“We’re good,” I assured her.
“Great.” She stepped over to me and kissed me quickly before starting for the door. “We won’t be long.”
“I’ve heard that before,” I scoffed. “You two will come back here with seventeen different shades of white and batteries for a remote that’s been broken for a year.”
“You could go instead.”
“Not a chance,” I chuckled.
“That’s what I thought.”
Presley rolled her eyes, but she was practically beaming as she and Tallie headed out the door. Once her car pulled out of the driveway, Memphis leaned against the soon-to-be-demolished counter and asked, “You serious about this girl?”
“Yeah.”
“Serious-serious?”
“As serious as it gets.”
He kept his eyes trained on mine as he asked, “So, you trust her?”
And there it was.
No accusation. No judgement. No telling me I was wrong or right. It was just my brother making sure I was being careful. I folded my arms across my chest. “I won’t lie. I struggled a bit after all the shit with Davis. You know I did, but he fucked them over. Can’t say I would do any different if I were in her shoes.”
“That could’ve gone sideways real fast.”
“It could have, but it didn’t.” I could feel myself getting defensive, but I maintained a calm tone as I told him, “And she came clean and admitted everything. She owned it.”
“That’s good. That’s what I wanted to hear.” He gave me a nod. “And I mean that. I’ve built half my life on bad decisions.”
“You and me both.”
“Any word from Davis?”
“Hell, no. I don’t expect to hear from him.”
“You think he’s gone for good?”
“He’s been warned. He knows better than to circle back.”
“He’d be stupid to try it,” Rusty grumbled as he dumped more broken tiles into the wheelbarrow. “Seems we’ve dealt with a lot of stupid the past few weeks.”
“That we have.”
I knew they weren’t just referring to Davis. They were also talking about the bullshit with the Rebel Coyotes. After our altercation, Prez and Shep went on a mission to find everything they could on the MC, and I’m not just talking names.
If there was something to know about these guys, Prez was determined to find it. He wanted no more surprises. None of us did. We’d all been walking a tighter rope, and we were the better for it. That was the thing about being in an MC and facing the things we face. Bruises fade, but the memories don’t.
Not with us.
Seven chose that moment to slam another cabinet free, letting it hit the floor like dynamite. He chuckled as he announced, “That one’s definitely not load-bearing.”
“If this house falls down, I’m coming for you.”
Seven lifted his sledgehammer and brought it crashing down on the next cabinet. “You’ve got nothing to worry about, brother.”
We worked for a few more hours, and when the guys finally filed out of the house, I felt like I’d been at war. The house certainly looked like I had. The kitchen was stripped to the studs, tools were lined along the wall, and sawdust was swept into various piles throughout the room.
