Alicia’s Vengeance by Lila Fox
Chapter Sixteen
It took an hour to get everyone home and safe. After telling his prez and vice prez about the night’s events, he came out of Striker’s office to find Alicia waiting at the bar for him.
He held out his hand and paused until she took ahold of it. “You looked tired, babe.”
She nodded and leaned against him as they walked up the steps.
“What did Striker say?” she asked.
“I just had to tell him what happened. He’ll have questions tomorrow, but everyone is wiped out.”
“Where’s the guy?” she asked.
“He’s in a safe place.” He was trying to be patient, but every question she asked made his anger a bit deeper and hotter.
“Is he where that woman is?”
Stone stopped them in the hallway and grasped her shoulders. He let up a bit when she flinched. “Listen, stop with the fucking questions, babe. Everything is being taken care of.”
He growled, grasped a chunk of her hair to bend her head back, and then slammed his mouth down on hers when she opened it to ask another question.
Fuck, it was either kiss her or beat her.
He lifted his head, grabbed her upper arm, and dragged her to his room. Then he shut and locked the door behind them.
“Strip.”
She walked across the room, turned, crossed her arms over her chest, and frowned.
“Listen, Stone. I don’t know what this thing is between us. I don’t think you even know. So, I think it’s unreasonable for you to think you can punish me.”
Jesus Christ, she was going to drive him crazy, and his anger was getting out of control again. Now wasn’t the best time to get into this because he had very little restraint left, and he was afraid he’d end up hurting her.
“You’re right. I’ll put you in another room tonight, and we’ll see if I’m ready to talk tomorrow.”
He watched her mouth fall open and a shadow of hurt in her eyes, but he didn’t care at that moment. He grabbed ahold of her arm and pulled her down the hallway into a spare room.
“I’ll go get you a blanket and pillow.”
He walked down to a closet and pulled the things out.
Back in the room, he set them on the mattress and looked around. “I want you to stay in the room.”
“What if I have to use the bathroom?”
He gritted his teeth. “I’ll have someone out in the hallway, so ask them.”
“So, I’m going to be a prisoner?” she asked.
God, it felt like his head was about ready to burst. He gritted his teeth. “I don’t care what the fuck you call it. We’ll talk in the morning.”
He closed the door behind him and then walked downstairs. “Chains, can you sit out in the hallway and watch Alicia? She’s in the third-to-the-last bedroom on the left.”
Stone looked around the room and scowled at all the shocked looks. “I don’t want any questions. I just need a fucking drink.”
He walked over to an empty table and sat down. “Cherry, get me a bottle and glass.”
“You got it, Stone.”
Stone threw back the first two shots before he felt he could take a deep breath. His emotions went beyond anything he’d ever known, and now he understood why Striker was crazy when K had taken off.
It might have been different if Alicia had just gotten on a bus because she’d still be alive. He could get to her, but the fact she was willing to walk into the Black Demons’ club knowing she’d die made his fury feel like lava that slowly built in him, and he was trying everything he could to keep calm.
It might be more than he could take, and he tried to think of anything besides drinking that would calm him down, but it was no use. He’d have to suck it up and hope this level of anger passed quickly.
He was going to get sloppy drunk so he wouldn’t have to think about anything.
****
Alicia watched the door close behind Stone and sat down on the mattress. She didn’t know what to think. Did he just not care? Hell, she knew that they hadn’t known each other for long, but it felt like months and not days because they’d been through so much already.
She knew her emotions were all over the place and figured a good night’s sleep would help them both, and maybe in the morning, they could actually talk without yelling or fighting.
After she stripped down to her underwear and shirt, she rolled herself up in the blanket.
She thought she’d fall right to sleep, but instead, she lay there for a few hours before she finally gave up and got up. She knew what the problem was and she needed to see Stone. Even if they just held each other, it would be enough for her.
After pulling on her pants, she quietly cracked open the door to see one of the guys leaning against the wall, asleep and snoring. She crept down the hallway toward Stone’s room and opened his door to find the room empty, and the bed still made.
Shit. She turned back and made her way back down the hallway, carefully skirting the guy on the floor. When she got to the top of the stairs, she looked around and couldn’t see him, so she made her way down them.
She moved around a few couples going at it, and several men passed out in chairs and even the floor. When she got to the other side of the room, she stopped short to see Stone asleep on the sofa with a naked whore draped over him. It registered that he was still fully dressed, but it didn’t matter. All her questions were answered at that moment. She was moving to Colorado as soon as she packed the things she wanted to take.
It might take a week or so, but she’d work hard to get out of the town as quickly as she could.
She turned and made her way back toward the steps. She didn’t notice that Runner was lounging in a chair and staring at her.
“I know it looks bad, lady—”
She tried to laugh and interrupted him. “It doesn’t matter.”
“He was drunk. I’ve never seen him like that. A few of us guys carried him to the sofa. I doubt he knows Cherry’s even there.”
She snorted. “I think he knows very well who he’s with.” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll be gone by the end of the week.”
“Oh, where are you going?”
“Colorado.”
“You know Rock is still out there and looking for you, right?”
“Yeah.”
“You can’t leave before he’s taken out.”
“Why not?”
“He’ll kill you if he gets his hands on you,” Runner said.
She looked over her shoulder at Stone and the whore and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. I expected to be dead already. It’s just going to take longer.”
Runner sat up abruptly with wide eyes. “Jesus Christ, woman. Now, I know why he was drinking. He cares about you.”
She snorted. “Naw, I was an easy fuck, but now I have to go.”
“You have to stay at least until he can talk to you.”
“I’m too tired to go anywhere right now anyway.”
She turned, walked off, up the stairs, and back into the room he’d put her in. She lay on the bed and stared up at the ceiling until the first rays of dawn started to lighten the sky. Only then did she give in to her exhaustion and sleep.
