Page 100 of Ride or Die

He nods, leaning in and pressing a kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering, mustache tickling my skin. “For finally lettin’ go and takin’ exactly what you want.”

I smile sleepily, nestling into the crook of his arm and resting my cheek against his chest, his heart. “I love you.”

He presses another kiss to my forehead, his arm around me tightening a touch as he whispers, “Always.”

Dressed and ready to go before sunrise, Cole stands at the end of the bed, smiling at me as he places his hat onto his head. Again, I feel terrible for keeping him up half the night, but something—the cocky smirk he can’t seem to wipe off his lips—tells me he doesn’t seem to mind one bit.

“Do you want me to drive you back to the ranch?” I ask, knowing he brought my car back yesterday.

He shakes his head. “I’ll take Dolly.”

I push up onto my elbows, smiling at the use of the name he’s bestowed upon his old truck, with Billie’s help.

“Thank you, again.”

Cole’s brows tug together. “For what?”

“For my car. Getting it fixed so quickly.” I shrug a shoulder.

“You don’t need to thank me, darlin’.” Walking around the side of the bed, Cole stops next to me and cups my cheek.

“At least now you’ll be able to leave some more surprises on my windshield…” I tease him.

Cole sniffs a laugh, one of his brows quirking dubiously. “What on earth you talkin’ ’bout, pretty girl?”

I roll my eyes, playfully shoving him “The redbuds you left on my car the other night at the club.” I feel my cheeks heating pink. “It was… sweet.”

Cole’s smile lingers, his eyes bouncing between mine like he’s searching for something, I don’t know. Leaning in, he presses his lips against my skin, whispering, “Go back to sleep, baby.”

His words, his scent, his gentle touch sends a shiver through my body, and I crane my neck to meet his lips, kissing him softly before he pulls away. With a slow kiss to my forehead, he offers me a wink before turning and walking out, closing the bedroomdoor with a quiet click. I flop back against the pillows, smiling like an imbecile.

CHAPTER 37

COLE

My casual smile turns into a scowl, my teeth gritted, the second I walk out of the bedroom, my mind a mess, warring with the racing, unsteady thrum of my heart as panic twines around my chest.

Once I’m outside, I hurry down the porch steps and make a beeline for the barn, scanning the yard as I go, searching for something, anything, I don’t even fuckin know what.

I tug my phone from my pocket and scroll through my contacts, sliding the call button, despite the time. He’ll be up. He’s always fuckin’ awake.

“Yeah?” Austin’s gruff voice cuts through the silence, answering after a few rings.

“Remember how you told me to come to you if there’s a problem?”

I heave open the heavy barn door with one hand, my gaze landing on Dolly sitting here all alone in the dark.

Austin grunts in response.

Glancing back over my shoulder, I look at the house, doing another cursory scan across the yard, heart still hammering hard. “Yeah, well”—I drag a hand over my face—“I got a big fuckin’ problem, Boss.”

The Butcher ain’t a man to mess with. Everyone knows that. But we’re already neck-deep in his bullshit thanks to Austin, so it felt like a no-brainer when I asked for his help originally with Clara. He and his team know everything that goes on in the state of Texas and not much gets passed them. Now, in the cold room, at the back of the slaughterhouse, surrounded by hanging beef carcasses and the scent of ammonia lingering in the air, I look at the men seated around the metal table—Austin, Butch, Butch’s right-hand man, Silvio, Cruz, and Webber—desperate for their help.

“So, let me get this straight,” Austin begins, dropping his head to hang between his shoulders. A few seconds pass and he lifts his chin, spearing me with thatwhat the fuck Colelook he’s mastered over the last ten years. “She took her kids and ran away from… West Virginia?”

I nod.

“Her ex is a member of one of the most notorious fuckin’ outlaw motorcycle gangs in the country?”