Once we’re outside, she takes a deep breath before blowing it out. “I’m okay.”
“I’m getting really fucking tired of hearing that phrase.”
She snorts. “Fine, I’m not okay, but I will be. I just realized something tonight, and it was difficult to process. But it’s over now.”
She waves at someone, so I look over and see Con sitting in the front seat of the club truck.
“You here for Tink?”
He jumps out and walks around the truck toward us. “And Legs, yeah. Can’t go on the back of the bike while she’s carrying precious cargo. Hey, Delphi.” He frowns, taking in her face. “You okay?”
I like this kid—I do—but there is something about him that makes me want to punch him in the face.
“Yeah, just working through some shit,” she tells him honestly.
“Working through shit is the worst. It would be so much easier if we could click our fingers and everything would have fixed itself.”
She huffs out a laugh. “God, that would be amazing.”
“Well, I think you’re killing it. I’m not sure I could handle half the shit you have with the same grace. And I’m gonna go wait in the truck before Kruger punches me.” He’s gone before I can call him on it.
I look down at a laughing Delphi who is grinning at me. “I seriously like that kid. I’m not sure he’s what you’re looking for in a brother, but he’s what us girls would look for in one.”
Huh. I look at Con, who is back in the truck, and make a mental note to talk to Havoc about him. We spend a lot of time thinking about what a prospect is lacking, but maybe we should learn to look outside the box.
“You trust him?”
“Who, Con? I mean, I don’t know him well enough to share my deep, dark secrets. But if you’re asking if I think he’d keep me safe, then yes, I do. More than that, I’d trust him with Legs, and you know how protective of her I am.”
“Why? That’s not a dig, I’m genuinely curious.”
“He’s protective. And I know, before you say it, that most of the club brothers are. But Con is a different generation. He doesn’t seem to see men as smarter or stronger. He sees that strength in women, and instead of being intimidated by it, he celebrates it. He’s protective, yes, but in a nurturing way, almost. I’m not sure if I’m making sense. Put it this way, the guys can be intimidating. And there have been times, even when I was friendly with everyone, that I disagreed with something but kept my mouth shut because I knew instinctively that my opiniondidn’t matter. It would matter to Con. He would at least hear me out.”
I nod, really fucking curious now.
“I’d bet my left boob that he was raised by a strong woman, maybe a single mom, or has a whole gaggle of sisters. You can usually tell.”
Midas and Legs join us before I can ask her anything else.
“You okay, Delphi?” Midas asks her, making her eyes widen in surprise, something I know Midas doesn’t miss when he sighs.
“Um…yeah. I’m fine. Or I will be. Just a lot going on, and I don’t really get a second to process one thing before the next is piling on.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He looks like he wants to say more, but Legs steps in front of him and moves into Delphi to hug her.
“I’m not gonna ask if you’re okay because I know when you’re bullshitting me,” she says, making Delphi snort. Legs pulls back and takes in her face. “You wanna talk? Call me. You’re not a burden, and you’re not putting me out, as you tell yourself. You’re my friend. That means I get to be there for you just as much as you get to be there for me.”
“I don’t keep you out deliberately. I just don’t know what to say. Sharing isn’t easy.”
“No, it’s not, but that load you carry will feel a little lighter every time you do.”
“I’ll try,” Delphi concedes as Midas leads her over to the truck.
“Hey, wait for me!” Nevaeh calls out, making me grin.
“They’re hardly going to leave without the president’s old lady.”
“You don’t know that,” she huffs, looking at Delphi. “It was nice to finally meet you. Sorry we made you cry. Promise that next time we’ll make you laugh instead. Ooh, we should do karaoke.”
