Page 76 of Blackbeard
Leigh chewed her lower lip and glanced down at her hands, saying nothing.
“Hold on a second,” Kingpin said. “Were the Forsaken arrested?”
Torch made a noise of disgust, gesturing at Leigh.
“Yeah. Because of her. She showed the cop some video of us with the Makarovs, picking up the guns for delivery. It’s damning evidence and she just handed it over without even flinching. The cops nabbed everyone half an hour ago, and I’m the only one who got away.”
I glanced down at Leigh. She kept her gaze glued to the table.
Torch took a threatening step toward her. Before I realized what I was doing, I moved to block him. I put a hand on his chest, pushing him back.
“You turned on your ownfucking people,” Torch barked. “Was it worth it, sweetheart? How can you sleep at night? Knowing that you sold out your father because you couldn’t resist getting dicked down by the dude twice your age? Newsflash, Leigh, he’s not special. You could have opened your legs to any man—”
“Watch it,” I bit out.
“Fuck off, asshole,” Torch shot back. “Stay out of this.”
I crowded toward him. He stumbled back a few steps until he bumped into a table.
“That’s my wife you’re talking to. Watch. Your. Mouth.”
“Fine,” Torch said, shoving me in the chest. “If you want her, you can have her. She’s dead to us anyway.”
Leigh closed her eyes and her shoulders sagged. She turned her head away, swiping at her cheeks. I reached out automatically to comfort her, then snatched my hand back before I made contact.
No one spoke until the roar of Torch’s motorcycle disappeared into the night. Kingpin raised his eyebrows withan expectant glance, tipping his head toward Leigh. She was my responsibility, my wife, even though the contract technically didn’t exist anymore now that the Forsaken were in jail. My ring was still on her finger though.
“Why did you do it?” I asked.
Leigh swallowed, scrubbing at her palm with her thumb. After a moment, she lifted her gaze to look at me.
My heart stuttered. I could see it written all over her face, plain as day.
Leigh destroyed everything she knew.
For me.
Chapter eighteen
Leigh
The first blush of dawn touched the horizon with a rosy glow. I sat on the curb outside the Blackjacks clubhouse, shivering, my breath frosting in the chilly air. My blazer wasn’t substantial enough to provide any warmth, but I couldn't bear the tension inside anymore.
So I stayed here, knees huddled to my chest, watching the first cars trickle by for the morning commute as Brightwater began to wake up and start the day.
The squeal of metal hinges signaled someone had opened the clubhouse door behind me. I didn’t turn around as the tread of boots on the pavement came closer.
“Coffee?”
I tilted my head back, looking up at Blackbeard. He held out a steaming mug of black coffee. My throat tightened, so I didn’t say anything and simply accepted it, wrapping my hands around the warmth.
He settled on the curb beside me, stretching his legs out.
“It was a pretty ballsy move to impersonate a federal agent in front of two dozen cops,” he said.
I huffed a dry laugh.
“Marrying you was a ballsy move, too,” I replied.
