Hadley (The Club Girl Diaries Book 3) (9 page)

“He’s what?” I stammered.

Skins hit me with a sympathetic look. “Yup.”

“They can’t let him do that. Why haven’t they taken him out yet?”

He shook his head. “He’s got them convinced that he’s stronger with the Shadows behind him. He’s killing off every gang in the city. To them he’s doing a great job, and because he’s undercover with real gang members, he doesn’t have to give up all of the profits he makes because it would put him under suspicion.”

“Jesus Christ, he’s a criminal mastermind with the backing of the government,” Leo growled.

My mouth was dry, I tried to swallow, but it was tight and scratchy.

“So what do you have, that he wants?” Optimus asked seriously, his eyes burning into me. “He seems to have his shit sorted. Why’s he coming after you now?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know. I’ve tried to file for a divorce. But as far as I can tell he’s refusing to sign. And it isn’t exactly easy to get him to court to contest it.”

“I don’t get it. He just up and left you, not a second thought?” Leo asked, his dark eyes boring into me like he could see inside my soul.

“He wanted me to go with him,” I answered quietly.

Skins scoffed. “He tried to force her to go with him. Dragged her through the house by her hair, if I remember correctly.”

I cringed at the memory. Simon had been the man I thought I’d spend the rest of my life with. I’d been so excited for him to come home after that time away, but the moment he walked through the door I knew there was something wrong.

I heard the front door open and rushed out of the bedroom and down the hallway to meet him. I couldn’t stop smiling. I froze in the foyer, a wide grin on my face, waiting for him to turn and see me as he closed the door.

When he turned around, I can’t explain the shudder that ran through my body. It felt like I was watching the Exorcist or some alien invasion movie. Because when I finally saw his face, I knew within a second that this wasn’t my husband. It was his body, his face, his clothes. But the man I knew was no longer inside them.

He didn’t smile when he saw me. Instead, his face curled up into a smug smirk. His eyes were no longer bright and full of life. It was like he was possessed.

He held his arms out. “Hey baby, you just gonna stand there?”

His voice sounded the same, so deep and smooth with just a hint of a southern accent. I tried to convince myself that I was just being silly. It was him, he was home. I swallowed my fears and ran into his arms, wrapping mine around his slim waist and laying my cheek against his chest.

The first thing I noticed was the lack of leather. Simon had been a part of Satan’s Sanctuary ever since I’d known him. And he never left the house without his club cut on.

“Where’s your cut?” I asked, pulling back my face to look up at him.

His strange twisted smile only grew as he drew back and took my hand, leading me into the living room. We sat down on the sofa, and I turned my body toward him, waiting for him to explain. Maybe he was finally done with all this undercover stuff, and we could live a normal life somewhere.

My body filled with excitement and I prompted him to hurry and explain. “So…”

He let out a dark, scratchy laugh before he met my eyes again. I swallowed back my apprehension, confused by how this man in front of me could seem like such a stranger after we’d been together for close to five years.

“We’re moving,” he answered.

“Where?”

“Las Vegas.”

My smile dropped instantly. “What? You just came from there.”

He nodded. “I’m moving on from the club. The agency wants me down there working with the Shadow Syndicate full time.”

I shook my head. “Simon, they’re criminals. You’re going to go in alone? That’s ridiculous.”

“Won’t be alone. I’ll have you,” he answered, his hand tightening around my wrist. His eyes flashed in anger.

“What did Judge have to say about it?” I asked, knowing he could read my apprehension. There was no hiding anything from him.

He snorted. “Judge thinks he’s king. I’m sick of being one of his soldiers. We’re going to go to Las Vegas, and I’m gonna be king. And you’ll be my queen and have anything and everything you’ve ever wanted.”

“Simon—”

He cut me off by slamming his mouth onto mine. I pressed my hands against his chest, but he was too strong, forcing me back onto the sofa and climbing over me. His hands ripped at my shirt, tearing it open to expose my bra.

“Simon, stop, please,” I pleaded as he moved his mouth to my neck and his hands moved to my jeans, fighting with the buttons.

“Yeah, that’s right. Fight me. I know you love that kinky shit.”

I fought against him, my heart racing in fear. Simon had always been a straight forward fuck kinda guy. He liked to be on top. I’d tried on more than one occasion to try something, more adventurous in the bedroom, but he’d always shut me down. He said he hated seeing me acting like a slut. He liked to be in control, and I hadn’t minded too much.

I loved him. He was sweet and attentive, and just because our sex life wasn’t exciting didn’t mean we couldn’t make our relationship work.

“Simon, stop!” I cried out as he forced his hands inside my pants finally.

He stopped suddenly, and I breathed a sigh of relief. “You’re not wet,” he growled softly. “Do you need it harder? Is that what a slut like you likes?”

His hand came to my throat, and I gasped as he applied pressure. My arms beat against his chest as he cut off my air.

It wasn’t working.

I could feel him hardening as he straddled my leg. I only had one option. I pulled my leg up between us as he sat over me, drawing my foot back and kicking with all the force I could muster, straight at his cock. He cried out in pain and fell to the side, onto the carpet.

Choking and spluttering, drawing in as much air as possible, I felt dizzy, the room was spinning. I knew I needed to move, run, but I couldn’t. Getting oxygen into my lungs was the only thing my body could do at that point.

“Ungrateful bitch!” Simon screamed, and suddenly there was a hand in my hair. He pulled and I screamed as my scalp burned. He dragged me off the sofa with a thump and began pulling me down the hallway as I scratched at the carpet and walls.

“Please stop! This isn’t you,” I cried out as tears streamed down my face. My mind couldn’t comprehend what was going on.

Who was this man?

He looked like the love of my life.

But inside, he had transformed into a monster.

He tossed me into the bedroom and I smashed my head against the bedside table.

“Take your clothes off and get on the bed,” he ordered, his voice dark and ominous. I saw through the blur of tears as he stripped off his shirt and began undoing his jeans. Simon was stronger than me, there was no chance of fighting my way out. There was only one way I was going to get out of this.

My hand slipped under the bed. I felt the cold metal of the gun in my hand and wrapped my hand around the handle. I brushed away the wetness in my eyes with my free hand and lifted the gun in front of me. “Get out,” I told him, my voice shaky but stern.

His eyes looked up, and a devilish smirk crawled onto his twisted face. “You gonna shoot your husband, Hadley? You’ll have the whole FBI come down on your ass.”

I moved the gun just slightly and pulled the trigger. A loud boom filled the room, and he ducked as splintered pieces of wall flew around us. “I’m a good shot.”

“I know. I taught you.” He was no longer smiling and for a moment, I wondered if this would be the last moments of my life. I wondered what the news headlines would say, or whether the government would cover it up to protect one of their own.

There was silence in the room for a long time before he slowly reached down and picked up his shirt off the floor, his eyes never leaving me, as if he was just waiting for me to make a mistake. But I wouldn’t. I followed his movements with the gun.

“This isn’t over,” he said quietly.

“Yes, it is. I don’t know who you are, but you’re not the man I married.”

He shook his head. “I’m going to be king. And you’ll be my queen.”

The way he spoke was like he couldn’t even hear what I was saying. He was in his own little world. Whatever was going on in his head it had taken over. There was no room for anything else.

“Get out.”

He walked backward toward the door, his eyes never leaving me for a second until he had disappeared. I held my aim there as I listened to his heavy footsteps move down the hall and the front door open and close.

The sound of a Harley started outside and took off at speed down the street, and only then did I let myself fall apart.

“Hadley?”

I startled and Skins grabbed my arm to steady me, a soft look in his eyes as he allowed me time to come around.

“Sorry,” I croaked, realizing that all the men were looking at me. “Yeah. He wanted me to go with him. He kept going on about him being king and me being his queen.”

I looked over to Leo, who frowned. “We need more info.”

Kit stepped forward. “Mansel might have some idea about the Shadow Syndicate. No gangs get by him unnoticed.”

I didn’t know who Mansel was, but Optimus nodded. “Get a hold of him now. We’ll finish this later.” Op banged his fist on the table and ordered everyone out.

I headed for my room, my stomach aching and turning. It was strange, but watching Simon walk out the door hadn’t exactly been upsetting. I was almost relieved, I guess. It’s a hard emotion to explain when you are just simply glad that things are over and done. Especially when, up to that point, there had never really been any sign that something was wrong.

At first, I wondered if drugs had gotten to him. Then I wondered if he’d been faking it, and this was his way of keeping me out of harm. But when Judge finally explained about how sometimes when people saw the benefits of the dark, they find it hard to return to the light. I understood.

He was never completely happy with his job. It didn’t give him the lifestyle he wanted. Not like he apparently had now.

I sighed, reaching out for my door handle. But before I could grasp it, a hand gripped my shoulder.

I didn’t turn.

I knew who it was.

“You wanna come for a ride?” he asked softly. His baritone filling the long empty hallway.

I pulled my hand back from the door and answered without even turning to face him, “Yes.”

“No bike?” Hadley asked as she followed me outside and across to my truck.

“I’ve got to pick up Macy from her aunts,” I answered, pulling open the door and climbing inside. She did the same on the passenger’s side and pulled her seatbelt across her.

“Her aunt have her a lot?”

I nodded as I started the engine and pulled out of the gates and onto the road. “More than she should, I guess. It’s hard for me. With club business, shit isn’t always planned, and a lot of the time we’re pulled in at the last minute for things.”

“What about the girls around the club? They help don’t they?” she asked.

“Can’t keep asking them to look after Mace. Chelsea and Rose have their own kids and men to worry about.” My brothers’ old ladies were supportive and helpful. But it was time to start taking responsibility for my girl, rather than relying on them every time I was stuck. As much as Carly and I had our differences, Macy was her niece, and she’d do anything for her. It was her only connection to her sister.

We pulled up to the big house and I turned to look at Hadley. She gave me a soft smile, and in that second I had to close my fist to stop myself from reaching out to touch her face. She was stunning. A natural beauty. She never wore a lot of makeup, and the clothes she wore were sexy in an understated way. She had on jeans with tears down the thighs that showed off slivers of tanned skin underneath. Those alone tempted me. My mind not satisfied with just a peek.

“Come on.” We both climbed out, and she joined me as we walked up the path. I lowered my voice. “Carly can be harsh when it comes to club girls. Just ignore her.”

Hadley didn’t say anything. I knew she’d be fine. Some of the girls felt like they needed to defend themselves when someone came at them with derogatory comments. Where others, like Hadley, were completely comfortable with who they were and didn’t care about others’ opinions of them or what they did. Those were the kind of girls who got a man’s attention.

No brother wants a bitch who he’s gonna have to spend half his time reining in, and coping shit from his brothers about his woman’s loud fucking mouth. We wanted a woman who knew when to shut up, and knew when to speak up.

I pushed through the door without knocking and called out, “Hello!”

“Kitchen!” came Carly’s reply.

Hadley pulled the door closed behind her and followed me down the hall to the kitchen area. Carly looked up when we entered, her eyes narrowing as Hadley stepped around me to my side.

“Carly, this is Hadley.”

Hadley gave a small wave and smile. “Nice to meet you.”

Carly didn’t respond. Instead, her eyes moved to me with a dark glare. “She a club whore?”

“Carly,” I growled sternly. “Don’t start.”

But she did. “What you do at that place is your business. But bringing them here to my home… around my kids? Are you mental?”

“Hadwee!” Macy’s small voice crowed as she bounced into the room and threw herself at Hadley.

“Hey, sweet pea,” Hadley cooed, kneeling down and tickling Macy’s chin.

“Come pway!” Hadley looked up at me, and I nodded.

She took Macy’s hand and let my little girl lead her away babbling on about things even I couldn’t understand through her excitement.

“You gotta be so rude?” I snapped as Carly went back to busying herself with a mixing bowl and a wooden spoon.

She scoffed. “This is my house, Leo. You bring a whore in here, and expect me to be polite and ask her how her day’s been?”

“If she’s with me, you can fucking respect her,” I told her sternly. “Hadley is a sweet girl and doesn’t deserve to be treated like shit. And Macy adores her. What if she heard you saying crap about her?”

Carly stopped stirring and looked up at me. “Jesus Christ, Leo. You aren’t falling for her, are you?”

The question stopped me in my tracks. Just as I was about to tell her no, my mind screamed out, you liar. I didn’t have to bring her with me to pick up Macy. I knew Carly would be a bitch about it, and she wasn’t one to hold back when it came to her opinion.

Optimus had put me in charge of Hadley’s safety, but he could have assigned the boys at the clubhouse to watch her. It actually would have been simpler, and possibly safer to do that than to drag her out with me. She would have been safe there. But something told me that I needed her with me, that I didn’t want my brothers watching her.

Or touching her.

If she was with me, away from the clubhouse, they couldn’t have her. Or use her body.

I clenched my jaw.

What the fuck was I doing?

“Hey, Mom? Can you come help me with this homework?” Denver called from the top of the stairs.

Carly continued to watch me curiously as she wiped her hands on her apron and took it off. “Don’t be an idiot, Leo.”

I didn’t reply, knowing that if I did, things could get ugly quickly. I let her leave, then went in search of the girls, wanting to get out of here as quickly as possible before I really lost my head.

I stopped outside the door to the family room, hearing voices giggle inside.

“We’re studying New Zealand for geography,” I heard Meyah say.

“Oh, I’ve been there, a couple years ago now,” Hadley answered cheerfully. “It really is beautiful.”

“Does it really look like the pictures?” Meyah asked curiously. “My teacher said that it probably doesn’t. They’re just marketing pictures and are always made to look nicer than it is so that people want to visit.”

I smiled at how comfortable their conversation seemed. It made me proud to know that Meyah hadn’t grown up with her mother’s prejudice toward others. I wasn’t sure why Carly was the way she was. She judged quickly and felt like she had to protect the people she loved from some kind of evil lurking outside their doors.

It had only become more intense since Kim died, and I knew Kim wouldn’t have liked seeing her lock herself away to the opportunities and life outside the small bubble she’d created.

“I got my first tattoo in New Zealand,” Hadley said, and my eyes brightened in surprise. I searched my memory, trying to figure out whether I’d seen a tattoo on her body. I thought I’d memorized every part of her, but obviously I’d missed something. My jeans tightened as I thought about discovering her all over again, covering her body and driving her crazy as I went in search for the mysterious tattoo.

“I really want to get a tattoo,” Meyah admitted. I frowned. “I always remember when Uncle Leo would come to visit. All his bright tattoos. They were so vibrant and beautiful...” she cleared her throat and lowered her voice, “…but since Aunt Kim died, they got so dark.”

I looked down at my arm. I had a full sleeve on one side. I’d started in just after I left the military and came home to Kim. There was a jungle at the top, bright flowers and leaves with a tiger bursting through.

Meyah wasn’t wrong. Over the last few years, I’d lost the passion that I once had for creating something beautiful, and I’d let my emotions take over, not thinking that I deserved or wanted to look down and see the striking colors that I once had. Instead, beneath my elbow was mostly colored in blacks and grays. There was a desert road with a signpost. But there were no names on the signs, no way of knowing which way to go, which way may lead back to happiness.

“Tattoos can mean a lot. Express how someone’s feeling, or something in their life they want to remember. Make sure you think hard about what you want. And maybe start off small,” Hadley explained to Meyah. “And don’t try to get anything before you’re eighteen. Because—”

“Then me and your mother would have to fight over who gets to strangle you first,” I finished, stepping into the room.

Hadley and Meyah both looked up at me and smiled. Macy was over in the corner playing with some dolls. “Come on, kid, let’s go.”

She began putting the dolls away happily as Hadley pushed off the sofa. Meyah followed, walking over to give me a hug. I frowned, wrapping my arms around her tiny frame. “You all right, kid?”

She nodded against my chest. “This is for you, not me.”

I smirked as she pulled back and looked up at me. “You think I don’t get enough hugs?”

She giggled. “I can’t imagine all you guys hang around the clubhouse and cuddle when someone’s upset.”

Hadley laughed. “You’d be surprised.”

Meyah’s eyes brightened. “Oh really.” She turned to Hadley and whispered, “Next time bring pictures.”

“All right now, that’s about enough from you two,” I said, scruffing Meyah’s hair and lifting Macy into my arms. “Tell your mom I said thanks, and I’ll see you guys later.”

I saw the conspiring look between the two girls as I followed them to the front door. “Nice to meet you,” Meyah said with a wave.

“You too, Meyah.” Hadley grinned back.

We piled Macy in the car and pulled out of the driveway.

“She’s a cool kid,” Hadley said as we drove down the road, Macy singing happily in the back seat.

I nodded. “She’s mature for seventeen. Got her head screwed on right.”

“Carly really doesn’t like the club? Or she just doesn’t like the girls?” Hadley asked curiously.

“Bit of both,” I answered. “She’s never been a fan. Thinks every guy is there to screw you over, and every girl who isn’t in a relationship is only around to steal other women’s men.”

Hadley sighed. “So in other words, she got fucked over before and hasn’t moved on.”

“Pretty much.”

“Maybe she needs to get laid.”

I laughed. “You think?”

She nodded enthusiastically. “Absolutely. Which of the boys do you think we could hook her up with?”

My laughter only got louder. “You want to hook her up with a brother?”

“The way I see it, they’re the only kind of men who could handle a woman with an attitude that big. Oh… Kev. He’s about her age.” Hadley went on to explain just how she would set them up together. I zoned out after a few minutes, not too much caring about what she was saying, but just enjoying the sound of her voice. I couldn’t help but smile, though.

It was easy with Hadley.

Macy loved her.

My brothers respected her.

She was strong and confident in who she was.

She didn’t need compliments or reassurance. She was just who she was, and she made no apologies for that.

Fuck.

Maybe Carly was right.

We pulled up to the clubhouse, but I kept the motor running. Hadley looked at me, the smile she’d had the whole way home dropping from her face. “You’re not coming in?”

I shook my head. “Can you watch over Macy for a bit? Any of the brothers come around, tell them I said you’re babysitting so they’ll have to come back later.”

Another excuse to keep the men away from her.

“I know I’m not meant to ask, ‘cause it’s none of our business. But where are you going?”

I cringed at her words. She’s right. Club girls don’t get to ask questions. But she had, and I’d answer her honestly. “Need to visit my wife.”

She nodded and quickly exited, gathering Macy and brought her around to the driver’s side window so I could give her a kiss and tell her I’d be back soon.

Macy was happy to go with Hadley, the bond they were forming was obvious. I swallowed tightly as I put the truck in reverse and pulled out. I needed to talk to Kim. My head was going crazy, and I just needed to let it all out. I needed her to hear me and give me some kind of sign that what I was feeling was okay. Because a few weeks ago, I could have never comprehended ever wanting to replace her in my life. Things weren’t perfect, but I was content.