“But you doubted me. You came here behind my back. Snuck around. Checked out my life.” Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. “I think you should leave.”
“Bell.”
“I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but that, Tank, that hurt the most. I’ve never given you a single reason to doubt me or who I am. I’ve been more open and honest with you than you have ever been with me. I think you should leave, and I’d like my key back.”
Chapter Six
“What’s up your ass?” Reaper asked.
Tank wasn’t in the mood to deal with anyone right now. He stared at the hole he’d made in the drywall, not caring about the sting in his knuckles. She was gone. Out of his life.
He’d fucked up because he couldn’t trust her.
It wasn’t Bell. It was him, his lifestyle, the club. Trusting anyone could cost the Straight to Hell MC lives. He’d seen it himself firsthand. Trust was a foreign concept, but he still should have trusted her. Bell was sweet innocence, and he’d fucked everything up.
“No one has to worry about the girl from the diner anymore. It’s over with us.”
“No shit. I heard she was fucking some prospect from Skull Nation. Good call cutting that bitch loose.”
He scowled, squeezing his hands into fists again. Nothing made sense to him. It had been a brutal five days since he left that apartment. He’d been a walking corpse, unable to focus on anything but his own misery.
“Why haven’t I heard anything about this?” Tank asked.
“Brick thought you were too close. That chick was messing with your head.”
He couldn’t believe this. The minute he was out the door and she just happened to hook up with another biker. Had he meant nothing to her at all?
“My head is clear.” He left the hallway of the clubhouse and went out to the yard. The urge to call up Bell was fucking intense. She’d become his best friend, and he missed talking to her. He wanted to know what she was doing, what she was thinking.
But had she been playing him the whole time? Did she have a kink for bikers?
He wanted to smash his fist into something else. Lord wouldn’t be impressed if he kept leaving the clubhouse damaged, so he needed to vent his frustration elsewhere. He got on his bike and just started riding.
With no destination in mind, he found himself mindlessly driving in the direction of the diner. He’d look like a fucking loser showing up there after she made it clear they were over. But they weren’t—not for him.
He needed an explanation from her. Needed to see this prick she was supposedly fucking around with now that he was out of the picture.
Tank wasn’t sure how long he sat there on his bike, hidden in the shadows, but as soon as Bell came down the steps, his heart began to race. She was gorgeous, even tired and wearing her uniform. He watched her reach up and twist her hair into a makeshift bun as she walked toward the street. There was no friend waiting to drive her home, and it was past sunset. He didn’t like this at all, and it wasn’t even his business. Why should he care anymore? Obviously, she’d moved on.
The club made it clear she was a liability, maybe a rat, so he needed to keep his distance. Watching her for a few minutes wouldn’t hurt, would it? Tank got off his bike, palming the 9mm in the holster under his jacket before following behind her on foot. He left a wide berth of space between them so he wouldn’t be seen.
Yes, he’d felt like an asshole for spying on her apartment, but hearing about her new boyfriend only days after cutting him off changed everything. He was six-eight and feared by most, but right now, he felt completely vulnerable, like his heart had been torn out and stomped on.
The familiar rumble of a motorcycle came from the other end of the road. He wondered if one of the brothers knew what he was up to. This was not a position he wanted to be caught in.
“Where you think you’re going?”
He stopped in his tracks. A bike had stopped on the road near Bell. It was too dark to make out who he was. It didn’t sound like anyone he knew.
“I told you to stay away from me. I’ll call the cops,” Bell said.
The man laughed. “The cops are afraid of me, just like you are, little mouse. I told you last time you better get me information on your boyfriend.”
She kept walking. “He’s not my boyfriend. I have no information for you, so stay away.”
Tank wasn’t sure if she had been feeding him intel and chose to stop or if she never had at all. Regardless, he didn’t like the situation. The vibe was getting dark and not looking good for Bell. He’d told her not to walk these streets alone.
“What’s his name? Where’s his clubhouse?”