“Wouldn’t be a surprise to anyone if he OD’d. Just say the word.”
Instead of considering his offer, all I can see is Amelia’s shocked face when I told her to crawl back to her crackhead screw. I narrow my gaze at Hawk.
“What made you think she knew Abbott when we were at the Hammer?”
He shrugs. “Something. The way she looked at him. Like he was her worst nightmare.”
I brood on that, which isn’t easy given the state of my brain right now. “I don’t get it.” I don’t want to talk about it, but I’m going crazy inside my head. “Sure, Abbott had an ax to grind with the Bastards and Wolves, but why did Amelia come after me?”
“She’s a chick, man. They don’t make sense.”
“That’s not it.” There’s something just beyond my grasp that I can’t quite figure out.
“Her old man kills a Bastard—we get even, and that should end it right there. Except you can’t account for twisted chick logic.”
There’s still something that’s not adding up. I know she loved her dad. Hell, there’s a part of me that admires the way she wanted to get revenge for his death. I sure know how that feels. But if she was so set on payback, wouldn’t she at least have known who to set up? Abbott would know which of our contacts inside had finished the job. Why didn’t he tell her?
How the hell do you think I feel, falling for the one whose old man killed my dad?
It’s like a shard of ice stabs through my brain, momentarily freezing my alcoholic fog—the missing piece that’s been bugging me, the reason why Amelia took the job at Odin’s when it landed in her lap.
“Fuck.” I lean back and close my eyes, but it’s like a dam’s burst as everything she’s said and done since the moment I met her thunders through my mind.
Abbott’s taunts were hollow. Whatever he’d wanted her to do, she never set out to drag me into bed. If that’d been her plan, she could’ve had me from the start.
I was never going to go through with it. Not after I met you.
I was the one who chased her, persuaded her to come back. Told her I wouldn’t touch her until she was ready. And the reason she took the job was because she thoughtmy old man killed hers.
Why would she think that? Did Abbott feed her that lie? Except she hadn’t seen him for ten years before he told her about the job at Odin’s.
Fuck Zach’s warning. I look across at Hawk. “Need to pay someone a visit.”
Chapter Nineteen
Amelia
I’ve no idea how Ava and I got home last night, or why she decided to crash in my bed. Can’t remember much at all after we left the house and hit the first club. It’s been years since I’ve gone out and had such a great time. At least I hope I did, otherwise this hangover is a real waste of time.
Ava groans as I accidentally elbow her in the ribs trying to get out of bed without waking her. “Surprised you can even move,” she mumbles.
I fall over my feet and end up on the floor. “Did we have a good time?”
She sits up, and although it’s kind of hard to focus, she doesn’t look nearly as awful as the way I’m feeling.
“I’ve had better. Good thing I was the designated driver.”
I slump against my dresser, since that’s easier than trying to stand up. “I’m guessing I didn’t get laid, then.”
“Since you threatened to rip the balls off the few guys who were brave enough to approach us, that would be a no.”
I fold my arms across my knees and ignore the queasy sensation churning through my stomach. I didn’t go out last night with the intention of screwing a stranger, but I’d bet my last dollar that’s exactly what Gage did.
Don’t think about that loser.My head drops to my arms, and I close my eyes. My grand plan for drinking him out of my system was an epic fail. I don’t want to admit it even to myself, but the things he said to me hurt even more than the fact my mom’s lied to me for so long about how Dad died.
“So.” Ava joins me on the floor, and I open one eye to see her leaning against the bed. She nudges my toes with hers. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Last night might be a haze, but I remember Ava wasn’t nearly as freaked out over the truth as I was. Then again, she hasn’t been sleeping with the enemy. My stomach churns again, and I squeeze my eyes shut, but it doesn’t blank out the images of Gage’s wicked grin, his self-confident swagger, or the tender way he held me after Rex spewed his lies in the Hammer.
