Greatest Height (New Adult Biker Gang Romance) (Night Horses MC Book 6) Read Free

wonderful.
     
    When he walked through the door of the place, my heart melted. He was who I needed, who I loved.
     
    If he didn’t want me any more… I’d… I’d…
     
    I’d cross that bridge when I came to it, I told myself firmly. I wouldn’t go borrowing trouble.
     
    I’d speak in sayings, apparently.
     
    As my giddy thoughts chased each other around, Merle got to the table and leaned over to brush a kiss against my cheek.
     
    I flinched.
     
    He’s not William, I told myself. He’s not William, he’s not Chad, he’s not el Jefe. He’s just Merle.
     
    He frowned.
     
    “Are you okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry, I was busy on Thursday.”
     
    There was a couple sitting in the next booth. His eyes flickered to them before he continued.
     
    “You know. Work stuff.”
     
    I nodded. “I figured it was something like that,” I said.
     
    I managed a weak smile.
     
    “I mean, I hoped. It wasn’t like you found someone else, right?”
     
    Apparently I didn’t do a good job keeping the worry off my face.
     
    He frowned harder and reached out to take my hand.
     
    “Megan, no,” he said. “Nobody else. I’ve just been… work. Work has really been beating me up.”
     
    I looked at him more closely and saw a shadow of a bruise on his cheekbone.
     
    What could I not see? I found myself wanting to strip him down in the restaurant to check him for injuries. Probably not the best idea.
     
    “You’re okay, though, right?” I repeated, trying to keep my voice causal.
     
    “Yes,” he said, with a slight smile. “I’m okay. Tired, but okay. There’s no one else. I missed you. I’m so glad to see you.”
     
    I nodded.
     
    I did a lot of that around Merle. Just nodding, just… being satisfied. He was a good guy.
     
    He would never cheat on me.
     
    I did realize how silly I was being, but it was really hard to stop. I knew that I needed to calm down, so I took a few deep breaths.
     
    All I wanted was to feel loved and safe. Why was that so hard to ask?
     
    No one was willing to help me, to protect me. I had to make my peace with that. I had to learn to protect myself.
     
    "We need to talk, " I told Merle.
     
    He sighed, a great exhalation of breath and frustration.
     
    "Does it have to be right now?" he asked. "I've had a long week."
     
    I almost gasped out loud with anger. Did he really think he had a monopoly on lousy weeks?
    I needed support and this is what I got?
     
    "You know what? " I asked. I threw my napkin in a wadded up ball onto the table. "I'm done with this. I don't need this right now. I had important stuff to talk about, and all you wanted to do was blow me off?"
     
    Before he could say anything else or answer my question, I was storming out of the restaurant.
     
    The tears running down my cheeks made it hard to see where I was going.
     
    I heard him call after me from the sidewalk behind me, but I kept running.
     
    I ended up walking farther than I had in my life except on a hike.
     
    Turns out, it took me over two hours to get to my old house from downtown.
     
    I'd have thought that a walk that long would have cooled my temper some, but the sight of that fucking house cut through my exhaustion and sent me marching in a righteous fury to the front door.
     
    One car was there, one car wasn’t. They might be out together, or one of them might be gone.
     
    I hammered on the door with my fist. It hurt. I didn't care.
     
    The door opened so abruptly that I almost fell across the threshold. I heard Bear, my old labrador, bark as though his lungs would burst with excitement.
     
    My mother was there.
     
    Her face was white and drawn. She’d lost five pounds since the last time I’d seen her. Maybe more. She didn’t have that kind of weight to lose, and her cheekbone was sharp as a knife slash across her face.
     
    I registered that in a split second as she drew me in to a wordless, bone-crunching hug.
     
    I didn’t say anything. I simply held her, my cheek