Chapter 26

Ella

Camille was loading her luggage into the trunk of her car when I pulled up in front of her condo. We were taking her car to Chicago since it was a convertible. She loved road trips with the top down, and I had to admit, they were fun.

I hopped down out of my SUV and greeted her, then transferred my suitcase and toiletry bag into her car.

"I can't wait to get on the road," she said, then glanced in confusion at the two cake pans I picked up from my passenger seat.

"You made two birthday cakes for Kim?"

"No," I chuckled. "One is for Kim, and the other is for Lincoln, Dante's nephew. When I took some meals over for Pop to put in his freezer this morning, he mentioned that today is Linc's birthday. So, when I found out my client needed to cancel our meeting today, I decided to use the extra time to bake a cake for him, too. I want to drop it off at the clubhouse for him on our way."

"So, if we're stopping by the clubhouse, does that mean I'm going to have to wait on you to get a little lovin' from your sexy biker?"

"I wish," I replied with a laugh as I carefully set the cake pans down in the back seat of the convertible. "I don't think he'll even be there. He had something important going on today and left the house at an ungodly hour. I didn't want to disturb him in the middle of his meeting or whatever, so he doesn't even know I'm stopping by. I'll just leave the cake in the kitchen for Linc, and we'll be back on the road in no time."

I grabbed my purse and sunglasses from my car before locking it and settling into Camille's passenger seat. I directed her toward the clubhouse, with two quick stops along the way to pick up a birthday card for Linc and fill her gas tank before we got on the highway. While Camille pumped the gas, I signed the card, then decided to check my work email one last time before starting my weekend. I reached into my purse to put the pen away and pull out my phone, only to realize it wasn't there.

"Oh, crap," I muttered right as Camille opened her door and slid behind the wheel. "I left my damned phone in my car."

"We can swing back by to pick it up as soon as you're done dropping off the cake. It's not quite eleven yet, so we're actually ahead of schedule for once. We still have plenty of time to get to Chicago before rush hour traffic hits, even with the extra stops."

"Kim will probably faint from the shock when we show up early," I laughed. None of us were known for our promptness.

We pulled into the compound about ten minutes later. The parking lot was almost empty, but I was surprised to see Dante's bike parked in his designated spot right by the front door. Hopefully that meant whatever problem he'd been dealing with had been resolved.

"Oh good, Dante's here after all."

Camille rolled her eyes. "I guess I'll just have to force myself to hang around inside with some sexy bikers and wait on you to get some nookie," she teased.

I laughed as I instructed Camille to pull around to the side of the building, so I could go in through the back door right by the kitchen, rather than walking all the way around through the common room carrying the cake.

Her phone rang as she was parking the car, and her mom's name flashed on the screen. "Shit, I forgot to call her back earlier. Tell Dante hello for me, and don't let him distract you with his dick."

"I'll just tell him a quick hello and goodbye," I promised her, and she shot me a look of disbelief as answered the call.

I hurried into the building and set the cake down on the kitchen counter, pleased to see that the flames I'd piped around the sides and top edge of the cake – using red, orange, and yellow icing – had survived the trip intact. I wasn't an expert cake decorator by any means, but it looked kind of badass, and I was incredibly pleased with the way it had turned out.

The kitchen was empty, and I glanced through the large pass-through opening into the common room, spotting DD and Diamond lounging on one of the leather couches on the far side of the room. They looked engrossed in a movie playing on the big screen TV and didn't seem to have a clue I was here. That was more than fine with me. I had zero desire to interact with either of them. Star might be gone, but those two weren't much better on the scale of zero to skank.

I debated whether to ask Dante to put the cake in his office, on the off chance that one of the bunnies or club brothers would eat it before Linc had a chance to enjoy it. I placed the birthday card on top of the cake container, so hopefully with his name emblazoned on the front of the envelope, as well as the birthday greeting I'd carefully piped onto the top of the cake, no one would bother it, but you never knew with these guys.

I started to go look for Dante when it occurred to me that I should have brought some candles for the top of the cake. Then I remembered the box of party supplies I'd seen in the pantry the last time I'd been here. I stepped inside the huge pantry, impressed again by the sheer amount of food they kept on hand. It took a moment to find the plastic tote filled with colorful plates, napkins, and streamers that were clearly left over from some of the more family-oriented parties they had around here.

"Candles, candles, please have some candles," I muttered to myself as I rooted through the box. I spotted a small box underneath a stack of napkins with LEGOs printed on them. I assumed the napkins were left over from a party for Ethan, since that kid loved those things. There were only a few birthday candles left in the box, but I really only needed one anyway. I slipped it out of the box, then put everything back into the tote. I was reaching to put it back on the shelf when I heard the heavy stomp of boots on the tiled floor, followed by a familiar voice.

I smiled as I slid the tote into place, imagining his shock when I popped out of the pantry to greet him. The shock was mine, though, when his words registered.

"I'm so fuckin' glad Ella's in Chicago for the weekend, and I don't have to deal with her needy ass. I never should have hooked up with her, man, and now I'm fucked."

My heart skipped a beat, then started pounding frantically as I tried to make sense of the hateful words he'd just spewed.

"What the hell are you talkin' about? I thought you were serious about her?" I recognized the second voice as Cowboy's, thanks to his slight Texas drawl, although I'd never heard the hard undertone of anger I was hearing now.

"Hell no, but I made the mistake of fucking her, and now I'm stuck with her because she helps take care of Sinner. I gotta figure out a way to let her down easy so she won't get all pissy and quit doing it, not to mention that he'd rip me a new ass if I hurt her precious feelings."

I heard the door on the refrigerator open and then slam shut, and I swallowed down the sob that was trying to claw its way out of my throat.

"I don't know how much longer I can keep up the goddamned act though, brother. I couldn't wait for her to leave this morning, because I'm desperate for a good fuck for a change."

I couldn't see through the haze of my tears, and my mind was reeling in horror at what I was hearing. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.

"Hey, DD," Dante yelled, "get your sexy ass upstairs to my room. I want you naked and bent over for me by the time I get up there." I heard an excited, girlish squeal and knew it had come from DD out in the common room.

"I can't fuckin' believe you," Cowboy muttered, his voice so low I could barely hear him.

"Oh come on, Cowboy, you know me better than anyone. You didn't honestly believe I was interested in Ella." Dante retorted. "She's pretty enough, but she's a little too old for my tastes. Gravity is a bitch when it comes to the female body, man. Besides, she's too much of a lady. You know I like ‘em wild in the sheets," Dante's voice sounded harsh through the ringing in my ears. I was shaking, and I reached for the shelf to steady myself.

"I gotta get back to work," Cowboy grumbled, sounding pissed off.

"And I have a sweet piece of ass waiting upstairs for me. Catch you later, man, and make sure I'm not disturbed for the next couple of hours."

I stood in the pantry as the sound of their boot steps faded. I was stunned with disbelief, and my mind raced as I tried to absorb the powerful blow from the conversation I'd just heard. I was barely aware of the tears streaming down my face. My stomach pitched and rolled, and I was afraid I was going to be sick all over the floor. I forced myself to take some deep breaths, as I felt the walls closing in on me. I was suddenly frantic to get out of here before someone saw me. I'd be damned if I let Dante or any of those fucking bunnies see me like this.

I reached for some napkins from the shelf next to me, furiously wiping my eyes and scrubbing the tears from my face along with most of the makeup I'd been wearing. In the process, I dropped the birthday candle I'd been clutching in my fist, but I couldn't be bothered to pick it up. I forced my feet to move, creeping silently to the pantry doorway and listening to be sure the kitchen was truly empty before I stepped out and made a dash for the exit.

I pushed open the heavy door and almost ran over Camille, who was walking up the sidewalk. I grabbed her by the hand and all but dragged her back to the car.

"Oh my God, what's wrong?" She tried to tug me to a stop, but that wasn't happening.

"Just get in the car," I hissed frantically. "I need to get out of here. Now."

I collapsed in the passenger seat, fumbling with my seat belt as Camille jumped in, started the car, and put it in gear. She kept shooting worried glances my way, especially when I ducked down as we drove by the front of the clubhouse and exited the compound. I didn't want to take a chance that anyone would see me, and the sobbing mess I was at the moment.

As I sat back up, I caught sight of the clock on the dashboard, barely able to make out the numbers on it through the haze of my tears. I was amazed to find that I'd been in the clubhouse for less than five minutes. Less than five fucking minutes for my entire world to implode around me.

"What happened Ella? Are you hurt?" Camille's voice was calm now, and I knew she was relying on her years as an emergency department nurse to deal with the situation.

I took a shuddering breath and swiped at the tears on my cheeks.

"No," I said. My throat was constricted, and my voice sounded tight and hoarse even to my own ears. "I heard Dante…" A sob escaped me then, and I couldn't continue. Through my tears, I watched as Camille pulled into the parking lot of the small shopping center about a mile from the compound. She parked well away from the road and other cars to give us some privacy, then turned to look at me.

"What the fuck did he do? Did that bastard put his hands on you?"

"He said…awful things about me… to Cowboy. He's…" I paused again, trying to catch my breath between sobs, "he's been lying…using me…to take care of Pop." Camille cursed angrily, then leaned across the center console and wrapped her arm around my shoulder, not saying a word as I cried until I had no tears left.

By the time I finally calmed down enough to explain the whole sordid tale to her, I was a red-faced, swollen-eyed, snotty mess. Once she'd finished cursing him to hell and back, then back to hell again, she reached into her purse and pulled out a small travel pack of tissues.

"Here, hon. Let's go back to my place so you can grab your cell phone and clean yourself up a little."

I nodded, and she put the car in gear and pulled out of the parking lot. I wasn't even aware of the drive back to her place. Mercifully, my mind was blank, probably due to the shock I'd had. Camille unlocked her front door and motioned for me to go inside.

"You go on into the bathroom and wash your face. You know where the washcloths are. Be sure to drape a cold cloth over your face when you're done. It will help. There's Tylenol in the medicine cabinet, so take a couple. I have a feeling you're going to have one bitch of a headache after crying like that. I'm going to get your key fob and grab your phone out of your car."

I nodded blindly at her list of instructions, then made my way into her bathroom and closed the door behind me. I needed a few minutes alone. I stared at my reflection in the mirror above the sink, horrified at my appearance, and even more horrified that it was the result of yet another man treating me like shit.

Dante's words kept ringing in my head. I was too old, too saggy, and too boring to keep him interested. The hell of it was, those words hurt even more now than they when Clayton had said similar shit after I'd caught him cheating with Sabrina. I think I'd become immune to Clayton's snide comments in the years leading up to our split, so that by the time he'd spewed his venom at me, the words didn't hurt as much. Dante though, he had me completely fooled. I'd completely bought his act.

" I'll miss you ," he'd told me this morning, looking and sounding completely fucking sincere. I couldn't even let myself remember all of the things he'd told me when we'd been in bed together. He clearly hadn't meant them. Any of them. I'd just been the desperate dumbass who'd fallen for his lies. He had probably been counting down the minutes until I left town.

Hell, I should have known something was up when he'd courted me so sweetly, and then said he wanted to hold off on having sex. If I hadn't pushed the issue, he'd probably still be stringing me along while getting his rocks off with the younger, wilder, perkier club girls. God, I'd been nothing more than a pity fuck for him .

I imagined him laughing behind my back with them, or worse, picturing other women when he was in bed with me. Bile rose in my throat, and I barely had time to whirl around and raise the toilet lid before I threw up. The sound of my retching, and the foul, sour smell of vomit filled the room as I sank to my knees. I had never felt so pathetic in my life.

Once I was sure my stomach was empty, I shakily flushed the toilet and rose to my feet. I reached for the faucet, then rinsed the awful taste from my mouth. There was a quick knock on the door, and Camille opened it without waiting for me to answer. Without a word, she opened a drawer in her vanity and pulled out a new toothbrush still in the packaging.

"Toothpaste and mouthwash are in the medicine cabinet," she murmured quietly, then gently patted my arm in a gesture of support before turning and leaving the room.

I spent the next ten minutes washing my mouth out thoroughly and holding an icy, cold washcloth to my face. The swelling went down enough around my eyes that I looked human again, even though my face felt damned near frozen by that point.

I exited the bathroom and found Camille sitting on the end of her bed, tapping away on her phone. I figured she was texting Kim and was proved right when looked up and smiled grimly.

"Kim's ready to ditch our plans in Chicago this weekend and come down here to help us kick his ass instead."

I barely cracked a smile as I shook my head. "Nope. Let's hit the road, otherwise we're going to get stuck in rush-hour traffic up north."

"Are you sure you still feel like going, El? Kim will understand if we – "

"Hell yes, we're going. I'm not about to let that lying, cheating bastard ruin this weekend for us. He's not worth it. Besides, I need time before I have to face him again."

She looked at me closely, then told me quietly, "There were some texts from him over the past hour, asking you to call him. He also called you and left a voice mail."

I laughed bitterly. "I would have thought he'd be too busy fucking DD to even bother. Somebody probably saw me, and now he's trying to do damage control. He has to keep up the act as the loving boyfriend, after all."

"Do you want to listen to the message, or I can if you want me to."

I debated for a few seconds, then shook my head adamantly. "No. I don't want to hear what he has to say, or what fucking excuses he'll try to come up with" My voice cracked, and I could feel the tears starting again. "I can't deal with that right now, Camille. I just can't."

I knew I needed to confront him with what I'd heard, but there was no way in hell I was doing that until I was calm and collected, with no hint that he'd managed to devastate me with his lies.

"That's understandable, honey," she assured me. She pulled my phone from her back pocket and powered it off before handing it over. "There, now you don't have to listen to it go off if he keeps trying to reach you. Are you ready to go?"

"Hell yes. I don't even want to be in the same city as him right now."

"OK, then, fuck him. Let's get this show on the road."

I laughed, but there was no real humor in it. "Fuck him…no, that's DD's job now." My stomach lurched at the thought, and I felt the tears threaten again as I pictured him with her.

"Then I hope his dick turns green and his balls rot off."

A thought hit me, and my heart dropped to my toes. We had both gone to get tested the other day. Thank God our results haven't come in yet, so we hadn't ditched the condoms yet.

I slipped my phone in my purse, and we left a few minutes later. After I told her that I didn't want to talk about Dante anymore, Camille did her best to keep my spirits up, mostly by blasting music out of the speakers and singing along. Loudly, and very off-key. My best friend had many talents. Singing wasn't one of them. The noise made it impossible to think though, so that was something anyway.

An hour into the trip, she pulled into a fast-food restaurant, insisting that we both needed something greasy and full of fat to cheer us up. After two bites of my cheeseburger, my stomach clenched and threatened to bring it all back up. I tossed my unfinished burger back in the bag and took a big sip of my diet soda.

Eventually, we made it to Chicago, pulling to a stop at the curb in front of Kim's townhouse. She must have been watching for us, because I had barely opened my car door before she was rushing down her front steps to sweep me into a hug, before doing the same to Camille. I pretended not to notice their brief, whispered conversation as I got my luggage out of the back of my SUV and carried it inside.

Mercifully, my cousin didn't mention Dante, so I assumed that their hushed exchange had been Camille warning her that I didn't want to talk about it.

A short time later, we were sitting in her living room, catching up on everything except Dante.

"I saw the picture that Mia posted to Instagram of them standing at the ship's railing as it set sail this morning. It looks like they're all having a great time without Dr. Douchebag and the Raging Thundercunt there."

I cursed as I realized how stupid I'd been. "Shit, I can't keep my phone turned off. What if the kids need to reach me? Dammit!" Since they were somewhere off the coast of Florida heading toward the Bahamas, I doubted I'd hear from them, but I wanted them to be able to reach me if it was an emergency.

I got up and got my phone out of my purse, looking at it warily as if it were a coiled snake getting ready to bite.

"Here, let me have it," Kim demanded, holding out her hand for the phone. I gave it to her, then watched as she powered it on. I heard several notifications pinging and recognized them as texts and voice mails.

Kim scrolled through the screen for a brief moment, then looked up at me.

"Do you want to listen to the voicemails, or read the texts? There are a ton from him, but also from Pop, Cowboy, and somebody named Lincoln." She bit her lip, then looked at me again.

"They're either asking you to call them, or just asking you to check in to let them know you got here OK."

My heart broke all over again at the thought of the men I'd come to care for. My relationships with them were now tarnished, too. I'd known it was a mistake to start anything with Dante. I'd known it would make things awkward with his family. I'd fucking known better, and I wanted to kick my own ass.

"I don't want the others to worry, but dammit, I don't want to talk to any of them right now" I said resignedly, dreading the thought of having to communicate with them when I was feeling so raw, especially him .

"Let me respond for you then. How about a group message, something like, ‘I just got to my cousin's place, but my phone is acting up. Battery won't hold a charge. Will call when I can.' We can send the same message to your kids letting them know they can call me or Camille if they need to reach you. They have our numbers, so that won't be a problem. Then, we turn off your phone, and Dickhead Dante and his minions can't bother you."

Camille snorted at the name Kim had bestowed on Dante, but I just sighed in relief and nodded. "That's perfect, thanks."

She tapped on my phone screen for a minute or two, then smiled in satisfaction as she turned it off and handed it back to me.

"There, that should keep them off your back until you're ready to talk."

"Should we be worried about how quickly you concocted a plausible lie?" Camille asked her with a grin, but Kim just shrugged.

"So I have a vivid imagination. Sue me. Besides, I like to think of it as a creative cover story rather than a lie."

"What's the difference?" I asked curiously.

"Calling it a cover story just sounds better."

We decided on a quiet evening at Kim's place, ordering food to be delivered, and drinking it with way too much wine. They did their best to cheer me up, with Kim sharing the latest outrageous gossip among the elite clientele she worked for.

"Oh, that reminds me! There's a boutique on Michigan Avenue that I've been using a lot lately, and the owner offered me a massive discount for my birthday since I've brought a lot of high-end clients her way. We're going shopping tomorrow, and we're each going to get something fabulous."

Seeing my doubtful look, Kim chided, "I promise, it will be affordable, especially with the discount. This place is a few blocks away from the Magnificent Mile, so the prices are more reasonable."

"I don't need anything new, Kim, and – "

Kim immediately stood up and pointed her finger at me emphatically.

"We're going shopping tomorrow. Then tomorrow night we're going out to the new club I was telling you about, we're going to dance our asses off, drink our troubles away, and forget about every fucking asshole who has ever done us wrong. And we're going to look totally fuckable while doing it. Understood?"

I cracked a smile at her militant, take-no-bullshit tone. I wasn't totally on board with her plan, but the forgetting part sounded good anyway.

Luckily, by the time we all went to bed, the copious amounts of wine I'd consumed had made me sleepy enough to sink into a deep oblivion practically the moment my head touched the pillow.