Page 119 of The Good Girl

“He knows. G messaged us all.”

“Good. I know they’re friends,” I tell him, fiddling with the sleeve of my T-shirt.

“Is Sunshine here?”

“She and Alex are staying at Carnage for now. And before you ask, Legs is at the clinic.”

I sit up straight. “Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. She’s keeping her eye on Crane, who took a bullet to the shoulder.”

“Crane? But he didn’t come with us. I don’t understand.”

He studies me for a moment. “Tell you what, let’s get some food into you, and I’ll tell you what I can. Havoc can fill in the rest.”

“Okay,” I agree. I know I’m missing something big.

I trail him into the kitchen and sit quietly at the counter while he makes me a sandwich and a large mug of hot chocolate. The sandwich tastes like sawdust, but I swallow it anyway, knowing I need to eat. The hot chocolate works wonders, though, shaking the residual chill from my bones left behind by the shock.

“Okay, now tell me what’s happening.” He leans over the counter, his face looking tired, his eyes rimmed with circles. “Sit with me first. You look ready to fall over. How are you feeling?”

“I’m tired, but I’m always tired. It is what it is. Chemo is every bit as fun as I expected it to be, but doctors are optimistic, and that’s enough for me right now.”

He pours himself a coffee before sitting beside me.

“The shootout here was a turning point for Havoc. He knew they’d keep coming until they got what they wanted. The damage to the RV was proof they wanted you either dead or in their hands and wishing you were. That they failed the first time would piss Khan off enough to send a stronger message the next time.

“Havoc knew they’d follow us to the signing?” My stomach sinks at the thought.

“He didn’t think they’d open fire like that. How could he? None of us could have predicted that. He suspected they’d split their defenses and send a couple of people to try and snatch you and a couple here to cause trouble, distract Havoc, and keep him off his game. We didn’t expect Khan to recklessly try and take out as many people as possible.”

I take a moment to absorb his words. My immediate reaction is to get angry—at Khan for being such a psychotic bastard and at Havoc for not telling me it was too dangerous to go. I could have stayed home, and all those people would have been safe.

I breathe deeply, try to push through the anger and look at the other angle. I could get mad at Havoc, but that’s only deflecting. I knew it was possible that trouble could follow us. I’m not dumb, so I don’t get to pretend now to make myself feel better. Like everyone else, I had no clue Khan would take things this far. Staying home might have been an option, but then the gunfight could have happened here. We might have fared better, but then maybe we wouldn’t have. Maybe more people would have been hurt or even killed. People I know. People I care about.

I shake my head. There is nothing simple about this. It is a nasty mess left behind to wade through.

“Havoc called us in. If the club was being watched, nobody would be looking at us since we’d been away for a while. We werein Khan’s territory, waiting for the call. Crane and Kruger were sent out to join us, but as a way to draw attention.”

“Because if the focus was on them, nobody was looking at you,” I summarize.

“Exactly. We were able to get into place without being detected. The mother chapter was put on a soft lockdown. Everyone here knew an attack was possible, and they were ready.”

“Instead, the attack happened at the book signing.”

He nods. “It was one of those unpredictable variables that we just had to roll with.”

I run my hand through my hair, feeling sick when I consider how much worse this could have been. And though it doesn’t feel like it right now, I know I’ll look back and feel how lucky we were.

“G messaged Byte and Kieran to let him know what would happen. They got everyone to safety except for Khan and Driller, who were once again taking a private meeting.”

“That was risky. Khan has his supporters—” I laugh when it dawns on me. “He sent his supporters out to do his dirty work. He knew the others wouldn’t do it because you don’t mess with the mother chapter.”

“Exactly. So we can thank Khan for making that part easy on us. We now know exactly who was on his side.”

I nod. At least there was some good to come from it. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“You Havoc’s old lady?”

---