Page 6 of Hendrix

“That’s my girl. I’m so fuckin’ proud of ya,” I whispered. “Be happy, Freckles.”

One Year Later

“Don’t do it, baby,” I muttered to myself, staring down the hill at the pretty church below. “Don’t fuckin’ do it.” Leaning forward, I rested my arms across the handlebars of my Harley, my eyes never shifting from my target. “Come to me, Freckles. I’m here, baby. Don’t fucking do this.”

My plan had been to get to Anna before she arrived at the church. Last night, I’d waited outside her apartment for hours, trying to catch her when she got home. When she didn’t turn up, I went directly to the clubhouse and drank my body weight in whiskey, which was the reason I was late getting here this morning.

For the past few minutes, I’d sat on a hill, trying to summon up the courage to ride down there, stomp into the church, and tip my woman over my shoulder before whisking her back to Virginia with me.

Her ass needed a good tanning for putting me through this bullshit. She was so fucking stubborn, but I’d fuck that shit out of her once I’d gotten over my snit. I’d been trying to get her to talk to me for months. It took about a day of being without her for me to realize I’d fucked up, though it took longer to come back for her, seeing as my new club had goddamned imploded and I needed to deal with the fallout.

Still, I tried, but she wouldn’t take my calls or answer my messages and emails. Then I heard through the grapevine she’d met someone, so I gave her the respect of backing off with the hope she’d realize he wasn’t me and he could never give her the beauty we had.

Lotta fucking good that did me.

Part of me still hoped she wouldn’t go through with it. Maybe that was why I was here, not to stop the wedding but to wait for her to run outside in her white dress so I could shove her onto the back of my bike and ride away into the sunset like something out of a movie.

So I waited.

And I waited.

And nothing.

I thrust a hand through my hair, resigning myself to what I had to do. Stomping into a church in front of all our friends and fucking up a big-assed wedding hadn’t been on my bingo card when I awoke that morning, but hell, Anna had left me no choice.

If she wasn’t gonna see the error of her ways, I’d have to show her.

I fired up my bike, turning for the small dirt road that led down the hill toward the church, just as bells began to peal.

My body locked, and a sick feeling began to spread through my gut.

Why were the fucking bells ringing?

My head snapped up just as the church doors opened, and people began to emerge. Laughter and chatter filled the air, and my heart leaped up into my throat before sinking slowly.

Tiny specks of glittered confetti caught in the morning sunshine, and there she was, bursting from the church hand in hand with her man, laughing as the crowd erupted in cheers of congratulations.

My insides began to ache, and my lungs burned so hot that it hurt to breathe. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.

My Anna.

My Freckles.

Mine.

I bowed my head, trying to push down the darkness threatening to consume my soul. Acid burned through my veins. It took everything I had to stay upright because the pain coursing through me was so intense. The shock of what I was witnessing had ripped a wound inside me that I knew would never heal, and the worst of it was, the blade that sliced into me was poisoned with the knowledge that it was my own damned fault.

I fucked around and found out.

And now I’d lost everything that mattered.

CHAPTER TWO

HENDRIX ~ PRESENT DAY

Afist the size of a sledgehammer came flying toward my nose.

Grunting, I swerved my head left and launched myself toward my opponent, following through with a flurry of punches, connecting hard with his already battered face.

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