Page 63 of Savage Heart

“That is not what I fuckin’ said; I said we made itsoundlike we were fuckin’. Hound was at the door that night, and when you got there, he texted me. Then Bonnie and I put on a show. She was wearing those booty shorts, so it didn’t take much effort for her to simulate the sound of bodies smacking together. For me, all I had to do was grunt a little, make the sounds I know you liked when we fucked—”

Her blood rushed to her face, and she hissed, “Youput on a show? With fuckingsound effects—offucking?”

Trouble’s lip curled in a smile, but it quickly dropped at the look on her face. He cleared his throat, then answered, “Yes. I never actually touched her, Skizzy. Inevertouched her. We had to stand close because of the silhouettes, but I never oncetouched her. She slapped her thigh, I grunted and groaned, and then she went off script with the shit she said…and I just followed along, knowing it would help push you away that much harder. I didn’t mean a goddamn word of it, baby. And I swear, if I’d known you were pregnant, I never would have done any of that. I would have moved to Stanford with you, and I would have been there for you and Erika. We would have married, and we would have been a family….”

Liz listened to what he was saying—his truth—but she couldn’t comprehend that level of deception. So…he didn’tcheatwith Bonnie, but that meant nothing. He still hurt her, still abandoned her, still broke her into tiny shards of sharp pieces. His truth meant nothing because the consequences of the lies were still the same; she was still betrayed, she still had to survive on her own, she still had to raise Erika alone, and she still felt the soul-deep pain of someone with a broken heart.

Shaking her head, overwhelmed with everything—his words, her feelings, her thoughts, she took an unsteady step back, nearly tumbling over the coffee table. Trouble cursed and reached out to grab her, but she threw her arms out to stop him.

“Don’t touch me. Don’t ever fucking touch me,” she rasped. Without another word spoken between them, Liz turned away from him, but she didn’t miss the abject anguish on his face as she did.

It wasn’t until she reached her room that she let the tears free.

And as the tears cascaded down her face, she replayed every word Trouble said, every truth…and that peeled back a new layer of flesh, leaving a bleeding wound on old scars.

“Oh my God, what a fucking idiot,” Tessa said around her mouthful of chocolate chip cookie. Skathi was nearly a week past due and had been having Braxton Hicks contractions all day, and her way of dealing with the stress of it was to bake. And Tessa was happily devouring them as fast as she could put them in her mouth.

Liz chomped down on her own cookie, careful to not get the ooey gooey chocolate on her cream silk blouse.

She’d gotten up that morning, and noticed Trouble had already left. She was equal parts relieved and disappointed, and she refused to even think about that disappointed part. Instead of thinking much of anything, since she’d already spent most of the night tossing and turning and thinking about what Trouble had revealed, she’d gotten Erika ready for school and out the door, waved to Toke and Slick, her escorts for the day, and then headed to the clubhouse after dropping Erika off at school. Toke remained behind at the school to watch the building and be on guard for Russians, and Slick followed Liz to the clubhouse on his bike. Last she saw him, he was playing pool with Ringmaster,one brother Liz had yet to actually meet. He spent most of his time at the club-owned tattoo parlor, which made sense because there wasn’t a single patch of skin on his body that wasn’t inked.

“Who’s an idiot?” Fae asked as she plopped onto the couch beside Tessa. When she reached out to grab a cookie, Tessa slapped her hand. “Hey! I thought she made those for everyone.”

Tessa growled. “No,thoseare mine. I asked for double chocolate cherry, and she made them, just for me.” She pointed to the platter with double chocolate mocha cookies, from which Liz had been snacking. “You can have those.”

Fae rolled her eyes. “Sheesh, you’re so freaking territorial. You’d think the cookies were made from Fang or something.” She grabbed a mocha cookie and took a bite, ignoring Tessa’s glower. “So who’s the idiot?” She glanced between Tessa and Liz, her whiskey eyes curious.

Tessa’s sapphire-eyed gaze snapped to Liz, silently prodding her.

Liz sighed, finished her cookie, and said, “Trouble.”

Fae gasped, her eyes widening and all doll like. She was adorable—it was no wonder massive, brooding Hawk fell for her. “What did Trouble do?”

With only a moment’s hesitation—in order to take a gulp of her black coffee—Liz spilled everything for the second time that morning.

Earlier that day, she’d come to the clubhouse, hoping one of the brothers came in shot or stabbed or dying of some STI, so she wouldn’t have to think about everything she learned the night before. No such luck, though. The morning was quiet, and after she did the inventory for the tenth time that week, she gave up. Hoping that Trouble had business outside of the club, she made her way into the common room, thankful it was mostly empty. Then Tessa blew in, looking for her. Apparently, Skathi was having contractions but was refusing to go to the hospital,so Tessa made a deal with her—she’d grab Liz, she’d do an exam, and ease everyone’s fears. Tessa, acting as Liz’s security and chauffeur, drove Liz to Skathi’s house, which wasn’t all that far from the clubhouse, and Liz performed an exam. No baby yet. Just Braxton Hicks. So Skathi, after kicking a hovering Odin out of the house, baked a bakery’s worth of cookies to keep her mind busy.

And there they were. Skathi was napping after a marathon baking session, and Tessa and Liz—and now Fae, were enjoying the spoils.

Fae glared, growling. “He’s definitely a fucking idiot,” she agreed vehemently, making Liz chuckle at the tiny woman’s big attitude. “All he had to do was stop you, ask you about the letter, and none of the last ten years would have happened.”

“Yeah, and Amelia wouldn’t be walking around, acting like the motherfucking queen of the club all the damn time,” Tessa said, her words scathing. The woman hated Amelia on principle, and it didn’t help that Tessa was protective of Liz, and she saw all the shit Trouble and Amelia did to poke at her.

“But he did, and she does, so there’s nothing to do about it now,” Liz said, downing the last of her now cold coffee.

“Fuck that,” Tessa effused. “I heard from Daisy that Slick and Dragon have been looking for Amelia, but she’s supposedly visiting her mother in Carson City—like that cum slut has a human mother. Aren’t her kind hatched from eggs made from sticky socks, or some shit like that?”

Fae snorted, laughing, and Liz couldn’t help but do the same.

Tessa nodded sagely. “I bet, if you looked in her whore-drobe, you’d see the skins of the men she’s sucked dry hanging there next to her booty shorts and nipple pasties.”

“You’re nuts, woman,” Liz remarked, chuckling.

“I’m just pissed that the bitch talked shit about my gorgeous niece. Erika is the shit, anyone who calls her a brat needs to have her tits removed with a rusty chainsaw.”

“Yeesh, Tessa, calm down,” Fae advised, reaching out for another mocha cookie. “Damn, these are good.” Liz and Tessa nodded, grinning. “How’s Skathi doing? Odin told Hawk about the contractions, and Hawk told me, and I figured I’d come and check on her. I’m glad you’re here, Dr. Liz. I bet she feels good having you here.”

Liz smile softly at the sweet woman.

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