I follow him into the bedroom. “What did you do?” I ask. He shrugs, pulling back the sheets and waiting for me to slide into bed. I stand in front of him. “Tell me,” I whisper.
His eyes don’t meet mine as he finds the words, eventually saying, “I’m ugly on the inside, Rem, and I don’t want those parts to infect you. So, there will be days like this, when I comeback to you slightly more broken that when I left, but it’ll never infect you.” He presses a gentle kiss to my nose. “Now, please rest.”
Chapter Twenty - Five
Shadow
I watch her settle beneath the sheets. She looks so small and vulnerable. Battered, bruised and bone tired.
I’ve seen bodies in worse condition. I’vemadebodies look worse. But seeingherlike that, it fucking wrecks something in me.
I wait until her breathing evens out before I move. Quiet steps, slow. I gather the tray, the bottles, the mirror she dropped on the bed, and I set it face down on the counter. I stare at it for a second then slam my fist down on it once. Glass cracks under my knuckles, but I don’t feel a thing.
I turn off the light and step into the hallway, where Kasey is leaning against the wall, She gives me a look. “She had to see eventually,” she says. “To accept what’s happened.”
I drag a hand through my hair. “Yeah, I know.”
“She’s a mess,” she says gently. “But I think with time, you two will make it. You both gotta learn to trust again.”
I don’t answer because she’s right. Because Ihatethat she’s right.
I head downstairs. The clubhouse is quieter now, with the lights low, and laughter turned to background noise, like the brother’s sense I need the calm.
Axel is at the bar, counting cash. He doesn’t look up as he asks, “You sorted her?”
“Yeah,” I say, my voice thick and heavy.
He glances up then, eyes sharpening. “And Colin?”
I don’t blink. “Handled.” Of course, my brothers brought the shithead back to the basement so I could end him. They knew I’d need that, and they were right. Every hit brought me a step closer to calm. Until I saw her again, looking sad and broken.Fuck.It’s eating me alive.
He nods. “You told her about the claim?”
I shake my head. “She’s unsettled. Skittish.”
“It’s gotta be done soon, brother, you know that.”
I grab a bottle of water, not whiskey. I don’t want to lose myself tonight. Not when she’s upstairs needing me. “I know, Pres,” I say simply.
On the way back upstairs, I stop outside my door. Just for a breath, because there’s a heaviness in my chest, something like fear. Not for her safety, but for what happens next. Our future.
I open the door. She’s curled on her side, small hands fisted under her cheek like she fought sleep and lost. A towel is still half-wrapped around her hair.
I move quietly, lying down behind her, close but not crowding. I don’t touch her. It needs to be on her terms.
Barely above a breath, I speak the truth I’ve been choking on since the night she left. “Don’t ever think needing me makes you weak. From now on, I’m always going to be here, Rem, just waiting for you to need me.”
Her breathing stutters like she heard me even in her sleep. Then she settles again.
I watched her the entire night, like I was terrified to take my eyes off her. I saw every breath, every shift. I checked for a grimace whenever she moved so I’d know if she was feeling pain, if she needed me. She didn’t wake. Not once.
By seven, I’m downstairs, coffee in hand, washed and ready for church. Axel sent the message late last night, and somehow, I know this will affect me.
Church is full, brothers all curious as to why church has been called so early today.
Axel leans back in his chair, his arms folded across his chest. He studies me as I take a seat. No one speaks, and he lets the silence drag out long enough for every man in the room to wake up fully and listen. Finally, he clears his throat. “Remi’s back.”
A few eyes dart my way, but I remain fixed on the Pres. “You all heard what Shadow said the other day in the club. And, yeah, she stole, but we’ve gotten to the bottom of it now and she was desperate. So, I don’t want anyone giving her grief cos we all know what it feels like to be desperate.”
