“Coming,” she called back. “Come on up when you’re ready.”
Maisie walked away and Katie led me down the hall. “Maisie put you in here. It has its ownbathroom.”
I stepped inside and stifled a gasp. The room was bigger than my home. Maybe an exaggeration, but not by much. It had a king-sized bed, giant cuddle chair by the window, large closet, dresser, and the bathroom even had a giant tub and double sinks. It was stunning.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
“Yeah, their home is what dreams are made of.”
“Where am I puttin’ this shit?” a deep male voice demanded.
“In here, Buzz,” Katie replied.
A large, scary, biker dude walked in with my things and set them on the bed, smiling at me. I couldn’t stop myself from stepping back.
“Hey, I’m Buzz.”
“Hi,” I squeaked.
“This is Waverly,” Katie said for me. “Razor’s girl.”
“I’m not Gio’s anything,” I ground out.
Buzz raised his hands, like he was surrendering, then walked out of the room.
I turned to Katie. “Why would yousaythat to him?”
“Do you want Buzz coming onto you?”
“What? No. Hewouldn’t.”
“He absolutely would,” she countered. “Then Razor would lose his shit, and he’d challenge Buzz to some kind of biker duel, which he is so not in shape to win, which would mean, Buzz would probably pull his punches, which in turn would piss Razor off, and then he’d get all feral, and hurt himself more—”
“Stop.” I held my hand up. “You’ve made your point.”
Katie grinned. “Plus, now that Buzz has been told this little nugget, he’ll tell everyone because he’s the worst gossip in the club, so no one will bug you going forward. You’re welcome.”
“Great.” I groaned. “Just great.”
“Come on. Let’s go help with dinner.”
“What’s a biker duel?” I asked as we climbed the stairs.
“Usually punching each other, bare knuckled, out the back of Big Ernie’s.”
“What the heck is Big Ernie’s?”
“Auto body shop where they house the compound.”
“Barbaric.”
Katie stopped on the next to the last step and faced me. “You need to quit.”
“Sorry?”
“These men. The Barbarians you’re referring to, are currently keeping you safe. They are my friends, mybrothers, and they are the best humans I’ve ever known. I get that you were hurt, and I feel that in my soul for you, honey, I really do. But they are not your enemy. I am not your enemy. Hatch and Maisie arenotyour enemy.”
“You’re right.” I could no longer hold back my stress, and I burst into tears, sitting on the stair I’d been standing on and dropping my face into my hands. “I can’t cope, Katie. It’s too much.”
