Page 27 of Jade

“Me?”

“Dusty, come on. You were there for me as my best friend all this time, and I’m so thankful for that. Especially after Genevieve. Surely that was triggering for you.”

“In a way, I suppose it could have been,” I say. “But I also knew this wasn’t the same thing. Maybe a deep part of me will always want to help those in need, it’s who I am and how I grew up. I’ll always protect you. There’s nothin’ gonna steer this cowboy’s heart away.”

“Even if I’m damaged goods?”

“You’re not damaged goods,” I reply. “You’re amazing, Tilly Jade. Trusting people is hard—I get that—but we have a history, and we have a friendship. Those things work in our favor.”

“Sounds like you’ve been thinking about it.” I love the smile on her perfect lips.

I shift Mustang so I’m closer to her, leaning over for a kiss. “I’m always thinkin’ about you, never have any fear about that.”

“You’re the one who saved me,” she whispers. “I always knew that, but it took me a long time to catch up. I had to find myself first. I don’t believe in bringing baggage into a relationship; it wouldn’t have been fair to you.”

I reach over, tugging her hands. She lets go of the reins and I pull her off Puddles, then carefully slide her into my lap. She gasps when she straddles me. “There’s no baggage. I’d wait forever to be with you. As long as it takes.”

“You don’t have to wait anymore,” she tells me, and I waggle my eyebrows. “This is giving them all something to talk about.”

“I fuckin’ hope so.”

Then she plants her lips against mine, and I’m in heaven.

CHAPTER 12

JADE

The past

“Where am I?” I gasp, bolting upright in bed. I glance around, the room unfamiliar.

“Whoa,” a female voice sounds far away. “You’re safe. You’re at the Stiletto Riders’ clubhouse in Saddle, East Texas. I’m Diamond, the club President.”

I blink, fragments of the bus ride from hell flash through my head. “What happened?”

“You hit your head,” a man says. I don’t know why, but something about his tone is soothing. It’s like I know him, even though I don’t know anyone in Texas. “Pretty hard, actually. I’m Dustin, the stable hand at Rustic Grove⁠—”

“Rustic G-grove?” I stammer.

“The clubhouse,” Dustin replies. “You’re safe. The police have been notified, but you have no ID. When we talked earlier, you didn’t know your name.”

Tears spring to my eyes. “Matilda,” I say. “Tilly, I think. My sister… she’ll be looking for me.”

“Great.” Diamond’s eyebrows crease. “What’s her name? Where are you from?”

I try to think, but nothing comes to me. “I-I don’t know.” My words haunt me because as hard as I try, the memories don’t come. “I don’t know who I am.”

Dustin and Diamond share a look. I don’t know what it means, but it doesn’t look good.

“It’s gonna be okay.” Dustin’s voice sounds so soothing.. “Sometimes this can happen after a hit to the head, or when a traumatic event happens.”

“Is it temporary, right?” I don’t even know whether I want to hear the answer to that.

“We’ll find out soon enough,” Diamond says. “But right now, you need to rest, okay? Are you hungry?”

I nod. I can’t remember the last time I ate.

She smiles kindly. “You have nothing to fear from us, I promise. Dustin is a good guy. He hauled you out of the bus. The bad guys are behind you now.”