The Biker's deadly obsession

Chapter three

Bailey's pov

"Isn't that enough?" Jax asked, making me chuckle. There was no humour in that one chuckle.

"It was five years ago." I said, the words coming out before I could stop them. "Staying alive was enough then too but look how that turned out."

Something dark flickered in his eyes. "Bailey…"

"Don't." I held up a hand. "Don't you dare try to explain it now. Don't tell me you had your reasons or that it was for my own good or whatever bullshit excuse you've been rehearsing for five years." I cut him off.

I didn't want to hear it because it wasn't going to change s**t.

The damage had been done and there was no use of trying to control it.

"You don't understand…” Ghost started but I cut him off with conviction.

"I understand perfectly." My voice shook and I hated it.

I hated that he could still do this to me. "You chose them. You chose the club. When it mattered most, when I needed you, you stood up in front of everyone and destroyed me. So don't stand there now and pretend this is about protection. This is about control." I pointed out.

"You're wrong." He said, his voice low and defeated.

"Am I? Then tell me why, Ghost. Tell me what possible reason you could have had for…"

"You were going to die!" The words exploded out of him, raw and ragged. "They were going to kill you, Bailey.

They were going to make sure you never made it out alive and the only way to keep you alive was to make them think I was the one who betrayed you."

The silence that followed was deafening.

I stared at him, my mind trying to process what he'd just said, trying to make it make sense.

"What?"

He ran a hand through his hair, the gesture so familiar.

"The evidence was fabricated.

It was made it look like you were the one dealing with the feds.

If I'd defended you or tried to prove your innocence, they would have killed us both. So, I made them believe I was the one who uncovered your betrayal.

It was the only way to protect you."

"You made me a villain," I pointed out, my voice barely a whisper.

"I fired that shot to exile you and make sure they couldn't touch you under club law. Dead women can't be exiled. I kept you alive the only way I knew how."

My legs felt weak. I grabbed the back of the couch to steady myself.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked carefully.

"Because you needed to hate me." His voice was rough. "You needed to believe I betrayed you so you'd stay away. So you would run far enough that they'd forget about you. If you'd known the truth, you would have tried to fight. To clear your name. And they would have killed you for it."

I wanted to believe him.

God! Some pathetic part of me wanted to believe that he had done it all to save me. That the betrayal was protection in disguise, that the man I loved hadn't really destroyed me.

But I'd learned the hard way that wanting something didn't make it true.

"No." The word came out flat.

Ghost's head snapped up. "Bailey…"

"No," I repeated, harder this time. "You don't get to do this, Jax.

You don't get to show up five years later with some hero story and expect me to just... What?Believe you? Forgive you? Thank you?"

"I'm not asking for any of that Bailey. I am just asking…"

"You're asking me to believe that everything you did was for my protection. That you calling me a traitor in front of the entire club was some noble sacrifice." I laughed and it sounded broken even to my own ears. "I would be stupid to believe your words again, Jax. Just like I was stupid to believe them back then."

His face went carefully blank. “ It's the truth, whether you believe it or not.”

"Is it? Because to me, it looks like you are the one who benefited most from my father's death and my imprisonment." The words tasted bitter but I couldn't stop them. "You were just a regular club member before. Now look at you, you are the Enforcer. The VP's right hand. You rose through the ranks pretty damn fast after I was gone."

Something flickered across his face—hurt, maybe.

Good, let him hurt the way I did.

"You think I wanted this? You think I wanted to become…"

"I think you made choices." I cut him off. "You made choices that worked out pretty well for you. My father dies in that 'accident.' I get framed, you swoop in as the hero who exposed the 'traitor.'

It's convenient, don't you think?"

The silence stretched between us like a death penalty.

"Bailey." Jax called, his voice barely a whisper. "You can't possibly believe…"

"Were you involved?" I cut him off, the question ripping out of me before I could stop it.

“ Were you involved in my father's death? Were you part of it?"

My father didn't just die, someone took his life.

I watched the color drain from his face and his hands curl into fists at his sides. Something that looked like devastation crashed through his carefully controlled expression.

"Is that what you think of me?" His voice cracked. "Do you hate me that much?"

"I would be a pretender if I didn't." The truth burned coming out. "You ruined my life, Jax. You took me for a fool, lied to me, betrayed me. You stood there and watched them drag me away. You fired that shot that sent me into hell for three years. So don't look surprised that I don't trust you or buy your bullshit."

"Your father was like a father to me." His voice was raw now, stripped of all pretense. "He taught me everything and gave me a place when I had nothing. I would have died for him. I would have…" He stopped, jaw working like he was fighting to get the words out. "I loved him and I loved you. More than the club. More than anything."

"You loved…" I noted coldly. "How convenient."

"Bailey…"

"Save it." I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly cold despite the warmth from the wood stove. "You want me to wear your ring? Fine. You want me to play the dutiful old lady so I don't end up with a bullet in my head? I can do that. But don't expect me to believe this redemption story you're selling. Don't expect me to forget what you did."