Ridge dips his head, but I don’t miss the way he smiles.
“Did you know?” I demand.
It’s a dumb question. He didn’t wait for the lawyer to say who I was to marry. He knew it was him.
“Rain…” Ridge sighs like I’m exasperating him.
“Did. You. Know?” I hiss.
I want him to admit it. To admit he was in on this with my father.
Panther steps between us, hands out. “Okay, everyone, how about we calm down. This isn’t exactly the place for this sort of conversation. Everyone is trying to mourn Mustang, and you don’t want the club gossips to hear about this.”
Instead of his words calming me down and pulling me back to the ground, they do the opposite. It only pisses me off more.
“Do not make me ask again, Ridge. Answer the goddamn question!” I yell.
Ridge rakes his hands through his hair.
“Yes, I knew, all right? Are you happy now?” he shouts.
I stumble back in shock. I mean, I had a feeling he knew. It was written on the wall, but still, to hear the words?
He knew. He fucking knew, and he never said a thing. He never warned me.
I knew Ridge and I had our differences, but I thought we still respected each other. If I would have known, and it was his life in question, I would have told him. But he didn’t tell me. He didn’t warn me. Instead, he let me be ambushed.
“How could you?” I whisper.
Ridge
“How could you?” she whispers, her voice full of betrayal.
Shit.
“Wait, wait, wait. Let me explain,” I say, holding up my hands.
Rain crosses her arms over her chest as she takes a step back. I feel the guys shifting behind me and the sound of people filtering out of the clubhouse to watch this scene unfold.
I wish that Rain would let me have this conversation with her in private, but if I tried, she would probably accuse me of lying and castrate me.
“Look, you know I visited your dad a lot when you were at work, right?”
She jerks her head.
“Well, one day he told me that he wanted me to marry you. Told me how he had this big plan to finally get us together. I told him he was crazy and shook my head. Honest to God, on your father’s grave, I thought he was joking. Not once did I think he was serious,” I quickly explain.
Rain tips her head back and lets out a laugh that sends chills up my spine.
“Let me get this straight. You thought he was joking about making us get married, so you never said anything?” she asks sarcastically.
“Yes.”
“You really expect me to believe this shit? Seriously? Come on. Why don’t you admit it, Ridge? You helped him plan this. You thought it would be a good one to get one more jab in when I’m least expecting it, and if I don’t play along, I lose everything.”
Maggie and Aspen step forward and go to her.
“Okay, everyone, how about we calm down. Tensions are high right now, and I think we need to take a breather, go our separate ways until things have cooled off,” Maggie says calmly.