Free Retribution: A Motorcycle Club Romance by Sienna Valentine Page A

let me do what you need me here to do in peace?”
     
    Eva bit her lip as if it would hold
back the tide of furious words building in her throat. Has there ever been a
single man in all the world that has ever been a grown-up? she thought as
she drained the rest of her glass in a huff. She slammed it empty back down on
the counter hard enough that Will’s gaze flickered up to her.
     
    “Some dogs need to be put down, all right,”
she muttered, as she swiped her book from where she’d left it on the counter
and walked away from Will. She nearly bumped into Charlie coming in from the
back with a roll of tape and his makeshift handwritten sign.
     
    Charlie made a surprised sound, and then
frowned. “Where are you going?”
     
    “I’m fucking off,” said Eva in a dark
tone, trying to move around him. She could feel Will’s eyes on her back, and it
made heat rise in her body—this time more of the angry type.
     
    “What?” said Charlie, confused.
     
    “I’m going to the house,” said Eva
impatiently. “Just leave me alone.” She pushed past him.
     
    “Keep your phone on you. I want to be
able to check in!” Charlie called as she weaved out the back door and into the
meadow.
     
    Eva didn’t reply as she stalked
through the forest meadow, completely ignoring the view in a way she hadn’t
before. She stormed up the porch stairs, made a beeline for the kitchen and a
bottle of iced tea, and then holed up in her borrowed master bedroom. After lying
on the cool sheets for a few minutes, watching the curtains dance in the
breeze, Eva felt her anger mostly dying. Every minute, Will’s hurtful words
pulsed less and less loudly in her mind.
     
    What the hell is that
guy’s problem? I didn’t do a single thing to deserve being talked to like that.
Why would he risk himself to help us in a lethal situation and then turn around
and treat me like shit afterwards?
     
    Eva was so tired of men. She felt
like they were an alien species she couldn’t comprehend. Sure, she had grown up
a little shy and socially isolated, but she was a smart woman, totally capable
of overcoming those things to find friends, boyfriends, and eventually, a
husband. The friends, she kept and kept well. But the men never seemed to
follow the same rules. Laura always told her it was because men were
intimidated by her, and the thought always made Eva howl with laughter. But
Laura held the line, insisting it was Eva’s brains and fire that caused her
trouble. Weak men are afraid of strong women , she would say.
     
    But she never felt like Rick had been
afraid of her. No, quite the opposite—in her mind, Rick loomed like a monster who
had never been afraid of anything. She was the one who had been afraid. The man
who proposed to her was strong, sweet, and supportive. The man he became when
he was finally her husband was none of those things. Rick kept her tired and
frightened, alienated her from her friends and family, and even made it hard
for her to hold down a job with his incessant and jealous fits when she had to
work late. When she lost that job, the net only drew in tighter, and Rick had
kept her from finding employment, insisting she remain in the apartment as a
housewife. Under his full control, Rick tormented Eva psychologically and
emotionally until she couldn’t sleep or eat, until she felt like time had lost
meaning and she had already died.
     
    Laura was the only friend who refused
to let Rick push her away. She never ignored a call or text from Eva, and
frequently risked herself to try and intervene. Like many abused women, Eva
resisted help for years, refusing to see the truth of her life and too afraid
to fix it when she did. But after Rick cut off her ability to communicate with
the outside world by destroying her phone and laptop, Eva finally realized the
danger she was in. Laura and Charlie had worked together to establish an escape
for her. Eva would never forget the looks on their faces when they saw her
after months