“You’re going to be sorry, Madison. Mark my words.”
The prick has some damn nerve, and one big-as-hell ego. Probably to compensate for the little dick between his legs.
“No, Jeff. You’re an asshole and a really shitty kisser. The only thing I will ever be sorry about is wasting so much time on you.”
This girl just put a lock around my heart. Damn, I’m already falling hard. My heart’s beatin’ heavy, warmed with pride for the girl. She’s mine now. That arrogant shit needs to run along and go bark his pathetic ass up someone else’s tree.
She turns on her heel and comes right back over to me. “Can you take me on another ride?” I’ll take her on whatever she wants.
“Up on the Ferris wheel, or you want to try somethin’ different, babe?”
When her eyes travel down my frame, I get the sense I may be her new favorite attraction at the state fair. She has no idea what a fun ride I can be.
Music suddenly blares through the walls and the memory fades. Shit, I feel like I just came out of a coma. My head is so heavy. Heart racing hard. I look down at what I’d been aimlessly drawing while I got dragged back into the past.
It’s an image of her face. Only her eyes aren’t twinkling like they were in my memories. They aren’t shining with lust or happiness. Aren’t filled with intrigue and need. They’re full of pity. Pity for the weak man I’ve become.
4
Madison
Raid puts me back down on my feet, and I turn, looking for Skully, but he’s gone. He’s rolling his wheelchair down the hall, heading to his room. I knew it was a bad idea to come. But now I have my answer. I definitely wasn’t missed. He has no regrets on letting me go. There wasn’t even a flicker of happiness to see me. There was nothing but anger in his eyes.
“Will you come have a drink with us, Madsters?”
Dagger’s sweet to ask, but if I stay a moment longer, I’ll break into tears.
“I need to get going. It’s obvious Skully doesn’t want me here.”
He shakes his head, casting Hawk a look. “I doubt that’s the case, babe. He’s just having a rough day.”
Rough day or not, the look in his eyes made it very clear how he feels about me. I’ve never felt such a coldness in my life. The man despises me.
“Hey, Mads.” Ripper’s standing in the doorway of their meeting room, the place where they hold “church,” and it’s not the religious kind, which I’ve never quite understood. “You mind stepping in here for a moment?”
“Yeah, um…okay.”
I really want to leave, but Ripper is hard to say no to. He’s the one who escorted me out of the hospital, holding me as I broke down into tears. Embracing me until I was all cried out. He told me Skully wasn’t in his right mind and didn’t want me seeing him in such a banged-up state. But it turns out, Skully just never wanted to see me again.
“It’s good to see you, doll.” He closes the door behind us, gesturing for me to take a seat. “Been a long time.”
Exactly fourteen months and three days. Every single second more painful than the last. And it just got harder, seeing the truth in Skully’s eyes.
“Are you back for good or just passing through?”
I’m only back until I can find a job in another state. After today, there’s no way I’m staying here. It’s too hard. Too many memories.
“I’m currently searching for a job, so I’m not sure how long I’ll be in town for. The market’s a bit tough right now, though.”
“What kind of job you looking for?” His eyes perk up. “Maybe we can help.”
I doubt it. The Savage Knights run an auto shop and a construction company. Not exactly my forte. Not unless they need someone to handle their books, in which case, I’m their girl.
“Any chance you can get me a job in finance somewhere?”
“Are you shitting me? We’ve been looking to hire someone to get the club’s finances in order. Rubble used to run the books for us, but ever since…” He can’t even say the words. They all lost part of their family that night. Rubble was an amazing man, and I know his loss has been felt. “I’ve been drowning. We’re late paying bills, and late with sending out invoices. It’s a mess. Damn, girl, I could really use some help. If you’d be up for the job, I’ll pay you what we paid Rubble.”
It sounds right up my alley. I could have them back on track in a matter of days, or a few weeks depending on how bad it is. And if they don’t already have accounting software, I could get them set up to make life easier for them. As long as they were willing to pay me minimum wage, it’d be the best job ever.
