Laughter erupted in the kitchen. “Are you ready for this?” I asked.
“I am. Are you?”
“I only know Levi and Romeo well. I’m friends with everyone here, but only because of Cruz. I don’t want this to be awkward for us.”
“I can handle it.” He linked his fingers with mine.
The warmth of his palm calmed my chaotic nerves. There was confidence in his quiet strength. He wasn’t rough around the edges, didn’t hit my bloodstream like hitting the red line on my bike’s tach.
The way he looked at me, like I was all he could see, made me feel beautiful. He kissed me like he needed my oxygen to breathe, and in the dark secret corners of my mind, I wanted to feel him inside of me. But I could hear Cruz in my thoughts reminding me I was his.
Harleys rumbled into the drive. Ryatt twisted to glance over his shoulder. “Do we face off with the girls or gather reinforcements with the guys?”
“I think you might be facing off with the guys. The girls are the reinforcements.”
Romeo leapt onto the porch and fist bumped with Ryatt. Dozer and Blade followed him into the house. I wouldn’t say Dozer looked happy to see me standing next to Ryatt.
“Can I talk to you?” he asked me.
We stepped outside and Ryatt went toward the kitchen with Blade and Romeo.
Dozer sat on the porch and lit a cigarette. “This is none of my business, except that Cruz is more than a Heller. You know that.”
I did. Cruz and Dozer had history. He was the reason Cruz had been desperate for the patch. But once he’d signed on to prospect, he recognized Dozer was already tight with his Heller brothers. He and Blue grewclose. Just like me and Kiss. Staying away from the MC sucked because I missed her, too.
“I’m not saying you don’t have a reason to be pissed.” Smoke curled around Dozer’s thick, tatted fingers as he took a long drag off his cigarette. “You know this situation is fucked.”
“I know.” I squinted into the night.
Dozer glanced over his shoulder into the house. “How do you see this playing out? Cruz is possessive as fuck over you.”
“That’s his problem, not mine.”
Dozer groaned and rolled his shoulders. “He knows.”
A flare of fear slipped through me. “You’ll need to be specific.”
“He knows you’re hooking up with Ryatt.”
I huffed a breath. “He can’t know that since we’re not hooking up.” I couldn’t keep the smile from my lips. “Not yet.”
“He’s going to be at Chrome tonight. I fucked up. Or maybe it was Jazzy. Anyway, Cruz was at the table. He knows you’re going, and he’s assuming you’ll be there with Ryatt.”
I released an exasperated sigh. This wasn’t how I wanted Cruz to find out. Maybe I didn’t want him to know at all.
I pivoted my upper body toward the door. Ryatt stayed where he could see me, but he was chatting with Romeo and Blade. He laughed and smiled. I was sure the girls were grilling him. I wish I could hear what he said.
“I warned Cruz not to start shit,” Dozer said.
I turned back to Dozer. “Cruz is stupid when it comes to me.” Just like I was a stupid girl when it cameto him. I had a great guy right here standing in the kitchen, and my heart was fluttering because I wasn’t ready to see Cruz. I wasn’t ready to test my loyalty to Ryatt.
Ryatt didn’t know the same girl Cruz did. Maybe I was relieved that Ryatt couldn’t see the warped parts of me, the stupid girl who secretly loved the filthy, obsessed side of Cruz.
“Blade and Romeo will be deterrents, and I threatened to kick his ass in the basement. He knows he fucked up. Maybe just don’t provoke him.”
“How? By not kissing Ryatt?” I might not be his girlfriend, but we’d been together all week. He met my family, helped my mom with her damn goats, and my dad was going to let him race his Ducati at our next track day.
Cece was trying hard not to like him because, like me, she gravitated toward danger. I glanced at Ryatt again, and he smiled. He wasn’t my boyfriend, but maybe I washisgirlfriend. He was definitely feeling like more than a friend.
