Chapter Seventeen

T he hurt in Rachel's voice, questioning him, killed him. He burst off the bed and latched his hands behind his head. His muscles constricted, wanting to punch or tear something apart, but he feared scaring her.

He'd already done enough.

"Didn't you like it?" she asked.

He closed his eyes. The worry and desperation in her question were worse than any beating he'd ever taken.

Staying on the other side of the room would have prevented him from hurting her more. He was unable to explain how being with her was a bad idea. She had her whole life ahead of her.

Life with him was a dead end.

One day, she'll look around and want more than he could give her. His life was with Havlin Motorcycle Club. There were only so many things a felon who spent eighteen years in prison for murder could do—and ninety-nine percent of them were illegal.

Outside, a rumble grew louder. A rider approached.

He grabbed his jeans, put them on, and then shrugged into his vest without putting on a shirt. In his peripheral vision, Rachel stood from the bed, arms wrapped around her middle, unaware of her nakedness.

She wanted answers but wouldn't like what he had to say.

"Ruger?"

He slipped the pistol underneath his belt and stepped toward the door. "I need to see who arrived."

He slipped out of the room, patting his pocket for his pack of smokes. Popping a cigarette in his mouth, he walked outside and shut the door behind him. He lit the end without missing a step.

Jagger rolled to a stop, followed by Dio. They shut off the headlights on their motorcycles.

He took a drag off his smoke, waiting for them to tell him what was going on. They came to him, so something must be going down. Otherwise, it was his night off.

"We had a visitor tonight at the clubhouse, looking for you." Jagger widened his stance and put his hands in his vest pockets.

He shrugged. "I've got no one who would look for me."

"He said his name was Shady," said Dio.

Ruger looked over his shoulder at the house as if to warn Rachel or maybe hide the information from her. He ran his hand across the back of his neck. That wasn't the news he thought he'd hear.

While in prison, he never asked Shady how long he had to serve. It was an unspoken rule not to discuss the future with any inmates. They believed it would jinx their parole hearings.

Jagger handed over a piece of paper. "He left an address. He said he'd be there tonight."

He pocketed the information without looking at it. "You never told him where to find me?"

"You know me better than that," muttered Jagger. "I'm not going to put you in danger."

He dipped his chin. "I'll take care of him."

"Do you want backup?" asked Dio.

He looked at Jagger and then at Dio. They were here. They were offering.

"Rachel will need to go back to him." He inhaled deeply. "She's not safe with him."

Both men waited without saying anything. They couldn't give their opinion of his situation because they had no idea what was happening. They had no clue that he'd fucked her moments before they pulled into the driveway.

He'd paid back his favor. He no longer owed Shady anything. Rachel was better off with family than with him so long as Shady could keep her safe.

"Give me a couple hours." He looked at Dio. "Stay here and watch the house until I get back."

Then, he looked at Jagger. He hadn't asked anything of his friend since he'd asked Jagger to keep Katrina safe. But now he would take the offer.

"You can ride with me." He lowered his voice. "Keep me from killing Shady."

Jagger never blinked. Havlin brothers for life.

He walked back into the house. For now, he wouldn't tell Rachel that her brother was out of prison. He needed to see where she would live and how he planned to keep Rachel safe.

After he made sure Shady could take care of her, he would tell her it was time to go home.