“You in a rush, pretty?”
“Yes, I have packing to do, then a journey north. I won’t be back.”
“Fair enough.” He banged his feet to the floor and stood. A candy bar wrapper fell from a crease in his t-shirt. “There you go.” He flicked a button on the wall.
The door clicked.
“Thank you.” She yanked it open and stepped out onto the street. The door slammed behind her with a resounding thud.
Looking left and right, she wondered how long it would be until a cab came along. Perhaps she should call an Uber.
But she didn’t want to wait around for one to arrive. Her feet twitched to walk, to start working on that distance.
She’d been such a fool. So naïve, an infatuated little girl who’d believed everything a hot, bad-boy biker had said.
Heading west, she managed ten steps before she heard the door thud again.
“Leah!” Carter’s voice. “Where you going?”
“Stay away from me.” She didn’t turn, and she carried on walking.
“What’s happened? Fuck!”
His boots made loud slaps on the sidewalk.
She spun to face him.
He was frowning as he came to a halt. “What the hell happened in there?”
“What happened…” She stabbed her finger in his direction. “Is that I found out the truth.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure, you do.” She turned away. “But if you need a refresher, go ask your mother or Skylar.”
He gripped her upper arm and turned her to look at him.
She gasped. “Get off me.”
“Skylar”—his eyes narrowed and he held her tight—“is a trouble maker.”
“There’s no smoke without fire. And from what she said, I know that I’m in the fire.” She tried to shake his grip but had no luck.
“I have no fucking idea what you’re talking about, woman.”
“How about you were told to go get an attorney girlfriend so the club could have free legal advice and representation?” She studied his face. “And you set your sights on me. Decided I was the one with the right qualifications to be useful.”
His lips twisted, and a small tic played beside his nostril. Tiny movements, micro-expressions, but they told her everything she needed to know.
She was right. Damn right.
“Now get off me.” She peeled his hand from her arm, and he let her. “Because this is over. You’ve failed in your mission, Carter.”
“You were never a mission.” His voice was a low snarl. “And you damn well know it.”
“No, no, I don’t. Not from the way they all spoke in there.” She jerked her head at the compound. “That’s exactly what I was.”
“And after what was no doubt a bitching match, you can just dismiss everything between us, just like that?” He snapped his fingers together. “All those fucks?”