Page 47 of Sniper

I’m not the only one lying here, and she knows it.

Her face goes white, fear in her eyes, and I have to force myself not to pull her into my arms.

She shakes her head, her anger taking over. “I don’t care. My past is just that, Theo, something I have expressed, several times, I’m not ready to speak to you about…. Dammit, I see a counselor, for Christ’s sake! I’ve not told you what I’ve gone through, what you did was blatantly lie to me and manipulate me!”

My eyes widen, and I rasp, “What the fuck happened to you, Rory, and who in the hell do I kill?”

Her tears fall. "It doesn’t matter anymore. If you’d just told me the truth, maybe I could have come around, but now I don’t feel like I can’t trust you or your words anymore. It’s just lie after lie after lie.”

Fury blazes through me, and I snap, “I never lied to you about anything else, Rory….”

Shit… instantly I regret my words knowing I have, and she confirms it when she rasps, “Oh, so you didn’t swap my birth control for vitamins, you didn’t screw your brother’s girlfriend or fuck buddy or whatever she was to him?”

Ah, shit. I knew I should have thrown her birth control case away….

Scoffing, she slams the door, shouting, “I want that divorce, Theo!” making me groan, and bang my forehead against the wood.

I’m fucked….

Left, right, kick….

That was the last time she spoke to me, and this morning, she had the fucking balls to send me the divorce papers.

My dad had to hold me down while Momma cried, and Crystal apologized for opening her mouth, which really wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know I hadn’t told Aurora, only saw how loved up we were while out and about; no one knew about my fuck up except a few people.

Fuck, I miss my girl.

I growl, hitting the bag harder, feeling my knuckles tear as a voice states, “Your wife is going to kick your ass if she sees your knuckles busted, and fuck me does it still sound weird calling someone your wife.”

I scoff and grunt. “Wife? You mean the woman who sent me divorce papers this morning expecting me to accept them?”

Pitbull, my best friend and who will be taking over as the club secretary within the next few months so I can focus on being road captain, groans. “Fuck’s sake, I never should have stopped to help her with her car.” He’s silent for a moment, then barks, “No, actually, you should have forced her to accept a fucking new one!”

I chuckle, grabbing the bag, looking his way. “I’ve been trying for the past year, brother, fuck, I’ve been trying to get her to move into my home, but to do that….”

I trail off and he finishes, “You needed to tell her who you were.” I nod, and he asks, “Why didn’t you? I mean, when you first met, you obviously weren’t wearing a cut, and honestly, I’m pissed I didn’t know. I’m your best friend.”

I huff, grabbing my towel, wiping my face, and walking to the edge of the ring, where I sit down.

“I was on a coffee run. Sarah begged, and I didn’t want to fucking deal with an angry customer after the delivery guy scratched his car to shit,” I admit, and Pitbull winces. I sigh. “Autumn, who I adopted on my wedding day, my little girl, was two at the time, and had thrown milkshake at the side of my face.” He laughs, and I smile. “I was hooked as soon as we made eye contact with her.”

He nods. “So why not tell Aurora?”

I shrug. “Every woman I’ve met has wanted the patch and what comes with it. I wanted to ensure she wanted me for me, but when I brought the MC up, she shut me the fuck down, admitting she doesn’t like them. From then on, I made sure she fell for me, which she did, but in my heart, I knew I needed her tied to me in every way, so she didn’t leave me.”

Pitbull groans. “You married her and, let me guess, messed with her birth control?”

I wince but nod. “Not my best idea, but I can’t say I’m sorry about it. I got the woman I love, a daughter I adore, and a baby on the way. I got everything I’ve never wanted but suddenly needed. But now my woman won’t talk to me. I know this is all my fault, I know it, but fuck, I didn’t expect her to threaten divorce and actually send me the fucking papers.”

I run a frustrated hand through my sweaty hair, and he sighs and walks my way, leaning against the ring. “You're plotting, aren’t you?” he asks, reading me like a book.

I give him a smirk. The fucker knows me well, that’s for sure. Growing up, we were fucking inseparable, along with Snake, and Cannon, my blood cousin.

I nod. “And you’re going to help me, since, you know, you and Crystal let the secret out before I had a chance.”

He groans, dropping his head, and I laugh.

I know I hurt her by lying, but she needs to understand that I did what I had to so I didn’t lose her. I was waiting for her to open up to me so we could have a heart to heart but times up now.

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