“Lily!” Shade yelled, running after her, but she didn’t stop despite Beth’s pleas along with his.
She ran down the path, her hair flying behind her and her screams filling the air. She almost fell down several times, tripping over her own feet as Shade ran like hell after her, his hand almost managing to catch her hair, but he didn’t want to hurt her by grabbing her that way.
Ultimately, with a burst of speed, she jumped into her car, slamming and locking it before he could jerk it open. Her heartbroken cries spurred him to try opening the locked door.
“Lily, open the door. Please, baby, open the door.”
Beth and Razer pulled him back from the car as she put it in gear, tearing out of the parking lot.
“Let me fucking go!” Shade jerked himself away from Razer and Beth.
He bent over, catching his breath. Not because he had winded himself running after Lily, but because of the look on her face when he had stepped into the kitchen.
“Shade…” Beth laid a hand on his back.
He straightened, turning around to see the brothers and women lined up on the walkway, watching. “What in the fuck happened? Why was she in the club?” he snarled.
Cash took a step forward, holding a wiggling Miranda by her arm. “Miranda came looking for Kaley, and when she couldn’t get in the front door, she ran up the path and got in through the back. Lily was trying to stop her by coming after her. Brother, I’m afraid there’s not much she doesn’t know now. Kaley told Miranda about the votes and how the women get them.”
Shade’s hands clenched, wanting to rip the women apart.
“Viper,” Shade spoke in a deadly calm voice which belied the hatred he was feeling at the moment.
“I’ll handle it. Cash, take Miranda and Kaley to my room. I’ll talk to them there in a minute.”
Cash nodded, lifting a struggling Miranda off her feet while Nickel took Kaley’s arm. When she would have jerked away from the rough-looking biker, he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her inside.
Beth and Razer moved toward Razer’s bike, but Shade stopped them.
“You have to go get changed before you go home.”
Beth looked down at her short skirt and fringed vest before nodding, her face going as white as Lily’s. Then she ran back into the clubhouse.
“You going to ride your bike without shoes?” Shade asked Razer who was staring at him oddly.
“You calmed down?”
Shade nodded grimly. “Lily was going to find out sooner or later, though I never wanted her to find out this way,” he replied grimly. “This shit is going to hit her hard, and she isn’t ready for it. Truthfully, I don’t think she ever would have been, and I probably would have put off telling her until she found out some other way. This way, it’s out of my hands.”
“Isn’t that convenient for you? Lily, not so much,” Razer snapped.
“Don’t blame this crap festival on me, but don’t expect me to cry over spilled milk, either. She found out, and now we have to fix it.”
“That’s not going to be easy,” Razer warned, looking at the empty road Lily had driven away on.
“No, it isn’t,” Shade agreed. “But it’s the only option I have because I’m not giving her up.”
Chapter 47
”There she is,” Shade told Razer when Lily turned the corner.
“It took her a long time to walk from class,” Razer remarked.
Too fucking long, Shade thought.
Penni had given him Lily’s class schedule. She had graduated in May, but the two women had remained in touch, having become good friends. Shade hadn’t told his half-sister what had happened, because her usual good humor would have disappeared and Shade already had his hands full of upset women without adding more to the mix.
The women club members were upset that Lily had been hurt. Evie had wanted to call and talk to her, but Shade had told her to wait. If Lily didn’t want to talk to Beth, Evie definitely wasn’t going to be able to reach her. The only women who weren’t troubled were Miranda and Kaley.
Shade had given Viper the information he needed to keep Miranda’s mouth closed, but Kaley was a vicious bitch who didn’t care about anyone other than herself.
Train felt guilty for introducing Kaley to the club. The man had a soft spot for women and couldn’t stand to see them hurt. More than one of the women members had fallen in love with Train, but none had been successful in capturing his elusive heart. Shade doubted any woman would, but if they wanted his dick, then he was more than willing to oblige.
Beth stood, waiting for Lily by her dorm door, and Lily paused before continuing down the sidewalk, keeping her eyes averted from Razer and him. Shade knew damn well she had seen them, though.
While Beth and Lily talked for a brief moment before walking toward a bench under a tree, Shade watched the expressions of the two sisters. Lily’s was hard, while Beth’s was filled with hurt.
“It’s not going well,” Razer said.
“No shit.”
Lily looked like she had lost ten pounds since she had left Treepoint, and the dress she was wearing needed to be cut into pieces and buried so it couldn’t be sewn back together again. Who in the fuck would make a dress in that ugly color?
After Lily stood up then went inside her dorm, Beth sat there, watching her go inside.
Razer and Shade walked to the bench when they saw Beth bury her face in her hands.
“Beth, please don’t cry, kitten.” Razer sat down next to her, pulling her into his arms.
“I’ve lost her, Razer. I can see it in her eyes. She’s so hurt. It’s like looking into an open wound.”
“She’ll get over it.”
“No, Razer, she won’t. She thinks I’ve lied and deceived her, and she’s right. I should have told her at least parts of it; she could have taken that. What she can’t accept is the one person she trusted hiding things from her.”
“Did she tell you not to talk to her anymore?”
“No, but she told me to give her clothes away. She’s cutting herself off from me.”
“Then don’t let her,” Shade said from behind them.
Beth looked over her shoulder at him. “She knows everything now, Shade. She knows that Razer and you both are original members. How the women get the votes.”
“She was bound to find out sooner or later. When you, Winter, and Diamond found out, was it any less painful? But each of you got over it and moved on. Lily will, too,” he said firmly.
Lily was stronger than any of the other women. She had endured Hell, surviving to become one of the sweetest, loving women he had ever known. He had no doubt she could make it through this.
“No, she won’t, Shade. Lily is different. She’ll believe that you and Razer took advantage of the women.”
“That won’t last long when she’s around them,” Shade said ironically.
Beth got to her feet. “You just don’t get it, Shade. She’s cut not only me, but us all from her heart. That’s what Lily does. Lily doesn’t give second chances with her love.”
“No, Beth, it’s you who doesn’t understand. Lily’s not going to be given the choice.”
He started his motor, looking up at the dorm room and willing Lily to look out. However, it remained empty, and Shade’s mouth tightened. What he had told Beth was the truth—he wasn’t going to let Lily cut him out of her life without a fight. He had enough patience to outlast anyone or anything.
The problem was would Lily survive while he bided his time? Her fragility had shocked him. He couldn’t stand back and watch her suffer. If it worsened, he would be forced to step in, and when he did, there wouldn’t be any going back.
* * *
“Get in, Lily.” Shade saw her look through the passenger window at him without saying a word, continuing to walk forward.
“You can either get in, or I’ll put you in.”
“Go away.”
Shade opened the door, getting out of the truck and
walking around the front to open the passenger door. “Get in.”
“If you don’t go away, I’ll scream,” Lily threatened.
“Try it and see what I do,” he dared her.