Page 10 of Arrow: Riding Rebels MC

“I’ll tell you why I care and what I get out of the situation once you tell me who hurt you. You have a ring on your finger, so I know it was your husband. I just need you to come up off his name so I can make you a widow.”

I was swallowing saliva as he said the last part and ended up choking on my spit.

“What!” I looked at him like he’d suddenly grown three heads.

“I’m not repeating what I said when I know you heard me.”

Arrow cocked his head to the left, and I squirmed under his gaze.

If I didn’t have to keep moving to make sure Gideon didn’t find me, I would still be in a hurry to leave, simply because of how much Arrow unnerved me. To him, I was like a problem that needed solving. He had this hard exterior, but the way he was with Hendrix and me proved that there was some softness to him.

I looked down at my son. He was knocked out, so I laid him next to me and turned toward Arrow.

“I don’t want to keep going out with my face like this. I should have thought about my makeup kit before I left. I feel crazy.”

I smoothed a hand over my lip and both eyes like Arrow needed help identifying the marks I was talking about.

“I don’t know what you’re used to, but the general store got some good shit. If anybody is making you feel uncomfortable, let me know, and it won’t happen again.”

“Nobody is making me uncomfortable, but this is the longest time I had to walk around like this. Usually, I?—”

My words came to a screeching halt, and I stood.

I needed to get away from this man because he had me opening up about things I’d been silent about for years. In the bathroom, I shut the door and locked it. With my back against the door, I leaned my head back and sighed. Some way or another, I needed to get out of here, but telling Arrow about Gideon was out of the question.

If there was any way I could help it, Arrow would never find out about Gideon, and I would be able to keep him safe because Gideon had no limits when it came to me.

“You’re looking refreshed. I wanted to come over and speak yesterday, but Arrow’s big ass was hovering, and I didn’t feel like getting into it with him. How are you holding up?”

I looked over my shoulder at the man who slid next to me.

“I’m feeling better. The warden let me out, and it was good for me and the baby.”

He tossed his head back and laughed, and it brought a smile to my face as well.

“The warden? I think that’s more than fitting for him.” The stranger smiled and continued getting his dinner.

The day had gone better than expected, and I only caught myself looking over my shoulder a couple of times while we were out earlier.

Our outing was nothing glamorous, and Arrow didn’t really talk much. The general store had a lot more than I envisioned. I was a little self-conscience about Arrow being in my personal space so much, but to myself, I could admit that it was nice. Gideon and I met in college, and he was my first everything, soright away, he knew that I’d be everything to him. I didn’t know who I was without him, and I hated that about myself.

Now, I was trying to start a life without him, and it almost didn’t seem possible… However, there was no going back.

“What did Snoopy say to you?”

The sound of Arrow’s booming voice sounded behind me, and I gripped the tray to make sure none of my food went flying.

“Oh my God! How are you so big but make no noise when you walk?” I shook my head and glared at him. “He was just checking on me and telling me that I looked better. I guess a lot of people feel that way. Yesterday and this morning, my face was full of bruises, and now it’s gone. It’s okay for people to be curious.”

“He shouldn’t be checking you out.” Arrow grunted and looked in the direction Snoopy had gone in. “Let me know if anyone tries anything with you.”

I waved him off and walked toward the seat I had occupied the night before.

Arrow was hot on my heels and closer than he needed to be. When we reached the table, he pulled out my chair and scooted me too close to the table once my butt hit the seat. I scooted back a little bit, and he scoffed.

Arrow looked across the table and glared at Snoopy.

“I was just trying to be hospitable to our guest.”

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