I shift on my heels. “I don’t have to explain shit, but even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. All you need to know is he’s important to me, and I’d fucking kill you if something happened to him.”
Calloway dips his chin. “Understood, but for the record, I keep all my brothers safe. I’d never let anything happen to any of these guys, and it’s insulting that you think I would.”
“He’s not a brother.”
“Not yet, but he will be, even if he joined under suspicious circumstances and seems to have feelings for my little sister. Ones that, if I had to guess, she returns, even though she’s in denial.”
I turn my head and look away from him as I feel my cheeks heat.
“I’ll see you later. Be good while I’m gone,” Calloway says as he walks away.
Before anyone else can come in and ask me why I’m blushing, I hurry back to my room.
The last thing I want to do right now is answer questions I’m not ready to face yet.
ASHER
Yawning, I shake my head as I try to keep my eyes on the road. I’m fucking beat, and the vibration of my bike isn’t helping any, but when the pres says you are going for a ride, you can’t exactly say no.
We’ve been aimlessly riding around for over an hour, and as far as I know, we don’t have an actual destination in mind.
The rebellious part of me wants to say fuck this and turn around and head back to the clubhouse and my bed. All I want to do is face-plant into my mattress and not move for a couple of hours.
Panther flips on his blinker and pulls over. I follow him and get off my bike and stretch.
For a lookout point, the place is deserted.
Panther walks away from me with his hands in his jacket and comes to a stop as he takes in the view. I give him a minute before I join him.
The view from the summit of Flagstaff Mountain never gets old. We have a panoramic view of Boulder and everything below.
“Lost Gulch Overlook is more popular, but this is one of my favorites,” Panther says after a few minutes.
“I don’t know if I’ve been there.”
“It’s not far from here. We will have to stop by sometime for you to check it out.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
We fall silent once again. For a minute, I contemplate pressing and seeing why he brought me out here, but I decide to wait him out.
It’s never a good thing to make someone talk before they are ready. Not at moments like this, at least.
“Thank you,” he says, catching me off guard.
“For what?”
“For protecting Aspen. For still protecting her.” He pauses. “I know you gave up a lot to prospect for us. Hell, you changed your life completely because of her. I know you are only here for my sister.”
I don’t even try to deny it. He’s not wrong.
I couldn’t give two shits about the MC life. My focus is one thousand percent on Aspen and what will make her happy.
“Eagle told me what happened last night.” Panther turns toward me. “I need to know what’s really going on between you two. I’ve let you stay because I like you, and you seem to help her, but I’m starting to wonder if that’s really the case.”
“I would never hurt Aspen,” I say, cutting him off.
“You say that, but from where I’m sitting…”
