Page 12 of Bren

“You know,” he hits me again, this time in the ribs, “how she felt about you,” this time it’s the kidneys. “And you still went there,” he punches me in the stomach, and I lean over and retch. He waits for me to finish before he starts in on me again, shoutingangrily, “Then you treat her like a fucking whore, slapping her on the arse and telling her there’s money for a taxi,” this last sentence has a collective angry mutter coming from those gathered to watch.

‘Fuck, I wish he’d kept that to himself,’I thought, just as he sweeps his legs past mine, and I end up on my back on the floor. Turning my head, I watch as my best friend walks angrily away from me. I’m still lying there when Ben’s face appears above mine. I’m not sure how much more I can take but I will. I make to get up but fall back; my ears are ringing, my one eye is completely shut, and I can only just see out of the other. I’m not sure if it’s blood or if it’s swelling that’s stopping me from seeing out of it.

Slowly, I push myself up, prepared to meet Ben, nearly falling back down. Surprisingly, Ben holds out his hand and pulls me to my feet.

Once I’m steady, he lets go, and I straighten up to face him, “Okay, I’m ready,” I tell him as I sway slightly on my feet.

Ben shakes his head, “I’m not going to fight you, Alec. Am I angry at you… yeah, I am. But I’m just as mad at Bren for keeping secrets. The two of you have been circling each other since we were children. I’m not going to make this harder for you. I know deep down you care about my sister, and I hope you do right by both her and Lexi. You’re better than this; I’ve always known that. Get yourself seen to and rest up because you have your work cut out for you.”

I stare at Ben in disbelief. Although I shouldn’t be surprised; he’s one of the kindest and most forgiving people that I know. I’d still expected him to at least punch me, though. Slowly, I make my way towards the ropes, wondering how the hell I’m going toclimb through them without falling over. I’m just about to grab hold of them when Ben calls out, “Alec.”

Lifting my head to look at him, I wait. “I’m not hitting you this time, but if you fuck my sister and niece over, then all bets are off.”

“Fair enough,” I acknowledge, gripping the ropes, and then Gunny and Brice are there, helping me through them and down. Slowly, I make my way to the changing room, ignoring everyone else. All I need now is a hot shower to wash the blood and sweat away, painkillers, and to sleep the next few days away as I heal.

Somehow, I manage all that and get back to the garage, where I collapse on the bed in the back room and pass out. That’s where I stay for the next three days, only rousing long enough to take the painkillers Gunny has ready for me.

On the fourth day, I’m woken up by a soft hand on my cheek turning my face towards them. Opening my eyes, I look into a pair of familiar wide blue eyes framed by dark lashes, so at odds with her blonde hair.

“Jesus, Alec, are you okay?” she asks softly, swiping my hair from my face.

“Bren,” I croak out, my mouth dry. Her hand disappears from my face, and I already miss it. “Here,” she says, putting a straw to my lips. Greedily, I suck down the water.

“Thanks,” I tell her, closing my eyes, only to open them again when I hear a slight noise. Turning my head back to her, I open my one good eye. It zeroes in on the noise, and I smile as much as I can with my lips as split as they are at the first sight of my daughter snuggled firmly against Bren’s chest, wrapped in one of those complicated-looking wrap things that have become all the rage. Her little hand is up against Bren’s chest, and in her mouthis a pacifier that she’s sucking on like nobody’s business. She’s tiny and cute as fuck.

Lifting my arm, I reach my hand towards Bren and run a finger down Lexi’s hand. My gaze flits up to Bren, “She’s beautiful, Bren.”

Bren’s eyes soften, “Do you want to hold her?”

Fuck yeah, I do! Rolling to my side, I groan, wrapping an arm around my ribs as they protest at the movement.

Bren inhales a sharp breath at my obvious pain, a flash of guilt crosses over her face. Ignoring it, I tell her, “Let me go wash my hands, and I’d love to hold her.”

Bren nods and sits down in the one armchair in the room and starts to unravel the wrap that’s binding Lexi to her. Deciding that a hot shower wouldn’t hurt, I take the extra time to get my thoughts in order as I let the hot water run over my body. I can move a bit easier when I’m finally done, wrapping the towel around my lower body when I realise that I forgot to bring a change of clothing in with me. Opening the door, my gaze flits to Bren, who has a blanket over her shoulder, covering Lexi as she nurses.

Fuck if that doesn’t do something to me. I’ve done a complete one-eighty from not wanting a woman and children to not being able to take my gaze off the beautiful sight of Bren and Lexi. Bren’s face is soft as she lifts the corner of the blanket to look down at our daughter as I walk out of the bathroom. I can’t help but flex slightly as her eyes widen when they catch sight of me. Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with finding me sexy; it’s more about the bruises covering my body.

“Oh, Alec, I’m so sorry. I told them to leave you alone.”

“It’s okay, Bren, I was expecting it. I disrespected an MC princess; Reaper and Sam had every right to lay hands on me. I was waiting for them at the gym. We needed to clear the air, and I had it coming.”

“Not Ben, though?” she questions.

Shaking my head, I walk towards my suitcase that’s exactly where I left it when I arrived and find clean pyjama pants and a T-shirt. I return to the bathroom to get changed. When I come back out, Bren’s got Lexi on her shoulder and is patting her back to wind her.

“Not Ben,” I reply, going back to her previous question. “Good,” she replies, then nods towards the chair. “Sit. Once you’re settled with her, I’ll go and pick up the food I’ve ordered for you so that you can take some tablets.”

“You’re leaving me alone with her,” I say in surprise as I take a seat and hold out my hands to meet my daughter properly for the first time.

“Of course,” Bren replies. “I never intended to keep her from you, Alec. I trust you with our daughter.” Bren gently transfers Lexi into my arms, and an unfamiliar sting of tears burns the back of my eyes as I look into her sweet face. A perfect miniature of her mother, but I can already see that her hair is going to be more red than blonde. To think that I may have missed out on this if Cash hadn’t pulled my head out of my arse.

Running my finger down her cheek, I smile when she squirms slightly before settling back down. “She’s so beautiful, Bren,” I whisper before looking up to see Bren putting her phone back in her pocket.

“She is,” Bren agrees with a small smile. “I won’t be long. Gunny and your mum are in the front if you need them.”

With those words, she turns and hurries out of the room as if she can’t get away fast enough, and I know it’s to get away from me. I didn’t realise how much that would hurt. I guess I’d got so used to Bren always looking at me like I was everything to her; now that I’ve broken that, I realise how I’d relied on her thinking that way.

“Ah, baby girl, your dad really fu… messed up with your mum. I’ll work to get back in her good graces, though,” I promise my daughter, who of course ignores me and continues to dream happy thoughts. Shifting her slightly higher on my chest so that her head is on my shoulder, I sink further into the chair, closing my eyes. I knew that nothing I did that had a monetary value attached would soften Bren; the only way I had any hope of making up for my colossal fuck-up was to be there for her day to day. With that thought in mind, I pick up my phone and find the group chat I’d set up with Abby and my mum, explaining what I need.

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