The laugh that comes out of me is broken, but real. Brooke smiles like that one sound just fixed her too.
“You can stay here as long as you need,” she says. “He will come. And you can decide what he has to say to earn the right to stay.”
I lean into her shoulder, exhaustion hitting me like a freight train. For the first time tonight, I feel safe. Not because Blade put me somewhere. Not because the club stationed guards at the door. But because I’m home.
Rev and Lucky are still outside. I can hear the rumble of their voices, probably arguing about shifts, but staying put. Brooke notices and nods with approval. “They won’t leave until hecomes,” she says. “Reapers protect their own. Especially the ones who captured the wrong man’s heart.”
My throat tightens again. I close my eyes. “He hurt me,” I whisper.
“I know.” Brooke squeezes my hand tight. “And now he gets to fix it.”
TWENTY-ONE
BLADE
I grabthe bottle instead of the glass this time and pour a sloppy shot straight into my mouth. Riot sighs. Ghost studies me like he’s profiling a psychopath. Fair.
“She wasn’t supposed to be my problem,” I snarl suddenly, voice too loud, too raw. “I should’ve left her alone the second I realized she wanted me. I knew better. I knew she was too young for this shit. Too soft. Too damn naive.”
Riot raises a brow. “Young doesn’t mean stupid, man.”
“She acted like a child tonight.” My hand hits the bar again. Hard. “I told her one fucking thing. Stay home. Stay safe. Don’t go wandering off while there’s predators circling this town.”
Ghost’s voice is calm but pointed. “She went for tacos. Not a strip club.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I snap. “Rules don’t get to change because she’s bored.”
Riot shakes his head. “She’s a woman, Blade. Not some toddler you gotta lock in a playpen.”
I ignore him. I am too far gone to hear reason. “I’m too old for this shit,” I spit. “Too old to babysit a girl who thinks this life is just leather jackets and dramatic glares across the club.”
Ghost lifts his beer slowly. “She knows more than you think.”
“She doesn’t know anything,” I bark. “She doesn’t get what it costs. How fast things go to hell. How easy it is to lose everything. I’ve buried a woman before. I’m not watching it happen again.”
Riot whistles low. “So you punish the girl for loving you. Solid plan.”
But the poison is already flooding me. And once I start, I don’t know how to stop. “I let my dick make decisions,” I admit in a bitter laugh. “Like some dumb prospect thinking he’s bulletproof. I knew she’d complicate my head. I knew she’d make me weak. And I still let her in. Now look where we are.”
Ghost tilts his head. “Where are you exactly?”
“Drunk,” I say, raising the bottle in a mock toast. “And pissed as hell at myself for letting a girl like her crack open something I kept locked for a reason.”
Riot leans back on his stool. “Brother. You’re not mad at her. You’re mad at fear.”
“Fear is smart,” I shoot back. “Fear kept me alive.”
Ghost doesn’t flinch. “Fear is also what’s going to make you lose her.”
I laugh, but it’s humorless and broken. “Maybe that’s what’s best for her.”
Ghost and Riot exchange a look. One of those silent brother-to-brother conversations I’m too drunk and too stubborn to decode.
Riot finally speaks. “Do you actually believe that?”
My jaw ticks. “I have to.” Because the alternative is believing that I deserve her. And I don’t.
Ghost swallows the rest of his beer and sets the bottle down. “Fine. Be angry. Be stupid. Drink till you puke. But when you wake up tomorrow, she’ll still be hurt. And you’ll still love her. And none of this bullshit is gonna make that easier.”
