Page 91 of Devil's Dilemma

“It wasn’t rape. She consented.”

“I don’t fuckin’ think so,” puts in Red. Like Pyro, his face seems to be glowing, his freckles more pronounced. “We’re going to see you in court, fucker.”

“Bikers taking a cop to court?” he scoffs. He turns to look at one of his colleagues, who’s bravely descended the stairs. “I’ve said all I’m going to, now I’m taking my wife and we’re both going to walk out of this compound. You’re going to do nothing to stop me.”

“Not the last you’re going to hear about this,” Red warns him.

Out of the corner of my eye I see Clare’s taken her cue to stand. But she doesn’t walk to her man’s side, the man I had thought was mine. No, she stands just off to his left as if uncertain quite what to do.

Skull/Kris Cox/Donavan Jordan beckons her to him, but her eyes widen, and her head moves side to side. I have to feel sympathy for her. How many times has her husband gone away for months or years at a time? Has she been able to contact him at all? Surely, she must worry? His life is at risk if his role was ever discovered. Now she’ll have to live with the thought he may be being unfaithful too. How can she live with that knowledge?

That Skull could act like a biker and so successfully the Devils never suspected, again shows he’s not the man I thought I knew everything about.

Had Clare ever suspected that he’d been unfaithful while he was doing his job? That he might have to be to keep up appearances? Surely, he could have come up with an excuse of why he didn’t want to go with a girl?

I wish he had, then I wouldn’t be in this position.

From Clare’s reluctance to go to him, I think she’s realised she has a lot of thinking to do. I suppose you might be able to forgive a man for a one-night stand he couldn’t safely get out of, but to father a child with another woman?

Red puts himself between Clare and Skull and addresses himself to her. “You don’t have to go with him,” he suggests. “We’ve got no argument with you. If you need help, we can give it to you.”

Clare looks astonished. Her eyes widen, and her hand goes to her head.

“She’s coming with me,” Skull states angrily.

Clare looks from him to Red, then back again, then sighs. She eyes the mob of angry bikers with disdain in her eyes, then again shakes her head and finally steps closer to her man.

I watch them leave, hoping she’ll leave his lying sorry ass, but then, who knows what a woman will do? If I have my way, he’ll be arrested and charged. He’s destroyed my life and for nothing at all. If he’d found anything on the Satan’s Devils MC, surely warrants would have been issued already.

When he walks up the stairs and disappears from my sight, it’s anti-climatic.

It’s only then I’m aware of the tears streaming from my eyes.

“Church in half an hour,” Red announces. “Pyro, see to your woman.”

Pyro puts his arm around me. I push him away. My skin feels like ants are crawling all over me.How could I have been taken in by the man who’s just walked away from me and his baby without a backward glance?

It had been clear every word he’d ever said to me had been untrue.How could I ever trust anyone ever again?

Even Pyro.

Suddenly I don’t want any man to touch me.

“Don’t cry, Mel. Darlin’, let me comfort you. Babe…”

“No, Pyro. Leave me alone.”

“Mel, please. Let me hold you.”

“No!” Again I push him away. How could I believe even him? Skull,Donavan Jordan, had targeted me and seduced me, led me to believe it was me he wanted, me he had claimed. In the biker world that was as good as being married. Me. A thirty-four-year-old overweight woman. I’d been right all along; no man wantsme.

“Mel.”

“No. I want to be alone.” I turn abruptly. I don’t want to see, talk to anyone. I can feel the pitying glances from the men still milling around burning into me.

“Mel, sweetheart.” It’s Sparky. “Mel…” but his voice trails off as though there’s nothing he can say.

They’re probably wondering why I believed how a man like Jordan, or any man come to that, could want me.

---