Wayward Soul (10 page)

Chapter Seventeen

I was almost asleep when I hear something slam into my front door. The wood splinters and the door flies open, slamming against the wall. Startled, I jump up and hide in the closet. I can hear men yelling in the living room, but I don
’
t dare see who
’
s out there. I turn my phone on and search for Gunner
’
s name. Hitting CALL, I stick the phone to my ear and wait for him to answer. He always answers when I call, so when it goes straight to voicemail, I start to freak out.

Sitting on my closet floor, I rock myself. I pray that no one finds me and that they just leave.

I wish I hadn
’
t ended things with Gunner. If we were still together, he would be here if we were still together.I hear something hit the floor and footsteps come towards my bedroom. The door opens and the smoky voice freaks me out.

“
Hey, sweetheart. I
’
m Beau. I
’
m a member of the Wayward Saints. Gunner had me and a prospect keep an eye on you tonight. Are you okay?
”
My whole body is shaking. How do I know I can trust him? What if he is one of the guys from the other night?
“
If you don
’
t believe me, call one of the guys in Vegas. Our guys are on a run, but I know you trust the guys there. They will confirm who I am.
”

Grabbing my phone off the floor, I dial Dom
’
s number. When he picks up, I feel a little bit relieved.
“
Hey, Case. What
’
s up?
”
he says in his signature drawl.

“
Is there a member named Beau out here in Seattle?
”
I say quietly.

I hear him say something to someone in the background before he gives me an answer.
“
Yeah, Case. There is. Why?
”

Do I tell him the truth? Or do I just lie about what happened? Before I can say anything, he tells me not to lie to him.
“
He
’
s at the apartment. I think someone tried to break in. I
’
m just scared to trust him unless he
’
s really who he says he is.
”

I hear him murmur something to someone, then he tells me to hold on a second. A few seconds later, I hear another phone ring.
“
Hey, Brant. Yeah, I
’
m at the apartment. Someone broke the door down, but a prospect and I were here. Things are handled. I just want to make sure she
’
s okay.
”

It gets silent again, then Dom gets back on the phone.
“
Case, he
’
s okay. You can go out there. If you need anything, call me. Is Anslie there?
”

She obviously didn
’
t tell him about moving and getting married, so I just make up a story about her being out tonight. We say our goodbyes and I make my way out of the closet.

I slowly walk towards the man standing in the middle of my bedroom. The first thought I have is that he is fucking hot! I don
’
t understand how there are so many hot men in this MC. Why can
’
t I find a nice boy that is hot?

I spend more than enough time looking over his body before I look up into his eyes. I see the smirk on his face and I want to smack him. Bikers are so cocky.
“
What are you doing here?
”
I snarl.

He laughs.
“
Is that how you treat someone who just saved your life?
”

I don
’
t want to be a bitch, but I
’
ve been a wreck the last few days and this is the only way I can cope at the moment.
“
No one told you to save me,
”
I grit out.
“
Where is he?
”

Beau looks at me with a weird expression. He probably didn't expect me to be mad. He doesn
’
t respond to my question, so I dial Gunner again. It goes straight to voicemail and I let out a string of curses.

This causes the biker to smile even more. He tells me he has to meet back at the house for church, but there is a prospect still here. He also tells me he will take the guy who broke in with him. I nod. Curious, I follow him out into the living room and see the guy lying on the floor. He
’
s tied up and has blood dripping down his face. I look at his face to see if I recognize him, but I have no luck.

Once they get the guy off my floor and out into the van, the prospect comes back inside and sits on my couch. I can
’
t help but stare at him. He looks familiar, but I
’
m not sure why.

I turn on the TV and sit back on the couch. Thirty minutes into it, I finally figure it out.
“
We were in English class together a couple of years ago,
”
I blurt out.

He turns and cocks his head to the side to look at me. I can
’
t help but look away under his intense gaze.
“
Yeah, I suppose we were,
”
he says with a small smirk.

We sit in silence for another twenty minutes before I say anything else.
“
What made you join the MC?
”

He looks at me, then back at the TV. He
’
s quiet for a few minutes.
“
Because, unlike you, I don
’
t get everything handed to me. I
’
ve had a shit life and I
’
ve finally found somewhere I belong. These guys don
’
t judge me or talk down to me. They treat each other like a family and that
’
s what I want.
”
I regret saying anything.

Chapter Eighteen

When I finally get to Casey's, I see the door is still broken, so I make a call to get someone to fix it. Walking into the room, I see the prospect talking to her. Instantly, I see red. I don't want any other man talking to my girl. Making my way inside, I clear my throat and both of their heads snap in my direction. Casey looks like a fish out of water. Her mouth just opens and closes until she finally just keeps it closed. The prospect, Josh, doesn't even flinch. He either wants my girl, or he is going to make a great brother one day.

Casey slowly gets up from the couch and stares at me. She looks upset. I'm too focused on her facial expression to register that she
’
s coming towards me, her hand flying towards my face. The slap is loud and my head jerks to the side. Josh doesn't even bother to move. I grab her by the arm and drag her into the bedroom.

Once we get inside and shut the door, she rips her arm out of my grip and spins to face me. Pointing her finger in my chest, she starts to yell, "Fuck you, Gunner! This is all your fault. That guy only came after
me
because of
you
! You made me part of something I don't want to be part of. How could you? My door is broken, and I have members of the Wayward Saints in and out of my apartment. I just want my life back. Why are you even here? Didn't you hurt me enough yet?" Tears are starting to fall down her face.

Her fists are balled up and she looks like she's about to swing at me. Even though her huffing and puffing is quite cute, she
’
s upset and she has every right to be. It
is
my fault those guys came after her, but she needs to know I will always protect her whether we are together or not.

"Beauty, I know you're mad right now, but I would never put you in harm's way on purpose. You mean the fucking world to me and I will always make sure you
’
re protected. I made sure my guys were watching your place. I'm here because I care about you and want to make sure you
’
re okay."

Her lip trembles and I know she's going to cry even more, so I pull her to my chest. She tries to fight me, but I wrap my arms around her. I whisper in her ear, "No matter what happened between us, you will always be under the protection of the club." I can feel her body tremble and her tears are soaking my shirt. I hate I'm always the one making her cry. Maybe ending things between us really is the right thing to do. I just want her to be happy.

We stand like this for a little bit before I hear voices and something drop on the floor in the other room. Must be one of the prospects that's supposed to be fixing the door. Casey
’
s trying to look over my shoulder, but I keep blocking her. Her tears are starting to dry up and she doesn't look as upset. She rests her head on my chest and I can feel her take a deep breath.

"Case, I just want you to be happy. I hope you know that." She nods against my chest.

Josh comes and knocks on the door, making her jump out of my arms. "Gunner, the door's almost done. You want us to get one of the guys to set up an alarm?"

She shakes her head, so I tell him once it's done, they can leave. He nods his head and says good-bye to Casey. I want to break his neck for even talking to her.

Her voice cracks when she speaks again, "Gunner, this doesn't change anything." I kiss her head and pull away, seeing tears running down her face. I kiss her lips and walk out the door.

I spend the next few nights drowning in booze at the house. The club whores are slinking around me, but don't actually come near me because I flipped out on one of them the other night.

She wasn't my beauty and I didn't want her touching me. My brothers seem to be keeping their opinions to themselves, which is good for them. The first one of them to open his big mouth will get his face beat in.

I've been sitting at the bar all day when Johnny finally comes up. "Hey, fucker. You done wallowing yet, or are you still being a bitch?" he says, smacking my shoulder.

"Fuck you!" I slur, trying to get up from my stool. I start to fall, but he steadies me.

"Fuck, Gunner. You
’
re sloshed. Let's get you to your room before one of these bike bunnies tries to rape you."

I can't help but laugh. "You and I both know I probably couldn't get it up anyway,
”
I say, holding onto him.

He leads me to my room and pushes me onto my bed. I hear the door close, but I don't even bother looking up. Fuck. Even my bed smells like her.

Before I know it, I'm passed out.