“Amity, Hannibal is different, sure, but I’m not sure it’s the same,” Neveah says softly.
“Not the same, no. But similar.”
“Not the same, but similar,” I agree on a whisper, swiping at a tear that slips free. “He gave me a great life and then destroyed it. He lived one life with me and died living another, and I can’t make all the parts fit, so even now it doesn’t make sense. Now everyone wants to hear my side all of a sudden, but my side never changed. I was the closest person to him and in the end, the one he pushed furthest away.”
“To save you,” Amity responds.
“While he harmed others.” I give her a sad smile because nobody has any idea what it feels like to be loved so utterly andcompletely by a monster. Even on my darkest days, I don’t have it in me to hate him. I hate myself instead, and that’s something I’ll never be able to forgive him for.
Chapter Fourteen
KRUGER
I keepmy eyes on their table, we all do and I know the exact moment things had take a turn for the worse. I start to get up so I can comfort her, but G stops me.
“Let them do their thing. Whatever’s happening, she has to get it out or it will become a poison.”
“And you’re the expert now, G?”
“No. But I have faith in my woman, so have some in yours.”
I growl but sit back down. I fist my hand so I don’t reach across the table and choke him out, reminding myself that she knows where I am. All she has to do is look my way, and I’ll knock G out to reach her.
“You know Legs won’t let anything happen to her. Chill the fuck out. You want her to have friends in the MC, so this shit needs to happen.”
“And so you decide to ambush her on her one day out since leaving the hospital. Nice. Thanks for that.”
“You invited us. And I’ll remind you that it’s the first one we’ve had since you called for help at the hospital. I get it’s dicey at the clubhouse, but we can come to you. All you gotta do is ask.Legs is driving me nuts waiting for her to come visit, and I’m holding her back, telling her to give Del a chance to get settled, figuring you had it covered.”
“I do have it covered,” I snap back. “You think we’d have been sitting here having ice cream two weeks ago? She doesn’t look at me every day now like she wants to drive a stake through my heart. I call that progress.”
“Yeah, alright, I’ll give you that. It just feels a little like you’re locking her away, which was what it felt like toward the end with Snake.” G sighs.
“Fuck. Look, it’s not that simple. If we weren’t battling a host of medical issues, maybe I could have pushed harder. But I’m getting real fucking tired of seeing the woman I love unconscious at my feet.” My chest is heaving by the time I’m finished, both of them looking at me like I’ve finally done something interesting.
“What?”
“I guess I just wanted to see it with my own two eyes. For a while, I thought you had something going on with Lil.” G shrugs.
“We are just friends.Werefriends, I guess, if she doesn’t come back. I’m not touching that subject because that will only piss me off. She knew she could come to us, come to me, and instead she ran.”
“Fear is a powerful motivator. You don’t know the full story, so let’s just leave it at that. Knowing Lil, she probably thinks she’s keeping us all safe by running. And can you really be mad at her for that?”
My shoulders slump. “I get it. I’m allowed to be mad, but I get it.” I look over at the table again and see Amity signal for me. “Fuck.”
I get to my feet and head over, stopping at the end of the table. I see most of the sample cups are untouched, but Delphi looks like the last thing she can stomach right now is ice cream.
“You ready to get out of here, chestnut?”
She turns her head when she hears my voice, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she nods.
“It was nice to meet you both,” she tells Amity and Neveah as I help Legs out of the booth, just as Midas and G walk over.
Legs steps into Midas’s arms as I hold my hand out for Delphi. Delphi looks at my hand for a second with confusion, before she slips her cold one into mine. I pull her to me and hold her for a second, giving her a moment to catch her breath. I throw some cash on the table to cover the food, enough to cover Delphi’s too, as she didn’t eat it.
As I walk her to the door, John and Marie look over worriedly. I give them a reassuring nod and mouth that we’ll come back. And we will. Though next time, we’ll come alone.
As we reach the door, Delphi turns and catches them looking at her. “Definitely banana pecan,” she tells them both with a wave. John gives her a wink as I hold the door open, and she walks through.
