Page 18 of The Secrets We Keep

The ride to the clubhouse is too short, and too long, all at once. I’m desperate to keep Sophie close to me but also chomping at the bit to beat the shit out of Eric.

I pull past the clubhouse gates and park beside the door. Rowan parks beside me, looking just as pissed off as I am. I climb off my bike and turn around to help Sophie. My jaw tightens as I take in the bandage covering her arm. How anyone feels comfortable hurting a woman is beyond me. Sophie didn’t deserve this shit and I’m going to make sure that Eric pays for it.

I reach up and unbuckle herhelmet, gently pulling it from her head and smoothing her blonde hair away from her face. I place the helmet on one of my handlebars and then clasp Sophie’s hand in mine, leading her into the clubhouse, avoiding the main room at all costs. I know that I’ll go straight after Eric, and I don’t want Sophie anywhere near the fighting.

When we get to my suite, I punch in the code and find Chef and Asher inside. I turn around to grab the papers from my brother who followed me knowing that I was about to blow up on Eric. I usher Sophie inside and step in after her.

Asher turns when he hears us. “Mama! Grayson!” He cheers as he runs over to us. He halts in his steps when he sees Sophie’s arm. “What happened mama?”

“I just got hurt at work,” Sophie grimaces. “I’m okay.”

Asher closes the distance between them and wraps his arms around her, making my heart clench. “I’m glad you’re okay, mama.”

“Me too, buddy,” she murmurs into his hair as she returns his hug.

Chef looks at me questioningly and my grim expression must give him all the answers he needs. He nods his head before I turn and storm from the room.

Rowan falls into step beside me as I rush down the stairs and into the main room. Laughter fills the space as everyone jokes with the three assholes from Tennessee. I don’t say a word as I approach, but mymen know that something is about to go down from my demeanor. They clear the way. Eric doesn’t know what’s happening until he turns in my direction. The smile doesn’t even fully fall from his face before my fist connects with it.

I knock him to the ground and my knees follow, hitting the hardwood floor as I rain down punches. I hear arguing behind me and know that my men are holding back the other two assholes, but I don’t care about that. All I care about is serving justice.

“You think that you can touch what’s mine?” I yell as I land another punch to his jaw.

He makes a feeble attempt to punch me, but my anger and surprise work to my advantage. I land one final blow and the fight leaves him. The asshole slumps to the floor, knocked out.

14

SOPHIE

I release Asher from my hold when I hear the door click shut behind me. I glance in that direction and I’m disappointed when I see that Grayson left. My heart sinks a little. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t him walking away after how he reacted to my injury.

“Why don’t you go take a shower and get your pj’s on? Maybe we can watch a movie before bedtime tonight,” I tell Asher.

“Heck yeah!” He cheers, rushing out of the room to do as I say.

“That man still loves you,” Chef says when Asher is out of earshot.

“What?” I ask nervously.

He chuckles. “Grayson still loves you. I could tell something happened the second you both walked into the room. He’s always been protective of you. I just hope he’s not going to land himself in jail for taking care of it,” he trails off.

“What do you mean?” I ask, my eyes wide.

“I mean that he walked out of here to go take care of whatever it is that happened.”

“Oh my gosh,” I groan as I rush toward the door. “Please, stay with Asher. I need to go stop him.”

I push open the door and rush down the hallway, not waiting for a response from Chef. As I run down the stairs my feet barely hit the floor. I hear the commotion from the main room before I get there. It’s different from the laughter that filled the clubhouse when we entered.Fuck.

I reach the main room when everything gets quiet, the only sound in the room is heavy breathing. My eyes find Grayson. He’s hovering over an unconscious Eric. Rowan and Axel are holding back the other two members from Tennessee.

I push my way through the crowd and stop beside Grayson. “Are you okay?” I ask as I drop to my knees beside him. He looks at me with wild eyes and nods his head once. I look down at his hands and see his busted knuckles. I stand and offer him my hand. He looks at it cautiously before grabbing it and pulling himself to stand. I walk him out of the room, ignoring everyone’s stares.

I tug him through the clubhouse, up the stairs, and down the hall to his suite, not letting go of his hand until we’re inside. We find Chef and Asher watching the first Jurassic Park movie. Asher is so into the movie that he doesn’t hear us enter, which is for thebest since I won’t have to explain what happened to Grayson.

When we walk into the bedroom, I close the door behind us and urge Grayson into the bathroom. He’s silent the entire time that I search for a first aid kit, finding one under the sink. I open the kit and nod for Grayson to sit on the toilet. When he does, I pull out the alcohol and pour it on gauze before cleaning his knuckles. He doesn’t complain, but he does suck in a breath.

“What were you thinking?” I admonish softly as I toss the gauze into the trash bin.

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