Read Online Damaged and the Outlaw by Bijou Hunter - Free Book Online

bitch.”
    “No, but I know
men and their images. If Cooper hands over Vaughn, it’ll send the signal that
he’s weaker than your dad. That won’t be good for the club or the business.”
    “Eat it, Raven.
I know you like fucking Vaughn, but shut up about my family’s problems.”
    Rolling my eyes,
I swam to the other end of the pool and ignored her. Bailey did what she always
did when insecure. She looked for someone to fix the hole inside her.
    “You shouldn’t
talk about my family,” she said, swimming to where I waited.
    “I care about
your family. Other than Lark, my family is shit and I would waste them all to
protect your family. I just know how people like those Devils view weakness.
Once they smell it, they keep pushing.”
    “I like Vaughn
too, you know. I don’t want him to die, but it’s not easy for Cooper.”
    “I wasn’t saying
he was weak,” I whispered, my tone settling the anger in her eyes. “I’m saying
if he gives an inch now that it’ll be more work for him later.”
    “I know. He
knows that too.”
    “I’m sorry I
upset you. Sometimes, I mouth off in a way that seems bitchier than I mean.”
    Bailey sighed.
“They don’t tell me anything. They act like I’m not smart enough, but they tell
Tucker and he’s way dumber than me. I should know stuff too.”
    “Maybe they
don’t think you want to be part of the business.”
    “I’d help Coop,
if he let me. I know he works hard. He still has to do the law school shit. I
want him to be with Farah and be happy, but he pushes me aside like I’m dumb
and weak.”
    “He’s just
trying to protect you like you protect him.”
    Bailey smiled
slightly. “I do protect him. I don’t like anyone messing with my family.”
    “You’re barely
nineteen and they see you as a kid. One day, they’ll see you as a woman and
give you more responsibility.”
    “I could handle
it too. I would work hard for the family, if they let me.”
    “I know,” I
said, swiping away the wet hair from her eyes. “One day, they’ll know too.”
    When Bailey
smiled again, she seemed so young. “I don’t want Vaughn to die.”
    “He’s tough. So
are Cooper and Judd. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”
    Bailey nodded.
“Do you think he’ll be your boyfriend now?”
    “Vaughn isn’t
interested in that shit and I can’t fall for anyone. Especially not him. I just
needed to blow off steam and he’s great for that,” I said, smiling despite my
worries over him. “I might have broken my abstinence plan when it came to
fucking, but I’m still abstaining from falling in love with assholes.”
    “I hope I find
someone nice one day,” Bailey muttered, glancing at the sunset. “I see everyone
in love and I get jealous. I’ve never been in love before. It looks fun.”
    “It’s not,” I
told her, grumpy now. “Love hurts and it kills a part of your heart when the
relationship ends. Maybe you’ll get lucky and find what your parents have. Or
maybe you’ll end up like me. A loser who embarrasses herself again and again.
If I were you, I’d wait until you think it’s like your parents. Even if you
have to wait for a long time.”
    Bailey studied me
then caressed my cheek. “You’ll find someone good. Everyone has a perfect
person for them. That’s what my mom said and she’s always right. We just need
to find our perfect person then everything will work and we won’t be lonely.”
    “We’ll go on
double dates and have playdates with our cute kids. It’ll be aces, baby.”
    A laughing
Bailey swam backwards. “Do you want to hang out tonight?”
    “Sure. I had
planned to bug Lark, but she might want alone time with her man.”
    “We’ll be annoying
like that one day and people will mock us.”
    Following Bailey
out of the pool, I doubted I could ever love a man who wouldn’t treat me like
shit. Plenty of good men existed, but they didn’t interest me. Plenty of losers
existed who I might swoon over. Yet, I didn’t want to give my kids a turd