Chapter Nine

Deacon

The next two weeks were equal parts heaven and hell. Heaven because I spent every waking moment in Apple's presence. Well, when she allowed it. Hell because she took every opportunity to slip away from me which meant I had to actively hunt her down. She'd never run from me. Before .

Yeah. That fucking word. Before. I hated it. It represented the absolute worst time in my life and how the fallout had affected Apple no matter how much I'd intended to protect her. I thought pushing her away as I did had hurt her worse than the gunshot wound. I knew she loved me, but I suppose I hadn't realized just how much she was invested in me.

Until she wasn't.

Now, I sat under a big tree next to the clubhouse, I watched her and all the old ladies of the club as they talked and drank peach Crown Royal. I mean, it was still whisky. Right? Occasionally, one or more of them would glance in my direction, but not Apple. She ignored me as thoroughly as a princess ignoring the pig farmer peasant.

Evelyn, Knox's woman, kept narrowing her eyes at me. Like she wanted to carve out my liver. Olivia would occasionally cast me furtive glances so it was hard to know how she felt. I was pretty sure she hated me too, but also knew I was the man who'd make sure her stepfather was completely out of her life forever. Bear's woman, Cecilia, was friendly enough, but there was no doubt she was solidly in Apple's corner no matter what. So if Apple decided she hated me, Cecilia would follow suit.

What puzzled me was how Lemon and Venus reacted. Lemon seemed to be on my side, pushing Apple toward me instead of pushing me away from her sister. Venus followed Lemon's lead. Or maybe it was the other way around. I'd seen the two women conversing several times since I'd come here. Always, they were either looking at me or Apple.

At first, I thought Lemon didn't want me with her sister, but that didn't really make sense because she was the one who'd told me Apple had been shot in the first place. She told me Apple needed me and to drop what I was doing and get my ass to Riviera Beach. So, I wasn't sure if Lemon was getting advice from Venus or Venus was telling her she was making a colossal mistake pushing me and her sister together again.

Finally, Apple looked my way. I didn't dare move or take my gaze from hers. Every time I managed to catch her attention outside of my bedroom, there was a split second of vulnerability in her expression before it hardened and she rolled her eyes, dismissing me. Princess to peasant .

This time, she held my gaze for several seconds before ducking her head and leaving the group. And yeah, every single one of the women looked my way. I sighed. Lucky me.

"You know," a voice behind me started. I turned to find Venus leaning a shoulder against the tree. Her other hand rested on her hip. As usual, she was in pink from head to toe. "She loves you."

I turned back to watch Apple as she walked to her house just across the path next to the women's favorite meeting spot on the property. "She's afraid I'll hurt her again." I shrugged. "I don't blame her."

"You did do number on her before she came here." Venus's light Russian accent always felt just as eerie as the rest of her. She was pleasant enough, but I'd been told she'd been an assassin before joining Salvation's Bane MC a long time ago. Her sister, Millie, was just as deadly and dangerous as Venus, and Thorn, the president of Bane, considered her the deadliest member of his club.

"I thought it was the only way to keep her safe." Listening to myself after everything that had happened both to me and Apple since I'd left, my excuse sounded pretty damned hollow.

"And now?" Christ. Even the woman's elegant eyebrows were fucking pink. She raised one at me in question now.

I sighed, scrubbing a hand over my face several times. "I may have overreacted."

"Why would you overreact?"

"I think both you and Lemon know I love Apple. I was trying to protect her by sending her to a place where no one could find her."

"You know Iron Tzars could have protected her just as well."

"I wasn't willing to take the chance. Besides, Lemon is the better warrior. Danica loves her sister, but Lemon is a protector through and through. I knew the safest place for Apple was with her twin."

Venus nodded, giving me a slight smile. "Very true. You could have used delicate touch, and she might have gone in direction you wanted. Instead, you made her run. From you."

"Yeah. Apple should always run toward me. Not away."

"What will you do about it?"

I stood then, dusting off my backside, then brushing my hands together. "I'll let you know when I figure it out, but I'm sure groveling will be involved."

"You're gonna have an uphill battle, Deacon." Lemon approached us, worry on her face as she glanced in the direction her sister had gone. "Why did you have to humiliate her like you did? Huh?" She took a couple of steps toward me and kicked me right in the crotch. I didn't see it coming, though I should have. Lemon might want me and Apple together, but she'd never hesitate to give me what she owed me.

"Christ, Lemon!"

"You think she hurt less than that? If so, you can hit me back."

I looked up at her from where I'd fallen to my knees on the ground. "Never said I didn't hurt her." My voice was strained, and I knew I grimaced in pain. "I intended to hurt her and I did."

"Yeah, ya did." Lemon shook her head, giving me a look that said she was sorry for me, but I was still going to have to die. "You know I have to kick your ass for that. Right?"

"Yeah, Lemon." I grunted as I got carefully to my feet. My balls were singing and I wasn't sure I could stand, let alone walk. But I was going after Apple. "I know. But can we do that later? I don't really have time right now."

Venus let out a snort, then chuckled. Her contralto voice was deep and throaty. "Those two belong together."

"It's the only reason he gets to live." Lemon jerked her head in Apple's direction. "I really thought you'd have her locked down by now, Deacon. I was in your corner. You're makin' me look bad."

"She wants me, but she's afraid to let me get too close to her."

"Do you blame her?" Lemon asked.

I faced her then, looking into her eyes so she could see the truth. "No. I don't blame her. She has every right to not trust me. I did this to protect her. After she got hurt, when you told me she needed me, I knew I could never leave her again. Where she goes, I go."

"You better keep your promise this time, Deacon. You're getting a second chance. Don't make me regret giving it to you."

Not wanting to let Apple out of my sight for long, I stumbled in her direction, groaning as my balls protested the movement.

She was just shutting the door to her home when I reached the small yard. If she saw or heard me, she gave no indication. The door slamming harder than necessary told me all I needed to know about if she'd want me there or not.

I climbed the two steps to the front porch and knocked on the door. "Apple? It's me."

"Sorry, Deacon. We'll have to get together tomorrow. I've got a date with Falcon tonight," she called to me from behind the door, not bothering to open it. I knew she was trying to get a dig at me. She'd done it several times since we'd had sex. Just little digs, telling me to get lost or that she'd gotten what she wanted from me. I could go now. This was the first time she'd actually named a man from Grim Road, though.

"Apple. Open the door."

"Is Falcon with you? If so, he's early."

"Apple. Open the fuckin' door."

The door opened, Apple draping a towel over her front like she'd been in the process of changing clothes. An irritated look was on her face as she looked past me. Looking for Falcon?

"If he shows up here, I'll kill the son of a bitch." I bared my teeth at her.

Apple lifted her chin. "No you won't. He's my choice."

" I'm your choice, Apple."

"Just because I fucked you doesn't mean I want a relationship. I scratched an itch. Nothing more."