Page 67

Ace stood with a wide, mischievous grin that split his face. “Now it’s time to fuckin’ celebrate! Rex is dead and we have a new Prez who needs a fuckin’ drink!”

The room exploded again, and this time I let myself join my brothers.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Ivy

Knox was probably still in his meeting, and I had no idea how long it would last, so I took a shower. I needed to wash the day and her memories down the damn drain. I felt better after another cry in the hot shower, where nobody could see or hear me. The tears weren’t for Rex. They were just… tears. Whatever had been sitting in my chest my entire life felt lighter when I stepped inside, and the hot water and the steam helped me purge it until there was nothing left. I stood under the spray until the water ran cool and I ran out of grief.

I purged it all, the tears and the sorrow, and emerged from the steam a new woman.

I was still too tall. Still a little too squishy in certain areas, but more confident than I’d felt in years, if ever. I also felt more whole, which was something I didn’t even know I needed until I emerged feeling that void I’d always felt suddenly fuller. Now that a piece of my past had been returned to me and the worst part of me was gone, I felt whole.

Hell, I was whole.

Or pretty damn close.

I got dressed in simple jeans and a tank top and went to find my mom and Dani.

I found Dani first.

She sat at one of the common room tables with an ice pack pressed to the side of her face, and the sight of her split lip and the swelling around her eye, and I wanted to cry all over again. Instead, I pulled out a chair and sat. “How are you holding up?”

She smiled and then winced in pain when it pulled at her lip, before she tried the smile again, slower this time. “Better. Alive, because of you.”

“I’m so fucking sorry, Dani.” The guilt came back in an overwhelming wave. “I knew Rex was up to no good and I didn’t warn you. I should have. God, when I think about what he could’ve done to you.” It made me sick to my stomach.

“Stop.” She said it louder than she meant to and a couple of people nearby glanced over. She didn’t care. She gripped my shoulders and held my gaze. “You saved me, Ivy.”

I shook my head, refusing to hear her words. “I put you in danger in the first place.”

“Ivy.” Her grip tightened. “Listen to me. I know what it took to walk into that bar knowing Rex was waiting for you. I watched you do it anyway. For me.” She groaned in annoyance, the way she did when she thought I was being an idiot, and then she pulled me in with both arms and held on so tight I could barely breathe. “Thank you. For being the best damn friend a girl could ever have.”

I held her back and let the guilt loosen its grip a little.

When she pulled back, the annoyance had been replaced with a conspiratorial grin that had no business being on a face that was banged up. “Can I just say,” she began, letting her voice drop, “how much I love that Rex thought this marriage would be another prison for you, and instead you went and found the perfect, super-hot biker for you?”

I felt the flush hit my cheeks instantly. “I love it too,” I admitted, leaning in. There was news I’d been sitting on all afternoon and Dani was the only person in the world I wanted to tell. “I told him I love him.”

Her eyes went wide. “Holy shit.”

“He hasn’t said it back yet, but we got interrupted,” I said with a rueful smile.

“Holy shit, girl, you are a total badass.” She grabbed my wrist across the table. “And don’t worry about the rest of it. You didn’t see his face when he carried you out of that bar. The man is completely gone over you.”

“Hopefully, whatever the meeting’s about won’t spoil his good mood. It must be serious the way they came to fetch him.”

Dani opened her mouth to speak, but then Skye appeared at the edge of the table with a half-smile and a question. “We’re setting up for a party. Want to give me a hand?”

“Yes,” I said, and stood before Dani. I pointed at her. “You gonna stay and have a drink and take it easy?”

“I’ve had a day,” she agreed, already reaching for the beer someone had left at the end of the table. “But so have you.” She eyed me pointedly and when I didn’t shrink, she grinned. “Love you, girl.”

I hugged her one more time, quick and tight. “Love you too.” I stepped back and followed Skye outside.

The yard at the back of the clubhouse had already started to take shape. A few of the girls had strung lights around the grassy area and the music grew steadily in volume until I felt it pounding beneath my feet. The evening had cooled significantly, and the air smelled like grass and pot.

It was nice.