“Get out. I don’t want to talk to you or see your face. You won’t listen to me. I’ve been trying to talk to you about this for days. You keep telling me it’s none of my business and to let you worry about it. If I’m acting like a child, it’s because you keep treating me like one. You know what Rebel, go find yourself a mindless drone to be your old lady. Because I’m done, I’m over it!” I screamed.
He tried to catch me in his arms, but I moved away from him further. I felt like the room was closing in on me. Nothing I did was right. I couldn’t do this. He now had a worried look on his face. “Baby, calm down. Talk to me. What do you mean you’re done?”
I headed to the bathroom door. Before I entered, I swung back. “It means I won’t do this anymore. You and I aren’t meant to be after all. Once this shit is over with, I’ll be leaving. You can find someone else who fits in your world, because I don’t. I need more.” Before slamming the door in his shocked face, I took off my engagement ring and sat it on the bedside table. I locked the door and sank to the floor to cry. He pounded on the door, begging me to let him in, to talk to him. He told me we weren’t through, that he loved me. I just cried and held my hands over my ears. I let the tears and hopelessness consume me.
Rebel:
I stood with my heart galloping out of my chest, staring at the bathroom door. I couldn’t comprehend what had happened. After Bull texted us to come to our house and that he had Madisen with him, I’d been on autopilot. Finding she had left the clubhouse alone, had been out in the dark on the property, and had confronted an intruder had terrified and angered me. All I could think about was what if something had happened to her or the baby?
Hell, I can’t even really remember what I said to her when we got to the room. I was just trying hard not to lose it. And now, I was facing the door that had the other half of my heart behind it. The heart that had just informed me she was done, we were over and had taken off her ring. I could hear her sobbing.
I placed my head against the door. “Please, Madisen, baby, come out. I’ll listen, I swear. Don’t do this. I love you. I know you love me. We can work this out. I don’t want anyone else but you.” She didn’t answer, just kept crying. I slid down to the floor and leaned against the door. What in the hell should I do now? I toyed with her ring in my hand. I don’t know how long I sat there, listening to her cry and feeling like my world was ending. A knock at the door pulled me back to the present.
I slowly got up and went to the door. It wasn’t a good time to talk to anyone. I’d send whoever it was away. I opened it to find Bull. He gave me a concerned look.
“Are you okay? How’s Madisen?” I stepped out the door into the hall.
“Now isn’t a good time, Bull.”
“Okay, just wanted to check if you wanted to go with us to talk to Jonah. Is she resting? You can stay here if you want.”
I sighed and let him see the fear. He grabbed my shoulder. “Is something wrong?” I nodded and held up her engagement ring.
“Yeah, you could say that. She just took this off and told me we’re done and she’s leaving as soon as things with her stepdad, the cartel, and those MCs are done. She told me I could find someone who wasn’t a child and who fit in my world because she isn’t it. Fuck, what am I going to do, Bull? I can’t lose her. She’s it, my world. She and that baby are my everything. In my attempts to keep her safe, I pushed her away and I don’t know if I can get her back. She’s locked herself in the bathroom, crying her eyes out.”
He blew out a heavy breath and ran his hand through his hair. He paced back and forth a couple of times. “Okay, here’s what I suggest. She’s too upset right now to listen. Let her calm down. I’ll get Jocelyn to come and sit in the room. She won’t let her leave and maybe she’ll talk to her. In the meantime, get some of your angst out by coming with me to talk to Jonah. We need to know why he was here other than to burn the house, and how he got on the compound undetected. Hopefully by the time you get back, she’ll be willing to talk.”
I didn’t like his idea, but I didn’t have a better one. I told him to get Jocelyn here. As he went to get her, I went back into the bedroom. She was now quiet on the other side of the door. I gently knocked, giving it another try. “Babe, please open the door. I want to talk.” Silence met my request. I sighed and sat down on the bed and hung my head. A few minutes later, there was a knock. I called out to them to come in. Jocelyn and Bull stepped into the room. She gave me a sympathetic look. Bull gestured for me to follow him. Before we left, I asked Jocelyn to text me if Madisen needed me. She promised she’d do so.
The whole ride back to the Cellar, I thought about her and what this could all mean to our life. No way I wanted to lose her or the baby, but I couldn’t keep her here against her will. I ran over things in my mind, driving myself crazy. So much so, that by the time we got to the Cellar, I was ready to take my anger and fear out on someone, namely that shithead, Jonah.
Numerous guys were milling around outside. They watched as Bull and I stormed into the building. Some followed us. Inside were Payne, Demon and Tank. They had Jonah sitting on a chair in the middle of the room with his arms tied behind his back. He looked pale and sweaty. I marched up to him and got down in his face.
“Tell me what you were doing here? Why did you try to burn down my house? How did you even get in the compound? Convince me to not kill your ass and burn your body to ashes.”
He whimpered and squirmed around in his seat, but he didn’t answer. I shoved him over backward in the chair and onto the floor. He grunted in pain. I pulled back my foot and buried the toe of my boot in his ribs. He cried out in pain. I wanted to stomp his ass into the ground. Before I could do more, he begged, “Don’t kick me anymore. I’ll tell you.”
I looked at the others in astonishment. Jesus, what a pussy. Two kicks and he was ready to talk? That was an all-time record. Payne and Demon jerked him and the chair upright. I looked down at him. “Start talking or I’ll go back to beating you.”
He drew in a shuddering breath. “I came here to start a fire. I wanted to create a diversion. Your house seemed to be the best bet since it wasn’t finished and had all that exposed wood.”
“Why did you want a diversion?”
“So, I could get Madisen out of the compound. While you were all busy trying to put out the fire, I was going to get her out of here.”
“And what reason would you have to want to get her outside of the compound?” I had a feeling I knew why, but I needed to hear it from him. He gulped and looked around at us in fear. More of the guys had come inside to listen.
“I was told if I did, I’d get my patch and a payday.”
“Who was going to pay you and patch you? You haven’t been gone long enough to prospect for anyone else and get patched. It takes a year at least.”
“When you kicked me out, I ended up with the Devil’s Horsemen. They took me in and promised if I found a way to help them get their hands on her, they’d make me a member and give me a nice bonus.”
Hearing him say it made me see red. I punched him in the mouth and then in the gut. He leaned over and puked. The guys all laughed at him. When he stopped puking, Demon pulled his head back up by the hair.
“How did you get inside? We changed the codes as soon as you left.” Jonah winced. I pulled back my fist again, and he shook his head.
“No, no, I’ll tell you. One of the bunnies felt sorry for me. I told her I had to leave some things behind when you kicked me out. I told her one of the things belonged to my dead mom. She let me in the back gate. I waited until she left and it started to get dark, then I headed to the house. I had no idea Madisen was anywhere around until she came yelling around the corner of the house and hit me with that fucking board.”