****
Wolf pulled up to the clubhouse, dropped his kickstand and shut off his bike. It had been a long week. He knew he’d been sent on this damn run just to get him out of town and away from Crystal. And he’d kept his word to Mack. While he’d been gone, he hadn’t called her, and he hadn’t texted her. But now, hell he had to admit he couldn’t wait to at least lay eyes on her. Even if it was just to see her behind the bar in the clubhouse, pulling a beer for him.
He headed inside, but didn’t get ten feet before Red Dog walked up and shocked the shit out of him by punching him right in the face. Wolf fell back against one of the pool tables. Wiping his bleeding mouth with the back of his hand, he snarled, “What the fuck, man?”
Red Dog stood over him, two-hundred and fifty pounds of pissed-off biker. “She’s gone. Because of you!” Dog jabbed a fist in Wolf’s chest. “It wasn’t enough you treated her like shit, but you had to drive her away, too?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Wolf asked getting to his feet. “And get the fuck out of my face, motherfucker.” He shoved Red Dog back. Not an easy task when the man was a six-foot-four wall of muscle.
“Don’t play fucking dumb with me, asshole. Crystal! That’s what I’m talking about. Like you don’t fucking know.”
“Crystal? What do you mean she left? How the hell do you know that?” His eyes moved frantically around the room, searching, positive Dog must be fucking with him.
“She ain’t here is she? She’s gone. Because of you! So, tell me, Wolf, is this the part where you’re gonna stand there and pretend you don’t care, don’t give a shit?”
Wolf shoved past him and headed toward Mack’s office. He didn’t bother knocking. The door banged against the wall as he burst through.
Mack was behind his desk, on his phone. He glared up at Wolf, and then bit off into his phone, “Let me get back to you.”
Wolf stood in front of the desk, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. He’d never felt so close to tearing apart his own President.
Mack tossed his cell on the desk and lunged to his feet, roaring, “Who the fuck do you think you are coming in here like that?”
Wolf roared back just as forcefully, “You ran her off? After you gave me your fucking word if I left her alone, you’d let it ride, you’d let her stay.”
“Sit the fuck down!” Mack ordered. Then he walked over to the door and slammed it shut.
Wolf collapsed into a chair, not because he wanted to, but because if he stayed standing, he knew he’d be tempted to take a swing at Mack.
Mack retreated behind his desk, probably for the same reason. Wolf had seen him tear apart more than one brother. And he knew Mack was fully capable of laying him out with one punch if he thought twice about it.
“I see you’ve heard.”
Wolf stared him down. “Did you run her off or not?”
“No, I didn’t fucking run her off. I made you a goddamned deal, didn’t I? You keep your end of it?”
“Yes, I fucking kept it. You sent me out of town to make sure of that, didn’t you?”
Mack ran a hand over his face. “Did you ever think of the possibility that she left on her own?”
Wolf shook his head, emphatically. “No way. She wouldn’t do that. She loves this club. She’s happy here.”
“Is she? You sure about that?”
Wolf’s eyes narrowed.
Mack huffed out a sigh and leaned back in his chair, the leather creaking. “You put her in a bad spot, Wolf. You know women better than any of my guys, yet how are you so blind when it comes to Crystal? How are you the last to see it when it comes to her?”
Wolf dropped his eyes. Every fucking word was true, and it was shredding him to be confronted with it.
Mack continued his flaying words. “You drag a woman through the dirt long enough, she’s going to eventually wise up and realize your ass isn’t worth it, no matter how much she loves you.”
At that, Wolf’s eyes shot up. Love? Christ, did everybody see it? Was it that obvious? He thought they’d played it so cool all these years. Fuck, he was an idiot. “Did she talk to you? Did she tell you she was leaving?”
Mack shook his head.
Wolf was on his feet in an instant, hope soaring in him. “Then how do you know she left? Maybe—”