Chapter Twenty
All I wanted was a hot shower to relax my muscles that were still tense and tight. But no such luck. I had two small slices in my skin that had needed stitches, one at the back of my jaw under my ear and one across the back of my hand.
Doc had ordered me not to get them wet for at least twenty-four hours, forty-eight if I could hold out that long. I wasn’t sure if I could, though.
My palms were covered in tiny cuts and pin pricks, as were my knees, and I was still shaking tiny shards of glass from my hair. My shoulder and across the front of my body were sore from the impact of the seatbelt, but would most likely just result in bruising. The whiplash just topped it off, my neck tight and my head beginning to pound.
What a clusterfuck.
I came here to escape, to find some kind of protection. And what happened? I nearly got an innocent child and a brother killed.
While Optimus was adamant that there was no proof those guys were actually after me solely, I was skeptical. Simon knew I was here. The guys that chased us weren’t pros, that much was obvious. But he wouldn’t send professionals because that would draw too much attention to him.
He wanted it to look like he had nothing to do with it.
He couldn’t risk being linked to these guys because that might cost him his place, his job.
I dropped down onto the edge of the bed.
I thought by coming here that he might back off, that maybe he wouldn’t be stupid enough to fuck with these men. The Brothers were outlaws, they didn’t live by the rules of society, and as they’d proven that afternoon, they would kill anyone who threatened one of theirs. Satan’s Sanctuary might be posing as a ruthless club, dealing in drugs and illegal weapons, they were technically still bound by the law. They couldn’t get away with something like this without the government coming down hard on them.
The risk was too high.
It seemed like the perfect deterrent.
But after today, I wasn’t sure the plan was as smart as we’d first thought. Either that or I’d underestimated Simon’s threats.
This wasn’t just about him wanting me back. There was something bigger going on, something that was forcing him to risk everything he’d worked for, in order to get me to come back to him.
Macy’s cries still echoed in my head as I sat inside my silent bedroom. My heart hurt, thinking of how she could have so easily been hurt or possibly killed today.
Would Leo have blamed me for coming here and for putting her in danger?
I felt tears burn in my eyes. The last thing I wanted was for her, an innocent little girl who had already lost so much, to get hurt. I could just see the look in Leo’s eyes if things had gone differently, and he’d showed up to find his daughter gunned down on the side of the road.
Warm tears trickled down my cheeks. Thinking of him in that much pain made me want to vomit. He’d stolen my breath away. He was everything I wanted and so much more, but just out of reach. He had lost so much already. Knowing I could be the reason for bringing the rest of his world crumbling down into a pile of rumble made me want to run.
Chelsea was pregnant with twins, Rose and Blizzard were fighting to keep Jayla in their lives, Slider was barely hanging on by a thread. Me being here was a threat to them all and the lives they were fighting so hard to keep.
I never expected this.
I never thought that within a few weeks, these people would become friends to me. They’d treated me with respect despite the fact that the only purpose I really held here was a warm body that the men used to help them get off. They’d never made me feel like a whore, even though that’s exactly what I was. Trading my body for something I needed in return.
They cared for me, and for all the other girls here, even the ones that they knew were hoping to simply score a man and trap him for life. They were harsh, sometimes vulgar and rough around the edges. But they all had their hearts in the right place.
They all put family first.
And all I was doing, was risking everything they were fighting so hard to keep together.
I shook my head.
I couldn’t do this.
Dropping to my knees, I reached my hand around under my bed, searching for the bag I’d arrived with. Just as I found the strap and was about to pull it out, there was a sharp knock on the door. I thought about ignoring it, Optimus had given me a few days to recuperate, meaning I didn’t have to meet the brothers’ demands.
But when I heard his voice, I froze.
“Hadley? Got some food for you.” He spoke loudly through the wooden door.