He scoffed.“And you should have been safe in the Social Club parking lot, babe.If I’ve learned anything from this, it’s that unless I’m there, you’re not safe.”
“Do I get any say in this?”I asked.
“In how you are going to stay safe?I think you and I have the same end goal of staying safe, and I know how to make it happen,” he said.
I folded my arms over my chest and sighed.I did want to be safe, but I also wanted to be in the loop with everything.“I don’t like being handled.I don’t like feeling like I’m a burden to you and the club.”
He nodded.“Fair.”
“But,” I added, “I also don’t like pretending I’m invincible.”
That got his full attention.
I met his gaze.“So if you’re going to help keep me safe… we do it my way.”
His brow lifted slightly.“Which is?”
“You tell me what you know.You don’t decide things behind my back.I get how you bikers are, but at the end of the day, this is my life.”
His eyes darkened, not with heat, but with respect.“Deal,” he said.
I exhaled slowly.“Good.”
We stood there a moment longer, neither of us moving away.
“Cole?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m… tired.”I had a lot more I could have said, but right now sleep felt like the safer option.
He didn’t smile.Didn’t soften.“Then rest, babe,” he said.“I’ll stick around for a while.”
I drifted off to sleep with Cole posted up by the door, and as much as I wanted to tell myself sleep came easy because I was tired, I knew it was because Cole was there.
Chapter Six
Cole
Star’s room felt smaller than it had earlier that morning.
Not because of the furniture, or the machines, or the steady beep that had become background noise, but because of the people.
Star sat propped up in bed, dark hair pulled back messily, bruises still standing out against her skin no matter how much color had come back to her face.She looked tired.Alert, but tired.The kind of tired that didn’t go away with sleep.
Mac stood near the window, arms folded tight across her chest, jaw set like she was bracing for impact.She hadn’t sat down since she’d arrived.Hadn’t stopped moving either—shifting her weight, crossing and uncrossing her ankles, glancing between Star and the door like she expected something else to come through it.
Alice had claimed the couch as if it belonged to her, with one leg tucked under the other, chin propped on her hand.
Mason leaned against the far wall, arms crossed, and his expression unreadable with Adley tucked under his arm.
And then there was my mom.
Mom stood at the foot of the bed, hands clasped loosely in front of her, posture calm but eyes soft in a way she only let show when she thought no one was watching.She met my gaze briefly and smiled.Not teasing.Not worried.
Just steady.
Wrecker stood near the door with his arms crossed and boots planted like roots.He hadn’t said much since he’d arrived, but he didn’t need to.Alice wiggled her fingers and threw a wink at him.
