“Please don’t tell me that you put that poor girl up for auction?”
Adam raised his brow at her. “It keeps them from harassing you, doesn’t it?”
Broni shut her mouth with a snap.
“Adam!” Harlow came running in the front of the club.
Adam quickly got to his feet and Broni followed as the rest of the club gathered in the doorway, staring outside with their mouths hanging open. Broni couldn’t get near the door with the large crowd blocking the doorway, instead she moved to the side window, putting out her hand to rub the grime away so she could look outside.
Her own mouth dropped open in surprise. Rhys sat outside the gate on the biggest motorcycle she had ever seen, the gleaming chrome highlighted in the sun shining down.
Broni gasped. He had gained weight since she had last seen him, his muscular body now as big as Tank’s. He wasn’t alone, either. Behind him were ten other men just as large, sitting on their own gleaming bikes.
Adam and none of his men had been able to ride their own bikes; the lack of gasoline and being cautious of the huge number of gangs made them worry of being attacked for their ride.
“Should I let them in?” Harlow asked Adam.
“Yes.” Adam didn’t return her gaze.
Broni saw Rhys and his men ride their bikes in the compound when Harlow opened the gate. She couldn’t prevent herself from trembling as she noticed the further changes in him. His hair now brushed the back of his leather jacket while the leather pants and boots he wore showed he hadn’t been doing without like the men in the clubhouse had. Broni could just imagine the trenchers of food and wine Odin’s servants and women had provided for him. Had he come to rub it in her face how their circumstances had changed, to punish her further for not saving his family?
As Rhys and his men walked toward the clubhouse, Broni headed back to Adam’s room, her courage deserting her. She needed time before she had to face him again. However, she felt a rush of dizziness overcome her, forcing her to delay her retreat.
Leaning heavily against the bar, she watched Rhys’s biker brothers welcome him back, all except Tank and his favored few who stood back, not bothering to hide their scowls.
“Brother, you look good.” Adam slapped Rhys on the shoulder.
As Rhys gripped Adam by his upper arms, Broni saw the closeness between the two. Everyone in the club listened to their conversation.
Broni’s lips curled as Rhys told Adam he had been helping the survivors. He wasn’t about to tell a room of hard-ass bikers the truth of his whereabouts.
“I don’t give a shit where you’ve been. I’m glad you’re back. You are back, aren’t you?” Adam asked, tense jawed.
“Yeah.”
Broni’s grip tightened on the bar as Rhys’s eyes searched the room, stopping when they met hers. If she hadn’t been holding onto the bar, she would have fallen. The look in his eyes was one she had witnessed throughout the centuries—the warrior within Rhys had gained control.
She licked her suddenly dry lips, and his eyes dropped to her mouth. A sensual look appeared that he made no effort to hide it.
Broni took a step back then turned, rushing from the room, practically running, unable to process the lustful look he had given her. She slammed the bedroom door closed behind her, leaning back against it, her sore body trembling from her dash to escape the emotions Rhys had raised inside her.
She slowly went to the bed, sinking down on the mattress until she could lay down. Rolling to her side, she curled into a comforting ball, telling herself she could care less he was back. Yet, she had loved him for so long that seeing him across the room had her wanting to walk forward and touch him, make sure he was real and not a figment of her imagination.
She stifled her cries with her hand, her strength deserting her. Broni let all her pain and heartache go then rolled onto her back, rebuilding her defenses. She would learn to hide everything she felt. He could fuck every woman in the club and she wouldn’t care. His stay in Odin’s castle had provided him with more women than what the club offered anyway. She was sure it wouldn’t take him long before he availed himself of their willing bodies and skills. For centuries, she had watched him with other women, forced to stand back without the right to even be angry; she could do it again.
It wasn’t his fault she had fallen in love with him, but there was a time when she had to realize that her love would never be returned. She was going to move forward with the life Mother had chosen for her, find a mate that she could care for, and bear his children. She refused to be like her mother and live in torture as the man she loved used woman after woman.
Broni’s decision eased the hurt inside of her aching soul. She drifted off to sleep, hoping that when she was face to face with him, her resolve would be strong enough to hold.
* * *
Broni washed and dressed the next morning. As she passed the bed, she realized that Adamhadn’t slept on his side. She wondered which woman he had spent his night with.
She left the bedroom, going into the clubroom. It was packed; the small clubhouse hadn’t provided enough room before the Drearien had attacked. Now, with all the survivors and Rhys’s reappearance with even more men, the clubhouse was busting at the seams.
Broni went behind the bar, and despite herself, she searched through the crowd of men, relieved when she didn’t see him. He wasn’t there. Like Adam, he must have found company for the night.
As she savored the coffee she’d poured for herself, the almost empty bag reminded her that Adam might have gone on a run for food. Carefully stepping over the men and women sprawled on the floor, she went to the window, seeing all the motorcycles gone.