“I’m fine, wiseass,” I reassure her, calling her that because Slade, as a young MC brat, had been a mischievous wiseass, and that part of her is still there.
She smiles, and I swear Bane, the big, dangerous biker, looks at her like she’s his fucking world.
I don’t taunt him, though, because I totally get it. Once you find the woman you love and have her in your arms, there’s nothing you won’t do to keep her.
Just like with Leeva. Now that she’s back, and I know she forgives me and loves me the same way I love her, there’s nothing I won’t do to keep her, even if it means the ultimate punishment.
Slade rises on her tiptoes and kisses Bane, then joins her brothers at the bar. He gives me a grave look and jerks his chin.
Pix leads the way to Ash’s office, with Bane and me bringing up the rear. Since I texted Digits when I was leaving Vixen’s, he’s already in the office when we enter. I take a deep breath and walk inside as Bane shuts the door.
Digits pushes up his glasses, eyeing me. “I just re-scanned the office. We’re clean.”
He keeps a strict schedule to scan Ash’s office and the entire clubhouse for bugs, and he had re-scanned the office again at my request.
A frown mars Ash’s forehead as he looks between Digits and me. “Mind catching the rest of us up on what the hell is going on?” He looks to his VP, but Bane shakes his head, indicating he doesn’t know either.
“Take a seat, Ash.” I nod toward his desk.
He narrows his eyes at me. Instead of immediately complying, he grabs a bottle of Jack Daniel’s from a side cabinet before sitting behind his desk. He sets the unopened bottle on the desk and pins me with a hard look. “Spill.”
Pix bumps her shoulder into my arm. “Go on.”
Ash’s jaw tightens, but he doesn’t complain that Digits and Pix seem to know what this is all about while he and Bane have been left in the dark.
“Leeva is back, and I know where she is.” I start with things they know and suspect, then continue, “I’ve been with her for the past few days.”
No one speaks at my confession as Ash reaches forward to spin the cap off the bottle. “Define: ‘been with her’.”
“I’vebeenwith her.”
Bane hisses a breath through clenched teeth. Ash doesn’t say anything, only lifts the bottle of Jack to his mouth and takes a pull.
“And I’m going to continue being with her.”
“Army—” Bane starts, but cuts off with a look from Ash.
“Continue,” he orders me. “And it’s in your best fucking interest to not leave anything out.”
Taking a deep breath, I explain everything, including that Leeva had come to Hedon, and how we were pulled together even without either of us knowing who the other was.
By the time I’m finished, half the bottle of Jack is gone between Ash and Bane, needing a swig to either calm their nerves or stop them from kicking the shit out of me for putting myself in this situation.
For puttingthemin this situation, because they’ll be forced to kill me if I’m found guilty.
“If there’s no evidence of Guerilla’s tattoo left on Leeva, the law and his claim don’t apply,” Pix comes to my defense.
“It’s a technicality,” Ash growls. “A loophole.”
“Once a woman is your old lady…” Bane shakes his head, eyeing me with concern. “I’d never let Slade go.”
“What you have with Slade is worlds apart, Bane. Guerilla didn’t love Leeva; he only wanted her because of me.”
“You don’t know that, Army,” Ash argues.
“It doesn’t matter if Guerilla thinks the world rotates around Leeva,” I flare, fisting my hands. “Because his brand orany remnantof it isn’t on her skin. It doesn’t fucking matter what he thinks or wants. She’s not his; she’smine.”
“And this could put you in the ground,” Ash shouts, losing control.
