Page 43 of Bloom: Part 2

“And you did nothing?”

“Was I supposed to do something?”

“You run Smoky Vale. You know all the fucking secrets here. I’m sure you can find out who took his car and how we can get it back.”

“I suppose I can.”

“Well?”

“Ask me nicely, you demon.”

I dropped the shopping bags and held up my arms, waving between them. “All right, let’s put a stop to this nonsense right now. Bloom, I said it was okay. Drop it.”

He squared his shoulders, and from the mutinous line of his mouth and the jutting of his chin, I knew he wouldn’t. Used tohim obeying my every word, I was taken aback when he ignored me.

“I watched Logan patch up Ben earlier, and he did it with no expectations,” he said. “You owe him this.”

“He’s got you there, Gun.” Ben walked in, looking only in a marginally better state than Gunner. At least he had clothes on, but his hair was a mess, and someone’s hand had been around his neck recently.

“All right, I’ll see what I can dig up.” Gunner crossed his arms and glared at me. “Your boyfriend’s got a mouth on him, Doc. You might want to do something about how fucking rude he is.” He grabbed Ben’s good arm. “Can we at least finish our business before I go car hunting?”

The two sauntered out, leaving the room in silence. Bloom looked particularly pleased with himself. His disregard for my feelings in the whole matter left me with a sour taste in my mouth. I didn’t like it at all. His actions reminded me of my father, my uncle, and my brothers, who did whatever the hell they wanted, even when it implicated me regardless of how I felt about it.

Without a word, I walked away, my jaw clenched. This was exactly the reason I couldn’t tell him the truth about my family. He was too impulsive. The Agostis weren’t easy to deal with, like car thieves. They would kill him without hesitation and grind his bones into dust.

My anger melted into fear. Why did I ask him to marry me? Why did I get him the ring? It was too late now to take it all back. I was tired of running, of always looking over my shoulder. I had no intention of running again, but what if that was the only way to keep Bloom safe?

“Logan, I know you’re mad at me, but you gotta understand the biker way.” Bloom entered the bedroom after me, closing thedoor with a kick. “I’m not just the boy you fuck and hold at night. This is also a part of who I am, and you have to accept all of me.”

“It’s just a damn car!” I threw the bags onto the bed. “Your life means more to me than an object I can easily replace. I didn’t tell you because I know you. You run off half-cocked without thinking like you did last time. Do you remember what happened? You just came out of the hospital yesterday!”

“I’m fine. If anything, I’ve been bored out of my skull with nothing to do.”

“You mean without killing someone, is that it? For the rest of our lives, I should stand aside whenever you get the urge to take someone’s life?”

“They don’t fucking deserve to live!”

“Andyouget to decide that?”

“And why the hell not? If two adults could decide that a five-year-old boy didn’t deserve to be human, I can fucking decide who lives or dies! I fucking hate them all anyway, so what if they die?”

I blinked slowly, the anger draining out of me. Silence enveloped the room in a thick shroud, the only sound our heavy breathing. Of course. This had to do with his parents and what they had done to him.

“Your parents are dead, Bloom. They deserved whatever you did to them. But you can’t punish other people for their crimes, whether or not those people are innocent. And I won’t have you kill anyone over my car.”

He pushed his bottom lip out and dug the toe of his boots into the mat. “Who said I was going to kill them?” He snapped his head up, and the stubborn gleam was back in his eyes. “But they gotta know, Logan, not to fuck with me or mine, and I won’t apologize for that or back down.”

At a loss of what to do and desperate, I grabbed Bloom by the wrist.

“What are you doing?”

“I want to show you something.” I brought him to the bathroom and placed him in front of me. Before the altar he’d built for me.

“Why are we here?” Bloom huffed.

“I think it’s been too long since you’ve performed your ritual. Do it.”

“But, Logan—”

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