by Jane Slate
Especially moving on.
“Come on,” she said to Patrick, reaching for his hand as she averted her gaze from Kade’s.
“I’ll introduce you.”
Chapter Fifteen
The clubhouse activities were in full swing. For the first time in weeks, Kade was in attendance at a club dinner. Alcohol was flowing from a keg, heavy rock music was playing from a sound system behind the bar, and Grace, Maria and the rest of the old ladies were packed inside the clubs small kitchen, each of them wearing aprons and busying themselves with preparing the food. Mel was the only one of them not in attendance, but then again, Kade had expected as much.
Hell...
He was beginning to think that the only thing he was really good at was hurting women. Not that it was a “talent” that garnered very much effort.
With a sigh, Kade took a long drink of his beer and surveyed his surroundings. Nash sat down beside him and nursed a drink of his own.
“Lan!” Grace called out to her husband from the kitchen.
Landon looked up from his game of pool.
“Would you mind bringing me some Bourbon?” Grace questioned.
“We need it to marinate this rib eye.”
Landon nodded and did as he was told, slapping Kade and Nash on the back of their cuts in passing. He handed Grace the bourbon, pressing a wet kiss against her cheek.
Kade sighed. Grace was a sweet enough girl and she and Landon were damn good together, but seeing couples only made him bitter. It was one of the sole reasons he had made such a point of avoiding club dinners. His brothers were hitching up left and right and here he was, as miserable as ever.
Not that it was anyone’s fault except his own.
Kade finished off his beer and reached across the bar for another, popping the seal and taking a drink. Grace and Maria appeared from the kitchen with plates, napkins and utensils in their arms. Maria instructed the rest of the ladies to bring the food out and they did as they were told.
Ten minutes later, the two tables that had been set up in the center of the clubhouse were packed full of food. Everything was there. Steak, corn on the cob, baked beans, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes. The whole nine. It looked and smelled delicious but Kade couldn’t find it in himself to eat.
He eyed Trig from across the room. For the first time in months, he had showed face at a club event. Maybe it was Stella’s return that had drew him out of seclusion, or maybe it was just the promise of a good meal. Either way, he was here.
For one brief moment, Kade wondered if Stella would show up too. But it seemed ridiculous.
Why would she?
She had made it pretty clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. And she was a doctor now. She made good money. Kade figured she had better things to do than hang around a bunch of degenerate bikers.
A plate of food was set down in front of Kade before he could object. He thanked Grace and picked up his fork, taking a bite of mac and cheese as he tried to distract himself from his thoughts.
He shot the shit with Nash and Landon and finished off his meal. He drank another beer, and then another. He turned down a line of coke offered to him by a prospect (but only because Nash was eyeing him intently), and he won a couple bucks in a game of pool.
Landon nudged Kade in the side and nodded at the door. Kade looked up and inhaled a deep breath.
At first he thought he was just seeing things. But he wasn’t. It was her and she wasn’t alone.
Kade lit a smoke and quietly seethed. He clenched his teeth, watching as Stella and her boy toy entered the clubhouse hand in hand. She shot Kade a self-assured glare, which only made him all the more pissed.
What the hell was she thinking?
Stella was a lot of things but vindictive wasn’t one of them. At least not until now.
Kade scowled and tried to calm himself down. He told himself that Stella was a big girl. That she could do whatever, or whoever, she wanted. But that didn’t soften the blow.
Landon nodded at Stella.
“You good bro?” he asked Kade.
Kade shrugged and turned back around.
“Yup,” he lied, ashing the end of his smoke.
“We’re not together. What she does ain’t my business.”
Landon snickered and raised an eyebrow.
“You sure about that?”
Kade nodded.
He wasn’t about to make a scene. Not after the discussion he had with Nash. No...as hard as it was, he had to keep his cool.
Landon stood up and made his way over to Grace, leaving Kade and Nash alone at the bar. Kade turned around and met eyes with Stella. She looked beautiful, but the guy she was with was a pretty boy type. The kind of pompous asshole that wouldn’t have been allowed to step foot on Sons soil on his own accord.
He was damn lucky that he hadn’t come alone.
Kade watched as the man pushed a loose curl behind Stella’s ear. She blushed, giggling at the gesture. Kade’s chest felt tight. He clenched his fists and willed himself not to react.
She wasn’t his. She hadn’t been in a long time. But seeing her with someone else felt like taking a knife to the heart.
“Kade,” Nash spoke up firmly, gripping Kade by the shoulder.
Kade averted his eyes from Stella and looked over at his brother.
“Don’t do anything you might regret,” Nash warned, standing up.
“Just let me handle this alright?”
Kade nodded and finished off his smoke. He clenched his jaw and watched as Nash approached Stella and her date. A silence fell over the clubhouse. Kade’s heart panged as he vividly remembered one of his last good moments with her.
It had been a relatively normal day shortly before their final altercation and her departure. They were lying with each other in bed, sweaty and breathless after having sex, and somehow the topic of marriage had come up.
“Do you think you’d ever want to?” Stella questioned, caressing a hand down Kade’s chest.
“Get married, I mean...”
Kade shrugged and reached for his smokes on his bedside table, lighting one and taking a long drag.
“Maybe,” he answered.
“I guess it depends on the girl.”
Stella scoffed and hit Kade playfully.
“Hey!”
Kade chuckled.
“I’m just kidding,” he retorted as his eyes sparkled in amusement.
“Jerk,” Stella pouted.
“I’m being serious though. Can you see yourself getting married one day?”
Kade hesitated. These kinds of topics never seemed to sit well with him. The truth was, his future just wasn’t something he thought about often. He glanced at Stella, who stared up at him expectantly.
“Someday,” he whispered, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.
Stella smiled.
“That’s good enough for me,” she whispered, pressing her lips against Kade’s as she trailed her hands down his body and cupped his manhood. He groaned into her mouth, welcoming the embrace.
The thought of another man making Stella happy made Kade sick to his stomach. He couldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t lose her a second time. He took a drink of his beer and silently began to craft a plan to get her back.
Chapter Sixteen
Nash was the first to break the silence.
“Well if it isn’t Stella Waters!”
He stood up and crossed the room, pulling her into a hug.
“All grown up and in the flesh!”
Stella laughed awkwardly.
“Good to see you Nash. I just figured I’d drop by...”
Nash nodded at Patrick and shook his hand.
“Nice to meet you brother, I’m Nash. Club Prez. And you’re?”
Patrick flashed him a smile.
“Patrick Leland. This is some event you’ve organized.”
Nash shrugged.
“Oh, this is nothing,” he said with a wave of his hand.
“You should see what we get ourselves into when the weather is nice.”
Patrick chuckled. Stella shifted on her feet and followed the men to the bar where Kade, Landon, and Trig were all sitting.
“Hi daddy,” she said to Trig, bending to kiss him on his cheek as she slid into an empty barstool beside him.
He reeked of whiskey and barely seemed to register his daughter’s presence. Stella sighed and rolled her eyes. She introduced Patrick to everyone at the bar and he made small talk with them.
Kade was visibly pissed off but kept his eyes glued to the television mounted above the bar and said nothing. For one brief moment, Stella regretted her decision to bring Patrick here. She glanced over at him and he gave her a perplexed look before smiling and gripping her thigh beneath the counter.
Stella felt uncomfortable. She tried to shift her body but it was no use. Patrick’s charming demeanor began to slowly dissolve with every beer he drank, and after the fourth or fifth, he only became more hands-on and entitled.
“Patrick,” Stella spoke up, pulling him aside during a game of pool.
She glanced over at Kade but he refused to make eye contact with her.
“Maybe we should get going,” she whispered.
“I think I made a mistake coming here.”
Patrick chuckled and snatched his hand from Stella’s.
“Why is that?” he questioned.
Stella cringed.
She didn’t want to go into details but it didn’t seem as though she had much of a choice. Patrick deserved to know that he was a sheep in a lion’s den.
“I dated him...” Stella said, keeping her voice low as she nodded over at Kade.
“A few years ago. I didn’t realize he would be here tonight.”
Ok, so that last part was a lie. But Patrick didn’t need to know that he had been used as bait to ruffle Kade’s feathers. Keeping things vague was for the best.
Patrick furrowed his brows and chuckled.
“Kade?”
Stella nodded.
“Yeah...wait how do you know his name?”
Patrick shrugged.
“You did introduce me...and I’m a doctor. A good memory kind of comes with the territory.”
“Anyway,” Patrick continued, slurring his words.
“I’m not threatened by some guy you dated way back when.”
He flashed Stella a toothy grin and pulled her small frame against his own.
“You’re here with me now, right?”
Stella nodded as a feeling of uneasiness flooded through her.
“Look,” she spoke up once more, glancing over at Kade.
“I just...I really don’t think staying is a good idea. I don’t want to put you in an uncomfortable situation.”
Patrick frowned and looked from Stella to Kade.
“No,” he said through clenched teeth, tightening his grip on Stella’s waist.
““I’m having fun. We’ll leave when I’m ready.”
Stella looked up at him in shock and swallowed hard. A feeling of dread washed over her. She bit down on her bottom lip, feeling small and insecure as he turned his attention back to his game.
“Fine.”
With that, she sauntered towards the bar and sat down beside Grace, cracking her first beer of the night. She looked around for her father but he was nowhere to be seen. Kade stood up and grabbed a pool stick, joining the game and sliding in beside Patrick, who looked at him sideways.
“Kade,” he said warily.
Kade furrowed his brows.
“Patrick.”
Patrick nodded to where Stella was sitting with the other ladies at the bar and smiled tightly. Both men surveyed the game and waited their turn, refusing to make eye contact with one and other as they spoke.
“So...you and Stella...”
He paused.
“She told me that you two have a history together.”
Kade shrugged and took a long drink of his beer.
“I don’t see how that’s much of your business,” he answered.
Kade glanced over at Stella, who looked at him nervously before averting her gaze. Patrick chuckled and slapped Kade on the shoulder.
“Hey, I’m not trying to start anything. I’m just letting you know my intentions.”
He nodded at Stella.
“I like her. And when I like something, I get it.”
Something.
Kade tensed his jaw and willed himself not to beat Patrick’s ass right then and there.
“Whatever man,” he spat, keeping his tone void of any emotion.
“I don’t give a shit.”
It was a lie, but Kade wasn’t about to let some pretty boy piece of shit push his buttons.
Patrick nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention back to the game. Kade stepped away and took a seat at the bar. When Maria and Grace saw him approaching, they giggled and glanced over at Stella before walking off.
Stella stared Kade down but he lit a smoke and refused to make eye contact with her. Tension was heavy in the air.
“Kade...” she questioned nervously.
“What was that about?”
Kade shrugged.
What had she expected to happen?
“So,” he countered.
“He seems like a real charmer.”
Stella rolled her eyes. She glanced over at Patrick before giving Kade and icy glare.
“Maybe you should mind your business.”
Kade chuckled and took a long drink of his beer.
“Last I checked, you brought him here, sweetheart.”
“Not me.”
Before Stella could craft a response, Patrick slid into an empty barstool between her and Kade and wrapped his arm around her. He pressed a kiss against her earlobe and she scrunched her nose, attempting to pull away from him.
“Patrick,” she said evenly.
“Stop.”
Patrick ignored her and roamed his hands down her body, whispering crass talk in her ear. His breath reeked of beer and liquor. His eyes were bloodshot and dazed. It was obvious that he was wasted. Stella cringed.
Kade couldn’t take it anymore.
“Hey!” he spoke up from down the bar.
“She said back off buddy!”
“What are you? Hard of hearing?”
Patrick looked over at Kade and laughed in his face. Drunken confidence. That’s all it was. Even so, it was a bad move.
Kade was on his feet in seconds. He hauled Patrick off of Stella by his throat and slammed into him with full force, not showing him any mercy. Five years of pent up rage was unleashed on the intoxicated doctor, who didn’t do much to defend himself from the attack. Landon, Nash, and a few prospects stepped forward to try and stop the fight but Kade wasn’t having it. He shouted for them to back the fuck off and they did just that.
A silence fell over the clubhouse.
Someone stopped the music. The only sound that could be heard was Kade’s fists slamming against Patrick’s flesh. Finally, Nash stepped in and broke up the fight, ignoring Kade’s protests.
“Enough!” he yelled.
“Go outside and cool off!”
Kade hesitated as he attempted to catch his breath.
“That’s an order,” Nash said evenly.
Kade nodded and tensed his shoulders. He walked off and Stella ran after him, forgetting about Patrick entirely.
Chapter Seventeen
Patrick Leland.
Kade didn’t know who the fuck the guy thought he was, showing up to a Sons event with Stella on his arm.
It was downright disrespectful.
Kade tensed his jaw and winced as Stella pressed a wad of gauze against his wound. There was no reason she should have been tending to him. Not after the number he had done on her new boy toy. But she had insisted on taking him into the clubhouse bathroom to clean him up after the altercation and he wasn’t about to object.
It didn’t matter that none of it made any sens
e.
“Hold still,” Stella hissed between her teeth, gripping Kade by the shoulder.
Her usual comforting demeanor was long gone. She was pissed and Kade could understand why.
They weren’t together. She wasn’t his. The way he had acted...well. It was animalistic rage. Jealousy. There was no rationalizing it.
Sweat, salt, and blood mixed and stung Kade’s eyes. There was a metallic, almost sour taste in his mouth. All of this was to be expected. The brutality of the beating Kade had unleashed on Peter had left him with wounds of his own, but they paled in comparison.
Without thinking, Kade grabbed hold of Stella’s wrist. She stared at him with a slack jawed expression and wide eyes.
“I’m fine,” Kade whispered hotly.
“I don’t need your help. Go be with your boyfriend.”
Stella pulled back and Kade let go of her. She reached for a tube of Neosporin and gave it a squeeze, rubbing the ointment into his wound.
“He’s not my boyfriend.”
Kade rolled his eyes.
“You two looked pretty friendly to me.”
Stella snorted and shook her head.
“So you what? Assault him for simply being with me?”
“You haven’t changed at all.”
Kade started to defend himself but Stella held up a hand to stop him and he obeyed.
“Let’s not forget that I have every right to attend club events. My father did have a hand in founding the Sons. You can’t bar me from going to these things, Kade.”
“And I’m allowed to bring friends,” she added.
Kade gritted his teeth.
“He doesn’t just want to be friends with you, Stella.”
Stella met eyes with him. A low groan of annoyance surfaced from her throat. She snapped the cap back on the Neosporin and pulled away from Kade, wiping her hands on her blouse.
“I’m a grown woman, Kade.”
“I can take care of myself.”
Kade shifted on the lid of the toilet seat and watched as Stella exited the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Kade closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, remembering how it had felt to wipe that smug, self-satisfied grin off of Patrick’s face. Regardless of how Stella felt about him, Kade knew one thing was sure.
Patrick wouldn’t be showing up to any other Sons events. Not if he knew what was good for him, and a busted nose and two black eyes probably did a decent job of delivering the message.