Page 75 of Razor

She points to Brewer’s office. “He won’t mind. He’s hard at work with Ryder and Snake. There is something I want to ask you.”

As we head inside, she smiles apologetically.

“I hope you don’t mind, but I wanted to remind you that Sunday is leaving in a few days’ time.”

“I know.”

It’s as if she is running a knife around my heart and I stop breathing.

“She doesn’t want to go. I’m sure you’re aware of that, but may I just tell you a story?”

“Of course.”

I wonder what she has in mind because it’s unusual for Ashton to speak like this with the guys.

“I’ve been here long enough now to have seen a few things, well, a lot of things actually.”

She rolls her eyes, and I chuckle.

“Anyway, there was one story in particular that Ryder told me shortly after Jet brought Lucy back. It turns out there were a couple of people involved where they came from. The president of the local MC club and the wife of the local crook. It turned out they attended school together, and the president was Clara’s first love. She was from a rich family, and Atom was from the rougher side of town. They fell in love, and then Michael arrived.”

I vaguely remember the story. I heard Jet telling it one night in the bar, but I can’t remember the details.

“Anyway, Michael was also from a rich family, and Clara’s family wanted an arrangement. Clara didn’t. They bullied her, threatened her, and made her life hell, hoping she would agree. But she loved Atom so hard it hurt. Then Michael changed things by discovering Atom’s plans to build a new life for him and Clara, and being rich, he arranged it so that unless Clara agreed to marry him, he would ruin Atom forever.”

She smiles, her pretty face glowing with sympathy.

“Clara was made aware of the repercussions. If she left with Atom, he would lose everything. If she married Michael, Atom would build his new life and make something of himself, and be spared. She made the wrong choice, but she believed she was doing it for the right reasons. She broke up with Atom and married Michael instead.”

She sighs, shaking her head as she continues. “They lived in the same town. He watched Clara from afar, hating how she appeared to forget him. She had two children with Michael, who was now the biggest villain in town. He controlled it, but he always left Atom and his club alone. Atom never understood why, but it was part of the deal they made. What Atom didn’t realize was that Clara was suffering terrible abuse at the hands of her husband. He almost killed her several times, and it didn’t end well. I suppose what I’m trying to say, honey, is, we do things for all the right reasons, ones we believe are best at the time, but circumstances change, and lives follow different paths. What if Sunday is your happy ever after and you work better together than apart? Perhaps you were always meant to find one another.”

I draw a deep breath because she means well, but that story is one of a kind. Sunday will find happiness and be better off without me.

“What happened in the end?”

She grins. “All you need to know it was a happy ending for them both. It always is if it’s meant to be. Why don’t you think on that, honey, and apply it to your situation because Sunday is madly in love with you. We all see it, and I’m guessing that’s why you are pushing her away.”

She’s not wrong, and in this moment, I see exactly why Ryder adores his old lady so passionately. She’s not just a pretty face, or the kindest woman I have ever met. She’s also a wise one, andthat means a lot in our world. However, my circumstances are different because I am the threat to Sunday, and nobody knows that more than me.

* * *

I head off,Ashton’s words ringing in my brain. They hit hard, but sadly didn’t change a thing. One thing she said resonated with me more than any other.

Sunday is leaving in two days’ time.

We spend every minute we can together, each one more desperate as they tick away. She has tried; I haven’t. The only trying I’ve done is to harden my heart for the inevitable.

Nobody understands the sacrifice I am making for her. To give her the best life.

She leaves tomorrow.

CHAPTER 38

SUNDAY

Ican’t believe this is happening. I don’t want to go, but it’s too late to back out now.

Tonight is my leaving party at the bar. I’m liable to lose my shit because how can I leave? I love it here. I love everyone, and more than anyone, I love Razor.