I think my mouth dropped open.
“Fuck.” He shifted, sitting up, and crashed his lips against mine. He collared my throat with his hand. A whimper escaped my mouth as his tongue collided with mine. “I gotta get out ofmyhead. Somehow, I know I fucked this up for you. I’m sorry, baby.”
My breath caught as he used the nickname Ryatt had hijacked from him. A fresh wash of tears filled my eyes. “You didn’t fuck us up. We all chose. It still hurts.”
We were quiet for a moment.
“Am I enough for you?” he asked.
I leaned up on my elbow, trying to make him out in the darkness, and my heart broke. I pressed my lips to his chest. “You’re everything to me.” I never wanted him to question how much I loved him. “I’m not me without you.”
He tightened his hold on me. “Want to get out of here?”
“You can’t leave. You have church tonight.”
He slid his legs out of bed, stood, and flipped on the light. “Let’s go for a ride. We won’t be gone long. Just long enough to let the wind dry your tears. And I always feel good with you riding behind me.”
I climbed onto my knees and scooted toward the edge of the mattress. “This is why I love you.”
“You still love me?” He stepped closer, and I wrapped my arms around his neck.
“Yeah, most days.”
He smacked my ass. “Get your boots on.”
I didn’t expect flowery words from him. Tonight, I wanted them. I wasn’t going to get them. That wasn’t this man. But he’d give me what I needed on the back of his bike. Speed, adrenaline, and the deafening roar of his Harley.
I crawled off the bed, tugged on my boots, and tightened the laces. Cruz quickly dressed, including strapping on his chest harness and covering it with his cut.
“Do you need a gun?” I quickly braided my hair.
Cruz handed me an elastic hairband. “I can’t take the chance of being unarmed. Too much shit has happened. With Ryatt. With the Kings. With the fuckers I work for. I’m not going down without a fight, but I promise, I’m not looking for trouble.”
But he was a Heller…
Voices sounded from the chapel. Friday nights in the MC were always loud. We left through the side door of the church and walked around to the front of the building.
Cruz threw his leg over the bike, and I climbed on behind him.
“Ready?”
I nodded, zipped up my jacket, and rested my hands on top of his shoulders. The engine fired, and he slowly rode down the line of bikes. The gates were open, and motorcycles rumbled into the parking lot.
Once we were away from the MC, Cruz rolled the throttle and surged down the road. I wrapped my arms around his waist. He was right. This was what we needed. Wind whipped across my face. Tears slipped from my eyes and dried on my cheeks.
This was enough. This was what we’d always been for each other. This was everything…except Ryatt.
Ryatt
I’d thought I had a good public defender for my initial charges. I only remembered his name because Icouldn’t talk to him without thinking about coffee. His name was Ben Folgers.
He’d encouraged me to take the deal. Guaranteed probation versus a possible five-year sentence. I’d taken the deal because technically, I was guilty. I’d dabbled in drugs, sold to a few friends, and I’d trusted the wrong people.
Willy sat next to me as we waited for the judge. Ted sat in the front row behind the prosecutor. Willy had warned me not to look in his direction, but to focus on the judge.Don’t smile, but don’t look pissed off. Don’t appear bored, but don’t stare.Apparently, for this process, the judge didn’t need evidence. He just had to have a belief that I’d violated my probation.
I was fucked. No way was I getting out of the five-year stint. I had violated my probation, and my pervert PO had the receipts to prove it. I had missed check-ins. Treena had submitted a document to the court about my time in the halfway house. Three months of staying out of her way, taking care of my business, and a couple of Kings with guns had to fuck it up.
The sarcasm was wasted. There was no one to hear the pity party going on in my head. I wasn’t getting out and that was the reason I didn’t want Cruz and McKelle here.
