Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 231(@200wpm)___ 185(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
She doesn’t say anything. I don’t know if that is good or bad. I take my phone out and exhale. “My room—well, all the officer’s rooms have a camera in them. The footage goes to our private server, so we’re the only ones who see it. It was done so we can make sure no one breaks in and plants shit. I know it sounds weird, but our club hasn’t exactly had a great run lately, and we deemed it necessary. I just want you to watch this. Okay?”
She still doesn’t say anything, but when I hold the phone out, she doesn’t move, so I hit play on the app. Together we watch as the scene unfolds, and I can feel Izzy calm a little. I spare a glance at her, but she’s staring at my phone intently. It proves everything I just said, but I don’t speak a word until it reaches the end.
She watches as Savage manhandles the bitch, and she finally confesses I never touched her. Then, she actually offers up her pussy to Savage. God, Grifter is right. Club whores aren’t worth the time. This one could have cost me my woman. When I look at her face, I worry that she already has.
“Do you believe me now?” I ask, my voice hoarse—fear growing stronger inside of me when she continues not to speak.
“Will you uncuff my hands, please? It’s starting to hurt,” she asks. It’s only then I can see the tears falling down her cheeks.
I get out of her back seat and go to her door and undo the cuffs. Before I can go around to the passenger side, she’s pushing to get out. I let her, not wanting to upset her more. I keep her hands in mine, kissing the inside of her wrists where the cuffs were, while rubbing her warm skin against my fingers. I just need a connection with her.
“Talk to me, baby,” I beg.
“I believe you, Caleb, and I appreciate you showing me the video.”
“I’d do anything for you. I needed you to see for yourself that I didn’t touch that fucking crazy bitch.”
Izzy leans up on the tips of her toes, placing a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”
It’s a sweet move, but there suddenly feels like an impenetrable wall around her, and that has my blood running cold.
“Isolde—”
“How did you get the black eye?”
“Your father and brother are pretty good with their fists. I figure they’re the ones that trained you.”
She gives me a sad smile. “Yeah.”
“Baby—”
“I believe you, but it just doesn’t matter, Caleb.”
“How can you say that! Of course it matters.”
She steps away from me, putting space between us. “No, it doesn’t. I learned something through all of this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a reason I never wanted a relationship with a biker. It’s not the life I wanted. I don’t want to wade through half-naked women to find my boyfriend or husband. Even if he’s not touching them, he’s there with them. I don’t want my daughter to walk into a scene like that and find her dad fighting off some skank who thinks she can put her hands on her father and have him. I don’t want my son to see that life and think it’s okay to treat his woman like that.”
“Isolde, that’s not what the life is about. That’s not what I’m about since I met you.”
“I know, but you were once, and happy to live that way. I don’t want my future son to be the same. I don’t want to create a life and a family with you. I can’t trust it. Who’s to say you won’t wake up someday and discover that having a wife who works long shifts and weird hours in a hospital isn’t worth what you gave up? Or that having a wife and kids is a bad trade-off for your party days?”
“I would never—”
“Maybe you wouldn’t, but maybe you would, Caleb. The pain I felt when I thought you betrayed me nearly destroyed me. What happens when I’ve invested more into us as a couple, when I open my heart to you completely and this love that I feel gets deeper, more meaningful? It would kill me.”
“You love me?” I ask, grasping onto the first thing that means the most to me.
“It doesn’t matter anymore. I want you to be happy, Caleb. I just don’t think I’m the woman meant to bring that joy into your life. We’re just too different.”
Before I can respond, she’s kissing me. I take the kiss and try to pour everything I can into it. I want her to feel how precious she is to me. I want her to know that I love her completely.
When we break apart. I can already see she’s receded to a place I can’t reach. Izzy is on overload. It’s going to kill me, but I need to give her some space. I know it, but I hate every second of it.