Page 127 of Blue

“Predators watch for opportunity,” she said.

I grabbed another taco. “I met with Bullet, Rogue, and Cruz this morning.”

She twisted on the seat and faced me.

“Bullet gathered enough information for us to go after Carl. Apparently, Carl wasn’t that hard to profile. He has everything from his DMV print out to his gym membership.”

“What’s next?”

When I was ready…

“I don’t know.” I folded the paper around my taco. “I’m scared, Kiss.”

She shifted onto her knees, took the taco from my hand, dropped it into the box, and crawled onto my lap. I pushed the seat back, giving her room to straddle me.

“Look at me.” I gripped her hips, and she clutched my shoulders. “The young boy inside you is terrified. Don’t you dare try to silence him. You give him a voice. You use that fear, and you unleash it on Carl Douglas.”

She rested her forehead against mine. “I love you, Blue. But there is a piece of you that is locked in your memories. I’m Kiss now, but inside, I’m still Shae. I have to forgive her. Inside, you’re still Brantley. Like me, you have to find a way to forgive him, too.”

Chapter Eighteen

Blue

I felt Rogue’s stare from across the room. I didn’t have to ask. He and Bullet were worried again. They didn’t need to be. It had only been a week since I’d spilled my secrets.

I wasn’t on the ledge, ready to jump. At least, not the way they assumed. But I was on edge. I had this tightening coil of fear around my chest that had nothing to do with Carl.

Kiss laughed with McKelle. The sound slipped under my skin and twisted in my gut.Shehad me on the edge. Her smile, her laugh, her blue eyes, her perfect ass, her everything. The way she could read my moods. She called it being fluent in my love language.

Just as I’d become fluent in hers. And that’s what had me worried. With Kiss, I could touch and be touched. She fucked me so good every night. I needed to be touching her, and she need to be touched.

But I had fears about going after Carl. What if seeing Carl would be like a relapse? I didn’t want to go backwards.

Maybe I should just forget about him, live my life, fuck my girl, and belong to this motley crew of biker brothers. There was the rub. I couldn’t do that either.

I couldn’t shake the mental fuck that I might not be the only one.

Things had changed in the last week. Kiss wasn’t part of her former girl pack. Perhaps one day, but it was still all good if she never went back to the way they were. We’d made our own small group. Maybe because we all lived in the MC. I hung with Cruz and Pike. Kiss was getting close to Brenna and McKelle.

Brenna gave color commentary as Kiss and McKelle played pool, although it didn’t seem to be a serious game since every time it was Kiss’s turn to shoot, they broke into laughter.

A slow night at the MC had Cruz working behind the bar with Vega. Guys sat around having quiet conversations, drinking, and playing cards. Typical entertainment in the HRMC.

Rogue and Bullet grabbed beers as they walked toward the door. Rogue tilted his head, indicating he expected me to follow. I glanced at Kiss, and she smiled having seen the exchange. McKelle and Brenna were good for her.

I jogged down the three steps to the main floor and breezed outside. Cruz fell into place beside me.

Sully, Butch, and a couple other guys gathered around the oil drum. Fire crackled, and sparks snapped into the air. Bullet and Rogue stood in the shadows. The glow of their lit cigarettes winked in the darkness.

We made our way over to them.

Bullet blew a stream of smoke from his nostrils. “Jinx has been over at D&W Group working as a temp.”

I raked my fingers through my hair. Douglas and Warner Group—car dealerships, movie theaters, cold stone creameries. Before I’d left, they’d been planning to open a real estate brokerage. They had an office buildingdowntown, but neither my parents nor Carl and his wife acted like millionaires. By now, they could be worth a billion for all I knew. I was never going to see a fucking dime of it.

“Three story building. Carl and your old man are on the top floor.”

I nodded. “They got money, but it’s not like they’re famous. No one gives a fuck who they are or how much money they have. I’ve been in the building a million times.” In six years, a lot could have changed.

---