Shades (Evil Dead MC 3)

She shook her head slightly and watched his jaw tighten.

“I know I deserve that. That and more.”

“Is that…is that all you came to say?” she whispered, her eyes dropping.

“No.”

Her eyes came back to his, waiting for more. Whatever his more would be.

“I need to tell you about why I let you go. Why I ran you off.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him she already knew, but something inside her stopped her. She wanted to see what he would say, if it would match the story Crash had told her.

“So tell me.”

“Do you remember that night we were in bed and I got that last call-out?”

She nodded. They’d been happy then, back when she’d foolishly been so sure of his love. Before it all went to hell.

“It was Cole. When I got to the meeting place, he was waiting for me. Told me he knew all about us. Laid it all out for me. I break it off with you or I could kiss my patch goodbye.”

She looked away, swallowing, her throat suddenly tight. She already knew he’d chosen that patch over her, but it still hurt to hear the words come out of his mouth.

“Sky.”

She didn’t respond.

“Look at me, please, baby.”

Taking in a deep breath, she lifted her eyes to his.

“Ain’t tellin’ you this shit to hurt you. I just want you to know the truth. You deserve to hear the truth.”

“So tell me.”

“He thought I was just playing with you.”

The words tore through her, and her eyes shifted away.

“I tried to tell him it wasn’t like that. That you meant something to me. That what we had was real.”

At that, her eyes came back to his. His searched hers, filled with regret and maybe looking for understanding.

“He didn’t buy it or if he did, he didn’t care. Didn’t give a damn what I said. There was only one outcome that he was going to settle for, and that was him ending us.”

“You ended us, Shades. Not him.”

She wa

tched his jaw clench, and his head dropped. Then it came back up. “Yeah. I ended us.”

She looked away again. “Was that all he did, threaten you with keeping you from getting your patch?”

“No. He beat the shit outta me that night. That make you feel better about it?”

Her eyes came up at that.

“I didn’t put up much of a fight. I knew he was right. I’d lied to my brothers. I’d lied to my sponsor. And maybe a part of me thought he was right about the rest, too.”