Page 128 of Beautifully Reckless
I can’t stop fucking smiling, which is fucking weird. I can’t remember the last time I smiled this fucking much.
“The Southern Sadists might be full of brutes and thugs and burley-as-fuck criminals, but one thing wedofucking well is taking care of our women.”
Now she’s frowning again, looking at me like I’ve lost my fucking shit.
“You might want to tell your President that. He’s married to Jols’ mum, yet spends all of his time with Celina. AndCelinatakes second chair to his dog Molly.”
“The situation with Jols’ mum and Smitty is different. She didn’t marry him for love. It was more about protection, and keeping a watch over Jols after what happened to her.” I pause, my lips twitching into a smirk. “Besides, I’m pretty sure she’s batting for the same team now.”
Abbey’s brows shoot up, and I can’t help but chuckle.
“Right, well. What about Barts? As far as I’ve been able to make out, he’s in the dog house with his woman.”
“You know about Barts and Natasha?” I ask, because how the fuck does she know that?
“Jols and I came across him one morning when we were leaving the laundry room. She was scolding him for being drunk.” Abbey shrugs casually.
“Well, Barts has an addiction problem. With these fucking lockdowns, it’s been hard as hell to get him the help he needs.”
“And what about Brody?” she continues, determined to prove me wrong. “He treats women like they are pieces of meat.”
I cringe. “Technically, he’s not a Southern Sadist until he patches in. If he ever gets his shit together long enough to get a fucking invitation. So Brody is not a good example, Angel.”
She opens her mouth, probably to add another club brother to her list, so I press my hand over it, cutting her off.
“Stop trying to prove me wrong,” I mutter, releasing her mouth and brushing my thumb across her jaw. “You haven’t seen the married members, because most of them stay homewith their wives and kids. They don’t need to party their days away or crash at the clubhouse. They show up when they’re needed, and help run the business side of things. So trust me Angel, married Southern Sadists take care of their women.”
“So, since we’re married now, we don’t need to go back to the Western?”
“No.” I shake my head, easing her down off my lap. “The club is laying low for a while, until we sort out the Officer Allen situation. Half the men are heading to our northern chapter. The rest are moving to the new property we’ve just acquired.”
Abbey stiffens, her eyes wide as she stares at me.
“You mean… the property in Fox Pines?”
“Yeah, Angel. The old Vixen’s Lodge Estate.” I rise, straightening out my clothes and brushing the dirt off my knees from before.
“Are we… going there too?”
Fuck. Her voice is so timid. I knew she’d be nervous about returning to her hometown, which is why I’ve made other arrangements for her.
“You will stay here with my ma and sisters.”
“Me?” She frowns, confusion clouding her features, and like a fucking coward, I avoid her gaze. “You’re not staying with me?”
Sighing, I take her hand, finding a slight tremble in it that wrecks me more than she’ll ever know.
“I need to help my club, so I’ll join them in a week or so.”
“And I’ll stay here?” she snaps, and fuck me, now she’s pissed again.
How do I keep fucking this up? We’ve been married for less than an hour, and I swear I’m about to get served divorce papers.
“I’m not taking you to Fox Pines until it’s safe, Angel,” I try to explain. “There’s nowhere to sleep there yet. My club brothers will start converting shipping containers into livable spaces. Once it’s safe, we’ll go together.”
“Right,” she snaps again, her voice sharp enough to cut. “So I’ll stay here and behave like a good little wife, while you head off to Fox Pines with your club and the Doxies to do God knows what.”
My frown is so deep it fucking hurts, but the second I give the smallest nod, my wife is already storming off towards the barn.
