Page 86 of Tempting Fate

Angelis pulls the bedroom door shut behind them.

“Tricks?” Zeke demands the second we’re alone. “You wanna warn me not to fall for his tricks?”

“Yes.” Unsure why he’s turned his wrath my way, I hold his gaze as I slowly nod. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Fuck’s sake, Lily.” Zeke’s fingers tighten around my upper arms. “You’ve learnt nothin’. Not. A. Thing. In six fuckin’ years. The only thing that can hurt me is somethin’ happenin’ to you… which is why I’m goddamned furious you told Joseph that you shot Alex.”

“I… I?—”

“Didn’t think? Fell for Joseph’s tricks? Halle-fuckin’-lujah! You’re finally gettin’ it… except you’re still worryin’ about the wrong people. Just like the last time.”

“Oh, excuse me,” I snap back at him. His accusation stings, even though I recognise it was stupid to tell Joseph that I’m responsible for Alex’s current injuries. “I’m sorry for caring. About you. About my brothers. About my family. About this club. I forgot only those with a patch, and a big, swinging dick are allowed to do that.”

“Always so headstrong. Always looking for a way to martyr yourself for us.”

I narrow my eyes to discourage the angry tears that are building from falling down my cheeks. “You arsehole.”

Letting go of my left arm when I wrench free of his grip, Zeke curls his fingers around my right bicep, and drags me to our unmade bed. He presses his hands on the top of my shoulders and makes me sit. I plonk on the mattress with a huff, keeping my unblinking stare fixed on him.

My fiancé glares down at me as he says, “This has nothin’ to do with havin’ a patch or a dick. It’s about common sense. Logic. Use that big brain of yours to see that the only person we needa be worried about is you. Alex doesn’t want me. He doesn’t want Fret. He doesn’t want any brother in this club. Neither does his corrupt as fuck father. They want you… and everyone can see that, but you.”

“They’ll use you to?—”

“So fuckin’ what?” He scrubs his palms along the shaved sides of his head. “If you don’t stop and think, and slow the fuck down and trust me, this is gonna end up worse than the last time. Alex has some screws loose, but it’s clear that he’s spent a long time thinkin’ this through—from whatever he’s pulled with the Bishops to his dad focusin’ the police force on us. He believes that you’re his… and he’s not goin’ to stop tryin’ to take you unless I put a bullet in his head.”

Bottom lip wobbling, I run my fingertips over the lilies etched over Zeke’s heart. “I’m yours, never his.”

“Then prove it, metukà shelì. Trust me to keep you safe.”

“I’ll try.”

With his thumb, Zeke traces my swollen bottom lip. He curls his fingers under my chin and makes me stretch to meet him halfway as he stoops down. Our mouths collide. Hungry. Angry. Unsure. We kiss like it’s been months since we last tasted each other. When Zeke’s free hand drops to the top of my towel, I arch my back and open myself up to his touch.

“Fuckin’ beautiful,” he growls once my breasts are exposed to his wandering fingers. “Perfection.”

Although alarm bells ring in my head, reminding me that we haven’t truly sorted out our issues—the lies about the letters and Alex’s release, giving Sander weed, keeping the secret about Nadia and Alex—I allow my eyelids to flutter shut when he palms my left breast and flicks his thumb over my furled nipple.

“God… Zeke?—”

Someone bangs on our door.

Hard and furious.

“Venom, we’ve got a situation out front,” Cub shouts. “Need you now.”

“Fuck.” Zeke jerks away from me. Staring down at me, he swallows hard, then shakes his head as if to clear it. Game face in place, he gestures to my side of our wardrobe. “Get dressed. Then grab your gun and your knife and meet me in the bar. I don’t wanna see you without a weapon until Alex is arm wrestlin’ with the reaper.”

I give him a quick nod. “Okay.”

When he turns to grab clean clothes for himself without saying anything else, I snatch some random items from my drawers and lock myself in the bathroom.

Once I’m alone, it all hits.

Forehead against the wood of the door, I close my eyes and fight back the urge to scream. Everything is a mess. My relationship. My family. The MC. Alex is back, and he’s not going down without a fight. Fret’s in the hospital—shot because of me. Sander’s going to hate us all when he returns from his basketball game to discover that Alex is back in our life. Zeke has lied, over and over. Slash and Toker have helped cover for him. My best friend supplied crystal meth to my twin.

It’s too much to deal with in one go.

“Oh, God.” This time, when I take the Lord’s name in vain, it’s not because of Zeke’s magic fingers. No, this time, I’m pleading for some help. “Please. Please. Make Alex go away. Keep Fret alive. Bring Sander home safely tonight. Fix me and Z?—”

---