Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
ROOK
Later that night, Perdition is loud and packed. The whole crew is here, Tessa, Erica, and Hadley are crowded around our usual table with their men beside them. Music is thumping through the speakers, shots are lined up across the bar, and for the first time in weeks, Scarlett looks happy
She’s sitting between me and Tessa, nursing a vodka soda while the girls talk and laugh. I’ve got my arm draped loosely around the back of her chair, my fingers brushing against her shoulder every now and then. We’re not being obvious, but we’re not hiding either.
Tessa is already three shots deep and yelling over the music about something Cole did earlier.
Erica keeps laughing so hard she’s leaning into Steele’s side while he just shakes his head like he’s used to it.
Hadley keeps stealing Weston’s beer and Weston keeps letting her, even though he’s pretending to be annoyed.
I lean in close to Scarlett, my voice low against her ear. “You good, Princess?”
She turns her head, our mouths only inches apart. “Yeah. I’m good.”
My eyes drop to her mouth for a second before I force myself to look away, jaw tight. I’m fighting the urge to kiss her right here in front of everyone. She bites back a smile and takes another sip of her drink like she knows exactly what she’s doing to me.
Across the table, Wyatt catches the look and smirks but doesn’t say anything. Smart man.
For a little while, everything feels normal. I let myself sink into it, her laugh, the way her knee keeps brushing against mine under the table, the way she keeps stealing fries off my plate like she’s done it a hundred times before.
Then the front door opens.
At first, I don’t think anything of it. People come and go all night. But then I feel the shift in the air. Conversations start to die down in certain pockets of the bar. A few of the guys at the pool tables stop mid-game and look toward the door.
I follow their line of sight and my stomach drops.
Ethan is standing just inside the entrance, scanning the room like he’s looking for someone.
He looks completely out of place in his clean-cut jeans and fitted button-down, hair perfectly styled like he walked straight out of some upscale bar in the city. His eyes sweep over the crowd until they land on Scarlett.
Our gazes lock for half a second before his focus shifts back to her. I go still beside her, and watch as he starts walking toward our table.
The second he does, Cole, Steele, Wyatt, and Weston all shift. Shoulders squaring and the easy, relaxed energy from a minute ago is gone.
Ethan stops a few feet from our table, eyes flicking over everyone before settling back on Scarlett. “Scarlett,” he says, voice tight. “Can we talk?”
The table goes quiet. Scarlett sets her drink down slowly. “We talked earlier and I already told you no.”
Ethan’s jaw clenches. He glances around at the table full of bikers watching him, and something shifts in his expression, like he’s looking at something beneath him.
“I just want five minutes,” he says, trying for calm but failing. “That’s it.”
“She said no.” I tell the fucker.
Ethan’s eyes cut to me, and instead of backing down, he lets out a short, condescending laugh.
“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, shaking his head.
“This is what you ran back to?” He looks at Scarlett again, eyes full of disbelief and disgust. “I mean, seriously, Scarlett. Look at this place and these people. You really left everything we built for… this?”
My jaw tightens.
Ethan keeps going, voice dripping with condescension. “You had a life. A real life. Nice houses, nice cars, people who actually mattered. And now you’re sitting in some dirty biker bar with a bunch of criminals and their…” He waves a hand vaguely at the girls. “Whatever these are.”
Tessa’s chair scrapes back immediately, but Cole’s hand lands on her thigh, holding her in place. His jaw is tight, eyes locked on Ethan like he’s deciding whether or not to stand up.
Ethan doesn’t even notice. He’s too busy looking at Scarlett like she’s disappointed him.
“I get it,” he continues, softer now, like he’s trying to sound reasonable.
“You were upset. You were hurt by what I did. But this?” He gestures around the bar again.
“This isn’t you, Scarlett. You’re better than this.
Better than them. You don’t belong here. ”
I see the way his words hit her. For a second, something flickers across her face, not hurt, but realization. Like she’s finally seeing exactly how he’s always looked at this part of her life. Like it was something dirty. Something he thought she was supposed to outgrow.
I stand up slowly and the entire table goes still.
Ethan finally seems to realize he might’ve gone too far, but he doesn’t back down. He just looks at Scarlett again, eyes full of that same arrogant pity. “Come home,” he says. “Stop embarrassing yourself. This isn’t who you are.”
Scarlett stares at him for a long moment, something cold and sharp settling behind her eyes. Then she stands up too. “You’re right,” she says, voice steady. “This isn’t who I was when I was with you.”
Ethan’s expression flickers with something like hope.
She shakes her head. “Because when I was with you, I was smaller. I was quieter. I made myself that way so you could feel big. And I’m never doing that again.”
She takes a step closer to him. “You don’t get to come here and talk down to my family.
To my people. To the only place that’s ever actually felt like home.
You don’t get to stand in this bar and act like you’re better than them when you’re the one who couldn’t even keep his dick in his pants.
You were a shitty boyfriend and you’re an even shittier human being. ”
Ethan’s face flushes red, but she doesn’t give him a chance to respond.
“Get the fuck out, Ethan.”
For a second, he just stands there, staring at her like he doesn’t recognize her.
Tessa lets out a low whistle. “Damn, Scar.”
But Ethan isn’t done, instead of leaving, he turns and walks straight toward the bar where Piston and Jenny are sitting with Pres and Dagger.
I stay standing, eyes locked on him. Scarlett reaches out and grabs my wrist, but I don’t move. I just watch. Ethan stops in front of them like he’s got every right to be there.
“Mr. and Mrs. Blackstone,” he says. “I was hoping I’d catch you both.”
Piston doesn’t say anything at first. He just stares Ethan down, jaw tight.
Ethan clears his throat and tries again. “I know this is… unexpected. But I was hoping we could talk.”
Jenny raises an eyebrow. “About what, exactly?”
“About Scarlett,” Ethan says, like it should be obvious.
“Look, I know things ended badly between us. I made some mistakes. I own that. But she’s not thinking clearly right now.
She’s emotional and hurt. Being back here, surrounded by all of…
this…” He gestures vaguely around Perdition. “It’s clouding her judgment.”
Piston’s voice is dangerously quiet when he finally speaks. “Careful.”
Ethan either doesn’t notice the warning or chooses to ignore it.
He keeps going. “She had a good life with me. Stability. Security. Opportunities most people only dream about. And now she’s back here, working at some small-town clinic, hanging around with…
” He hesitates for a second, then says it. “She’s involved with that guy, Rook.”
Piston’s eyes narrow. Ethan shakes his head like he can’t believe it. “I remember him. The quiet one. The dangerous one who never said much. The guy you brought in when he was just some kid off the street. And now you’re just… letting her be with him? After everything?”
Jenny’s face goes cold and Piston takes one slow step forward. “You think you get to stand here and question who my daughter is with?” His voice is low, but it carries weight. “You think you get to talk about Rook like he’s some kind of problem?”
Ethan lets out a short, condescending laugh. “Come on, Mr. Blackstone. You know what I mean. The guy’s an enforcer. He’s violent. He’s not exactly the kind of man you want your daughter tied to. She deserves better than that. Better than this whole… lifestyle.”
Piston stares at him for a long moment. Then he lets out a short, bitter laugh of his own. “You wanna talk about what kind of man my daughter deserves?” he asks. “Alright. Let’s talk about it.”
He steps closer, eyes locked on Ethan. “Rook is the kind of man who shows up when it matters. He’s the kind of man who will bleed for the people he cares about without thinking twice. He’s loyal. He’s solid. And yeah, he’s dangerous, but only to people who deserve it.”
Ethan’s face flushes.
Piston keeps going, voice getting harder.
“You wanna stand here and act like you’re better than him because you throw a ball for a living and wear nice clothes?
Let me tell you something, boy. Rook is more of a man than you’ll ever be.
He didn’t run when things got hard. He didn’t fuck around behind her back.
And he sure as hell doesn’t look down on her family like they’re beneath him. ”
Ethan opens his mouth, but Piston cuts him off.
“You had your chance with my daughter. You threw it away. And now you’re here trying to convince me and my wife that she’s making a mistake by being with a man who actually respects her?
” Piston shakes his head. “You’re not just pathetic, you’re delusional. ”
Ethan’s jaw tightens. “I still love her.”
Piston’s eyes go ice cold. “Then you should’ve acted like it when you had her.”
Ethan looks between Piston and Jenny, clearly realizing he’s not going to get anywhere. Jenny hasn’t said a word, but the look on her face says everything. Ethan stands there for another second before he turns and walks back toward Scarlett. His eyes lock onto hers.