A Monster's Beauty (In the Arms of Monsters 3)

“Are we talking about your dad now?”

“My dad. The club. Everyone. I don’t want people to hate me.”

“They won’t.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don’t know that. I don’t know what the fuck is going on in my life half of the time. Look, Bishop will be dealt with as part of club business. He made his decision and there’s nothing I can do to change that.”

He stroked her cheek. “It’s time for you to stop worrying about everyone else. Bishop threw you under a bus, and you’ve been picking up the pieces ever since. Don’t let his mistakes be yours.”

“I’ve got plenty of my own.”

“Don’t do that.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “Are you done with breakfast?”

“Yeah, I don’t think I can eat another thing.”

“Get dressed. I want to take you to Reaper’s. We’ll pick up Bethany and then go to the park or something. Would you like that?”

“If you can do that. Are you allowed to do that?”

“Baby, I can do whatever the hell I want. I don’t answer to anyone.”

She climbed out of bed, no longer caring about her nakedness, grabbed his face, and kissed him. “I love you.”

“Not as much as I love you.”

This was what she had hoped her. What she once prayed for.

Were all of her dreams finally being answered? She stepped into the bathroom and caught sight of her reflection. Her face was a little older. The ink on her body a constant reminder of what happened to her.

The ink crawling up the side of her body with the roses, that was all her, but the cuffs around her wrist and Reaper’s name… All of that had been part of his plan to hurt Preacher. Was Preacher hurt every time he saw them, or did he not care like last night when he took her?

Pushing all of her doubts aside, she instead focused on just getting ready. She took a quick shower and changed into some clothes. Preacher still had some of her old stuff in his closet and she pulled on a pair of jeans and a loose-fitting top.

She left her hair down, and she’d only dried it with a towel so there were damp spots.

Preacher had already taken her plate down and made the bed, and he was waiting for her at the main clubhouse. She didn’t allow herself to look in any direction. Anne was waiting for her at the door.

“Are you okay to drive?” Robin asked.

“I am. I just wanted to see you before I went. Last night was a total blast. I loved it, and thank you.” Anne pulled her in for a hug. “Preacher has already told me you’ve got some business to take care of. I’ll see you later, maybe? You think that will be fine?”

“Yeah, of course.” She held her friend close before watching her drive away. “Thank you for allowing her to have some fun.”

“A friend of yours is a friend of mine. We’re taking the car,” Preacher said. He opened the passenger door for her and she climbed in. She noticed he was checking his phone and typing a message.

“Anything important?”

“Just the guys.”

“Can I help?”

“No, it’s nothing to worry about.” He pocketed his cell phone and she tried not to think about how quiet and secretive he was being. This wasn’t like Preacher, at least not recently unless he was hiding something. Rather than worry, she looked out of the window and Preacher put on the radio.

Something was going down today. She didn’t know what it was, and her nerves took on a whole new level.

Was he doing one of his drug runs? Guns? She wasn’t a fool. Her mother had told her from a young age what it was her father and the club did. At first, she’d been so embarrassed, and she’d hated to even think about it, but now, she accepted it. She didn’t want a part in any of it. Drugs were something she never wanted to dabble in and guns, she hoped no one ended up dead. A stupid way to hope, but it was one that had gotten her through many a dark time.