Making Choices (Black Shamrocks MC Book 2) by Kylie Hillman Page B

time.”
    “Why?”
    Pinning her a pointed look, I stay quiet.
    We don’t need to discuss me. It’s her Club that got me into trouble, so she should be filling me in with what happened, not picking apart my life.
    Rolling her eyes at me, she smirks.
    “I know you don’t like me. I know why you don’t like me. And I don’t blame you. I wouldn’t like me either if I was in your shoes.” Her smile grows wider as she registers the surprise on my face. “I’m actually a pretty nice person, you know? I think you and I could be friends, if you’d let us.”
    My hackles rise.
    “I’m not the sort who becomes besties with the woman the man I’m in love with loves instead of me. I’m a little strange like that.”
    She snorts at me. My heartbeat pounds in my ears at her rude dismissal of my declaration.
    Did I just tell my competition that I’m in love with Lucas?
    I hadn’t even admitted the possibility to myself, yet here I am giving her the heads up.
    Actually, lets back up. My feelings don’t matter since I’m telling him where to stick his ultimatum once I get out of this hellhole.
    Why do I keep forgetting that I’ve already decided to end it?
    “See, that’s why we’d be good friends. You run at the mouth as much as I do.” She laughs, wincing and grabbing her side as she does.
    I slide down the bed until I’m next to her and pull up her shredded shirt, despite her protests, so I can check her side. I’m shocked when I find a huge tattoo covering her abdomen and one side of her torso. I didn’t take her for the type to have such a large tattoo.
    I knew she had one—a tastefully sized one between her shoulder blades. I wasn’t impressed when Lucas mentioned that Mad Dog has a matching one, and that it proclaims her as his Old Lady. They’ve been broken up the whole time I’ve known them, so to me it seems to me like a stupid decision that’s coming back to haunt her.
    Lucas had been pretty offended when I’d told him that, telling me that the women in the club consider it an honor to wear their “Old Man’s” ink, and that he’d love to find a woman to wear his one day.
    Peering at the tattoo, I have to admit it’s very well done and suits her to a T. My mouth falls open when I notice various scars within the design. I can tell straight away that they’re surgery scars, and I realize that’s why she has the tattoo—to hide her scarring.
    Before I can take too much more notice, Maddi slaps my hand out of the way and pulls down her shirt.
    “I’m fine,” she tells me tightly. “My ribs are sore, that’s all.”
    I can’t help myself. I have to ask, “What happened to you? You must’ve had a lot of surgeries to have that many scars.”
    Blowing so hard that her fringe lifts away from her forehead, she narrows her eyes at me. “I told you my ex tried to kill me. The scars are from that.”
    I draw in a sharp breath. I counted at least six decent-sized scars. That’s a lot of damage inflicted by her ex.
    “I’d like you to forget that you saw them.”
    “Okay, I will. I’m so sorry,” I agree straightaway. I’m not going to ask her about them when it’s obviously painful for her.
    An awkward silence overtakes us, one that I feel I should be the one to break.
    Thinking back to the question she asked me earlier, I decide to let her in a little bit.
    “I want to run away from my life because I’m sick of trying to please everyone but myself. It doesn’t matter what I choose, it never seems to be right. It’s killing me.”
    That’s more truth than I’ve told anyone except Gwen and Lucas.
    It feels strangely refreshing to have let it out.
    “What about you?”
    Looking at me with her big, blue eyes, she purses her lips in thought.
    “I want to run away because the people I’m supposed to be able to trust always end up being the ones who let me down. I’m always a pawn in someone’s game, and I always end up being the one who’s hurt.”
    “That’s very cryptic,” I