Craving Redemption

Chapter 69

Grease

The air smelled f*cking sweet on the outside.

The boys had brought my bike to the prison so I could drive it home, and I looked like an a*shole in my f*cking dress shirt, but I didn’t care. I was so glad to be going home to Callie that I would have ridden in a clown suit.

I had to stop by the club on my way out of town to get a couple changes of clothes and check in with Slider, but I was planning on hitting the road the moment I got my shit together. I couldn’t wait to see Callie, and my dick had been hard since the moment I sat down on my bike and knew for sure that I was out of there.

I promised Callie that I would head straight to her once I’d grabbed my shit—she’d been practically bursting with excitement for the last month as we waited for my release. I wondered if she’d have Will with her when I got there, or if she’d have Gram keep him so we could have a little time for ourselves first. I didn’t care either way—I couldn’t wait to see my son—but I was dying to be inside my woman again, too.

I’d worked it out so I could drive back and forth to Sacramento as long as I let someone know I was going, but I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to be making that drive for much longer. I was beyond ready to be living with Callie and Will full time, and I wasn’t going to deal with her putting that shit off. I’d waited four years for the chance to live with my woman and I wasn’t going to wait any longer.

When I pulled up to the club, the place was f*cking packed. When I parked and climbed off my bike, I turned to Dragon to see what the f*ck was going on, but before I could say a word a wall of noise came thundering out of the front doors. Boys were yelling and cheering, and even a few old ladies were f*cking screaming and clapping their damn hands. It was embarrassing as all hell.

“Welcome home, boyo,” Poet told me merrily, wrapping his arm around my shoulders.

“What’s all this?” I asked with a smile, I couldn’t help it. He was swaying from side to side, taking me along with him, and I’d rarely seen him so plastered.

“It’s a welcome home party, obviously,” Vera called as she and Slider came to meet us. “It’s good to have you home.”

“Good to be back. Is Callie here?” I looked around the crowd, but couldn’t see her anywhere.

“Couldn’t get a hold of her,” Slider grumbled.

“What? I thought you were keeping an eye on her?”

“We have been. Kept boys on her since you been gone, but she doesn’t talk to any of them. Won’t answer calls, won’t answer the door—we did what we could.”

“Why the f*ck didn’t someone tell me?” I snarled. “I’ve seen you once a month for two years!”

Vera’s face was sympathetic, but Slider and Poet were expressionless.

“Did what we had to, Asa,” Slider rumbled, his use of my real name startling me. “You didn’t need to worry about that shit. Knew she was coming to see you still—didn’t want to cause problems between the two of you when there wasn’t shit you could do about it. Didn’t want to take the chance that you’d stop getting those visits.”

I was f*cking stunned.

I was also pissed as hell.

What the f*ck was Callie’s deal?

“Come on, honey,” Vera said forcefully. “Let’s get you a drink. This is a celebration!”

I let her drag me into the clubhouse.

The next two hours were a blur of toasts made with any liquor we had on hand. Brothers were bringing me their drinks of choice—whiskey and tequila mostly—and they were so genuinely glad that I was back that I couldn’t turn them down without feeling like an a*shole.

I woke up the next morning, face-first on my bed, with my boots hanging off my feet, and no shirt.

Oh, shit. Callie was going to be f*cking livid.

I rolled out of bed slowly, my stomach f*cking churning as I got to my feet. I needed a shower and some coffee before I could even think about hitting the road.

It took me less than an hour before I left, but it felt like days as I tried to get Callie on the phone. She wasn’t answering, and I knew she was pissed. Dragon followed me down, making sure we got to Sacramento without any problems, and it was annoying as f*ck that they thought I needed some sort of babysitter. I didn’t mind the company, though—it gave me something to focus on other than the fight I knew I was gonna have with Callie.

Dragon kept riding when I pulled into the parking lot of the apartments. I recognized Callie’s new car from what she’d described to me, but I didn’t see Gram’s anywhere. Good. I didn’t want to deal with other people when I was dealing with whatever shit storm I’d walk into.

The door was locked when I got to her apartment, so I reached up and grabbed the key I knew would be hidden behind the siding above the door. I’d told her and Farrah to stop putting that shit there—but I somehow knew they wouldn’t. F*cking idiots. Anyone could just walk into their living room.

The place was quiet when I opened the door, but I immediately saw Callie sitting silently on the couch facing me. She was wearing a little black robe that barely covered her thighs, and the way it gaped between her tits had my heart thundering in my chest. Her back was perfectly straight, feet flat on the floor, and her hands were gripped tightly together in her lap as she watched me walk in.

There was no expression on her face.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I called quietly, shutting and locking the door behind me and pocketing the key. “I know you’re pissed, but I can explain.”

She didn’t say a word.

“Club had a welcome home party for me last night—planned to head out after a couple hours, but the boys were bringing me drinks and I didn’t want to end up getting a f*ckin’ DUI on my way down,” I told her as I walked slowly toward her, every part of my body begging me to rush. “I know you’re mad.”

“I’m not mad,” she told me seriously. “I’m done.”

“What?” I slammed to a stop just feet from her.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she answered quietly.

“F*ckin’ explain, Calliope.”

“Last night,” she swallowed, squeezing her eyes shut, before she pierced me with them. “Last night, Will and I made spaghetti,” she told me, searching my face. “I told him all about how his daddy was coming home and we had to make him a special dinner. So we cooked, and I helped him clean up his toys while he rattled on about his daddy, mostly shit that I couldn’t understand because he’s twenty months old and most of the shit he says is gibberish.”

Her thumbnail started scratching against the skin of her hand as I watched, vomit building in my throat.

“Eventually, I had to make him eat dinner, even though he was adamant that daddy was supposed to eat the spaghetti.” She paused and took a deep breath. “So, we ate, and we waited. Will finally crashed around one, after fussing and complaining for hours because he didn’t want to go to bed, and then it was just me, waiting.”

“I’m—”

“I waited right here, all night,” she cut me off. “Because I knew that you’d be here. I knew you were as anxious as I was, and I didn’t doubt that you were on your way. I didn’t doubt it because you promised you were headed straight here. So I waited. And eventually, Will woke up and wanted breakfast. So I made him breakfast while he jabbered on and on about you, but you still weren’t here.”

“I got here as soon as I could,” I told her anxiously, palms up.

“I waited while I was giving Will his bath, and lunch, and finally put him down for his afternoon nap that he fought me on.” Her gaze moved across the room, gazing at nothing, and I immediately missed her eyes on me. “And now it’s twenty-four hours later, and I’m still in the nightgown I bought especially for your homecoming, and I have absolutely no desire to show it to you. None. I’m done.”

“Sweetheart, I know you’re mad. And I’m sorry as hell that I wasn’t here and didn’t call…”

“It wouldn’t have mattered if you did,” she told me with a shake of her head. “I broke it last night.”

I followed her gaze to the corner of the room and the cracked cellphone lying at the base of the wall.

“You went to the club instead of coming home,” she whispered pitifully.

“You could have been there!” I snapped, felling like shit and lashing out in defense. “They tried to get a hold of you, but you’ve been ignoring them the entire time I’ve been gone!”

“Why would I want anything to do with them?” she sneered, making me take a step back in surprise. “That club has completely f*cked up my life for four years! They were the goddamn reason you were in prison!”

“That club has fed you and clothed you for four years, too,” I growled back, irritated as f*ck.

“No. You supported me. They didn’t give shit to me,” she shot back, her face immediately smoothing out again. “And I don’t even need you to do it anymore.”

I stared at her, gaping. It was so much worse than I’d thought. I’d known she was pissed, but I’d had no idea how deep that shit went, and now I was f*cked.

“Sugar, don’t do this,” I whispered, my entire life crumbling around me. I wanted to f*cking shake her, to shove her down on the couch and prove that she was mine. But I couldn’t. She was the mother of my child, and she was breaking apart right in front of me.

“Will’s still sleeping,” she told me dismissively. “I know you have your phone, since I hooked it back up, so I’ll have Gram call you when he wakes up.”

“I’ll just stay until he does,” I answered, moving toward the couch.

“No. You won’t,” she commanded, shaking her head as she stood, the silky robe falling down her thighs in a way that made my mouth water. “I’ve been paying for this apartment for months, Asa. It’s no longer yours. Gram will call you when he wakes up and you can come for a visit—after that we’ll work something out.”

“You don’t want to do this, Callie,” I warned her, my muscles straining in frustration. “You don’t want me to leave.”

“I’ll probably cry,” she told me quietly, opening the door and motioning for me to walk through it. “I’ll probably weep and lie in bed for hours and feel like my heart is being ripped from my chest.” She searched my face as I reached up to touch her, but she pulled her head back before I could make contact. “But I won’t change my mind.”

Just like that, she completely shattered my f*cking life.

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