Page 65 of Stone
I need to show her that I do love her, and I was trying to save her from me.
I sigh and press my lips against her forehead.
I can’t believe I was going to let her walk away, that I signed those fucking papers! What the fuck is wrong with me?
My phone buzzes, and I grab it before it wakes Rose, and answer it, seeing it’s Doc.
“Yeah?” I answer quietly, but not quietly enough, as Rose gently looks up at me and frowns.
“I’m engaged,” Doc admits, and Rose, hearing it, freezes while I tense. He continues, “I know you don’t agree with it, fuck, I don’t agree with it, I can’t stand the woman but it’s for the club,” he sighs, “The cops were at the club again, threatening to barge in if we didn’t let them in and I had to call the chief who is now investigating his team. I have to do this Cage…”
“No, Asher, you don’t. All you have to do is get something on the senator and you’re golden,” I murmur back.
“It’s already done, Cage, the news will break tomorrow in the papers, I just thought you should know.” He says quietly, and Rose’s eyes widen in shock before he says, “Go look after Rose brother, I’ll see you tomorrow evening in church to discuss our next moves.”
He hangs up, and I shake my head and mutter, “He’s making a mistake…”
“He is,” Rose admits quietly, and we lock eyes as she admits, “When I was in my coma, I remember him talking softly to someone, and he called her ‘Tinkerbell’.” She frowns, “I brought it up today, but he quickly denied it and changed the subject.”
Tinkerbell?
“I don’t recall Doc meeting anyone,” I admit, and Rose asks, “Would he keep her a secret from the club for any reason?”
I hum as I run my fingers through her hair and reply, “Two reasons… One, the senator. He’s making life difficult because Doc’s dad brought up the idea of marriage for an alliance, wanting to have the senator in our pocket, so to speak. Doc denied it, but the senator and his dad wouldn’t let it go to the point that the senator is trying to make life difficult for us, and two, the club won’t approve…”
“I can understand the club wanting the senator in their pocket, but what does the senator get out of it?” Rose asks gently, and I smile.
I admit, “The town’s backing to keep running. There’s been a lot of attacks on women lately, a lot of stealing, and the Cannibals, a group a few towns over, are getting the blame, though Cannon, their leader, denies it, but Senator Smith has lost a lot of backing, and he’s desperate. Word on the street is that he’s in debt.”
“But if Doc met someone…” her words tail off, and I finish her sentence, “He’s about to break whatever girl he’s seeing's heart.”
“Damn,” she whispers, and I nod before sighing in contentment as she presses her nose into my neck, breathing me in,
“Do you hate me?” I ask in a whisper.
She replies, “No,” then admits, “I love you, Cage, but I don’t have trust in you. You need to figure out how to build it back up.” She moves her head and cups my cheek as she says, “You hurt me. I was finally trying to figure out how we could moveforward, and suddenly I’m attacked, and you are nowhere to be seen after I wake up from a coma. You chose violence and to kill people instead of staying by my side. I get why you killed Elsie, the woman was crazy, clearly, but did you have to kill her dad?”
“Yes,” I instantly admit, not refuting her words.
I chose wrong, I know this, but I knew no one would have been safe if I saw her in that hospital bed in a coma.
Rose’s eyes widen, but her mouth drops when I admit, “Dad finally explained everything the day you were rushed into hospital. James drugged my father. Not enough to knock him out, but enough to make my dad want sex. Dad fucked his ass and James filmed it then used it against my dad to keep him in line. His one assignment was to not let me his daughter and my mama, she was ashamed her husband was sexually assaulted and used their marriage over his head if he told anyone. Despite the fact she cheated on him before she got pregnant with Selena, who by the way, nearly burst my ear drum yesterday when Doc called her and told her what had happened,” I smile gently, “You’ve changed that girl for the better and she loves you very much.”
Rose blinks as she mumbles, “She was just manipulated. She has a big heart.”
I hum and nod as I continue to run my fingers through her hair.
My cock is rock hard yet again, wanting her tight heat, but I ignore him, knowing Rose and I need this conversation.
“I saw everything that happened as my fault –” Rose cuts me off and states, “It wasn’t your fault,” and I cut in, “Rose,” but she carries on and says, “I thought it was, I blamed you and a small part of me still blames you but you couldn’t have changed the outcome no matter what you tried Cage, your dad was being blackmailed, you didn’t know and he used everything he could against you so you stayed married to her.”
“I still could have left her, Rose,” I say, full of sorrow, the regret eating me alive, knowing I could have lost this woman, my fucking everything.
Rose sighs, then whispers, “Your dad begged you, and now you know why. It wasn’t your fault. It was James and Elsie. They were money hungry and no matter what happened in this scenario, it was always going to happen because they were playing chess and you were playing checkers. While yes, you should have told me instantly about her, if I hadn’t come along you’d probably still be married to her and your dad would still be burdening himself with what happened to him.”
I shake my head at this woman’s heart, and mutter, “I’m not letting myself off the hook, red. She tried to stab you in the heart, and no, it isn’t lost on me why she chose to stab you there. She’d clearly found out a lot about you.”
“I don’t want you to let yourself off the hook. I’m just telling you to go a little bit easier on yourself,” she whispers, and her eyes tear up as she chokes, “You were going to leave me, Cage.”
