Page 47 of Wild Side
“Still not totally convinced this is what needs to happen. Still wondering how my brother’s entire personality, wants, and desires could change that goddamn fast. But I’m here for the ride, babe. And you’re carrying my niece or nephew inside you. Nobody hurts you. Nobody hurts my family.”
And that is that.
Goose leaves me alone not much longer after his amazing speech. I take this opportunity of being alone to pace the bedroom, needing to move my feet… Then I realize that it’s a clean bedroom.
I don’t know how it got so clean in here, and now that I’m alone, I realize that someone must have spent all day in here, because it’s sparkling. And that somebody wasn’t me, and it assuredly wasn’t Chase, either.
I’m focused on my spinning mind, which is now spiraling at the thought of who could have possibly been in this room cleaning it. I shouldn’t be upset. It shouldn’t matter. But I know the women in this clubhouse. I know what they are. The idea of them being in here in any capacity makes me feel physically ill.
The door flies open just as I’m thinking about naked clubwhores cleaning Maverick’s room. All those thoughts die instantly as I stare at the man in question, the man in the forefront of my mind. He’s standing in front of me, wearing the same clothes, but something has changed.
They’re covered in blood.
And I know without even asking, it’s my father’s blood.
CHAPTER TWENTY
ZADIE
Wordlessly,I watch as he walks toward me, his clothes stained with my father’s blood, and possibly Sable’s. My heart races, but not out of fear. No, my heart races with excitement, because it’shim. It’s Chase, and he’s right here. I don’t think I will ever not feel this way, no matter what happens.
He stops when he’s close enough to touch me, but he doesn’t actually reach out, no matter how badly I want it. Instead, he tips his chin slightly, his eyes looking down his nose at me. We stare at one another for a long moment in continued silence. I open my mouth to say something, to speak first, but nothing comes out.
Thankfully, he’s the one who breaks the silence.
“I know you have every right to hate me for what I did, but it had to be done,” he states.
“Is Sable dead, too?”
It sounds coldhearted of me, the fact that I’m not crying, not even upset that he’s gone. But my father came here and did what he did, knowing the consequences. He’s drilled it into my headmy entire life that consequences are a heavy price to pay when you fuck up. And he fucked up.
Not because he came here and yelled at me, or any of the others, but because he came here and put his hands on me, with the entitlement of his position being the reason he could do that.
“No, she’s not. She’s being taken back to California with the instructions that she never contacts you again.”
Pressing my lips together, I inhale deeply through my nose. I let the breath out of my mouth in a heavy whoosh. I can’t deny that I feel a sense of freedom in the fact that Sable won’t be contacting me again.
After the way she has recently behaved, I didn’t want to have to deal with her. I know she would have attempted to insert herself back into my life even if I had asked her to leave me alone.
That is who she is.
Every fight we’ve ever been in, it’s always been her coming back to me and pressuring me into accepting her halfhearted attempt at an apology, which is actually never an actual apology.
The dynamic between us has been toxic and problematic, but I always accepted her back because she was the only friend I had who understood what it meant to be Halo’s daughter. Nobody else would even know what that meant. They weren’t part of club life, and while I was more of an outsider looking in when it came to the club, it was still part of me.
“Good,” I say.
He watches me for a moment, his gaze searching, then he dips his chin and touches his mouth to mine. I’m not sure if he’s planning on telling me what ultimately happened to my father. I can put the puzzle pieces together, but I don’t know if he’s going to confirm it or not.
Right now, I don’t have it in me to ask him. All I can think about is his mouth on mine, and I know that makes me a terrible person, but at the same time, I’m not sure I care much.
Chase shifts his face closer, and I feel his warm, soft yet firm lips against mine. Whimpering, I lift my hands, gripping his biceps as his tongue slips inside my mouth. He swirls it, tangling his own tongue with mine, and I moan at the taste of him.
So good.
Beyond good—amazing.
He breaks the kiss, nibbling on my bottom lip before he lifts his head, his eyes searching mine for a moment.
