TWENTY-NINE
Lisa
Two days.
Not a phone call.
Not a text.
Lisa couldn’t say which emotion was steering her ship, but she knew it wasn’t sunshine and rainbows; that was for damn sure.
In fact, as she parked her car in front of the Diablos compound building, she was fit for murder, or at the very least, a kicked shin. She switched the engine off and took a fortifying breath.
Two days without hearing a word from Ryan. The longest they’d gone without speaking ever since they reconnected, and her heart felt sore.
After speaking with Nina earlier, they’d pieced together all the weird shit their men had been doing for the past two days, and nothing made sense. The hushed calls, the secret late-night club meetings.
If Ryan had lost his memories, if he was injured, why the big secrecy?
Why were they keeping her out of their circle and away from Ryan?
Something smelled fishy, and she’d beat every single biker in that brick building to get the answers if she had to.
She was not a passive little woman who would sit at home and wait.
“I won’t talk you out of going in there, and going holy hell on Splice,” Nina said from the passenger seat. Of course, her best friend had tagged along. “If you’re gonna kick asses, Splice’s especially, I’ll hold your purse. But I want you to be prepared for what you might walk into.”
Lisa was staring at the front door, watching one of the prospective members carrying grocery bags inside. When the door opened, they heard the loud belting rock music. Were they having a party? When she was in utter shambles, they were partying?
“Splice when he was single... he was...” Nina grimaced when Lisa turned her head.
“I know exactly what he was like; he told me himself. You told me enough stories about Splice before you knew he was my Ryan.”
But was she prepared to see that Splice in action right now? That was the question.
It wasn’t as though Lisa was a stranger to him; he remembered the younger version, but he’d shown no interest in the present version of her, not like Ryan from a few months back, who’d taken one look at Lisa and pursued her with a single doggedness to get her back.
The Ryan who’d stared at her two days ago seemed… he seemed like he was someone else altogether.
She still heard his “babe.” The same babe he called every woman in earshot. And he’d flashed Lisa a grin like he’d been greeting an old friend, and not the woman he was obsessed with.
That stung.
No, it burned her heart to ashes.
But she’d been prepared to wait until he healed. Hadn’t she told him that? They could get through it. “Babe, I’m fine. Don’t put your life on hold for me.” Words she couldn’t forget hearing.
“The club whores are vipers in tight skirts. They will have been swarming like bees the moment they heard Splice had lost his memories.” Nina said. “Tomb told me as much today. That’s why I had to talk to you.”
“Don’t stop me if I get into a scrap,” Lisa said, seriously, and Nina burst out laughing.
“Fuckkkkk. I haven’t been in a fight in years. We only got our nails done three days ago. But I’ve got your back, girl. I’ll take the twenty on the left; you take the thirty on the right.”
“I’m mad enough to fight them all if any have dared to touch Ryan.” She said through her clenched teeth. “Let’s go.” She announced and climbed out, slamming the door behind her.
Whatever Lisa had been prepared for going into the Diablos’ sanctuary—every scene flitting through her mind, from the best to the worst—was devastating to see Ryan sitting at a round table with his uncle opposite him, Mouse sitting by Vince, and three girls bookended next to Ryan.
One was cuddling his arm as if she had the right to touch him.
Her eyes took in the scene and felt every sickening swish of her belly.
Was she too late?
Had Ryan—no, this was Splice she was looking at, the infamous slut-puppy she joked he was.
It wasn’t her Ryan. Had he already slept with another woman?
He was sitting at an angle, his long legs stretched out in front of him.
At ease with the situation. Looking as if he hadn’t missed her for a moment.
He had a hand around his glass, talking to Vince.
“Hold my purse,” she said to Nina, pulling it off her shoulder. She handed it over without drawing her eyes from Ryan, who had yet to see her.
“Oh, shit, here we go.” Mumbled Nina.
Vince saw her first, and his smile wavered. “Oh, hey, honey. Can I get you a drink?”
“I’m not here socially, Vince, thanks, though.” She spoke, keeping her eyes on Ryan.
He took his sweet time raising his eyes, and that just pissed her off even more.
And when he looked at her, oh, yeah, that dead glance punched her in the heart.
It wasn’t her sweet boy Ryan Gold who would literally beg her to snuggle with him on the couch.
It wasn’t the guy who would think nothing of going to the bakery at six a.m. to spoil her with pastries and a hot coffee.
It wasn’t the man who fucked her and fucked her and would still fuck her again even when she tried to tap out from exhaustion.
It wasn’t the biker who strode into her house and would immediately sweep her into his arms for a deep kiss and a long hug, as if he hadn’t seen her in months.
It wasn’t the man who loved sneaking into her shower just to wash her hair.
And then make her come. It wasn’t the man who made her laugh and smile more than any other man had.
If this man in front of her were her Ryan, she’d already be on his lap.
He would have already prowled his tall frame outside to meet her before her car had stopped. He was that attentive, as if he were tuned to her frequency.
And she saw none of Ryan on that beautiful face.
“Babe. What are you doing here?” he said tonelessly.
“Don’t be fucking rude, Splice. You know who Lisa is to you; show some respect.” Snapped Nina, and Lisa touched her friend’s arm.
“It’s okay, Nina; he’s got manners in there somewhere, maybe they fell out of his head, as the memories of me have. What am I doing here?” She repeated his question, and she saw him smirk. Vince cleared his throat, as if his uncle could sense the change in the air.
They’d by now garnered attention from other bikers, but Lisa didn’t care if she was about to make a scene.
She was long past caring about putting her best foot forward.
She was about to stick her foot up that woman’s ass if she kept hanging onto Ryan’s arm, and she sliced a glance between the women before meeting Ryan’s watchful stare again.
As mad as she was, she still felt unmoored without him.
Two days and no Ryan sleeping pressed into her back felt like some cosmic power was punishing her.
“I’m here to remind you who your girlfriend is.”
That caused a rousing round of woos from the peanut gallery, but Lisa only had eyes for the man in front of her. The same man who would have been up off his seat already with his hands on her.
Ryan’s eyes were hooded as he brought the glass to his lips and drained it in one.
“You want another one, Unc?” he asked the older man, ignoring her.
Vince looked between them like he could see the awkwardness leaching out like steam, and he tried to smile at Lisa.
“Maybe you two should talk privately, son?” Then, to Lisa, he said, “He’s still recovering, honey. Give him some time. We’ve all been worried about his accident.”
“I don’t think Splice wants to talk to you, babe.” Smirked the woman closest to Lisa, who had her hand tucked around his arm. “Maybe go home to your cats and leave him to us. We know how to take real good care of Splice, don’t we, girls?”
Lisa looked the petite woman up and down, and a burn began in her belly, spreading up into her eyes until her vision turned pure red. She didn’t raise her voice when she replied.
“Your opinion doesn’t even fucking register to me. And if you don’t move that hand off him, you’re going to lose your fingers.”
“Who do you think you’re talking to?” the woman snapped.
“I’m talking to the woman who doesn’t know how to buy full-size shirts. Hands the fuck off him. Now.”
Lisa wasn’t a person who shamed women; she was a sister to all women and would defend a woman’s choices with her last breath, but her limit was fucking reached, so she didn’t feel guilt over being nasty.
Splice shook his arm and directed a look at the woman, who reluctantly let go of him.
“Babe.”
Her heartstrings twanged.
Lisa pressed her teeth together. Holding back what she really wanted to say. “Don’t babe me.”
He half-smiled. “Feisty. I get that we had some history between us, yeah?”
History? They were in the present only days ago.
“I don’t remember the last two years, so whatever fling we were having this time, it’s not in here.” He tapped his temple. “Do you get that? It was probably short-lived; you need to accept it.”
Ryan didn’t even sound like himself. He had none of his deep, sweet tone he used when talking to her. Lisa had to swallow her emotions before she embarrassed herself and bawled her eyes out right there.
“Un-fucking-believable,” muttered Nina from behind her. Tomb must have come in from the garage because, without turning around, Lisa heard him: “Pipe down, princess, it’s between them.”
“Between them? He’s doing this crap in public. He’s hurting her in public!”
“It’s fine, Nina.” She said, gesturing to her friend with a hand, then turned back to Ryan and pointed a finger. She’d had enough of this shit. “You, slut-puppy, get up.” She held out her hand and dared him to refuse it.
The silence went on; it seemed everyone had shut their mouths to listen in on the show she was putting on.
Time ticked by.
She didn’t look away from him.
And Ryan had his head cocked to the side, watching her back.
Then he smiled and took her hand, climbing to his feet. “Looks like I’ve gotta have the talk with my so-called girlfriend because she doesn’t get the message. Someone, pour me a drink; this won’t take long. Then we can take off, Vince.”
Vince nodded but gave Lisa a sympathetic glance.
Ryan’s hand enfolded around hers, and he took off walking first, forcing her to follow with quicker steps to keep up.
Wherever they were going, she decided she was going to knock his cocky head right off his shoulders once they got there.
She’d regret hitting the love of her life, but if it knocked some sense into that thick head of his and brought her Ryan back, she’d sacrifice and do it.
She’d do it so many times, he’d be bruised from forehead to toenails.
So, when Ryan turned a corner and opened a door, her inner kettle was at the boiling point, her free hand clenched at her side as she followed him inside.
Nothing could have prepared her.
Not even given a clue what was about to happen, Lisa swung around when Ryan closed the door, and she was ready to give him both barrels when she found her waist lassoed in his two hands and forcibly dragged forward into his arms.
Squashed into Ryan’s chest, Lisa stiffened, confused.
Her gears were cranked all the way to the limit, and she’d been ready to fight for her life, no matter what she had to say or do.
But he’d taken the wind out of her sails, and she stood there for a beat of a second, her heart catapulting all around her chest, confusion in every exhale.
“Fucking hell, sweetheart. I missed you. I missed you so fucking much.” He rasped with his face pressed into her neck. His grip grew firmer, squeezing the air out of Lisa.
Ryan had her pressed to the wall; his every exhale blew into her neck.
And all Lisa could think was.
What. The. Hell. Was. This?