Anabeth, hearing the words “beautiful girl” in reference to her, beamed up at him.
Me, hearing the words “beautiful girl” come out of Ripper’s mouth directed at anyone who wasn’t me, had my insides roiling. Seeing this, Ripper looked triumphant.
What’s wrong, Danny? You look upset. Was it somethin’ I said?
I covered my mouth with my hand and tried to stay calm. Looking anywhere but at Ripper, I caught eyes with Kajika, a young Native American woman from a nearby Indian reservation who Cox and Kami had employed as their nanny.
She was beautiful, with long black hair and unforgettable, exaggerated features. Her eyes, nearly black and framed with thick, lush lashes, were all too knowing for my comfort.
Smiling kindly at me, she only made my already combative emotions that much worse. She could see right through me, everything I tried to hide. I hated being around her. She made me doubt every decision I’d made during the past three years. With just one damn look.
“‘Scuse me,” ZZ said, sidling up next to me and taking my hand in his. “I need my girl.”
As Ripper stiffened, his arm falling away from Anabeth, I glimpsed the pain he hid beneath the anger.
Swallowing hard, I turned away from the group and let ZZ lead me out into the center of the lawn, where he pulled me into a bear hug.
“Don’t hate me,” he whispered. I glanced up at him, confused.
“What? Why would I hate you?”
He grinned, then dropped to his knees.
Correction. He dropped down on one knee. Heart pounding, not breathing, I stared down at ZZ, watching as he pulled a small black box out of his leathers. He looked up at me.
“You’re the most beautiful woman I have ever seen,” he said softly. “The sweetest and the kindest, too. You make me so fuckin’ happy, baby, you make life so fuckin’ good. So I’m askin’ you if you’ll marry me and let me spend the rest of my life tryin’ to do the same for you.”
He flipped the box open and revealed the biggest diamond ring I had ever seen.
“Oh … my … god,” I whispered hoarsely, putting a shaking, sweating hand over my heart. I realized then that the yard had gone silent. Someone had shut the music off and all conversation had ceased.
I took a quick look around the yard. Everyone was grinning, smiling, and staring right at me.
This was bad. Very, very bad.
“Baby girl!” My head jerked at the sound of my father’s voice.
“You say the fuckin’ word and I will throw that asshole into next fuckin’ week! Fact, whether you say yes or no, I’m still gonna beat the fuckin’ shit outta him!”
Eva, who’d joined him, planted her palms in his stomach and playfully shoved at him. He captured her around her neck and pulled her up against him, all the while smiling at me.
ZZ must have already asked him. There was no way my father would have appreciated this being sprung on him. My father was the sort of man who had to mentally prepare himself for things like his daughter being proposed to.
Which meant … my father was A-OK with me marrying ZZ.
In fact, looking around at all the happy faces, everyone was A-OK with me marrying ZZ.
More than okay. Elated, really.
Everyone except one.
I zeroed in on Ripper, whose sun-kissed skin had gone an interesting shade of green.
Our gazes locked.
And for a moment … I thought I saw the man I loved.
Ripper stared at Danny. Stared at ZZ kneeling on the grass in front of her, asking her to marry him.
He was going to flip his shit.
These assholes all around him didn’t realize it, but they were about to get sprayed with blood, bone, and brain when his head decided to explode, which was in about five motherfucking seconds.
Five …
Four …
Three …
Two …
One …
Fuck him.
Married.
ZZ was asking Danny to marry him.
Ah, fuck. What was happening to him? Everything inside of him suddenly felt all fucked-up and wrong. His heart started beating faster and his skin began to tingle irritably. The air around him grew thick, stuffy, making it hard to breathe. He felt lightheaded, his nose stung, and his stomach clenched painfully.
Before he began shredding his own body to pieces, just to make all these damn uncomfortable and unwanted feelings go away, he grabbed Anabeth and yanked her up against him. She responded immediately and curled seductively around his body.
Feeling like ten times an asshole, he kept his gaze on Danny as he groped Anabeth’s ass.
Danny’s beautiful blue eyes filled with pain and her gaze dropped back to ZZ.
He stopped breathing. She was going to say yes.
Say something, his brain screamed. STOP HER!
FUCKING STOP HER!
But he didn’t.
He never did.
Because he was a useless *, who would never fucking deserve her.
So he just stood there like an asshole, manhandling her friend, and watching in horrified fascination as her lips parted and—
FUCK THIS SHIT.
Fuck the club and the code, and fuck brotherhood.