At the time, she felt not reporting it was the right thing to do. Wyatt being a star defense attorney from a well-known and prominent family, the accusation would’ve made news. With his political and social clout, she would’ve been vilified, and her father’s business negatively impacted. She hadn’t wanted to ruin what her father worked so hard for his entire life, despite what he’d done to her. Never had she thought Wyatt would come after her, and Ty would’ve discovered the truth, the real reason she’d left, the real reason she waited a week before flying across the country.
“Allie, sweetie, you have to calm down. Army walks in here and you’re like this—”
“This is my fault.” She sobbed. “I should’ve…n-never come here. I…s-should’ve…”
The deadbolt unlocked. Her head snapped up. Quickly, she wiped the tears streaming down her face. The door swung open. Ty took one step, one look at her, and stilled. His eyes softened in a way she’d never seen before, and then he dropped his head and stared at the ground.
“Mia, Stone’s downstairs.”
Allie looked behind her brother, toward the voice that affected her so much. Though he spoke to Mia, his gaze was on her, scanning her. Why was he there? She was a complete wreck. She didn’t want anyone to see her like this.
Ty lifted his head. His eyes were misted, fighting tears. Her brother didn’t cry. He didn’t get emotional, ever. She jumped off the couch, closed the distance between them, and wrapped her arms around his waist. He hugged her tight. A sob tore from her throat.
“Shh…Allie. It’s okay.”
Her body shook. She held on tighter, thinking any minute the cops would come, take the only family she had left, the only man who ever truly loved her, away.
“I didn’t kill him, Allie. Hit him a couple of times. He’s not gonna bother you anymore. I promise.”
She drew away quickly.
He let her go and tensed. A disbelieving expression clouded his face.
“You think that’s what I care about? Do you think I’d care about him leaving me alone if I’m alone in the world?”
“Allie, he isn’t gonna cause problems. Trust me.”
“Trust you? I don’t even know where you work, Ty. You won’t tell me. All I know is Wyatt is a high-profile defense attorney with a lot of friends in high places and money. He can make your life and the club’s life hell. He’s used to getting what he wants, and he does, always.
“Why do you think he can’t let me go? You think it’s because he loves me? You think it’s because he had some sort of revelation and realized he can’t live without me?”
She shook her head. “It’s because he gets what he wants, and now he’ll be out for blood, for yours and the club’s, and it’s my fault.” Her voice cracked. “Because I came here. I shouldn’t’ve come here. I should’ve…” Looking away from him, she whispered, “…disappeared.”
He grabbed her chin and lifted it. Her eyes landed on his. “No, Allie. You come to me. Always. He’s not gonna go to the cops. He’s not gonna bother you again. Trust me on this.” He leaned into her and whispered, “This is what we do.”
Her eyes widened. “What?”
He shook his head. “This isn’t your fault. It’s mine. I knew. I knew, and I let you move out, and I didn’t put the guys on you.”
Her brows furrowed. “What?”
He smiled. “Should’ve had the guys watching you.”
“I don’t need…” Her voice trailed off. She had needed them. If Jace hadn’t been there, she would have more than a sore cheek. She shuddered.
“Need a drink,” he said, snapping her out of her bleak thoughts.
She headed into the kitchen. Ty, trailing behind her, took a seat on the stool. She poured Ty whiskey. “Is Jace coming in or is he standing guard outside?”
Her brother chuckled. “Trig!”
Jace strode inside, closed and locked the door behind himself, and took a seat beside Tyler.
“Want a drink?” she asked, avoiding his eyes and ignoring the heat of his on her.
He nodded.
“Whiskey? Vodka? Or beer?”
“Whiskey, thanks.”
She poured him whiskey, then grabbed a beer from the fridge for herself. “Have you eaten? I planned on making steaks tonight.”
“Relax, Allie. I’ll order some food.”
Her gaze darted to her brother’s bloodied knuckles then back to his face. She turned and grabbed a wash cloth, soaked it in warm water, and handed it to him.
He wiped his face and hands. “Been on any dates lately?”
Jace’s hands tightened on his glass. Hardly noticeable, but she noticed.
She hopped on the counter and took a sip of her beer. “No, I haven’t.”
“What about that attorney? What’s his name?”
He was trying to get her mind off Wyatt, but she hated his choice of topic. “Keith,” she whispered.
“So? He hasn’t called?”
“Yeah, he invited me to go to a movie with him and his son. I declined.”
His lifted a brow. “Why?”
She rolled her eyes, playfully. “I told you why.”
Jace took a gulp of whiskey and set the cup on the counter with a thud. She spared a glance in his direction. His eyes, narrowed, glued to his drink.
“Yeah, but Allie, you gotta move on and I looked into the guy. He seems—”
Her eyes widened. “You what?”
“I looked into the guy. No record, comes from good family, wife left him, has a two-year-old he’s raising on his own, co-workers like him.”
She wasn’t in the mood to explain he had no business looking into a man she dated once, but it was pointless. “Yeah, Ty, I know, but it doesn’t change the fact I’m not interested.”
“Feelings can grow.”
Maybe, but maybe not. “Not interested.”
“You said he was nice. You could be friends,” he persisted.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Jace’s jaw clench. “Ty, if I’m not interested in the guy romantically, there’s no point in seeing him again. I don’t know if I’ll ever be interested in him romantically, and he’s inviting me into his son’s life. What if his son gets attached to me, and it doesn’t work out? He’ll be hurt, and I’m not willing to hurt a kid on the off chance I might fall for his dad.”
Ty shrugged. “Makes sense.”
She smirked. “I know it does.” She sighed then announced, “What do you guys want me to order? I’ll—”
Ty finished his drink. “You aren’t doing shit, but taking a shower and relaxing. I’ll order food and go pick it up.”
Drained, she wasn’t going to argue.
Ty smiled. “Been dying to drive your Camaro.”
She shook her head, then headed for the shower. In her room, she picked out a pair of shorts, loose fitted top, undies, and a sports bra then went into the bathroom. She closed the door behind her, spared a glance in the mirror, and cringed. She looked like she felt, a walking disaster. Her eyes swollen and red-rimmed, her face blotchy, and a light bruise had started to show on her cheek. Tying her hair in a knot on the top of her head, she took a long hot shower, dried, and dressed. She walked out of the bathroom, steam filed out. In her living room, she spotted Jace, sitting on the couch remote in hand. His gaze snapped to her, scanning her the way he’d done before. Since he was empty handed, she offered him another drink.
“Wouldn’t mind a beer, but I can get it.” He stood and headed into her kitchen.
She followed behind.
He opened the fridge. “See you have tons of beer.” His voice tight. He pulled out two beers and uncapped them, then handed her one.
“Keep it stocked for Ty. He stays here on occasion.”
He nodded. She watched the corded muscles in his neck as he took a deep swallow of beer. He then angled his head to her, so she took the chance to say, “Thank you…for what you did.”
For some reason, his eyes hardened, the hand around his beer tightening until his knuckles were white.
She took a step away.
He closed the distance she’d forced, crowding her. “Scared of me, Allie?”
No, but it wasn’t wise to get too close to someone who was angry. “No.”
He leaned into her. “You sure?”
She smelled the whiskey and beer on his breath. Her gaze helplessly drifted to his lips. She was tempted, so tempted to press her lips against his. Why, when he was clearly unhappy with her, she had no clue.
“Allie.”
She loved it when he said her name. She loved it more when his voice came out husky like it’d been then.
Her gaze snapped to his eyes. While she’d been daydreaming, he’d grown ten times angrier. She couldn’t remember what he’d asked. “What?”
His jaw clenched, his shoulders tensing. Through gritted teeth, he said, “You’re killing me.”
Killing him? How the hell? She’d expressed gratitude. “You’re annoying me,” she retorted with little force. He still stood too close.
He fought a smile. “What?”
Her eyes narrowed. “You heard me. You annoy me.” She couldn’t understand him. One minute he saved her from her ex-fiancé, the next he was angry because she thanked him?
Lifting a brow, he grinned. “Why?”
She wouldn’t answer. Primarily, she had a question of her own, and he was grinning that beautiful grin. She had to ask before the inevitable happened, before she got lost in his smile and forgot the question. “Why were you angry, Trig?”
His grin faded, instantly. “Not angry.”
“You were. I can tell. All you bikers do the same thing when you’re angry.”
He chuckled, his body shaking from the force. The sight of him standing in her kitchen an inch away, laughing was just too beautiful. As she’d feared, she got lost in him, forgetting what she’d said.
Once he sobered, he crossed his arms over his chest. “What is it we bikers do?”
Right, that’s what they’d been talking about. “Your eyes get mean, and then there’s the jaw twitch thing. Your posture changes too and, of course, can’t forget fisting your hands.”
He laughed loud. She laughed too. She couldn’t help it.
Seemingly without thought, still laughing, his eyes dead on hers, he said, “You’re fuckin’ amazing.”
He didn’t mean it in the way her heart wished, but the reaction was the same. She stilled. The smile died on her lips. Like the wind had been knocked out of her, she couldn’t breathe.
His smile died too, and he tensed.
“Don’t worry. I know what you meant.” She forced a smile. “I won’t go crazy stalker girl on you.”
His brows furrowed. “What?”
“You know, those women who take everything a guy says to mean something it’s not and chase them?” She didn’t chase men. Ever. A rule, something her mother told her when she was sixteen, that stuck.
He shook his head then changed the subject. “You sure you aren’t scared of me?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
His eyes scanned her face, searching for what, she didn’t know. “Seein’ what I did, what I’m capable of didn’t scare you?”
“No.”
His eyes widened. “Why?”
“He deserved it, and I know you wouldn’t hurt a woman.”
“How can you possibly know that?”
She knew because he took care of his niece and his sister. She knew because he’d roughed up her ex for touching her and beat him up for slapping her, because he’d held her against him when she cried, and because sometimes he said things that proved it. Still, she wouldn’t say those things, not aloud and not to him.
“I know you wouldn’t hurt a woman,” she said more adamantly.
“You don’t.”
Not in the mood to argue with a biker, her voice laced in sarcasm when she said, “You’re right. I don’t.”
“I hate it when you do that.”
He said it like he’d known her for years. Unsettling, since he didn’t. He barely knew her, and he didn’t even like her. “Do what?”
“Wave a fuckin’ white flag.”
“I…” The denial died on her lips. She had done it, and, she’d done it once before too. “There’s no point in arguing with someone who’s as hardheaded and stubborn as you are.”
“I’m not—”
“Have you ever hit a woman?”
He hesitated, then finally shook his head.
“Oh,” she said, sarcastically. “So I was right, but you’re arguing with me about it. See what I mean? Annoying.”
His eyes softened. In a tender voice, he said, “Yeah, Allie, you were.”
His gaze snapped to her cheek. “Did you ice it?”
She shook her head. “I’m fine. He didn’t hit me too hard.”
His eyes flared. “You mean it wasn’t as hard as the last time?”
She took a step away, looking away from him.
“Tell me, Allie.”
No, she wouldn’t, and nothing he said would make her. She could be as stubborn and as hardheaded as him, too. What happened to her was in the past, and in the past, it would stay. She refused to open that door. It’d only cause more heartache. Besides, he’d beat the crap out of Wyatt for slapping her. If he knew the truth, there was a chance he’d kill him or tell her brother who’d do worse.
“Allie?”
Her gaze shot to his. “It was just a slap—”
He flinched, muscles bulging. “I was there. It was hard, so fuckin’ hard the sound still echoes in my ears.”
He had a point, but he was also angry, angry enough to take off and beat the shit out of Wyatt again. She didn’t want that, and so she caved. “I don’t know why you were there. I’m just glad you were. If you care about my brother at all, then what I tell you will stay between us.”
He didn’t say a word, but he nodded.
“He hit me before. Once. It’s the real reason I left.”
He fisted his hands, looking away from her then met her stare again. “He hit you one other time, but that other time, he didn’t just slap you.” He leaned into her and whispered, “He beat the shit outta you, beat you hard enough to leave marks. You had to wait for the bruises to fade before you got on a plane and headed here.” Pure disdain in his voice.
She thought it would hurt to say it aloud. Turns out, it hurt to hear it, too.
His eyes darkened. “And your dickhead father probably told you, you deserved what you got for disobeying your fiancé, and then he gave you several days off, so you wouldn’t show up to work bruised.”
She swallowed. How he knew, she didn’t know.
He lifted his hand and softly grazed his fingers over her sore, bruised cheek. “You let us, we’ll protect you. You don’t want to tell your brother, then don’t, but give him that, let us protect you. We can.”