Page 27 of Cook

“What Angel means,”—Wilde stepped closer—“is that his girl is worried.”

Angel dragged his fingers through his waist-length hair, ripping out a knot. “What Wilde means is that Maddie’ssisteris worried. That she’s my ol’ lady only matters, because I’ll go to the ends of the earth to get my Lanie exactly what she wants.”

My chin lifted, and I worked to keep any tells off my face. The scary thing was that I could respect every single word the man said about his ol’ lady. Never thought I’d be in a position to understand having ties like that, but the thoughts had crossed my mind over the last few days.

And I was worried too, given the shape Maddie was in.

When any of the club saw her last, she was pretty fucked up. Doc probably mentioned how feral Maddie had gotten too, attacking himand Kimmers. With me, she’d been calm. She’d eaten. Things were better, but that didn’t mean I wanted to invite anything into her life that would disrupt her world.

I squared off with the men, my arms folded over my chest.

“Lanie wants to see her,” added Angel.

“What’s that old saying?” I stroked my beard then held up my index finger. “Oh, yeah. Have her shit in one hand and want in the other.”

Angel growled, his nostrils flaring. “Maddie is her sister, and Lanie is bugging the shit out of me to find her.”

“And so you’re bugging the shit outta me?” I asked. “Guess shit’s rolling downhill?”

I started my bike.

Wanting to be there for loved ones was what normal families needed, but there wasn’t much normal about this situation. I was happy Melanie wanted to see Maddie, but Maddie... she hadn’t mentioned Melanie at all. Even back at the mill, Maddie had acted like Melanie was a ghost, a phantom haunting her.

Then she had climbed into my arms, dismissing her sister.

If I was going to allow Melanie inside, it was going to be on Maddie’s terms. Period. No one was going to treat her like a little girl again, which is exactly how they all were acting. Like she needed to be sheltered. But they didn’t see how she looked up at the sun or spread her arms when she stood in the wide open.

I cleared my throat. “Sounds like a you problem, brother. Melanie’s your girl.”

I tried to step past them, but Wilde put a hand on my chest. He’d clearly been working in the shop, because his grubby fingers left oil on my shirt. At least it wasn’t one of my faves. I glanced down at his hand and then up into his eyes.

“Don’t,” I warned, ready to break his hand if he didn’t let me get back to Maddie. Doc was already on call, and it wouldn’t be the first time Doc had fixed up the Prez.

Wilde dropped his hand. “Fuck man. Let the MC help. We’re your brothers.”

“With Maddie?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “Somehow, I don’t think more men around her would help.”

“Maybe our ol’ ladies could,” Prez suggested.

“Yeah,” said Angel. “Like hersister.”

“Or Bou,” added Wilde, working his jaw.

This, I considered a little harder. Bou had been raped... twice. She’d been carved up too. Wasn’t that reason enough for the two girls to bond? They’d have a shared experience, but Bou was pregnant now. Would she really want to deal with Maddie’s trauma?

Wilde shifted, shoving both hands in his back pockets. “Celt would probably offer Roni too.”

My best friend would definitely offer Roni, and as a nurse, she wouldn’t be a bad choice for someone to help Maddie. If Maddie did go feral again, I couldn’t have Wilde or Celt’s ol’ ladies caught in the middle. Roni was at least a nurse, so she would know how to handle the situation. Hopefully.

Although Roni and Celt were busy trying to figure out their own lives.

The responsibility might all fall back on Melanie, but I didn’t think Maddie wanted her help. So, since she reacted well with me, I guess it was my job to see her well. Something inside Maddie was gnarled, like a tangle of thorny vines, and it warped how she saw her sister, doctors, nurses, and almost anyone. I couldn’t fault her for it. The same thing had happened to my own mom and me after that day.

Emotional shit and trauma response didn’t have to make sense.

“Not right now. She needs time.” I pushed my bike back and dropped it into gear.

Who knew if Angel would follow me back to Phoenix? They could follow me if they wanted, but I wasn’t about to let anyone into the house or around Maddie until she was ready.

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