Page 19 of Falling for Her
I grin and remind him, “More like you shouldn’t have said,“fuck yes, my plan worked,”basically admitting to trapping her again,” and he winces but nods reluctantly, and I laugh.
Fucking idiot.
Bullet sighs, “Hammer called Dad this morning and said Bethany showed up at the shop demanding to speak to you and made quite the scene.”
I hum not denying it. I was busy tatting over a client’s ex’s name when she started screeching at the top of her lungs.
“He can’t just do this! I made a mistake, and it’s time he forgave me,” Bethany shouts, and I sigh as I dip some more ink into my needle.
Brad, my client who came in because he stupidly got his girlfriend’s name tatted on his forearm before finding out she cheated, mutters,“Fuck me, I feel sorry for the guy that got with that,” and I snort but don’t speak because well I was that guy, not that I got with her willingly.
“Seriously, Hammer, you can’t kick me out. My dad owns this place, and he’ll have your patch for this,” she screams, and I wince.
“Oh shit,” I mutter as Brad shakes his head, knowing she just fucked up before Hammer's loud shout echoes, “From now on, your fucking banned from the shop, and newsflash little girl, I own the majority percentage of this fucking shop now get out.”
Bullet sighs and leans down before putting my cut on the bar, and I groan. Fuck’s sake, I should have seen this coming from a fucking mile away.
“Put this back on, brother,” he demands quietly, “You’re my VP, my right-hand man. I need you by my side, and honestly, you look fucking wrong without it.”
I swallow hard, knowing nothing I say will stop him from making sure I put that leather back on my back except for the truth.
Licking my bottom lip, I eye my water bottle, not able to look my best friend in the eye, and I admit quietly, “When we were sixteen, my place within this club was threatened if I didn’t do something I didn’t want to do, something Butcher knew only I could do.”
I feel Bullet tense, and he stays quiet for a few moments before he growls lowly, “Please fucking tell me my dad did not blackmail you into dating Bethany?”
I clear my throat, not surprised he’s realized instantly. He was shocked when his dad, not me, his fucking dad, told him I wanted to date Bethany. I’ve never been all over his sister, never kissed her, and over the years, he’s given me funny looks when I move away from her and refused to put her on my bike.
“He said it would only be for a few months,” I admit quietly and he curses as he runs his hand through his hair. I continue, “But a year later, he ordered her a cut behind my back and demanded I give it to her, believing that year I would have fallen for her,” I look at my best friend. Anger shines off him, and I state, “The shit she caused with Scar gave me the perfect opportunity to end things with her.”
His jaw works before he asks, “Did she know, or was she in the dark.”
I give him a sad smile and admit, “She is the one who cried to your dad or maybe blackmailed him, I don’t know. For years, she had a thing for me despite me pushing her back several times, and your sister, I’m sorry Ace, but how she’s been acting lately, she has always acted. This person isn’t new to me, this person hasn’t just come out of nowhere. She’s always wanted attention, and she knew as soon as you take over as Pres, her attention within the club will lower and so will her rank.”
“She fucking wanted your patch all along,” he huffs before taking a big drink of his beer and I shrug. He looks at me again and demands, “What happened for you to hand your cut in?”
I eye the leather before looking back at him and state, “I had been thinking of leaving the club for years, Ace,” his eyes widen, “The fun run when we were seventeen? Your dad told me I couldn’t go unless I put your sister on the back of my bike which is why I stayed back not because it wasn’t working right. Some family BBQs and other fun runs were all missed because I wouldn’t do as they wanted for your sister. I missed my teenage years because of my dad, yours, and Bethany.”
His cheeks redden, and I look forward and mutter, “He demanded I give Bethany my patch last week. Apparently, she was more tamed when they forced me to date her, and she’d gone off the rails again, screwing around, causing fights, doing drugs, and before I could tell him where to go, he opened his mouth and used my place within the club as collateral just like he did when we were sixteen and I, fuck….” I shake my head and look at him, “I don’t feel my place within the club anymore,” his nostrils flare, “For years, I’ve had to endure Bethany hanging off me all because your father couldn’t put her in her place and honestly Ace, I don’t give a fuck if Bethany had footage of one of the brothers burying a body to use against them to get her own way, they never should have put that pressure on my shoulders or continued it and the icing on the cake, despite her fucking someone else, he told me I couldn’t touch another girl until a certain amount of time had passed because she’d made the club believe I loved her and I had to mourn our relationship. Being a boy with no money, no way of working because he threatened to put me on the blacklist, I had to go along with it.”
He shakes his head, “Dad saw the shit Mama put me through with Victoria and the shit the bitch caused with Scar…Why would he do this? And to you, a boy he saw as family? What the fuck?”
I feel a little hand pull on my jeans and twist and look down. I smile at Levi. He grins wide, his green eyes sparkling as I pick him up and sit him on my lap while Scar brings Hannah over in her car seat.
“When are you coming home?” Scar asks in a whisper, putting Hannah near my feet and passing me her diaper bag. I take it and quickly strap it diagonally over my shoulder as I admit, “I’m not, sweetheart. I’ve permanently moved above the shop until I find somewhere else.”
Bullet tenses while Scar looks away, but not before I notice the unshed tears, and instantly, I feel like a fucking dick.
“This isn’t right, Jokester,” Bullet says quietly.
I flinch and mutter, “It’s Damian now,” and I look at him, his jaw is working, like he wants to snap, but his eyes keep going to his son in my arms, and I admit, “This is the right thing to do, Ace. I haven’t been myself since I was forced with Bethany, and you know it,” Scarlett gasps, looking at me in shock and I swallow hard and whisper, “I need to do stuff for me now, I need to put myself first.”
He shakes his head and looks away, and I sigh and look at Levi. I bounce him and ask, “Fancy a cupcake, little man? I know the perfect spot.”
He grins, a grin that makes him look so much like his mother even though he has his dad’s eyes and hair, and I stand and say, “Say bye to Mama and Daddy,” and he grins and waves to them.
Scarlett bites her bottom lip as her tears swim in her eyes, and I fucking hate it. This girl is family, and I don’t want her to cry.
I kiss her cheek then look at Ace, and say, “Pick the kids up tonight at the shop. Now go spoil your wife.”
