“Maddie.” Lincoln knocked on the door. “I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant at all. I want to kill every one of them for what they did to you.” I heard a thud, but the sound didn’t come from his knuckles. Instead, I believed he stood on the other side of the door with his forehead pressed against the wood. “But I’m not any better if I take advantage of you after all you’ve been through. Never mind you’re drunk.” Several curses flew freely from his mouth seconds before I heard the bedroom door slam shut.
With my energy depleted and the nice feeling of the alcohol waning, I slid down the wall until my butt hit the floor. Then I broke down and cried, releasing all the hurt, anger, and uncertainty swirling around inside me.
24
When I pulled into the lot, Kaden didn’t follow me. He rode off, needing to be alone after spending time with his mom, a visit that went better than I thought it would, especially after learning all the disgusting details of what happened to her all those years ago.
While we’d been at Sully’s, I tried to be present, knowing my friend needed my support. The conversation revolved mostly around her son and Riley since that was the biggest thing to happen recently. Kaden was careful not to reveal anything about what we’d learned but did ask his mom if she was okay. She smiled and gave him a hug, her short bout of worry disappearing as to why he asked when he apologized for not being around more because of everything goin’ on.
On the ride back all I could think about was Maddie, worried about whether she was scared without me there, only to find out she’d been havin’ a good ol’ time with Ace and Brick.
“Were you hitting on Maddie while she was out here drinking with you?” I stood directly in front of Brick, who continued to consume beer after beer. But because he was so big, the alcohol didn’t seem to have much effect on him. I enjoyed a cold one as much as the next guy, but I didn’t drink often, or should I say to excess because I was either training or competing in a fight.
“No, I wasn’t hittin’ on her. I asked her if she liked you, and during our conversation, I told her she was beautiful.”
“First off, are we in high school? Asking her if she likes me? Why didn’t you just pass her a note? And it sounds like a move to me, you tellin’ her she’s beautiful.”
“It wasn’t like that.” The corner of his mouth lifted when I didn’t have anything else to say on the matter.
I was pissed when I saw her sitting between Ace, who was only supposed to be checking on her, not fucking drinking with her, and Brick. The three of them seemed to be having a great time, and while I was upset I hadn’t been able to get her to open up like they had, underneath it all I was happy she felt comfortable enough with them to relax a little.
“Is she feelin’ okay? She seems to be a bit of a lightweight,” Ace chimed in, reading something on his phone and not even bothering to look at me when he asked about her.
“Have you seen how tiny she is? I’m surprised she was able to drink what she did and still string a sentence together.” Four mixed drinks weren’t a lot to any of us, considering Trigger only used a shot per glass, but to Maddie, they had obviously had an impact, enough where she felt comfortable enough to kiss me.
Shock flared to life that she didn’t shrink away from me, or from any of these guys; it told me what kind of fighter she was. After everything she’d been through, and I was sure I didn’t know all of it, to continue to trust anyone of the opposite sex was astounding. Let alone guys who also belong to a motorcycle club, albeit we were completely on a different level than the Reapers, but she didn’t know that. Not yet, at least, but she was learning to trust she would be safe with us.
“She’s fine.” Trigger walked up next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. “She needed a few drinks after the shit she’s endured.” He took a step back and flattened his expression, looking at me like he was skeptical all of a sudden.
“What?” His scrutiny made me uncomfortable, like I’d done something wrong.
“What’d you do?”
“I don’t know what you mean?” Shifting my feet, a warmth traveled through me at the thought he might know what happened between me and Maddie. But how could he, and why had I felt guilty when I stopped the kiss?
“Did you do somethin’?”
“Like what?” I asked, praying he’d stop talking and leave me alone. I had enough guilt consuming me, I didn’t need him judging me on top of everything else.
“Ya look like ya did somethin’. Did you take advantage of her?” It must’ve been the flick of my expression, but Trigger suddenly looked angry.
“She kissed me.”
“I knew she liked you. She got all starry-eyed when I mentioned your name.” Brick laughed. “But I think it’s only hero worship or savior something or other.”
“What the hell are you talkin’ about?” Ace asked, peering around me so he could see the big guy.
“You know. When someone saves someone, and that person then forms some sort of bond with the person who saved them.”
“You mean like Stockholm syndrome?” Trigger involved himself in their asinine back-and-forth.
“What the hell is wrong with you guys?” I hated they knew Maddie and I shared a moment, and I definitely wasn’t gonna tell them that I was her first kiss, but what they were spewing only served to piss me