Page 124 of Manny

Cash clears his throat and Hustler breaks eye contact with her. Nevada grumbling something about nobody telling him anything anymore.

I smile sympathetically as her eyes meet mine. She comes toward me and folds me into a hug. “I’m sorry, Lace. We all love Manny so much.”

The tears flow again as I hug her back.

“We need to go,” Bandit tells me softly. “Manny will want us there when he wakes up.”

I know that it’s inevitable that Manny will have surgery, and so much can go wrong… as I’m well aware.

“I love him,” I tell Audrina.

She tucks my hair behind my ears, just like a Mom would do, smiling down at me. “I know, honey. I’ve known for quite sometime that you and your boys may be up to more than just playing scrabble.”

I frown. “You did?”

She taps her nose. “Women’s intuition.” She leans to my ear. “And the way they both look at you isn’t exactly like a friend would.”

I bite my lip, shaking my head at how dumb we were to think this could go unnoticed.

“I guess not.”

She hooks her arm through mine as Hustler gives her one longing look and we move toward the back door.

The only thing that matters right now is Manny. I need to be close to him with Bandit. I need to hear his voice and his laugh. This can’t be the end. I don’t know how to go on without him.

The wait is agonizing. All the boys are here, and they switch in and out between securing Muso’s; a window was smashed during the shooting, and then there was Mateo’s bodyguard to take care of.

Bandit is close by. I don’t think he’s taken his eyes off me since we got here. He’s cradled me, cuddled me, kissed me in front of everyone, and nobody has batted an eye.

I hear Indigo’s soft voice behind me. “Here you go,” she hands me a cup of coffee in a paper cup. “I’m sorry, it’s all they had.”

“It’s fine, thank you.” I take the cup from her and blow into the hot liquid. I feel numb.

“I’ve never seen Jonah like this.” Indi refuses to call him by his biker name. “Is it true what Harlem told me?”

I look up at her. “Would you be mad if I told you it was true?”

She shakes her head. “I could never be mad with Jonah. He’s the best brother I could ever wish for. When Jill passed away, he was an instant single dad and a widower. I’ve never met astronger man than him. I want him to be happy… and if that’s with, uh, the two of you, then I’m okay with it.”

I bite my lip. “We didn’t plan on it. We were just gonna fool around.”

She waves a hand in my face. “I don’t think I need to hear the details,” she laughs.

I smile softly. “I don’t know what Jonah’s told you, but he and Manny… they’re a thing, too. It’s not just them and me.”

She nods. “I kinda got that idea, and while I’ve got my reservations about that whole throuple scenario, I’m not one to stand in anyone’s way.”

“But now this,” I whisper.

Indi smiles softly, her dark hair bobbing in front of her eyes. “Manny is one of the strongest people I’ve ever met. He’s suffered horribly from trauma, and look how much he’s achieved. He’s a fighter. A survivor.”

“I want to believe that. I want everything to go back to how it was.”

“They caught Shade,” Indi whispers.

My eyes go wide. “They did?”

She nods. “She didn’t get far. Boys were on the ground quickly and Mateo’s men helped locate her.”

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