“You don’t have to try so damn hard, Gidge.” He leans in, putting one hand on the newel post and then running his tongue up the side of my face in a way that makes me shudder. “I’m a sure thing.”
“Well, Mr. Sure Thing, can we just move this along then?” I snap, and Sin gives me a look.
“Things are different now that Cat knows. You understand that, right? For now, with the Grey Wolfe Mafia on our asses, he’s busy. But what happens when he isn’t? What happens after all of this is over?”
“What are you suggesting? That we start over somewhere else?” I ask, considering it for a moment. We could, if we really wanted to. The five of us … We could take Reba and Fem along for the ride; Grey might even consider joining us. Leave this place behind and start fresh somewhere new, somewhere without the club, without Cat, without death threats and bullshit …
But then I think about my father, and how he chose me over Gaz. I think about Nellie. I think about all the families that are staying on the compound because it’s too dangerous to leave.
Sin could walk away from this and start a new life. Beast, too. But Crown and Grainger are so deep into the club; I’m not sure that they would want to leave. Would they help me go? Sure. But they might not come with.
There’s all of that, and then there’s me.
I don’t want to run from the club; I want to take the reins of it.
Like father, like daughter.
“We’re not leaving,” I say after a moment, when Sin doesn’t answer my previous question. Instead, he waits there and lets me think about it. “We’re staying.”
Sin nods, like that’s the answer he expected, but he gives me a look that speaks volumes.
“Cat came to see me today before I left the hospital. I don’t think he was there just for me, in particular. He had other business to deal with, but let’s just say that he wasn’t especially happy to see me.”
“Did he threaten you?” I ask, but Sin just shakes his head.
“Not exactly. Mostly, he wanted to know about you.”
“Me?” I ask, trying to decide what, exactly, Cat might want to know. He’s only seen me once since the wedding. Just once. If he’s been on the compound while I was working in the clubhouse then he made sure to stay way the hell away from me.
“You,” Sin confirms, looking uncomfortable as fuck as he stands there and crosses his arms over his chest. I find my gaze drawn to his tattoos instead of his face. I’ve always wondered why he’d ink himself with old-school Americana, but now that I know him a little better, it makes sense. Carrying around that sense of forgotten nostalgia on his skin is just the sort of thing he’d do, wishing for a time period he never saw, that he’ll never live. He’s a romantic and, I realize, as I stand there and stare at him, so am I. A big one. Huge. I’m almost disgusted with myself. “He asked me all sorts of questions.”
“Like?” I query, and Sin sighs, reaching up to scratch at his temple.
“When we first fucked.” He looks me dead in the face. “What I knew about you and Grey and Crown’s bike.”
“What did you say to him?” I ask, alarm making my chest tight. Even as I’m beginning to understand Cat, I don’t fear him any less or trust him any more. He’s terrifying. And if he’s digging into the situation like this, it’s not because he’s curious about his one and only surviving child. It’s because he’s looking to dig up dirt on me.
“I told him the truth about the night we slept together,” Sin admits, and I exhale, crossing my arms under my breasts. It’s best to tell as much of the truth as possible, whenever possible, just so it’s harder for people to catch the lies. But the second half of that equation … “As far as the rest of it, we agreed that it’s best if Cat doesn’t know the full story. Crown and Beast have taken responsibility for the whole of it—even if we all admitted to sleeping with you.” He pauses and reconsiders his words for a moment. “To still be sleeping with you.”
I try to make myself breathe, but it’s difficult. I end up letting out a whoosh of air as Sin studies my reaction. He could say that he warned me, that he tried to save me from all of this, that I should’ve married him and let him transfer the two of us to a chapter in another state, away from the mafia and the bullshit. Instead, he waits for me to process that.
Sin and Grainger are not necessarily off the hook, but this story helps. It helps because if Cat decides to exact punishment on his officers, it’ll be Crown first that heads to the guillotine and Beast second. It was impossible to hide Crown’s involvement, obviously. And then Beast agreeing to marry me, letting me stay in Crown’s house, fuck Crown … Anyway, Crown would’ve needed help cleaning up my mess; it was clear he didn’t work alone.
