Sweet Revenge (Sinners MC Book 1), page 4
He looked over my shoulder for a moment before his eyes came back to mine. “Just want a place of my own. Haven’t had that in a long time.”
I dropped the bottle and let it dangle from my fingertips. “How much ground you lookin’ at?”
“About an acre.” he answered. “Enough so I can put a house up and not hear the neighbors fighting or fucking.”
I chuckled. “Not a bad dream, brother.”
He grinned and looked over my shoulder again, but this time his grin fell. I glanced back and saw Becs had shown up and was talking to one of the prospects. When I turned back around, Race was looking down at his boots.
“You got a problem with Becs?” I asked the question that needed to be asked.
His head snapped up. “Nope.”
My brow furrowed in confusion. “You sure about that?”
“She puts herself in bad spots.” He glanced at her. “She should be more careful with her brother being the president of an MC.”
“She knows club life, brother,” I reminded him. “She grew up around this shit and so did Bear. You know that.”
“Maybe.” he said, but I wasn’t done.
I laid my hand on his shoulder. “You want her, brother, you better make that known. You’ve been tiptoeing around each other for a while now, but I gotta warn you, a girl like Becs isn’t gonna be unattached forever.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Good thing I don’t want her.”
He made it look real, and I gave him credit because if I didn’t know him, I’d think he wasn’t interested. But I did know him, and I’d paid attention over the past few years. He wanted her, he’s always wanted her, and I’ve still never figured out why the hell he didn’t just go after what he wants.
“Maybe if you say it enough, it’ll actually be true.” I squeezed his shoulder and walked out around him, heading for the bar where I sat down my empty bottle.
“Want another, Gunn?”
I shook my head at Skinner who went back to serving drinks and staring at the tits working their way out of the blonde’s shirt. The kid was gonna have a damn good night.
There wasn’t much I’d ever wanted out of life. Good friends, club life on my own terms, and creating custom work on cars and bikes. Looking around the bar tonight, I knew I had all of that. What I never thought I wanted was a woman by my side.
Until the night I saw Maggie.
It was by chance. She was sitting on the back of Snake’s bike, but she was all alone. I’d know his bike anywhere from the snake detailing he’d had added, but I’d never seen a girl on the back. Looking behind me, I saw the sign for the convenience store and figured he went in for cigarettes. I don’t think I’d ever seen him without one hanging from his lips.
We were in a shitty part of town. I was working at a garage to earn money to put into the custom garage Bear and I were building, and I’d just left work. I barely made it out the door before I saw her and stopped in my fucking tracks. I’d never seen a girl that beautiful in my entire life, but I knew I needed to move on. We didn’t need any trouble with the Black Widows, at least not yet, and especially since we were trying to keep our noses clean in this town and start new, but my feet refused to move.
Her attention had been focused on the door to the convenience store, but she must’ve felt my stare because her head turned, and her blue eyes landed on me. She looked scared, and I had to stop myself from stepping forward to tell her I wouldn’t hurt her. When the door to the store opened, she broke our stare and jerked her head that way. I watched as Snake threw his leg over his bike, started it up, and did a U-turn in the middle of the road.
Then I watched them drive away until I couldn’t see that damn bike anymore.
But I made it a point to go to that convenience store every chance I got, and some days, I was lucky enough to see her. I made sure she didn’t see me, though. I didn’t want to scare her, but I knew if she was ever alone, I’d approach her.
Turned out I didn’t need to.
She showed up at our clubhouse two years later with information that could help destroy the Widows, and I knew then that she was never going back.
I finally had my chance, and I sure as hell planned to take it.
CHAPTER SEVEN
MAGGIE
Sitting on the side of the bed, I waited patiently. It had been five days since I was brought into the hospital by ambulance, and I was finally being released. They’d kept me a little longer because of my head injury and the horrible headaches I was experiencing, but those had subsided and the doctor said he was finally comfortable sending me home.
Home.
A place that didn’t exist for me. I didn’t have a home. I had a place I was staying because I’d somehow become a responsibility to the Sinners. They appreciated the information I’d brought to them all those months ago and wanted to repay that. Somehow, without it ever being my intention, I’d become an obligation to them.
Something I never wanted to be.
It was starting to feel like I’d been an obligation to someone my entire life, and I had no idea how to change that.
Luke had been to the hospital several times, and I knew he was frustrated with me, but I honestly couldn’t remember the night Snake attacked me. I’ve searched my memory, but there was nothing. I told him I would contact him as soon as it came back, but I was starting to doubt that was going to happen, and I think my doctor was too. This hit to my head, one of many, might have been the one to permanently damage me.
And I didn’t care.
I was lost in a world of darkness. I felt nothing. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I didn’t want to see anyone. I overheard the doctor tell Becs he felt I was depressed and was prescribing me medication to help, but I didn’t care about that either. Medication wouldn’t change my situation.
I flinched when the door was pushed open and Becs walked through, followed by Gunner.
Gunner.
His intensity scared me. I didn’t understand it, and I was constantly on alert, waiting for it to turn against me. That was what I knew, what I understood. He’d never so much as touched me, but I didn’t trust him. He looked badass, like the bikers I’d come to know, but he didn’t talk to me like they did. His dirty blond hair was short compared to Snake’s long dark hair often worn in a ponytail, but I’d noticed over the past nine months that those weren’t the only differences. It wasn’t that Gunner’s eyes were dark blue and Snake’s were brown or that Gunner was tall and lanky while Snake was shorter and broad, it was the way he walked that was different, the way he carried himself. As much as I didn’t trust Gunner, I somehow recognized that if I could learn to trust him, I would feel safer than I ever had in my life.
I just didn’t know how to stop being afraid.
Becs rounded the bed and came to stand in front of me, a beautiful smile gracing her lips. “Finally, we get to take you home! Are you excited?”
Home. There was that word again. Home had been my mom. I hadn’t had home in a long time, but I nodded anyway. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
She held up a white paper bag and shook it. “I already stopped at the pharmacy and picked up your prescriptions.”
I nodded again. “Thank you.”
Her smile grew bigger. “You don’t have to thank me, Maggie. We’re friends. That’s what friends do for each other.”
Friends? I never really had a friend, and I didn’t expect her to think of me as one, so I was surprised. I was her obligation. The first time she came to see me after they moved me into the clubhouse all those months ago, she’d told me that Bear had asked her to visit me. I think it was his way of making me feel less like a prisoner.
But I was a prisoner, and we all knew that. Yes, they were keeping me to protect me from Snake and the other men in his club, but I was still a prisoner in the sense that I couldn’t leave, and it felt like that would never change.
“That outfit looks cute on you.” Becs said, and I looked down at the tank top and leggings I was wearing. I hadn’t paid much attention to the clothes she’d brought yesterday for me to wear today, just put them on this morning after the nurse helped me shower. Luke had taken the clothes I was wearing the night I was attacked because he was hoping they might find some DNA evidence on them, but I was doubtful. The rape kit had come back without semen, so Snake had obviously worn a condom. When I shared that with Luke, he said they may find hair on my clothes that could lead them to Snake. But I knew better. Snake would never leave a trace to implicate himself. The club trained him, trained all of them, to never leave anything behind.
Luke had told me they think Snake ran when he heard the police sirens, and therefore might have left something behind. When I asked him why he thought that, he told me he knew the only way Snake would leave without me was to save himself. He was probably right. Snake wanted to kill me, that was obvious, but it seemed he wanted to play with his prey a little before the kill. I guess I was lucky enough to be found before the kill.
Most days, I didn’t feel lucky for that reprieve.
I realized I’d never answered Becs, so I smiled softly without any happiness. “Thank you.”
“Let’s get out of here.” Gunner said, and I shifted my attention to him. He was wearing what I always saw him in, jeans and a T-shirt, black boots and his leather MC vest or cut, which was what they called it. Vice President was sewn on the front, and that caused a tremor of fear to run through me. It was a reminder of the power he held, and in my experience, anyone with power eventually used it against me.
Becs reached down and wrapped her hand around my elbow to help me up. I’d refused the wheelchair that was offered, and the nurses didn’t argue with me. I had nothing to carry while I walked beside Becs, her hand soft above the stiff material of my cast. Gunner walked in front of us, leading us to the elevator and eventually inside.
“I don’t work today, so I thought maybe we could make some popcorn and do some marathon binge-watching on Netflix.”
I looked up at Becs, who was considerably taller than my own five feet, two inches, and noticed her hopeful expression. She expected me to turn her down, and she wasn’t wrong. “I’m pretty tired actually.”
She nodded sadly. “Okay. I work tomorrow, but I’ll check my schedule, and we’ll plan it.”
I didn’t answer and knew all I wanted was to be alone. The rest of the elevator ride was quiet, as was the drive back to the Sinners clubhouse, but I didn’t miss the looks Becs and Gunner shared. I could see the worry on their faces, and it should’ve made me feel loved or at least liked, but instead, it made me feel small.
Feeling like an obligation was a bitch.
Gunner pulled the SUV into the parking lot and parked right outside the front doors, positioning the vehicle so my door faced the door of the club. I knew he did that for my protection in case anyone was watching and also for Becs’s protection while she helped me out. He gave a chin tip to the prospect standing outside at the door who returned it and yanked the door open, holding it while Becs and I walked through.
If I hadn’t been looking at my feet, I would’ve noticed them and maybe, just maybe, I wouldn’t have reacted. But I hadn’t seen them, so when I heard loud voices yelling my name, I jerked my arm free of Becs and covered my face with my casted arm before forcing my body backward until it hit something hard. I held my other arm, still in a sling tight to my side when I felt arms wrap around my waist. I thrashed against the body behind me until I heard a voice in my ear.
“Maggie, it’s me, baby. It’s Gunner. You’re safe.”
I stilled my body but kept my arm over my face. My breathing was hard, almost painful in my chest. I noticed the room was completely silent when Gunner’s voice once again sounded in my ear. “Everyone came to welcome you home.” He quieted his voice. “Uncover your eyes, baby, and you’ll see you’re safe.”
I dropped my arm and slowly lifted my head, embarrassment flooding me when I saw the bar area filled with people watching me, all their eyes locked on me, some full of sadness, while others held anger. When my eyes landed on Luke standing with his arm around his wife, heat from humiliation flooded my cheeks.
Bear was the first to move toward me, and he did it slowly, almost cautiously. “Maggie, sweetheart, we didn’t mean to scare you. Just wanted to give you a proper welcome home.”
“I’m sorry,” I said, somewhat out of embarrassment for my reaction but more out of habit, having embarrassed Snake in the past and reaped the consequences of that.
He reached out and put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing gently. “Don’t ever apologize for being you, sweetheart.”
I didn’t know how to do that. It felt like I’d been apologizing for who I was for a long time. My breathing was finally calming, and I realized my back was still pressed tight against Gunner’s chest. I stiffened, and I knew he felt it when he slowly moved his arms from around my waist but left both of his hands resting lightly against my hips. As my breathing slowed, I felt the ache traveling through my broken ribs most likely from throwing my body backward.
“Are you okay?” I heard from beside me and looked up into the worried eyes of Becs.
I nodded slowly. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Bear moved away slowly, and I saw that people were talking amongst themselves. My eyes scanned the room until they once again landed on Luke who was walking toward me with his wife right by his side, her hand clasped in his. My body stiffened further, and Gunner’s hands tightened on my hips.
Luke smiled softly when he made it to me. “Hi, Maggie.”
“Hi, Luke.” I said softly.
He released his wife’s hand and swung his arm around her shoulders. “This is my wife, Kate.”
“Hi, Kate.”
She held out her hand, which I hesitantly took and shook as best I could with the cast between my thumb and finger. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you.”
The small smile on my face dropped. I could only imagine what she heard. She either didn’t notice or pretended not to when she continued. “I’m sorry we did that when you came in. We should’ve known better. I definitely should’ve have known better.”
I tilted my head to the side. “Why?”
She frowned. “I was attacked last year outside the bar where I used to waitress on the weekends. I was skittish for a long time after that, so more than anyone else, I should’ve known you would be too.”
My eyes flicked from hers to Luke’s before making their way back. “I’m glad you had Luke then.”
“Me too.” she answered, but her expression turned sad. I didn’t know what I said that was wrong or made her sad, and I was suddenly so damn tired, I felt like I could fall over.
Almost as if he could sense what I was feeling, Gunner leaned down and spoke quietly. “Why don’t you come sit down? I’ll get you a drink.”
I nodded and let him steer me toward the bar where I sat on a stool. Gunner got me a bottle of water and opened it before setting it in front of me. I thanked him quietly, but I wasn’t even sure he heard me. A few of the members of the club came over and said they were happy to see me home, and I thanked them shyly. I didn’t really know them. I hadn’t ventured out of my room too often, and if I did, it was early in the morning when I knew no one would be up.
I took a long drink of my water, which felt good on my still healing throat. I was surprised Snake hadn’t choked the life out of me if my sore throat was any indication of how hard he’d choked me. I flinched a little when a large man wearing a leather cut sat on the stool beside me.
“Maggie O’Brien, we finally meet.”
I turned my head slightly and looked into dark brown eyes. He tilted his chin down and continued. “I’m Bull. I’ve seen you, but we haven’t met, so I figured now was the time to change that.”
I nodded. “Nice to meet you, Bull.”
His eyebrows lifted. “So, you do speak? We were starting to wonder if Bear was lyin’ about that.”
I swallowed hard but felt a smile tugging at my lips when he smirked. “I don’t think Bear would like you saying he lies.”
Bull snorted. “Fuck, you’re right about that, sweetheart.”
I smiled. “I figured.”
He leaned in a little, and I stiffened but made a conscious effort not to back away. “You gonna hang out with us more now?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m kind of a loner.”
He tilted his head slightly and studied me. “I don’t think that’s true. I think you’ve just been waiting for people who are worth your time.”
Worth my time? I’d always known I wasn’t worth anyone else’s time, not the other way around. Maybe he didn’t know my story like I assumed he did. Gunner wandered back down toward where I sat and stood across from me. He leaned his hip against the bar and settled his attention on Bull.
Bull’s eyes shifted from me to Gunner. “We got a plan?”
Gunner nodded. “Later.”
Bull nodded and leaned in again, a big smile on his face. “I’m heading out, Maggie, but I better see you again soon.”
I grinned, despite myself. Bull was a contradiction. He looked mean and tough with his bald head, large build, and tattoos, but he was funny and had been sweet to me. “Okay.”
He moved from the stool and made his way across the room. I noticed everyone seemed to be having a good time and remembered it was early evening on a Saturday, which meant girls would be coming, and it would get busy.
Again, as if reading my mind, Gunner placed his elbows on the bar top and leaned down. “You done with all this?”
“Yeah.” I answered quietly.
He gestured toward the back hallway where the stairs led up to the second floor. Eight bedrooms, all with their own bathroom, were upstairs. Some of which I knew a couple of guys stayed in permanently, some temporarily when they needed a place to crash after they drank too much. I also knew they had extra rooms for any out of town club members who visited and wanted to stay.
