Page 13 of Sweet Revenge

“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.

“Come on, I’ll walk you up.”

“You don’t have to do that,” I said quickly before dropping my eyes back to the bar top.

“Maggie,” he called. “Look at me.”

I’d been trained well by Snake to always look up when he uttered those words, so my head snapped up, and my eyes met his. Gunner stared at me briefly before he sighed and dropped his head. When he lifted it again, I saw in his expression that he was frustrated. “Nothing will happen to you if you tell me no, Maggie.”

I didn’t believe him. I’d experienced years of that not being true, but I nodded anyway. “Okay.”

“You don’t believe me, I know that, but you will Maggie. I promise, you will learn you can trust me.”

He backed away and came around to stand next to me until I stood and walked beside him across the room. I saw his head turn a few times toward some people, but I kept my eyes forward, needing some time alone. This was nice of them, but I didn’t know what to do with that. He stopped at the mouth of the hallway and motioned for me to go ahead of him up the stairs, which I did. I moved slowly and realized my pain medication must be wearing off because everything was starting to ache again. I turned the knob and pushed open the door to my room, smiling to myself when I saw the pretty comforter Becs had brought me months ago, trying to make the room look nicer, she’d said. I didn’t shut the door, sensing Gunner was still behind me, and instead just moved to sit on the side of the bed. Gunner walked past me into the bathroom, and I heard the water running for a minute before it shut off, and he was once again standing in front of me with a glass of water and pills in his outstretched hand.

“While you were talking to Bull, Becs told me she put your meds and a glass up here for you.”

I held out my hand, and he dumped the few pills into it. I put them in my mouth and reached for the glass, took a drink of the cool water, and swallowed, closing my eyes when my throat still burned.

“Thank you.” I whispered and put the half-full glass on the small table beside my bed.

He stood there for a moment, but I kept my eyes down and waited. Finally, he spoke. “Get some rest, Maggie.”

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