Free Shadow (A Bad Boy Romance): The Hoods MC by Heather West

of them… maybe the world didn't have a place for me in it.
     
    Marie was helping herself behind the counter, fixing them both drinks. Honestly, considering how messed up I was, I couldn't blame her for hating me so much. She was actually right, I wasn’t good enough for Sky, not that I would ever tell her.
     
    The two of them were talking, laughing, and having fun. My grip on my beer tightened and I chugged the rest of it. Sky sounded happy. Could I make her happy? Did I want to? I had been so determined to use her for sex—which had been a huge failure. She had wanted me just as much as I had wanted her. Angry with myself, I had been so determined to push her away, I actually took her out on a mission with me. Not just on a stakeout, I had ended up killing the guy. She had witnessed me murder someone. And then I just abandoned her there.
     
    Yes, she still managed to make her way back here. She chose to return to the clubhouse, despite everything she had seen, that I put her through.
     
    This Sky, she wasn't Allie any more, that was for sure. She was a new woman, one I was still just as attracted to, as I’d been to Allie. One, I wanted to get to know. One, I found myself not able to hate.
     
    I downed my beer faster than I should have. It would be nice if I could hear them, but the walls in the room had been constructed to absorb sound, so people could talk somewhat privately, even if the bar was crowded to capacity.
     
    Still, I watched their body language. Marie was talking earnestly, her hands communicating as much as her lips, and I knew, I just knew, she was telling Sky what a monster I was. After what Sky had witnessed earlier today, she had to believe it. Marie would convince her to leave and that would be the end of it, the end of us. It shouldn't bother me so much. It was for the best. I had only saved her because, while I might have hated her, I couldn’t let her suffer at the hands of those thugs. I wasn't that much of an ass. But, I wasn't a hero either. I didn't deserve her, or anyone else.
     
    Sometimes killing a pedophile made me feel better, made me feel as if the world was a marginally better place—that I had helped to change the world. This time, I felt dirty. Like I had been the one in the wrong. I have never felt that way before, and even chugging my beer—my fourth—didn't help to wash away the bad taste in my mouth. Would it ever be possible for me to be happy? For me to actually have a real purpose in life?
     
    They were still talking. Fuck, just watching Sky's backside was enough to make my cock spring to life. She just had a way about her. She'd fling her hair back over her shoulder, or threw her head back and laughed, every little movement she did seemed sexually charged. It was probably my imagination, but still. My cock was throbbing, and I just wanted to bury myself in her wet pussy again and again. I needed to hear her scream out my name. She was my undoing. Sky could be my ruin if I wasn't careful.
     
    I had been right to try and push her away. Where I had failed, Marie might succeed.
     
    That would be for the best… right? We were a powder keg, just waiting to go off when we were together. We'd blow up if we stayed together. No way could we work for the long haul. Better to forget about her and move on.
     
    I shifted in my seat to try to get comfortable, but the friction of my jeans only made my dick harder. My hand slipped down the table to adjust myself. Fuck. My balls were ready to explode. It was so damn uncomfortable.
     
    Marie was hugging Sky now. Maybe they were on their way out now. Just how did Sky end up back here? She couldn't have walked that far, that quickly. A ride. Marie never would've brought her here, so someone else must have. For a second, I felt the hot burn of jealousy in my stomach. Some more beer helped to wash it away. I should be more focused on how Marie learned Sky was here, was Sky starting to get her memory back. It was only right for Sky to