Chapter Eleven

Wolf

After dropping Hadley off at her apartment, I head straight to the clubhouse. The last thing I want to do is leave her at home alone, but I have a duty to my club. Driving down the road, I can't shake the image of Hadley spread beneath me in the sunset. That woman has the capacity to bring me to my knees and she isn't even aware of it. All I want to do is turn around and head back to Hadley's apartment, finish what we started.

Pulling into my spot outside the clubhouse, I see that only Pope's and Sparrow's bikes are here. I find it strange that only the two of them would be here if there was actually a problem, and I move into the bar. Pope is seated in front of the bar with Sparrow standing behind it, acting as bartender.

"What's so damn important?" I grunt as I pull out a chair.

"Sorry to pull you away from your date, brother, but we have problems." Pope works his hand down his face in irritation.

Staring at him, I wait for him to elaborate.

"The fucking Mongrels are trying to move in on our turf."

"Jesus, what the fuck did they do now?"

"Well, they burned Mary's Rib Shack to the ground, beat and threatened two of the girls from Dusk, and about an hour ago, they sent this." Pope hands his phone to me.

Rage courses through me. The picture was taken when Hadley was straddling my waist to kiss me. Knowing that someone was there watching us makes my stomach turn. Pushing my chair back abruptly, I make my way to the door. Hadley is alone at home and these fuckers could get to her.

"Justice is watching her, hermano. We knew you wouldn't want her alone after that photo."

Sparrow is trying to reassure me, but at the mention of Justice's name, I want to lose my shit. Barely holding it together, I make my way back to the bar and take a seat.

"So do we have a solution for this situation?" My gaze moves from Pope to Sparrow and back again. Pope rests his elbows on the bar before answering my question.

"It's time to take them the fuck out, no church, no vote, just getting shit done. The rest of the guys will be back on Friday. By then, the three of us should be able to gather all the intel we need. We can end them this weekend as soon as we have the numbers."

Sparrow and I nod in unison as we agree to his plan. Rising, I make my way to the door. "See you fuckers tomorrow."

****

Before I head over to Hadley's place, I stop at home and change out my bike for my truck. She's probably asleep already and I don't want to wake her, so I'll stay in my truck, keeping watch. The need to get Justice as far away from her as possible is at the front of my mind.

Pulling up outside her building, I see Justice sitting on his bike, fiddling with his phone.

"Justice. You can hightail back to the clubhouse. I've got this." I'm sitting in my truck with the window rolled down.

"Sure, Wolf. Just so you know, your girl was down here about ten minutes ago, asking if I wanted to come inside. Told her I'd be fine but she wasn't happy."

"Thanks, I'll sort that out."

Justice drives off and I lock my truck before making my way up to her apartment. Knocking on her door, I wait until she opens it. Standing before me in nothing but a black tank top—again without a bra—and lime-green sleep shorts, she looks more exquisite than I remember. The kicker is we haven't even been apart for more than a couple of hours. She opens the door wider to let me in before moving toward the kitchen.

"Coffee?" she asks over her shoulder.

It takes me a moment to answer her because my gaze is glued to her ass as she walks away.

"Sure." Following her into the kitchen, I move in behind her and fix my left hand to her hip. My other hand pushes her hair off her shoulder and I place a kiss to the side of her neck.

"We need to have a talk." She needs to know what's going on. It's her life and her safety, but I can't tell her. It's club business. Even though I can't tell her, I do have something on my mind that we need to clear up. Turning her to face me, I watch her expression closely.

She smiles. "Sure."

"Okay. If we are going to do this, you and me, you need to know one very important thing. No other guys. Especially not in your apartment. Even if they are my brothers."

Watching her, I see every emotion as it flits across her face at my announcement. Shock, surprise, and finally anger. She steps away from me and places her hands on her hips. She looks me straight in the eye and I know I'm about to be handed my ass.

"Don't come into my home and presume you have any say about what I do or who I associate with." Her eyes are full of fire.

"Hadley, don't be fucking difficult about this. This is the only thing I will never bend on."

"I think you should leave. One date and some heavy petting doesn't give you the right to tell me what to do or who I can be friends with."

She steps past me and opens the door. Standing outside, I turn around to say something, but she slams the door in my face. Moments later, I listen as the lock clicks into place.

I sit in my truck and stare up at Hadley's apartment door. There was a moment when I contemplated leaving. I don't need this fucking complication in my life. Let her do whoever and whatever she wants. Even as I start the truck, I know I'm lying to myself. I'm not going anywhere.

****

The sound of someone knocking on my window wakes me. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I find Hadley watching me. I roll down the window, prepared to apologize, but she speaks before I can.

"Go home, Wolf. I'm done with you."

Turning on her heel, she walks away from me, making her way around the corner and down the street. After I start my truck, I follow her.

"Get in the truck, Hadley."

My temper is getting the best of me. Last night, I had the worst sleep in probably the last three years, and she's pressing all my buttons. She can't be walking around alone, especially not with the shit going down at the moment.

"Fuck off, Wolf." She doesn't look at me, simply keeps on walking. The fact that she has reverted back to calling me Wolf irritates the shit out of me.

"Just get in. I'll drop you off at Dusk and you don't have to see me again. You don't even have to talk to me."

Stopping, she turns to look at me with skeptical eyes.

"It's not safe, Blue."

A look passes over her face that can only be described as sadness before she raises an eyebrow at me.

"You know I can't tell you any club business, but please, just trust me. I only want to keep you safe."

Taking a deep breath, she moves toward the truck and gets in. The entire ride to Dusk, she doesn't even look at me. When we come to a stop, she opens the door and gets out.

"Hadley…"

"Thanks for the ride, Wolf."

And then she's gone.

****

How the fuck did my life come to this? For three days, I sleep in my fucking truck. My back is killing me but I can't leave her to fend for herself. Every morning, I drive her to work, neither of us saying a word. During the day, I help Pope and Sparrow collect all the intel we need on the Mongrels MC. How many members there are, where they hang out, their clubhouse, families, and friends. We know more about that club than most of the fucking members probably do.

After Hadley's shift ends, I head back to Dusk and pick her up again. Still, we don't speak and still, she won't look at me. Her smell has become part of the interior of my truck. Every minute I spend in my fucking truck, I spend it with the smell of her in my nostrils.

Everything is fucked, but I decide that today is the day that we're going to talk this shit out. And if it can't be fixed, I'm going to get one of the other guys to watch her until this shit with the Mongrels is sorted out. I can't keep being this close to her and knowing that I can't have her.