“Did he get rid of them?” I ask her, narrowing my eyes.
“Yeah, well, I mean obviously. They weren’t there when I got back. He said they had the wrong house, but I know he’s lying. There have been others come to the house and they suddenly ‘disappear’ I guess that’s what happens when you’re running the kind of life they are.”
Sounds like whoever he is sending away is looking for her.
Specifically, what she owns without knowing it.
“You ever see anyone and they approach you, or make you uncomfortable, you come to me, yeah? The club will always have your back.
She smiles at that. “I’m glad.”
“You’re family, we take care of family.”
The look she gives me when I say that makes my fucking entire body want to go to her, to take her into my arms, carry her upstairs, and fuck her slowly all god damned night long.
“Would you hate it if I hugged you right now? I feel like I want to hug you for saying that.”
Fuck.
“You wanna hug me, you hug me,” I say, my voice far huskier than I’d like.
She stands with a smile and walks over, leaning down and wrapping her arms around my neck. It takes everything, fucking everything, not to just pull her onto my lap and kiss her until she’s moaning my name. I don’t do that, though. I wrap my arms around her, inhale the fresh scent of her hair, and hug her as hard as she’ll allow.
She exhales, almost in the relieved, relaxed kind of way.
Then she pulls back, but only enough that we’re now face to face, eyes locked. Fuck me, if she doesn’t move now, I’m goin’ to kiss her. I won’t be able to stop myself.
Her eyes soften in a way that tugs at my heart, and when she bites her lip, as if contemplating if she might just lean forward and finish it, a sound has her jerking back. She glances up and then quickly stands. I turn and see Samantha standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, a scowl on her face. “What the hell is going on here?”
Fuck me.
Here we go with the drama.
“Was huggin’ a friend,” I mutter, standing.
“Looks like you were doing a whole lot more than hugging her. Who is she? Who are you?”
She’s scowling at Aviana now.
“I’m Aviana, we’re friends.”
“I doubt that,” Samantha snaps. “Why were you touching my boyfriend?”
“Fuck me,” I growl. “I’m not your fuckin’ man, Samantha.”
She looks to me now, horrified. “Excuse me?”
“We fuck, we go out sometimes, but I’ve never told you that we’re together.”
“You were making love to me just last night.”
Avi noticeably flinches and I could swear her face scrunches with ... Is that jealousy?
Does she want me as much as I want her?
“I was fuckin’ you, there is a big fuckin’ difference.”
“You were looking into my eyes ...”
“Where the fuck else am I supposed to look? The wall?”
“You’re a pig!” she cries. “I thought this was something.”
Fuck me.
“It ain’t.”
“I should leave,” Aviana says, sidestepping so she can get past Samantha without the risk of receiving another black eye.
“You’re not leavin’, you have nowhere to go,” I say to her, but she ignores me and hurries past Samantha.
“Aviana!” I bark.
“I’m okay,” she yells out, and then she’s gone.
Fuck me.
If it’s not one thing, it’s another.
I don’t want her out on the streets alone.
She’s not safe.
“I gotta go,” I say, rushing past Samantha.
“Cohen!” she yells.
“It’s over, Samantha!”
With that, I’m gone, too.
Poor Samantha, she probably deserved a better ending than that.
Right now, though, I’ve got more important shit to deal with.
Keeping Aviana safe.
NOW – COHEN
“What the hell is wrong with you?” Briella seethes, getting right up into my face, her eyes flashing with wild anger.
“I don’t need your shit, Briella. Back the fuck down.”
“She has been through so much. My god, do you have any idea what that girl has endured, now you’ve got her handcuffed like a god damned prisoner. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like that. You need to let her go.”
“I don’t need to do fuck all, what I need is for you to back off and worry about your own shit. Do you fuckin’ understand me?” I bark.
Briella flinches, but she doesn’t back down. “She trusted you.”
“She doesn’t trust fuckin’ anyone. She made it clear she wants revenge on this club, and you’re willin’ to just let her run around and get that.”
“Why are you doing this? Is it some way of stopping yourself feeling too much for her? What, Cohen? What is it?”
“Get the fuck out of my space,” I snarl.
“No,” Briella challenges, crossing her arms. “I’m not scared of you. Not even close.”
“I’m warnin’ you, Briella. You’re walkin’ a fine line.”
“She has been through so much, Cohen. She deserves a friend right now.”
“What would you know about fuckin’ friendship? You didn’t give her the time of day when she came back, either.”
“That was until I saw her break. I know what happened to her. What he did to her. She has every right to be hurt and angry, but she didn’t tell those men where we were.”
“How do you fuckin’ know that?”
“Because I saw her face, because I know her. She wasn’t lying. It had nothing to do with her. If you knew her as well as you should, you would have seen that, too.”
I did fucking see that.
I saw it when she was pleading at me.
But I had no choice.
This club has lost too much for us to take any risks, even if it means going against what feels right or wrong.
I had to do it.
There was simply no other fucking option.
“You need
