“Were you watching as well?” I bite back in the same tone he used.
He lets out a loud laugh. “It’s nice to have a woman around here who talks back.”
The fact he likes having me around makes me smile. “How did you find out?”
“I overheard the sweet butts talking about it.” Well, if Axle knows… everyone does. “Candy left by the way… She had some dodgy-ass friends pick her up.”
“Left?” My voice falters. “For good or just for a while?” I want her gone for good, but at the same time, I don’t want her involved with dangerous people.
“Well… she had all her bags. Mercedez tried to get her to stay, but Candy was determined to leave. The guy that got out of the car to help her with her bags was skinny and had scabs on his face and up his arms. He looked like he was a user.”
A sliver of guilt tweaks my stomach. I try to shake off the feeling and think back to Ava’s pregnancy.
“Hey, Twitch.” I move close to him so that only he can hear. “Can you do me a favor? If you have a copy of the War Brothers MC logo, can you send it to me? I want to put it on the back of a onesie as a surprise for Ava.”
He waits a beat then cocks his head. “What’s a onesie?”
I grin. “A one-piece suit for babies.”
He gives me a weird look. “Umm… Okay.”
“The food is ready!” Bomber calls out, so I go back to the women around the table.
I hear them mentioning the charity. “That reminds me: I need to sort out my donation and call my brothers about theirs.”
“You don’t have to!” Zara is quick to respond.
“We want to,” I reply in a reassuring tone.
She leans closer to me and whispers, “How are you and Viper?”
“Pretty amazing.”
She smiles, obviously pleased with my answer. “He worships you.”
So, he should. An idea forms on how to get my husband back. I think he’s the type that would love strippers, so a super-plus-size stripper it is. I grin and try to contain the excitement from bubbling up inside of me.
“Viper never felt anything for Candy.”
“Axle was just telling me she left.”
“Probably for the best… nice girl and all… but she would have wasted her time here because it seemed her world revolved around Viper, but he was never interested in her. He’d never be able to care for her the way he cares for or, I dare say, loves you.”
My face drains of color.Love… I recoil as if I’m allergic to the word.
She laughs. “Don’t make that face. I think he does… but before you faint, come and get some food.”
I follow her in a daze. After we grab a plate, I sit down to eat, but her words have punched me in the chest.
Viper and I arrive at the warehouse near the edge of the MC’s property. Loud cheering and yelling spill out from the opened doors. I swallow over the lump in my throat. My heart is pattering—I’m unsure what I’m going to walk in on. We meet Cash by the front entrance.
“How’s Rage? Is he ready?” asks Viper.
“He’s rearing to go,” Cash responds, but waves of anxiety crash over me.
“Good, good,” Viper replies. He peers over his shoulder at me and frowns. “We can go back to the clubhouse. You don’t have to watch the fight.”
He reads me well. Before, I wanted to sus out what it was, but now I’m not sure. The rowdy people and witnessing Rage get hurt aren’t appealing, but this is what the MC does, and I’m not one to back down. I stand up straight. “You’ll protect me, won’t you?”
