Chapter 21

21

Natalie

I squeeze the steering wheel as I pull up at the clubhouse gates.

It’s early, like only seven in the morning kind of early, but I need to see him.

Since we decided to give our marriage a real shot, I’ve been on edge, like my skin is always itching, and I need to move and keep busy, especially if I don’t see him.

I’m scared, so goddamn scared that this will fail, that we were doomed from the start and should have stuck to a fling, but I also know I love him.

These past two days without him, I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and I’ve been clumsier than normal. I'm not able to concentrate, and honestly, I don’t know how I managed after college and the distance he put between us. Him being gone on club business has given my mind time to run crazy with questions.

Are we doing the right thing?

Should we just call it quits while we’re ahead?

Can I live without him?

Can I handle him being with someone else?

Would I have to move out of state just to keep my heartbreak at bay?

I give Webster a tight smile as he opens the gate, and I drive through, heading to the spot Elijah told me to park, and line up next to a pink Ford, my heart in my throat.

Is he going to be mad I’m here early?

Swallowing hard, I think, “screw it,” my body tingling, wanting to be in his arms. I climb out of my car and walk to the entrance, trying not to second guess myself.

I walk into the common room and pause, looking around the full room.

“Natalie,” Steal announces, and I look his way.

He winces, seeing the bruise on my face, but I wave and say, “It looks worse than it is.”

He raises a disbelieving brow while Acid walks over to me, his arm instantly going over my shoulders, side hugging me before he kisses my head.

“It looks fucking sore, sis.”

I smile and lean into him before searching for Elijah.

Did he change his mind?

Is he having second thoughts?

Steal gives me a slight smile then stammers, “He’s still in bed, he…uh, um, well, you see….”

I raise a brow, trying to hide my panic.

Oh God, he did change his mind!

Acid squeezes me to him, picking up on my distress, and I look at him. He gives me a tight smile and admits, “Well, there was a slight problem on the run, and he kind of got hurt….”

My eyes widen, my heart pounding, and I quickly move out of Acid’s hold and rush toward Elijah’s room. The brothers chuckle at my reaction, some saying, “Fucking knew she’d be pissed,” but I ignore them all, my eyes set on the hallway.

I swear, if he got hurt and didn’t tell me about it….

“Nat,” Acid calls out as he follows me, but I ignore him, stop outside Elijah’s room, and open the door without thinking.

The scene before me causes me to freeze with shock, Acid’s, “Fucking shit,” just hitting my ears.

The pain I should have felt seeing my step-monster screw my high school boyfriend, the pain that never came—which made me believe I was broken—hits me ten-fold at the scene before me, all my fears hitting me hard in the face.

My husband lays on his back, his head facing me, sleeping, his shirt missing, while a woman, a bottle-blonde bitch, lays on top of him, her bare breasts pressed against his chest.

“Natalie, it’s not what it looks like; we both know he’d never do this to you, even when he believed you trapped him,” Acid tries.

I ignore him, allowing the fear to overtake me for a moment, consuming me as I look over the scene. The thought of running hits hard. I'm angry at myself for letting him in, hurt that he’d do this to us when we promised to try, when he refused to let me go, when I gave him an out several times….

My eyes tear up as my mind continues to make up crap, my body shaking, before I notice the bandage on his arm, blood seeping through it, and I snap out of my irrational thoughts, kicking the fears away, taking in the scene for what it is, and I narrow my eyes on his arm for a better look.

Is that…? Was my husband shot , and he didn’t even call me?

My breathing picks up as I keep my eyes trained on the bandage. I’m fully aware the bitch is now smirking at me and that Acid is tense beside me, but I can’t seem to move my eyes from his arm.

I’m going to kill him….

“Natalie, please, don’t take this the wrong way. Let’s wake him, and I can guarantee he’ll be pissed,” Acid tries again.

I ignore him again and lean against the doorframe, crossing my arms over my chest.

Now I’m not clouded by my fear, I’ve taken note how yes, the bitch is naked, but my husband, his jeans are on and buttoned, and I also remember the conversations we had about how this woman, Katie, was basically stalking him.

I tilt my head and eye his arm again.

If that’s a bullet wound, and he didn't call me….

Elijah stirs, groaning in pain before his body freezes in shock, and I nod, getting the confirmation I need. Acid sighs in relief before Elijah snaps, “What the fuck?” his eyes on Katie.

Acid clears his throat to get his brother's attention, and his head shoots our way. His eyes go to me instantly, and pure panic etches his features.

“Diamond,” he utters, and I tilt my head, my eyes going back to his bandage.

Yep, that’s definitely a bullet wound….

“Baby, maybe it's time we tell your wife what’s been happening between us….” the girl whines, and Acid tenses again while Elijah shoves her hard, but before she can fall, she grabs his injured arm so he can’t throw her off, making him grunt, and I tense at his pain, wanting to punch the bitch.

I hear what she’s trying to say, and I can see what she’s doing, but even if Elijah and I were in the same place we were a few months ago, I still wouldn’t believe her. I’ve walked into this clubhouse to brothers screwing the women, and while not right, all my husband was doing was watching.

Don’t get me wrong—my mind did go there for a minute, one minute —but that was my childhood talking, bringing up my fears. It gave me a chance to run, but seeing Elijah hurt snapped me out of it.

The woman, Katie, grins my way, rubbing her breasts on my husband, whose face has paled significantly, and I raise a brow and ask, “So, should I throw my wedding ring at you and run away, or do I demand answers?”

Elijah shakes his head and tries to shove the bitch again, but this time, she digs her thumb into his arm, making him suck in a breath; his forehead starts to sweat due to the pain.

Acid sneers, “Fucking bitch,” and takes a step forward, knowing the pain is making him weak.

I grip his arm and give him a subtle head shake, causing him to frown.

“Fuck’s sake,” Elijah growls, then tilts his head toward me and snaps, “You know this isn’t what it looks like. You know, even in our worst state, I wouldn’t do this to you, to us, and besides, I have enough cameras in this room to show you what happened.”

I nod, because he’s right. In my fear, I’d forgotten about the cameras. Thankfully, it was my love for him snapping me out of my head, seeing his wound, and I knew he wouldn’t do this, and I’m glad I didn’t think of them, to be honest.

Right now, I’ve just proven to myself that I can fully trust him.

Weird, right?

I raise a brow and ask, “Alright, does this mean I get to hit her? Because, I gotta admit, this scene is a lot more irritating than the one I walked in on with my ex and step-monster screwing.”

The bitch gasps, her eyes widening in shock. “Baby, you wouldn’t let her hit me, would you? I mean, you love me and-and I could be pregnant. We weren’t safe last night….”

Elijah snaps, “Funny, considering my jeans are on, you stupid cunt, and everyone in the club knows I’d never touch another woman. Now get the fuck off me!”

He shoves her hard, and she gasps, digging her thumb deeper into his arm, causing him to groan in pain, and I snap.

I push off the doorframe and storm over to them. Elijah’s eyes widen while Acid cheers as I grip the bottle blonde’s hair and yank hard, dragging her off my husband and onto the floor with a thump .

She screeches as I drag her by her hair, causing her to stumble to her feet to keep up with me. I storm into the common room, and everyone quiets down, seeing me.

Steal stands there in shock, his eyes going behind me as Elijah groans, “The bitch snuck into my room after I took the painkillers. As you can see, she was naked. Medic, I think my arm needs re-stitching; the bitch dug her thumb into the wound when I tried shoving her off me.”

My anger heightens, my grip tightens on her hair, and I drag her toward the door.

“Ah fuck, Piston, she’s going to hurt herself, we both know how clumsy she is,” Steal mutters, and I lift my left hand, giving him the finger, causing everyone to laugh as I walk out of the common room, dragging her behind me.

At the gate, Webster looks at me with wide eyes when I bang the front door open.

Ignoring everyone, I shove the bitch hard, causing her naked ass to fall on the ground, scraping her side. She cries before glaring my way. “He was mine first, until you went and trapped him!”

I snort, cross my arms over my chest, and state, “Actually, he’s always been mine because he made me his. He is the one who knocked on my door after a one-night stand. He is the one who decided to turn us into a three-year fling. He is the one who said we were getting married, and he was the one who made me fall in love with him. He has always been mine, and I will always be his. So do yourself a favor and get your rank ass off club property!”

Her nostrils flare as she stands, completely forgetting that she’s naked. “You can’t command me to do anything. You are nothing here!”

I smirk and hold my arms out before slowly turning, catching several grins from the men, and noticing the awed look on my husband's face, before facing the bitch again, her eyes on my leather.

“Bitch,” I say, “I’m not just his wife, I’m his old lady.”

Her eyes darken and cloud over with anger, and she screeches before running at me. I hear Elijah roar in the background, but I ignore him and lift my right hand. My fist connects with the bitch’s face, causing her to fall on her ass.

The brothers all cheer.

Ignoring the pain shooting through my knuckles and our audience, I jump on her and hit her, again and again.

I won’t lose Elijah, not to this bitch or to my fears.