Page 75 of Cruz

Tyrant crosses his arms and stares the screen down. “Hopefully we never have to speak again.”

“That is my hope as well.” It sounds like Jackal means it.

“That’s it, then. We’ll end this call.”

Jackal laughs, that nasty oily sound again. He clearly wants the last word. “A word of advice, from one leader to another—discipline your men. All the trouble this has caused… it was senseless.”

Tyrant merely nods and holds Jackal’s gaze steadily until Wizard walks around and ends the call.

I’m not sure what to expect, but if it’s a debriefing, that’s not coming at the moment. Tyrant will need some time to think about this and speak to his other offices. Likely, there’ll be new security measures in place. Who knows if anyone can trust a guy like Jackal. I would say not, but he didn’t seem eager for a war, despite his big talk about obliteration. If he wanted to use his manpower to wipe out this club, he would have done it. Maybe he’s only a small fish in a big pond and despite his talk, he doesn’t want trouble.

The men file out slowly, the prospects leaving first, in case there’s a conversation to be had in that room between Tyrant, Raiden, and some of the other officers. We know that they’ll do right by us, and none of us want to have to be told to leave.

I walk as fast as I can back to my room, to Liam and to Sloane. Whether Jackal can be trusted or not, this seems like the best outcome anyone could have hoped for.

I half expect a debriefing when I get back to my room, but the first thing Liam does is stop pacing and walk right over to me. He sticks out his hand and claps me on the shoulder. “However that went down, I want to thank you for being my friend. You were stubborn about me doing the right thing and telling everyone the truth. You stood by me, and you’ve protected my mom. Whatever else happens, that’s true brotherhood.”

I’m a little unnerved, and I’m not the best when it comes to all sorts of emotions. I’m classically even worse at trying to find words, so I thump Liam on the back in that manly, affectionate way. “It went about as good as it could. There’s a truce. I think it’ll hold. Tyrant will make sure.”

Liam studies me, searching for something in my face. I’m not sure what, and he grins and flicks his eyes behind him, toward his mom. “We talked while you were in the meeting. About the café and about the club, and more than that. Some of the old ladies dropped by earlier and I think they put Mom’s mind at rest about some things. Anyway, I’m gonna go offer to help again, in any way that I can.”

Liam leaves us alone in the room like he did before, with far more confidence than guilt weighing him down. He can’t undo what’s already been done, but he can change what he does going forward. That feeling of pride washes through me again. I’m proud to have a man like Liam as a friend. He won’t just grow into a good man. He already is one.

I expect to have to find words all over again to tell Sloane about the meeting, or to give her reassurances about the café, a timeline for repairs—just something to get her moving forward and feeling better, but whatever she and Liam discussed, there’s a light in her eyes. She closes the distance between us and reaches up, taking my face between her warm palms.

“I don’t need you to find perfect words, Cruz. Or any, if you don’t want to. No matter what happens, I’ll always be happy with you beside me. You were the greatest, most unexpected gift.”

Holy shit, what did Sloane, Liam, and the old ladies talk about?

Not that this is new. Sloane always has that inner light, that peace, that confidence. She’s like plunging into cold water on a hot day, dousing all my worries, a balm to the wounds inside of me that haven’t ever properly healed over. I could live with them, but maybe I was waiting all this time to find her before they closed over completely. I needed her. I needed someone to see me, to understand me, to hear me, to want me, and eventually, to love me.

“Whenever you can’t find the words, you can kiss me instead,” she says, smiling up at me so softly. She’s so beautiful that it sucks the breath right out of my lungs.

“That sounds like a pretty good bargain.” I tip her face up and kiss her, slow at first, then deeper, with more hunger.

I’ll find words for her too, but just because I’ll dredge them up doesn’t mean that I won’t enjoy the hell out of kissing her breathless first.

Chapter 25

Sloane

Two Months Later…

There are some decisions in life that feel inconsequential until you’re standing right up against them. Like taking the first step to opening your heart after almost two decades alone. Like adopting an elderly cat who looks at you like she’s given up on life and then turns into a purring puddle the second she’s on your lap. Like letting your grown son move half his life into a clubhouse full of bikers, because apparently that’s a normal thing that happens when you blink and your baby turns into a man.

And like putting on a helmet while Cruz stands in front of me with his bike idling at the curb, his big hands gentle as he checks the strap under my chin.

“It’s not too tight?” he asks.

I shake my head. “It’s good.”

He studies me anyway, because that’s what Cruz does. He checks and double checks. He makes sure. He’s not fussy about much when it comes to himself. He’ll walk around on a knee that’s screaming at him, eat whatever food is put in front of him, drink coffee that could strip the finish off a floor, and sleep in a hard chair if he thinks that someone he cares about needs watching over.

But with me, he checks.

He doesn’t make it feel like I’m fragile, even though I think that’s the line he’s always walking. He protects without making it seem like I need protecting. There’s an art to that. I’m not sure if he knows it, but he’s good at it.

“Still want to do this?” he asks.