Chapter Four
Sniper
I t was my wedding day. A day I never thought I would experience, yet here I was, waiting to get married to a woman who was beautiful and curvy and annoying. My bride-to-be was a beautiful pain in the ass.
“Are you ready to take the plunge?” Gio bumped my shoulder with his, and laughed. “Never thought you’d make it down the aisle before me.”
“You’re enjoying this too fuckin’ much.” I expected it when I told the guys my plan to keep Katey safe, but now that the day had arrived and everyone had gathered at the clubhouse, I wasn’t in a joking mood. I was pissed off that some asshole couldn’t take no for an answer and had put me and Katey in this position.
“Damn straight. But hey, Katey is beautiful. She’s got nothing on Harper, don’t get me wrong, but you could do worse for a fake wife.”
It hadn’t escaped my notice that Katey was gorgeous with her big blue eyes, high cheekbones, full lips, and that damn haircut that made her look like a fuckin’ fairy. But her looks didn’t matter, because this was a marriage in name only. There would be no benefits, especially of the naked variety.
“Nothing to say, I see.” Gio snickered like a fucking teenager. “Incoming,” he whispered and disappeared when Katey strolled over to me.
“How’s your eye?” The bruise was ugly, but it was healing—a shade of yellowish green instead of the dark purple it had been when we filed for the marriage license a couple of days ago.
Her fingertips went to the eye, but she didn’t touch it. “Better. It’s ugly as fuck, but there’s no lasting damage, not physical anyway.”
“Want me to twist his balls when I find him?”
She nodded. “I would, thanks.” A hint of a smile touched her full lips, and I looked away.
No good could come from forming an attraction to my inconvenient wife. “No problem.”
“Hey guys, are we ready?” Ellie stopped a few feet away.
“You’re performing the ceremony?” Katey did nothing to hide the shock in her voice.
Ellie smiled and nodded, not at all put off by Katey’s incredulous tone. “Yeah. I’m a licensed wedding officiant. I’m a writer and I did it a few years ago for research. I’m Ellie, by the way.”
Katey raised an eyebrow. “How did you end up here?”
Ellie gave a laugh. “That’s a long story for another time. Ready to get hitched?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she grumbled.
“Great!” Ellie twirled away ignoring Katey’s response and gathered everyone to witness the ceremony.
“I know you don’t want to do this, but newsflash, neither do I. You don’t have to be rude to everybody.” If not for that black eye that reminded me that she was in pain and needed my help, I’d have left her to deal with her own problems.
But I owed Watchdog so I couldn’t.
“I know,” she sighed. “I’m trying. I swear.”
I didn’t believe her, but somehow, we managed to get the ceremony done without biting each other’s heads off. Ellie had kept it short and to the point just as I asked her to. No mention of love or a lifetime, just the bare bones. When this was all over and her ex was buried in the desert, we’d go our separate ways. “You may now kiss the bride.”
“That’s not happening,” Katey growled.
“Don’t be a bitch,” I whispered and pressed my lips to hers. “There, the bride has been kissed, and we are married.”
Katey glared at me like I’d just stuck my cock down her throat instead of planting the world’s most chaste kiss on her sweet mouth. Her nostrils flared and her blue eyes narrowed to slits. She let out one angry breath before she turned and stormed off like a child throwing a tantrum.
I gritted my teeth and went after her. There was no point pretending to be embarrassed over a lover’s spat when everyone here knew what this was, and more importantly, what it wasn’t.
“Katey.” I didn’t yell or shout when I left the clubhouse, I followed her outside knowing she couldn’t get away unless she was crazy enough to leave the compound without protection. “Katey,” I called again.
“Go away, Sniper. I’m not in the mood.”
“Too fuckin’ bad. You think you’re the only one put out by this arrangement?” I laughed, the sound bitter to my ears. “You’re not.”
She whirled around her blue eyes filled with fire. “I am not a piece of fucking property!”
I shoved my hands deep into my pockets. “Never said you were.” She had some hang up about bikers and I was sure it was about her ex, Ethan. I wanted to snap, to shoot back all the nastiness she was happy to toss at everybody else. But I didn’t, I exhaled the anger and spoke calmly. “You have my name now. You’re my wife and I’m responsible for you, so you follow my rules, and you’ll stay alive. That’s still what you want, right?”
“Obviously,” she groaned. “Why else would I tie myself to another damn biker?”
“Enough!” I took a few steps forward and got right in her face. “I know you don’t want to be here. You have made that abundantly fucking clear, but you know what? I don’t give a shit. You’re here. You chose my protection. My MC’s protection.”
“Some choice,” she snorted.
“Maybe for you,” I spat out. “But the people here are all now at risk because we’re keeping you safe. You think your shithead ex won’t attack Ellie or Peyton or any of the kids around here just to get to you? Because I can guaran-fucking-tee that he’ll try.”
“No,” she protested. “He wouldn’t.”
“He would and he’ll probably try, but we won’t let him because that’s what we fuckin’ do. That doesn’t mean you get to shit all over them just because you’re unhappy about being here. Got it?”
Tears swam in her eyes, but she didn’t let them fall, she breathed deeply as if she’d been running, then she headed back in the direction of the clubhouse. “Yeah, whatever.”
I followed her up the steps and through the bar, but she ducked into the first room with an open door, slamming it before I could come after her.
I smiled, letting her have this victory. There would be time enough to burst her bubble later.