Undeniable (Undeniable, #1)(18)

Deuce, with Christine, stalked across the room. Mick and I hurried out of the way. As soon as Deuce was gone, Mick turned to me.

“What the f*ck are you doing here?” he growled.

My mouth opened, but no sound came out. What?

He shook his head, glaring at me. “Thought Deuce learned his lesson when Preacher put him in the hospital, but, Christ, the two of you just keep goin’ back for more.”

My heart stopped beating. “What did you say?” I whispered.

“Your old man, babe, capped him twice. He nearly bled out. He was in surgery for a f*ckin’ minute. Needed a transfusion. Was in the hospital for weeks.”

I blinked rapidly, trying to process everything he just said. Shot him twice? Bled out. Surgery. Transfusion.

“Because of me?” I whispered. My voice caught, and my eyes filled with tears. I hadn’t known. If I had, I would have stayed away from him. Never, ever, would I have put Deuce in danger. God, I was so stupid. Stupid to push him into having sex with me. Stupid to think my father wouldn’t know. He always knew; he knew everything.

? ? ?

“Go,” Deuce demanded, pushing his wife toward her car. “Now.”

“Who is that?” she screeched. He squeezed his eyes shut, wincing. God, this f*cking woman.

“She is none of your f*ckin’ business, bitch. Now f*ckin’ go.”

“I f*ckin’ saw the way you were lookin’ at her! You’ve never looked at me that way! Never!”

“Never looked at you like much of anything ’cause you’re not much of anything ’cept a crazy f*ckin’ bitch.”

She came at him, fake nails flying. Grabbing her shoulders, he threw her up against her car. “Get the f*ck outta here!” he bellowed.

“What the f*ck is wrong with me?” she demanded. “What’s she got that I don’t?”

He let her go and backed away from her. “What’s wrong with you?” he sneered. “You’re not her; that’s what’s wrong with you. What’s she got that you don’t? Bitch, she’s got me, and you never f*ckin’ did.”

He watched her suck in air. She blinked rapidly, trying to stop the tears he knew were coming. He wanted to care, he really did, but he didn’t. Not anymore. Too much ugly shit had gone down between them for too many f*cking years. Met her at twenty-five, married her when she got pregnant, and lived in misery with her ever since. There was only so much nagging, screaming, and crying a man can take. He had stopped f*cking her years ago, and now he could barely stomach looking at her.

“Leavin’ you, Christine, and gonna move to the cabin,” he said quietly. “Can’t do this shit no more. Haven’t slept at home in over a year. You been showin’ up here, demandin’ money, spewin’ attitude, and just plain pissin’ me off with your f*ckin’ threats. Can’t do it no more.”

She put her hand on her throat, and her giant diamond engagement ring caught the sun. He had taken his ring off years ago, not to pick up women because that had never been a problem, but because looking at it made him sick.

“You gave her a tag,” she whispered hoarsely. “You don’t let any of your boys give their women tags.”

He stared at her. “She doesn’t belong to one of my boys. She’s f*ckin’ mine.”

It hit him then how right that sounded. Four years had gone by since he’d been inside her—four years of thinking about her, wondering what she was doing, and who she was doing.

Always thinking about her.

“Cole,” she whispered. “Don’t do this. We can make it work. We’ve done it before.”

“Go!” he barked. “Don’t f*ckin’ come back here.”

He left her crying and stalked back inside. He had just reached his office when what he heard from inside made his blood boil.

“Yeah, babe. He almost died. Because of you. So I’m standin’ here, lookin’ at you, wonderin’ why the f*ck he thinks you’re f*ckin’ worth gettin’ shot for ’cause I sure as f*ck ain’t seein’ it. You got a golden * or somethin’? Or was it the f*ckin’ innocent act he’s likin’?”

“What the f*ck?” he seethed.

Mick whirled around. A quick glance at Eva only enraged him further. She was shaking, trembling, tears pouring down her face.

Mick met him glare for glare. “She needed to know what the f*ck you’d gone through just to get some underage Demon * who ain’t all that anyway.”

He saw red. He saw motherf*cking red.

He swung his right fist, then his left, and then his right again. Mick blew backward with every hit until he ran out of room and hit wall. Grabbing Mick’s shirt collar, he got up in his face.

“Take off your f*ckin’ cut and get the f*ck outta my club.”

Mick’s eyes went wide. “You can’t—”

He swung his fist into Mick’s jaw, and the brother’s face whipped right and hit brick. “I f*ckin’ can. You got no idea what you just messed with. No f*ckin’ clue. You think you know, but you f*ckin’ don’t ’cause I didn’t tell you shit about it ’cause it’s none of your f*ckin’ business. So you take off your f*ckin’ cut and go the f*ck home. When I f*ckin’ feel like it, I’ll send Cox to bring you back.”