by Jenika Snow
“I’ve not got a reason not to believe her.” Bridget had never lied to him before.
“You really think a woman could be so stupid as to get engaged to a man without knowing what the fuck she was getting into?” Payne asked.
Beast snorted. “Bridget is the kind of person who’ll try to find the good in everyone. She’s the kind of person who knows bad shit goes on in the world, but she’s never actually seen it, until now.” Beast shrugged. “I believe her, and she’s come to us.”
“You’ve got to consider that fact she might be trying to set us up.”
Beast shook his head. “No fucking way she’d betray me. We’re nowhere near Rodriguez’s radar. If we were, he’d know she’d come hunting for us,” Beast said.
“What about your parents?” Payne asked.
“What?”
“Rodriguez will go after her family. He’s known for taking out the entire line. You better call your parents and tell them to get the hell out of dodge.”
Cursing, Beast stood, moved away from the table, and left of the clubhouse. Hours of being in Bridget’s company, and he was fucking up. He should have called their parents straight away instead of risking their lives.
Pulling his cell phone out of his pocket, he didn’t give a thought to the time, and dialed his father’s number.
It took several rings before his father finally answered.
“Fuck, Beast, do you know what time it is?” his father asked.
“I’ve not got time to make nice. You need to get you and Sheila out of there now.”
He heard some rustling around and Sheila waking up. “What is it, Dan?”
“What have you done?” Dan, his father, asked.
“Believe it or not, this isn’t about me. It’s about Bridge.”
“Bridget? What?”
“She’s in trouble, the bad kind. The worst kind of trouble.” Beast had always thought his association with the club would have risked his family, when in fact it was Bridget causing more trouble, even if she hadn’t know it at the time. She could get them all killed, but he’d go down fighting for her in an instant. Rodriguez wouldn’t allow her to live, and the club was about to take on one of the biggest fucking mafia guys in the city.
“What the fuck has happened?”
Beast spent five minutes explaining everything.
“Fuck! I asked about him, and she told me not to worry. He was just some businessman, she said. I should have known. I should have checked him out.”
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“Do you want to send Bridget to me? I can take care of her.”
His father was ex-military with a high standing within his field. “I can take care of her.”
“You told me you couldn’t stand her, yet you’re going to take care of her?”
Beast gritted his teeth and counted to ten. “I care about her, Dad. I’ll handle it. The club will protect her, too.”
“Fine. Keep in touch. I want to know everything that’s happening, when and where.”
“Leave the house, and let me know when you’re safe.”
They hung up, and Beast stared up at the dark sky. Fuck, everything was going to go to shit. He knew it, and everyone else knew it was going to. They were only waiting for it to happen.
“Beast?”
The sound of Bridget’s voice had him turning toward her. “Hey, baby. You doing okay?”
“I’m fine. You were gone.”
“I had to call our family. We can’t let them handle our problems. How did you get out?”
“You left a spare key above the door.” Her cheeks heated, and he couldn’t help but admire her curves. She’d pulled on his shirt, and even though it went down to her knees, he couldn’t help but get excited. Bridget was all hips, fat tits, and curves. She made his dick ache to be back inside her. She wore a pair of his boxer briefs as well.
“Come on, let’s go and meet Payne.”
“Payne?”
“My Prez, and one of the guys you want to protect you.” He took hold of her hand, and they made their way inside. King and Payne were exactly where he’d left them, only they were watching a club whore across the room who was stripping for their entertainment. Taking the seat opposite them, Beast didn’t mind interrupting their view.
“Fucker, why are you spoiling our show?” King asked.
“This is Bridget,” Beast said, pointing at his woman—yeah, his woman—and tugging her onto his lap. He didn’t want any bitches trying to invade his space. Before Bridget came along, he was happy to use pussy as if it didn’t mean anything except something to pass the time. Now, he had a woman for his dick.
“It’s nice to meet you,” Bridget said.
Damn, she was going to get eaten alive. He should have never have let her go when they were younger.
Chapter Thirteen
“I know you’ve told Beast all sorts of shit concerning Rafe, but I need you to tell us every little detail you can,” King said. He leaned back, his arm outstretched on the arm of the chair, and his focus on the woman. Truth was he never understood how a guy could get hung up on some pussy. They were just that ... a hole to help ease a need. And as fucked up as that sounded, he didn’t mince his words. He didn’t try and sugar coat shit. Life was too short and ugly, being honest with everyone, and true to himself, was the only way King lived.
The whole club was standing around the room, with Beast and Bridget sitting at the table with him and the Prez. Payne had a hard mask on his face, but then this was a serious situation. Beast had claimed Bridget, and because of that, the club would protect her at all costs. If she were just a piece of ass, one not affiliated with the club, despite her past with Beast, the club wouldn’t have gotten involved. A fight was a fight, and The Soldiers of Wrath MC: Grit Chapter only got involved with people in their circle. Hell, even the club whores had protection if need be.
“If you can remember his routines, anything that might make it easier for us to take him down, we need that now,” Payne was the one to speak.
“We got information on Rafe and Francis Cole-Rodriguez, but you were an insider and might know more shit. The information we got was from an outsider point of view,” Beast said.
King watched as Bridget looked down at the table, her hands clasped in front of her, shaking slightly. She was nervous, and she had every right to be. This was serious, and her life was in danger; they needed her to snap out of her worry and work with them.
“If you want to survive, you need to think pretty fucking hard, sweetheart,” Payne said, his voice deep, gravely.
She lifted her head and stared at each of them. “I don’t know if I can be much help in that situation. He didn’t really tell me anything, and aside from him going to the casino he owned with Francis, I didn’t know anything else about his whereabouts.
“What time would he leave? Was it the same time every time?” beast asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, Rafe would leave at five in the evening, and wouldn’t return in the middle of the night most times. There were a few instance where Rafe came back to the place we shared stinking of cheap perfume.” She shook her head, disgust clear on her face. “But that’s about all I know. He used to take me to the casino, but it was at the main restaurant in building. He must not have trusted me.”
“It’s okay, baby,” Beast said and placed his hand on top of hers.
It was weird as fuck the way Beast had gone from fucking her to claiming her, but King wasn’t about to overthink this. If Beast wanted to be with his stepsister, then who the hell was he to care?
“Thanks, Bridget,” Payne said, and he gestured for one of the prospects that was waiting just outside the door, to take her back to her room.
Once they were alone again with the door shut, and only the Patches in the room, King looked over at their President.
“So she can’t be much help giving us information on Rafe, but that’s not her fault. The fucker used and abused her, and clearly doesn’t
trust anyone not in the immediate family.” Beast addressed Payne.
The Prez nodded with a harsh grunt. “We head out tomorrow night. Smalls, Pike, and Boxer are already keeping watch on Rafe and his men, and trying to stay out of range, but that won’t last, so we need to act fast.”
There was a murmur of agreement.
“I want Smoke to stay here with Bridget and everyone else at the club, to keep things level.”
“You got it, Prez,” Smoke said from the back of the room.
King felt itchy already, adrenaline pumping through his blood, needing to get this done, to experience the violence that came with protecting what was theirs. This wouldn’t end well, but it would end.
Bridget sat on Beast’s bed, her leg bouncing up and down as her nerves claimed her. She was twisting her fingers together, hating that she’d been the cause of this, but knowing she’d had no other option but to come to Beast. He, along with his club, were the only ones that had a chance of taking care of this, of making sure she stayed alive. If not for them, and her being at the club, Bridget knew she might be dead already.
Rafe wouldn’t stop looking for her, hunting her, and wanting her dead for what she’d seen.
“God,” she breathed out, sweat lining her brow and between her breasts.
Just then the sound of someone coming down the hall and closer to her room had her sitting up straighter on the bed. Her heart started beating wildly even though she knew it was Beast coming back.
She stood just as the door opened and Beast stepped in. He watched her as he shut the door behind him, and without saying anything, he strode toward her with determination on his face. Before she could think or even react, he had his hand in her hair, her head tilted back, and he claimed her mouth with his.
“Beast,” she murmured against his mouth, not understanding why he was being so possessive of her, but he was. She could taste it, feel it in the way he held her, touched her. This was supposed to be about sex, about her paying for his services, but after that first time, she felt like something had changed between them.
“Bridget, I need to fuck you right now.” Beast held onto her hair tighter and walked them backward.
She was still sore from the sex they’d just had, but she was also aroused and not about to deny him. She didn’t know what was going on, or why he was acting like she mattered more than a piece of ass, but Bridget couldn’t deny the warmth that filled her at that fact.
“Maybe we should talk about what’s going on between—”
He kissed her harder, cutting her off. She’d wanted to tell him they should talk about them, not about Rafe or anything else, but about what was going on between them. But he kissed her harder, more possessively, and she couldn’t help but melt against him. With Beast, it seemed she lost all common sense, especially when he took control.
Chapter Fourteen
Later that night, Bridget sat in the window looking out over the clubhouse grounds. Beast was asleep in the bed, but she just couldn’t find that relaxation. There was a man out there hunting her to find and kill her. A man she’d let inside her body was now intent on killing her. She’d never wanted Rafe and had only put up with him because he scared her. By the time she realized the truth about him, it was already too late. The more she thought about her life, the angrier she became.
What did you achieve in your life?
She’d graduated college and up with a man she couldn’t stomach. Rafe had fucked her, yet she lay there not responding to him, when all she wanted was the man she couldn’t have, the same man who was now asleep on his bed.
You’re going to get everyone killed.
Resting her head against the window, she took several deep breaths, and wondered what she should do. There was an entire club that could be killed because of her. She should have known what he was like. Rafe was a monster, the biggest monster out there.
“Why do you have blood on your hands?” she asked, watching as he started to tug his shirt out of his pants.
“It’s not your concern, Bridget. Get into bed.”
She didn’t do that though. Following him into the bathroom, she kept talking to him. “You’re covered in blood, Rafe. What is going on? What happened?”
Bridget gasped as he spun around, grabbing her neck, and pressing her against the wall. He squeezed her throat, cutting off her air. “I’m going to say this one last time, go back to fucking bed and stop asking questions. Just be glad it’s not your blood.”
“What are you doing?” Beast asked.
She jerked around to find Beast sitting up in bed, staring at her. “I was watching the storm outside.” It was raining, and she loved to watch the rain.
“The club will protect you.”
“Who is going to protect the club? Rafe and his father are dangerous, and I’m such a fucking idiot. You always said I was going to get myself killed when we were younger. Guess what, you’re right. I’m an idiot, and I shouldn’t have come here. I can’t be responsible for your dying.”
The very thought of living in a world without Beast made her feel empty inside. There was no point in her living without him. Beast was the man she wanted and had wanted for a long time.
Beast climbed out of the bed, walking naked toward her. His cock was flaccid and still long. She averted her gaze and looked back out at the rain, wishing she was outside.
“Do you want to go out there?” he asked, surprising her.
“Yes.”
“Come on then.” He slipped on a pair of jeans and tossed her one of his oversized white shirts.
He grabbed her hand, and suddenly, they were out of the room. She couldn’t believe he was leading her outside while it rained. They passed several of the club members, and she kept staring at the ground, wishing it would open up, and swallow her.
The main club went silent, and Beast tugged her outside into the pouring rain. She paused, staring up at the sky. Closing her eyes, she gasped as Beast moved up behind her, cupping her tits.
“You’re beautiful.”
“It’s pouring,” she said laughing.
“I don’t care. We don’t care about doing shit that makes people uncomfortable. This is what we want.”
Glancing toward the main door, she saw several men were watching them, but they were not coming anywhere near them.
“They’re guarding us. The club is always under some kind of threat.” He released her, taking a step back. “Come on, babe, show me what you want to do.”
Stepping away from him, she looked at the ground where the rain was bouncing up. Holding her hands up to the rain, she twirled her head, lifting her head, and closing her eyes.
Dancing around the rain, she moaned as Beast danced around with her, wrapping his hands around her waist, and twirling her with him.
Beast would die for this woman. He laughed as he spun her around the yard. Bridget giggled and moved within his arms as if it was the most natural thing in the world, and it was. This was the way they were always supposed to be.
He used to watch her during a storm. Beast would see the yearning inside her to go out running and get soaked by the water. Their parents wouldn’t allow it though. It wasn’t proper for a girl to be obsessed with the rain and storms. Beast figured they cared too much about what other people thought, and that wasn’t going to be how he worked.
She didn’t have a clue how damn hot she was with the water cascading all around her.
His cock started to thicken, and he wanted inside her again. Glancing toward the club, he saw his Brothers were watching them. They wouldn’t touch Bridget as he’d put his claim on her.
Her tits bounced, and he grabbed her hands, spinning her out. This woman made him crazy, and all this time he’d been living with this crushing need for her. She was a beautiful woman, and he’d wanted her for himself forever.
Any threat anyone posed to her, he was going to take out, and get it removed. He’d sacrifice everything for her safety.
“The club knows what
the score is. We’re not some club that doesn’t know shit.” He tugged her close, placing a hand on her hip. Her tits pressed against his chest, and she sighed. The smile disappeared from her face.
“I can’t allow anyone to die because of me.”
“No one will. They’ll die because it’s their time.” She tried to pull out of his arms, and he wouldn’t let her go.
“This isn’t something you can make them do.”
“Guess what, you’re mine, and the club has my back. You can’t do shit about this.”
“I shouldn’t have come to you.”
Releasing her hip, he grabbed her face, and forced her to look up at him. “Don’t say shit like that, babe. You deserve a chance like everyone else.”
“I made a mistake; I was stupid.”
“I fix mistakes, even yours.” He would fix any problem she made. Beast gritted his teeth as he became aware of the reality of what he felt for her. At the back of his mind, he had always known he felt something for his stepsister. He’d never been in love with a woman in his life. There wasn’t a chance that he could love her, was there? Even as he thought it, he knew it to be true.
He was in love with Bridget, and at that moment, he hoped like hell that she loved him.
Chapter Fifteen
The rain was really coming down hard now, and as Bridget looked up at Beast, she knew that her feelings for him were so much more than what they probably should be. They’d moved behind the clubhouse, their hair and bodies soaked, but the happiness she felt despite the circumstances, was monumental in her.
Her life was in danger, and as much as she’d thought she cared for him, she realized now that she was in love with him. Beast was willing to be here for her no matter what, risk his life, his club, and she knew she was head over heels in love with him. How would things fair when this was said and done? She had no clue, but she wanted to hope they were both still together.
Bridget could see the way he looked at her, see the emotion on his face, no matter how hard he tried to hide it all.