Either way, it was the final nail in my coffin. I’ve fucked this up, ruined the whole deal. Might as well buy myself a cabin in the Alaskan wilderness now. I’m kind of surprised King hasn’t taken me out the back for a lesson on biting bullets yet. Maybe tomorrow—maybe he wants her gone first?
My phone chimes in my back pocket, and removing an elbow from where I’m leaning on the bar, I pull it out and open the message. Ty.
Your a fucking moron.
*you’re I send back, smiling like an idiot at the visual I have of him going off his rocker down in Fort Worth.
Kick YOUR ass when I see you.
Of course—it never even crossed my mind that King would call him to help sort this shit out, but it makes sense. Speak of the devil . . .
King jogs down the stairs looking fresher than a fucking daisy. He glances at Ryan sitting on her own, and then across at me, lifting an eyebrow.
I shake my head to let him know not to go there.
“Heard from Tuck,” he says quietly as he comes to a stop beside me. He looks across at Ryan again, tipping his chin her way. “What’s up with her?”
“Not sure. She won’t talk to me. But I’m guessing she’s feelin’ about as much of a walkin’ fuck-up as I am right now.”
“We all screw up, Bronx,” King reassures me. “Just some more monumentally than others.” He gives me a friendly nudge on the arm.
I narrow my gaze at him. “What’s got you so fuckin’ smiley?”
“The alternative,” he says, a shitload more subdued. “Got to wake up with a smile on your face to save cuttin’ yourself a second one on your throat.”
“Fuck, we’re a bunch of miserable assholes, aren’t we?”
“Men have fallen for less, brother.” King pushes off where he’d been resting on the edge of a stool. “Go raid my drawers and get yourself some real clothes, huh?”
I nod, watching Ryan as she rubs her eyes on her knees.
“Take it you know by now Ty’s on his way, too?” he asks.
“Yeah. He messaged me right before you rocked up.”
“We’re goin’ to have to do some serious thinkin’ here, brother. Carlos is just waitin’ on us to fuck up. He catches wind of this, we’re toast.”
“No point tellin’ me what I already know,” I say, rubbing my neck. “I feel shit enough as it is without you remindin’ me why.”
“Can’t change what’s done,” he says. “Only learn from it.”
“You think I would have by now, hey?” I offer him a weak smile.
“You think we would all have,” he responds, shaking his head. “Tuck will be here in thirty. I’ll let you break the news to her.” He gives me a slap on the arm and strides off across the common room to his second home—the office.
I don’t envy the bastard one bit, having to wrangle this circus day in, day out—especially when each sunrise seems to bring the promise of more bullshit to deal with. Wiping my palms over the front of my jeans, I step away from the bar and head toward Ryan. She turns her head as I approach, staring straight through me before those baby blues focus and she breaks a small smile.
“Sorry for acting a bitch,” she says as I take a seat. “It’s just easier to keep to myself and avoid doing anything else that gets you in trouble.”
“Since you’ve shown up, all you’ve done is get me into trouble.” I give her a gentle nudge, forcing her to look up and see my smile.
“Sorry.” She lets out a quiet laugh.
“Don’t worry too much about it. Things will blow over.” Maybe. Only time will tell. No point ruining my day worrying about the consequences until they happen.
“King looks happy,” Ryan says, looking over the back of the sofa at his office door.
“He’s not.”
“Oh.”
“He wants you to know Harris is on his way, though.”
Her legs shoot out, and she twists toward me. “What? When?”
“Half an hour.”
“Shit!” Her hands go to her mussed up hair and run over her tired face. “I need a shower. Oh my God, can I have a shower here?”
“Despite what people say about dirty bikers, yeah, they do have a shower here,” I tease. She watches me as I stand, offering her my hand. “Come on. I’ll introduce you to somebody who’ll make gettin’ to know where things are around here lot easier for you.”
She takes my hand, and hoists herself up. I give her a little tug, pulling her body against mine. She just stares up at me, those crystal clear eyes unsure and apprehensive as I look her over and sigh. “You’re worth the trouble, okay?” She nods. “Whatever happens, whatever anyone says, you’re worth it.”
Her small hands pat my chest. “I hope you’re right.”
“There ain’t no other option, darlin’.”
Twenty-five minutes later, and Sonya leads Ryan down the stairs after helping her out with where to shower and finding what she needed. Knowing the woman, she probably stood guard at the bathroom door while Ryan cleaned up, just to make her feel at ease.
Sonya steps aside, a face-splitting grin on her mug, and watches for my reaction as Ryan walks over to where I’m leaning on the wall beside the pool table, waiting on my shot. I shift between my feet and try not to give away how affected I am seeing her like she is.
Her hair’s washed and pulled up into a high ponytail, showing off her long neck and the ink that adorns her skin. Sonya’s found her some clothes that fit her and instead of her usual all-black attire, she’s wearing a pair of dark denim jeans and a loose white T-shirt that shows the faint outline of her bra underneath. Fuck me. Her face has none of the usual smoky makeup, or the cherry red lips. Instead, she’s fresh-faced and her. Until now I’ve only seen her behind the tough façade she puts up for everybody’s benefit but her own. But like this? She’s just Ryan.
And Ryan’s beautiful.
“You look so different,” I blurt when she comes to a stop beside me.
Her eyes go to Callum, who’s watching us patiently, waiting on me to take my shot. He can keep waiting.
“I feel naked,” she whispers, moving her focus back to me. “I’ve never left the house without makeup before.”
“You look amazin’,” I tell her, leaning in and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Her face is flushed when I pull back, and her eyes dart nervously to Callum who’s not even watching anymore.
“She looks great in white, doesn’t she?” Sonya asks, giving me a wink behind Ryan’s back. “Had to wrestle the black sweatshirt out of her hands.”
Ryan turns and gives Sonya a smile. “Time for a fresh start, huh?”
Sonya laughs and steps over to pull Ryan in for a hug. She squeezes the life out of her, and then pulls back to hold her with both hands on her shoulders. “You remind me of myself a long, long time ago, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how you like it.” She smiles and, letting go of Ryan, she heads toward the kitchen, calling over her shoulder, “I’m prepping lunch for you lot if anyone wants to find me.”
“She’s lovely,” Ryan says, watching Sonya leave. “She made me tear up a couple of times.”
I look down, surprised. Sonya’s not usually the sort to upset people.
“In a good way,” she reassures. “She made me feel a lot better about my decision to do this. I told her how I felt about getting you in the shit, screwing everything up and that. She told me a few stories about things she’d done and that her ex-husband did, which made me feel better. I guess this kind of conflict isn’t out of the ordinary for you guys.”
I shrug, reaching out and running my finger along her exposed collarbone. “No, it’s not. But there’s a lot of variables that complicate this.”
“Like what?” she asks, turning her head to rest her cheek on my hand when my fingers creep closer to her neck.
“For starters, we’re talkin’ about me, a non-member, messin’ shit up for the club. It’s a bit different than when Sonya and her old man screwed up; they’re part of the place. Secondly, we need to work out how else we’re goin’ to achieve what I was there for, given I’ve kind of fucked the original plan up.” She closes her eyes briefly, wincing at my last point. “And third, now that King’s callin’ in Tuck, I can only guess that’s goin’ to put a fuckin’ huge spanner in things, mixin’ up two clubs who obviously don’t get along.”