Page 110 of Lethal Attraction

He throws his hands up in defeat as he turns toward the parking lot. “Whatever. Keep playing these games.”

Bailey stares down at the gravel, a single tear rolling down her cheek. “I was always truthful with you. You knew from the very beginning this was my life.”

“Yeah,” Liam grumbles as he stomps towards his car. “I was okay with it because I never thought you would actually choose it.”

Silence blankets us thickly as he gets in his vehicle and leaves. As his red taillights disappear off the compound grounds, Bailey sucks in a ragged breath, wiping the tears away from her eyes.

“Bailey—” Thalia calls softly, the suspicious woman from earlier long forgotten as our chests ache for the South branch leader.

The blonde woman holds up a hand as she tucks her head. “I-I need a moment.”

Dom reaches for her, but she steps away, creating distance. Thalia’s face falls at the tears streaming down Bailey’s cheeks.

“Come to my house,” Thalia offers. “We can get drunk with the girls and talk.”

Bailey sucks in a ragged breath, turning to look at us. “I think I would like that right now…”

I place a hand on the small of Thalia’s back as I smile fondly at her. “Good idea.”

“Will you be okay hanging back with the guys?” She asks sheepishly.

“Of course,” I snort. “Atlas and I are practically best friends.”

That brings some of the joy back to her expression as she dips into the bar to retrieve the others. Meanwhile, I glance around to see if I can find the person I came looking for, but I’m more than certain they’re long gone.

It probably wasn’t even important to begin with.

A rough hand slaps my back, jolting me forward and knocking the wind from my lungs as Atlas wraps an arm around my shoulders and shakes me. “We have plans tonight!”

“We do?” I ask as I glance at Connor and Rowan. They shrug.

Oh, fuck me.

Chapter thirty-one

Thalia

My house is buzzing with Alana, Bailey, Addison, Loxley, Taryn, Emma, and Blair. Alana’s protégé sticks to the corner of the room, drowning us out as she types away on her computer like she’s doing something important. Wine bottles are being tossed around as the South Branch leader attempts to drown out her man troubles. At least she’s smiling now. Her cheeks are flushed from the alcohol, and her tears have dried up.

“I just don’t understand,” she slurs a little as her glass tips too far to the left. “I told him everything from the very beginning. I didn’t keep a single secret from him. I’ve been open about wanting to rejoin the South Branch, and he seemed okay with it. Fuck, he even encouraged me to at one point. Now, all of a sudden, he doesn’t like it anymore.”

“Probably because Theo and Dom are trying to get in your guts—” Addison stops abruptly as Loxley shoots her a stern glare. “Yeah, I don’t know. That’s fucking weird…” she trails as she takes a long sip of her drink.

I press my fingers to my lips, avoiding eye contact with Addison. It doesn’t work, naturally, and we both lose our shit.

Alana nudges me, fighting her own laughter as her lips twitch and she raises her glass to cover it. “Maybe he’s feeling inadequate?”

Bailey sloshes her drink around. “He wasn’t adequate to begin with—oh my god, I can’t believe I just said that.” She covers her eyes with a hand, embarrassment flaming her cheeks. “Someone sedate me.”

“Wait,” Addison’s head whips around. “He’s not adequate? Like…” She uses her hands to mimic fist-fucking a massive cock. Really, it’s her best charade work.

“He’s a grower, not a shower,” Bailey shrugs before her lips pull over her teeth. “Okay, that’s a lie. He isn’t either.”

“Well,” Loxley says cautiously as she sets her virgin pina colada down, “sometimes the big ones hurt, anyway.”

“Who the fuck are you trying to fool?” Addison quips.

The red-blonde woman deadpans at her. “I’m just trying to help, okay? And it’s true.”