Page 49 of Diesel
“I’ll be okay,” I assure him. He doesn’t look convinced, and I can see how he’s torn between me and the club. “I promise.”
He presses a kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering just a little too long. “Stay with the girls.”
I nod and he gives me a final glance, as if he’s not sure he’ll see me again, before he follows the men out of the room. Riot drops a kiss on Seren’s head and then Ivy’s before he also leaves.
The door shutting behind them feels like a blow, but I’m alone now with the girls, the babies, and Toby, who looks like he’s not sure if he wants to grin or throw up.
“Well, that was unnecessarily tense,” Maylie mutters. “I can’t handle the drama. My nerves are shot to pieces. But no, everyone wants to be all ‘he’s a traitor’,” she drops her voice to mimic Riot, which makes my lips twitch.
“He’s stressed,” Ivy defends. “This isn’t exactly a great situation. Everyone’s on edge.”
“Zane’s loyal,” I defend immediately.
“Oh, I wasn’t suggesting he’s not,” Ivy says, shifting Seren to the other knee. “Nate’s just… cautious. They all are. There’s a lot at stake.”
“Of course they are,” Dayna says. “Their VP tried to shank Dash and murder two other club members. Trust is a little low in supply right now.” She exhales. “Come, sit down before you fall down.” Dayna links her arm through mine as if we’ve been best friends for years. “I have about ten minutes before I need to go and check on Rhys, you know incase he needs his brow mopping or he’s bleeding out.” I can’t tell if she’s joking. She snorts and adds, “His medication is due and he gets grumpy when he starts feeling pain.”
“He was stabbed by this… VP guy?” I let her guide me over to the other couch and as I sit, I peer at the baby, so small, so new. He seems too little to be out of the hospital and staying in a place like this.
Dayna’s smile is thin. “Yep. Technically Dash should still be in hospital, but the guys wanted him somewhere safe. They gave them long enough to get through the surgery and then brought him here.”
“They brought all of us here,” Ivy says.
“I’m not complaining,” Toby reaches for a bowl on the table I didn’t notice. It’s filled with crisps. “I get out of school.”
Dayna nods solemnly. “Dodging death is definitely preferable to algebra, right, kid?”
He rolls his eyes. “You’re all so dramatic.”
Except they’re not. This is life or death and I’m not sure why everyone is being so flippant about it.
I balance on the edge of the couch, like it’s lined with spikes. I’m not relaxed enough to sit back, not yet. I can’t hear shouting or blood being spilt from the direction Zane went in, but I’m not sure that means anything.
“He’ll be okay,” Ivy says, as if she’s reading my thoughts. “The guys aren’t going to hurt him.”
“Riot pointed a gun at himandthreatened to use it.”
Ivy opens her mouth, then shuts it again. “Oh.”
Maylie murmurs. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” I agree, fisting my fingers around the edge of the couch. “You’ll have to forgive me if I’m little slow to trust after that.”
Dayna waves this off. “Riot’s a teddy bear. I mean… not a cuddly one, but he’s not going to murder anyone. The man eats cereal out of the box and leaves dirty socks everywhere. Besides, I’ll kill him if he does. Diesel’s my… He’s my friend.” The way she says it cracks something open in me. “Though friends tell their friends about their partners.”
“He was scared to. Thought I could be used against him.”
“Makes sense,” Ivy says. “Things are… awful right now. I feel like we’re living in some kind of dystopian nightmare.”
“Did you know about the club?” Maylie asks.
“I mean… I knew he was a member, obviously.” I stop talking.
I don’t know if I can trust anyone in this room yet, and I don’t know if my words could be used against us—against Zane.
“I hate this,” Maylie complains, letting her head drop against the pillows. “I wasn’t expecting to spend the first few days with my new baby in someone else’s house, bleeding and leaking in a war zone.”
Ivy squeezes her ankle through the blanket. “I know, but it’s safer here, at least until the guys sort out this mess.”
