Chapter 20 ~ #2
“Drake didn’t say,” I tell him, resigned. “Half the kids at Cattle Creek are sons and daughters of MC members if they’re not in themselves. Someone will tell Marcus—if he doesn’t already know.”
“How was your father able to rally the help of one of the biggest gangs in the underworld?” Alec asks. Before I can answer, Luc jumps in.
“He couldn’t. Unless he got a seat at the table.” Luc stares at me. I nod. Luc swears.
“Why didn’t you tell us your father was a Dark Rider?” Maverick questions. “This shit doesn’t just happen.”
I look down, ashamed at my cowardice. “Because I thought I was done with him.”
“Bullshit.”
My eyes flick up at Jace’s outburst.
“Jace,” Alec warns but Jace waves him off.
He stalks around the island, anger burning in his eyes, wiping out the hurt I saw flickering in and out of his angry expression.
“You planned on leaving,” Jace spits. “You were just going to run away from your problems, away from us and never fucking look back. You didn’t plan on telling us anything because you were going to be gone before you could get attached.”
I fly to my feet. “I was never going to leave and you know it,” I tell him, trying to defuse his anger.
“Really?” Jace scoffs. “If we’re supposed to be protecting you, then leaving out that your father is a Dark Rider seems like a pretty fucking important detail.”
“I was protecting you!” My voice breaks.
“You were protecting yourself!” Jace raises his voice.
Alec flinches out of the corner of my eye.
“Jace!” Dominic says sternly. The room falls silent.
Jace breathes heavily, his chest rising from his angry outburst.
His eyes widen as they follow the tear that trickled down my cheek.
I see the moment he realises he’s fucked up.
His hand trembles as he takes a step forward, reaching for me.
“Fuck, Ro, I—“
“How dare you.”
I shrug off the hand someone rests on my shoulder and step up to Jace. The anguish in his eyes isn’t enough to keep my next words from flying out.
“How fucking dare you, Jace! I got beaten up every fucking day I was in that house. School was the only shitty reprieve I got, if I wasn’t too broken to walk.
” Jace flinches with every word but I’m not done.
“I lost you, my brother, Helen and Devon but I was okay with that because I knew that by staying away—by running from my problems—that the people I cared about would be safe. But,” I laugh hysterically, “it turns out that was fucking pointless because you were wasting your life anyway. That’s why you refuse to drink, right?
You drank away all your problems. Drank away me.
” I hit the nail on the head, judging by the way Alec’s whispering my name.
“And here I am keeping secrets from the people I’ve grown to lo—care about because I’m protecting myself when you couldn’t fucking be bothered to tell me the truth!” Tears blur my vision.
“But you were just protecting yourself, right?” I whisper, too broken to keep screaming.
“Rory,” Jace murmurs, anguish clear in his eyes.
I shake my head, wiping the tears from my face but more just replace the ones I brush away.
“I’m sorry.”
Drained and done, I walk around him, telling everyone not to follow me.
The tears burn, sliding down my cheeks as I stumble down the hallway to stare at my bed.
Too many memories. Too much of him. I need to be alone.
I continue down the hall until I get to a room I haven’t been in. I push the door open, my eyes immediately falling on the photo frame on the bedside table.
A faint smile dances on Dominic’s face as he stares at Alec curled beside him. His head’s on Dom’s bare chest whose arm is holding him close. Alec’s eyes are closed, a relaxed smile on his face tilted up towards Dom.
A special moment between the two people. One Alec might not even know about.
I drag my eyes away and close Dom’s bedroom door to curl up on his bed. I slide under the sheets, grabbing his pillow and wrapping my arms around it.
I breathe in the scent of cologne and leather and I will myself not to cry.
. . .
Jace ~
I welcome every hit Dom lays on me before he’s ripped away by Alec.
Pain throbs in my jaw from Dom’s right hook. I lift my hand to my busted lip. He got me fucking good.
He lets Alec pull him away but fury storms in his eyes and the only thing keeping him from attacking me is Alec.
I know Alec let Dom get a few hits in before dragging him away. I don’t care. I deserve it.
Despite the pain to my jaw and torso…I can hardly feel anything other than the sick feeling in my stomach.
Fuck. How could I do that to her?
She was willing to sacrifice her freedom, her life by staying away. She gave up me, Mum and Dad to keep us safe and I just spat in her face.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I get to my feet, prepare to go after her.
“You wanna fuck this up more, asshole?” Maverick demands, stepping in my path. “If you go after her now, one of you is going to say something you’ll regret.”
The determination burning in me dies. I don’t want to hurt her more than I already have.
For the first time since Rory’s been back, I start to crave a really fucking strong drink.
“Wanna spar?” I turn to Dominic, knowing he’s more than up for the challenge.
“Let’s go, dickhead.” Dom scowls, savagely.
“This time, I’m hitting back.” I stalk towards the door, needing to fuel my anger into something.
Dom and I track each other’s movement, shifting on our feet as we wait for Mason to give us the rules.
“Nothing below the belt and no KO’s—I’m not explaining that to Rory. We’re not taking anyone to the hospital so no serious injuries or broken bones.” Mason crosses his arms.
“Technique?” Dominic asks, itching to get started.
“Whatever the fuck you want.”
I grin savagely at that. This is going to be good.
Dominic ~
I wince when Alec dabs harshly at my split and puffy bottom lip. He hates when I get hurt.
He doesn’t meet my eyes when he drops the washer into the sink and presses the ice pack against my face. I flinch at the sudden cold.
“Sorry,” he murmurs, that hazel gaze finally connecting with mine for the first time since I broke us.
Medical supplies are spilled along the bathroom sink vanity. Alec told me to sit on the toilet lid while he patched up my injuries. He hasn’t said anything—about us or otherwise.
“I’m sorry,” I tell him.
He stiffens at my words, knowing what I’m talking about.
Without a word, Alec removes the ice from my face and lifts my shirt to press it against the bruise on my ribs.
“Alec.” He doesn’t look at me. I stand up. My hand curls around his wrist. I slowly take the ice pack from his hand, not letting go of his wrist.
“What, Dominic?” Alec asks, monotone. I could have flinched at his use of my full name—after all, it was him who started the nickname.
“Don’t do that,” I say, quietly.
Alec looks away, his mask cracking. His lips become a thin line and he struggles to hold his resolve.
“What, Dominic?” Relief floods me when the emotion returns to his voice. It scares the hell out of me when he does that.
“I know I screwed us up,” I tell him, honestly. “But I don’t want you to hate me forever. I want us to be friends.” That word tastes like ash on my tongue. Friends is not how I would describe Alec and I.
Heartbreak fills his eyes. That damn mask slithers back into place.
“Sure, Dom,” he says finally, plastering a smile on his face. I can see he’s struggling.
So I break our eye contact to put the ice pack on my face.
Alec turns his back to me, putting things back into the first aid box.
“When you go out, send Jace in.” Alec dismisses me.
Our eyes meet in the mirror and his hands still on the sink. His face is calm and clear of emotion. I study him for a moment before turning and leaving.
Jace is sitting on the floor in the hallway to the bathroom. He hasn’t bothered to wipe the blood from his face. His eyes flick up when I stop in front of him.
“You’re next.” I jerk my head towards the bathroom where Alec is probably cursing me out.
I hold my hand out and hoist him up.
“Sorry ‘bout your ribs.” Jace gestures to them.
“Sorry about your face but I think I fixed it.” I smirk.
Jace cracks a smile but it soon fades.
“You better fix this, bro.” I warn him.
“I will,” he promises. “I love her. She loves me. We’ll sort it out,” he says, looking like his mind is starting to drift away.
With that, I walk away, not without one last look at the bathroom door.
Sometimes love isn’t enough.
I prepare to crumble to the floor the moment I’m alone in my room but the angel curled up on my bed has me resisting.
She’s wrapped herself up in a ball, hugging my pillow like it's a lifeline. I smile softly, discarding the icepack on the floor and shutting my bedroom door.
I pull my shirt off, wincing at the sharp pain of my ribs—fucker got me good. I drop my jeans, kicking them and my shirt into my corner of dirty clothes, leaving me in my boxers.
I crack open the window, just enough for the night’s cool air to enter the room.
When I turn back around, I meet Rory’s sleepy, half-lidded eyes. I must have woken her because she’s rolled to face me. She watches me as I slide under the sheets.
“Come here, Sweetheart,” I murmur. She moves closer, nestling against me. I envelope her into my arms, her face burrowing into my neck.
“What happened to your face?” She questions. Without removing her face from my neck, she lifts a hand, her fingers brushing my cheek and jaw.
“Sparing,” I tell her. She’s quiet again.
“Can I assume Jace looks worse?” She asks. Her fingers trail over the ink on my shoulder.
I don’t respond and she doesn’t ask again.
Rory explores the ink on my chest after her assessment of the one on my shoulder. Her fingertips trace the mountain peaks on the centre of my chest.
“Where is this?” She asks, softly.
“A small town called Rowana Valley near East Tennessee. It’s where our ranch is,” I tell her, thinking of the green rolling fields in our valley, protected by mountains on all sides. Our own little haven. It’s heaven on earth.