Chapter 35
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
VIKING
Jerking my chin toward the exit, I look over to Flop.
He’s focused on the door as well. He’s ready as fuck for whatever is coming.
He is also nice and worked up, pissed the fuck off because he was locked and abandoned inside the back of a fucking box truck.
I don’t blame him. I would be ready to shoot first and ask questions later if I were in his shoes.
“You ready to go in?” I ask. “Bullet is dealing with politics, and I need to get Lainey out.”
Flop flicks his gaze from me to the exit, then back to me. His lips curve up into a grin, then he lets out a chuckle. I can tell he’s getting ready to say some fly shit. I start to tell him to shut the fuck up, but he doesn’t continue. Which is probably only because he’s fucking ready.
I watch as he throws the door to his car open, unfolding before he starts to make his way up to the back door.
I almost have to jog behind him to keep up.
He’s goddamn focused. Which I’m here for.
If this doesn’t solidify his position in the club, I don’t know what will.
I’ll even take full responsibility for him after this shit. He’s ready to be patched.
Following behind him, I reach for my gun, slipping it out of my shoulder holster. I haven’t had to use it often, as my position doesn’t really call for that. I’m all about maps and leading the way.
I usually leave the firepower for the others, but I’m not afraid to, and I would be fucking delighted to use it on Paul.
Flop tries the door, and thankfully, it opens. He holds it for me. He’s going to be my backup, which is fucking great, because I don’t think my anxiousness could handle him walking in front of me.
I have to be in charge of this shit.
And I have to be the one who gets Lainey.
I walk through the hallways, making my way toward the music and the sound of voices in the distance. I stand in front of a door, and the sounds of the wedding are louder as I place my ear against it, listening.
I really fucking want to burst through there and take my woman for myself. I try to hear her voice, but I can’t make out any distinct ones aside from some being male and some being female. I know I need a little patience, though. But I only have the capacity of a little.
Reaching for the doorknob, I twist it before I open the door slightly, careful not to make too much noise or show.
My gaze scans the room. It’s full of people, all sitting at tables.
Nobody even notices that I’ve opened the door, let alone slipped into the room.
I don’t even need to be careful. I’m pretty sure I could start shooting, and I don’t think anyone would give a fuck.
Flop glides in behind me, and we both hug the walls even though I doubt we really need to. Nobody’s focus is on us. They are chatting with one another, then I realize nobody is looking at the front of the room.
I do something I know I shouldn’t. Sliding my gaze over the room, I look at the front, and that’s when I see them.
Paul and Lainey are at a table alone together.
I expect to see them talking to one another, their heads bent as he whispers all the things he’s going to do to her tonight, because that’s what I would be doing if I were in that seat.
Instead, Lainey is staring at her plate, her eyes not even blinking.
But the asshole’s focus is to the side, staring at a table.
Shifting my attention over to that table, I press my lips together in a thin line.
He’s staring at Lorenzo’s pretty younger wife.
And she is staring at Paul with a huge smile on her face.
What the fuck?
Now I wonder if what Paul did was because he was trying to get Lorenzo out of the way a lot sooner than God intended for it to happen. Like, maybe he wants us to take him out because we think he made the call to steal our bikes and fuck with our guys.
Holy fucking shit. I cannot believe how goddamn cold this fuck is. And also, how the hell Lorenzo got two pieces of shit under him, one he birthed and the other he fucking placed there, I do not know.
Tearing my gaze away from them, I need to make it to where the bathrooms are located. Because I know that’s going to be my best bet on getting Lainey out of here with minimal conflict.
I’m sure that’s what Bullet wants.
Minimal conflict in extracting her.
Extracting Lainey.
Bringing her home.
My heart begins to race. It slams against my ribs as I think about the fact that this woman is going to be on the back of my bike in a matter of minutes. And she’s not just going to be on the back of my bike for the short ride to the clubhouse. No, she’s going to be… on the back of my bike.
Lainey-Rose was made just for me. Nobody else. And I was living in a goddamn other world if I thought I could live my life without her. If I could have let this man have her for himself.
I was stupid as fuck—I am a stupid fuck.
I should never have let her wear the dress. And I damn sure never should have allowed her to walk down the fucking aisle to another man, let alone promise him forever, when I knew that she was mine. She’s always been mine, and she’ll always be mine. She is my forever, not his.
I’m correcting that shit now, though.
Right fucking now.
I ignore the fuck at her side, for now at least, and shift my attention to her again. I need to see her. It’s like now that we’re in the same room again, I need to ensure she’s here and safe.
She’s not looking at her plate anymore. Instead, she’s lifted her head, and she’s staring straight ahead. I can tell she’s not looking at anything in particular. If she were seeing anything at all, I would be surprised.
When I really look at her, I see past the white dress and veil, mainly because I fucking hate the sight of her in that white. Her makeup is too heavy, her hair is piled up too high on her head, but she still looks absolutely gorgeous.
Lainey was made to be the center of everyone’s attention. She’s at the front of the room, but nobody sees her there. Nobody is looking at her, and that is a goddamn shame because I’m completely enamored by her.
“Get your cock wet later, brother. We need to get her out of here,” Flop grinds out behind me.
That should piss me off, the fact that Flop is even thinking about my cock and her cunt, or really about her cunt more than anything. But it doesn’t, because he’s right. I am thinking about getting my cock wet deep inside her. And I can practically taste her. I’m so close.
I would fuck her right there on that table in front of the entire guest list if I could.
LAINEY
I’ve never felt alone in a room full of people before quite like this. Sure, I’ve always been a bit of an outcast. I never fit in with the club, at least not before I met all the girls. Well, really, until Dakota came crashing into my life.
But I’ve never fit in with people from town, either. I’ve tried so many different types of groups, but nothing works for me, and this crowd is definitely the same. My full plate loses my interest, and I lift my gaze up to scan the crowd.
All of my people are toward the back, no doubt placed there by Paul himself. I have no doubt about that, especially since he’s ignoring everything about me. Every single part of me. I don’t understand what’s going on, but clearly, he’s gotten what he wants, and now he’s over it.
He’s staring off somewhere in the distance, but I can’t be bothered to see what he’s looking at, nor do I care. Something catches the corner of my eye as I continue to gaze around the room, and that image causes me to do a double take because it can’t be true… can it?
It’s Gunnar.
Someone else is behind him, another member of the club. I don’t recognize him, but that doesn’t really mean anything since I don’t spend much time down there, and he appears fairly young, so I didn’t grow up with him.
I watch as they stick close to the walls, moving around the room, then I realize they’re headed straight for the hallway with the bathrooms. My heart races at the thought of him being here to claim me, to declare that he loves me.
It’s too late for all of that, though, so I can’t imagine why he would be here. But I’m going to find out. I keep my focus on them as they move through the room, holding my breath until they’re in the hallway and away from prying eyes.
I begin to move my seat back so I can stand up and get the hell out of here.
I can only hope that where I’m going, I won’t be coming back here again.
I know I shouldn’t think like that, especially as insistent as I was about the whole marriage, but I have never felt instant regret like this in my life.
Before I can stand, I feel a hard hand clamp down around my forearm. Flicking my gaze down to that hand, I slide it up his arm and then meet his eyes. It’s Paul. His brows are furrowed, and his lips are pressed together in a thin line.
“I’m heading to the bathroom,” I whisper.
His face relaxes, and he leans back in his seat a bit more, his hand falling from my arm. “Don’t be gone too long, or people will ask questions.”
I watch as his lip twitches into a smirk, and he delivers a wink that I’m sure he thinks is devilishly handsome. It’s not. But whatever. I don’t care right now. All I really care about is getting to that hallway, to that man—to Gunnar.
“I won’t,” I say, and I hope with all that I have that it’s a lie.
I don’t stand up and run toward Gunnar the way I want to; I know if I do that, I’m going to draw a ton of attention to myself. So I slowly rise from my seat and smile as I move through the room. Nobody pays attention to me, at least in the first half of the room.
But when my gaze scans the second half, the Vicious Reapers section, I notice that I am being watched, not just by one person, but by almost all of them. It makes me wonder if they know something, and then, when my gaze connects to Bullet’s, he dips his chin, his lips curved up into a smile.
He’s happy.
I hope he’s happy because I’m about to have all my wildest fantasies and dreams come true. As much as I try not to get too excited about the idea, my heart races and my blood roars as sweat breaks out over my skin. Shifting my gaze from his, I try to calmly walk toward the hallway.
I hold my breath as I slip into the space that I’ve been anticipating, and I am not only disappointed but also struck down with instant sadness.
They aren’t here.
The hallway is completely empty.
Walking toward the bathroom, I stop when I reach the door, and it opens without me even touching it. I think about turning around, but my heart leaps at the thought of Gunnar being the one behind the opening of the door.
I step through the doorway, and my breath comes out in a whoosh because I’m met with his gaze. Those icy-blue eyes that own my soul. He closes the door behind me, his body moving closer to me before he flips the lock into place.