Consumed: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (3 page)

Bobby reached for my hand and said, “I know this is a lot, Court. We’ll get….”

“
Don’t
, Bobby. Really, just don’t.” I turned my head and faced the wall. Just looking at him hurt me too much. I wanted to be strong and do what I knew I needed to do. Why did it have to be so difficult?

“What?
Tell me
. Exactly what the hell is going on in that head of yours?” he asked with frustration. I didn’t answer him right away, and I could feel the tension building between us with every second that passed. “Court?”

I looked him in the eye and said, “You know, I’ve heard that going through a traumatic experience can change you, but I’ve never really believed it until now. I’ve finally seen things for what they are.”

“What do you mean?” Bobby asked.

“This thing between you and me. I’m done, Bobby,” I stated harshly as I motioned my hand between us.

“Just like that? You wake up from being in a coma all this time, and now you think you have it all figured out?” he asked, his voice laced with confusion and anger.

“As a matter of fact, yes. I’d say this thing between you and me is over, but the truth is, it never really started.”

“You’re wrong. Now stop. You’re mine, Courtney,” he said as he reached for my hand. “You always have been, and you always will be.”

“I was never yours, Bobby. You and I both know that,” I said as I snatched my hand away.

“That’s bullshit. You’re mine in
every
fucking way, Courtney,” Bobby snapped. He sighed deeply as he raked his fingers through his hair.

I took a deep breath and tried to look him in the eye as I said, “I don’t want to argue with you. It’s a simple fact. A man knows what he wants. I wasn’t it for you. I’m okay with that, but it’s time for us to move on. It took having this accident for me to realize that I want more. I want a man that wants me without any doubts or reservations.”

“You’re wrong, Courtney! Totally fucking wrong. You’re it for me!” he pleaded. He leaned over me and pressed his lips against mine. My heart ached as I placed my hands on his chest pushing him away.

“Please, stop. Just go, Bobby!” I shouted as I shook my head.

He was about to say something when the nurse rushed in. “What’s going on in here?”

“Nothing!” Bobby snapped.

“We could hear you shouting in the hallway. Sir, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” she demanded.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said angrily.

“Bobby, just go. I
need
you to go,” I pleaded as I fought back the tears that threatened to betray my feelings.

The nurse stepped between us and started to usher Bobby out of the room. Before he left, he turned to me and said, “This isn’t over. I’m not giving you up.”

Tears streamed down my face as I watched him walk towards the door, but I knew I was making the right decision. I had given him enough time, and I wasn’t willing to give him any more. Something inside me had broken with the accident. I didn’t know what. I just knew that nothing between us was the same. The accident had changed me forever.

Chapter 2

Real loss only occurs when you lose something that you love more than yourself.

Anonymous

Bobby

Everything was fucked up, and it was all my goddamn fault. Courtney had every right to be pissed at me. I’d failed her in more ways than I could count. Not claiming her when I’d had the chance was just one of many things. She would never have been in that fucking hospital if it weren’t for me. She was right to push me away. I’d never be the man that she deserved, but that didn’t mean I was going to let her go. I’d give her the time she needed, but I would fix this thing between us no matter what it took. She was mine, and I planned to make sure she knew it.

After spending a restless night at home, I decided the most important thing I had to do was make sure Courtney was safe. There was no way I would ever let anything happen to her again. I decided to get to the clubhouse and see if there were any new leads on the Black Diamonds. I got all the surveillance equipment ready to install at their clubhouse and loaded it up in the back of Bishop’s SUV. Then, I texted Goliath and Renegade to let them know everything was ready.

We got to their clubhouse well after midnight. I wanted a good view of the place without getting too close, so I used the long distance lenses on our cameras. After we installed those, I had to get close enough to install the splitter. It enabled us to stream directly from the cameras they’d already installed inside their clubhouse. It was 3:00 a.m., and by that time most of the Black Diamonds had left the compound or crashed for the night. Goliath and Renegade stood watch as I found the line to their main security system. Once I disabled it, we made our way to the camera feed that led to the inside of the club. After I checked to make sure the splitter was working, we re-enabled their security system and headed home.

Since it was so late and I was exhausted, I decided to stay at my room at the clubhouse. I didn’t want to go home and face that empty fucking house. Just the thought of it felt like a punch in the gut. I had almost made it to my room when Cindy stepped out of the bathroom. Fuck. I was not in the mood to deal with her shit tonight. I didn’t speak and tried to walk right past her.

“Where are you rushing off to?” she asked seductively as she blocked my way. Her hand trailed down my arm as she spoke.

“To
sleep
,” I told her as I removed her hand from my arm, wishing she would take the hint and go away.

“Want some company?” she asked as she stepped closer to me. No such luck. I was so over her bullshit. I wished I’d never made the mistake of fucking her in the first place. She didn’t know when to just let it go.

“Don’t start that shit tonight, Cindy. You know the answer is
no
. It’s always been no, and nothing is going to change that,” I told her as I opened my door.

“I doubt that, but no worries, Honey. I’ll be around when you change your mind,” she whispered.

I didn’t respond. I slammed the door behind me and crashed into my bed. I had barely closed my eyes when thoughts of Courtney forced their way into my head. The bed seemed so big without her lying there next to me. I missed the warmth of her body pressed against mine. I couldn’t get her off my mind, so I reached into the dresser beside my bed and grabbed a large bottle of scotch. In a matter of minutes, I had drained the entire bottle. I hoped it would take the edge off and ease the tightness in my chest. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for it to go into effect. I finally let my exhaustion take over and passed out.

The next day, I woke up later than I’d planned, and my head was pounding. I went to the kitchen to grab some aspirin and get something to eat. Bishop was standing there talking on his burner cell, and he looked pissed as he listened to what was being said on the other end of the line. With a demanding voice he said, “I
absolutely
think we should meet. We have lots to discuss.” He was silent for a moment before he said, “We’ll be there.” He hung up his phone and placed it in his back pocket as he shook his head.

“Something up?” I asked.

“Snake wants a meet. There’s some shit going down with his club, and he thinks we have something to do with it. It’s good, though. I’ve got some questions of my own, so I have no problem meeting up with him,” Bishop said flatly.

“Why would we have anything to do with what’s going on at his club?” I asked.

“No fucking idea, but I’ll find out everything later tonight. I want you and Goliath to be there.”

“No problem. By the way, we got the surveillance set up at the Black Diamond’s warehouse last night. I’ll pull up the feed, so we can get an update about what’s going on over there.”

“Good. Let me know what...” he started but got distracted as his phone started ringing. Just as he was reaching into his pocket, Sheppard rushed in the front door.

“You need to get home. Something happened with Myles,” Sheppard shouted. The color drained from Bishop’s face at the mention of his son’s name. Myles was Bishop’s only child, and they’d always been very close.

“Tessa’s been trying to call you, but she couldn’t get through,” Sheppard told him.

Bishop looked down at his phone and answered it as he charged towards the door. “I’m on my way,” he barked into the phone.

Sheppard and I followed him over to his house. An ambulance and several neighbors lined his driveway. Tessa was talking to one of the paramedics that were working on Myles, and it was obvious that she’d been crying. Bishop rushed over to them as Sheppard and I followed close behind. Tessa began sobbing again as soon as she saw him. He wrapped his arm around her and led her towards the ambulance to ask one of the paramedics, “How is my son?”

“He has some minor lacerations and a broken wrist. He’ll need to have it x-rayed as soon as possible.”

“Myles, you doing okay?” Bishop asked.

“Yes, sir. I’m fine,” Myles replied sounding embarrassed.

“I’ll let them finish checking you over, and then we’ll go see about your wrist,” Bishop told him. Myles nodded and sat patiently as the paramedics finished wrapping his wrist.

Bishop turned to Tessa and asked, “What happened?”

“It all happened so fast. I tried, but I couldn’t get to him in time,” Tessa cried hysterically.

Bishop pulled her close to him and waited for her to calm down. Once she was able to pull it together, she continued, “I was putting the Christmas decorations in the garage when he decided he wanted to ride his dirt bike in the field across the street. He’d barely pulled out onto the road when all these motorcycles came racing up next to him. He lost his balance and crashed into the bank,” she said as she brushed the tears from her eyes. “They meant to do it, Bishop. They tried to hurt him!”

Bishop continued to hold her close as he said, “It’s going to be okay, Tess. We’ll figure all this out.”

Goliath pulled up while Bishop was talking to Tessa. He came over to me and asked, “Is he okay?”

“He’s banged up a little, but I think he’s gonna be alright,” I told him.

“Sheppard said some guys ran him off the road. Do we know who it was?” he asked.

“Tessa isn’t sure, but I’d lay odds it’s the same guys who hurt Courtney,” I told him.

“Fuck!” Goliath growled, his face filling with rage. “Women and children? What kind of fucking scum are we dealing with?”

“These guys have no code, Goliath. They don’t care who they hurt as long as they get their point across. I have a feeling you were their original target,” I told him.

“I was thinking the same damn thing. Courtney’s accident wasn’t some random attack. They were trying to get to me through John Warren. I’m going to bring those motherfuckers to their knees.”

“Now you know how I’ve been feeling the past few weeks,” I told him sarcastically.

“I’ve known all along, Crack Nut. I’ve always planned to make them pay, but now I want to get them even more. We’ll get them. No doubt about that,” Goliath snapped.

“Hopefully we’ll get more information when we meet up with Snake tonight.”

“Looking forward to it. Lily told me that Courtney was doing better and might be coming home soon. At least that’s good news.”

“Yeah, it’s good news.” Fuck. It should’ve been the best goddamn news ever. I hated that I wasn’t going to be there with her when she came home.

Bishop was done talking to Tessa, so he headed over to us. “We’re going on lockdown. Get everyone to the clubhouse. No one leaves until I give the word.”

“What about Courtney?” I asked.

“Already thought of that. Goliath put one of the prospects on her until she’s released from the hospital.” He didn’t wait for my response before he turned and went back over to Myles and Tessa. I wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but it would have to do.

“I’ll make the call. I’ll see you back over at the clubhouse. You’ll need to be ready in a couple of hours,” Bishop called over his shoulder.

“I’ll be ready,” I told him.

Chapter 3

Courtney

It’d been forever since I’d seen anyone other than my parents, and I was about to go batshit crazy. They’d been there every day pacing back and forth in that tiny room, rambling on and on about this or that. To make matters worse, my mother was constantly fussing over me. I was going to blow a gasket if she tried to fix my pillow one more time. I was on the brink of losing my sanity, and truthfully, my dad wasn’t much better. He sat in his chair mumbling and griping about Bobby. He completely blamed him for the accident, and no matter what I said, he just wouldn’t listen to me. I’d finally had all I could take and begged them to go home. I was shocked but relieved when they actually decided to leave.

Then, I was stuck in the room alone with my thoughts, and like a complete idiot, I couldn’t stop thinking about Bobby. His handsome face taunted me every time I closed my eyes. He was one of those guys that was just naturally attractive. He didn’t spend hours in the gym and think about the clothes he wore. It just came easily to him. I didn’t like the fact that his sandy blonde hair had grown over the past few weeks, because it made it hard to see his beautiful brown eyes. Damn it. I had to stop thinking about him. I missed him so much that I was starting to have second thoughts about breaking things off. I was a mess, and all my doubts were bouncing around inside my head.