"Ralf"s got this," Saint said, coming toward him. "Come back to the clubhouse."
Nodding, Pipe couldn"t help but look back toward the apartment building where he saw Elena stood. She gave him a smile and held her hand up in a wave.
He nodded at her, and followed Shawl away from the scene.
"You"ve got to make a decision about her, and all that c.r.a.p it means."
"What the f.u.c.k do you mean?"
"You really think Saint"s going to allow you to keep f.u.c.king his sister once he finds out? You"re going to have to make a choice. The club or Elena."
Slamming his fist against Shawl"s face, Pipe shoved him up against the nearest wall. "Let"s get something straight. I"m the leader, the f.u.c.king Prez of the h.e.l.l"s Wolves. Don"t f.u.c.king tell me what I"ve got to decide. Elena, she"s my old lady, and I"m not giving her up for s.h.i.t."
"Pipe, I"m not disrespecting you."
"The moment you doubt me, it"s disrespect. I own the h.e.l.l"s Wolves. The only reason you"ve still got a family is because I"ve taken out all of the f.u.c.king s.h.i.t that was rotting the club. You want me to make a choice? I"ve killed for that club, and I have earned the right to have a woman of my own, some happiness for myself, you selfish little p.r.i.c.k."
He shoved Shawl away from him. His chest was heaving with each indrawn breath.
"Is everything okay?" Saint asked. The Prez of the Saints and Sinners MC straddled his bike as he watched the scene.
"We"re good. We"ll follow you to your clubhouse." Pipe helped Shawl up, slapping him on the back.
Saint and the boys left before Shawl spoke again. "I"m sorry. With Elena, you"re distracted, and she"s not some p.u.s.s.y that you"ve pa.s.sed over to the club. You"re real with her."
"It is real. Don"t ever think I"ll put the club in danger. Elena belongs to me, and so does the club."
Pipe was so d.a.m.n angry, and he wasn"t about to have the club taken from him. He"d worked his f.u.c.king a.s.s off, he"d killed for the club, and no one was taking that away from him.
They made their way toward the Saints and Sinners MC. The ride helped to ease the tension that had built up inside him. He was going to have Elena, and he was going to have the club. Pipe didn"t have a clue how he was going to do it, only that he was.
Chapter Ten.
The following day Elena stood in her brother"s clubhouse with Sarah. She had invited her friend as she couldn"t bear to leave her alone. After following Ralf into the apartment with Sarah, she"d seen a fighter in her friend. Not only had she seen a fighter, she"d also seen the inner strength Sarah had possessed. At first, she really thought Sarah had lost it. The truth was her eyes had been opened.
"You"re really leaving?"
"Yes, I"m leaving. I"m heading out to college, and I"m going to take up my business courses. I stayed in Sinners" Corner for a relationship that was complete bulls.h.i.t. It"s time for me to move on. I"m going to."
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow. The apartment is in Ralf"s hands now. He can deal with it. I"m packed, and I can"t wait to go. I"m excited."
Elena was happy for her friend, but sad. In the last week she"d been having the time of her life with Pipe while her friend was arranging her departure.
"I"m going to miss you," Elena said.
"You can come with me. We can leave this whole town behind."
For a second, she really thought about it. If it wasn"t for Pipe, she would have gone. "I can"t go."
"Why?"
Glancing around the room, Elena sighed. "You know why."
"Elena, it"s not going to work out, honey. You know that."
"I don"t know that."
"Two clubs, two different leaders, and two different men. One of them is your brother, the other, your lover. How is it going to work?"
Biting her lip, she frowned. "I love him, Sarah. How can I walk away when I know he"s the one?"
"You love him?" Sarah jerked, glancing around. "I thought it was just s.e.x between the two of you."
"It was, and now it"s not. I love him. I don"t know what he thinks of me."
"How?"
Elena smiled thinking about her time with him. "He makes me feel alive when I"m with him. Everything else falls away, and it"s like we"re the only two people in the world."
Sarah"s gaze softened. "That was what it was like for Ralf and me in the beginning. It"s not now but whatever."
"I"m really sorry."
"Don"t be sorry for me. This is about you. I"m moving on, Elena. You, well, you"re in love with a man who is known for beating men"s skulls in with a steel pipe."
"I admit he"s colorful, and he"s not the kind of man you take home to Mom and Dad. I don"t have a mom and dad, and Pipe"s not that man when he"s with me. He"s different." Elena didn"t want to have to keep fighting with everyone around her that he made her happy. She wasn"t under any illusions, and imagined Saint had his fair share of deaths under his belt.
"Do you really think it"s going to work with him?" Sarah asked.
"I know it"s going to be difficult, but like you said, he makes me happy, and shouldn"t that be the only thing that matters? He makes me happy."
"Hey, sis, you okay?" Saint asked.
Elena jumped and pressed a hand to her chest. "You scared me."
"Didn"t mean to. Ralf"s outside, Sarah. He"d like a word with you."
"He calls, and I must go running. Things never change." Sarah wiped her hands on a towel and made her way out of the room.
Tucking hair behind her ear, Elena stared at her brother. "What"s up?"
"I wanted to come and say h.e.l.lo, and spend some time with you."
Biting her lip, she nodded. "h.e.l.lo." This was so awkward. They were brother and sister, and yet neither of them knew what to do.
"This is so f.u.c.ked up."
"Yes, it is." She tapped her fingers on the counter, and smiled at him. "So, good picnic?"
"It hasn"t even started yet."
They stared at each other for a few minutes, and Elena wondered what Pipe was doing. She was more comfortable with another biker from another club.
"I"m going to say congratulations to the happy couple." She went to move past him. Saint groaned, wrapped his arm around her neck, and pulled her close.
"We"re going to get through this, little sis. Love you, and I"m going to do everything in my power to protect you. Come on, let"s head out, and say congrats to the happy couple together."
He kept his arm around her shoulders, and for the first time in years, Elena actually felt like she had a brother. They walked outside, and several club members smiled at them as they made their way toward Rage and Penny.
They stood in a corner, and Rage had his hands over Penny"s swollen stomach.
"Congratulations, Penny."
"Thanks, Elena." Penny looked down at her stomach, sighing. "I still can"t grasp the fact there"s another life growing inside me, and it"s wow, yeah."
"That"s right, baby. My d.i.c.k helped create our baby."
Penny"s cheeks went bright red, and she rolled her eyes.
The club still embraced Elena with open arms, but where did that leave her and Pipe?
"You called?" Sarah asked, walking toward Ralf.
She was no longer in pain at the sight of the man who had walked away from her. He"d needed a break, and she was moving on. It sucked, but she now saw the truth that had been facing her every single second they"d been together. She"d always known he wasn"t going to stick around. Knife had told her during one of their many conversations over the phone that she needed to make the decision, and decide what she wanted.
Ralf wasn"t the kind of man who stuck around.
"You"re leaving."
"Yep, the apartment is all yours." She shrugged. "I"m all packed and ready to go." She"d never intended to stay in Sinners" Corner. This was the place she"d grown up, but it was the place she always wanted to leave.
"I don"t want you to go."
She took a deep breath. "Don"t do this, Ralf."
"I asked for a break."
"I was going to leave before you decided you wanted me, Ralf. I stayed with you, and I"m not waiting around to live my life. We had a chance to be together. You need a break, and I"ve got to leave." She crossed her arms in front of her. The protection was necessary. Ralf was always able to make her forget what she wanted out of life. Living in Sinners" Corner wasn"t what she wanted. She wanted a different life, away from the town, away from the biker club. She would miss the club, Elena, and parts of the town. She"d even miss Ralf, but she had to do this.
"I don"t want you to go." He stepped closer. "I love you, Sarah. That"s never changed. I"ve not been with any of the women here."
"Then me leaving will give you the freedom to do what you need to do. I"ve got to go, Ralf." She uncrossed her arms, and placed them on his shoulders. "I love you, too. If you love me, you"ll love me enough to let me go." She pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Goodbye, Ralf."
She stepped away from him, and even though it was tearing her apart, she had to go.
Later that night, Saint stared at the fire. The party was in full swing, and his sister had already left for the night. He was determined to make it work with Elena.
"Did anyone see what that f.u.c.ker was doing with Elena?" Ralf asked.
The brother hadn"t been the same since he"d spoken to Sarah. Saint was aware that Sarah was leaving town, and had enrolled in a college near the city.
"I saw that Pipe was indeed close to Elena." He wasn"t an idiot, and had hoped that Elena would trust him enough to tell him the truth. Saint had seen the shirt she wore, and he"d also known that Pipe owned a shirt like it.
"What are you going to do about it?" Rage asked.
Saint had asked the men to give him a chance to talk to Elena before they did anything. He"d hoped that Elena would tell him, but she"d kept quiet for most of the night, instead talking with Penny.
"I"ve got Jewel watching her house. He"s going to let me know what happens." Saint loved his sister, and since finding out the s.h.i.t that she"d gone through, he was more determined than ever to make sure she was safe and protected.
Pipe was a dangerous man. Even though they"d had business deals with their current agreement with fighting, Saint had known there had been something going on. Pipe didn"t just roll over, and show his belly.
"The moment he knows something, I"ll be there. I"m not having Pipe anywhere near my little sister." He"d only just got her back. There was no way he was going to let her go. "What"s happening with you and Sarah?" he asked.
Ralf growled. "She"s leaving."
"You"re not going to try and stop her."
Saint had been in charge when Ralf had decided he wanted her last time, and done everything he could to keep her. Sarah was a good woman, a kind woman. The fact she was friends with his sister told him that she was a good woman. Elena had become a hard woman to get to know, and yet Sarah had broken down her walls. The two were the best of friends.
"If I love her, I"ll let her go. It"s what she has said." Ralf threw the bottle of beer toward the trash can and missed. "f.u.c.k, p.u.s.s.y, pick that beer up." He shouted at one of the club wh.o.r.es, who was close to where the bottle landed.
"Stop!" Saint shouted toward the club wh.o.r.e. "Ralf, go and pick your f.u.c.king bottle up. You"re not going to show some b.a.s.t.a.r.d respect. My women don"t pick up your s.h.i.t."
Ralf sighed, stood, and placed his bottle in the trashcan.
"No wonder Sarah wants to leave your a.s.s. You"re a slob," Saint said.
"What are we going to do about Pipe? If he"s got his eye on Elena, do you think it"s for real or fake?"
When it came to Pipe, Saint didn"t want to risk reading the situation wrong. Pipe was a good Prez, and had done wonders for the h.e.l.l"s Wolves. He respected him, but no man was good enough for his sister, no one, not even any of his own club brothers. If he had his way, she would be content to remain a virgin forever. s.h.i.t, he was totally f.u.c.ked up, and even as he thought about it, he knew he was being unfair.
Sitting back, he took a sip of beer, waiting for his cell phone to ring. It would ring, he just knew it would.