Prologue
Ellie
I thought I could handle it. I really thought I could. I’m not in the club life, or I wasn’t before falling in love with Liam. Maybe I was young and stupid, didn’t realize exactly what being in the club meant. I’ve put up with a lot, changed my whole world to fit in with Liam’s and I didn’t say a word. I didn’t care. The club was part of him, so I could accept it. There were parts I even liked. But, I’ve finally had enough.
A woman can turn a blind eye to a lot of things, but hearing Diesel order a hit on another woman is hard to overlook. Admittedly, I don’t like Vicki. I never did. But she’s a human. She’s a woman. She’s not one of these guys that sells out a brother or fucks over the club for money. She wants custody of her son. That’s it. Diesel ordered his men to find her. He wants her dead, either by his hand or his men. I can’t ignore that. You fight for custody in court. You let the court know what a whacko your ex is. You don’t order a hit on them. The fact that Liam so calmly accepts it scares the hell out of me.
“You can’t do this, Liam.”
“Stay out of it, Ellie. I love you, but I’ve told you before how things are. This concerns the club, not you. You aren’t even supposed to know what’s going on.”
“The man I love is planning on killing an innocent human being. I think that involves me.”
“There’s nothing innocent about that tramp, Ellie.”
“You can’t do this, Liam. You just can’t. No matter how bad she is, you can’t kill Ryan’s mother. Let the courts handle this.”
“It’s none of your business, Ellie.”
“None of my business?” I snap. His words feel like a slap across the face, but more painful.
“Ellie, damn it, I don’t want to discuss this with you,” Liam growls. His words bounce off of me, because the pain is moving too deep for me to focus on what he’s saying.
“Is this how you’ll deal with me, Liam?”
“Woman, what are you talking about?” he yells. I can tell I’m making him mad. Liam is intimidating most of the time, although he’s never tried to intimidate me before. He’s always handled me with care, even when arguing. Now? Now he’s just getting pissed. Probably because he feels trapped. Men hate that.
“What happens if we have a kid and break up, Liam? Will you—”
“Christ, woman. We’re not breaking up,” he rumbles under his breath, shaking his head at me.
“What if we did? What if you don’t want me to have custody of our child? Will you calmly order your club to take me out, too?”
“You’re not a crackhead whore, Ellie. Now, I’m tired of talking about this shit. I have a job to do and I’m going to do it. You need to step back from this and let it go. What happens is club business. It’s not—”
“Yeah, I got that. It’s not my concern. You said that. I only have one question, Liam. Will it concern me when the man I love is in jail for murder?”
“That won’t happen, Ellie.”
“And if it does?”
“Then, we’ll deal with it,” he says with a sigh.
“We’ll deal with it…” I repeat, not able to believe what I’m hearing.
“I’ve got to go. I’ll be back sometime next week.”
“If you leave, I won’t be here when you get back, Liam.”
“Don’t start that shit, Ellie. We’ll work this out when I get back and you will be here,” he orders, his voice gruff. It’s full of anger and frustration, but even through it I can hear his worry. He loves me, I know he does, but he loves his club more and that’s always been the case. I’ve been lying to myself, because now I know the truth.
I can’t accept coming in second to his club.
Not anymore.
Liam steps into me, his hands going on either side of my face and he pulls my mouth roughly up to his, kissing me.
Liam’s kisses always make my heart quicken. Even after all this time together, each kiss is like our first one. It never stops feeling new and exciting. I always feel my heart quicken and my skin tingle. My breath has to be pushed from my lungs, because it feels so good that I forget to breathe. From day one, Liam has been my everything. I thought I could accept being the second-most important thing to him.
Maybe I could have.
But, everything has changed now.
Everything.
When we break apart, his steel gray eyes bore into me.
“I love you, Ellie.”
His words break my heart.
“I love you, too, Liam,” I murmur, each word painful.
“We’ll work this out,” he says again. I don’t say anything. There’s nothing left to say.
Then, he walks away without a second look.