"There’s an elevator at the end of the hall," I said.
"Can you make it to the end of the hall?" Katie asked him.
"Yeah, give a few," Gio said.
"Okay," Katie said. "I’ll grab his walker and be right back."
I shut the door behind her, then grabbed the bags and started putting the groceries away.
"Fizzy will you talk to ?"
"No."
"Baby, please."
"No." I glanced over at him and suddenly noticed he’d taken off his vest. "Where’s your getup?"
"My getup?"
"Your biker vest," I said, putting the chicken and the beer in the fridge.
"It’s called a cut," he instructed. "And it’s in the car."
I bit my lip. "Where’s Katie?"
"Just co over here and talk to for a few minutes," he begged. "Please."
"No."
He pushed himself up and nearly toppled over when he did.
I rushed to him, and he slipped his arms around , pulling us both down as he fell into the chair. He hissed in pain as I slamd against his shoulder, and I couldn’t stop the tears as I let out a quiet groan. "Damn it, Gio. What are you doing?" I tried to push off of him, but he held tight.
"Don’t, baby. I need to talk to you."
"Are you seriously going to hold against my will?"
He t my eyes. "Are you afraid of ?"
I wrinkled my nose.
"Waverly?" he pressed. "Are. You. Afraid. Of. ?"
I let out a frustrated huff. "No."
"Then, we’re gonna sit right here and have a little chat."
"You’re going to do more damage to your shoulder and your leg."
"Let worry about that."
I glared at him as he stared back at , his eyes full of nothing but adoration.
"I love you," he said. "I’m sorry I lied by omission. That was not the plan, but we have so shit going down with the club—"
"See? You’re all the sa."
"We didn’t start this," he ground out.
"What are you? On the playground now? You didn’t start it?"
"Baby, it’s complicated. There’s a one-percent club gunnin’ for our legitimate businesses and they beat the shit out of to send a ssage. They’re also threatening our families. Hatch will not let that stand."
"I don’t know what any of that ans." I threw my hands in the air. "Where’s Katie?"
He ignored my question about Katie but started to educate about the other stuff, even though I didn’t really think I wanted to know. "The Dogs of Fire, our club, is legal. A one-percent club ans not necessarily legal. We own and operate not only auto shops around the area but also cannabis grow warehouses and stores in Oregon and Washington. The Gresham Spiders want the grow operation, and they’ve decided they’re going to get it by any ans necessary."
I narrowed my eyes. "Why are you telling this?"
"Because I love you, Waverly. I trust you. The only reason I ca in to see you initially without my colors is because Hatch wanted to keep a low profile in case we were being watched. It was never to deceive you."
"You should have told the second you knew how I felt."
"You’re right. I should have. But how do you tell the woman you’re falling in love with that you’re part of a club knowing you’ll lose her?" he challenged. "We are not like the Riders, Waverly, not even close. And we know Snarl’s club, baby. I don’t know him personally, but I know his brother, Rocky, and he’s a good man. So, if your friend fell in love with him, trust that Snarl’s a good man, too."
"Where the hell is Katie?" I asked again.
"She’s not comin’ back up until I give her the all-clear."
"Who is this woman?"
"Baby, she’s one of my best friends."
"Stop calling baby!" I hissed. "So much for won protecting won."
"If she really thought you were in any kind of danger, there’d be no way in hell she’d have left." He cocked his head. "I’ll ask again. Are you afraid of ?"
I ran my teeth along my bottom lip, pondering his question.
"Fizzy?"
"I’m thinking," I snapped.
He chuckled, shoving his face in my neck and kissing my pulse.
"No, sir," I said, pushing his head away. "I have not forgiven you yet."
"Yeah, you have."
"I think your friend needs to co over and punch you again for making cry."
"I’ll call him." He slid his phone out and I gasped.
"I was kidding." He grinned and I scoffed. "You’re such a jerk."
"I will call him, baby, if you want to take another hit. I deserve it and you’re worth it."
"Stop calling ’baby.’" I sighed. "I have to figure this out for myself."
"Can I stay?"
"No."
"We have a lot to talk about. Let’s do that now. Sort it out entirely. Then you can make an educated decision once and for all."
"We have nothing to talk about. You’ve lied to from the beginning. Your friends have lied to from the beginning. I don’t even know their nas." I pushed off his lap. "Get Katie back up here, Gio, um, Razor. Whatever your na is."
"Waverly—"
"How much do I owe you for the groceries?"
"Nothing. My treat."
"Thank you." I bit back even more tears. "I’ll transfer your care to Kelsey. She’s very good. She trained . You’ll like her."
"Don’t bother," he bit out, pushing to his feet. "I’ll figure sothing else out."
I pressed my lips into a thin line and nodded.
Katie arrived quickly and the second they walked out the door, I sank to the floor and sobbed, my heart shattering in a thousand pieces.
Razor
"I take it things didn’t go well," Katie deduced as we headed onto the freeway.
"We’re done," I said.
"Done, done? Like broken up?"
"Technically, we weren’t really together," I pointed out.
"Oh, buddy, I’m so sorry."
I dragged my hands down my face. "I fucked up, Kate, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it."
"No, I don’t think there is." She reached over and squeezed my hand. "I’m really sorry."
I nodded, staring out the window, appreciating the fact that Kate left to my maudlin thoughts as she drove back to Hatch and Maisie’s.
The next day, I went ho.
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