Chapter Twenty-Eight
Iknew it was a bad fucking idea, but she convinced Micro it was something she needed to do, and he didn’t want to breach her trust and put a stop to it. This is the result. She’s a fucking broken mess.
I held her through her tears, nodding to biker brothers as they patted my shoulder, or nodded at me, and left. When only Micro and Grimm were left, they watched us for a moment, and Micro sighed.
“I’m sorry. I thought maybe there was a bridge that could still be built, but that bitch isn’t worth the effort. Tell Claudia I’m sorry.”
“Wasn’t your fault, Pres, I should have tried harder to talk her out of it.” I’d literally just been blaming him in my head, but I could see he wished he’d said no to her. I couldn’t exactly beat him up even more, could I? Maybe I was finally learning not to be a prick.
He offered me a morose smile, and left the VIP room, leaving me alone with Grimm. We’d never spoken beyond him kicking me out of this place and banning me, but he’d allowed this tonight for Claudia. He opened his mouth and I groaned, kissing Claudia’s hair as she sniffled in my arms.
“Thanks for this, but don’t worry. I won’t outstay my welcome. I’ll be gone as soon as she’s calm enough. Don’t make me try and take her on my ride like this, man.”
He rubbed his chin, buffing a little of that pale colour from his skin in the process. He looked about as awkward and uncomfortable as I felt, so at least we were both in the same boat.
“Look, I don’t like how things went down that first night here, but I can’t deny that you’re treating Claudia well.
You’re looking out for her, and you’ve caused no more trouble here, so uh…
Jesus… yeah, you’re temporarily unbanned, okay?
You can come here and party or whatever, but the first ounce of trouble and that ban is permanent forever, right? ”
Wow, I thought this fucker would never back down because he was an arrogant dick, but then that was the voice in my head that I let out too often.
That’s how I always fucked shit up. Instead I focused on gratitude, because he was giving Claudia her favourite happy place back, with me in it, instead of stuck outside.
“Thanks. Appreciate that, and I won’t let you down. She comes first, and she loves it here. Makes her feel like she’s no different than the rest of us.”
“She isn’t. She’s-”
“I know that. I think that’s how she sees herself, not how I do. I’m not dissing her, man. She’s perfect.”
He grinned. “Good. Stick around tonight if that’s what she wants. I’ll uh, see you around.”
He left the VIP room, and I lifted Claudia’s chin, the pink cheeks and teary eyes breaking my fucking heart. How could a person treat their loved one like this? I used my thumbs to push the tears away, cupping her face in my hands.
“Wanna go get grindy on the dancefloor?”
She blinked, working her lips as she pondered a word. “Rindy?”
“With a G. Grindy. Me up against you, dancing and fondling each other. Grindy.”
Her lips trembled with a giggle that sounded a little forced, but it was progress. She nodded, sliding off my lap and reaching for my hands. If she wanted to dance all fucking night, that’s what we’d do.
We headed down the stairs, into the deafening music, that seemed to boom right through my fucking soul, but the way it affected her, as she led me to the centre of the dancefloor?
That made it my favourite sound ever. Her sadness seemed to fade as her hips started to move, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, her eyes on mine as we matched rhythms and danced for each other.
They say dance like nobody’s watching. Well, as far as I was concerned, nobody else fucking existed, just us.
Just her. She was becoming the reason I breathed, and I didn’t want to do anything to screw it up.
We might be living together for temporary reasons, but it didn’t mean it had to change.
Once Henley and his old lady returned, I’d use some of that Bennett money and get us a room somewhere, just until the clubhouse was ready.
The idea of asking her to move there with me was terrifying, because that’s the point where she’d realise what she was signing up for. A worthless biker asshole with more than one foot in the criminal world, and fuck all else to offer.
“What’s wrong?” She pressed her lips to my ear to yell at me, and it was weird how that made my dick even harder than it already was. Maybe it was the way her warm breath teased my skin as she spoke. Maybe I’m just a horny fucker. A hopeless case.
“Nothing,” I finally said, because I wasn’t about to tell her about the insanity in my head right now. I was still working through this shit myself. I’d been single for too fucking long, but what if my need for her pushed her away because it freaked her out?
“No lies, we don’t lie to each other,” she said firmly, pulling back to glare at me. Fuck.
“Nothing to worry about?” I tried, and she rolled her eyes.
“Let’s go home.” She dragged me across the dancefloor, weaving our way between sweaty, writhing bodies, bumping against various elbows and getting a few glares along our way.
When we stepped outside, and the music was reduced to a muffled heavy thud, I pulled her to a stop.
“I’m not lying or something. I’m just working stuff out in my head, and trying not to say it until I understand it. I’m trying to do better.”
Her palms rested against my cheeks and she smiled softly.
“You don’t need to change a single thing, Stag. I’m falling in love with exactly who you are.” Love. She said love. I’m feeling it and so is she. Fuck yes.
I tugged her against me, my lips landing on hers fairly clumsily, but with intent. Intent to show her with my mouth just how I fucking feel about her. Should I be saying it back? Is it too soon? Is that how I let the winged monkeys out and ruin things?
“Let’s go home,” she said again, and that word settled deep in my chest, because she didn’t mean Henley’s house, not really. She meant wherever we decide to be. Together.
Claudia
When we reached Stag’s motorcycle, our helmets on as we stood beside it, he paused, his brow creasing. With his visor up, I could only see part of his face, but I saw the rage filling his eyes as he suddenly leaned down to stare at the black and yellow paintwork. Oh god.
Someone had very clearly scratched two words into the paint. They’d destroyed it, trashed the beautiful artwork he had on there. A phoenix. Of course it was a phoenix.
It was obvious who the culprit was too. Those two jagged words were ‘Not Worthy’.
Why would she do this? Stag moved around the other side of the motorbike and his eyes went from rage filled to horrified.
He stuck a hand out as I tried to move around to see it, shaking his head, the helmet still blocking his mouth, so I had no idea if he was speaking.
He lifted it off and set it down, and now I could see curse-words leaving his lips in rapid succession, followed by him lifting his phone to his ear.
“Grease, I need you to look at camera footage outside Grimm’s. Now, please.”
I tried edging closer and he stopped me again, shaking his head.
“Someone’s vandalised my ride, brother. I need confirmation.” He didn’t say he needs to know who, because it’s obvious. He’s saying he needs proof for the police.
He murmured something that I missed, and shoved the phone back in his pocket.
“We’re gonna go back inside until the cops get here.”
“Police? What did she do on the other side?”
He shook his head again, moving toward me, and heading me off before I can get a look at the damage.
“You don’t need to see it.”
“Don’t baby me, dammit! She’s my twin, she knows I’ll see it. I have to see it.” I glared at him, expecting him to back down like he always did, because he never enforced his will on me, but this time he just shook his head again.
“No. It’s not for your eyes.”
He kept me in front of him while he pulled his phone out again, obviously answering a call.
“Yeah. No, she’s scratched words into the paintwork. It’s clearly that bitch.”
I took advantage of his distraction and darted around the other side of him as he turned to try and catch me.
“I have to see it!”
He was right though. I didn’t need to see this. How could she?
The words on this side said simply ‘she’s your problem now’.
I’m his problem? As in I was her problem? As in she was passing the buck, so she could be free? That’s how she saw me? Not as her sister, or twin, but as a problem? A burden? As Stag tugged me around the back, I caught something else scratched into the paintwork.
‘Phoenix pussy’.
Why would she do this? I know she was pissed at me, but why do criminal damage to his motorcycle? Stag followed my line of sight, and I saw his fist clench around the phone, before he wrapped his arm around me and tugged me away from it.
“What will you do?” I asked, even though I knew he was still on the phone. He tapped my shoulder so I’d look at him before he spoke.
“I’m pressing charges, sorry. This isn’t cool. That’s expensive to fix, and I think she needs a wakeup call. Rocket’ll be pissed, that’s his hard work and he’ll have to redo the lot.”
I hated that it was my twin doing this to him, that she was so out of control that vandalism seemed to be her only option in her mind.
I still wondered if we could talk it out, if it could be resolved by counselling, was there even such a thing as twin counselling?
Was it because we were twins, and somehow our bond was making her crazy?
Another tap on my arm lifted my eyes to Stag again.
“We’re going back inside, love. Let’s get you a stiff drink while we wait.” While we wait for the police, for my boyfriend to press charges against my own twin sister for a crime. An actual crime.
“This is crazy. How could she do this… are you sure it was her? Oh god, of course it’s her, who else would it be, right?”
Stag cupped my face in both palms, his skin warm against my chilled flesh, chilled by the situation, and the horrors in my head.
“She was caught on camera, Claudia, she’s guilty. I don’t want to cause trouble for the two of you, but I feel like this needs to be addressed, because otherwise she could escalate. What if she’s caused damage to the ride, and we get injured? What if she tried to get us killed?”
Oh god. I pressed my palm over my mouth as I pulled away from him. Killed? Did my own twin just try to kill me?