Page 15 of Patch's Bride
“Until you get trained and are earning a salary, your savings is all you have in the world. If anything were to happen to me, you’d need that to survive on your own. But the second reason is if people see you spending my money, they aren’t going to question the legitimacy of our relationship.”
“It’s depressing that everything in our life revolves around selling the lie that we created to protect me. It seems wrong to deceive so many people.”
I reach out to take her hand, holding it between both of mine. I try to frame this in a way that will make it okay for her. “Here’s where I am with this. Your safety is worth a little white lie. Nobody in my life is going to be upset when we part ways because there isn’t anyone emotionally invested in my personal life.”
“Your mom will be upset,” she counters earnestly.
I let her hand go and take the lid off my plate. “My mom knows what this situation is. We don’t need to sell anything to her. She really needs to learn to stop interfering in other people’s lives. I suggest you start setting boundaries with her yourself because I’m sure she’s got some other church-going guy she’s gonna try to hook you up with when we go our separate ways.”
I huff the last bit out. Something about the thought of Beth with another man makes me angry.
Beth makes the time-out gesture with her hands. “Calm down. Are you upset that some other man might end up with the woman you clearly don’t want?”
I take a bite of the cod she bought for me and take a minute to savor my favorite dish. Once I swallow, I tell her, “Truly, I don’t know why I’m upset about that. I just don’t like the idea of you getting manipulated, like I did. You know?”
Beth freezes in place for a second and her eyes drop to her plate. When she starts pushing her food around on her plate, it hits me how that probably sounds to her ears. “Look, I didn’t mean to sound like I don’t want to do this. Whether or not she was manipulative, I would have agreed. I really like you and don’t want to see the bad shit your stepfather had in mind happen to you.”
She shrugs without looking up. “It’s fine. I don’t want to take up any more of your time than necessary, so I’m just going to go upstairs and let you get back to work.”
Before I can respond, she grabs her plate and disappears. I throw my paper napkin down on top of my food, disgusted with myself for hurting her feelings. I can be a complete dumbass sometimes. I stare at the credit card she left behind and wish I had better control of my mouth.
Chapter 6
Beth
It’s only been a few days since the courthouse. Patch is all about being my protector, but I’m not so sure he likes the idea of marriage. He’s doing his part to sell the relationship, I can’t really complain about that. Sometimes it even feels real, but I know it’s not. So I’ve tried to start distancing myself from him physically and emotionally. I don’t want to get in the way of his work and club life when he’s already done so much for me.
We’re on our way to the clubhouse tonight because Patch has been summoned to a club meeting. I get the feeling it is something special for a prospect to be invited to what they call church. Their name for club meetings reminds me that I have not been to church in the last eight days. Not only that, but I’ve been dodging Father Michael’s calls. If I’m being honest, I don’t like the tone of his voice or the messages he leaves about me following Patch down the path of wickedness. I used to be a firm believer, but now I find myself questioning it all. How can Patch be so nice and accommodating while being a sinner, and Father Michael be so judgmental and harsh while being one of God’s voices on Earth?
Of course, I’m on the back of his bike again tonight because Patch never takes his SUV unless it’s storming outside. Since I know he doesn’t like me as much as I originally thought, I don’t press myself close anymore. Instead, I’ve learned to lock my arms around his waist and tilt back a little. I’m anxious about meeting all the Savage Legion club members at once. All I really know is that he disappears several times a week because he’s gotprospecting duties there. I don’t really know what he does there or if I’ll be accepted.
Since he trusts these men, I also wonder if he’s told them our arranged marriage is only so he can protect me and gather evidence against my stepfather. Patch put the battery back in my phone, and now I get almost nonstop calls and texts at all hours of the day and night. I let the messages all roll to voicemail and I don’t open the text messages. Instead, every evening, Patch meticulously forwards all of them to our attorney, who is planning to use them to file harassment charges against my stepfather. I don’t know what the messages say, but I can imagine. They see me as a fallen woman for marrying a man who fell away from the church and who is a biker to boot. I don’t think he’d be stupid enough to say the real reason he’s pissed at me which is because I ruined his plan to traffic me to some lowlife.
I catch sight of the clubhouse in the distance. It’s a large two-story building with modern windows and doors that have a pub feel about them. There’s a metal sign across the front that reads Savage Legion MC.
The closer we get, the more details I can pick up on. Their clubhouse has a large porch and plants that look like trees in big pots on either side of the door. Lights are shining brightly from inside and the porch light is on as well, making it seem welcoming despite the forbidding nature of the club’s name.
As we get off his bike and walk up the front steps, one of the prospects stumbles out, laughing as he bolts away from the building. More laughter rings out from the inside. A voice shouts out, “Come back, Evan, don’t be a spoilsport.”
I can literally smell beer hanging heavy in the air once we walk through the door. We head over to the bar and grab a seat.
The prospect working behind the bar scurries over the second he notices us.
Leaning over the bar, he gives me a feral grin. “What do we have here, Patch? Did you bring me a pretty little trinket to play with tonight?”
Before I can respond, Patch rises and slams his fist into the other prospect’s face. I watch in horror as blood begins to gush from his nose. The man begins rubbing his nose while complaining to Patch. “What the hell was that for? Shit, I think you broke my nose.”
Patch jerks his chin at him and states through gritted teeth, “Come close and I’ll fucking reset it for you.”
“No, thank you. Not in the mood you’re in. Seriously, what drugs have you been on tonight?”
“None. You just called my wife a fucking trinket and I’m not down for that shit, Rick.”
I turn to stare at Patch because here he is again, acting strangely possessive of the woman he clearly doesn’t want to be married to.
The man behind the bar, the one he called Rick, grabs a bar towel and begins wiping at his face. Once he’s cleared away most of the blood, he tilts his head back and pinches his nose closed with an audible groan. “Shit, I didn’t catch that. Say it again, real slow, because it sounded like you just said you have a hot wife none of us knew about.”
It seems that most of Patch’s interactions are with other prospects because yet another one walks up. Instead of being worried about the guy with the broken nose, he slaps Patch on the back and gives him a feral smile. “Congratulations on being a vicious bastard after all. I didn’t think you had it in you.”
