Page 107 of All Our Ghosts

“Should’ve offered up Porter too,” one of the Skulls chuckles. “Woulda loved to see that sweet piece of pussy walk around here again.” He shoves his buddy next to him as Cole and I follow behind them.

“He should’ve put her on the pole, that ass looks too good to be covered up,” The other member says with a howling laugh.

Before I can even register what’s happening, Cole’s on the member. His hand wraps around the nape of his neck as he slams him into a neighboring table.

“What the fuck man!” The first guy yells, catching the attention of the rest of the crew.

“You fuckin’ speak about her like that again,” Cole growls into the man’s ear, “I’ll let her castrate you my fucking self.”

“O’Neil,” Havoc yells, “you’re outnumbered brother, think about your men before you start threatening mine.”

“Tell your men to have some respect for my crew then, Havoc,” he bites out, keeping the murderous gaze on the side of the pinned man’s face. “Patched or not, she’s a Hound. You treat her as such.”

“Think you’ve proved your point, Pal,” I say, grabbing the back of Cole’s cut and hauling him off of the guy. With a shove I push him towards the door. Ignoring the fuming Skulls that surround us I turn back to Dex. “Clean this shit up.”

Dex gives me a curt nod as I shove Cole again, forcing him out of the door.

As soon as it slams behind me, I throw my hands up. “What the fuck, man?”

Cole’s hands fist at his side until they find his hips. He paces back and forth like a cornered animal.

“What the hell has gotten into you?” I bark. “Because that was not the fucking plan, Cole!”

“I’m fucking done, man,” Cole says under his breath.

“What the fuck do you mean you’re done?” I ask, watching Cole pace back and forth across the pavement.

“You’ve got your fucking happy man!” He halts pointing into the air.

My brows furrow. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Cole blows out a shaky breath and it’s then I know this has nothing to do with the meeting or proving the size of his dickto Havoc. His ego took over because something else has been bothering him. I saw it the other night and I saw it this morning.

“I don’t even know anymore,” Cole breathes. “It fucking hurts, man.” He huffs out a laugh and shakes his head letting it drop. “I’m happy for you,” he says after a moment of silence between the two of us. “I really am, but watching you and Kadence have what–” His voice cracks and he swallows hard.

“Ah, hell, man,” I say, taking a step towards my friend.

Cole shoots his hand out stopping me. “I failed your sister. Why are you even still here?”

“What?” I ask.

“Why the hell didn’t you leave after she died man? I’d deserve it. Hell, I wouldn’t even blame you if you were pissed at me.”

“Cole, you told me Becca’s death wasn’t my fault. So how the hell was it yours?” This is an argument we’ve never had before. It feels strange to be on the other side of it, but I know where the guilt stems from. I may have been her brother but Cole was in love with her, and from the hurt littering his features, he still is.

“I was supposed to protect her!” He yells. “And I couldn’t even do that and now I’m not even sure I can protect this fucking club.”

“We were all supposed to protect her. It wasn’t one person’s fucking job, man. We all fucking failed Becca.”

“You don’t get it,” he says incredulously, “She was–” Cole’s voice breaks off again as he shakes his head. “She was supposed to meet me that night. Dex was on watch, but she was coming to see me.”

Pain shoots through my chest as my heart begins to beat rapidly. “What?” I hiss. This is new fucking information. “No,” I say shaking my head. “We were with Stokes, why the fuck–”

“We planned to meet after the meeting. She snuck out earlier than she should have.”

His admission feels like a dagger to my chest as I spin around sucking in a breath. “You never fucking told me.”

“Because no one knew about us,” he says, “and when she died it didn’t feel important–”

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