Gunnar A Motorcycle Club Romance - Nina Levine Page 0,22
going forward will determine their futures.”
My legs turn to jelly.
I reach for the kitchen counter to steady myself.
I should have seen this coming.
How did I not?
“Well?” my father demands. “What will it be? A few weeks off work for you or jail for Mason?”
I swallow my hatred.
I swallow my resentment.
I swallow my fear.
“I’ll take a few weeks off.”
“Good girl.”
My eyes meet Joe’s as Dad leaves us and I suck in a breath at what I see there.
“You’re mine now, Chelsea, and it would do you well to remember that.” The darkness in his voice matches the dark flash of his eyes.
“I know that.” My voice betrays me, wobbling with the same dread pooling deep in my belly.
“It doesn’t appear that way to me.”
“It’s only been one month, Joe. You need to give me time.”
He moves close to me, bringing his finger to trail along my jaw. “I’ll give you time, but you’re going to need to give me a lot more than you currently are.”
I stare at him, trying not to lose the little courage I have left after this entire confrontation. Only my father and Joe are able to reduce me to this person I don’t recognise. I hate myself for not being stronger, but when they threaten the one person I would die for, I’m unable to do anything but give them what they want.
I nod, the agreement taking all the breath from me. “I understand.”
His fingers trail over my lips. “Good.” He pauses before adding, “The next time your father asks you to do something for him, I don’t fucking want that asshole to be the deciding factor in your agreement.”
I watch in silence as he exits the room, my heart in my mouth.
If I thought the last three months were hard, I had no idea what was in store for me.
7
Gunnar
“You look like you could do with this,” Wilder says late Monday afternoon, sliding onto the stool next to me at the clubhouse bar and placing a schooner of beer in front of me.
“Yeah, I could. Thanks, brother.” I take a sip. “It’s been a long fucking day. How’s shit at Trilogy?” The restaurant the club owns has grown busier over the last few months, and that’s because of Wilder’s efforts there. He was a good choice for manager.
He drinks some of his beer. “Busy. You still good to work security there this week?”
I nod. He asked me to cover some shifts on Wednesday and Friday night. “Yeah. And just let me know if you need me for more. It’ll keep me out of trouble.”
He grins. “Nothing’ll keep you out of trouble.”
I throw back some more beer. “Well, something fucking needs to.” At the rate I’m going lately, I’m about to skid off a fucking mountain of bad choices into a pit of hell.
“Wilder,” Madison says, joining us. “Have you got a minute?”
He looks at her. “Yeah. What’s up?”
She smiles at me. “Sorry, Gunnar, this won’t take long.”
“All good, babe,” I say. I’ve got a lot of time for J’s old lady. She can take as long as she wants.
“So,” she says to Wilder, “I’ve been planning Harlow’s baby shower and we’ve had a problem come up with the venue we booked. They’re being assholes so I’ve told them to cancel our booking.” She smiles sweetly at him. “I’m hopeful you’ll be able to squeeze us in at Trilogy.”
Wilder grimaces. “When?”
“Not this weekend, but next. Saturday afternoon.”
“Fuck. I really want to say yes, but I think we’re fully booked that day.”
“What about out on the back deck?”
The deck’s a new addition to the restaurant and has only just been completed.
Wilder shakes his head. “No, we’ve been booking it out from this weekend, so it’s all gone for next weekend.”
“Damn,” she says. “Do you have any suggestions for where else we could try? I know you’re up with all the local venues more than I am.”
Before Wilder can answer, J turns up. Sliding his arm around his wife’s waist, he drops a kiss to the top of her head and says, “You giving Wilder a headache, babe? He looks pained as fuck.”
Madison looks up at her husband and pulls a face. “No, we’re discussing possible venues for Harlow’s baby shower. You should make yourself useful and get me a drink.”
I grin. This is one of the reasons I like Madison so much. She never gives J an inch.
J eyes me. “I caught that, asshole.”
I continue grinning. “I’ll have another beer while you’re at it.”