to me like I’m stupid. I know he’s fucking dead. I held his hand as he grew cold. I heard Ridge tell them you would bring his ashes home.”
“Then how do you plan to ask him for answers?” Eagle asks gently.
“I’m going to go find an occult store so I can buy a goddamn Ouija board.”
Ridge’s frown deepens. “Why do you need a Ouija board? You aren’t into that type of shit.”
“I need one so I can summon his ass to figure out what the hell he was thinking. Then I’m going to kill him with my own two hands and send him back to the afterlife.”
Ridge makes a sound in the back of his throat that sounds a little like a laugh.
I turn my glare on him. He does not want to be in the firing line right now. He’s as much to blame for this as my father.
“I don’t think that’s how it works,” he says as one of the guys laughs.
“I don’t fucking care! I’m mad enough right now that I’ll make it work!” I hiss.
Ridge dips his head, but I don’t miss the way he smiles.
“Did you know?” I demand.
It’s a dumb question. He didn’t wait for the lawyer to say who I was to marry. He knew it was him.
“Rain…” Ridge sighs like I’m exasperating him.
“Did. You. Know?” I hiss.
I want him to admit it. To admit he was in on this with my father.
Panther steps between us, hands out. “Okay, everyone, how about we calm down. This isn’t exactly the place for this sort of conversation. Everyone is trying to mourn Mustang, and you don’t want the club gossips to hear about this.”
Instead of his words calming me down and pulling me back to the ground, they do the opposite. It only pisses me off more.
“Do not make me ask again, Ridge. Answer the goddamn question!” I yell.
Ridge rakes his hands through his hair.
“Yes, I knew, all right? Are you happy now?” he shouts.
I stumble back in shock. I mean, I had a feeling he knew. It was written on the wall, but still, to hear the words?
He knew. He fucking knew, and he never said a thing. He never warned me.
I knew Ridge and I had our differences, but I thought we still respected each other. If I would have known, and it was his life in question, I would have told him. But he didn’t tell me. He didn’t warn me. Instead, he let me be ambushed.
“How could you?” I whisper.
Ridge
“How could you?” she whispers, her voice full of betrayal.
Shit.
“Wait, wait, wait. Let me explain,” I say, holding up my hands.
Rain crosses her arms over her chest as she takes a step back. I feel the guys shifting behind me and the sound of people filtering out of the clubhouse to watch this scene unfold.
I wish that Rain would let me have this conversation with her in private, but if I tried, she would probably accuse me of lying and castrate me.
“Look, you know I visited your dad a lot when you were at work, right?”
She jerks her head.
“Well, one day he told me that he wanted me to marry you. Told me how he had this big plan to finally get us together. I told him he was crazy and shook my head. Honest to God, on your father’s grave, I thought he was joking. Not once did I think he was serious,” I quickly explain.
Rain tips her head back and lets out a laugh that sends chills up my spine.
“Let me get this straight. You thought he was joking about making us get married, so you never said anything?” she asks sarcastically.
“Yes.”
“You really expect me to believe this shit? Seriously? Come on. Why don’t you admit it, Ridge? You helped him plan this. You thought it would be a good one to get one more jab in when I’m least expecting it, and if I don’t play along, I lose everything.”
Maggie and Aspen step forward and go to her.
“Okay, everyone, how about we calm down. Tensions are high right now, and I think we need to take a breather, go our separate ways until things have cooled off,” Maggie says calmly.
“We’re going to take Rain back to Maggie and Panther’s place. No one is to bother us unless we ask,” Aspen says, looking right at me.
I nod, silently telling her I understand.
I watch as the women walk away, Rain sandwiched between them.
God dammit.
I rub my hands over my face as someone claps me on the shoulder.
“Come on. You look like you could use a drink,” Panther mutters.
Panther pushes me toward the door, and as he does, I look over my shoulder, watching the girls disappear from sight.
When we get inside, we head straight to the bar where Eagle pours me a shot of whiskey and slides it toward me. Without hesitation, I grab it and toss it back.
“Another,” I say as I set the glass on the counter.
Once. Twice. Three times.
The liquor burns as it goes down, but it feels good.
This is fucked. Seriously fucking fucked.
“I asked the lawyer for the will,” Meek says as he comes to a stop next to me.
“And?” Panther asks.
“Airtight. I don’t see how they can avoid the marriage clause, not without Rain losing everything and Ridge losing the bike,” Meek says.
“I don’t give a fuck about the bike,” I snap.
“Dude, I need you to explain how the fuck this happened. I honestly can’t wrap my head around it,” Eagle says as he leans against the bar.
Sighing, I grab one of the barstools and sit down.
“Where do I even start?” I mutter.
“The beginning is usually a good place,” Yak quips.
Raising my hand, I shoot him the middle finger.
“Like I said out there, I spent a lot of time with him in the end. I hated the thought of him being alone.” I clear my throat. “Mustang always made it known that he wanted Rain and me to get together. He thought we would be perfect for each other.”
“You two fight like cats and dogs,” Meek unhelpfully points out.
“I know, and I pointed that out to him, but he kept bringing it up. It started as a comment here and there years ago. ‘You would be better to her than the guy she’s seeing. You two would keep each other on your toes for sure. When are you going to make an honest woman out of my daughter?’ Shit like that.
Then I would remind him that Rain and I aren’t even friends.
We’re enemies at best. He would wave his hand through the air and say that we would get over that shit as soon as we got out of our own way. ”
Eagle slides another shot toward me, and I take it.
“So when he got sick, I thought it was like every time he mentioned it before. I would steer him to a different topic, and all would be okay. But about two months ago, he told me that he was going to put it in his will that Rain and I needed to get together, or she would lose everything. I told him that would be mean, and she would hate him. I reminded him that we don’t see each other that way.
Honest to god, I thought he was joking. If I knew he planned to go through with it… ”
I don’t tell them about the other request he made. The one that is not in the will, but that he expects to be followed nevertheless.
“You would have given her a heads-up,” Panther says after I trail off.
I nod, looking down at the bar.
I could have, but Mustang asked me not to. He said he was still figuring the will out. I thought that meant he had changed his mind. I was wrong.
“That’s fucked,” Yak mutters.
You can say that again, I think bitterly.
“And you’re sure there is no way to get out of it without losing everything?” Eagle asks.
“Yes, it’s airtight. He knew what he was doing,” Meek says.
“Are you going to go through with it?” Wolf asks.
Taking a deep breath, I think it over even though I already know my answer.
It’s not that I dislike Rain. Hell, if she weren’t a brother’s daughter, I probably would have gone after her years ago, before things got so messed up between us. She’s beautiful and feisty as hell, exactly my type, and Mustang knew it.
Mustang also knew I had no intention of ever claiming a woman. That I have no interest in getting married. Just like Rain.
Could I really let her lose it all, though? Her childhood home?
“If she agrees, I’d do it,” I tell them without a second thought.
“Really?” Eagle asks skeptically.
“Yeah, but only if she agrees. I won’t force her to do this. It’s her decision.”
“You’re a good man,” Panther says as he slaps my shoulder.
As the conversation shifts around me, my mind stays on her.
Is she okay? Will she ever forgive him? Forgive me?
Which leads to the biggest question of all. Why do I care so much about what she thinks?