You
fucking put her life in danger …”
I moved at Stoney and he pulled out
a gun. “ Deep water, Tripp.
Deep fucking water. I ’ m the
President of the Red Aces MC. That might not mean much to you, but just know,
in this clubhouse, this compound, there are eyes watching. You raise a fist at
me, you ’ ll eat a bullet. ”
I faced Stoney and his gun. I wasn ’ t afraid of dying. But I was
afraid of leaving Winter alone. With Stoney. With the Red Aces. And with
whatever the hell the Skull X guys were.
“ Think
about what you just said to me, ” I said.
“ You
think about what I just said to you, ” Stoney said. He stood up and tucked his gun away. He stuck his cigar in his
mouth and said in a choppy voice, “ Now
take Winter and get the fuck out of here. I ’ ve
said more than enough. ”
I turned and started to walk away.
“ Tripp, ” Stoney ’ s voice yelled.
I looked back. “ Yeah? ”
“ Not
many people get to walk out of here twice standing. Consider yourself lucky. ”
The truth of it?
I only considered myself lucky
when I looked at Winter.
16.
(Winter)
I was sick of the hideout motel
life.
Of course, Tripp slept on the floor
again. After all we ’ d been
through he still chose the floor over the bed. Wild bathroom sex aside, it didn ’ t make sense that he wouldn ’ t climb into bed with me.
He got more food, more beer, and
another day passed by.
It was close to dusk when I stood on
the balcony, looking out at the water yet again. It was tiresome to watch
people come and go. Normal people with normal lives. Even if they didn ’ t like their lives completely,
they had some kind of freedom.
Tripp wouldn ’ t tell me what he and Stoney talked about after the
fight, but it bothered him. He wasn ’ t
the same. He was taken back, angry, and he seemed paranoid.
I turned just in time to catch him
walking from the bathroom in nothing but a white towel that covered up just the
lower half of his body. He was beautiful. In my life, I ’ d never seen a man put together like Tripp. Even
clean, he had a grungy look to him. And it drove me wild.
I chose looking at him over looking
at the beach. Any sane woman would.
He grabbed jeans and went back into
the bathroom.
Just jeans.
A few seconds later he came back
out in his jeans. He grabbed a t-shirt and walked to the door.
“ Food? ” he asked.
“ Beach. ”
“ What? ”
“ You
said we could go for a walk. ”
“ Ah,
darling, ” he said. “ I don ’ t know. ”
“ Tripp,
please. I ’ m almost to the
point that I ’ d rather get
out there and get shot than hide out here any longer. This doesn ’ t make any sense to me. ”
“ You
don ’ t get it, ” Tripp said. “ What ’ s out there. ”
“ Then
tell me. Tell me what happened with Stoney. What I should be …”
A ball was suddenly in my throat. I
had no idea why, but I was ready to burst into tears. I lowered my head and
shook it.
A second later arms were around my
body. Tripp ’ s clean, manly
smell overtook my nose and it made me want to cry even more. I put my hands
around his body and gripped his back. I dug into his muscles.
“ Hey,
it ’ s going to be okay, ” he said. “ I … I promise you, Winter. It ’ s
going to be okay. Let me figure something out. ”
I slowly looked up at him. “ Am I really in danger? ”
Tripp gritted his teeth. “ At first, I wasn ’ t sure what the point was. But
now? Yeah. You ’ re in
trouble. But not when I ’ m
with you, okay? ” He wiped a
tear off my cheek. “ I ’ m here. ”
“ Can
we go for a walk on the beach? ”
“ Yeah.
Let ’ s go. ”
I just wanted to feel normal. I
just wanted to hold his hand, open my heart a little more.
But what I had hidden … no. I couldn ’ t even think about it.
~ ~ ~
It was mostly dark. We sat on a
rock, the water crashing, spraying us with cool ocean water.
Tripp was talking and my heart was
sinking by the second.
“ Do
you know the Skull
fucking put her life in danger …”
I moved at Stoney and he pulled out
a gun. “ Deep water, Tripp.
Deep fucking water. I ’ m the
President of the Red Aces MC. That might not mean much to you, but just know,
in this clubhouse, this compound, there are eyes watching. You raise a fist at
me, you ’ ll eat a bullet. ”
I faced Stoney and his gun. I wasn ’ t afraid of dying. But I was
afraid of leaving Winter alone. With Stoney. With the Red Aces. And with
whatever the hell the Skull X guys were.
“ Think
about what you just said to me, ” I said.
“ You
think about what I just said to you, ” Stoney said. He stood up and tucked his gun away. He stuck his cigar in his
mouth and said in a choppy voice, “ Now
take Winter and get the fuck out of here. I ’ ve
said more than enough. ”
I turned and started to walk away.
“ Tripp, ” Stoney ’ s voice yelled.
I looked back. “ Yeah? ”
“ Not
many people get to walk out of here twice standing. Consider yourself lucky. ”
The truth of it?
I only considered myself lucky
when I looked at Winter.
16.
(Winter)
I was sick of the hideout motel
life.
Of course, Tripp slept on the floor
again. After all we ’ d been
through he still chose the floor over the bed. Wild bathroom sex aside, it didn ’ t make sense that he wouldn ’ t climb into bed with me.
He got more food, more beer, and
another day passed by.
It was close to dusk when I stood on
the balcony, looking out at the water yet again. It was tiresome to watch
people come and go. Normal people with normal lives. Even if they didn ’ t like their lives completely,
they had some kind of freedom.
Tripp wouldn ’ t tell me what he and Stoney talked about after the
fight, but it bothered him. He wasn ’ t
the same. He was taken back, angry, and he seemed paranoid.
I turned just in time to catch him
walking from the bathroom in nothing but a white towel that covered up just the
lower half of his body. He was beautiful. In my life, I ’ d never seen a man put together like Tripp. Even
clean, he had a grungy look to him. And it drove me wild.
I chose looking at him over looking
at the beach. Any sane woman would.
He grabbed jeans and went back into
the bathroom.
Just jeans.
A few seconds later he came back
out in his jeans. He grabbed a t-shirt and walked to the door.
“ Food? ” he asked.
“ Beach. ”
“ What? ”
“ You
said we could go for a walk. ”
“ Ah,
darling, ” he said. “ I don ’ t know. ”
“ Tripp,
please. I ’ m almost to the
point that I ’ d rather get
out there and get shot than hide out here any longer. This doesn ’ t make any sense to me. ”
“ You
don ’ t get it, ” Tripp said. “ What ’ s out there. ”
“ Then
tell me. Tell me what happened with Stoney. What I should be …”
A ball was suddenly in my throat. I
had no idea why, but I was ready to burst into tears. I lowered my head and
shook it.
A second later arms were around my
body. Tripp ’ s clean, manly
smell overtook my nose and it made me want to cry even more. I put my hands
around his body and gripped his back. I dug into his muscles.
“ Hey,
it ’ s going to be okay, ” he said. “ I … I promise you, Winter. It ’ s
going to be okay. Let me figure something out. ”
I slowly looked up at him. “ Am I really in danger? ”
Tripp gritted his teeth. “ At first, I wasn ’ t sure what the point was. But
now? Yeah. You ’ re in
trouble. But not when I ’ m
with you, okay? ” He wiped a
tear off my cheek. “ I ’ m here. ”
“ Can
we go for a walk on the beach? ”
“ Yeah.
Let ’ s go. ”
I just wanted to feel normal. I
just wanted to hold his hand, open my heart a little more.
But what I had hidden … no. I couldn ’ t even think about it.
~ ~ ~
It was mostly dark. We sat on a
rock, the water crashing, spraying us with cool ocean water.
Tripp was talking and my heart was
sinking by the second.
“ Do
you know the Skull
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