Allison is looking at me with wide eyes, and it's then that I realize what I've done. "I'm sorry, but that's the only way they're going to leave you alone."
She looks around the room and then back at me. "Why is everyone staring at us?"
Reaper has walked over to a group of the guys, and all of them are staring our way. I’m sure he’s passing the word that I’ve claimed a woman, which I’m glad about. "Some of them are trying to figure out what's going on. I never talk to women... most of them I don’t have the patience for, and so they all think I hate women."
She takes another drink of her beer. "Do you?"
I shrug my shoulders, refusing to look her in the eye. "I hate what they're capable of."
She nods, and her fingers start to pick at the label of the bottle. "So you've been hurt before."
I flex my arms out in front of me and then cross them over my chest. This is not something that I usually want to talk about. I fix her with a stare. Maybe it's because I want to stop her from asking the question. But she just laughs. "What, one of your girls tell you no?" And then her face gets even livelier as if she’s come up with something really clever. "Oh, I know. She didn’t like being called an ol’ lady. That’s what you call them, right?"
I grit my teeth. "Close." I unfold my arms over my chest and lay them on the table in front of me, leaning toward her. This definitely isn't a story that I want everyone to hear. "While I was serving in Afghanistan, I was married, and we had a two-year-old. While I was serving our country, she served me with divorce papers. After a long court battle, I found out that my son wasn't my son, and no matter how much I want to be in his life, I can't be."
Shocked, her mouth drops open, and she stares at me, wide-eyed. I can see the pity on her face, and that's not something that I want from her. Fuck, I shouldn’t even have said anything. What is it about this woman that has me telling her things I don’t talk about? Hell, I try not to even think about the shit in my past.
I get up and walk away, slamming out the front doors. I don't want to leave her, but I know that she'll be safe here. No one is going to mess with the Guardians. I tell myself that I just need a breather, that it's the thought of bringing up my ex that has me on edge, but I know that that's a lie. I'm on edge being around Allison. She brings out a side of me that I forgot was even there, a side that wants things like love and a future. I stomp across the gravel parking lot and find my way to the bar next door. Another beer is what I need right now.
Chapter7
Allison
Everyone turns to look at me. I finish off my beer, and all I can think about is how I fucked up. I know I did. Kane has been nothing but nice to me, and I had to start making jokes about why he doesn't like women. I guess if something like that happened to him, there's no blame on him for feeling the way he does. I try to put myself in his shoes, and I know that I would be devastated to think that I had raised a child to two years old and then to find out that he wasn't my own. That would be devastating, for sure.
When I first saw Kane, I expected him to be a player, but I didn't expect this. I set down my empty beer bottle and follow the same path that Kane just walked. I go out the front doors and stop, looking side to side, but I don't see him. A man is standing by his bike close to the door. "Did you see Kane?” When he looks at me weird, I tell him, "I mean the pres?"
He tilts his head to the side and laughs. "Are you the reason he's cussing and stomping out here?"
I swallow deeply. "Yep."
He nods his head. "You may want to lay low for a little while, let him calm down. I'm sure he'll be fine and show back up."
With determination that I didn't expect, I answer him, "I can handle it. Which way did he go?"
He shrugs his shoulders, as if to say it's my funeral, and points at the bar next door. "Thank you," I tell him as I follow in that direction. As soon as I walk in the front door, I spot Kane sitting at the bar top throwing back a shot of some kind of dark whiskey or something.
Everyone stops and stares at me. I feel insecure, knowing that even though I'm no longer in my high heels, I don't really fit in here. I can feel a rush of heat to my face, and I point over at Kane and announce to the room, "I'm with him."
I don't wait for any of them to say anything. I take off walking and sit down next to him. He doesn't turn or even act like he knows I'm here, but I know he does.
"I'm sorry," I start.
He shakes his head and finally looks at me. "It's not your fault. Fuck, you've got a lot going on. I didn't need to throw my shit in the mix."
I cover his arm with my hand, and I can't help but think about the differences between us. His skin is tan and covered in dark ink; mine is pale, and my hand looks small in comparison. "Have you ever talked about this to anyone?"
He lets out a chuckle as if the thought is preposterous. "No, and please don't tell me that I need to."
"I'm not. I was just wondering why you told me."
He looks at me again, and his gaze is heated as he stares. "I don't know." I can tell that that answer bothers him. He doesn't seem the type to just open up to people.
There's so much that I want to say to him, but instead I turn to the bartender. "I'll have what he's having," I say, pointing at Kane.
The bartender looks at me in surprise. He puts one shot down in front of me, then another, then another.
"Really?" I ask with a laugh and look over at Kane.