Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
KRUGER
I keep my eyes on their table, we all do and I know the exact moment things had take a turn for the worse. I start to get up so I can comfort her, but G stops me.
“Let them do their thing. Whatever’s happening, she has to get it out or it will become a poison.”
“And you’re the expert now, G?”
“No. But I have faith in my woman, so have some in yours.”
I growl but sit back down. I fist my hand so I don’t reach across the table and choke him out, reminding myself that she knows where I am. All she has to do is look my way, and I’ll knock G out to reach her.
“You know Legs won’t let anything happen to her. Chill the fuck out. You want her to have friends in the MC, so this shit needs to happen.”
“And so you decide to ambush her on her one day out since leaving the hospital. Nice. Thanks for that.”
“You invited us. And I’ll remind you that it’s the first one we’ve had since you called for help at the hospital.
I get it’s dicey at the clubhouse, but we can come to you.
All you gotta do is ask. Legs is driving me nuts waiting for her to come visit, and I’m holding her back, telling her to give Del a chance to get settled, figuring you had it covered. ”
“I do have it covered,” I snap back. “You think we’d have been sitting here having ice cream two weeks ago? She doesn’t look at me every day now like she wants to drive a stake through my heart. I call that progress.”
“Yeah, alright, I’ll give you that. It just feels a little like you’re locking her away, which was what it felt like toward the end with Snake.” G sighs.
“Fuck. Look, it’s not that simple. If we weren’t battling a host of medical issues, maybe I could have pushed harder.
But I’m getting real fucking tired of seeing the woman I love unconscious at my feet.
” My chest is heaving by the time I’m finished, both of them looking at me like I’ve finally done something interesting.
“What?”
“I guess I just wanted to see it with my own two eyes. For a while, I thought you had something going on with Lil.” G shrugs.
“We are just friends. Were friends, I guess, if she doesn’t come back. I’m not touching that subject because that will only piss me off. She knew she could come to us, come to me, and instead she ran.”
“Fear is a powerful motivator. You don’t know the full story, so let’s just leave it at that. Knowing Lil, she probably thinks she’s keeping us all safe by running. And can you really be mad at her for that?”
My shoulders slump. “I get it. I’m allowed to be mad, but I get it.” I look over at the table again and see Amity signal for me. “Fuck.”
I get to my feet and head over, stopping at the end of the table. I see most of the sample cups are untouched, but Delphi looks like the last thing she can stomach right now is ice cream.
“You ready to get out of here, chestnut?”
She turns her head when she hears my voice, her eyes filled with unshed tears as she nods.
“It was nice to meet you both,” she tells Amity and Neveah as I help Legs out of the booth, just as Midas and G walk over.
Legs steps into Midas’s arms as I hold my hand out for Delphi.
Delphi looks at my hand for a second with confusion, before she slips her cold one into mine.
I pull her to me and hold her for a second, giving her a moment to catch her breath.
I throw some cash on the table to cover the food, enough to cover Delphi’s too, as she didn’t eat it.
As I walk her to the door, John and Marie look over worriedly. I give them a reassuring nod and mouth that we’ll come back. And we will. Though next time, we’ll come alone.
As we reach the door, Delphi turns and catches them looking at her. “Definitely banana pecan,” she tells them both with a wave. John gives her a wink as I hold the door open, and she walks through.
Once we’re outside, she takes a deep breath before blowing it out. “I’m okay.”
“I’m getting really fucking tired of hearing that phrase.”
She snorts. “Fine, I’m not okay, but I will be. I just realized something tonight, and it was difficult to process. But it’s over now.”
She waves at someone, so I look over and see Con sitting in the front seat of the club truck.
“You here for Tink?”
He jumps out and walks around the truck toward us. “And Legs, yeah. Can’t go on the back of the bike while she’s carrying precious cargo. Hey, Delphi.” He frowns, taking in her face. “You okay?”
I like this kid—I do—but there is something about him that makes me want to punch him in the face.
“Yeah, just working through some shit,” she tells him honestly.
“Working through shit is the worst. It would be so much easier if we could click our fingers and everything would have fixed itself.”
She huffs out a laugh. “God, that would be amazing.”
“Well, I think you’re killing it. I’m not sure I could handle half the shit you have with the same grace. And I’m gonna go wait in the truck before Kruger punches me.” He’s gone before I can call him on it.
I look down at a laughing Delphi who is grinning at me. “I seriously like that kid. I’m not sure he’s what you’re looking for in a brother, but he’s what us girls would look for in one.”
Huh. I look at Con, who is back in the truck, and make a mental note to talk to Havoc about him. We spend a lot of time thinking about what a prospect is lacking, but maybe we should learn to look outside the box.
“You trust him?”
“Who, Con? I mean, I don’t know him well enough to share my deep, dark secrets. But if you’re asking if I think he’d keep me safe, then yes, I do. More than that, I’d trust him with Legs, and you know how protective of her I am.”
“Why? That’s not a dig, I’m genuinely curious.”
“He’s protective. And I know, before you say it, that most of the club brothers are.
But Con is a different generation. He doesn’t seem to see men as smarter or stronger.
He sees that strength in women, and instead of being intimidated by it, he celebrates it.
He’s protective, yes, but in a nurturing way, almost. I’m not sure if I’m making sense.
Put it this way, the guys can be intimidating.
And there have been times, even when I was friendly with everyone, that I disagreed with something but kept my mouth shut because I knew instinctively that my opinion didn’t matter.
It would matter to Con. He would at least hear me out. ”
I nod, really fucking curious now.
“I’d bet my left boob that he was raised by a strong woman, maybe a single mom, or has a whole gaggle of sisters. You can usually tell.”
Midas and Legs join us before I can ask her anything else.
“You okay, Delphi?” Midas asks her, making her eyes widen in surprise, something I know Midas doesn’t miss when he sighs.
“Um…yeah. I’m fine. Or I will be. Just a lot going on, and I don’t really get a second to process one thing before the next is piling on.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He looks like he wants to say more, but Legs steps in front of him and moves into Delphi to hug her.
“I’m not gonna ask if you’re okay because I know when you’re bullshitting me,” she says, making Delphi snort.
Legs pulls back and takes in her face. “You wanna talk? Call me. You’re not a burden, and you’re not putting me out, as you tell yourself.
You’re my friend. That means I get to be there for you just as much as you get to be there for me. ”
“I don’t keep you out deliberately. I just don’t know what to say. Sharing isn’t easy.”
“No, it’s not, but that load you carry will feel a little lighter every time you do.”
“I’ll try,” Delphi concedes as Midas leads her over to the truck.
“Hey, wait for me!” Nevaeh calls out, making me grin.
“They’re hardly going to leave without the president’s old lady.”
“You don’t know that,” she huffs, looking at Delphi. “It was nice to finally meet you. Sorry we made you cry. Promise that next time we’ll make you laugh instead. Ooh, we should do karaoke.”
“Jesus Christ,” G curses.
Amity elbows him. “She’s not that bad,” she mutters.
G stares at her. “Yeah, if you’re tone deaf.”
“Karaoke isn’t about being the next Mariah Carey.” Neveah rolls her eyes. “It’s about having fun. You’d know that if you pulled the stick out of your ass. So, karaoke?” She asks.
“Um, sure,” Delphi answers with the same enthusiasm she might if someone asked her to swim with sharks.
“Excellent. I’ll get your number from Kruger and get things set up.” She gives Delphi a quick hug before skipping over to the truck, where Midas is holding the door open for her.
“She’s crazier than a bag of frogs, but she’s a great friend to have in your corner.” Amity chuckles, looking over at Neveah.
“I think we’re all a little bit crazy,” Delphi tells her.
Amity winks at her before hooking her arm through G’s. “All the best people are.”
G stares at Delphi, making her shrink back a little. I’m just about to choke the fucker out when he speaks. “I don’t like that you’re scared of me, Del.”
“I don’t like it either, but I’d be stupid not to be.”
“You know I’d never lay a hand on you.”
“But would you stand by and watch as someone else did? These are the questions I have to ask myself. My home and business were burned to the ground, G. And I know that’s not your fault.
But I can’t help but wonder if you hadn’t looked into me and made assumptions, like your club always does, if I’d still be homeless. ”
G sighs. “I dig into everyone. Even Amity. I don’t always like doing it, but it’s my job and it keeps the club safe.”
“You were safe, but it left me exposed.”
G grits his teeth, but it’s not in anger. I know he feels guilty, just like the rest of us do. “I owe you. Any favor you want—you just let me know what it is, and I’ll do everything I can. No questions asked.”
“Because I saved Midas and Legs?”
“Because you saved Midas and Legs,” he agrees. “But also because I led a bitch with a grudge to your door, even if that wasn’t my intention. And for that, I’m sorry, Delphi.”
She looks at him, studying his face for a minute before she nods. “Apology accepted. I have no idea what I might need as a favor, though.”
“Keep it. There is no time limit.”
“I mean, I guess I could call you if I find myself in possession of a live grenade again.”
Both me and G freeze, not finding that shit funny at all, but Amity cracks up.
“Still too soon, huh?” Delphi teases.
G shakes his head. “I forgot what a pain in the ass you were.”
“I’m more than happy to remind you.”
“Of that, I have no doubt.”
“Home?” I ask when everyone is gone, and we climb into the truck.
“Do you think we could go see Au? Being at your work today made me realize how much I’ve missed being in the thick of things.”
Before I can protest, she looks over at me with big puppy dog eyes. “I’m not going to overdo it, and I have zero interest in opening a pawn shop. Mostly, I want to look around the space and decide what I want to do with it. Whether I should keep it or sell it.”
I start the engine and nod. “Alright, fine. But if you get tired, let me know. We can always come back tomorrow.”
“Deal.” I head toward Au, glad to see her mood has lifted once more.
“Kruger?”
“Yeah?” I glance over at her.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For being a stubborn asshole. I might not like being pushed, but sometimes I need it.”
I reach over and slide my hand over her thigh, resting it there with a grin when, instead of pushing it away, she covers my hand with her own.
The rest of the drive to Au is done in silence, but it’s not an uncomfortable silence, and neither of us feels compelled to fill it.
When I pull up outside AU, the new pane of glass makes it look like there was never an issue. I jump out first and grab the door for Delphi and help her out. We walk over to Au hand in hand, where I type in the code and wait for it to beep before letting us in.
She moves into the room, glancing around. “It’s bigger than it looks from the outside. Can’t say I really noticed that before.”
“Figured you were preoccupied.”
“This is true,” she agrees, dragging her hand across the display cases that are empty of inventory right now. Most of it is in storage, as far as I know, which is just as well after the break-in.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m not sure. It feels right, standing here. Like this place is mine, which is ridiculous, I know. I still need to read all the fine print on the contract, but I don’t really know how to explain it other than that it feels like coming home. I just don’t understand why.”
“Maybe it’s not the building so much as the town. Raven Falls has a charm to it that’s hard to say goodbye to.”
“Yeah,” she murmurs, walking farther into the shop.
“I’m guessing that’s the same reason you’re holding back?”
“The last time I made this place my home, I was run out of it. The thought of starting over here again, knowing that’s one of the possible outcomes, terrifies me,” she admits.
“That’s not going to happen, Delphi.”
“You can’t guarantee that.”
“Life doesn’t come with guarantees. But in this, I can offer you a promise that nobody, club or brother included, will run you out of town. Not while I still have breath left in my body.”
She turns and stomps toward me. “And what if you don’t? What happens if shit goes down, and I have to mourn another man alone and pick up the shattered pieces of my life again? How long until there’s nothing left to pick up? Until all the fragments turn into dust and just float away?”
I close the distance between us, slide my hands around her hips, and lift her onto the counter. She spreads her legs instinctively, allowing me to step between them.
“I’m not going anywhere. You think I’d leave you when I finally have you close to me?”
“Everyone leaves, Kruger.”
“Not me. I’m here to stay. All you have to do is say yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Yes, you do. Don’t play dumb now, Delphi. I want you, not just in my bed or as a temporary fuck until I get bored. You’re it for me. You always have been. It was you who didn’t know.”
“Didn’t know what?” she whispers.
“That you were always supposed to be mine.”
And then I stop talking altogether and kiss her.