Rough Justice (Sinner's Tribe Motorcycle Club #1)(99)

Except Arianne.

Damn, the woman had made it clear she wanted nothing from him. Didn’t need his help or his protection. Hell, she took independence to a whole new level. Jagger didn’t know if he liked that or not. How could he control her if there was nothing she needed from him? Not that it mattered now.

“I knew you couldn’t stay grouchy for the entire party.” Sherry slid her hand over his thigh and his cock twitched—an automatic response, given their history together.

“Sherry…”

“You’re thinking about her.” Sherry gave his leg a chaste pat. “You only smile when it has to do with women or Max. So don’t worry. I won’t try to seduce you, although you’re looking mighty seduceable, all glowering and moody here in the corner. Some girls go for cheerful guys. I go for the dark, sullen type.”

“Well, then, Zane’s your man.” He jerked his head at Zane, who was chatting with Gunner in the corner.

Sherry laughed. “I think I’ll pass. You might be scary, but you’ve got heart. Zane is cold all the way through.”

“He has heart,” Jagger said. “He’s just hidden it away.”

“And yours is on your sleeve.”

“She’s gone, Sherry.” He stood so quickly, she had to throw out an arm to catch herself. “I withdrew the Sinner claim, and kicked her out. She’s nothing to the club.”

Sherry squeezed Jagger’s hand. “She’s something to you. Even though you pretend you don’t—you do care, Jagger. And if you let me come back, how can you do less for her?”

Less? Hell, he’d done more. He’d released his claim and given her the freedom she desired. He’d let her go. Damn Sherry for stirring things up when he’d already settled everything in his mind. He’d done everything he could do. Time to move on.

“I’m outta here. Not in the mood for a party.” He took a step away, and then looked back over his shoulder. “You okay getting home?”

Sherry smiled. “I am home. You know the brothers will watch out for me.”

And they would. Which meant he could get on his bike and just ride. Away from the crowds and the memories, away from the hope Sherry had planted in his heart. He needed his bike, and the afternoon sun in his face. He needed the rev of the engine and the wind in his hair.

He needed his girl. Arianne.

*

“You aren’t leaving tonight.” Banks scowled at Arianne as a worker narrowly missed running a two-by-four through the mirror behind the bar. “Don’t even think about it.”

Arianne stared at Banks’s bruised face. He looked worse than when she’d seen him three days ago, the bruises now a motley collection of blue and green. She turned away and swept broken glass from the bar counter into a container. Renovations were almost complete, and Banks had called her in to help get ready for the big reopening.

“Tomorrow,” she said. “And after I go, I won’t ever have to worry about Viper hunting me down or beating me again. I won’t be kidnapped, shot at, or claimed as a blood price. I’ll be normal.”

Dawn slid onto a stool and out of the way as two workers carried a new table to the center of the bar.

“Is that what you really want? I mean, you’re not going for Jeff anymore, and the people who love you most are right here.” Dawn hesitated. “Me and Banks. Your friends. Jagger’s here.”

“Jagger will be hunting for Jeff. He knows everything now, and there’s no way he’s going to let it go.” Arianne grabbed a wet cloth and scrubbed the counter so hard, the cloth squeaked across the surface. “I’ve left messages on Jeff’s phone and with some of his friends to warn him. But that’s all I’ll do. I’ll never give up hope that he might change or reform, and he won’t have that chance if he’s dead.”

“You’re loyal to a fault.” Dawn’s sympathetic look sliced through Arianne, shaking her resolve. How could she leave her bestie? And yet, how could she not go?

“That’s the problem.” She rinsed out the cloth in the bar sink and hung it to dry. “How can I be with the man who kills my brother? How can I love someone who lives by a code that puts the honor of his club over Jeff’s life? Jagger and I share the same values, but for me they lead to forgiveness, and for him they lead to revenge. It’s a conundrum.”

Dawn laughed. “Then you’re living in the perfect place.”

Banks joined them at the bar and hefted a box of liquor on the counter, a scowl on his face. “Not working as usual, I see.”

Arianne pulled a bottle of whiskey from the box and put it on the shelf behind the bar. The entire display stock had to be replenished. Not one bottle remained unbroken after the fight.

“That’s ‘cause you’re under renovation until the doors open. You were lucky to get a crew out here so fast to fix the place up.”

“Wasn’t me.” Banks handed Arianne another bottle. “Didn’t recognize the name of the company on the work order, but I’m pretty sure Jagger sent them.”

“Jagger?” A knot formed in Arianne’s belly. “Is that his way of saying sorry?”

“Man like that doesn’t say sorry.” He nudged her until she’d put the bottle on the shelf and then gave her another one. “The work crew … they’re here because he wants something from me.”