Ciara gapes at me. “Are you asking to get shot?”

“Spike won’t shoot me. If he wanted to, he would have. Trust me,” I murmur.

Spike waves his hand, and the men lower their guns. He pulls a pair of sunglasses over his head and begins walking towards us. When his gazes fall on Ciara, he stops. He just stops dead in his tracks.

“The fuck are you doin’ here?” he barks at her.

“Play nice, Spike. She only wants to talk,” I say.

He turns to glare at me. “What the fuck are you doin’ here?”

“Visiting my old pal.”

He raises his brows at me. “You got far too much sass, girl.”

I grin at him. “Just admit it, you want to be my friend.”

His lips twitch, and there’s something about Spike that makes me feel completely safe around him. He’s kind of like Cade; he acts tough, and I have no doubt he is, but he’s also gentle inside. It’s written all over him. For someone like me, that’s lived a life around evil, I can pick the people that have black hearts and the ones who are just putting on a show.

“You’re lucky your man paid me my money.”

“You and I both know you never wanted to hurt me, Spike.”

He raises his brows. “I’m reconsidering that decision.”

I grin again, and watch as he turns back to Ciara. She’s just watching him. I can’t see her expression or his, because they’re both wearing sunglasses.

“Why are you here, Ciara? Ain’t got nothin’ to fuckin’ say to you.”

His voice is hard, but I can hear a hint of pain behind his anger.

“I just wanted to talk with you.”

“As I said,” he growls, “ain’t got nothin’ to fuckin’ say.”

“If you’ll just let me…”

“What part of that don’t you understand?” he barks. “You’re nothin’ to me. You never were. You were no more than a revenge fuck. Stop tryin’ to be my friend; it’s too late for that. You let your folks drag me through hell to get vengeance for your sister. You made my life a living hell. I couldn’t care less if you dropped off the face of this earth.”

My mouth drops open, and Ciara nods weakly. “I understand. I do. I just wanted to say sorry. I wanted you to know I forgive you.”

“Forgive me?” he roars, storming over and gripping the fence. He shakes it hard. “Forgive me for what? For tryin’ to protect her? That other cunt is more to blame than me. I never wanted her to leave the fuckin’ house. You forgave him right away, so don’t you fuckin’ come in here and try to make yourself feel better. That’s all you’re fuckin’ doin’, is makin’ your own demons go away. Fuck you, Ciara.”

Spike spins around, storming towards the warehouse.

“Spike, please, you know I care about you!” she calls, her voice raw and broken.

“Go and fuckin’ die!” he roars, throwing the rude finger up over his shoulder. Well, that went well.

Ciara turns, rushing off towards the car. I just stand at the gate for a moment, before yelling, “Hey you!”

Spike stops and turns, looking at me. He’s panting, his body trembling with rage and emotion.

“You’re a fucking jerk! If I could get past this gate, I would kick your ass! I know you’re better than that, Spike, it’s written all over you. Stop living behind that shield, it’s so fucking see through.”

I don’t give him a chance to respond. I turn on my heel and walk off towards the truck. When I get in, Ciara is crying. I reach across and grip her hands.

“He’ll come around, just give him time.”

God, I hope I’m right.

Because it’s clear as day to me – Spike and Ciara have some serious feelings for each other.

******

I arrive back at the compound an hour later for my shift. I know I’m late, but that’s not uncommon for the girls that work there; it’s about time I got my turn. When I arrive, Cade is pacing outside the front doors. Uh oh. He turns when he hears my boots crunching, and he comes storming over. I guess he figured out what I just did, either that or he’s just pissed I went out and didn’t tell him where. When he reaches me, I can see his eyes flaring. Shit, he’s pissed.

“What. The. Fuck,” he barks.

“What?” I say, in a casual tone.

“You fuckin’ went behind my back, and took Ciara to the Heaven’s Sinners lot.”

God, he knows everything.

“She wanted to see Spike,” I snap. “She had the right.”

“I fuckin’ gave you a direct, mother fuckin’ order.”

“You don’t own me, Cade! We might be together, I might be your Old Lady, but you don’t fucking own me!”

He’s panting with rage now. “Do you have any fuckin’ idea how bad that could have gone? Do you have any clue what those men could have done to you?”

“They weren’t going to hurt me,” I yell.

“Fuck it, Addison,” he roars. “When are you goin’ to fuckin’ grow up?”

“Stop treating me like this,” I cry. “You think you can just tell me what to do all the time, but you can’t!”

“I fuckin’ can, and I fuckin’ will.”

“No!”

He steps closer, gripping my shoulders. “I protect what’s mine, you fuckin’ know that. You runnin’ off like that, you put yourself and me in danger. If you don’t fuckin’ care about yourself, fine, but you should fuckin’ care about this club. What would you have done if Spike decided he didn’t like you on his territory? What would you have done if he decided to start a fuckin’ war? What if someone you loved got hurt, because of you? That could have happened far more easily than you could fuckin’ imagine. Wake up to yourself, Addison, the world don’t fuckin’ revolve around you.”