Page 35 of Tusk's Fury

I chime in, “I’m not wild about seeing the next thing these crazy religious fuckers pull out of their little bag of tricks.”

“What about our luggage?” she asks.

“Don’t worry, Tusk and I will get our luggage. The hotel doesn’t want to be responsible for dealing with our waterlogged bags.”

That makes perfect sense to me. Looking down at my wet clothing, I ask, “What about me? Am I just gonna stay wet for this plane ride?”

It’s not like we can shop in the middle of the night in a small town in Alaska.

Tex shoots me a wry look. “You can wear something out of my suitcase if you can find anything to fit you.”

He’s quite a bit taller than me, but I’ve got a bigger chest and arms. Something tells me that I’m gonna look real ridiculous in his clothing.

We head back, and this time I don’t take my arm from around Brittany. The baby has been crying even though Brittany is doing her best to calm her down.

When the baby finally settles, Brittany leans into my body, shivering from the cold. I take my shirt off and put it around her shoulders, leaving me wearing only a tight-fitting tank top.

It’s cold, but I’d rather her be warm, than me.

We clean up in the restrooms once they get the sprinklers turned off and verify there was no fire.

I know all the way down to my soul that those two fucking religious zealots triggered the alarm to get a chance to grab Brittany.

The whole religious thing is weird. I plan to have a long talk with her about that once things calm down.

***

By the time we make it to the airstrip, it’s three in the morning, and there’s one lone pilot waiting for us with a small plane. We pile onto the plane with fussy, but dry kids, and settle down for the flight to Washington state.

Brittany immediately covers herself and begins breastfeeding. She’s being discreet as hell, but I know what a breastfeeding mother looks like. Nothing about this makes any sense.

Then I feel like the world’s biggest fuckin’ fool because I realize she lied to me. She’s clearly not taking care of this baby for a mother who had a rough time giving birth. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be allowed to fly off with the child. I suddenly realize my math wasn’t mathing when calculating if the baby could be hers. She was using Gina’s shenanigans as an excuse to take off—all that time I thought she was my woman, and she was fucking someone else.

I lock my jaw to keep from pestering her with yet more questions that she is clearly not gonna answer. Turning to look out the window, feelings of confusion and anger multiply in my mind. I feel any hope I once had that things would work out between us slipping away.

I did my best to set the record straight about the mistake I made in trusting my ex-wife. But maybe I was wrong about that being what drove Brittany away. Maybe it’s because she got tired of being with me.

My chest aches more than I like to admit. And, if I’m being honest with myself, my pride is stung by her running from me, and then her lies add a second wound. It’s enough to make me wonder if she got pregnant by one of the brothers and didn’t want to tell because we were supposed to be exclusive at the time. That’s the only thing that makes sense here and it hurts like fucking crazy.

I find myself wondering when the right time is to cut my losses with Brittany. The thought of living without her is a new and special kind of pain.

Brittany clearly doesn’t want me. Maybe now is the time to step back before my persistence starts to feel like I’m pressuring her for a relationship she doesn’t want.

However, after the shitshow tonight, I decide that I’ll still protect her from this Bishop Harper person whoever the fuck he is. If he’s managed to target her in Alaska, then he must have a long reach.

I can’t help but wonder what religion this man subscribes to. He must be powerful among his people, but powerful men can still be taken down.

I vow to myself to do just that, so Brittany and her child can live their lives without always looking over their shoulders.

Chapter 13

Brittany

Because Victoria sleeps soundly for the rest of the seven-hour flight, I don’t even wake when the plane lands for refueling. Therefore, I don’t know that the club decided to pick up the tab for the pilot to bring us down to California. I only rouse when we arrive at the small airport in Las Salinas.

I do my best to tend to the baby because she wakes up as we exit the plane. She’s still bundled in her dry blankets, but I know she has a wet diaper. So, I go directly to the restroom and take care of her at the baby station. Clara goes with me and watches Victoria while I attend to my own personal needs. Tusk went to help Tex with the twins.

We meet up at the luggage carousel. Tusk and Tex grab most of the luggage. Clara and I are about to take a suitcase each when the small terminal begins to fill up with club brothers. They take the rest, and we follow them outside. Most of the brothers are on motorcycles, but there are two big SUVs waiting for us. I recognize one as belonging to Tusk. I assume the other belongs to Tex and Clara. Counting Levi, they have five people in their family, so I’m fairly sure it’s a new acquisition during the time I’ve been gone.

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