The Bad Boy's Biggest Mistake(18)

“Yeah? I don’t think Vicki would have slept with you if she’d known you were married from the start,” Stefan said.

“You’re right. She hasn’t slept with me since. Is she home?” he asked.

“Zoe is comforting her,” Connor said. “I took her over as soon as Stefan gave us the heads-up about you.”

All six men stared him down. They made a scary combination, Noah, Drew, Stefan, Connor, Jake and Brent. All of them looked at him as if he was a piece of shit, and he relished it. He needed their punishment.

“You know, the Law Castle Bad Boys may be a bit of a joke to you, but we take it seriously. We live by our own set of rules, and there has never been much trouble,” Stefan said. “We don’t fuck unwilling women or hit on other men’s women. Cheating is not something we allow. The women we fuck know the score. Our women know they can trust us. Once you’re our woman, you’re our woman.”

“I fucked up. I’m not one of your gang.”

“The only thing stopping me from putting you in the grave, Sheriff, is the fucking marks on your wife’s ass. She’s only just turned up in town. I know you weren’t the one to put them there. You and your wife have a different story. I don’t want to fucking hear it.” Stefan folded his arms. “But you tell me why I should postpone Vicki’s parents from collecting her?”

Running fingers through his hair Tristan looked off toward Vicki’s house. He wasn’t used to explaining himself, and he didn’t like it. However, these men with their circus clown of a club helped to run and keep this town decent.

“A lot of shit is going on between Kate and me. I won’t deny that. I love Vicki. I really do, and it has taken Kate showing up for me to realise it. I will never hurt Vicki. She’s my future even though she’s too fucking young for me.”

Stefan stared at him for several minutes. “We don’t judge here.” He moved out of the way. “You hurt Vicki again, and I’ll be putting her on the back of my bike and driving her out of town in the next instant.”

Tristan nodded. He accepted the terms before making his way back over to Vicki’s house. He needed to make things right between them. No way would he accept anything less.

****

“Yuck, this coffee is disgusting. I think I need to give you coffee lessons. How do Stefan and the others cope with this?” Zoe asked.

Vicki burst out laughing. She poured some whisky, left over from when Tristan visited, into her coffee and made her way into the room. Zoe scented the air and scowled at her.

“It’s a little early to be drinking.”

“It’s five o’clock somewhere.” She sipped her drink feeling the disapproval rolling off Zoe. “What? I’m not an alcoholic. I just need to forget everything that has happened. Surely you can appreciate that?”

Zoe reached out, pushing the hair off her shoulder. “What’s the matter? Stefan looked worried, and then everyone is talking about that woman visiting Tristan.”

News travelled fast in Law Castle. It was one of the pitfalls to living in a small town.

“Should you be drinking coffee?” Vicki asked, trying to change the subject.

“One sip was enough. Do you have a fruit juice or water?” Zoe asked.

Vicki took the mug of acrid coffee and poured it down the sink. She’d never been great at making coffee. Laughing about it was easier than crying. Still, tears poured down her face even as she grabbed a fruit juice she kept in the fridge.

Her friend was stood in the doorway with a hand on her stomach. Vicki recalled the feeling of pressing a hand to her stomach. There was once a life inside her. A life created by her and Tristan. Pressing a hand to her stomach, Vicki felt empty all over again. The doctors at the time assured her she’d feel fine. She wasn’t feeling fine. There was no one to mourn the loss of life with.

Tristan had a beautiful wife. There was no way she’d ever be able to compete with something like that. Kate was better looking in person than in the picture.

“The woman in Tristan’s office was his wife. I don’t know why she’s come back, but she has.”

Returning her gaze to Zoe she saw the pity in the other woman’s gaze.

“Please, don’t pity me. I can’t handle the pity. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“I’m not pitying you, Vicki.” Zoe walked further into the room. “Do you remember when I first came to town? You talked about everything, and I mean everything. There was nothing I could do to stop you from talking. All you ever did was talk, talk, talk.”

Vicki smiled, remembering. She drove Zoe insane at the bar where they worked together.