Page 2 of More Bite than Bark

A moment later someone tapped on the microphone, sending a dull thump through the sound system before they spoke.

“We’d like to thank everyone for coming tonight, the bride is almost ready so at this time, we’d like to invite all our guests to take their seats.”Hex didn’t recognize the voice and assumed it was someone from the band that would be playing later.

He made his way to the rows of chairs, planning to find one in the back, preferably in the corner, so he could see as little as possible.What he hadn’t counted on was Mother.

She seemed to appear out of nowhere, hooking her arm in his and all but dragging him to where she wanted to sit.That’s how he ended up sitting one seat in from the aisle, way too close to the front.He wanted to get up and move, but Mother’s hand on his leg stopped him.Not seeing any other option he drank the last of the campaign from his glass and set it under his chair to retrieve later, then leaned back and focused on slow deep breaths.

He could get through this.He’d survived people throwing grenades that landed close enough he’d been hit by shrapnel.He’d been shot at.He’d killed.All he had to do today was sit still for an hour and keep his mouth shut.Somehow he already knew it was going to be that last one that was the hardest.

The music changed and everyone stood.Hex couldn’t stay seated without drawing attention that would only make Mother angry, so he stood beside Mother, his body facing the aisle, just like her, but his mind flicked back to the night a couple of months before when Elle had shown up at his door.Neither had been completely sober.Hex had let her in, they’d drank more and talked for a while, then their clothes had come off and they hadn’t talked anymore.

He'd known for a long time he’d wanted Elle as more than a friend, but that night, or more accurately, the next morning, he realized she was the only one he wanted.

But she hadn’t called after their night together.And she hadn’t answered when he called, nor returned them.

Then he’d received the invitation.He’d been tempted to find another woman.Hell, he could have gone to Savage Angels, the strip club the Savage Warriors owned and ran.The girls were clean, and they weren’t allowed to sleep with the customers.The Warriors might not be the most upstanding citizens in Wilmer, but there were things they didn’t condone, and prostitution was one of them.Still, if he’d gone over to the club, one of the girls would have offered to help him relieve a little pressure.

There was a reason he’d stayed away.Even the thought of one of the Angels touching him made his stomach churn.

The music continued, but the tempo changed, drawing his attention back to the here and now.His mother had made sure he’d had the education to know they’d been playing Pachelbel’s “Cannon in D”, while everyone took their seats, now as it changed, he knew Elle would appear soon, as Wagner’s “Bridal Chorus” began.

He wished he could just walk out.If it wasn’t him she was going home with, he didn’t want to watch her commit herself to anyone.But that was his problem.He was here and he couldn’t just leave.Well, he could, but he’d be paying for it for years to come.Hex kept his gaze on his hands, one clasping the other in front of him, as he waited.

Murmurs spread through the audience.The back of Hex’s neck itched.He ached to twist around and look for whoever was watching him, but he remained still.He locked his joints and did his best to remain as still as possible.He didn’t want to draw anyone’s attention.While he might not want to be here, this was Elle’s day.He wouldn’t steal that from her.

After what seemed like an hour and a half, but was under five minutes in reality, a man Hex recognized as the pastor from the church he’d grown up attending thanked everyone and asked them to be seated.

Hex sat, sliding back in the seat and wishing he was wearing jeans and boots instead of this damned tux.Just one of many reasons he wanted to get out of here.Shifting to get comfortable, he let his gaze scan the room, looking for where the itching on the back of his neck was coming from.At least he started to.He froze when his gaze landed on Elle.

She stood in front of at least two hundred guests, staring up at the man she’d agreed to marry, with a look he recognized as resignation.This wasn’t what she wanted.He knew that as well as he knew his own name, both of them.

Chapter Two

Elizabethstoodhandinhand with Michael, looking up at him and knew she couldn’t go through with this.She didn’t love him.The child she carried, that no one but her knew of, wasn’t his.But how?

How had she let things get this far?Granted, she’d only confirmed her suspicions.But instead of going to Michael and explaining then, she’d done as everyone instructed and had gotten ready for here and now.She couldn’t do this, she knew.Her hands shook and she glanced out at the guests, the people who had come here to watch her get married.

Some of them would be disappointed, Mama certainly, but it wasn’t until she spotted one face that she knew what to do.What she had to do.She lowered her gaze for a moment as she steeled her resolve to keep her head up no matter what anyone said.She could do this.

“I’m sorry,” Elizabeth whispered as she met Michael’s gaze.

He frowned slightly, as if wondering what she was talking about.

“I’m so sorry,” she said a little louder, before pulling he hands from his.She turned to Pastor Winterborn.“I’m sorry.I can’t do this.”She turned to face the guests.“I can’t do this,” she said loud enough for everyone to hear, though her eyes never left one face.

As soon as she stopped speaking, she looked down, picked up her skirts, and hurried back down the aisle.A quick stop in the dressing room for her handbag and she went to her car and got the hell out of there.First things first, she had to get away from here.Away from the mistake she’d almost made, but where could she go?

Not home.Michael had a key to her place, and she wasn’t ready to talk to him.Not yet.Would she have time to stop and get clean clothes?She wondered for a moment as she drove aimlessly, her only goal was to put some distance between herself and everyone else, between herself and the church, between herself and Mama.Elle wasn’t sure which would be a bigger drama, Michael or Mama, and she wasn’t ready to handle either, not yet.

Give her a little time to settle her nerves and to think a little, then she’d talk to them.She was an adult, despite how things might look right now.Yes she was running, but it was just until she could figure things out.She should have done this as soon as those two pink lines appeared this morning.

Screw it.It wasn’t like money was tight.She made a good living.If she wanted to stay in a motel for a couple of days, she could buy new clothes for the time too.She could head toward that little town where Kevin had gone.Wait.He didn’t go by Kevin anymore.He went by Hex now.She needed to remember that.Anyway his town was only about half an hour away.She assumed he’d go home afterward, with home being so close, why wouldn’t he?She didn’t know if there was anywhere to stay out there, but she could find something on the way if she needed to.

She was about halfway there when she yawned.She needed to find somewhere to stop soon.She was exhausted, and not just from the wedding prep all day, but the secret she’d been worrying about at the same time.That had worn her plumb out.

When she spotted a sign for a hotel, she pulled in and parked in the closest space before grabbing her handbag and heading inside.

It only took her a few minutes to secure a room and get a key.She ignored the raised eyebrows and curios looks as she picked up the hem of her dress and headed for the elevator.