Huh. I hadn’t really thought it could be related to anything but being pregnant. “Normal, I think.”
“Let me know if you feel worse or want to go to the doctor.”
“It’s nothing that serious, Gray. I should probably drink some water, though. I have a bit of a headache.”
He steps away and I follow him into the bedroom. The mini fridge in the corner was stocked with water bottles when we arrived. He pulls one out and hands it to me.
“Thanks.” Without taking my eyes off him, I swallow a few sips, then set the bottle down. “So, what was the emergency this morning?”
“Z called the officers to the table.”
Dread settles in my stomach. “Please tell me it wasn’t about…not about what happened last night.” I grab my water bottle and stagger to the bed.
“Of course it was,” he snaps. “Ice wanted to know if I’d give Pants a chance to explain himself. Offered me money—”
“Money? Why?”
“It’s in our rules.” He cocks his head. “You must’ve heard that before? Infractions are paid by cash or blood. Sometimes both. I declined the money since I beat the hell out of Pants last night.”
“No wonder no one stopped you.” Knowing how primal some of the guys can be, blood is probably the preferred method of payment.
“Right. People saw what happened. No one was going to stop me.” He pauses and sits next to me, taking my hand in his. “First, I want to apologize to you, buttercup.”
“Apologize to me, why?”
“When I gave you your patch, I told you it meant no one would ever do something like that to you in one of our clubhouses. I broke that promise.”
“You didn’t break your promise. Pants did.” I think about our conversation. “Besides, you also swore you’d beat the crap out of anyone who touched me while I was wearing it and you certainly did that.”
His brow furrows. “Did that bother you? I don’t like that you saw that side of me.”
The emotion in his voice squeezes the air from my lungs. I shake my head until I can form some words. “No, it didn’t bother me.”
“I’d never hurt you.”
“I know that.” In every other bad relationship I’ve had, there was always some seed of doubt or red flag early on that I dismissed. A gut reaction that my brain and heart ignored. I’ve never gotten any of those vibes from Gray. Not once. “So, what was Pants’ excuse?”
His jaw tightens and his gaze darts to our closed door. “Tawny put him up to it.”
Harsh, dark laughter rips from my throat. “Of course she did. I should’ve known it was her when he said he heard I was always down for a good time. I assumed one of the brothers told him that, but dammit, it’s exactly the kind of thing she’d do.”
Pure fury burns through my veins. It can’t be healthy to hate someone as much as I hate that woman.
“I’m sorry. I had a talk with her last night. She promised me she’d behave.”
“Must’ve been after she hassled me,” I grumble, hating that he spoke to her at all.
“What did she say to you?”
“The usual.” Heat sears my cheeks. I don’t want to repeat any of it. “So how did a big, scary biker get talked into doing Scrawny Tawny’s dirty work?”
The corners of his mouth twitch. “Apparently, she implied I’m too old and feeble to know when someone’s using me. So she suggested he ‘test’ your loyalty.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake. It’s like she never matured past high school.”
“That’s Tawny.” He slides his hand over mine. “In hindsight, he’s embarrassed he fell for it.”
“He should be,” I grumble, not at all in a forgiving mood. “So, he got his ass kicked in front of everyone last night and copped to his poor judgment in front of all the officers this morning?”
“Of upstate and downstate.”
He’ll be returning to Virginia with a bruised body and ego. “Good.”
“That takes care of Pants. But Tawny still needs to be punished.”
My eyes widen. As much as I hate the woman, I don’t want Gray to beat her up. Maybe tie her to a post out back, drizzle her with honey and leave her for the bugs, though.
“What’s that evil smile on your face, buttercup?” Gray asks.
“Nothing.” I push the vision of Tawny being consumed by mice and ants away. “So what’s her punishment? Is Sway going to cut off her Botox funds?”
“No, she’s being banned from the clubhouse.”
Banned. Did I hear that right? “How are they going to do that? She’s like the wicked witch of downstate. She’ll probably use her broom to fly right over that gate outside.”
He snorts. “Z and Steer will deliver the news to Sway. It’ll be his responsibility to keep her away. But everyone will know she’s not allowed on the premises.”
Banned. Damn, Tawny’s going to be pissed. She treats this place like her personal palace. And having everyone in the club know she’s been banned. That’s even worse for a bully with attention whore syndrome.