Page 10 of Broken

Dirty couldn’t take his eyes off her. She lookedamazing. And that smile she had on her face … if he didn’t know her as well ashe did, he would have thought that was real.

Time ticked by, and a couple of women came to him,wanting to spend some quality time. He moved them along. He didn’t want to bewith them. There was only one woman he wanted, and she’d stepped right into thelion’s den. All he had to do was wait for the right moment, and it presenteditself faster than he expected.

Petal left Colt and Rosalie and made her way tothe bathrooms. This was his chance to talk to her, especially while everyonewas distracted. He made his way toward the bathroom, and he saw only one stallwas in use. The sound of the toilet flushing let him know she was seconds fromcoming out. When she left the stall, she took one look at him, froze, and thenshook her head.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Do I need to remind you this is the clubhouse?There is nowhere else I’d rather be,” he said.

She moved past him going toward the sink, but hesaw her hesitate.

“There’s no need to be afraid of me. I’m not goingto hurt you,” Dirty said.

Petal laughed. “Yeah, okay.”

“Look, I get that we had a bad spell, and that isfine. We’ve dealt with some pretty intense news, and that is okay as well, butI think if you get on the pill and I wear a condom, you and I could make itgood again.”

Petal dried her hands on some paper towels. Forseveral seconds she stared at him without making a sound. The echo of thetowels filled the room.

“Make it good again? Get on the pill?” She turnedtoward him with a frown so deep on her brow. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”Petal asked.

The anger in her voice startled him. He wasn’texpecting her to be quite so aggressive. She looked ready to scream. She tossedthe paper towels into the trash.

Within seconds, she stepped up toward him. “Do youreally think there is a chance I’ll ever be with you again after what you did?”

“It was a reasonable question.”

“It was insulting. You insulted me, and you think,what, because it has been a couple of months, I’d get over it, that I would insome way just forget what you said and like a fucking doormat get back in bedwith you?”

“We were good together,” he said.

She laughed. “Fuck you. You’re right, we were goodtogether, and you ended that. There is never going to be a you and me. We’redone, Dirty. We were done the moment you asked me if the baby I carried wasyours. I’m not one of the sluts you pass around.”

“Is there a problem here?” Kim asked.

He’d been so focused on Petal that he’d not evenheard the door of the bathroom open. Dirty didn’t know how much Kim had heard.

“No problem at all,” Petal said. “I’m justclarifying a few things, which I have now done and we’re good here, aren’t we?”

She didn’t wait for a response. He got one lastlingering look, and Petal grabbed her beer and left.

Dirty had every intention of leaving but Kim stoodin the doorway.

“You know, I told you not to use that girl,” Kimsaid. “I remember our conversation very well. I warned you from going anyfurther, even if my son asked. I know what happened. I can fill in the blanksfrom there. I suggest you leave her alone.”

“You don’t know everything,” Dirty said.

“I know enough. According to Petal’s medicalrecords, she lost her baby. According to the notes, she was not too far along,which I know puts you in place of being the father. Now, I don’t know exactlywhat happened between the two of you, but I know you did something to hurt her.I lost my daughter because of this club. I lost Gabrielle because we were notable to protect her. I refuse to lose any more people, and if you have anyrespect for me at all, you will leave Petal well enough alone.”

Dirty knew that was all the warning he was goingto get.

Chapter Three

Petal finished putting the last of the laundryaway as the bell rang. She frowned. Other than mail, she rarely had anyvisitors. Mail had already arrived, and she’d not ordered anything. Skippingdownstairs, she went to the door and came face to face with Kim. After her encounterwith Dirty last night, she had made her excuses and left the party. She hadn’twanted to go but forced herself so Kim wouldn’t come hunting for her. Ratherthan go to her parents’ house, she’d come straight home.

It was Saturday, and it was her day off, whichallowed her to catch up on household chores. She had every intention of headingto her parents’ to check up on a few things.

Her mother had been wide awake and cleaning whenshe arrived with the groceries yesterday. She had been quite surprised to seeher mother doing much of anything. They sat down, had a coffee together, andshe watched as she took care of little David, feeding him, asking her how shehad been, and wanting to catch up.

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