Switch leans back on the railing. “I don’t like that they didn’t tell us.”
Blade exhales smoke slowly. “I don’t like that she felt like she couldn’t.”
Neither do I.
“With the shit going on with the club lately,” Switch says, tipping his chair back, “I don’t trust coincidences.”
“Me neither,” Blade says. “And I don’t trust men who suddenly take interest in women connected to us.”
I keep my eyes on the yard. “She’s not a pawn.”
“No,” Switch agrees. “But that doesn’t mean someone won’t try to use her like one. You saw what they did with Bri.”
Blade’s jaw tightens. “That won’t happen again.”
Switch takes another shot and grimaces. “Jesus. That one hit hard.”
Blade smirks. “You good, Rev?”
I nod. “Just pissed.”
Blade doesn’t dance around it. “You care about her.”
I don’t answer. Don’t need to.
Switch snorts. “You’re not exactly subtle, brother.”
My jaw tightens. “She’s family.”
Blade gives me a look. The kind that calls bullshit without saying the word. “That’s not what I meant.”
I don’t argue it. Just say, “She deserves better than whatever mess I drag around with me.”
Switch shakes his head. “You really think you’re not good enough for her?”
I shrug, not wanting to have this conversation. “I know I’m not what she usually goes for.”
Blade exhales slowly. “Brooke doesn’t go for anybody. That’s the problem.”
Laughter spills from inside, loud and bright, and for half a second I almost forget why my shoulders are locked tight. Switch straightens. “We should head back in before they start plotting our murder.”
Blade crushes his cigarette under his boot. “Yeah.”
When we walk back in, Bella’s mid-story, hands flying. “So then Jax spits up on Switch’s cut and he’s like, ‘Is that normal?’”
“I thought the kid was broken,” Switch says.
Bri laughs so hard she snorts. “You did not.”
“I absolutely did.”
Ansley wipes tears from her eyes. “I love this damn family.”
Bella points at the board. “Okay, whose turn?”
“Mine,” Blade says. “And I’m about to buy another house.”
Bri groans. “I hate this game.”
