When he didn’t say anything, she could tell she hadn’t convinced him. Any place that had anything medicinal was not worth the risk, though. Things had not gotten any better since her arrival on Earth. If possible, they had deteriorated even further. What government resources remained were protecting the utilities and water facilities, trying to keep those going as the world fell apart.
“Please, Adam.”
His harsh face softened momentarily. “We need to find a supply of the basic necessities anyway. We need to have certain items on hand.”
“All right, but it’s too late in the day now. Early morning is the best time for searches.”
Broni felt him searching her pale face. “There are a few hours of daylight left.”
“Wait until tomorrow, and I’ll tag along.”
“You’re not going out any more.”
“Yes, I am.” She wasn’t about to be left behind with Tank.
“I’ll take Tank and a few others.”
“No!” Broni said, clutching his hand harder. Tank would make sure Adam didn’t come back. He would use the opportunity to kill Adam. Here at the club surrounded by his men, Adam was protected; but outside the gates, he would be vulnerable. Jace and Fin were decent men, however they weren’t strong enough to cement Adam’s power.
Broni managed to drink a few sips of the broth that Abby brought to her. She had noticed the young girl had been hesitant to approach the table with Adam seated beside her; it hadn’t missed his notice, either. His harsh expression returned when she skittered away.
Broni turned curious eyes to his, not understanding Abby’s fear of him.
“I had to make my position obvious to the others when Tank returned, and she saw it all. Abby probably thinks I’m a bigger monster than Tank.”
Broni gazed at her as she served the men their food and drink while the men constantly tried to touch her.
“You need to stop that shit.” Broni inclined her head, seeing one of the bikers deliberately take his drink, letting his hand brush against her breast.
As Adam’s lips tightened, Broni guessed he didn’t like being told what to do.
“She needs to learn her place here.”
Broni almost threw her bowl at him. “Underneath one of your men?”
Broni started to get up, but Adam jerked her back down to her chair. “That’s not what I meant! She can’t stay hidden away in her room, she has to learn to deal with the men. There is plenty of willing pussy in the club, but she has to stand up for herself. When Jace backs her up, the men will leave her alone.”
“Jace? Why not you? If you told the men to leave her alone—”
“They accept Jace as her protector because he owns her.”
“Please don’t tell me that you put that poor girl up for auction?”
Adam raised his brow at her. “It keeps them from harassing you, doesn’t it?”
Broni shut her mouth with a snap.
“Adam!” Harlow came running in the front of the club.
Adam quickly got to his feet and Broni followed as the rest of the club gathered in the doorway, staring outside with their mouths hanging open. Broni couldn’t get near the door with the large crowd blocking the doorway, instead she moved to the side window, putting out her hand to rub the grime away so she could look outside.
Her own mouth dropped open in surprise. Rhys sat outside the gate on the biggest motorcycle she had ever seen, the gleaming chrome highlighted in the sun shining down.
Broni gasped. He had gained weight since she had last seen him, his muscular body now as big as Tank’s. He wasn’t alone, either. Behind him were ten other men just as large, sitting on their own gleaming bikes.
Adam and none of his men had been able to ride their own bikes; the lack of gasoline and being cautious of the huge number of gangs made them worry of being attacked for their ride.
“Should I let them in?” Harlow asked Adam.
“Yes.” Adam didn’t return her gaze.
Broni saw Rhys and his men ride their bikes in the compound when Harlow opened the gate. She couldn’t prevent herself from trembling as she noticed the further changes in him. His hair now brushed the back of his leather jacket while the leather pants and boots he wore showed he hadn’t been doing without like the men in the clubhouse had. Broni could just imagine the trenchers of food and wine Odin’s servants and women had provided for him. Had he come to rub it in her face how their circumstances had changed, to punish her further for not saving his family?
As Rhys and his men walked toward the clubhouse, Broni headed back to Adam’s room, her courage deserting her. She needed time before she had to face him again. However, she felt a rush of dizziness overcome her, forcing her to delay her retreat.
Leaning heavily against the bar, she watched Rhys’s biker brothers welcome him back, all except Tank and his favored few who stood back, not bothering to hide their scowls.
“Brother, you look good.” Adam slapped Rhys on the shoulder.
As Rhys gripped Adam by his upper arms, Broni saw the closeness between the two. Everyone in the club listened to their conversation.
Broni’s lips curled as Rhys told Adam he had been helping the survivors. He wasn’t about to tell a room of hard-ass bikers the truth of his whereabouts.
“I don’t give a shit where you’ve been. I’m glad you’re back. You are back, aren’t you?” Adam asked, tense jawed.
“Yeah.”
Broni’s grip tightened on the bar as Rhys’s eyes searched the room, stopping when they met hers. If she hadn’t been holding onto the bar, she would have fallen. The look in his eyes was one she had witnessed throughout the centuries—the warrior within Rhys had gained control.
She licked her suddenly dry lips, and his eyes dropped to her mouth. A sensual look appeared that he made no effort to hide it.
Broni took a step back then turned, rushing from the room, practically running, unable to process the lustful look he had given her. She slammed the bedroom door closed behind her, leaning back against it, her sore body trembling from her dash to escape the emotions Rhys had raised inside her.
She slowly went to the bed, sinking down on the mattress until she could lay down. Rolling to her side, she curled into a comforting ball, telling herself she could care less he was back. Yet, she had loved him for so long that seeing him across the room had her wanting to walk forward and touch him, make sure he was real and not a figment of her imagination.
She stifled her cries with her hand, her strength deserting her. Broni let all her pain and heartache go then rolled onto her back, rebuilding her defenses. She would learn to hide everything she felt. He could fuck every woman in the club and she wouldn’t care. His stay in Odin’s castle had provided him with more women than what the club offered anyway. She was sure it wouldn’t take him long before he availed himself of their willing bodies and skills. For centuries, she had watched him with other women, forced to stand back without the right to even be angry; she could do it again.
It wasn’t his fault she had fallen in love with him, but there was a time when she had to realize that her love would never be returned. She was going to move forward with the life Mother had chosen for her, find a mate that she could care for, and bear his children. She refused to be like her mother and live in torture as the man she loved used woman after woman.
Broni’s decision eased the hurt inside of her aching soul. She drifted off to sleep, hoping that when she was face to face with him, her resolve would be strong enough to hold.
* * *
Broni washed and dressed the next morning. As she passed the bed, she realized that Adam hadn’t slept on his side. She wondered which woman he had spent his night with.
She left the bedroom, going into the clubroom. It was packed; the small clubhouse hadn’t provided enough room before the Drearien had attacked. Now, with all the survivors and Rhys’s reappearance with even more men, the clubhouse was busting at the seams.
Broni went
behind the bar, and despite herself, she searched through the crowd of men, relieved when she didn’t see him. He wasn’t there. Like Adam, he must have found company for the night.
As she savored the coffee she’d poured for herself, the almost empty bag reminded her that Adam might have gone on a run for food. Carefully stepping over the men and women sprawled on the floor, she went to the window, seeing all the motorcycles gone.
Broni worriedly returned to the counter, beginning to fix a meal for the ones who would wake up hungry. How were they going to feed everyone with their limited supplies inside the club? Food scavenged from the outside was becoming scarce to find, that was why they had been so far from the clubhouse when she had been attacked.
When Broni heard loud noises coming from the outside, she went to the door. She opened it and stared in stupefaction as the gate was swung open by Mason and twelve huge RVs were driven inside, circling the club before parking.
Broni had to admit it was a brilliant move. Not only were the gates reinforced by the tremendous weights of the RVs, it gave the additional rooms needed for living and sleeping. Plus, from a purely defensive move, the height of the RVs would allow lookouts to see much better than on the ground.
The men stepped out of the RVs, coming inside the clubhouse, Rhys and Adam being the last to come inside. Once inside, the room quieted when Adam raised his hand, calling for their attention.
“Names will be drawn and everyone will be given a place to sleep. Those of you assigned to a RV will be expected to maintain them in case the city gets worse. We may need them to get us out of town. The women will be assigned two and the rest will be split up among the men. Three will remain empty for the brothers inside the clubhouse to use if we need to leave the city.”
“Bullshit! Why do the women need two of their own? We’d have more space for the men. The women all sleep with someone at night anyway.” Tank forced himself to the front of the crowd.
“I don’t give a fuck about what you think, Tank. The women get their own RVs,” Adam stated.
Broni would be grateful to have a space of her own again. She didn’t know how it was going to be, sharing living quarters with other women, but she was willing to try.
“I’m going to go ahead and address this now while everyone is listening, so no one misunderstands and comes crying to me later. During the day, the women are allowed to come and go as they please inside the clubhouse. No one will harass or touch them unless they are claimed as club property.
“Women, if you come in the clubhouse after nightfall, you become club property to use. If you don’t want the men to touch you, it’s simple: stay outside after dark. You’ll still be given food and shelter, though; so it’s your choice to make.”
Broni saw Tank and his friends begin talking among themselves as they moved nearer to Adam.
“I see a fucking bitch I want, I’ll take her. Inside or out, daylight or dark.”
Adam didn’t respond directly to Tank. “Anyone that doesn’t want to follow this rule can leave. Anyone who breaks this rule will deal with me.”
“Oh, I’m fucking scared,” Tank laughed.
Adam pulled his gun out of his pants and Tank lost his smile. “Tank, one more word out of your mouth and you’re gone. I’ve had it with your bullshit.”
Broni thought Tank was going to attack Adam for several seconds before he turned with a threatening glare and disappeared into the crowd. At that point, Broni relaxed, going to take a seat at an empty table. Adam found her there later and set a bottle of ibuprofen and antiseptic down in front of her.
“Thanks, Adam.”
“Don’t thank me; Rhys found them.”
Rhys came to the table, taking a chair.
“Thanks, Rhys.”
Broni opened the bottle of pain medication, taking two. Her hand was still swollen and sore, and the ibuprofen would definitely help.
“You’re welcome.” Even his voice sounded different. Deeper, richer.
Broni felt her body quiver as his eyes traveled over her figure. She raised her water to her lips, avoiding his gaze.
“The RVs were a good idea,” she complimented Adam.
“I can’t take the credit for those, either.” He glanced up at Rhys before turning back to her, giving her a hard stare. “I want you to say inside the clubhouse for now, Broni. Tank is a time bomb, and if he wants to make a strike on me, the dumbass will go for the woman I’ve been sharing my room with.”
Broni didn’t argue, seeing Tank staring at them from across the room.
“I agree. He’s a time bomb. What are you going to do about him?” As soon as she said the words, she knew she had overstepped the boundary Adam kept between them. He didn’t talk club matters to outsiders, and certainly not to women.
“I’ll deal with Tank when I need to deal with Tank. Right now, we need men. The streets are growing worse every day, and as much as I hate the bastard, he still can guard the gates.” He glared back at Tank as he spoke.
“Put some of that antiseptic on those scratches. A couple of them are looking infected.” He turned away then, going to the bar where Nikki and another woman sidled up to his side.
Broni met Rhys’s discerning gaze. Clearing her throat, she asked the question that had been going through her mind since he had entered the club, “So which one are you?”
Chapter 24
“All my lifetimes have been merged into one.”
Broni fiddled with the ibuprofen bottle. “What are you doing here?”
“I saw your attack.”
“My mother showed you or were you there?”
“Your mother.” Broni could just imagine that encounter.
“I see.” She was sure her overprotective mother would have been furious, unable to strike at the humans that had been the ones to have hurt her. “I’m sorry, that must have been uncomfortable for you.”
“She didn’t say anything that I didn’t deserve.” Broni refused to acknowledge the regret in his voice.
“How long will you be staying?”
“As long as I wish. It has been agreed that I can stay here while I serve as your replacement.”
“Why would you want to come back to Earth?” Broni questioned.
“You.”
With that answer, Broni was finished with this discussion. She started to rise from the table.
“Since when do you run?” The arrogant remark had her resuming her seat.
“I wasn’t running, Rhys. I haven’t anything to say. I don’t believe I had anything to do with your decision to come back to Earth. The man you are now doesn’t even know me.”
The warrior sat forward in his seat, pinning her with his gaze.
“I might not be the Rhys you fucked,” Broni winced, “but believe me, I was there. Not only did we share the same body, but the same emotions. I felt it as much as he did when you opened your legs and heart to the stupid man who was too grief-stricken to take what you offered. I am not.”
“I’m not offering you anything,” Broni said angrily. “That time has come and gone. I don’t want you any more.”
“Who did you want, Broni? Rhys or me?”
Broni remained silent. Truthfully, she had wanted Rhys because she’d known the warrior’s soul was buried inside.
“I’m sorry I was so long in appearing, but you can’t blame me for not wanting to join another battle.”
“You saw this one coming?”
“I did, and it’s going to be longer and bloodier than any I have fought before. I have served Mother for centuries, and I am tired of the bloodshed. Therefore, I was not anxious to fall in love with a woman who will be in the midst of it all.”
“Let me take that worry from you then. Go back to Odin’s castle.”
Rhys reached out, taking the tube of antibiotic cream. Opening it, he squirted some on a large finger before reaching forward, smoothing it on the scratches on her cheeks.
“I’ve decided you’re worth fighting another battle for.
”
Broni’s mouth opened and closed. “You arrogant dick, the decision isn’t yours to make. I have decided that I don’t want you any more.”
“Then you need to change your mind back,” he said simply.
“Do you really think I want a whore-hound like you?” Broni pointed her finger at his chest. “I didn’t mind being used for sex. Stupid me thought that I could let you see I cared about you, that I was willing to ignore the fact you would never care about me the way I cared about you. Do you know why?”
The warrior shook his head.
“Because I loved you. But I don’t love you any more! It pretty much bit the dust when Athena bragged to me what a big dick you have. So you can stay or go. I don’t give a damn.”
This time when Broni got up from the table, Rhys didn’t stop her. Going behind the bar, she started doing the dishes, banging them together to blow off some steam. What she really wanted to do was take one of the plates and bash it on his thick skull, though.
* * *
When Adam sat down in the now empty chair, Rhys was not amused at his laughter.
“She’s pretty mad at you.”
“She’ll get over it,” Rhys said, smiling at the woman who set a drink down in front of him.
“You were married, weren’t you? Wasn’t your wife ever angry at you?” Adam questioned, picking up his own drink.
Rhys’s thoughts turned introspective, going through his lifetimes. A frown came to his face. He might have screwed up worse than he had thought. Fate had tried to warn him. Times had changed and women no longer allowed men their fun in relationships.
“I may have made a mistake,” the warrior admitted reluctantly.
At his remark, Adam didn’t hold his laughter back. “Brother, you fucked up. There is no other way to say it.”
“She will forgive me.” The Warrior’s pride was deflated when Broni ignored him.
“Man, you have got to be kidding me. That woman doesn’t forgive shit. She’s still pissed off at me for auctioning her off, and I did that to keep her from getting raped.”