Page 49 of Outcast

"That was before he cost me the last few days withPapá." Fuck, this wasn't her fault. Taking a breath, I cleared the anger from my thoughts. "I wished I hadn't. It just happened. I was drinking and he caught me at a bad time."

"I can tell you, he looked a mess when I left for the office this morning. Swollen and bruised too."

As if on autopilot, I immediately felt bad for him.

No, fuck that. He was the one who caused everything that happened last night. I needed to remind myself that he left me twice as I shored up my wall, brick by fucking brick.

"That's his fault. Did Andre and Grey tell you what happened?"

"That he didn't want Esteban to touch you? Yes. I guess he never found out you had a one night stand with him?"

"Why would he? He had already tossed me away." I sat on my bed and rested my back against the headboard. "I stayed in Esteban's room last night."

"Okay..."

"He wants a chance. He said he's serious."

Silence. Complete dead air on the other end.

"What are you thinking?"

"That your love life is complicated. What do you want?"

I wanted a world where Matías wasn't a giant asshat and hadn't faked his death. "I want to never see the man again. As for Esteban," I sucked in a breath. "I think it's too soon for me to get wrapped up in a man, but I want to see what happens."

"You want to see if he can make you forget why you loveMatías so much?" There was no judgment in her voice, but there was a note of something.

"You want me with Matías?"

She hesitated. "I just think Matías came back for a reason. But if you're set on this, I'll support you no matter what."

Thumbing the hem of Esteban's shirt, I thought about it. "I don't have time to figure out what I want. Not right now. But I do know it's not Matías." Pulling the shirt down, I stretched my legs out. "I was calling to tell you I need a few days away from school. I have some issues to take care of here."

"Anything we can help with?" She was instantly alert.

"No, just club business. I'll let you know when I'll be back."

"Okay, call me if you need anything."

We hung up, and set my phone down. Just that small conversation lightened the load on my chest. It would take time to come to terms with my decisions and how they fucked up my own life, but for now, I'd take every lift I could get.

After going through my routine, one minute before noon, I was walking down to the club hall.

Whenever there was club business, we always held the meetings here. For the same reason we had our other parties here. It was club only, unless you had an invite.

The club was already assembled and someone or someones had pulled out all the metal chairs. At the back of the room, a long table was set up on a temporary platform that was two feet off the floor. Just high enough forPapáand the leadership to sit where everyone could see them.

Their conversations died as I approached the table. Ricco, Manny, and Joel, the VPs were on one end. TheOfficers were at the other. All except Esteban. He stood behindPapá'schair with his arms crossed.

His expression was grim, yet his eyes darkened in a different way as he watched me walk toward him. Those butterflies started fluttering harder with every step. He was going to do something. I just didn't know what it was.

Stepping forward, he held out his hand when I was at the stairs. I took it and climbed the two steps up.

Then he yanked me into him as he threaded his hand through my hair at the back of my head as he kissed the shit out of me. I was so shocked I didn't do a damned thing. When he pulled back, he thumbed the corners of my mouth like he was fixing my lipstick.

Shaking myself out of the haze he'd placed me in, I turned toward the table. The guys were looking at me with a mixture of confusion, hope, and anger.

The anger was strange, but fuck ‘em. With the Dirty Dogs, I’d find out what got them hot and bothered in a matter of minutes.

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