Defiantly, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Or what, Clash? What the fuck are you going to do to me?”
He immediately was on his feet, fists clenched, brows narrowed menacingly. “Whatever the fuck I have to.”
Snyder shot up and took a step forward, laying his palm on our brother’s chest. “Down, boy,” he exclaimed, grinning. “We both know Ranger isn’t a rat. Others… that’s a different story.”
Snyder took two giant steps, pushing Clash toward the stairs. “We need to fix this. So, get the fuck upstairs, I’m going to trust Ranger enough to believe he won’t throw his own brothers to the wolves.”
My eyes wandered up the stairs after them, and about two minutes later curiosity got the best of me.
Very cautiously, I made my way up to the loft and found both men sitting outside the bathroom door with their backs to the wall.
“Come on, baby girl, open up. We’re sorry,” Clash coaxed.
“Fuck you,” she lashed out.
He shot Snyder a sideways look. “Ugh, not this again. Why is she always locking herself in bathrooms? Why don’t you try? She likes you better, and I left my lock-picking kit in my cage.”
Snyder stood up, pressing his head against the wood of the door as one of his hands came to rest on it.
“Shasta, baby, please believe me when I say, that everything I’ve said to you, has not been a lie. I’ve been trying to tell you for weeks how I feel, and I just haven’t found the right words. I know you belong to Sabbath, and that fucking kills me every damn day. But in my heart, I know you’re fucking mine. I fucking live, breathe, and dream only about you. When you walk into a room, I can feel your presence before I even see you. When you take a breath, I’m jealous of the air because it gets to move past those sweet lips I haven’t forgotten about since the moment I first tasted them. Fuck, woman, you’re everything to me and that scares the hell out of me. But not as much as the thought of losing you does. I’m going to kill every damn man that has ever touched you without your permission. Hoax, the Crows, and even Sabbath deserves to be sent to Hell and barbecued over the flames of oblivion. You deserve so much more than this world you’ve been given. So much more.”
Fuck, this man really loves her.Snyder had never really shown an interest in any woman in or outside of the club. He’s fucked women—sure, but he’s never gotten attached. Now I see why. He’s in love with the Prez’s Ol’ Lady, and from the looks of it, Clash had a little thing for her as well.
The door silently opened, and Snyder’s frown was met with a million tears as Shasta rushed into his arms.
“Damn it, Snyder, how the fuck am I supposed to follow that?” Clash grumped as he moved to his feet.
Snyder led her toward the bed, and both men sat beside her, but it was Snyder she was leaning on—his shoulder that soaked up her tears.
Her eyes met mine, and a slight part of me cracked. There was so much desperation in those big brown eyes, pleading for me to keep her secret.
“Ranger…” she started as she sucked down a shuddering sob. “Are you going to tell him?”
I shook my head, still dumbfounded by everything going on.
“No, Shasta, I’m not.”
Both of my brothers let out a sigh of relief.
“But I do think you all are playing with fire. If Sabbath finds out about this, you’re all pretty much dead. You saw him today at the club, he’s fucking delusional and not thinking straight.” My fingers jabbed against my temple, emphasizing the crazy reactions of our Prez.
Shasta’s head shook as she fingered her eye, and before she could touch the purpled bruise, Snyder took her hand and gently kissed her fingertips.
“Even with that swelling eye, you still take my breath away, Shasta.”
Clash rolled his eyes. “Ugh, would you stop it with the Casanova bullshit? You’re laying it on extra thick.”
Shasta let a small laugh slip, and for the briefest second, a tiny smile quirked the corners of her face. “I deserved it,” she mumbled. “This.” Her fingertips brushed over the purplish bruise beneath her eye.
“How can you say that?” Clash boomed. “Like I said in the car, no woman deserves that kind of treatment.”
“I agree,” I chimed in, meeting Shasta’s curious gaze. “Nothing you’ve done should’ve resulted in that.”
A tear slipped down her cheek. “You don’t understand… I explained it to Sandman before…” Her voice trailed off, breaking at the end with so much damn emotion. “There are things you all don’t know.”
I moved into the room, sitting in a chair facing the bed. I was ready for her to tell me why my Prez deserved to die. For some reason, I knew she was the only one who could answer that question.
“You can tell us, Shasta. This is a safe space,” Snyder encouraged, holding her tighter. “Even if it smells like Clash.”