The Biker's Fate Chapter 453

"What?" I whispered. "He was?"

"Yeah, Rem. He was."

Well, crap. That was definitely against the rules. On the other hand, Alamo trusted Stump, and Alamo's a bigwig in the club, so Merrick should be fine with it.

"I didn't know."

"Don't give a fuck," he growled.

He threw my bag in the back of his rental car and opened the door for me. I climbed in and he made his way to the driver's side.

"Alamo approved Stump, right?" I asked once Merrick started the car.

"Did I?"

"No, but you were busy, so Alamo offered—"

"Alamo is not your man."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I told you I would take you out."

"On Monday, you told me you'd take me out. Then again on Tuesday, but you were busy. Now it's Thursday, and I had to take a class."

"You could have waited until I was done."

"When did you get done, Merrick? Huh?"

"Not the point."

"It is the point," I snapped. "You've been keeping me locked up in your fortress without access to human contact."

"Babe. There are close to fifty humans for you to have contact with," he argued. "Not close contact, over the kitchen island or through a door, but human contact, nonetheless."

"I want contact with my humans," I ground out. "The ones I'm allowed to hug."

"Then you wait until I can take you where you need to go."

"Or I can go stay with Kennedy."

"You're not fucking leaving the compound until we figure out who the threat is."

"You have the threat," I countered. "Seth."

"Seth's a pawn."

"But he was the one who killed those girls, right? So, the threat's been eliminated for now."

Before Merrick could counter with some stupid ass explanation, my phone rang, and I welcomed the distraction. "Hello."

"Remington Aultman Charles, what's this about you being back in town and I have not received a phone call?" my mother accused, her southern accent on ten.

"Hi, Mom."

"Don't 'hi, Mom' me, young lady. We still have Sunday dinner every week, I expect you to be there."

"Mom, Michelle's memorial service is Sunday," I said. "And then I'm leaving Tuesday."

That part was a lie. I didn't know when I was leaving…or if I actually was. Merrick raised an eyebrow and I focused forward as I tried to avoid both my mother and my boyfriend.

"Leaving? Leaving to go where?"

"Back to Portland."

"Are you still on that ridiculous road?"

"So, did you need something?" I asked, diverting the subject.

"Daddy and I would love to see you. Perhaps take you out to dinner."

"That sounds lovely," I lied. "Let me look at my calendar and send you a few dates."

"Wonderful, darlin'. We'll talk soon."

"Okay, Mom, bye."

"So, you're coming home with me, then?" Merrick asked after I hung up.

"I don't know yet," I said.

"Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Merrick—"

"When exactly are you going to have time to see your parents?"

"Oh, I'm not. They can go fuck themselves. But I can't say that to them. I play the game."

"Jesus," he hissed. "How many people do you play this game with?"

"Only them," I said.

"Wish I believed that," he grumbled as we drove through the compound gates.

"Don't be melodramatic."

"Don't fuckin' tell me I'm bein' melodramatic when my woman makes me a promise, then breaks it."

"I didn't break a promise."

"You broke a promise."

I scoffed. "I told you I had to get out. I had to take a class, or I'd go crazy. If anyone broke a promise, it was you."

Merrick let out a frustrated grunt and stomped out of the car. I knew we were at an impasse, so I climbed out and walked into the compound, not caring if he followed or not.

I passed Alamo as I stormed up the stairs, but decided I was kind of pissed at him too, so didn't acknowledge his existence as I made my way to Merrick's room. I walked inside, stripped off my clothes, and stepped into the shower.

I was still pretty riled up as I dried off and dressed, partly because Merrick hadn't come up to check on me or make sure I was okay. Irrational, granted, but I wanted him to apologize and bow before his queen in contrition.

I slid on a pair of tennies and headed downstairs to find no one but Stump in the great room. He was on his phone, but rang off when he saw me. "Hey, babe. You good?"

"Have you seen Merrick?"

He looked at me in confusion.

"Finch," I corrected.

"Yeah, he's on a call. Back office."

I bit my lip, deciding just how mad I was still, before turning on my heel and heading that way.

"Yeah, Monday," I heard Merrick say. "Tuesday'll work. Okay. See you then."

I pushed open the door and leaned against the doorjamb. He met my eyes, but didn't smile. "You feeling better?"

I shrugged. "Depends on what I'm supposed to feel better about."

"I see we're still at a stalemate." He closed a file folder and set his phone on top of it.

"Stop being a dick and we won't be."

"I'm a dick because I want you safe?" he ground out. "Okay, Rem. I'm a dick, then."

"Oh my god, Merrick, stop twisting my words."

"They're your words, baby. Can't twist them when I'm repeating them verbatim."

"I have never once said I thought you were a dick for wanting me safe," I countered.

He sighed. "I want this to be a teachable moment for you, Remington."

"Excuse me?"

"You need to listen—"

"Fuck you, Merrick. You're not my father, and I'm not a child. You don't get to talk to me like that," I snapped, and stormed away.

Stump was exactly where I left him, and I closed the distance between us. "I need to run an errand."

"Let me know what you need, and I'll do it for you."

"I need to do it."

"No can do, babe. You're locked down."

"Excuse me?"

"You're locked down," Merrick repeated as he walked into the room.

I turned on him. "Meaning what, exactly?"

"Meaning, unless I say otherwise, you don't leave the compound."

"You can't do that."

"I can, baby, and I did."

"What about class or the memorial service?"

"Class is out for the moment, but I'll take you to the service. I've cleared Sunday."

"Oh, how generous of you, benevolent one," I spat out. "Please put some time on your calendar to kindly fuck yourself as well."

With that, I headed back upstairs where I locked myself into the room and flopped onto the bed. I was so mad, I couldn't even cry.

But I could scheme. And I did. In the form of Merrick's murder and all the ways I could hide his body.