Page 70 of Pope's Penance

With a growl, I pick up one of the pool balls and throw it against the wall, my nostrils flaring.

She won’t let this go.

Chapter Twenty-Six

WhenValkyrietoldmethat Pope was hurt, terror stole my breath.Manic didn’t tell her how badly, so she couldn’t answer my pleas to know.I haven’t been back to the clubhouse since we came back to Coral Cay, and I wasn’t ready to face any of them yet.But Pope being hurt because he was going after Frankie, trumped the way I was feeling.Frankie is dangerous.I know just what kind of damage he can cause.My heart demanded I lay eyes on Pope to determine for myself how badly.

Valkyrie could see the panic building in my eyes, so she tossed me the keys to her car and told me she’d stay with the kids.One of the men he had sitting on the house tore off behind me while the other stayed behind for protection.

Thankfully, the prospect at the gate didn’t give me any trouble this time, and they let me straight in.Probably because of the biker behind me.Whatever the reason, I was grateful for it.

Then the damn idiot bikers wouldn’t let me past the front door.It didn’t matter because I was a woman on a mission who wouldn’t settle until I saw that the father to my children was okay.

I don’t know why it surprised me to find a club girl with her hands on him.It didn’t matter that she was stitching him up.All my brain saw was another woman touching him and it yanked me straight into the past.

What did surprise me, though, is Pope working through my trigger with me.It was his voice coaxing me back to the present.And holy shit, but the fury that rushed through me when the past faded was something I hadn’t felt in so very long.It was a welcomed friend that I embraced with both arms.

Stabbing that needle through his sorry ass was therapeutic.

Granted, not enough therapy to help all the shit between us, but it felt great causing him pain.

I should be ashamed of that, but fuck that shit.He’s the one that said he wanted my fire.Well, bless his little black heart, because I’ll gladly scorch his ass.

There was never really an option to work my anger out over his betrayal in the past.I was too heartbroken when it happened and then when we left, I needed to focus all of my energy on the kids.I didn’t have time to be angry.Then I met Frankie and I think I just shoved everything Pope made me feel to the wayside.It wasn’t something I ever dealt with properly.Once he started abusing me, I couldn’t focus on anything other than keeping my kids safe and trying to survive to see another day.

So, this anger I have at Pope feels amazing.It’s a delicious, dark current of rage that pumps through my veins.

Then words pour from his mouth that hit me in my solar plexus.Words that he never intended to let out, judging by the expression on his face.

“Then?”My eyes fall to slits.“What do you mean you protected me then, Pope?”

Silence falls around us as I wait for Pope to explain himself.

He said he protected methen.From what?From who?The Steel Slayers?

“Answer me.”

I hate the shakiness of my voice.I hate being vulnerable in front of these people who would use it against me before they’d care about why.

My body flinches when Pope throws one of the pool balls into the wall with a growl.

Pope paces in front of me, continuously running his fingers through his bloody hair.His eyes flit to me before glancing around the room and he mutters under his breath.

Defeat weighs my shoulders down.Why did I ever expect this time to be different?It’s always going to be club first with him, isn’t it?

I turn my back to him, intending to walk out the door and back to our kids, but his harsh words stop me.

“The Steel Slayers were threatening you and Valkyrie.You were the primary target, but she was included in their threat.”

I whip around.“What?Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Club business, little mama.”

“Would you stop with that excuse, for fuck’s sake.It was my life they were threatening.I had a right to know.”

“And it was my job to protect you,” he yells back.

Oh, no.No, no, no, no, no.

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