Page 49 of Taming Raptor

I froze. The voice slid like ice down my spine. Deciding to ignore her because that’s what she deserved, I moved my cart forward intent on paying for what I had and leaving.

“Adrien!” Rapid footsteps preceded the hand on my arm that I shook off. Full of fury, I spun to face the woman that had at one time brought my world crashing down after pulling everything out from under me.

“What do you want, Falina?” I practically spat her name out like a bitter pill. Fuck, she was supposed to be gone until next week.

I didn’t want to tell her that I thought she was out of the country and her sons were coming to see me tonight. That would lead her to believe I’d sought her out or gave a fuck. I also couldn’t believe she actually thought I had anything to say to her.

She had the nerve to pull back and look wounded.

“I didn’t believe the talk that you were back. I… you… you’ve changed,” she whispered.

“No shit.”

“Adrien, I have so many regrets, you just don’t know.”

“I don’t give a flying fuck about your regrets.”

She swallowed hard and I wondered why I was still standing there listening to anything she had to say.

“You used to be so different. All of that”—she waved at my ink—“is new. You never had any of that before.”

“There are a lot of things that are different about me, Falina. I’m not that naive boy anymore. I’m so far gone from him that it would make your head spin. You don’t know me. Nor do you know what I’m capable of anymore. So, leave me the fuck alone and you won’t have to worry about the dark, twisted, vengeful shit that goes on in my head when it comes to you.” It was probably wrong of me to throw that at her considering I would be seeing her sons without her knowledge.

Both boys were legally minors and if she found out she would definitely make a stink and I wasn’t sure if the restraining order she’d taken out on me was still valid. Speaking of….

“Aren’t you nullifying the restraining order you had put in place?” I glanced down at the four feet that now separated us. “Pretty sure that’s not five hundred yards.”

And there it was. The hateful little gleam that she quickly hid behind her bullshit sweet façade.

Without waiting for a reply that was likely to be a pack of lies or hateful vitriol, I walked away. Deciding what I had in my cart was good enough, I went straight to the checkout lines. Thankfully, there were no further interactions with my ex-wife before I got my ass through the checkout and out to my truck.

My phone rang as I was hauling ass back to the clubhouse. Seeing that it was Venom, I grinned and eased the death grip I had on my steering wheel. I pushed the button to answer. “Well, hello stranger.”

“Hello yourself. I thought I’d check on you and see how you’re settling in—Prez.”

“Fuck, that sounds weird.”

He chortled.

“I’m glad you find so much humor in this,” I wryly commented.

“Sorry, bro. I do think it’s funny. You hated filling in for me, but it didn’t mean you were bad at it. You’re a born leader, Raptor.”

I sighed. He was more accurate than he knew, but I’d told my father under no circumstances would I be taking over as our clan leader. “I don’t know about all of that, but thank you for the vote of confidence. I’m glad one of us has faith in me. Truthfully, this position is a bit of a pain in the ass, but it’s not too bad. Gator is one helluva VP, so that helps. Thanks to him, so far it’s been okay on the club front at least.”

“Meaning?” His tone took on a serious note and I knew he zeroed in on my reckless admission.

“Shit, how much time do you have?” I gave a humorless laugh.

“For you? However much time you need.” He was dead serious, and I appreciated that about him. I missed having him around to bounce ideas off of and talk to. Sure, I had Gator as my VP, and he really was badass, but I didn’t really know him well enough to discuss the things that weighed heavy on me. At times, I felt very much alone down here.

I explained everything that had happened since I got to Texas. Everything from the task of getting a chapter re-established and the bullshit we’d encountered with the Demon Runners, to Sam coming to see me.

He huffed out a pent-up breath. “Damn, brother. Have you talked to Evan since you’ve been there?”

Venom knew the backstory with me and my cousin better than anyone. He was the one who’d been there to keep me from completely drowning in a bottle after Falina hatefully informed me the boys weren’t mine and she’d been having affairs since before we got married.

“Hell, no. What could he possibly say to explain the fact that he was fucking my wife behind my back for years?”

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