The second Axe and his Sinners left this morning, he made me swear it. No taking off. Nostupid notes on his counter.
Despite all my promises, I’m not sure he believed me. The man barely left my side all day. He’d step out of the room, only to return a moment later, and when he’d find me where he left me, he’d let out a relieved breath.
The corners of his mouth tip up. “I seriously considered handcuffing you to my bed to make sure you held up your end of the deal.”
Amusement rolls through me. “I wouldn’t object to handcuffs. We still have time.”
The easy smile on his face falls.Time. Something we don’t actually have.
He shuffles closer, nudging me with his shoulder, interlocking our fingers. This closeness, the warmth of his skin,it settles me. Calms the restlessness in my limbs, the anxiety pressing on my chest, churning my stomach.
“When’s the last time you were in here?” I ask him.
“No idea. Honestlyyouwere probably the last person in here. Or Em, maybe.”
Head lolling against the wooden floor, I frown at him. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.What use does a grown man have for a treehouse?”
“I don’t know. Seems like a waste, though, doesn’t it?”
“Thing’s half rotten. I keep meaning to tear it down. I just… can’t.”
The pressure on my chest gets stronger. “Because of Emily.”
He’s quiet for a long time, staring up at those boards, the air around us thickening as time ticks by. “No,” he says finally. “Not because of Em. Because… because of what I lost that day.”
Right. That car crash took more than his girlfriend. It took his future.
“The baby, you mean.”
“I guess… this would have been theirs, right? And now it’s…”
“Half rotten.”
“Yeah.” Another deep exhale. “Probably for the best. I’d have been shit at the whole dad thing.”
I give his hand a squeeze. “You’re a protector, Linc. That’s all kids really need. You love them, and you protect them. Everything else works itself out. You’re a lot like Jack in that way. Always trying do right by the people who count on you. You’d have been amazing. Still could be.”
His expression darkens, his grip on my hand tightening, the muscles in his shoulders locking up. “That ship sailed the day I put myself in your brother’s pocket.” He lets out one long, drawn-out breath. “I heard this quote once. That you die twice. Once when they put you in the ground, and then again the lasttime someone says your name. I think about that sometimes, you know? How that was taken from me. How when I go, there won’t be anyone mourning me. No one to say my name.”
My heart sinks. “I will always say your fucking name, Linc. Always.”
He swallows. “We’re out of time.”
The storm in my stomach comes back full force, panic crawling up my throat, making it hard to breathe. This isn’t fair. I want to keep this. I want to keephim.
“I could stay,” I tell him. “I could talk to Jack. He’ll convince Axe. If I could just?—”
“No,” Decker says, tone turning cold. “No, you need to go. I don’t want you here for what comes next. I can’t protect you.”
Turning on my side, I perch on my elbow and glare at him. “I can make him listen. I can?—”
“Grace,” he says sharply. “I won’t be able to focus with you here, okay? And I need to focus.”
I know this look. The promise of violence. I’ve seen the same look on Axe, Jimmy, Jack. On every Sinner I knew growing up. The look that told me something bad was about to happen. That maybe not everyone would come home. Blood, bullets, and blades. The Sinner life. The sacrifice the men who wear the patch make every time they walk out the door.
“Whatever you’re about to do,” I whisper, my throat thick, “whatever move you’re about to make, don’t. Just forget all this. Please.”
