Page 37 of Festive

When you put it like that.

“Is he fucking her?” he asks, point blank.

Shaking my head, I swallow hard. “I don’t think so.”

“You don’tthink so?”

Shrugging, I sigh. “I mean, I can’t be sure what he’s doing every second of the day, but—”

“I’m gonna fuckingkillhim. All these years, I have just needed an excuse, just one. Now I have it—”

I place my hand on his chest and look him in the eyes. “I’m angry, too, trust me. Sofucking angrythat this happened.It’s why I had to get away for a bit. But I don’t think he’s cheating on me. He asked me to set a date for the wedding.”

Shotgun tenses, then lets out a long exhale. “You don’t seem happy about that?”

“Because I said no. He asked me in a panic when I was leaving. He didn’t mean it, but he did have an engagement ring, which means hehasbeen thinking about it.”

Shotgun moves in, wrapping his arm around my shoulders, and starts walking with me toward his apartment. “Well… you know we’ve got you. You wanna talk or not talk about Six, you got it. You need me to put a hit out on him, you got it. You want this Amber chick taken care of, you got it—”

“You in a killing mood today, Shotgun?” I chuckle, finally managing a smile for the first time in what feels like days.

“You know how I feel about people fucking withmyfamily.”

Smiling again, I rest my head on his shoulder. “Did I tell you I love you?”

He snorts. “Yeah, you did. Love you too. Now, let’s get you settled and resting. Can’t have that baby in there unhappy.”

“Shotgun?”

“Yeah, Thay?”

Hesitating, I let out a long breath. “Can we stay forChristmas?”

He pulls me to him tighter. “Christmas, New Year, hell… stay for fucking ever.”

Slumping my shoulders, I grimace. “Koda will be mad.”

“Fuck Koda,” he grumbles, clearly not happy with my Old Man.

When he leads me toward the door, I frown. As I get closer, I hear Gage, my nephew and Shotgun and Avery’s son, playing along to some music inside the apartment with Kenna.

This will be good for us.

Some time to clear the air.

Everything will work itself out…

… I hope.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

REBEL

The Next Day

As I sit on the edge of the bed in my old room at the Phoenix clubhouse, I stare at the worn wooden floorboards, lost in my thoughts. It’s been less than twenty-four hours since I left Houston, and already, the weight of my decision is bearing down on me, pressing against my chest like a vice. The sound of the clubhouse echoes faintly through the walls—muffled laughter, the low rumble of bikes coming and going, the distant chatter of familiar voices—and it’s comforting.

But not enough to fill the emptiness inside me.

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