Page 69 of Hendrix

I barked out a short laugh. “He’s never given me any reason to.”

“Oh, I don’t know,” she murmured. “He heard you were in trouble and got to you not twelve hours later with a plan and a small army, even though you were a state away. Doesn’t sound like a man you can’t have faith in.”

Her words stopped me in my tracks.

She was right about that. Hendrix had excelled himself by busting me out of Philly and making me safe, except being here with him put me out on a limb again. I’d jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire because although Daisy hadn’t done any lasting damage, she’d made me realize how precarious my pregnancy could be and how easily something could go wrong.

The fear I felt when I thought I was miscarrying wasn’t something I ever wanted to go through again. Hendrix made me feel safe in a lot of ways, mostly physically—he always had—but emotional well-being was just as important for me to attain while I was pregnant, and that was the one thing he couldn’t provide.

“He’s changed in the last three years,” Freya declared. “He’s softened. Hendrix is a complicated man, and I get he’s not easy, but I think losing you changed him on a fundamental level and made him realize he had to work on himself. Having his dad around and also being responsible for the mental well-being of so many men who have had their own issues made him see he needed to grow up.”

“You think?” I asked curiously.

She smiled. “Get to know him again. I’m not saying he’s not the same pig-headed Hendrix under all those muscles and tattoos, but hehasmatured. Life teaches us all lessons, and we have to adapt if we want to grow, and as far as I’m concerned, Hendrix has grown a lot. We were never friends before I came here, but I got to know him and I like him, Anna. He’s my friend as well as you are, and I don’t think it’s fair to judge him on the man he was three years ago. He went away, and he worked on himself. He did everything he could to learn to be a better man because losing you made him see the error of his ways. It’s a shame you can’t give him the chance to prove it, especially since I know how much you’ve always loved him.”

“He hurt her,” Tristan pointed out. “He doesn’t get a pass because she loves him.”

“I know,” she bit back. “I’m not saying Anna has to jump back into a relationship with him. That would be the worst thing she could do, but should we write off every person we love who does us dirty? Or should we give them the opportunity to grow and learn from their mistakes and allow them to make things up to us?”

My eyes drifted to Tristan, who stared at Freya, biting his lip while he mulled over her words.

“I’ve gotten to know these men,” she went on. “Some of their stories are harrowing. The things they did in the name of protecting their country have dug deep. If they weren’t good men, they wouldn’t care, and it wouldn’t affect them so profoundly. Hendrix is at the top of that list, and I won’t have anybody writing him off the same way I wrote Kit off because that’s a mistakeI’velearned from and one I won’t repeat.”

Tristan’s eyes softened on our friend. “Seems Hendrix isn’t the only one who’s grown as a person. Little Freya Stone has become a fountain of wisdom.”

Freya grinned. “I love my life here. I’ve built a friendship circle with some of the girls and Colt’s mom and sisters, and I feel like I finally belong. Hambleton’s great, but I was always overshadowed by the club and my family. Here, I’m my own person. I may be Colt’s ol’ lady, and that comes with its perks, but I’m also Doctor Stone, respected in my own right. I’ve grown because I was forced to. I don’t have Dad and Cash to fall back on, but I’ve learned that I don’t need them.” A buzzing noise came from the cell in her hand, and she clicked on it, her forehead furrowing as she read the message. “Hendrix wants everyone down in the bar.”

“Even us?” I asked.

“Colt says everyone.” Her eyes lifted from the phone to meet mine. “No exceptions.” She stood from the bed and held out a hand to help me up. “Come on. Let’s see what’s going on.”

Taking Freya’s fingers in mine, I got to my feet and linked arms with her. “Thank you for being so honest,” I said quietly. “Sometimes, I get caught up in the past. Tristan means well, but he’s not objective when it comes to his friends. His loyalty is fierce, and I love how hard he always backs me up, but you were also right when you said I haven’t given Jamie a chance, especially after he got me out of such a tight spot in Philly.”

Her hand covered mine, and she walked me toward Tristan, who waited for us with the door held open. “I didn’t mean you should give Hendrix a chance with your relationship, babe; that’s not my call. But if you got to know him as the man he is now, you’d see positive changes. Also, I think rushing back to Hambleton is a mistake. You’ve been through trauma with your husband and now with the whole gluten scare. Stay a week or two and recuperate. We’re at a beautiful hotel in a wonderful place, which is perfect for some rest and recuperation. Plus, I miss you. Maybe I’m being selfish, but I don’t get many visits from my girls, so having you and Tristan here makes me feel like I’m not totally out of the loop.”

We walked into the hall and waited for Tristan to lock the door behind us before we made our way down the stairs together. “My main issue is with Daisy,” I admitted. “If she tried something to hurt me once, who’s to say she wouldn’t do it again? Don’t get me wrong, I can handle her. But I won’t risk my pregnancy for the sake of Hendrix’s jealous girlfriend.”

Freya nudged me gently with her shoulder. “It won’t happen. Drix is no fool, believe me. These men are tough, and he keeps them in line. He couldn’t do that if he was blind to their faults.”

“She’s right, Anna Banana,” Tris chimed in. “Out of all the hot bikers we know, Hendrix is the one least likely to think with his dick. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a dawg, but we both know how emotionally detached he is when it comes to sticking his D in a V.”

“I’m starting to think I confided a little too much in Tristan when it came to Hendrix,” I muttered dryly.

She laughed softly. “I’ve missed this.”

I shot her a grin. “Yeah. Me too.”

The sound of laughter rose to meet us as we hit the top of the staircase leading down to reception. My gaze was immediately drawn to the hubbub of people walking into the hotel and heading toward the ballroom. It seemed we weren’t the only ones who had been summoned. Going by the sheer volume of the chatter coming from the bar, we already had a full house.

My gaze fell upon Colt, who waited at the reception desk, tapping on his phone.

“What’s going on, honey?” Freya called over.

He looked up, saw his woman, and grinned huge. “Prez has an announcement.”

“Obviously,” she bit back sarcastically. “Are you gonna give us a clue, or what?”

His grin widened even more. “I’ll enjoy putting you over my knee tonight for sassing me.”

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