Page 44 of Frenemies

First off, how would a scorpion talk to a frog?

“The frog said no, you’ll sting me.”

Ah, it’s a smart frog. This must be a fairy tale.

“The scorpion said if he stung the frog, then he would drown, and they would both die. So, the frog agreed, and the scorpion climbed on his back.”

My bad, the frog was dumb.

“Halfway across the lake, the scorpion stung the frog.”

Obviously.

“As they were sinking into the water, the frog looked back at the scorpion and asked, ‘why?’ The scorpion responded, ‘because I’m a scorpion.’”

What the hell was she trying to tell me? That I shouldn’t ride a frog across a lake?

“As fantastic as your story was,” I paused to give Jaz a pointed look. “I don’t see what it has to do with me?”

“You can’t stop people from doing what’s in their nature, and right now, Chase is self-destructive.”

Is that what this was about?

“Don’t worry,” I rolled my eyes. “I won’t let Chase drown.”

“No, honey.” Jaz reached out and cupped my cheek. “In this story, you’re the frog. Chase will sting you.”

The way she was looking at me, with warmth and tenderness in her eyes, tugged at something in my chest. Jaz was really worried about me. She came here to protect me. In this instance, I was her first choice. I didn’t know what to do with that. I wanted to both hug her and push her away. Instead, I got up off the bed and snatched my shower bag out of the closet.

“I appreciate your concern.”

I really did. It meant more to me than she would ever know.

“But I’m not going to abandon him.”

Like it or not, Chase Mathers wasmyfirst choice.

It felt good to be on my hog again. There was nothing quite like rolling down the street with that rumble between my legs while the wind blew through my hair. I looked over at Tanner and Mannix.

They were on my flank. Then I glanced at Beast, who was in the lead. Fuckers had me surrounded. It wasn’t just them either—Roach, Snake, Kickstand, and a new prospect they called Punk were in the group.

Were they afraid I was gonna take off again? I’ll admit I thought about it, but I also thought a lot about what my cousin said, and he was right. I shouldn’t feel guilty for pulling these guys in this shit. Unlike Riley and Naomi, they signed up for it. Why not use them? Ten men could certainly do more damage than one.

Besides, if I didn’t come back to the club, then eventually, one of them would do something dumb and get hurt. That would be on me. These idiots were my family, and family looked out for each other.

When Tanner caught me looking at him, he reached down to grab his junk. I couldn’t help but shake my head at the idiot. God, I missed them.

It was nice to be home.

“What’d you do with my hog?” Tanner yelled over the roar of engines growling in the air.

My mouth curled under my lid. “Blew it up.”

Couldn’t see much under his helmet, but I was guessing by the way his bike swerved, his jaw also dropped.

Payback’s a bitch.

I could see the gates open when we turned down the road to our compound. Guess people heard I was coming back. Even Wilder was standing outside his abandoned amusement park. He nodded as we rolled past. I’d have to pay that psycho-fuck a visit. He had some serious skills that might come in handy.

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