“I left the night he nearly beat me to death. I intended to call you, but then I got a call from my friend’s man. She needed me and I’ve been saving to come here anyway. I just left and didn’t think. I’m sorry for that,” I admit.
“That fucker’s a dead man,” Dragon snarls.
“Only a pussy would beat on a woman,” Gadget sneers.
The twins share an ol’ lady and I remember hearing something about what happened to her years ago. Connors’ ex-husband had been abusive. When she finally got away from him, she’d been lucky enough to keep not only herself safe, but the baby she was carrying too.
“What else?” Burner demands, seeming to look further into my soul rather than my gaze.
“There’s nothing else to it,” I murmur, not wanting to tell them more than I need to. What Jacob did was far worse than I want to admit. And I stayed, for longer than I should’ve. No one will ever understand how I feel, the guilt, the pain, or the regret.
“What about the blood?” Red questions.
I close my eyes and shake my head, not wanting to think of it. It’s still too much to talk about.
“She’s safe here. This Jacob won’t get her, not here,” Sascha says, becoming upset on my behalf. Every day I genuinely feel the love he and Ruslan have for me. They’ve really become adoptive-older brothers, and I’m so grateful for everything they’ve done and are doing for me.
“We’ll be the judge of that,” K-9 declares, eyeing both Sascha and Ruslan.
“We’re her family and wouldn’t harm her,” Sascha snaps.
“Nothing will happen to our Trista,” Ruslan snarls, glaring at K-9.
“You sure about that?” Gadget asks.
“Yes,” Ruslan confirms.
“I believe them,” Ally murmurs. Glancing in her direction, I see her staring at me the way Burner did when he asked what else happened. Those two have such a special relationship it’s eerie sometimes.
After that, the rest of the night went much more smoothly. They caught me up on all things back home, and I told them about working at the tattoo shop. Ally and Burner decided they wanted to see Dema again before they headed home on the jet, Dragon and Gadget’s cousin lent them for the trip.
Now here they are, getting ready to leave. I had them meet me at Pins and Needles so Ally and Burner could see Dema.
Dema smiled and introduced them to Kronid, explained that Burner is why she has a passion for tattooing. They all spoke for a few minutes before Burner announced it was time for them to head out. The guys shook Kronid’s hand while Ally hugged Dema.
Now here I am, rounding the reception desk and wrapping my arms around Ally as hard as I can.
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay here?” she asks.
“Yeah, I’ve always intended to come here. To be close to Dema. Thank you for everything you did for me and for caring enough to come all the way around the world to make sure I’m safe,” I say quietly, not wanting Dema to hear me.
“You know it. Oh and here, this belongs to you,” Ally announces, pulling a white envelope out of her back pocket. I open it and my jaw nearly hits the floor—a stack of hundreds, which must be at least a few thousand dollars right here. “Don’t say a word. The club wanted to make sure you were good,” she says, stopping me from giving it back to her.
“Thank you,” I say, clearing my throat of the emotions starting to clog it.
Ally smiles and steps to the side as the rest of the guys embrace me. K-9’s the last to hug me and, of course, needs to say something stupid. “You know you’re gonna miss your K-9 snuggles.”
I laugh because he’s talking about Rex, his dog. Rex is an American bulldog he got after leaving the military. It helps him with his PTSD and I don’t blame him for having the companionship he does with him. If I could get one, I definitely would too. Especially if it were like Rex, he’s a great dog. I’ve seen him be tugged and pulled on by children. Instead of nipping or showing aggression, he allows it. He tolerates the hell out of it. He’s just that good of a boy.
“You’re a nut,” I giggle and give him a squeeze.
Pulling away from K-9, I smile up at him. “You guys have a good flight home,” I say and notice Michail staring between K-9 and myself.
They all leave to go back to their hotel, walking toward the two SUVs they came in. I watch as they go and don’t realize Michail is standing behind me until I move back behind my desk and sit. I don’t know how to explain it other than a heavier feeling that begins to settle over me. Michail moves to stand in front of me, leaning over the receptionist’s desk.
“Guess you’re going to miss those snuggles,” he quips in a snarky manner, obviously irritated by what K-9 said.
But still, why the hell does he think he can be so shitty with me like this?
I haven’t seen him in days. Not since our date. I figured he was busy with work because he does this sometimes. He’s gone for a few days to handle things for Kronid or whatever and then he’ll show back up again. But now I wonder if I’ve screwed up so bad that I won’t be able to explain myself. Or tell him I had a good time the other night.
Feeling my defenses coming forward, I straighten in my seat and glare at him. “You know what? Maybe I will. At least K-9 isn’t a jerk toward me. And he’s not always grumpy or in a foul ass mood. Oh, and he doesn’t judge a book by its cover.”
I say the last part before I can stop myself. What he said just irks me to no end and I can’t hold
