Page 11 of No Turning Back
I come awake as a sharp pain slams into my chest and I can’t control my breathing. I roll to the side of the bed and stumble into the bathroom, barely making it before I throw up what little food is in my stomach.
When I’m finally done, I stand on shaky legs to rinse my mouth and wash my face. I look in the mirror and stare at the woman looking back at me. She isn’t the same woman I was a year ago. A year ago, I found out the man I was sleeping with was married. I found out he had been lying to me. I found out he was worse than I could have ever imagined. A year ago, my life changed irrevocably.
As I crawl back into bed, I know I’m not going to sleep well for the rest of the night. I toss and turn until I finally fall asleep again. My mind reruns every moment of the attack and every regret I carry.
Chapter Four
Poseidon
My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I set the cabinet I was getting ready to install down. My day job is working for Williamson Specialty Construction. We do specialized construction work. Right now, we are redoing a kitchen with custom cabinets and lower countertops for a client who is wheelchair bound. It’s jobs like this that help me forget the darkness I’ve seen or been a part of.
“Yeah,” I answer without looking at the screen.
“Hey, Poseidon, are you coming over tonight?” Aries’s voice comes across the line.
“Man, it’s Friday pizza night. Hell yeah, I’ll be there. Why are you calling to ask?” I chuckle into the phone.
“Wrenn wanted me to verify. She said to pick up a couple extra pizzas. It’s your turn to buy.”
“Anything special?”
“She said meat, and for sure one with mushrooms and meat.”
“Okay, an extra meat and mushroom.” I file away Wrenn’s concern about me coming over tonight. I brush it off, thinking she just wanted Aries to remind me it’s my turn to buy.
“See you at six.” He hangs up.
I chuckle as I think about where he was before in life and where he is now. Where I want to be. I want to have that, and I think I know who I want to have that with, but she gave me a run for my money the last time I had her.
Holding Sydney in my arms was the most at peace I’ve felt in a long time. I didn’t have any nightmares until after I woke and found she had taken off. Then the nightmares came. The memories. The pain. The explosions.
A few hours later I’m pulling my flat black Tacoma up to Aries and Wrenn’s house. I spot a few of the guys’ bikes in the drive, including my brother, Kit, or Hades to everyone else. I got the nickname Poseidon in SEAL training. When my brothers joined the Unknowns and the Drago Defiance MC, they were given their road names. Everyone said we had to be the big three. Their nicknames fit them.
I park along the street and walk around the hood. My eyes are immediately drawn to Sydney’s house.
I want to see her. I miss the way her body fits against mine. I miss her sassy mouth I would kill to kiss. I want to explore the feelings I have for her, but she ran from me.
Opening the door to the passenger side, I pull out all the pizzas and kick the door closed behind me before heading up the walk to the porch. I don’t knock. They’re expecting me. But the door opens before I can even grab the handle.
“You know where to put those.” Aries chuckles as I look around the living room.
Wrenn is sitting on the sofa holding a baby girl and playing with her. I don’t know who the kiddo belongs to, and I don’t focus on her as I make my way to the kitchen. I immediately stop when I step through.
Sydney is standing at the counter with her back to me in tight as fuck skinny jeans that show off her heart-shaped ass and long legs. I set the pizzas down and watch her for a moment. She struggles to get a cup down from the top shelf of the cupboard. Her small frame is up on a single tippy toe as she strains to reach it. I notice she isn’t using her other foot. The ankle isn’t even flexed, as if it can’t do it.
“Here, let me help you.” I walk up behind her.
She spins so fast and cries out. Her hands come up in a defensive position, and I grit my teeth as I try not to read into what this shows. I’ll kill the man who hurt her.
“It’s okay, spitfire, it’s just me. Let me help you.”
I reach up and grab the cup she was reaching for. My body dwarfs hers as I cage her in against the counter. My cock lengthens behind my fly as she sighs and looks up at me through her thick, long lashes. Her green eyes are rimmed with dark circles she’s trying to hide with makeup, but I can see them up this close. I set the cup down and slowly raise my hand to her cheek. My thumb rubs at the slight discoloration.
“We need to talk, baby.” My voice is gruff, and her body trembles, not in fear, though. Thank fuck. I pull her by the waist toward me.
“We can’t. Now isn’t a good time, and I have nothing to say except thank you.”
“We have a lot to discuss. Like what are you doing Sunday?”
