I do trust Ash, but Guerilla… That man is an entirely different story. I’m not sure how he’ll take it that his claim over me is gone. He had nearly found me in New Orleans, refusing to let me go then, and now, even though more than a decade has passed, he could still want me. I don’t fool myself that it’s because he loves me. I see now that what he felt for me was more obsessive pride because he took me away from his brother, Hayes, even if Hayes and I had only ever been friends.
A man like Guerilla doesn’t do well with being made a fool of, so as much as I want to flaunt it in his face and tell him to get fucked, I know I’ll have to handle this a bit more diplomatically and with more tact.
With Luthor’s wealth, I had access to the best cosmetic surgeon in the world, just as Keifer had said. I focus on that to calm my fears about how Guerilla will react to the news that I had bested him and his claim—something that has never been completely accomplished before. I knew that some old ladies, when they ‘divorced’ their men, had their tattoos removed, but even with the scarring, they were still viewed as ‘married’ in the eyes of the MC.
I didn’t want that. I wantednothingleft because I wanted to pretend that my young, naïve, and stupid decision had never happened.
I had multiple treatments with laser technology, stem-cell-enhanced micro-needling to aid skin regeneration, skin resurfacing to smooth out textural irregularities, and melanin-balancing treatments to ensure there were no discolored patches of skin. Along with my seemingly wonderful healing genetics, it was like the tattoo had never existed.
Poof, it and my bad choices were gone.
There wasnoevidence of it.
“I’m not his old lady,” I say firmly to reaffirm this fact to myself.
“Damn right you aren’t,” Keifer agrees. “Own that power, girl. And while you’re at it, view this as the closure of hand-delivering Guerilla divorce papers.”
“I don’t deserve you.” I swallow against the lump in my throat. “Or Ursula, and I didn’t deserve Luthor.”
“That’s bullshit. We’re family, and we love you. Luthor loved you.”
My head throbs as the pain of my migraine starts to really push in with the pain of our shared loss. “I miss him.”
“Me, too.” Keifer’s voice is thick with emotion, and he clears his throat. “He’d be so proud of you. He hated to see you in pain; hated seeing a part of you slowly fade, Leeva. Go and reclaim that piece of you.”
Shuddering out a breath, I nod. “I will.”
The sunlight is starting to aggravate my head and bring on my migraine, so I rise from the lounger and go back inside, heading for the ensuite where my medication is.
“Call us if you need anything, day or night. Or if you want me to come there.”
“I’ll be fine, Keif. I need to do this on my own.”
“Just know the offer stands.”
“I appreciate it.”
“You could FaceTime us when you tell Guerilla to get fucked so we can—”
“I’m hanging up now.”
“Brat. But I love you.”
We say goodbye, and I disconnect the call.
Unzipping my make-up bag, I find my bottle of medication and shake out two. I hate to take it because I tend to get multiple side effects—the worst is that it knocks me out—but with the sudden and intense onset of this migraine, I know I don’t have a choice.
But at least it will stop me from doing something stupid, like going back to Hedon tonight.
Chapter 14
Army
I’mabouttobreakinto Leeva’s suite. Having been raised in a criminal MC and trained as an elite Marine, I’ve done B&E numerous times. I’ve just never broken into a place to get to someone who is, the only way I can describe, my obsession.
Even when we were kids, I never broke into Leeva’s bedroom because I had a standing invitation into her home, even if her aunt and uncle didn’t care for ‘my kind’. Plus, I never let myself go down the rabbit hole of actually touching Leeva that way because I knew I’d be instantly addicted to the girl I loved.
Just like I was instantly addicted last night, even though the sexy siren in Hedon was nothing like the girl I grew up with.
