Page 42 of Tripp

Stone stepped in and stood directly in front of his friend. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Why don’t you go sleep it off? You can talk to her later.”

“I don’t wanna talk to her,” he growled, clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

“Why?” Sully suddenly shouted, shoving past Jagger so she could look at her husband. “What did I do? Why won’t you tell me?” Her voice trembled, tears cascading down her cheeks while she waited for him to answer. “I love you, Cole. Why are you treating me like this?” She stepped closer—too close, in my opinion. Emotions ran high and I feared the worst.

Before anyone could stop him, Marek grabbed Sully’s arms and drew her in, their noses almost touching they were so close. “I. Don’t. Want you here,” he enunciated. “Go home.” He shoved her back, but not hard enough to cause her to stumble. He took a step back, glaring at her the entire time.

I understood why Marek didn’t want to fill Sully in on exactly what was goin’ on, not until he absolutely had to, but there was no reason for him to be treating her like this. It was uncalled for, and certainly unnecessary. Then again, he wasn’t in his right mind. Hadn’t been for a while now.

As if shit weren’t already spinning out of control, Adelaide stalked toward Marek, Stone trying to pull her back before she reached him. “I don’t know what’s going on, but you’re a real shit for treating your wife like this. A real shit,” she repeated, hitting his chest for emphasis. “You better get your act together, and soon, before you lose the only good thing that’s ever happened to you.” They stood toe-to-toe, Adelaide throwing Marek icy daggers and Marek swaying from side to side, trying to keep his balance.

“Stone, get your fuckin’ woman outta my face or else,” Marek threatened, continuing to clench his hands at his sides. The sight disturbed me. The guy I knew would never raise a hand to a woman, yet there he was essentially threatening Adelaide. Would he really do something? I had no idea, and that realization rattled me.

The icy expression that crossed Stone’s face alarmed everyone present. “Don’t you fuckin’ talk to her like that. You hear me?” he asked, stepping in his best friend’s face. His drunken, out-of-his-mind, heartbroken, and confused best friend. I would’ve bet Marek’s mental state, drunk or not, was the only reason Stone didn’t physically attack him.

As the two men squared off, we all backed up to give them some room to sort out their issue, if that was at all possible right then. After an intense stare-down, Marek still wobbly on his feet, Stone leaned in and whispered something in his ear. Resting his hand on Marek’s shoulder, Stone continued to speak, but only on a level our prez could hear. A minute later I saw some of the tension evaporate from Marek, although he still appeared to teeter on the edge. Shaking his head, he stumbled back before turning around and heading toward the hallway to no doubt escape everything and everyone.

Sully continued to cry, resting her head against Jagger’s chest while she expelled everything she’d been feeling.

“Stay with her,” Stone told Jagger, grabbing Adelaide’s hand and tugging her behind him into Chambers. He motioned for the rest of us to follow with a jerk of his head. Normally, women weren’t allowed inside Chambers but this was one of the rare exceptions, the last time being when Sully had forced her way inside to demand that Marek trade her for Adelaide and Kena after her father had orchestrated their kidnapping.

I had an idea what Stone wanted to ask his woman, and the seclusion of the room would certainly provide the privacy we needed. The tension coming off the VP built and built until he looked like he was gonna explode. Pacing in front of all of us, he ran his hand through his hair before clenching his fists at his sides, much like Marek had done moments before.

“Why haven’t we heard anything back about those results?” he asked to no one in particular, although there was only one person present who could give an honest answer.

Ryder and Trigger mirrored Stone, pacing and glancing over at Adelaide every few seconds. I’d chosen to lean against the wall, content to just listen to whatever was about to unfold. Someone had to be the semi-calm one.

“Like I told you yesterday when I called them, the lab is backed up. There’s nothing I can do about that,” she said. “Why is that DNA so important, anyway?” There was a small part of me that thought maybe Stone had told Adelaide everything, but thankfully I’d just been proven wrong.

Stone ignored her question, instead edging closer until he towered over her. “You didn’t call today?”

“Not yet, no.”

“Are you fuckin’ kiddin’ me right now, Addy? I told you how important those results are. That I needed them back right away,” he bellowed, the veins in his neck bulging the more he continued to speak. Or rather yell. Stone started pacing again, mumbling incoherently to himself.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” She looked to each of us standing in the room, her nervousness displayed on her face. “Whose DNA is it?”

“None of your business,” Stone yelled over his shoulder. I’d seen those two shout at each other before but this was on another level, and Adelaide knew it. Before she could respond, however, Stone gripped the back of his neck in frustration and headed toward his woman again, backing her against the door before she could react. He loomed over her once more, intimidating her with his size and aggression. “Get your fuckin’ ass on that phone and get the goddamn results, Addy. Now!” He slapped the doorframe above her head for added effect.

My eyes popped wide as I looked around at everyone in the room. To say we were surprised Stone had yelled at his woman like that was an understatement. Sure, our VP was hotheaded and went overboard sometimes, but I’d never heard him speak to Adelaide in such a way.

Sure enough, in true Adelaide fashion, she didn’t let him get away with it. I saw what was gonna happen before Stone did, her hand cracking across his face before he took his next breath. The sound shook the room and everyone gasped, me included—an odd reaction coming from three grown men, but it was the truth. We’d all been through the mental wringer for what seemed like forever with no end in sight, and right then was the culmination to the ever-growing tension.

Stone backed away, the look on his face softening as if she had indeed just slapped some sense back into him. “Baby, I’m sorry,” he apologized, reaching out to touch her, but she shrugged away from him.

“Don’t even think about touching me,” she fumed. Stone had a condition where he was immune to physical pain, but right then I could see that he was hurtin’. Not from the slap, of course, but because he knew he’d crossed the line, and it’d take quite a while for him to grovel enough for Adelaide to forgive him. She never put up with his shit, pushing back as often as Stone tested her.

Shoving him, the adrenaline pulsing through her surely enough for her to move him, or he allowed her to do so, she continued to speak. “There's obviously something detrimental going on here to have Marek treating Sully like shit, and for you to have lost your damn mind and yelled at me like that.” Adelaide was the one to advance on Stone that time, looking up at him and throwing him a stern glare. “You better get your head out of your ass, Stone, and until that happens you can stay here. I don’t want you at home.”

Again Stone tried to draw her into him but she dodged his touch. Looking every bit the apologetic man, he raised his hands in submission. “I’m sorry. I was outta line. It’s just . . . there’s so much goin’ on and—”

“I don’t care what’s goin’ on here. That’s no excuse for you to talk to me like that.” Anger and hurt shrouded her expression.

“I know. I’m sorry, baby,” he repeated.

Adelaide continued to glare at him, even when he attempted to grab her hand, which he failed at yet again.

“Don’t,” was all she said before she threw the door open and hurried from the room, Stone hot on her heels. I could hear him apologizing over and over, but it was no use. Adelaide was as stubborn as Stone, and I knew—we all did—that his sullen ass would be staying here at the clubhouse for at least the next few days.

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