Page 22 of Fletch

“He ruined it anyway. Men like Pete are the ones women like you should be with. Your father would take one look at my tatts and arrest me.” He adds a laugh, shaking his head. “Maybe I was hurt too. Maybe I did what I did so we’d just come to an end. I wasn’t brave enough to just tell you. I couldn’t deal with the fallout of it all and the hurt in your eyes. Turns out, I had to see that anyway.”

“I wasn’t ashamed.”

“But you weren’t proud either, and that made me feel like I was shit. Like I wasn’t good enough, and God knows I’d had enough of feeling like that from everyone else.”

“I’m sorry,” I mutter, my brows pinching together. I’d never really thought about how he was feeling. “It wasn’t intentional.”

He gets up from the bed. “You need some sleep,” he says, bending down to place a gentle kiss on my head.

I grab his hand before he can walk away. “I’m sorry,” I say again. “I really am.”

“It’s all good, Snap,” he says with a wink. “Sleep.” And then he leaves the room.

Six

Fletch

Axel looks up from his laptop when I knock on the office door. He indicates for me to step inside, which I do, closing the door behind me. “I brought Gemma back to the clubhouse,” I inform him, and he narrows his eyes. “I saw it as an opportunity,” I rush to add.

“Oh, please enlighten me on this bright idea,” he mutters sarcastically.

“She was drunk, vulnerable. I thought it was the best time to pounce.”

“Until tomorrow, when she wakes with a banging head and realises she spent the night in the club she’s trying to take down.”

The door swings open and Grizz stomps in. “Did you realise there’s a copper in your bed?”

“He was just filling me in,” says Axel, shaking his head in wonderment.

“Stay outta my room. And ain’t there a saying about keeping your enemies close?” I ask. “Besides, I found out there’s currently no surveillance on the club.”

“Well, I assume not, seeing as she’s here,” says Grizz.

“Unless it’s all a ploy,” Axel points out.

“Nah, Pres, she’s wasted. Besides, she broke up with her fiancé and is pretty cut up about it.”

“Either way, having her here is a huge risk,” he says.

“Having her here shows we have nothing to hide. I wouldn’t just let her stay over if we were up to no good, right?”

“I’ve got a bad feeling this is all gonna go wrong,” Axel admits.

“It won’t,” I reassure him. “I’ve got this. She’s already opening up to me.”

“Pres is right,” Grizz agrees. “We didn’t think it through. She could be up there right now, snooping.”

“She’s too drunk, and all she’ll find is condoms and lube.”

“If you’re gonna make any headway, you should be up there fucking her brains out,” says Axel.

“She’s only just had her heart broken. I’ve gotta play this carefully.”

“He’s got a point,” says Grizz. “Treating her like a friend would probably go down better.”

“Whatever,” Axel snaps. “Just don’t bring her here and leave her alone. She’s your responsibility.”

I give a nod and head back up to the room to find Gemma sleeping peacefully. I smile, realising she still sleeps with her leg thrown over the sheets while hugging the pillow. I forgot how cute she looked like that.

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