My lips trembled, not knowing what to say. I thought I was in love with this man, and now I didn’t know right from wrong. He must have been able to see the disbelief written on my face because he quickly slid to the farthest end of the bed.
“When this is over, I’ll give you a divorce. Don’t sign whatever is in that folder.” He stood, pulling out a small jewelry box. “I hate the pearls. You couldn’t wear them with that dress anyway, so I got you these.” He left the box in the same spot he’d been sitting and walked out our bedroom door.
I didn’t know what to do. How to feel. My mind scrambled, each thought faster than the previous one. He wanted me? How much of our friendship had been real? Did it even matter?
I stared at the jewelry box until the urge to open it was too much. Inside lay two sapphire teardrop earrings. I removed the earrings from the box and found a note beneath them. Unfolding the piece of paper, I recognized my husband’s handwriting. A bold scrawl, slicing across the paper.
Pretty girl—
If I can’t be with you, then I wanted to give you a piece of me, so that you’re never alone.
Fuck.
I sat on the bed, willing Thunder to come back, but he’d already told me his truth.
Swiping at a tear before it ran down my cheek, I bent in half, pressing one hand to my chest and the other to my stomach.
Chapter 29
Dust to Dust
Elizabeth
“Five minutes out,” Dead told me as he drove the club’s car toward the restaurant. “Are you ready?”
No. I wasn’t nervous, but I knew exactly what I had to say. Alex was going to be the easier part of the night. My husband, I had never seen coming.
“What did Thunder do?”
I said nothing, staring straight ahead.
“I’m a man. We do stupid shit at the worst possible times.”
I’d never heard Dead speak more than a few words and never without a grunt. I wanted to laugh, but it caught me off guard, and all I did was cough.
“Stella?” I’d known her since she was a kid, and while I was glad the girls had moved to be closer to Meredith, I wasn’t a fool. I’d heard the rumors, and when she was at the clubhouse, I saw the connection for myself.
“I refuse to let her think we’re friends.”
“Friends,” I scoffed. I thought I’d married my best friend. Had he been pretending, or had he been my friend? Would I ever know the truth?
“Thunder wasn’t in the main room when we left.”
I didn’t want to talk about him. I’d have to unpack all the emotions I’d been hiding from, and tonight wasn’t the time to be flayed open. There was no room to think about my husband. I had a job to do.
“Whatever happened, just know he did what he thought was right.”
Had he? Had the wedding been part of some sick plan to trap me, or had he really thought it was necessary at the time? Had I been so discombobulatedthat I’d jumped at his help, or had I wanted to marry him, not knowing how to transition from friends to more? Hell, if I knew. I touched one teardrop sapphire earring, wishing he was here instead.
Dead pulled into the circle driveway of the restaurant. He let the engine idle, waiting until the bikers in front dismounted. Op was leading this fishing trip, and I’d promised him I wouldn’t go off script.
There was a knock on Dead’s window, and he hit the button to crack it. “El Sombra Roja is already here. There are three cars parked in the customer lot.” Op pulled off one of his riding gloves. “We’re going to leave everything here in case we have to make a quick getaway.”
“Do you want one of us to watch the bikes?”
“Yeah, I can get B to do it, since he’s the only prospect we brought with us.”
Op walked around the front of the car, coming over to my side. He opened my door, crouching in front of me. “Are you ready, Aunt E?”
