Page 12 of Loyal
I shake my head, the smile permanently on my face. “It was perfect. Thank you.”
“So are you giving me another chance?” he asks.
“You are still on the same chance. I didn’t end things, Loyal,” I remind him.
“It sounded like you wanted to. Listen, you are at work so we can get into this later, but I think we need to have a real conversation. We’ve been putting it off for too long.”
“I know,” I agree with him. “Friday night? You can take me out and we can talk.”
“I’ll be there at six. I’ll text you every day until then.”
He won’t be seeing me, though. I understand why.
We need some space to think about what we really want out of this. I get it. I don’t want to hurt him anymore than I’ve been hurt in the past.
“Friday at six. See you then.”
My mind isn’t in it today. I should be focused on our club business, but instead, my mind is on her.
It’s always on her.
It’s like she somehow wormed her way under my skin until she became one with me. I have no idea what I will do if she decides she wants to end this for good.
I can’t keep walking the line, though. It’s starting to kill me. She is mine in all the ways that matter except she won’t tell the world.
Friday, we will talk, and I will tell her how I feel. I will lay it all out on the table for her and see what she thinks.
It’s a risk. She could walk away, but I am also aware that she could stay. She could decide I am worth it the way I know she is worth everything I have put myself through for the last year.
“What do you think, Loyal?” Savage asks.
I don’t even know what they are talking about, but I nod to him. “I trust your instincts.”
I swallow hard, hoping that was the right response. I could have asked him to repeat himself, but it would have meant admitting I haven’t been paying attention this whole meeting. It’s not a good look for the VP.
He nods. “So let’s vote. All in favor of helping Tires to Go to franchise to other chapters, say aye.”
“Aye,” we all say.
I feel relieved when I realize what they had been discussing. That could have been bad. I need to get my focus back.
“Onto the PI business. Tiny, update?” Savage asks.
“We have doubled our income. Thanks to Bailey, we have also started a pro bono program for low-income people who are being unfairly treated. They can apply for assistance and then we will follow them for a little bit to see if their request has any merit. If they do, we take on their case for free. We are hoping to mostly help women in domestic violence situations and such, but we are open to anyone with a valid reason.”
Savage chuckles. “Sounds like my Hellcat.”
“What made her want to do that?” Fang asks.
“Some case she had last year. Some guy hired her to stalk his wife only to find out the only reason he did was because she wanted a divorce and he didn’t want her to leave,” Tiny tells him.
My stomach drops.
Sami.
She started the program because Sami’s disgusting ex hired us to dig up dirt on her so that he could blackmail her into staying with him.
I still remember the day I laid eyes on her. Bailey and I had posed as brother and sister, touring the house for sale. I had seen pictures of Sami, but it didn’t do her justice. Seeing her in real life took my breath away. That day was our last day of surveillance. The woman had never stepped out of line once according to Bailey.
