“Thanks for taking care of our man here. Seems to be doing pretty well. Might even be able to stay up past ten tonight,” Casper sasses, and I give him an eye roll. The wholedamn club knows I’m usually the one who stays up later than the rest. Well, I used to, and that was to make sure everyone was good before I headed home. Back when I ran shit. But I guess that’s changed. Because I not only don’t run anything around here, but I also don’t stay past ten most nights. I’d rather be with Diana than here.
“Casper, we got any Vitaminwater left?” Kooper asks as he comes up behind the president.
“Think it’s in the second cooler,” Billy answers for her man, then moves back to allow Kooper to walk between them to the coolers. Coolers my girl and I are blocking.
He pauses when he sees me, and I do too. Not because he walked up, but because of who walked up with him.
Ruby.
The entire club feels like it took a collective breath and is holding it. Diana drops my hand and turns around to grab the water, holding it out to Kooper, who takes it and hands it to Ruby.
“Thanks,” he mutters, and then nothing. It’s as if we all forgot how to speak or some shit.
“Well, this isn’t awkward as fuck at all.” Ruby doesn’t even try to hide her words behind her water bottle as she removes the lid and takes a large gulp.
A surprised laugh bursts from my girl’s lips, pulling not only Ruby’s eyes, but the others around us too.
And that seems to be the break in the glass the club needed to go back to talking among themselves. I know that didn’t fix shit with any of us, but it eased it somehow. I feel like I can breathe a bit. Not completely, but enough.
I still don’t have any memories of Ruby, but I feel an obligation to her in some way. Mostly I don’t want to push her away. She’s been through hell already. I won’t be the one to make it worse.
“You guys official or something now?” Ruby asks, always the one to state the obvious from what I’ve seen of her since I woke up.
“We’re dating, if that’s what you want to know,” I say. There’s no heat behind it, just the truth. I don’t wrap my girl in my arms like I want to, but I go back to holding her hand.
“How long haveyou twobeen dating?” Babygirl asks with an easy smile, probably thinking it was a simple question, but it’s not.
The panicked look Casper casts around has me thinking the club knew about this and kept it from me. Is this the guy the club was hinting at earlier this week?
Not sure if I should care or not since I don’t remember anything before I woke up, but it doesn’t sit well with me. Especially since it’s Kooper. Something about that pisses me off.
I clench my teeth and hold in my initial desire to punch him. That would be insane since I don’t remember my daughter. The very least I can do is be happy that a brother found himself a woman.
“Not long,” Kooper says, his eyes only on me. Something about that has me twitching my head in thought.
Kooper’s been around for a while. I might not know Ruby, but I can do math. He’s known her since she was in college, a few years. I don’t remember him being close toanyone before. Nothing seems to be blocked out like it usually is where Ruby is concerned. Chunks of conversations are missing when she’s involved. But I remember a lot with Kooper.
A flash of a conversation hits me square in the heart. A memory. Me telling him to watch Ruby. To protect her. Him agreeing to it as long as he got the presidency for his trouble.
And it’s the only memory I need.
I react without another thought. Letting Diana’s hand go, I smash my fist into Kooper’s face. I let go of my beer and use my other hand to grab his shirt so he doesn’t go far as I hit him again.
“You motherfucker. You think dating her will get you the patch? You lying piece of shit.” I get another hit in, but then he counters and counters again. I hear the gasps and Diana’s cry, but I can’t focus when a fist is all I see.
I was lying in bed for over half of a year. Since I woke up, I’ve been hitting the gym daily, but I’m still not up to full speed. And his punches aren’t being pulled at all. There’s full power behind each one, and I feel it.
Someone grabs me, and another pulls Kooper back.
“You fucking asshole. How dare you use her,” I growl.
“Use her? Are you fucking dense, man? Can’t you see I love her? Open your damn eyes.” He spits out the blood in his mouth at my feet.
“My eyesareopen, and I might not remember much, but I remember you saying you would only protect her for the presidency. Must really piss you off that I died and the club voted in Casper over you,” I sneer as I look at him with disgust.
“Look around, old man. No one is fighting for the damn patch—it’s Casper’s fair and square. Even voted for him myself. Maybe you should be thinking about the fact that youhavea fucking daughter, not this club. She’s more than this club, and you should see that. And if you can’t, maybe you should find a new fucking place to go. Because you won’t be disrespecting my old lady like that ever again.”
“Old lady?” Rage courses through me, and I feel two brothers hold me back as I watch Kooper put his arm around Ruby and walk back inside.
