Page 3 of Gentleman Wanted
“No, not Gemma, well, apart from a few cuts from when the glass exploded. She’s good…”
Truth frowned. He knew I was hiding something. “Then who?”
Groaning, I ran my hand through my hair. Making it stand on end. Sometimes I opened my mouth without thinking. “It doesn’t matter.”
Shit, I should have just said no one. I wasn’t ready to answer the barrage of questions they would have. Hell. It wasn’t even my secret to share.
“The baby.” Gemma’s voice was unsteady as she appeared in the doorway. She looked haunted like she had aged twenty years in just a few hours. Worry made the lines around her eyes deeper.
“Someone fucking shot a baby?” Ruin sounded outraged. “Are they ok?” He shifted, the soles of his boots squeaking on the tile. It was apparent he wanted to say something else. That something was eating him up. Maybe an apology for thinking she had killed his dad. Not that I could ever see Ruin saying sorry to her face.
“I threw myself on him when the window exploded. He didn’t get shot. I fucking slammed him to the floor.” I would have to deal with that particular guilt on my own.
“You saved his life, Gent.” Gem’s voice was soft, her pale hand squeezing my forearm. For a second, I could do nothing but stare at it. “I might have lost him if you hadn’t done what you did.”
Ruin’s eyebrows slammed down, a line appearing between them as he looked between the two of us. “You would have lost him?” He cocked his head to the side, and the question was clear in his eyes. “The kid yours?” His eyes narrowed on me. “Shit, just how close did you two get?”
“The kid’s Gem’s, not mine.” The moment the words left my mouth, I wished I could take them back. “Shit, Gem. I’m sorry.”
What the hell was I thinking blurting that out? It wasn’t my secret to tell.
“So you have just been playing daddy to someone else’s kid for the last…”
I cut Ruin off with a scowl, but it was Gemma who answered, her voice rigid.
“Gent is my best friend, and to answer your question, he hasn’t been playing daddy. He’s been there for my son and me when we needed him. He protected us when Bobby’s own family wanted us dead.” There was so much venom in her words it took me by surprise.
It was nice to see a glimpse of the old Gemma back, that fiery barmaid who didn’t take any shit from anyone. Not even the big bad bikers of the Black Aces.
“Who…?” Ruin looked genuinely confused.
“She’s talking about you, asshole.” Truth was shaking his head. His words made Ruin frown even more.
“Why would I…”
Truth didn’t let him finish, smiling at Gem. I knew he had figured it out. Instinctively I stepped up beside Gem. I had spent the last year protecting her, the boy as well, and God, I wanted to protect them now. Because I knew the repercussions of Truth’s words were going to be epic.
“Because the kid is Fender’s son, isn’t he?”
