Page 51 of Ruined

She audibly swallowed, pain flashing across her face. I gritted my teeth. “You never sawme, Tristan,” she quietly told him, sounding broken. “You saw the girl you wanted me to be. You only saw who I was before you ruined me on my eighteenth birthday.” His face shattered, revealing the broken man beneath his mask. The man all of us knew he would be without her. Her bottom lip trembled. “Please, Tristan, if you love me, you won’t kill him.”

With that, she reached up and trailed the tips of her fingers over my jaw before she strode out of the warehouse, trusting Tristan to make the right decision for her.

She had a hell of a lot more faith in him than I did.

Tristan’s eyes met mine. I was blown away by how shattered he looked. But this shit? It was his own fault. I didn’t feel bad for him at all.

“You’re banished from my fucking club, River.” I had figured as much. Not like I wanted to stay anyway. “You’ve got twelve hours to pack your shit, turn in your cut, and get the fuck out ofmy town. The only reason I’m not putting a bullet through your traitorous heart is because Addy cares about you, and I won’t hurt her more than she already is.” He looked toward the doors she had disappeared out of. “I’ve fucked her up enough as it is.”

With that, he turned on his heel, disappearing into the office inside of the warehouse.

Joey looked at me, and he heaved a sigh as he shoved his hands into his pockets. “I fucked up with her numerous times, River. That woman… she has a fucking heart of gold. Love her like she’s always deserved to be loved.” He drew in a deep breath. “She’s going to fight you at first. The woman loves me more than she probably should, and she’s going to do her damnest to try not to completely betray the love she feels for me, but I talked to her. Tried to talk her into letting me go.”

So that was why she’d come in looking a mess.

“She’ll always hold you with her, Joey,” I told him. He sighed as if he knew that, too. “I can bear that, and I can bear her love for you.” I shrugged my cut off my shoulders, holding it out to Jesup. He nodded once at me. I was surprised to see a prideful glint in his eyes as he took my cut, almost as if he were proud of me for finally standing up for what I believed in. I looked back at Joey. “But as long as you make her happy, I don’t give a fuck how long she holds you with her, even if that’s the rest of her life.”

With that, I strode out of the warehouse so I could go pack my shit and get the fuck out of Sons of Death’s territory.

I threw my duffel bag onto the back of my bike and strapped it down, ignoring the sound of the pounding music from the clubhouse behind me. Tristan hadn’t come back to the clubhouse yet, probably staying away until he got the word that I was gone.

Adelaide had disappeared from the warehouse before I had left, and I had only received a single text from her telling me she was safe and that she would see me before I left. But she wasn’t there yet, and I didn’t want to wait around any longer just in case Tristan changed his mind about sparing my life.

I straddled my bike, getting ready to strap my helmet to my head when I noticed a slim figure walking through the gates to the clubhouse, her arms wrapped around herself. Those beautiful, brown eyes that I loved so much locked on me. “Leaving?” she softly asked as she drew closer.

“Got to,” I informed her as she continued making her way over to me. “Grim’s orders.”

“I’m sorry.”

I grabbed her hips, pulling her closer to me. Her hands settled over my shoulders. I slid my arms around her waist, drawing her between my knees as I propped my ass on my bike seat. “Don’t be. I’ve been dying to have a taste of you since you came back from Joey’s club,” I admitted. “I’ll never regret anything that happened between us, darlin’.”

“Where are you going to go?” she asked, reaching up to run her thumb over the stubble on my jaw.

I shrugged. “Wherever the road takes me, I guess,” I told her. But I had a feeling I would be going back home. Home to Texasand to the club I was born and raised in before family shit drove me away.

“You’ll take care, right?” Her eyes ran over my face, shiny with more unshed tears. Today was the most I’d ever seen this woman cry.

I reached up to cup her cheek. “Always, darlin’.”

She leaned down and pressed her lips to mine. I deepened the kiss for a moment, wanting this with her one last time. I knew she and I were destined to be together, but I had to be patient. She would come to me when it was time. And I knew when that time came, she would find me without even meaning to.

After a moment, I released her, strapping my helmet to my head as she stepped back from me, wrapping her arms back around herself.

“Live for me,” I told her as I started up my bike.

She swallowed thickly, tears sparkling in her beautiful, brown eyes. “Always,” she promised.

I peeled out of the lot, leaving the last bit of my happiness behind with her.

But I knew she would find her way to me when the time was right.

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