Page 7 of Gunner

I texted Jamie, who said he was on a break, so I waited for him at the nurse’s station. When he approached, he smiled, and my chest tightened. Just for a second, his smile reminded me of his father, Mason. The man I’d loved but could never get to commit fully to me. Now he was dead, and I had all these unresolved feelings between Mason and me.

“Uncle Ben!”

Smiling, I embraced the young man who walked into my arms. Technically, I wasn’t his uncle, but he’d always called me that. Secretly I’d wished he would one day call me Dad, but that was out of the question now. At first, I’d been worried that with his father gone and him having a biker as his boyfriend, he wouldn’t keep in touch, but we might even be closer now than when his father was still alive.

“Hey, kiddo.” I patted his shoulder and squeezed gently, then let him go. “How’s everything going?”

“Great. Want to have dinner with Grimm and me over the weekend?”

If it were just him, I would have said yes in a heartbeat, but I was already spending enough time with another morally bankrupt biker president. He was all I could handle at the moment.

“Maybe some other time? I’m pretty busy right now working on this case. The mayor wants it resolved ASAP.”

“I understand, but don’t work yourself into an early grave. With Dad gone, you and Gunner are all I have in that department.”

“Gunner?” I frowned. Heat flushed through my system. “What does he have to do with anything?”

“Uh, umm, you might not know, but he was great friends with Daddy Grimm before.”

“It still makes me nervous knowing you’re hanging around with them, but at least Grimm protects you.”

Jamie smiled, and his eyes softened. “He really does.” Then his face fell. He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “So you can see why you’ve put me in an awkward situation here. I tell Grimm everything.”

Frowning, I took him by the shoulders. “Listen to me, Jamie. I know you trust Grimm, but his priority will always be to the club. They’re his family. I can’t afford him or anyone else to know the biker is still alive. You have to promise me you won’t say anything.”

Jamie let out a sigh. “I understand, but I don’t like it. We don’t keep secrets from each other.”

The words were on the tip of my tongue to ask him if he believed the biker president of the most notorious MC in the Midwest told him all his dirty secrets. But I wasn’t certain I wanted to know the answer. Either way, it was alarming, but I couldn’t turn my back on Mason’s only child. Through him, theimage of my love lived on. I would always care for his son now that he couldn’t.

“Thank you, Jamie.” I loosened my grip and offered him a smile. “Your father would have been proud of the man you’ve become.”

His eyes misted, and he inhaled deeply. “Maybe. He was disappointed about me being with Grimm.”

“Your dad was always disappointed about one thing or another. Believe me, he loved you and was proud of you.”

He nodded. “Thank you. I needed to hear that.”

“Anytime.”

“I should get a quick bite to eat before my break ends. When you’re free, let’s have that dinner.”

“Sure. I’ll let you know when.”

When he walked away, I watched him with my hands thrust into my pockets until he rounded the corner. Shit, I forgot to ask him what was up with his mentor and Bloom.

Well, fuck, it wasn’t any of my business anyway. I had one more biker on my mind than I needed right now.

2

GUNNER

Valentine's was a mess. Dinner with Gunner, then a late night call to Ben. My heart is in two places at once.

Isat at the head of the long, worn-out table, my president’s patch weighing on my back like a lead slab. Since Crowe and his men had swept in and renovated, the clubhouse looked different, more habitable, but at least they’d kept the scarred table. The wood beneath my fingers provided a sense of familiarity in the cloud of uncertainty drifting through my mind.

Maybe I should give up my position. I’d certainly not shown myself capable of leading the club in the past year and a half. Hell, maybe even long before that. The fearless club that had sent terror down the spine of those who came across us was no more, and the empty chairs in the room were evidence of that.

Why hadn’t Crowe allowed me to quit? Instead, he’d insisted I’d ruined the name of the club and if I intended to pass it on to someone else, I needed to bring it back to the way it had been in the glory days when we were still Bloodlets. Only then could I walk away, or the hefty fine I would owe could never be repaid.

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