Page 38 of Only The Strong

“You can't tell anyone, Al,”I say after I finish telling Allie everything that's happened.

She blows out a breath and runs her fingers through her blonde hair. “I don't understand why you won't just tell him what’s going on, Reese.”

I shake my head, tears threatening to spill over at the reminder of what's happened. “Because he’ll try to fix it and get hurt again. This way he stays away from me and when the club figures out who's behind it then I can come clean with him.”

“But what if he doesn't want to hear you out after this is over? And what if something else happens and he’s not here?” She counters, turning on the couch to look at me.

“It’s not worth his life, Al, and nothing else is going to happen as long as I stay away from him. My stalker is threatened by other guys.”

She scoffs. “Yeah, ‘cause he’s a fucking perv.”

I interrupt her rant because everything that she's asking and saying is things that I've already gone over a million times in my head. I hate being without Callum. He was the only thing keeping me sane and being without him now feels like a part of me is missing, but I cannot have anything happen to him. My stalker isn't messing around, he's not playing pranks on us. He's messing with people’s lives and he’s not afraid to hurt people. I would rather Callum hate me and be alive than love me from a grave. “Can we just watch movies and eat a ton of ice cream? You were supposed to come over and help me, not make me feel worse.”

Allie frowns and sighs. “Shit you're right, I'm sorry, Reese. Which flavor do you want?” She stands and walks into my kitchen and to the freezer.

“Cherry Garcia, no bowl. Just bring the whole thing,” I say, sliding down so I'm laying on the fluffy white couch, picking up the remote and turning on 365 Days. Allie grins devilishly and brings two tubs of ice cream into the living room, handing me mine and getting comfortable next to me with hers.

I really hope Callum will listen to me when this is all over. I hope he will believe me. First, I have to figure out who my stalker is.

“Okay.” Allie starts. “Let's start from the first note and go from there.”

37

CALLUM

“Slide”by Chase Atlantic booms through the speakers in Purgatory. The red LEDs are the only lighting in the room as the stripper spins around on the main pole, flipping upside down and pulling her legs into the splits. It’s a true club party tonight with the clubhouse completely filled. Girls are walking around with their tits out and people are fucking wherever they can get their pants down. Okay not everywhere, mostly outside and in the rooms upstairs if they have the key to a room. Hell, there’s even a stripper riding someone’s cock in a chair across the room from us. I’m sitting with Jack, Leo, and Saint. Jack’s barely paying attention to any of the girls like he normally does, his blonde hair is hanging in his eyes as he stares down at his phone and his sharp jaw is set. Leo is sitting with Jessica on his lap, periodically kissing her neck and staring at her fake tits. And Saint is slouched in his chair next to me constantly checking his phone like some heartbroken bitch, or like me. The only reason I’m not doing the same fucking thing is that I left my phone at home so Icouldn’tdo it. After the millionth time, I've finally had it. “Just go fucking call her.” I lean over the arm of my chair and yell over the music.

My voice startles him and he looks up at me. “What?” He asks like he didn't just hear me.

“Go call her, whoever she is,” I repeat. Finn and I have noticed him being a little fidgety recently, checking his phone a lot more than usual.

Saint shakes his head and yells back. “She’s busy tonight.”

I scoff. It’s not often we’re turned down, which is probably why our egos are so damn huge. “Who the fuck says no to Saint fucking Viotto?”

He chuckles, taking a sip of his vodka. “She had other obligations.”

“Fuck her then!” Alcohol makes me a little more careless than normal. I left buzzed a long time ago and am heading straight for blacking out.

Saint smirks. Purely fucking evil. “That’s what I'm trying to do.”

I side-eye him, suddenly not in the mood to talk about pussy anymore. “Fuck you.”

Saint laughs and sets his glass down on the table in front of us. “Stop sulking and just take Sasha home.”

Just as he says that Sasha steps onto the small stage and “Grind On Me” by Pretty Ricky starts to play. She sways as she walks, her long legs swinging her slim hips. The red lights reflect off of her beautiful skin and her shiny bra and matching thong. Every guy in the room turns to watch as she takes the stage and completely ignores the pole choosing to do floor work instead. Sasha is a phenomenal dancer, having trained since she was younger. She’s not like the other girls at The Second Circle, she’s just trying to make a living to open up her own dance studio. She drops to her hands and knees, pressing her chest to the floor. Then she rolls so she’s laying down, arching her back with one hand laying over her pussy and the other moving from her mouth and sliding down her torso. Never once does she break eye contact with me. I guess she still has that crush on me. I watch a little longer and when she turns and stands, bending over completely, balancing with one hand on the floor and the other covering her pussy again, I stand and toss five hundred dollar bills at her and flick her a kiss. The beat drops and she stands, watching me as I walk out of Purgatory. Well, walking is more of a stretch, I definitely stumbled out, almost bumping into the wall as I got out of the door.

You know how you don’t really realize how drunk you are until you stare into the bathroom mirror? That’s how I feel right now while I awkwardly try to wash my hands. Being drunk and in a sling are not two things that mix well. The room starts to sway and I lean my forehead against the cool mirror which helps in cooling myself down. I don't even realize someone else is in here until I'm being turned around and pushed into the wall. Lips crash into mine and a hand sneaks under my shirt.Why aren't her hands around my neck? Whatever.My eyes are still closed but I know this is Reese. My girl came back to me. “I missed you, Red.” I sigh when her mouth moves to my neck. I run my hand up her body from her under her butt, along her side, and end on the side of her face. Her body doesn't feel the same, her hips are more narrow, her torso longer, her jaw sharper.

Reese chuckles, but it sounds too throaty to be from her. “I’m not that little redhead you brought around last time, Cale.” Ah hell, it’s Sasha. My eyes snap open and the chubby I was starting to sport immediately goes down; well I guess that takes care of that.

I take her hands off of my chest and gently push her a step back. “I can’t, Sash.”

Sasha looks at me, I mean genuinely looks at me. “She really did a number on you, huh?”

I push my hair out of my eyes and look at my boots. “Yeah, she fucking did.”

Sasha nods, we’ve always been friends. Hooked up a few times and I know she started feeling something for me, but always friends before anything else. “Okay. Call me if you need a distraction.”

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