Page 125 of Beautifully Wounded

I’m not the only one that notices this, Smitty’s gaze locking onto the action, a deeper frown contorting his expression.

“Start fucking talking,” he snaps. “Who the fuck is Abbey Delany?”

I don’t know what comes over me. It could be my knowledge of what this man might do to Ringo in punishment for lying to him, or it could be simply because I’ve gone nuts, but I open my mouth and start rambling.

“My mum was trying to force me to marry Daniel, who is a douchebag, to put it lightly, and I couldn’t let her force me into that. I had to escape, and I tried, I really did, but my parents overpowered me and drugged me and locked me away, and well, even smashing my window didn’t help because they closed the external shutters, but somehow, Tahli, she’s my little sister, managed to reach out to Lexi, who is, or was my best friend, that’s still to be determined after what I did to her. Anyway, Lexi sent a bunch of scary men to break in and kidnap me, which was terrifying, but was all worth it when I saw how they were making my parents suffer. It’s honestly the best thing I’ve seen in years but then this arsehole forced me to sit on his lap, which I think was highly unnecessary, and then did the same making me sleep in his bed, but luckily he didn’t touch me… not like them… Ringo’s just not like that, you know? Of course you know. You know him better than I do, so you know he was just trying to protect me, and well, I wasn’t meant to leave the room but, Brody wouldn’t stop having sex with the girl to take the phone to Ringo and I didn’t want to upset him so I took it myself and then that Wendy bitch was splayed out like a feast for Ringo and that pissed me off more than it should have, and I panicked and I ran and that big guy started touching me and all of a sudden I was back in that room where they did those things to me… and well Ringo claimed me as his, which you know because you were there, and again he did it to protect me, all while I’m nothing but a pain in his arse because he’s looking out for me as a favour for Lexi, and don’t worry, Mr President, as soon as the snap lockdown is over Ringo’s going to send me somewhere else so I’ll be out of your hair. But you have to know, we didn’t mean to lie about me being his girl, although maybe it all wasn’t a lie because I asked him to kiss me and he did and it was really good and well I thought we were gonna kiss again which I’m really annoyed didn’t happen because I have this ache, like you know, it’s soooo bad, and I have no idea why it keeps happening, but I just really wanted to feel his lips on mine again, but that alert went off and you all had to leave, and again I’m really sorry.”

A huge sigh falls from my lips as I finally stop talking, which I think must be the most I’ve spoken in like a year, and I watch as Smitty’s brows, which shot into his hairline at some point during my speech, slowly pull in before his gaze drags slowly from me to Ringo.

“That about cover it?”

“More or less.” Ringo shrugs. “I can fill you in on the finer details after, but yeah. I took her as a favour.”

“For Lexi?” Smitty asks, and Ringo nods.

“Yes.”

“That’s the one your good-for-nothing brother saved, right?”

“Yep.”

Slowly, Smitty shifts back on the couch, his gaze dancing from Ringo to me and back.

“So this happened when you went to Timber Valley to see Griffin Marx on Thursday?”

Ringo nods.

“And when Charity… or Abbey… When she refers to a bunch of scary men, she’s meaning JD, Murf, Stocky and Trunk?”

“Yes, but undermyorder. They didn’t break the rules.” Ringo offers.

“I decide that, not you!” Smitty roars, lurching up from the couch, making me jump and clutch onto Ringo’s arm.

“Yes, Prez. You do.” Ringo agrees calmly, like his leader doesn’t have the power to kill us.

For a moment, Smitty starts pacing, but then stops to glare back at Ringo.

“Jols was with you. Did she help?” Smitty growls, stepping closer, but Ringo doesn’t budge or flinch away.

“Yes.”

For a long drawn-out moment, Smitty remains quiet, his glare promising death as his top lip curls.

“My stepdaughter isn’t a fucking member!” he yells, his fists balling at his sides. “She shouldn’t be assisting with any jobs!”

“It wasn’t a club job. It was personal.”

“Yet you usedmymembers and brought the trouble to our fucking door!”

His roar is so loud this time that I swear the windows rattle, but it still doesn’t cause Ringo to flinch. Instead, he stands from the bed, taking a step closer to his President.

“I did. I’m sorry. I thought it would only be for a night or two. I was just trying to help Lexi, and then it became very fucking apparent that Abbey was in real danger, and I knew taking her was the right thing to do.”

Peering aroundRingo’s tall frame, I watch as he and Smitty have a stare off. They are silent for so long that it causes me to shift around feeling awkward, until finally, Smitty speaks.

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

“Because I’d already done the wrong thing, and I didn’t think she’d be here that long.” Ringo shrugs, and my gaze travels up his back to his towering height, and I have the indescribable urge to climb him.

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