Page 78 of Beast

Gaston’s smile slips, maybe because he can see I’m not cowering in his presence anymore. And that maybe, just maybe, I mean it.

His gaze burns across at me. “You hear that, Sheriff? My friend here just threatened to kill me.”

The sheriff takes off his hat. “She did? Funny, I didn’t hear her say a thing.”

A dark cloud passes over Gaston’s face. But he doesn’t say anything. He simply rips his gaze from me and stalks out of the store.

“Now do you want to tell me what happened?” the sheriff asks.

Annika picks up the box of cupcakes. “Like he said, Sheriff, ain’t nothing but fun and games.”

Taking my hand, she leads me out of the store.

CHAPTER 28

BELLE

Inside the car,Annika doesn’t start the engine immediately. She pauses before she looks across at me. “You okay?”

“Yes, but I’m not the one who got hit in the face.”

She reaches up and touches the bruise forming around the broken skin on her cheek. “It’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t look like nothing. We should get Priest to have a look at it when we get back to the clubhouse.”

“No need. Nothing a little ice and makeup can’t fix.” She puts the crumbled box of cupcakes on the back seat. “You did well in there. You might make a good old lady after all.”

“One fit for the president?”

She raises an eyebrow. “We’ll see. What you do next will determine that.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you tell Beast or don’t tell Beast about what just happened with Gaston.”

My eyes widen. “Of course I’m going to tell him.”

I want him to break Gaston’s face for it.

More than once.

“And it’s up to you, of course.”

“Aren’t you telling Ryder? Or your cousin, for that matter?”

“Neither of them need this on their plate right now. This is what being an old lady is all about. Protecting our men.”

“What do you mean?”

“Things are tense already. They both need to focus on what’s happening with the club. And Beast has to make a lot of decisions that carry an enormous amount of weight. Telling him about this will distract him. You’ve got to consider if this distraction is going to put him in harm’s way.”

“I want him to know.”

So he can set fire to Gaston.

Or do something equally as painful.

Maybe with a blowtorch.

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