Page 25 of The Sentinels

Someone cleared their throat. I looked over at Ruby, not liking the knowing smirk that I saw on her beautiful face. The expression in her eyes said that I wasn't fooling her. I returned her smirk, knowing that she was only looking for confirmation of her suspicions. Crossing my arms, I planted my feet apart in a stance that would warn anyone else not to mess with me.

"What about Emerson?" Ruby inquired, looking directly at me.

"What about Emerson? She's not an old lady." I turned fully toward Ruby, putting Emerson out of my line of sight.

She pressed her lips in annoyance. "Well, maybe she should be." There was a tinge of irritation in her tone, and my brows shot up at that. I sensed a fight coming on. "She's part of the MC, Ace."

"She's an employee—"

"Of the MC," Ruby said stubbornly, crossing her arms.

"Baby--" She swung toward Tanner with a tiny huff. "Ace is right, and you know the rules. Emerson will be okay."

"Then why do we have to leave?"

"Yeah, why do we have to go?" Della asked directly after Ruby.

It grew quiet. Questioning Tanner's decisions didn't usually end well. Skipper wrapped an arm around Della and yanked her against the front of him, whispering something growly into her ear. Della stiffened, but remained quiet.

Tanner crossed his arms and faced his wife, a look of grim determination on his expression. "I'm not going to go into the rules of the MC, baby. The decision has been made to send you away, and that's what's going to happen. Now I suggest you get your cute little ass inside and pack up so you and the kids can get on the road."

I could tell that Ruby wanted to argue with Tanner, but her silence in the face of his firmness revealed that she knew it would be a lost cause. Her gaze shifted to me. I raised my arms. "Don't look at me, honey."

Della opened her mouth, but Skipper quickly slapped his hand over it. "Not a word, baby," he growled in warning.

"You're the club enforcer," Ruby began.

"Which has nothing to do with anything," I returned, casting a look around the group. Five of my brothers were clustered in their own little circle, smoking and talking, and probably thanking fuck that they didn't have women to deal with. Those who had women were standing protectively by their sides, but it was clear that they agreed with Tanner's decision. Besides, we'd already voted on it. My eyes eventually came back to Ruby in time to see her shrug.

"I'm just worried about her, Ace. She's become part of our family."

I shook my head. "Nope. None of the brothers have claimed Emerson. She means nothing—"

“Ace—“

Ruby’s warning came too late. A sharp gasp alerted me that Emerson had come up behind me. I swung around. Fuck! She looked crushed, and there was no doubt that she'd overheard what I'd said. The moisture in her eyes revealed that I'd hurt her, yet I had to admire her strength in the way she squared her shoulders. I could tell that she'd misunderstood the meaning behind my words, and I opened my mouth to explain before she jumped to conclusions.

"Emerson—"

She held up her hand. "Don't! I think you've said enough, don't you?" She and Ruby exchanged a look. Emerson took a deep breath, and I knew that she was going to give it to me. "You're an asshole, Ace. I just never knew how much until now. You have a lot of nerve saying that I'm nothing when I've been sucking your dick for the last six months."

Sharp gasps followed Emerson's outburst, and suddenly everyone's attention was quiet and solely on us.

"I guess I was something then, right? But now that I've cut you off I'm nothing! Well, that's your fault, you big jerk! We could have had something, Ace. I kept holding out hope that you'd see me as something more, but you need to give a woman a little something extra than just your cock! Not one kiss, Ace. In all the months I let you drag me out back. Not one touch, intimate or otherwise, to let me know that I was more to you than just a mouth taking care of your needs."

More gasps sounded, out but I ignored every fucking one of them, anger like I'd never known before turning my blood into a fucking inferno. I took a threatening step toward her, aware that a brother had put a hand on my arm to stop me. With a tight jaw and my eyes narrowed in anger, I glanced at Gabe, gritting out through my teeth, "Get your fucking hand off me, brother. I'm not going to touch her."

A bark of laughter that sounded nothing like humor escaped Emerson. "That's the truth." Our eyes clashed. "Unless it's my dick in his mouth," she finished bitterly.

I lost it then, snapping, "You never turned down the money though, did you?!"

Several gasps sounded out.

"Ace!" There was censure in Ruby’s tone, warning me that I'd gone too far.

Emerson ignored her and rushed toward me, shoving me hard in the chest, so hard that it caused me to stumble back. "You asshole! The money was your fucking idea, not mine!" I braced myself when she shoved at me again. "You don't deserve me!" Emotion cracked her voice, and it was apparent that she was fighting between anger and crying.

Christ, she was right.

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