Page 71 of Savage Heart

“Again, keep Liz out of your mouth—and don’t even think about Erika. She has nothing to do with you, and never will. Don’t make me take this a step further and make good on that promise of a hole in the desert,” he warned her, his patience at an end.

Thankfully, that was the moment a knock sounded at the door. Pinning Amelia with a glare, he reached behind and opened the door, letting Saint inside.

Without taking his eyes off Amelia, he ordered, “Make sure she gets dressed, then escort her to a guest room. She can stay the night, but then I want her gone in the morning. Spread the word, she’s banned from Raider’s properties for thirty days—no fucking exceptions.”

“Right,” Saint replied. Trouble finally turned to him, taking in the brother who’d become bedrock in the club in record time. “And make sure you get with Hawk,” he said, reminding Saint about theother thinghe texted. At Saint’s nod, Trouble slipped past him and through the door.

Ignoring Amelia’s shrieks and Saint’s deep, “give no shits” responses, Trouble headed out.

He had a night with his girls, and he didn’t want to miss it. He just hoped that the shit Amelia pulled wouldn’t get back to Liz.

A man could hope, right?

Before he even reached the bottom of the stairs, he could see a group of women waiting for him, their gazes filled with devilry and resoluteness.

Well, it looked like he was headed into the ol’ lady gauntlet.

Liz stared down at the picture on her phone, cursed at the burning behind her eyes, and then swallowed down the ball of bile forming in her throat.

“Fucking bitch,” she sneered, biting back the growl clawing up from her chest. “And fuckhim, too.”

She’d been in the kitchen, finishing up the meal she’d decided on a whim to make for Trouble as sort of a peace offering. When they’d been together, he’d always asked her tomake her cheesy sausage and zucchini lasagna. At first, she’d made it with the zucchini in it because she couldn’t afford more than a pound of the pork sausage, and she needed to add something to sauce to fill out the layers. Eventually, she kept the veggie in because it tasted good. Trouble had devoured the meal whenever she’d made it, and now…well, she wanted to do something nice for him.

Why? Well…she had to find some way to admit that she was grateful to him for all he’d done for her and Erika…and all he’d proven he wanted to do in the future. Already, Erika was a vibrating mass of excitement for their trip to the aquarium on Saturday, and not just because of the trip itself, but also because she was eager to spend time with her dad. She’d been to SeaQuest before on a school trip, but she wanted herdadto take her.

But now….

Liz blinked back the angry tears, hating that she couldn’t erase the image ofthat womanin Trouble’s bed from her mind. The image of a naked Amelia laying on a comforter that looked an awful lot like the one on Trouble’s bed in his room at home. She was naked, smirking up at the camera, and the text that came with the pic didn’t help the feeling of slithering disappointment and hurt that came over her.

Unknown: He’s mine tonight. Don’t wait up.

It didn’t take a genius to realize that the woman was in Trouble’s bed at the clubhouse, and if what she texted was true, the meal Liz had spent time making, the effort she’d gone through to show Trouble she appreciated all he’d done was going to go to waste.

She’d lost her appetite, and Erika had eaten earlier with Fae, who’d picked her up from school.

Swallowing the bitter pill, she blinked away the threatening tears, dropped her phone on the counter, and stared at the bowl of salad she’d spent time chopping and mixing, the bread she’d crafted from scratch, and the potholders waiting for her to take the lasagna out of the oven when the timer went off in ten minutes.

So much for opening up herself to the possibilities—fuck her better self for even considering beingfriendswith him. After their conversations, his words that morning, and spending the day going over and over what was said, she’d foolishly thought she could lower her defenses, just enough to show him she didn’t hate him, that she wanted him to be a part of her and Erika’s lives, that she was willing to set the past aside and move forward.

But that picture…. He’d said he hadn’t been with Amelia since Liz’s attack, but…how could she trust him? According to him, despite his theatrics in the bar office, he’d never cheated on her; if he wasn’t a liar about himself and other women, could she believe what her eyes were saying, or did she give him the benefit of the doubt?

Groaning, she started to put the salad away, but another ping on her phone made her stop, her heart pounding. Was it another picture, this time of a naked Ameliaanda naked Trouble?

Trouble: Dealing with some shit at the CH. I’ll be there in ten. I want time with my girls.

My girls….

She didn’t know whether to smile, sneer, or snap—the man had her head spinning, and Amelia wasn’t helping matters. One thing was for certain: Liz wasn’t the type of woman who took things at face value anymore. She’d believed what Trouble had wanted her to believe, and Erika had missed out on a life with her father—both LizandTrouble were to blame for that. This time around, though, she knew Amelia was pulling shit becauseshe was a woman scorned…but there was still that nagging voice in the back of her head telling Liz to keep her heart safe, because trusting Trouble again was dangerous.

Ten minutes later, the lasagna was on the counter cooling, and Liz was watching the door like a lame-o, waiting for Trouble to walk through it. Erika had come through the kitchen wanting a snack, and Liz had told her she could have some lasagna once her dad got home. Now, the girl was watchingLadybug and Cat Noiron the TV, and Liz was trying not to think about naked Amelia and the “shit” Trouble was dealing with at the clubhouse.

She’s just stirring up problems, trying to hurt you.And it fucking worked—ugh!

Pinching her eyes closed, she pressed her fingers to her temples to calm her racing thoughts. And it was in that moment that she heard the front door open and Trouble step through, his big feet in those biker boots making a familiar sound.

There was a moment of tense silence, then, “Shit,” he cursed under his breath.

She dropped her hands, opened her eyes, and met two green ones that spoke volumes.

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