“It had to be all or nothing, Sunshine. Him versus me. His club against my club.”
“Ourclub,” she corrected.
“Our club,” I conceded. “That was the only way I could think to get rid of them without losing anyone else.”
“What do you mean his club versus ours? I saw the other guys. No one else has a scratch on them.” Her mouth twisted into a scowl as she worked out the meaning of my words. “Are you telling me that besides the fact that you could have easily been killed tonight, and that if you had, the club would have gone down with you?”
I nodded. “The important part is that I won, and the Spiders are done for good.”
“No, Hatch. The important part is that your pride almost made me a widow tonight. Even worse, a widow without a support system, because you put the club on the line as well.”
“The club would still have your back no matterwhat,” I countered.
“There would be no club. That’s the point. But what hurts far more than the thought of the Dogs no longer being a club is the reality that you kept all of this from me.”
“Well, you kept a pretty damn big secret from me, and it landed you in the hospital,” I snapped. “Which is where you should be right fucking now.”
“Is that why you challenged Warlock. To get back at me?”
“Of course not, that’s not what I’m saying.”
“Then what are you saying? How can you possibly expect me to be okay with the choice you made?”
I hung my head and sighed. “I can’t. You’re right. I made the decision to face Warlock without you. I made every member ditch their trackers at the club, and I asked them to keep quiet about what I was doing. But you have to believe that I did everything I did in order to protect you.”
She narrowed her eyes. “I believeyoubelieve that, but you still should have told me.”
“You would have stopped me.”
“Goddamned right I would have stopped you,” Maisie snapped.
“We both fucked up pretty bad today, didn’t we?” I asked, sheepishly.
“Not our shiniest moment, that’s for sure,” she replied.
“I’m sorry. I was panicked and had to makesure Warlock and the Spiders could never come after you again.”
“In all the years we’ve been together, I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say you were panicked.”
“I’ve never been that close to losing you before.”
Maisie’s eyes softened. “That must have been hard for you.”
“I lost my shit.”
“We both fucked up pretty bad today, didn’t we?” Maisie echoed my words, then gently cupped my face. “But I’d like to point out, you fucked up worse and I plan to dish out a punishment that won’t be fun.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Ah, no, love. It won’t be sexual, so get that idea out of your head. Hear me on that.”
“Okay, baby. I hear you.” I sighed. “Will you sit down now, please?”
She nodded and practically fell into the chair beside my bed.
* * *
Maisie
