Page 21 of Petty's Crime

I glance at his face to see he’s gone pale, and it’s not hard to imagine the reason why. If he hadn’t been entering cautiously to check the house out, we might both have walked in completely oblivious there were unwelcome guests in the house. I might have sat on the couch, or my bed, or… Sweat covers my body as implications go through my mind.

I know that if treatment is received quickly enough, rattlesnake bites aren’t normally fatal, but they can be very unpleasant. Apart from that, the idea of being so close to those slithery creatures has my skin crawling.

Saul’s upped the stakes now.He freaking knows how much I am afraid of them.

Suddenly I lurch away from Roller, bending double, I vomit the contents of my stomach up onto the ground.

Then he’s there, scooping up my hair and holding it back. “I’m so damn sorry. I did try to warn you.” His words though sound like they’re as much for himself as for me.

He had. I could have gone back to the car and waited for him and wouldn’t have been confronted with them. But he’d still have to have told me that snakes had invaded my house. And imagining that would have been equally as bad as seeing.

Roller’s comforting hand is moving up and down my back. With his free one, he hands me a wad of tissue to wipe my mouth.

“Better?”

While I still feel nauseous, I don’t feel like I’m going to hurl anymore. I straighten, and avoid looking behind me. “What am I going to do about them?” I ask in a shaky, needy voice, so unlike my own. Right now, I want to burn my house to the ground. Then I think of all the mementos I’ve got inside, and don’t want to take such drastic action. But snakes…

He grimaces. “I’ll get some of the brothers here. We’ll search the house and make sure we get rid of them.”

But what if one’s left? What if it comes slithering out in the middle of the night? What if it gets into my bed…

“I can’t stay here,” I sob, hating that I’ve turned into such a pathetic woman, but snakes really are my Achilles’ heel.

He looks at me, then back at the house, then wipes a hand over his face. “Don’t fuckin’ blame you,” he says quietly as if to himself. Then louder, he says, “I’m gonna call Red. Tell him what we’re dealing with. You wait in the car, okay?”

CHAPTEREIGHT

Petty

Ihave mixed feelings about how Britney got on with my brothers in the club last night. They’d all seemed to have taken to her and she appeared to fit in well. But it bothered me that she portrayed the persona that had originally drawn me in. I’d caught glimpses of the woman I’d first met, and the behaviour that made me want to marry her.

It had taken time and distance to realise I’d been sucked in with an image that wasn’t real. Even when she’d shown her true self, I couldn’t accept that I’d been so deceived, and looked for reasons within myself, and not within her. No man wants to admit to being a fool.

I’d made so many excuses for her.

My older self recognises that I proposed in haste because I knew I was going to be posted back overseas and didn’t want anyone else to have her. Seeing her around my brothers last night had reminded me how I’d been conned into thinking she was someone she wasn’t.

When we’d left, she’d made a show of saying her goodbyes, blowing air kisses to Cher and promising to meet up with her. She was smiling, laughing, looking like she had no cares in the world. But when we exited the door, it was like a switch being thrown.

As we got into the SUV, I’d braced myself for sarcastic comments about the club and my way of life, but whether it was because she remembered which side her bread was buttered, any such thoughts she’d kept to herself, though her stiff posture and the look of disdain she threw back as we drove through the gates spoke volumes.

When we arrived at the apartment, it was as awkward as fuck. There was only one bed and unless I wanted to sleep on the floor, I was going to have to share it with her.

On the pretext of making a call, I went outside while giving her time to do her nightly routine and get under the covers, then returned and took my turn in the bathroom. I told myself I’ve sometimes shared a bed with Roller when we visited other clubs, and hadn’t even felt odd about the necessity. It shouldn’t be much different with the stranger who was once my wife. As with my friend, I took off my tee, but stayed in my jeans.

But when I got into bed, she made sure to let me see she was wearing next to nothing, and it seemed like she had certain expectations. Even though she’d made so much effort, she was out of luck. My dick didn’t so much as twitch.

Then her hand started to wander and reached my groin. “I can help you with that,” she murmured seductively as she’d felt my limp cock, rubbing it through the denim.

My stomach actually roiled at the thought of getting intimate, and I lifted her hand off. “Not tonight.”

“Oh, come on, for old times’ sake if nothing else.” She’d tried to snuggle closer. “It’s been a long seven years for me.”

My ungenerous thought was she might have lacked for cock, but I’m sure she’d seen some dyke action while she was inside. Not that she’d have been anyone’s bitch, but I’m sure she’d have had someone do favours for her.

“No,” I repeated, firmly.

But she didn’t get the message. Her hand started to explore again and tried to pull down the zipper of my jeans. Instead of arguing further, I’d rolled out of the bed, slipped my tee back on and left to go sleep on the floor I’d rejected before.

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