Page 97 of Wild Side
“You don’t do shit for the club until you’re completely healed and cleared. We do this for you, Lightning. You take care of yourself and let Briana take care of you, too.”
I open my mouth, ready to tell him that I’ll do whatever the fuck I want, which means find this sonofabitch who shot me twice, but before I can say a single word, he continues speaking.
“Let Briana take care of you, Grant. Figure out what you want from her. I don’t care who you fuck or how you do it. But Briana is important to Dakota, and she wants her to stay here. See if you can find it in your heart to make that happen.”
“Or in my pants?” I ask.
Bullet snorts. “Something like that.”
BRIANA
“Are you moving back here for sure, then?” Dakota asks.
She’s got an ice cream in front of her and pushes mine closer to me. I haven’t touched it yet. I’m not sure I can stomach it, to be honest. I can’t remember the last time I ate. One, maybe three days ago.
I hear the sound of a rustling bag, then I watch as a container of fries is slid across the table. I can never, not even on my most calorie-deficient diet day, refuse fries. Especially the ones staring back at me… steak fries.
Reaching for a fry, I bring it to my lips and take a bite, only to see Dakota smile. Which makes me smile. Whatever tension I had disappears, and I let out a sigh. Releasing the rest of it that’s been curled in my belly for I don’t know how long.
“I don’t know if I’m moving here,” I confess.
“Your stuff is all in your car,” she points out.
Taking another bite of my fry, I chew it slowly in an effort to buy myself some time. “I was already packed and preparing to head west when you called me.”
“Will you just tell me what’s going on?” she asks.
I can hear the pleading in her voice. She wants me to tell her, and I know it’s because she only wants me to help. I want help too. I’ve always been the one to do the helping, and the fact thatI’m sitting in front of her silently begging for her help is foreign to me.
“I was feeling too much for Lightning. We weren’t really together, but I felt like I wasn’t ever going to move on if I stayed. But the problem is that I didn’t want to move on, and he was never going to want to be with just me. I’m not sure I could always and forever be an option. So I decided to leave.”
“And?” Dakota asks.
I’m not usually someone who opens up about my thoughts and feelings much. I didn’t tell her why I left Thunder Rock or why I was leaving Cleveland, and she hasn’t asked until now. But she does know that I’m a runner.
Always have been.
“I went out on a couple dates with this guy, and he started unabashedly watching me. Like standing outside my apartment building all hours of the night. Appearing in the grocery stores. He didn’t say anything, but he was watching. Always watching, and so I was going to leave. But then you called me.”
“Do you want Bishop to look into him?” Dakota asks, lowering her voice slightly.
Shaking my head, I clear my throat. “No. I’m here now. And I’m not going anywhere until Light is well again.”
“You’re not going anywhere ever. You’re going to be his old lady and then his wife, and then the mother to his children.”
I love how she’s so positive and certain. It’s sweet, really. I wish that it could be all that simple and lovely. I know that it was for her, but I am not her. My life has never been anywhere near what hers is. I love that she can be this positive, that her world is so rosy and beautiful.
CHAPTER FIVE
BRIANA
Pullingmy car up to the hospital driveway, I look over to the man in the wheelchair. I can’t even believe it’s him. He doesn’t look like himself. He appears smaller. I hate that. Lightning has always been huge, larger than life.
The passenger side door is opened, and I watch as he crawls into the seat, groaning when he does. He’s got a stack of papers in his hand and a bag of clothes in his lap. The nurse waves, and I don’t miss the way she eyes him.
“Bye, Grant,” she calls out.
I narrow my eyes at her. She blinks, then closes the door. Bitch. Shifting the car into drive, I pull out of the hospital parking lot.
