He briefly eyeballs Slider, who’s still across the courtyard. I follow his line of sight and swallow the ache in my chest. I need to de-escalate before he takes the fall for my impulsiveness.
Before I can say anything, Drifter grabs my hand roughly and leads me into the clubhouse. He pulls me through the bar and into his office, slamming the door behind us.
I brace myself.
“What are you playing at?” he demands.
“What do you mean?” I ask innocently.
“You fucking left the clubhouse?—”
“I took a man. I wasn’t on my own,” I interrupt, which only pisses him off further.
He runs his hands through his hair. “How the fuck did you get him to agree without checking in with me, Hell?”
I refuse to back down when I did this for him. “It was for you.”
“You can’t blackmail my men,” he seethes.
I pull down my shirt, exposing my new artwork. “I did this for you. I wanted your mark on me forever.”
His eyes fall to my new ink, and for a second, I think he’s going to smile, but he shuts it down fast and his eyes burn into mine.
“You have to run this shit past me before you leave. It’s for your own safety, and my men’s.”
“I promise, next time, I will. I just wanted to surprise you. I’ve been a brat lately, and I wanted to make up for it.”
He runs his hands over his face, exhaling heavily. “You’re gonna be the death of me, and this move,” he gestures with his hands, “is a brat move.”
I let out a laugh, covering my face to stifle it. “I’m sorry.”
He rolls his eyes, leaning in and kissing me on the head. I close my eyes, savouring the small gesture.
“Who grassed me up?” I ask again, leaning into him.
“Well, it wasn’t Slider.”
“Ink? The fucker.”
“He knows where his bread is buttered, knows how pissed I would’ve been at him tattooing my ol’ lady’s breast without my authorisation.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
DRIFTER
Things with Hell seem to have settled down over the last couple weeks. She’s still on edge, and it’s clear in the way I catch her staring into space sometimes, and in the way she stares longingly at Meli. But she isn’t accusing me of sleeping with the club girls, so we’ve found some sort of peace.
Red and Bella have helped. They’ve been keeping her busy, and although I hate them leaving the confines of the clubhouse at the moment, with everything going on, I know she desperately needs her girl time.
There’s a light tap on my office door, and as I look up from my phone, Hell slips in. Her eyes are alight with excitement, and her smile is contagious. It’s been a while since I’ve seen her like this.
She sits on the edge of the seat opposite me, wiping her hands along her jeans as her knees bounce nervously.
I laugh. “Spit it out then, Hell.” I place my phone on the desk, giving her my full attention.
“I’m late.” She giggles nervously.
I frown. “Late for what? You didn’t tell me you had an appointment.”
