Page 12 of Infected By Virus

No, not a dream.

Virus exploded to his feet. “I had a son and you kept him from me?” All he could see was red.

“I—” Rae spoke, but he cut her off.

“How could you? I know I hurt you back then, but keeping my child a secret? That’s a hell of a way to get back at me.”

Rae shrank back as if he’d punched her in the face. He knew his words hurt her, but he couldn’t stop them. They were out of his mouth before he had a moment for his brain to catch up.

It wasn’t her he wanted to hurt; it was himself. Since no one could hurt him like she could, she’d just became collateral damage in his bid to punish himself.

Hook and Squatch approached, one stood next to Rae’s chair, and the other took up residence at his side, opposite of Outlaw.

Of course that’s why the biggest motherfuckers in the club stayed—muscle. He would never hit a woman, especially Rae. Why would they think such a thing?

As he posed the question to himself, he knew the answer. It was in his posturing against her and clenched jaw and balled fists.

“Virus, calm down and let her talk,” Outlaw reasoned.

Rae stood and raised her chin in that defiant way that was familiar to him as the back of his own hand. Now she would let him have it. The pain he deserved was coming, but not in the way he expected.

“Is that really what you think of me, Darrin? That I would get back at you by using a child, your child, to do it?”

The hurt in her eyes, in her tone, was palpable. He would give anything to rip those words back and swallow them, but he couldn’t.

Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe it was his own shame that had the hateful words falling from his lips. He wanted to scream, no, that’s not what I think, I love you, and let her explain, but the part of him that’d missed years with his son wouldn’t let him.

The beastly part of him he’d been growing since they parted ways didn’t do logic. It didn’t know what Virus did about Rae; it ran on pure animal instinct. Virus knew better. Somewhere that was being suppressed by hurt and anger, he knew there had to be an explanation. His Rae would never do something like that without a damn good reason.

But it wasn’t Virus in control of his mouth at the moment.

“Wasn’t it you who always said revenge is a dish best served cold? Well, I’d say damn near seven years is pretty fucking cold.”

“Virus, I advise you to sit down and shut the fuck up.” Vice yanked at his arm, but he didn’t budge.

He saw the minute the flames of anger rose in her perfect blue eyes. He both hated and loved it. It told him he’d really screwed the pooch this time, but it also meant that when she’d walked in that door, she’d still loved him, or he couldn’t have gotten under her skin.

Loved—past tense. She might’ve been able to forgive him for the past, but she wouldn’t forgive him for the present.

Fuuuuuck. He was falling right back into their old ways toward the end. The constant suspicion and hurt. The back-and-forth accusations and mistrust.

If the look in her eyes were any indication, well, he’d dragged her right back there to that painful place too.

His anger fled in an instant. She didn’t deserve more of the same from him, but he’d already wound her up. There was nothing but to let her go then—and go she did.

“I see your nickname suits you. Virus.” She nodded down at his name patch. “I get it now. That’s exactly what you are, Darrin, a virus. You infect everyone you come in contact with. Making them sick and contagious. Lucky for me, I’m immune to you. I already caught that particular strain once and it damn near killed me. It’ll be a cold day in hell before you get a chance to infect me again.”

Even though he’d purposely provoked her and deserved every word, they still flayed him alive, but he was lost in her eyes. The pain there was crippling to him. He wanted to kick his own ass and rip out his tongue.

He wished she was immune to him, oh how he wished she was. Seeing her hurt like that killed him, knowing he’d done it, annihilated every cell in his body.

Yep, repeating their last few months together in his memory over the years wasn’t enough. No, he had to play it out in live action.

He’d put them in this loop of pain years before by landing in another woman’s bed.

Actually, their troubles started months before he’d slept with another woman. He’d allowed someone else to guide his thoughts and write the narrative in his head. Plant seeds of suspicion.

Even though Rae had robbed him of years with his son, he still didn’t want to cause more hurt. He’d done enough of that, damn it.

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