Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 41038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 205(@200wpm)___ 164(@250wpm)___ 137(@300wpm)
She’d seen Mayhem a few times during these last couple of years, but it hadn’t been on club property, and she hadn’t told him she was showing up tonight. Claire leaned against the wall and waited.
“You want me to stay?” Dirty asked.
She shook her head. “I’m fine, but thanks.”
Dirty nodded and left.
She knew Mayhem would tell the club about this because she was here, seeking club protection, and anything that dealt with the MC meant the whole crew would be involved.
But right now, Claire just wanted to talk to her twin, wanted to let him know why she was here, and then she could go from there.
The door opened a few moments later, and the sweet-butt stepped out, adjusting her shirt and skirt and eyeing Claire up and down.
Claire stood there, not caring about some slut, and turned to head in the room. She kept her head lowered to the ground. “Are you decent?”
“Of course,” Mayhem said with annoyance. “But if you would have knocked, the first time you walked in on me, it would have been avoided.”
“Agreed. I wasn’t thinking.” She lifted her head and saw her twin standing by the window, his cut on and the patch in the center of his back on the black leather right in front of her like a deadly promise.
Bleeding Mayhem MC was known not only in town but also in the whole state as being brutal in everything they did. No one messed with them. No one even thought of going against them…not if they were smart.
The poor, stupid fools who did try to overpower the MC got dealt with quickly and efficiently, their demise a lesson to anyone who wanted to go up against the club.
She didn’t say anything, because she knew the bruise on her face was noticeable, and although she had looked into her brother’s eyes for only a moment, she knew Mayhem had seen the mark. Claire wouldn’t have come here if shit hadn’t gone down the way it had, and Mayhem knew that.
At twenty eight, they were both so much alike, despite Mayhem’s club reputation and the fact he lived a much different life than she had in the last two years. Claire might have grown up in this town, too, been around the MC when she was younger, but she never got engrained in it, not like Mayhem.
The club was her family, and the men within it where people she cared about, loved, but what the patches did in the club wasn’t something she’d ever been included in, and she was glad for that.
Being with Big hadn’t brought her any closer to being an old lady or being “part” of the club in that way. No matter who she was related to and what their position in this MC was, Claire was just Claire.
“Did that motherfucker do that to you?” Mayhem asked in a deep voice, obviously jumping to conclusions. He turned around and faced her before she could answer. “ I know the answer already.”
She’d only been with Steven for a few months. It hadn’t been love, hadn’t been anything more than Claire trying to restart her life, forget about the man she really wanted. Hell, they hadn’t even had sex yet.
“I’m going to fucking kill him, Claire.”
She shook her head and closed her eyes. “Can I tell you what happened before things go down that path?”
“You can, but it doesn’t change anything. And when Big finds out about this…” Mayhem shook his head again. “He’ll want to go after him with murder on his mind, and no way in hell I’m stopping that.”
She breathed out, knowing Big would find out and knowing things would get even worse before they got better. There was silence for a moment, and before she could speak, Mayhem was talking again.
“You better fucking tell me this was the first time he’s laid his hands on you, Claire, because if you were stupid enough to let him do it more than once—”
“It was only this once. You know me better than that. No man puts his hands on me.”
Mayhem grunted and nodded. “Then tell me you got in a good shot.”
She nodded and walked over to the chair that hadn’t been fucked in, or at least not just a few moments ago. Once she was seated, she stared at Mayhem, watched as he leaned against the wall, the shadows slightly concealing his face but the danger and anger emanating from him like a blow.
She waited a moment before she spoke again. “I planned on leaving him before things went bad. I had bags packed and was going to take some time away after I ended things just to clear my head.
“Steven had called me over to talk, and I could tell by his voice he was upset. It was my fault for going over there in the first place knowing he was angry, but I just wanted it over with. My car had been running on fumes when I got to his place, and I had my bags in the back. When I walked inside, he was standing by the fireplace with some pictures in his hand.”