The Runaway MC Princess

Chapter 07

ANDY

I opened my eyes and, for a few seconds, had no idea where I was. I groaned and sat up in the lumpy bed, my body tense.

I had no idea how he found me so fast, but there he was.

Gideon.

He sat in the chair in the corner of my motel room, fists clenched in his lap, his face full of accusation.

"What the hell are you doing here? How did you find me?"

He looked at me as if I’d done something unforgivable, but I was the victim here. Not him, and definitely not Brea Kelly.

Growing up around clubs, I’d seen plenty of girls like her—manipulative, calculating, and quick to play the victim when a man with power was nearby. I saw through Brea immediately, but I wanted so badly to escape my past that I let myself believe Gideon.

Now I knew better.

I should have trusted my gut.

"You will get up, dress, and return to the city with me."

I sat upright. "Not a chance in hell, a*shole."

"I’m not asking, Andrea! You will apologize to Brea and my entire station for the scene you created yesterday."

"Apologize to your mistress? For what? You all disgust me. Get out!"

"You will follow orders like a good wife." His fists tightened. "You ruined Brea’s reputation. You embarrassed her, me, and my precinct."

A bitter laugh escaped me. "Her reputation? I didn’t realize homewreckers cared about that."

"You humiliated her and me!"

"You lied to your wife, blew off our third anniversary for your wh*re's birthday party, and then came out of your office zipping up your pants while she wiped your leavings from her mouth. You disgust me!"

"You don’t understand, Andrea."

"Looked pretty clear from where I was standing."

"Dammit! It was just a birthday bash. We didn’t do anything in the office; she was touching up her makeup."

I laughed. "Was that face cream in the corner of her mouth? And when you carried her back in, was that to change her socks?"

"How long has this been going on? If it's innocent, why did you buy her parents a house? Why did you help her co-sign for her condo? That's marital money, Gideon."

"Enough! You don’t understand what you’ve just done!"

"Why did you have Brea call me, then? She told me you needed me to bring you a file."

His eyes darkened. "That shouldn’t have happened! I never asked her to call you. You’re twisting this. I mentioned needing the file. She must have acted without thinking."

"No. She deliberately called me and told me you asked me to come down. She wanted me to know about the affair."

"You've always done this." His voice rose. "You manipulate situations, and I'm sick of it!"

I stared at him in disbelief.

Then he said the words that destroyed whatever remained between us.

"You calculatedly climbed into my bed three and a half years ago, pretending to be drugged, and guilted me into marrying you. You trapped me in this shame, and now you want to play innocent victim?"

I went numb.

I slowly got out of bed. "Say that again."

"You heard me."

"You think I planned to drug myself to lose my virginity to some older man in a dive bar?"

"You got exactly what you wanted—what you deserved."

"I was eighteen. I was barely an adult. What do you mean, what I deserved?"

"You knew what you were doing. Women like you always know what to do when you see a man with a title and career."

"I was drugged, you fcking ashole!"

"And somehow you ended up in my bed and forced a ring onto your finger. An empty marriage is what someone like you deserves."

I slapped him.

The crack echoed through the motel room. Gideon's face snapped to the side, stunned.

"You’re despicable! Don't push me."

He turned back slowly, fury burning in his eyes.

"I didn't trap you," I said quietly. "You made that decision on your own."

"I took responsibility."

"No. You were a coward hiding what you did, and I spent years mistaking your guilt for love."

His eyes narrowed. "You are coming back with me."

"I said no!"

"Andrea—"

"I said no!"

His nostrils flared. "I’ll file for divorce if you don’t get your a*s up right now!"

I didn't hesitate. "Okay. I accept."

He blinked. "Wait—what?"

"I said I agree. Let's get a divorce." Saying it out loud felt like freedom.

"You don't mean that."

"Oh, but I do."

"You'll regret throwing away your life."

I gave him a cold smile. "You still don’t get it. I lost my identity three years ago; now I’m taking it back."

I walked to my duffle bag and began gathering my things.

"I already announced our divorce yesterday to all your loyal colleagues standing there watching you carry your wh*re out."

His face changed. "At the precinct?"

"Yup. I made it clear that I'll release every ounce of media recorded yesterday and show the world what you and your fellow officers do with taxpayer dollars when their wives aren't around."

Gideon looked genuinely blindsided.

"You can stay with Brea. You can marry her for all I care. I'm done."

His mouth tightened. "I'll give you one last chance to fix this."

His face darkened, and suddenly I realized just how alone I was in this dingy motel room.

Gideon pushed up from the chair and took a menacing step toward me.

"You are coming back to fix this, one way or another."

His fist grabbed my hair and yanked my head back viciously. "You will not ruin what I've worked all these years to build. Do you understand me, b*tch?"

He jerked me hard, and I crashed onto the floor with a startled cry.

"You ruin my life, and I will bury you. Got it!"

"I said, NO!"

I shoved at him. Just as he raised his other hand to strike me, his phone rang.

He let go of me and smiled softly when he saw the screen.

Brea Kelly.

"Hey, what are you doing up so early? The doctors said to rest."

His tone was gentler than I'd ever heard.

He listened, his eyes flickering toward me with hatred.

"Okay, I'll be right there."

After the call ended, Gideon looked down at me with disgust.

"Brea just flew in. I have to go get her. When we get back, this attitude had better be gone. I expect an apology. Got it?"

He didn't wait for a response.

I watched him storm out, the door rattling shut behind him.

That’s when I realized I had a chance to get out of town. I didn’t want Gideon following me, and I definitely didn’t trust being alone with either of them anymore.

I didn’t know how he found me, but I wasn’t going to risk it again.

I grabbed my phone, removed the SIM card, and left it on the nightstand with a note saying my lawyer would handle all communication from now on.

Then I grabbed my bag and walked out.